Monday, April 1, 2013

Armor


Today is all about Lee. I bet you're thinking "Wait, Lee? That doesn't start with A!" But no worries, let me correct myself. Today is all about Arlee. Yep, Arlee Bird.  Now how does this follow my theme of weapons? I shall explain later. So read along and you will know.  (And yes, the title of this post does relate to the actual post, I promise.)

Arlee is one my heroes.  He started this incredible challenge, and this challenge has changed my life.  No joke, it really has.  And I don't know what I would do without it.  Let me give you a list of things this challenge has done for me. 

  • I have become more organized because of it.
  • I have learned more about blogging. 
  • I have connected with many friends through the challenge, friends I might not have met otherwise. 
  • I have learned better Team Work skills through getting to co-host the challenge. 
  • I get more comments.
  • I have more followers.
  • I got to use the challenge to learn more about things I love including Mythological creatures (last year's theme) and weaponry (this years theme). 
  • I learned to pre-schedule posts so I never have to worry about not posting something on time. (I have blog posts ready all the way through July!) 
So to Arlee, thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you! Thank you for creating the challenge, thank you for allowing me to be a part of the team. Thank you for providing me with the *armor to be a better blogger. And thank you for all that you do.  

*See, told you it fit with the title and theme of my posts. 



119 comments:

  1. That is so cool, to actually write a dedication for Arlee and still keeping it to the theme. I've a big congrat too for you too. You are no 9 on the challenge list and the first to post according to participant list. Awesome. I though had made my first comment to a fellow countryman, as we are way ahead of GMT. Just excited to take part in the challenge. AF

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    1. Thank you, thank you! It was super fun! And thanks!! :) This challenge is so much fun, I love being able to be a part of it!

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  2. Ha! Love this post; so clever and what a great dedication to your founder. I only came across the challenge for the first time a couple of days ago and I'm using it to get more accountable with my business blog over at gloucestershirewebdesigns.co.uk
    I'm looking forward to some daily blogging and seeing how I can keep the a-z theme relevant to my niche :)
    Warm wishes
    Rae

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    1. Thank you! :) I tried to be, glad it worked. Haha. This challenge is the best, so worth it! I will for sure stop by your blog! :)

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  3. What a great tribute to Arlee.
    This is my first year and already I can see how highly you seasoned #atoz folk esteem him!
    Have a great month. I'll definitely be back for more :)

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    1. Thank you! He deserves it! So glad you are participating! :) Yes, we all love Arlee. You too, and I will stop by your blog!

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  4. Replies
    1. Well now, haha, it is scheduled through August. Makes it super easy to keep track of everything. Yep, I love the A to Z challenge!

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  5. Arlee is definitely a giant among the blogging universe. So glad you've had such a positive experience. Thank you for sharing with us!

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    1. Yes, yes he is! This challenge is amazing, I love it! :)

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  6. Great list of things that the challenge has done for you. Arlee is a great blogger! : )

    Susanne
    PUTTING WORDS DOWN ON PAPER
    From the Market to the Plate

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    1. Yep, this challenge is the best! And yes, I love Arlee! He is awesome!

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  7. Good luck with this challenge. I participated last year and had a blast!

    Donna L Martin
    www.donasdays.blogspot.com

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    1. Thank you! This is my second year around and I think in 50 years I will still be doing it every April! :)

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  8. Great start to the challenge! Arlee Bird is a great guy and a good friend. Nice triubtute.

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    1. Thank you! Yes, Arlee is amazing! He deserves a blogging medal. :)

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  9. I agree, this challenge is all kinds of awesome! So great :)

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    1. You know I almost said "No" when asked if I would like to co-host. Wow I can't even imagine where I would be if I had. :)

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  10. How fun! Thanks for hosting this. And please visit us at http://citymusecountrymuse2012.blogspot.com/ where we are doing A-Z original poetry to celebrate National Poetry Month!

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    1. Thank you, thank you! And you're welcome! And definitely, I will be stopping by!

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  11. Nicely done, K.! Rockin' tribute to our awesome founder!

    Tina @ Life is Good
    Co-host, April 2013 A-Z Challenge Blog
    @TinaLifeisGood, #atozchallenge

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  12. very cool... very, very cool!

    Jeremy [Retro]
    AtoZ Challenge Co-Host
    Oh No, Let's Go... Crazy

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  13. What a lovely tribute to Arlee's hard work!

    (Grover at Inane Ramblings)

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  14. Wonderful! Long live Arlee! I can identify with much of what you said. A to Z is wonderful fun and a real learning experience. I'm a survivor from last year. :) It showed me I do have organizational skills and discipline. I tend to be a little lazy with horrific procrastination traits--but not during April!

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    1. Thank you! Yes, haha! Right?!? I love it! I would've never thought that I would ever be able to pre-schedule posts so far in advance, I never thought I would be this organized. I love it!

