By Golly, Ollie!

  • Word of the Year: Explore

    Word of the Year: Explore

    I have had this thought in the back of my mind nagging me for the past couple of weeks. I hoped I could just keep it buried there amongst forgotten To-Do Lists, knowledge only suitable for trivia games, and abandoned dreams, but it keeps bubbling up to the surface during the quiet moments of my day, begging me to address it. Lately, I have read a lot of posts about embracing a word of the year. It’s one little word that embodies how you want to move forward (or perhaps slow down and stand still) in the new year, and I realized, I have a word that needs to be embraced too.

    Explore (verb)

    1. to travel to a new place to learn about it or become familiar with it
    2. to search and discover; learn about
    3. to think and talk about something to find more about it

    There have been small signs popping up around By Golly, Ollie! that “explore” is meant to be my word of intent for 2020. I write about diving deeper down the rabbit hole of tea and finding ways to bring more enrichment into family life in my 2020 Resolutions post. I write about experimenting with writing what makes me happy in Silencing the Internal Pressure to be the Blogger I’m Not. I even mention in my sidebar that one purpose of this blog is to reflect on personal rediscovery one cup of tea at a time (which, btw, I’m drinking a cup of Gyokuro right now).

    But, “explore” is a scary word for an introvert like me. First of all, it’s a verb, an action word, and most days I’m perfectly content curling up on the couch with a cup of tea and watching Netflix, thankyouverymuch. Second, it’s one of those words that challenge me to be present in the world when it feels safer and more comfortable being hidden away. I’m not meant to be hidden away though. As much as the hermit inside tries to convince me I am, I know in my core that I am supposed to exist out there, shiny and effervescent and vibrant. I mean seriously, my star sign is a Leo. I’m not meant to be caged; I gotta stretch these gams!

    So 2020 is the year of exploration. A year of exploring tea. A year of exploring writing. A year of finally exploring my community. A year of exploring activities and playgroups to bring enrichment to Oliver’s life. A year of exploring who I am becoming.

    Do you embrace a word of the year or a word of intent? Tell me about it in the comments! If you haven’t embraced a word, join me in exploration!

  • 20 Things I’m Really Doing During Social Media Hiatuses

    20 Things I’m Really Doing During Social Media Hiatuses

    I recently wrote a post about Silencing the Internal Pressure to Be the Blogger I’m Not, and that wasn’t even the article I set out to write that day. I planned to sit down and write this slightly self-deprecating list of all of the things I do instead of work on my blog, create new videos, or post to Instagram:

    1. Drink coffee. Lots and lots of coffee. That way, I definitely cannot write about/film videos/take pictures of tea.

    2. Borrow a bunch of books from the library, and then I proceed to binge-watch the Office again because, you know, it’s been a few months since I watched it.

    3. Change my layout.

    4. Stare at my phone with a finger hovering over the Instagram icon, debating internally whether to open the app before ultimately setting it down and walking away to rummage around in the fridge, because nothing is more distracting than eating food when you’re not really hungry.

    5. Open the Youtube Creators app and then quickly close it before it finishes loading because I don’t want to see how many subscribers I’ve lost.

    6. Brainstorm my way through a blog branding workbook before realizing everything I wrote down is exactly the same as the last three times I brainstormed my way through a blog branding workbook. (My ideal audience is always “me”).

    7. Change my layout.

    8. Try to do Twitter again. Like, why am I so bad at it?

    9. Have a sudden bolt of inspiration to launch a new blog, as if that were the answer to my inability to sit in a chair and write.

    10. Proceed to brainstorm my way through another blog branding workbook for the new blog only to realize it’s still the exact same as the blog branding workbook for Books & Tea By Golly, Ollie!, just with different fonts. (Also, my ideal reader is still “me”).

    11. Give up on the new blog and finally sit down and hand-write a long list of blog post ideas.

    12. Type up a hand-written list of blog post ideas onto Trello cards.

    13. Change my layout.

    14. Move all of my bloglovin’ subscriptions to a Feedr account.

    15. Decide I don’t like Feedr that much either, and move all of my subscriptions to my Feedly about.

    16. Binge read blog posts but don’t comment because I don’t want someone to click through and see that I haven’t posted in two months.

