Today’s topic:  Publish a post that includes a new element.

This one had me for a few minutes.  I do post photos, and I do link to sites and write a bit, and as I find my voice, I am sure this will expand.  For today, however, I thought I would share a video.

So, let me tell you a bit about this video.  It’s a music video created quite a few years ago by some good friends of mine here in Victoria, BC, Judy and Gord.  Gord, (a videographer, and one of the musicians and song-writers/composers in the Cactus Pricks) re-released this video to YouTube recently as a higher resolution version due to renewed interest in the video because the diner in which it was filmed is part of a cool old building here in Victoria that was (and maybe still is) slated for demolition.  Here’s a bit about the diner, along with some brilliant photos by Toad Hollow Photography:  http://toadhollowphoto.com/2013/10/15/ians-coffee-stop/

So, here it is, hopefully embedded below, “Would You Still Dance”  By the Cactus Pricks.

Today’s assignment: write the post that was on your mind when you decided to start a blog.

Why did I start this blog?  Interesting question, because this is not the first blog I’ve started, and I have a semi-active professional blog (which I am working on again now that I am settled in my new job – it’s http://teachingonlineblog.wordpress.com/) .  So, I guess this post has a couple of parts.  First, why did I want to start a blog to begin with, and second, why did I settle (well, “settle”) on Zombie Flamingos?

The answer to the first question is probably the same as many people have.  I like the idea of a blog, and of writing on a regular basis, and of sharing part of myself with the world, and of having a place to post pictures I take, and activities I find fun and exciting.  I don’t think I ever envisioned using my blog as a place to write about any struggles I have, or imagine I have.  I am working on a journal space for that – yes, I do think of a blog and a journal as being two separate things.  But I know that some of my struggles may come out in a blog, depending on what I am posting about.  I envision my blog as having space for my photography journey, my meditation journey, my running a marathon journey, the adventures my husband and I have with our cats and our house renovations.  But, I digress.  Here is the first thing I posted on my first real blog, the one went nowhere fast:

So, what will this blog be about?  Whatever interests me, I think.  I have started a more “professional” blog at work, so I think this one will cover what strikes my personal fancy.  Cats, running, yoga, meditation, refurbishing an old house (0r, perhaps better, trying to keep motivated to refurbish the old house!), gardening (when I don’t have a lot of gardening room right now), cooking, taking random pictures and trying to stick to a real “picture a day”…I don’t know – there are so many topics, and so much blogging to do.  Eventually I’ll find more of a focus, maybe, we’ll see!

As of now, not much has changed, so let’s see where Zombie Flamingos takes me this year!

Oh, perhaps I should explain the Zombie Flamingos…the concept, and the ones you see on the header.  Last Halloween, I saw this picture (I confess now, I don’t know where I found them, but I will add a source once I find it…):

Now, I love zombies – zombie movies, The Walking Dead, and apparently zombie flamingos.  So, I posted this picture on my Facebook page (yes, I am a FB junkie!) and said “I want these!”  A couple of days later I came home to this on our front porch:

A good friend of mine had made me my own zombie flamingo!  And I love it more than the originals!  So, now it has a proud place on my front porch next to the door where it can greet everyone who visits (and freak out the kids coming at Hallowe’en!)

So, there you have it.  Zombie Flamingos!

And yes, the blog begins.  I am today beginning my first real journey into a personal blog (I do have a professional one, but more on that another time).

So, today’s assignment is to talk about who I am and why I’m here.

Well, first thing about me is I love to keep lists to organize me and my thoughts.  So, here are the questions that were suggested for us to answer, and my answers on this day, Jan. 2, 2014.

• Why are you blogging, rather than keeping a personal journal?  Well, I do keep a personal journal, but it’s way too personal for the Internet!
• What topics do you think you’ll write about?  Well, whatever strikes my fancy for now, I think.  Besides work (which is covered in my professional blog) I am interested in running, all kinds of working out, photography, yoga, meditation, cats, jazz, cooking, bacon, and probably lots of other things that will come up as I get into the blog world!
• Who would you love to connect with via your blog?  I don’t know that I’ve thought about this.  I would say, those who are interested in the same things I am, but I don’t know what I’m going to post about, so I guess the door’s wide open here!
• If you blog successfully throughout 2014, what would you hope to have accomplished?  Something.  Something I’ve been wanting to accomplish for awhile, and just haven’t had the right motivation to do.  So, Zero to Hero is just what I was looking for!

Now. I think that’s all for now.  I guess that’s not a lot about me, personally.  My name is Emily, I live in Victoria, BC, Canada with an optometrist husband and 4 insane cats in a big heritage house that we will never be finished renovating, and I’m hoping to run my first marathon this year.   So, now I think I’ll finish until day 2!!!