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  15. This is so sweet. Arlee really has created something amazing. Sometimes I think people forget how much time and energy goes into something of this magnitude and size.

    Thank you Arlee, and thank you for writing such a great tribute.

    Nicole
    Daily Dish Recipes
    Crazed Mom

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    1. I know! Arlee is amazing! And yes, this challenge is so amazing, such awesomeness!

      You're welcome! :)

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  16. Yeah! to celebrating Arlee's invention. I'm glad he shared out the pressure. I divided the total of participants by 30 to see how many blogs I'd have to get around in a day! Nooooo way.

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    1. Yeah I can't imagine having to host the challenge alone. There is so much work that goes into it. And I am so grateful that Arlee not only let me co-host, but let me stay and do it twice! :) And yeah, it is a lot!

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  17. Great dedication to Arlee and the challenge!

    Dani & Jax @ Cover Girls

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  18. Tons of posts about Arlee Bird today.

    All the best with the challenge.

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    1. The co-hosts kinda got together behind his back because we wanted to surprise him. He totally deserves it! :) Thank you!

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  19. It's so great to see all the tributes today. A to Z has helped me be a better blogger also.

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  20. Great Tribute to Arlee. You are certainly 'armed' with a super list of positive outcomes from his association and contributions to the BlogOsphere! Well done!
    Sue-AtoZ LoneStar Quilting Bee
    collectintexasgal.blogspot.com

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  21. Arlee is certainly loved with all the posts about him. Wishing I knew him. :)

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    1. Arlee is wonderful! You should totally go follow his blog and follow him on Twitter! :)

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  22. Cute!
    http://www.shellygoodmanwright.com/apps/blog/

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  23. That's a wonderful sum-up! I'm a first time participant and hope that the challenge will do the same for me!

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    1. Haha thank you! Good luck! Always the most fun the first time! :) Stick with it, and it totally will!

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  24. Wow! I am totally impressed -- posts ready through JULY! Now that's being organized.

    Your mythical creature posts were excellent last year. Looking forward to this year's A to Z Challenge posts,

    MM

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    1. Thank you! Now through August, part way into September. :)
      And thank you, thank you! I am so glad those posts last year were a hit!

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  25. Here here!! Great list of the wonders of A to Z and an excellent tribute to founder Arlee Bird. Loved it and I can say, "Here, here!!" cuz it certainly is a great armor producer for me as well. God bless, Maria at Delight Directed Living

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    1. Thank you! :) It is so wonderful to see how many people have gotten the same things from this challenge. It is an awesome challenge.

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  26. I appreciate those kind words. If we take out the references to me we'll have a great A to Z Blog post about how the Challenge can help bloggers. Let's remember to use this later.

    Thanks Konstanz for all the help you've given to make A to Z have as much impact as it has.

    Lee
    Wrote By Rote
    An A to Z Co-host blog

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    1. :) Thanks! And you're welcome! And thanks! I will definitely save it.

      And you are most welcome! Thank you for letting me be a part of the team!

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  27. You should be in Public Relations. Great testimonial to Lee and the challenge.

    Images by Bil

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    1. Well, thank you! ... I think. That is a good thing right? Haha Thanks!

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  28. I was wondering how you were going to get armor into the post. Nicely done.

    mood
    Moody Writing

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    1. Thank you, thank you! It took a minute to figure out, not gonna lie. But it worked. :)

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  29. Great post, K! You're right, Arlee really deserves credits for coming up with such a wonderful idea and helping bloggers connect!

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  30. It's amazing how much I learned from blogging because of AtoZ. I was a newbie when last year's challenge came about, and I was so shocked when I actually finished it! I learned that I can actually write a post every day, if it's something I really want to do. It's also when I found your amazing blog. ;-)

    Kayla @ Bibliophilia, Please

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    1. Right?!?! Last year when I was asked to be a co-host I was like "Wha? Me? Have you seen my blog? I don't know what I'm doing." But I did it and I learned so much and I am so glad I did it! And awww, thank you!

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  31. What a fantastically clever post! And a great tribute to Arlee. :)

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  32. Awww, terrific points about Arlee and the challenge! Lee is so prolific. I'm always inspired by his work ethic in the blogging world. Best to you on the challenge!

    Ana

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    1. Thank you! Yes, Arlee is definitely inspiring. Thanks!

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  33. Does the Arlee bird get the worm?

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  34. Wow, that's so cool how this challenge was such a game changer for you. I'm new to this (and fairly pathetic at blogging) so I really tried it just to get in the hang of blogging. Hopefully I can keep up with all you pros and just maybe I'll find myself a little more organized by the end!

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    1. It really was! And trust me, I was super pathetic at blogging before the challenge. It was such a chore rather than something fun after a while. Then I did the challenge and it all changed!

      You can do it! Good luck!

