I don’t want to have a boring recap, but I do want to reflect on the biggest lesson I learned this time around.

Being forced to blog every day, even though it was self-induced, definitely stifles my creativity. A few times, I’ve written about unimportant and/or uninteresting minutiae in an effort to get that day’s post done.

That said, the Blogathon had the effect that I wanted it to in that it got me back into the routine of blogging. Obviously I won’t be blogging every day anymore, but I will be more consistent about it from here on out.

My favorite post during the Blogathon actually received ZERO comments, which surprised me. I thought perhaps my Screen Shut-off Day idea would inspire others to do likewise. I’m still planning on doing it, though I think I may start next week instead because this week has been crazy already.

Thanks for bearing with me through this month. I have a box full of goodies that need to be given away, so I will be running weekly giveaways beginning this week.

A peaceful, wonderful, sunny June to us all.

I did mine using the feed address from my blog. The largest words in the resulting Wordle are the ones that you use the most.

Here’s my result:

I knew I used the word “just” a lot, but this is ridiculous! And the biggest word in my Wordle is “many,” for Pete’s sake!

Phew. Well, along with being a fun little project, creating this cute little image has also inspired me to be more creative in my choice of words.

So, I went ahead and back-dated it to yesterday, since that’s when it was supposed to go live, and am hoping that I will still qualify for the drawing for goodies that Michelle Rafter is holding for the Blogathoners who post all 31 days of May.

Also, here’s a Public Service Announcement for everyone: Be sure to check the air pressure in your tires regularly! I’m terrible about vehicle maintenance of any sort, so when I ended up with a flat tire today, I wasn’t super-surprised. What I was surprised about was that the guys who fixed the leak could see that I’d been running low on air in my tires for many, many miles.

Please excuse me while I hang my head in shame.

I’ve been involved in the Blogathon since its inception several years ago. Every year I want to rip my eyelashes out for signing up, but when it’s over, I’m always glad I did it.

Here’s to a productive Blogathon and a kick in the pants to my blogging life!

Still, as frustrating as it can be to try to avoid naval-gazing via my blog as I try to get my new business going at the same time, it is excellent discipline to commit to blogging every day. For people like me, discipline does not come naturally, so any and all is good for me.

Tomorrow I will be featuring a cool giveaway, so stay tuned!

