Hanging In

This blogging stuff is an interesting business. What started as a cathartic process to help ease the long days of my boy’s chemotherapy treatment, then evolved into a creative palate and idea platform, and has occasionally merged into community-level public relations spots for clients of my studio.

Turns out my blog page, An Untamed Life On Purpose, has a small following. With the number of daily visitors ranging between 20 and 40 folks, I am grateful for your time and especially appreciate your thoughtful comments. Mainly though, who you all are is a mystery to me, and I enjoy the surprise when someone unexpected reveals that they are a reader!

The other curious wonder about this blog is which posts elicit more attention and responses than others. I was convinced back in mid April, that what people most enjoy are short thought-provoking quotes accompanied by photographs, like “A Simple Quote.”  Nonetheless, the last three entries in April (the three part letter, A Lifetime Love Affair, to my daughter) and May pieces such as, “Standing Fast” showed me that audiences are equally enthusiastic about reflective writing. Other May favorites have included “Supporting Folks We Believe In” (thanks to all Stella’s friends in Palmer, AK for dropping by), the whimsical and mildly interactive “Summertime Checklist” and the purely visual “And Later That Day.”

When I started actively blogging, on Monday, January 11th, I committed to post on weekdays for ninety entries. Today marks the 93rd blog post for Martha Phelps Studio since that day.

Thoreau said, “Things do not change; we change.” I know this wisdom to be true.  It’s no coincidence that as I approached my benchmark of ninety, I was offered a part time job that will, among many things, encourage me to tap into my skills as a writer and creative thinker. It’s part time, which is just right for this juncture. It’s for a local company I respect and admire, which makes it easy to be passionate about. My new “boss” wants me to learn and grow, which makes me feel very happy. And my schedule still gives me freedom for m.l.p. studio clients and the art-making that occurs here during the summer months.

Outside of taking time off to travel every now and then, I’m going to hang in with this blog for as long as it makes me happy. I hope that my readers will hang in too, as well as share it with friends. If there’s something you’d like more of, please let me know. I like a good healthy challenge on occasion! 

All will be well, mlp

For any and all you who may be interested, I have a public Facebook Page whose purpose is positive, unusual and thought provoking quotes and the subsequently interesting exchanges inspired by said quotes. Please visit and become a "Friend" to the page!

A Small Departure

I'm kickin' up my heels and traveling today, and it's important to get on the road early if I want to make that fantastic concert awaiting me at the other end of the highway;

...therefore, this morning you're being offered a couple of blog posts written by two fantastic bloggers whom I follow regularly. 

Clicking on their names will take you to pieces that are especially enjoyable written by Seth Godin and Chris Guillebeau. Should you decide to explore their work, I doubt you will regret it.
Stories and photos from this untamed life on purpose will come again soon!

Have a lovely Wednesday ~ mlp

Damn Issues

Dear friends,
A good Monday morning to you. I was all set to dive into a more creative topic than this, but something up into my in box this morning that changed my topic course.

Apparently, Google blogger (the blog site I use) is having issues with comment postings. (See image below to fully appreciate how I am feeling about this problem!)

How it typically works is someone responds to a blog post, their comment comes to me via email for me to “moderate” the comment (decide whether or not I want to make it public) and then I just click “okay, “ and your comment gets posted under the blog it was in response to.

Your comments and feedback mean a great deal to me. This blog is a labor of love, and I appreciate even knowing that there is even someone out there reading it - much less actually participating in the “conversation” about how I may have sparked a thought or feeling in them.

I’ve yet to delete or reject someone’s comment.

Thank goodness, my dear friend Kris dropped me an email through a different route this morning asking me if her comment has offended me in some way.

Comment....I thought....what comment? Which lead me to discover that the system is flawed, broken or just down - hopefully temporarily, but in the meanwhile, twelve - yup 12 comments have vanished. I’m super bummed. I never got to see them. I was never notified, and worst of all - some of you may think I didn’t want to hear what you had to say. (Once again, please refer to the image below for full effect!)

I really want to hear from you.

Please email me your comments. If you’d like me to keep them private, let me know. Otherwise, I’ll manually add them to the post which they are in response to.

Honestly. Some days I doubt that a single person is reading this, so to know that 12 people chimed in feels very heartening.

Here’s my email: mlp@marthaphelps.com

Looking forward.
Martha

PS If anyone out there feels like experimenting (Jimmy??), please post a comment to this morning's post AND email a copy of your comment to me. That way, I can find out whether or not Blogger has resolved their issue. Damn issues. They have a way of being a real drag on occasion......

The Thrilling Anxiety Of It All

Okay, I admit it. I’m thrilled and anxious at at once.

First, I’m thrilled by the realization and discovery that - given just an hour or two of solitude a day (along with the willing suspension of perfectionism) - I have a well of creativity to pull small buckets from on a regular basis and make this blog a reality. On the other hand, I’m anxious over the fact that this discovery is now asking me to rearrange the already precious-few hours in the day. (As in: I write, no matter what. I write, even if it means tacking more time onto the day’s end.) Yikes! My muse is a demanding character. Thank goodness!