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  35. A great opening post - a tribute to the challenge founder!
    I'm new to the challenge, and wish I could say more than a mere thank you. :)

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  36. Looking forward to learning more about other bloggers and about myself during this challenge. It's my first year.

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    1. Good luck! The first year is always the funnest and hardest I think. :) You can do it!

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  37. Wow! That's what inspired me to give this a try. Best of luck to you. I'm so looking forward to learning more and discovering some great new blogs - like yours!

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    1. Yay! Thank you! And thank you, that means the world to me!

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  38. I, too, have met blog friends through the A to Z Challenge that are now a very important part of my life. I feel the same way you do. Thanks, Arlee!

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    1. I don't know what I would do without my blogger friends! :)

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  39. I agree, because of Arlee, I discovered this Challenge last year, and looked forward to doing it again this year. It's a great way to meet new blog friends! Looking forward to reading more of your posts. :)

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    1. Yes it is, I love the blogger world! Thank you, thank you!

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  40. My blogging went to another level thanks to the challenge. Inspiring post Konstanz!
    -Maurice Mitchell
    The Geek Twins

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  41. I'd seen the badges on different sites and wondered about them. Checked them out and put the idea on the back burner until I saw that I'd missed last years. This year, when I saw that it was on again, I kept checking Alex the Ninja's blog. And here I am. Kudos to the minions also.

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    1. Yay!! Jeremy does a wonderful job with the badges and banners, they are always very eye catching! :) Glad you found the challenge!

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  42. Great shootout for Arlee--and well-deserved, too. Those are some pretty important lessons. Thanks for the motivating kick-off post!

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    1. Thank you. Yes, yes he definitely deserves it! You're welcome! :)

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  43. Thanks for visiting my blog earlier!

    This is a great tribute. It's my first year participating so I'm hoping to learn some great lessons too :)

    Sam

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    1. You are most welcome! I will for sure being stopping by again! :)

      And thank you!

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  44. Mythological creatures last year? I missed that! At least it'll be good this year. I was starting to do some research on weapons for a few of my own stories. :D

    Good post!

    Come have a peek at my own sometime at http://candacegauger.wordpress.com. It could make you hungry for more.

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    1. At the end of the challenge I will link all my posts for last year! :) Yep my theme was Mythological creatures last year.

      And yay! Hope you find what I have found helpful.

      Thank you!

      And for sure, I will stop by later!

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  45. Great post! I loved reading the list of what this has accomplshed for you. Keep up the good work.

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  46. Plotting for this challenge has gotten me to plan ahead better. I have a lot of book reviews scheduled for future release dates where in the past I would have just waited until the day got there and then just forgot. Now I write them while the book is still fresh and don't lax on my responsibilities.

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    1. Yay for planning! Haha I used to do that to, wait until the last second or forget completely. Not anymore! :)

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  47. That's a lovely tribute to Arlee! :)

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  48. Hi, what a great tribute to Arlee. Looking forward to reading the rest of your posts this month!

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  49. I adore good, succinct writing. You nailed it. I just met Arlee for the first time two days ago at a seminar, learned about the A to Z Challenge, signed up for it tonight, started my first blog ever, and now I've got to the end of April to learn how blogging works. Am so looking forward to it (and need all the advice I can get). Your kind words about Arlee were well said. Thanks.

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  50. Hey great tribute and a lot of good advice too, looking forward to checking out your arsenal. And btw you have a killer name.

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    1. Thank you. Arlee has done wonders with this challenge! And thank you, I'm pretty fond of my name.

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  51. He is a great blogger friend to have, and definitely a great bloggy guide (by example a lot of the time!) for this community.

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  52. What a great tribute to Arlee! Thank you so much for recommending this!

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  53. Very clever tie in to - armor :) and a wonderful tribute to Arlee. It's fantastic all the ways the challenge has helped you!

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  54. I really do need to learn the scheduling tip - there is always the intention and you'd think third time lucky but no.
    Enjoy your armoury tour.

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    1. Kristy, do you have a blogger blog? I will be glad to give you a tutorial! It isn't hard at all.
      Thank you!

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  55. I can say "dittos" to many of the reasons you give to thank Arlee Bird. So glad he shared his "brainchild" with the blogging world.

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  56. I love that you start this off with Arlee... the beginning of the challenge which afforded you a beginning in blogging. I'm on the same track. I wanted to start a proper blog, and decided to go ahead with it on the first day of the challenge when I saw someone post it in one of my writing groups!

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  57. Couldn't agree with you more Arlee is awesome and the challenge has helped me grow as a writer and a blogger. Participated for the first time last year with two of my blogs and am back again for another year.

    Margot at A Devotional Mosaic and Spark My Creativity

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    1. Haha my last comment was meant as a reply to yours. Guess I hit the wrong thing.

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  58. Right?! Arlee is awesome. Yay for coming back! :)

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