Rebecca I. Allen – 356 No More, A journey from couch to fit
Christa Avampato - Christa in New York, Curating a Creative Life
Anjuli – bhulbhulaiyan, A complicated entanglement of zigzag pathways
Joan Lambert Bailey – PopcornHomestead, Gardening, place and my life in Tokyo
Karen Bannan – Natural as Possible Mom, Because natural isn’t always possible — or easy
t.a. barnhart - Left Coast Foodie, Damn, that’s good: a foodie blog by someone who knows what he’s doing
June Bell – Enough is enough! Advice and support
Athena l. Borozon - The Desert Rat Dialogues
Jane Boursaw* – Film Gecko, Cool movie news and reviews
Alisa Bowman – Project Happily Ever After, Marriage advice from a recovering divorce daydreamer
Carson Brackney – Carson Brackney, Consultant, Copywriter, Content Provider, Factotum
Ben Bradley, Ben’s (Not Quite) First Ever Presence on the Interweb, Blog of an aspiring human being
Sheena Brockington – Greenhouse Advertising, Cultivating ideas for small businesses
Danielle Buffardi* – Horrible Sanity, Going into the mind of a mother and freelancer
Beverly Burmeier – Going on Adventures, Travel stories from near and far
Diane Calhoun – Violet is My Color, Life just happens, deal with it
Danielle Carter – Live and Love Life VA, Helping you do more of what you love, and less of what you don’t!
Fiona Chan – Candy Prison, A typical teenager
Joy Choquette - One Year. 156 Fears. Life Changing.
Bernard Chung – Green Tea World, It’s more than just a cup of green tea here
Caroline Clemmons – A Writer’s Life, Writing tips, interviews and miscellaneous ramblings
Shelley Clunie – ShelCluzo’s Blog, Healthy, wealthy and wise at 62
Cocotte - Leaping into Life, Uncommon stories to nurture body, mind & soul
Christianne Cook – A Day in My Mind, The world through my eyes
Sue Dickman – Life Divided, Food, garden, books . . . and India
Jackie Dishner – Bike with Jackie, Using my special brand of BIKE to teach you how to turn obstacles into opportunities
Tracy Doerr – Tracy Doerr, A chronicle of ideas and things that inspire me
Ron S. Doyle* – Blog Salad, All the blog that’s fit to eat
Dana DuGan – Chick with a View, It’s good to live on the edge. The view is better.
Dan Eldridge – Labor Party, A Young Pioneers Media blog for Creative and Alternative Entrepreneurs
Cindy Elsberry – Doodle9, Paddling down the stream…of consciousness
Heather Faesy – Blame it on the Full Moon, My kids, writing and reading
R. Jill Fink – My Opera, Musings about writing, food, weight loss and other hilarious things
Jennifer Fink – Blogging Bout Boys, All about boys — raising them, educating them, learning with them
Damaris Fish – Damaris Fish on Genealogy, Researching my family history and helping others with theirs
Dylan Fogle – Discordianzen, The map is not the territory
Katie Foote – Littlefoote’s Lab, A chronicle of what the unemployed girl in NoPo is up to.
Heather Frendo - Thrifty Knee Socks
Andrea Genevieve – Andrea Genevieve, Where social medium, technology and higher education meet
Alexandra Grabbe – Chezsven’s Blog, Life as a green innkeeper on Outer Cape Cod
Elyse Grau – My Garden to Table, Growing what you eat, eating what you grow
Wendy Korn Heppt – Budget Style on a Shoestring, Budget savvy fashion, beauty and related news and ideas
Katie Hinderer – Write Beyond the Cubicle, A freelance writer’s thoughts on the industry
Amanda Hirsch – Tastee Pudding, In the search for creative life, the proof is in the Pudding
Lisa Jaffe Hubbell – Eat, Read and Be Harried, Making it through life one book at a time
Nancy Mann Jackson – Growing Food and Kids, Gardening, harvesting, cooking and preserving with kids in tow
Robert Janelle – Without an Apostrophe, Ottawa freelance tech journalist
Elizabeth King Humphrey – The Write Elizabeth, Writing. Creativity. Play. Life.
Walter L. Johnson II – Georgia News Beat, An inside look at what’s happening in the state of Georgia
B.J. Keeton – Professor Beej, Pop culture commentary with an academic slant
Amy Kocur – AmyLizK, Maryland/ DC Metro area arts and analysis
Courtney Koschel – Finding My Muse: A New Writer’s Journey
Sara Lancaster – No.2 Pen Blog, Resource for my clients and others interested in marketing communications
Bill Lascher – Lascher at Large, A contemplative, pondered and unrushed thought banquet.
Mary Dixon Lebeau – In the Boom Boom Room, Remember staying out until the street lights came on?
Pooja Lohana – Brown-eyed Mystic, On writing and more!
Sarah E. Ludwig – Parenting By Trial and Error, The learning curve in raising kids
Jenny Lynes – Welcome to the Good Life, A student environmentalist exploring responsible, cheap, and fun living
Su-sieee! Mac – This and That. Here and There. Now, Sometimes Then., Rambling about anything and everything that interests me
Harry Marks – Curious Rat, Chewing at the tech industry’s wires…nom nom nom…
Joanne Mason – English Idioms, What they mean, how we use them, where they came from
Kim McNeill – Kim’s Play Place
Teresa Mears – MiamiOntheCheap, Discounts, deals and free events in Miami
Rose Medlock – RFM, Rose Flores Medlock
Heather Minton – Stumbling into Grace, The adventure of following God and figuring it out in Portland
Kathy Murray – Out and Employed, News, career advice and job resources for ex-offenders
Alexis Neely – Life, Business and the Pursuit of Truth, A blog about the intersection
Charles Newbery – Pine Tree Paradise, The life of a work-at-home writer and father of three
Eric Novinson – Costing a Green Future, A green business blog
Tracy O’Connor – I Hate My Message Board, Humor, crankiness, a museum of snack foods and the odd motivational piece
Andrea Parker – Autism Fundraising Guide, For parents of children with autism
Lilac Penafiel – What Have You Learned Today, Life lessons learned everyday…
Tara Phillips – Two Hands and a Road Map
Jennie Phipps – WalletPop, AOL’s personal finance blog
Ed Pilolla – Ed Pilolla, What the f*** is love?
Sue Poremba – I Breathe, Therefore I Write
Michelle Rafter, WordCount, Freelancing in the digital age
Kate Reilly – Polka Dot Suitcase, Family fun through creative living
Meredith Resnick – The Writer’s [Inner] Journey, Bestselling authors, professional creatives and emerging voices in quirky dialogue about how they write and why it works
Vanessa Richardson – Way Out West Texas, City girl from California moves to Way Out West Texas, what will happen?
Rebecca Robinson – Rebecca Robinson, Updates on freelance projects, reflections on journalism innovation in Portland and beyond, and brainstorms from the wee hours
Carey Rossi – Thank You Everything, Appreciate the little things
Natasha Rogue – The Writing Blues, Little tips on how I find motivation to get past the difficulties of writing life and the road to publication
Andrea M. Rotondo – Luxury Cruise Bible, Your source for unbiased luxury cruise reviews
Melissa Sais – Digital Mom, Raising kids in a digital world
Lisa Samalonis – Single Parent Savings
Sami – Stonerpreneur, Stoner antics as they relate to my business and personal growth
Dina Santorelli – Making Baby Grand, And I thought giving birth to real babies was hard…
Lacey Savage – Tips and WIPS, Talking about writing fiction
Lilian Schaer – Food and Farming Canada, A blog about the farming side of food
Kristie Sloan – mkBeautyZone, Skin care and makeup information training and products
Matthew Smith – Smidgen PC, Big news about tiny PCs
Michelle Smith – Law Office of Michelle R. Smith, Because it’s your life, your family and your choice
Stephanie Suesan Smith – Stephanie Suesan Smith PhD, Information Central
Claire Splan – Alameda Garden, Gardening issues in the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond
Margarita Tartakovsky – Self-ish, {Sorta} Sage Advice on Being a Better You
Thinkingtoohard – Thinking too hard, This is where I empty my head
Blake Thompson – Black Thompson daht Net, “I’m just saying…” This is my first year!
Jodi Torpey – Western Gardeners, Your online guide to gardening in the West
Paul Tullis – Grim Tidings – True/Slant, My rants about politics & policy
Jan Udlock - Imperfect Mom
Brandi-Ann Uyemura – Brandi-Ann Uyemura, Rather be freelancing: tips for the beginning writer
Beth VanHoose – Writing in Sand, My adventures in freelance writing, and other stuff
Rachel Vidoni – East Coast Musings, A humorous look at kids, family and life
Jen Walker – My Morning Chocolate, Writing, experiments, culture and adventure in food
Katie Jett Walls – One per Week, 52 posts on things that matter to me
Sarah Webb – Webb of Science, Connecting science and life
Rebecca Weber – Newstilt SAfrica
Susan Weiner – Investment Writing, For investment and wealth managers who want to communicate more effectively with clients and prospects
Rashida Williams – Really Rashida, Urban lit author blogging about my life and times
Jennifer Willis – Jennifer Willis, Thoughts on religion, sustainability, media and culture

