Butterfly Mind

Could blogging be my real work?

October 31st, 2015

I’ve heard in writerly circles that when you are going deep into your craft, you can expect the first two years to be your purge time. Your detox. Your cleanse. That during those two years you’ll write and write and write, and you’ll unclog the arteries, and you’ll get the gunk out, and then your real work can flow.

It’s been four years for me, and I’m still getting the gunk out. I think about what I used to consider to be the “real” work: the pieces I’m revising for submission. The ones collecting dust in that plastic stackable letter tray. The ones I’m not working on because I don’t want to send them off for someone else to approve. That’s not the work I want to do. That’s not what I choose to fill my free time with. The “real” work is not what I turn to when I have free time on a Saturday. What I turn to is my blogs.

So I’m kind of wondering. Could it be that blogging is my real writing work? Seeing as how I’ve got a piece that’s been awaiting revisions and submission for over a year, I think it is safe to say, Yes. Blogging is my real writing work.

And with that, I’m officially committing to NaBloPoMo: National Blog Posting Month. Every day during the month of November, I will publish a blog post. I’ve got my prompts. I’ve got my laptop. I’m ready.
It’s happening: I am speaking at WordCamp US!

October 29th, 2015

I’ve been waiting like what feels like an eternity to share this publicly, and the time has finally come. I am thrilled to announce that I will be speaking at the inaugural WordCamp US to be held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, December 4-6 this year. Look, my picture is even on the website:

I’m somebody now!

A WordCamp is a conference that focuses on all things WordPress: from developing and designing WordPress to using the software as a blogger. I am honored to be a part of this event, and I cannot wait to spend time with and learn from the stellar lineup of speakers. My talk is “Publish in 10 Minutes Per Day.” Look for details here on Butterfly Mind when WCUS arrives, or better yet, get yourself a ticket and join us in Philly.
I ran a 5k solo, but with others

October 26th, 2015

http://me.sh/19texorv

Solo but with others is kind the story of my life right now. As an employee of a distributed company, with teammates all over the world, I am physically alone in my home office, but am mentally together with people all day long. I chatter online at with customers from around the world and with colleagues in California, Florida, Texas, Washington, Canada, Wales, Sweden, England, Austria, Brazil, Malaysia, Australia…

I never feel alone, even though I am the only one in the room.

The same is true of my experience running the annual Worldwide WordPress 5k this year: I could have run a 5K in real life with my co-workers last week at our annual meeting in Utah, but I, um, didn’t.

Instead, I am taking the opportunity to join the worldwide WordPress community in running a 5K together this week — virtually — just like I join my coworkers every day. Starting today and going through November 1, members of the WordPress community will be running, walking, or crawling their own 5Ks and documenting their journeys on blogs using the tag WWWP5k. If you’d like to join, please do! You can find more details in the Automattic Worldwide WP 5K 2015 post on our news blog, Hot Off the Press.

My personal 5K journey was a quiet autumn one — my favorite kind. The air was crisp, and the gold and ruby colored leaves shone brilliant against a grey sky. The hills around here kill my legs and my lungs, but the views of the mountain sides are worth it.
I packed my camera, but…

October 20th, 2015

My camera and camera bag occupied nearly half the precious real estate of my carry-on luggage for a full week in Utah. Did I take the camera out and use it? No. I didn’t even crack the zipper on its bag. I was too busy hanging out with all of these awesome people — my Automattic coworkers.

Thank goodness for the Couth Booth at the company’s 10th Anniversary party to capture memories from an intense week of work and play. Best party ever.

I love my job.

If you think this looks like a fun place to work, have a look at our Work With Us page. We’re hiring 🙂
October, and I’m happy

October 4th, 2015

I’ve been waiting for autumn to arrive, and it is here. I’m sitting on the couch in sweatpants, with a wool blanket over my lap and a kitten curled up next to me. The wind whips at our house, and it whistles over the chimney like when you blow air across the top of a glass bottle.

It’s been raining for days. Soccer was cancelled. It’s too wet to mow the lawn. For the first weekend in months, there was not. one. thing. on the calendar. Instead of doing house projects — painting trim, ripping out shrubbery — like we usually do during down time, you know what I did instead? I read an entire book yesterday.

It was a good day.

Today I’m making chicken noodle soup and helping our daughter bake bread. I’m going to wear slippers all day long. And I’ve started my next book, this time set in Illinois. A perfect October book: Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury.

It begins with a thunderstorm. I already love it.
September gardening

September 20th, 2015

Cabbages and pansies for garden boxes

We thought we were going to wait till spring to start any gardening, but none of us could stand waiting.

I’ve been poring over gardening books, planning the spring beds. Our house looked sad and bare, though, after we ripped out the previous owner’s shrubbery. So we decided, we can at least put in some evergreens for winter, right?

Hick’s Yew (Taxus x media “Hicksii”)

Japanese Holly (Ilex crenata “Helleri”)

With our freshly painted porch and door, we thought it might be nice to add some garden boxes too.

Fresh paint and garden boxes

We’ve never had garden boxes before. They are my new favorite thing about our house. Besides the turquoise front door. And the oak floors. And the kittens.

Pansies and flowering kale

We wanted something alive at our house when winter comes, and the man at the garden shop said pansies and cabbages would be great for garden boxes. The only real gardening I’ve done was in Florida, and I know nothing about winter plants. I am trusting blindly. Even if they don’t last through winter, though, they look awfully pretty now :-).

Garden box on the front porch rail