What I Learned- May
What I Learned in May
Just for fun, I'm joining in with Emily of Chatting at the Sky for a link-up called What I Learned. This is a mix of treasures that I picked up along the way this month.
1. Proper posture isn’t just important for ballerinas. It’s also important for people who sit and write for hours at a computer each day. Yeah. One very sore neck, back, and left shoulder for the first half of May taught me that. Ice packs, hot water bottles, Ibuprofen, stretching, and massage all helped. To prevent that from happening again, I’m now sitting up nice and straight, feet in front of me, at my desk, and taking frequent breaks. Women’s Health magazine has a helpful info-graphic called pain free posture, here.
2. I learned some interesting information from the reader survey that I gave. Some practical things, like darkening and enlarging the font and streamlining my blog to make content easier to find, by making snippets of my posts- those were easy to implement and change. I hope it helps! I wrote about what I else I learned from the survey, here.
All pictures from my Instagram account. I'm there @ dawnmarieklinge Are you? If you are, and I'm not already following you, let me know! It's my favorite place to be on social media.
3. I’ve also been learning about copyright law and using song lyrics in book titles. “Above the Waves”, a snippet of a lyric from Hillsong’s Oceans, can be used as a blog title, but it may not be used as a book title if I want to sell that book on Amazon (unless I apply for a license). I started the application process, but was running into some roadblocks. Without telling you why, I put several book title options on my survey, including “Above the Waves, trusting in Jesus”. If that had been the dominant choice, I would have continued pursuing a copyright. I was admittedly relieved that the dominant choice was actually, “Look to Jesus: letting go of worries and trusting God”. So now I’ve got a tentative title for the book I’m working on- and I won’t even have to pay anything to use it. See how helpful it is to just ask?
4. I still love Hillsong, even if I can’t get a license to use their song lyrics in a book title. I learned recently that there is a documentary about them called Hillsong, Let Hope Rise, coming out in theaters this September. I’m looking forward to going and seeing it.
5. Life has a funny way of coming full circle. I will admit, I’d much rather watch a ballet than a track meet, but if someone I love is competing in a track meet, I’m there. I started my life with Derek as his high school sweetheart, watching him from the bleachers as he competed in high school track meets- many, many hours. Then we got married and went to college, where he continued to run track, both indoor and outdoor season- many more hours. Track was a huge part of our lives for the first nine years that we were together. Then I got a break for fourteen years- kind of (he took up triathlons). Now, track is once again a huge part of our lives. Both of our kids are competing in track. Some of these track meets last eight hours! My son’s season goes into July, and he loves it. I figure, I might as well embrace it- and find some good books to read from the bleachers.
May has been a good month. I hope you enjoy these "what I learned posts" each month. I enjoy writing them. I'd also enjoy reading yours. If you choose to do so, you can link up with Emily @ Chatting at the Sky. I think it's good to pause and assess where you've been before you move forward. I'm looking forward to all that June has to offer!
*I wanted to let you know, that if you're a blogger who writes about Christian faith, and you're looking to learn more about how to do that, my friend, Arabah Joy is starting a class called Christian Blogger Bootcamp in June. I'll be taking it! She's one of those dear people who just naturally reaches out to offer support and encouragement. She also knows what she's talking about. She has a widely read, quality blog, that I have gained a lot of knowledge from. If you're interested, you can read more here.