* These awesome participants are also WordCount Blogathon 2010 sponsors.

Call me crazy, as I already have plenty of other new projects, but I signed up to do the annual WordCount Blogathon again this year. The Blogathon runs from May 1-31 and consists of freelance writers and bloggers from all walks of life. Our mission is to post every single day in the month of May.

The Blogathon started in 2008, when freelancer Michelle Rafter, then a new blogger, decided to enlist a group of us to motivate each other to blog every single day during May. Michelle’s blog, WordCount, is about freelancing in the digital age and has gained a boat load of readers since that first Blogathon.

I was a new blogger at that time as well and since I seem to do really well with group motivation, I joined in. It was a good experience and I did manage to blog most days. In 2009, 45 of us joined, I only missed one day, made a ton of new friends, some of whom I got to meet last fall at our writer’s conference, and we had a Twitter party on June 1 to wrap it up and discuss the good and the bad of the Blogathon.

This year promises to be extra-exciting since the Blogathon now has sponsors and those of us who post every day will have our names entered in giveaways for writing-related prizes. We even have badges for our blogs! Needless to say, I’m psyched.

Be sure to tune in this month! I’ll have at least one guest blogger, some fun giveaways and all sorts of creative posts to fill the wonderful month of May.

We had quite a productive Twitter party this morning, discussing the positives that we all got out of this year’s blogathon. If you’re interested, you can read all about it here on WordCount.

So, now it’s back to the regular program. And I have some questions for you:

How do you think I can improve my blog?
Is there anything in particular you’d like to see here (product reviews, more guest bloggers, more giveaways, etc.)?
What is your favorite part of my blog? Why?
In what ways do you feel I can be of more service to YOU?
What are some of the things that keep you coming back to a blog?

My ultimate goal is to spark discussions and share experiences with each other here. Flexibility in parenting is key, in my opinion, and learning strategies and hearing what others have tried can be incredibly helpful.

This parenting journey is at times satisfying, at times overwhelming, occasionally beautiful or sad, but it is always, always unpredictable. This lack of predictability is precisely why parents need each other. There is no set formula for parenting, no “right” way to do it; it is, like my blog’s title, all about trial and error, experimenting with one method and scrapping it if it doesn’t work. Who better to help out with the trial part and commiserate on the error part than other parents?

So please share, discuss, advise, leave a little of your experiences here for someone else to learn from.

In that vein, having more readers, and thereby participants, will make this site even better. The more people commenting, the more we can all learn from each other. If you feel comfortable passing along my blog’s link to your friends, family, acquaintances, or whomever, I’d greatly appreciate it.

One other favor: If you like my blog, please click on the “Join Me! Top Mom Blogs” button on the top, right-hand side of the page. My blog is close to being on the top 100 list, which will give it much more visibility, and clicking that button gets me one step closer! (I’m at 124 out of 600+ blogs now.)

Thanks for reading and sharing. I love hearing from you guys!

