Reflections on April's #AtoZChallenge

introducing some of the people who are part of my family tree

What can I say - I'm happy I took on the #AtoZChallenge, I'm happy it is May (so I am finished), and I feel a little bit like that sunflower - exhausted but pleased that my efforts paid off with a bit of color and bringing new life to my blog.

• What Was Good
• knowing that I was part of a team and that others were working away with great ideas and interesting posts to share; 
• having a project that I was engaged in every day (except that Sunday day of rest thing); 
• reading blogs that blew me away with their creativity and unexpected depth;
• picking a theme that was easy enough to write about each day and that taught me something every single time I blogged;
• learning more about a number of family members in my Legacy family tree; and
• hearing from other bloggers with comments (love comments) and from the co-hosts with encouragement (definitely made me want to continue and finish strong).
• What Was Bad
• falling behind a few times and playing catch-up (never fun); 
• not spending enough time before April preparing for the blogging challenge; and
• being crazy enough to want to treat my 2 blogs fairly meant I wrote 2 posts each day - some days it was 2 much!
• What I Will Do Differently Next Year
• Yes, I am already thinking about next year and I will start planning in about 6 months;
• Once I have my theme (and I think themes are a huge help) I will start scouting images and word clouds as I am visual and thought it added something to my posts;
• Write up my posts in advance - I need to get even farther in front of the project (3 to 4 days would be ideal);
• Check in more often with other bloggers - I read 3 blogs each day just by clicking on random numbers in the #AtoZChallenge list. I definitely want more time for this aspect of the Challenge as there were so many great bloggers taking part; and
• Encourage more of my friends and fellow bloggers to join in the fun - there is strength in numbers!

Did you follow along during the month by reading and/or posting? Did you find some new blogs to follow? Are you going to be a repeat next April? 

• Thanks to the co-hosts for tips and suggestions, as well as your written encouragement.
• Thanks to Jeremy Hawkins for the great artwork/graphics - normally I am not a yellow person, but I went with the bold yellows and blues and it worked. 
• Thanks to any readers out there who gave a +1 to my posts, shared them on Facebook, or made a comment - you don't realize how much your encouragement meant. 
• Thanks to the other Legacy software bloggers - you kept me going and I learned so much from you. 
• Thanks to the websites that have information about given names, most especially Behind the Name and Nordic Names.
• And finally thanks to all those family members from Ireland, Norway, Slovenia and Sweden for such great given names - your given names made the #AtoZChallenge fun, educational and entertaining - knowledge, it's a good thing.

Reflections on April's #AtoZChallenge