    17. Type up a blog post and let it sit in drafts for a month before ultimately scrapping it because it’s not as good as I thought it was the day I wrote it.

    18. Change my layout.

    19. Begrudgingly type up another blog post just to get something out into the world even though it’s definitely worse than the blog post that was sitting in my drafts for over a month.

    20. Write a second blog post, hope for the best, and pray for continued writing momentum.

    Do you experience anything like this? Tell me I’m not the only one who suffers from blogger’s block!

  • Five Picture Books About Trouble-Making Farm Animals We Are Reading

    Five Picture Books About Trouble-Making Farm Animals We Are Reading

    Right now, Oliver is in love with farm animals and his new John Deere farm tractor toy that plays Old McDonald Had a Farm. It’s been fun to watch him play with it ever since he learned how to “drive” toy vehicles by pushing them around on the ground. I swear he didn’t know how to do that two weeks ago. To embrace his newfound interest in farms, we checked out a bunch of books about farm animals from the library. Here are five picture books about farm animals causing a ruckus (plus a bonus book to whip those silly farm animals into shape!) that we are reading this week:

    Blue Chicken by Deborah Freedman

    An illustrated chicken springs to life in this meta-story to help finish painting her barnyard scene but instead wreaks havoc when she accidentally knocks over a jar of blue paint! The story text is simple, but the watercolor artwork is breathtaking. (Goodreads | Indiebound)

    Cock-a-Doodle Doo-Bop by Michael Ian Black, illustrated by Matt Myers

    Mel, the rooster, is one cool cat bird. He tries to change up his morning wakeup call to the Cock-a-Doodle Doo-Bop, but when the sun doesn’t rise to start a new day, the other farm animals band together to try to get Mel to change his tune. Oliver loves anything remotely sing-song, so he really enjoyed this one! (Goodreads | Indiebound)

    Moo! by David LaRochelle, illustrated by Mike Wohnoutka

    When a cow discovers her farmer is putting his shiny, red car up for sale, she cannot resist taking it for a joyride. Even when there might be a bump in the road…literally! With silly illustrations and simple text using only the word “moo” to tell the story, Moo! is a riot. Oliver makes me reread this multiple times in a single sitting. Multiple times a day. (Goodreads | Indiebound)

    The Cow Said Neigh!: A Farm Story by Rory Feek, illustrated by Bruno Robert

    Okay, okay. So we didn’t check this one out from the library. This one came from our personal library because it is an absolute favorite! This is a silly story about farm animals wishing they were other farm animals, and it’s filled with clever rhyme and fun animal sounds. (Goodreads | Indiebound)

    This Little Piggy: a Counting Book by Jarvis

    Little ones learn to count to ten in this adaptation of This Little Piggy. When one little piggy goes to the market, the rest of their piggy friends follows. Soon little piggies all over the place are dancing for hours, eating all the potatoes, and diving into mud pools. (Goodreads | Indiebound)

    Bonus Book!

    Spinster Goose: Twisted Rhymes for Naughty Children by Lisa Wheeler, illustrated by Sophie Blackall

    You have heard of Mother Goose, I’m sure. But, have you heard of her curmudgeonly sister, Spinster Goose? She teaches at a school filled with naughty children who snap their bubble gum and chew on chalk, but Spinster Goose has a method for dealing with these trouble-makers. I recommend for older children. Oliver wasn’t quite a fan of this one, but I certainly enjoyed the darker, alternative twist on traditional nursery rhymes. (Goodreads | Indiebound)

    What are some of your favorite picture books featuring farm animals up to no good?

  • Silencing the Internal Pressure to be the Blogger I’m Not

    Silencing the Internal Pressure to be the Blogger I’m Not

    Blogging has been my hobby for two decades now. I mean that quite literally. And during these past twenty years, blogging evolved from inane ramblings on personal websites built on Geocities to polished content creation with the unstated intent to sell something to the readers. It could be a lifestyle. It could be a self-published book. It could be an online course on how to make money from blogging. Heck, it could even be Books & Tea (the former title of this blog for new readers).