* Blogging every day is really, really hard, but incredibly satisfying.

* I’m not a fan of blogging on the weekends. It just gets to be too much.

* I’ve become quite disciplined.

* I have been able to tighten up the focus of my blog.

* I’ve met some great people.

* I’ve increased my traffic.

* I’ve learned new ways to promote my blog and add to my readership.

* I’ve spent a ton of time on my blog this month and thus improved many things about it (most are behind-the-scenes).

All of the writers involved in the blogathon will be participating in a Twitter party tomorrow at 10:30 a.m. Central Time. Since I can’t possibly explain a Twitter party, if you’re curious, see Ron S. Doyle‘s post, “How to Throw a Twitter Party.”

Maybe I’ll see you on Twitter tomorrow.

Michelle decided to start this year’s blogathon again beginning today. A post a day can be challenging between busy weekends, trying to write for pay and grasping for ideas, so the blogathon is great discipline for all of us.

Here’s our group of freelance writers [moonlighting as bloggers] participating in this year’s blogathon, as well as links to their blogs:

A Traveler’s Library by Vera Marie Badertscher ~ Books and movies that influence travel.

Serenity for the Self Employed by Heather Boerner ~ Advice for the self-employed among us.

Expert Editing and Writing Service by Melanie Bonsall ~ Perfection in style, structure, grammar, and clarity.

Film Gecko by Jane Boursaw ~ May Movie Madness and other film-related stuff.

Horrible Sanity by Danielle Buffardi ~ Random thoughts of a mother & freelance writer.

Sona Charaipotra ~ entertainment topics and Ishq in a Backpack ~ travel and food, both by Sona Charaipotra.

Trust the Universe by Rosie Colombraro ~ There is always a Plan B.

A Life Divided by Sue Dickman ~ Food, gardening, travel, books and more.

Bike with Jackie by Jackie Dishner ~ Improving your life with the B.I.K.E. spiritual navigation tool.

Blog Salad ~ The literary equivalent of fruit salad and Cyclorati ~ Exercising my cyclophilia, both by Ron Doyle.

Big Government in Your Wallet by Kelly Estes ~ Political decisions impacting your household.

Blogging ‘Bout Boys by Jennifer L.W. Fink ~ With 4 boys between 11 & 3, this writer knows her subject.

I’ll Have What She’s Cooking by Sydne George ~ Good eats.

Wine on Tuesdays by Debra Gordon ~ A blog devoted to the wine lifestyle.

Floating Ink by Nancy Hall ~ How to fit making art into your every day life.

Write Beyond the Cubicle by KT Hinderer ~ Musings of a full-time freelancer who quit cubicle life.

The Write Elizabeth by Elizabeth Humphrey ~ Introducing creativity into daily life.

Suddenly Frugal by Leah Ingram ~ Tips for frugal living.

This Dame Cooks by JoAnn Jagroop ~ Recipes from Alaska to the South Pacific.

No. 2 Pen Blog by Sara Lancaster ~ Full service writing and communications company.

Freelance Fiction by Doug Lance ~ I get paid to tell sweet, sweet lies.

Sign in Ink by Jared Lopatin ~ Everyday life as motivated by astrological happenings.

Wrecking Ball Report ~ Today’s daily humor, with a dose of headlines and MountainDaddy ~ Doing daddy duty while working at home and from the road, both by Eric Mack.

Sonoma on the Cheap by Lisa Mann ~ Free and cheap things to do in the Sonoma County, California Wine Country.

What I Weigh Today by Joy Manning ~ A food writer reflects on weight and body image issues.

It’s in the Genes by Amy Rauch Neilson ~ Thoughts of a breast cancer survivor.

Jennifer Netherby by Jennifer Netherby ~ Musings of a freelance writer.

WordCount by Michelle Rafter ~ Freelancing in the digital age.

Polka Dot Suitcase by Kate Reilly ~ Finding fun in everyday life.

The Writer’s Journey by Meredith Resnick ~ Bestselling authors, professional creatives and emerging voices in quirky dialogue about how they write and why it works.

Digital Mom by Melissa Sais ~ Raising kids in a digital world.

Martha and Me by Brette Sember ~ One Martha Stewart makeover every day.

Eco Pregnancy and Baby – Living green during pregnancy and Health Writing Hints ~ How-to tips, inspiration and resources for health writers, both by Kathy Summers.

Western Gardeners by Jodi Torpey ~ Your online guide to gardening in the West.

Webb of Science by Sarah Webb ~ Where science meets life.

The Green Soul Guide by Jennifer Willis ~ Where sustainability and spirituality meet.

Please visit and leave comments on these great sites.

Be looking for some major changes on my blog this month too. (Aren’t you just dying of curiosity now?)

If you have a particular topic that you’d like to see discussed here, please drop me a line.

Here’s to a happy May!