Second, I’m thrilled that my blogsite welcomed 487 unique visits in the shortest month of the year, and that the studio has fans that I’ve known for years as well as some whom I know not at all. What an amazing combination of compliments! Meanwhile, I’m anxious because everything I read about successful blogging suggests that I’m really going about this in as bassackwards kind of a way possible. (And I’m humored by the fact that this is not at all uncommon for me.)

Third, I’m thrilled that, without a nudge from me but perhaps a giant one from the universe - the studio is picking up business. (Insert photo of me smiling here.) Out of the blue, I’ve been given the opportunity to take some portrait photos and design some promotional materials for folks who I have not only been happy to say “yes” to, but I am honored to support. Nevertheless, I’m anxious that I still have a secret longing for a big sugar daddy or some generous and devoted “sponsor” to swoop in and fund my wild untamed artistic life, as well as send me to Greece for an all-expenses paid writer’s retreat where (I promise), I will continue to post daily poems, beautiful photos and essays that are deeply thought-provoking and inspiring.

Fourth, I’m thrilled that February’s most popular posts yielded: The Boot Collage, Boot Size: Men’s 12, The Soul of My Boots (I guess y’all really liked Boot Week), The Sanctuary of God, and Visual Inspiration. And, the truth is, I’m actually not too anxious that posts: To Do or Not To Do, Tales That Defy Words and Putting It To the Page were the least popular. It’s true, they  touched on more “serious” topics and have fewer illustrations, but I felt great about them so, it’s not that big of a deal.

Fifth and last, I’m thrilled that spring has sprung here in Southern Oregon. I like the light, I like the daphne that is threatening to explode in a aromatic plume at the end of the front porch, I like seeing my youngest’s bare feet with dirt on them, and I like that my high schooler knows exactly how many days until spring vacation. But it's also a fact, I’m feeling anxious as our household heads into a month of new information about my son’s health and the next series of steps in his journey.

So dear friends - whom I know in real time, and who know me in cyber time - here's wishing you all a thrilled, low anxiety, fantastic, madly wildly blossoming, sweet smelling, hopeful, creative, abundant, time-on-pause, kiss the ones you love March. Thanks for visiting this Untamed Life On Purpose. Please make comments. Please share a link or two with your friends. Please breathe deeply. ~ m.l.p.

Care to Comment?

Writers write for myriad reasons, including but not exclusively: to be read, to invoke, provoke, inspire and entertain. Most blog writers appreciate getting comments on their posts, and while a number of my readers respond either via Facebook or email, there are some who like commenting directly on my blog page. An advantage of having comments left on the actual page is that a conversation begins to unfold that includes other readers. Readers inspire and give one another courage to use their voices. Also, I then have an active archive of responses, which is valuable feedback.

This “How To” post is offered today for those who want to leave comments on my blog site. Hopefully, by following these steps, you can successfully engage in blog commenting not only on Martha Phelps blog, but other intriguing sites also.

Step 1) At the bottom of any blog entry, there is either an empty field (looks like a blank box) entitled “Post A Comment”  or there is a line that says when the blog was posted and the word "comments" highlighted. (Sometimes there is a number after the word "comments" showing how many comments have been made on that particular post.)

Step 2) Either click in the box/field and begin typing, or click on the highlighted word “comment” which will then create the “Post a Comment” Box - in which you can start typing.

Step 3) Let’s say your comment is “Gee! I didn’t know this. Thanks for posting.” So, you type that in.

Step 4) Next, just under the comment box are the words “Comment As:”  with a tab that reads “select profile.” If you click on the “select profile” tab, you’ll get a drop down menu with choices like: Google account, Live Journal, Word Press, Type Pad, AIM, Open ID, Name/URL, Anonymous. Your profile is your identity.

NOTE: Selecting Name/URL is probably your best choice, as you can simply type in your name in the "Name" field and then click "Post Comment."

If you select anonymous, then (duh) I won’t know who wrote to me. Anonymous posts make that challenging - though not impossible to have virtual conversations. Be brave. Let me know you’ve stopped by!

Step 5) Now. whether you hit the "Preview" tab or the "Post Comment" tab, you’re going to be asked to do a word verification. This is where there are a bunch of scrambled letters in odd shapes, sizes, upper and lower case that you are supposed to read and type into the required field. This is to prove you are a human being and not some mean-spirited computer out there in cyber world. In a nutshell, this step helps reduce viruses and spamming. It’s a good thing.

Step 6) After having done the word verification and clicking submit, you will receive a notice that reads “Your comment will be visible after approval.” The comment then comes to me via email, and I read it and post it for all to enjoy.

Easy!

Just as you are one reader at your computer screen so are most blog writers. We prefer constructive criticism, lively debates, alternative thoughts, hearing that you liked what you read, and gifts of chocolate and wine more than negativity. I reserve the right not to post comments that are clearly inappropriate or offensive, especially if they are anonymous.

I look forward to hearing from you soon!