    I can admit that sometimes I get caught up in the appeal of influencer culture. My heart skipped beats the day I was approved to read an Advance Reader Copy of The Road to Little Dribbling by Bill Bryson. And then again when I was invited to participate in book tours. And I’m sure I damn near hyperventilated the day Adagio Teas offered me some of their teas in exchange for reviews on my site. So, it was inevitable that I tried to evolve with the medium; it was like I was chasing a high. I choked down article after article about SEO Optimization, branding, how to use social media to drive traffic, and building e-mail lists. Then, this blog, this outlet for creativity, became a job. A chore. A burden.

    It’s cyclical and it usually goes like this:

    1. I write and publish with a fervor.
    2. I think to myself, I could make something of myself and this little blog, so I spend countless hours working my way through branding workbooks or researching blog monetization.
    3. I devise weekly content calendars, but the moment I sit down to start writing posts, I freeze. The flame fueling the desire to write fizzles out.
    4. I realize I’ve been procrastinating all along. The branding workbooks, the content calendars– all distractions.
    5. I disappear from the blog, the youtube channel, and social media because seeing other peoples’ posts makes me feel guilty for avoiding writing. It makes me feel insecure that anything I have created or will go on to create will never be as good as what they create, so why bother?

    I most recently had been stuck in phase five, but as frustrating as it is, step five is not inherently bad. I mean, the negative internal speak is terrible, but the break from creating and consuming content isn’t bad. It’s refreshing to step back from the undeclared competition of blogging, and it’s refreshing to stop reading about how other people define success in the blogosphere. It’s also during this time that I re-evaluate what I love about blogging, and why it’s been my hobby for more than half my life. It’s never been about popularity or money, so I don’t know why I keep putting pressure on myself to achieve that kind of success. It’s always been about writing, creativity, and community, and once that realization settles in, I can throw myself back into my hobby.

    Lately, I’ve been focusing on creating a daily writing habit. That way, if I ever fall into a rut again, I have routine to fall back on. I am also trying to find my online community again. It used to be easy to define back when I considered myself a book blogger, but as you must have noticed by now, I’m not reading much these days (unless it’s a picture book!). Finally, I am rediscovering content I enjoy writing and content that serves a purpose here at By Golly, Ollie! Like, how do I write about tea without writing a “review”? Will readers be interested in what I have to write about “Silencing the Pressure to be the Blogger I’m Not?” How do I write about motherhood but assure readers this isn’t just another mommy blog? I suppose I will figure all of that out soon enough. Right now, I’m just happy to experiment with writing again.

    Do you ever feel pressure to blog a certain way or do you find yourself ever trying to achieve other peoples’ definitions of blogging success, and how do you deal with it?

  • Five December Favorites

    I know we are three days into the New Year already, but you know how it is with these wrap-up posts… I like to take a minute (or more realistically an hour that gets edited down to about 12 minutes) and reflect on the month and really focus on some of the more positive experiences because I’m obnoxious like that.

    Really there was so much more than just these five favorites though. There always is, like:

    ++ The random 50-degree weather we experienced during the week of Christmas. Ollie and I stretched our legs outside, had lunch on the front porch, and played basketball with the little basketball hoop/soccer net he received for Christmas.

    ++ Trying to get caught up on Tea with Jann YouTube videos. (I mean, Jann, in general, is the kind of content creator and community builder I admire, so there is that, too).

    ++ Getting Oliver down for the night by 9:30, sometimes even sooner, so I can take some time to decompress before I go to sleep. Some parents are awesome at the whole bedtime routine and manage to get their child into bed before 8, and their kids sleep through the night, and that is just not us (sadly). I aspire to be one of those parents!

    ++ My mom bought me a handheld game of the Oregon Trail, which is pretty rad.

    ++ Getting to spend time with family during the holidays, but even more important, Oliver getting to spend time playing with his cousins.

    ++The two new books I received for Christmas: the Body by Bill Bryson and Paperbacks from Hell by Grady Hendrix. I 100% cannot wait to dive into them. I’ve been on a nonfiction bender recently.

    And, now I think I can finally be done with 2019. What were some of your December favorites? Also, I hope you had a swell December and a Happy New Year, too!

About the Blogger

My name is Jackie, and I am a millennial / mother / Michigander / blogger / wannabe runner / accountant / local library enthusiast / gamer, kinda. This is a personal blog, which means I’m not entirely certain what you’ll find here, but it will definitely not show up on the first page of Google search results.