Saturday, February 25, 2006

Hostess with the Mostest

I am happy and proud to announce that the Unicorn Child's stable is now the official home of Thankful Thursday! The previous hostess, Running2ks, has lovingly passed on the baton to me as she has decided to take a leave from the blogging world (temporarily, we all hope), to allow her time to focus on her family and her work (You may read more about our Thankful Thursday's founder at True Blue Semi-Crunchy Mama). I graciously accepted the invitation because I have loved doing Thankful Thursday from the moment I learned about it (so far, I haven't missed a post for this one yet!). I am hoping that more bloggers would be a part of this weekly meme, and realize on a weekly basis just how blessed each of us are by being thankful for even the little things :-)


The Thankful Thursday button and code are found on my right sidebar. If you are interested to join the group, please email me, leave me a comment, or post a tag message on my tagboard, so I can add you to the TTh blogroll. To join, you will need to copy / paste the codes onto your post page. Replace generic values with your specifics (e.g. name / written thankfuls). If you have any questions, feel free to email me and I will try to answer them as best as I can. Thank you for all your support as I start next Thursday's posting as the new TTH hostess! :-)

~~ooOoo~~



Another really great weekly get-together that I get to participate in is the Friends of the Friendless Marching Band. This lovely troop of players is hosted by Carol of A Revision. Since it's conception in August last year, the list has grown to a total of 36 band players! I play one of the two pianos in the band, which is quite fun but can be awfully tiring too (lugging the piano with me as I do my bloghopping, hehe).

How does the FFMB work? Well, On Fridays, the band meets to visit the chosen friendless sites which Carol lists. Band members leave friendly comments for our honored recipients, and we let them know that we are from the FFMB. What defines a Friendless Blog? A friendless site should have less than 5 comments a post (but mainly goose eggs, as Carol puts it) and/or if there is a site meter, less than 10 visitors a day. The site should be over six months old and should be updated regularly. It's a great way to meet new friends / acquaintances, and it's a great way to help other sites build their traffic, as well as to let them know just what a great / interesting site they have! It's a really neat concept, and Carol's doing a tremendous job in keeping the band marching!

Want to march alongside with us? Then go trot over to Carol's right now and leave her a comment stating that you wish to join then choose any instrument you like! :-)

~~ooOoo~~

I also used to actively participate in BLIND CONTOUR FRIDAYS, which was basically a series of fun drawing activities participated in by several illustrators, which will require members to post blind contour illustrations on a weekly basis. Meaning, we all draw "blindly" by focusing our attention entirely on the subject being drawn WITHOUT looking at our sketchpads (ok, we cheat from time to time...but we can't help it!). BCFs were hosted weekly by Niff and Sutter of Inkfinger, but due to the couple's decision to focus on their jobs as comic artists and illustrators, BCF has now evolved into BCFF (Blind Contour First Fridays) where all participants now post their drawings every first Friday of the month. This, for me was a great move, since I am unable to really focus on my drawings on a weekly basis. Having to do it monthly will give me more time to really think about the subject I plan to illustrate. Check out all the really great BCDs by Niff and Sutter at Inkfinger BCDs, and see if it's something you want to try out for yourself!

Ok, that's quite a lot of involvements for me right now. Hope you all have a grand time this weekend! :-D

14 comments:

Carol said...

Thanks for mentioning the FFMB, Chrixean! I love your piano playing.

Congrats on being the new home for Thankful Thursdays. You have found some interesting and creative outlets.

Anonymous said...

Hello! I`m the flag bearer for the FFMB stopping by. You are definitely a person with creativity and not afraid to use it! I really like those contour drawings. That`s pretty good for not even looking at your sketchpad. I look forward to future visits.

Trinity13 said...

How nice of you to take Thankful Thursday from Running2k! I bet she is very thankful for it! :-)

Have a great weekend.

Viamarie said...

I was not able to join Thankful Thursday before but now I think I will join.

FRIDAY'S CHILD said...

Went over to Carol's site. Made a comment that I would like to join. Listed 3 instruments (Organ, guitar, xylophone). I don't even know if I'm doing it right. Is there a code for this? Enlighten me please.
What about the Thankful Thursday? Have you found out how to do it? Enlighten me here also.

Bad Alice said...

Hi, I'm marching by on the FFMB tour. I love these line drawings. I will definitely have to come by regularly to look at what people create (I'm not an artist, so I can only appreciate).

Anonymous said...

Like the idea of doing blind contour drawings. I've only ever done it a few times and they looked no where near proportional and representative like yours.

eph2810 said...

Yeah - I am so glad that Thankful Thursdays continue. Thank you for letting me know. I did miss this past week - but I'll be back this upcoming week.
FFMB sounds a lot of fun :)I might hopp over there and see if there is still room in Carol's band

Lazy Daisy said...

Wow, girlfriend, you are busy. Just marching through with the band. I'm glad you took over the Thankful Thursday. I'm like Bad Alice...I'm appreciator of art.

Tasha said...

I haven't been around lately! Congrats on taking over Thankful Thursay. I have only seen Thursday Thirteen...or is it the same? I am confused. I don't usually do the weekly things but just started the Friday Feast. I would love to join this!

Erin said...

Hello! You have a beautiful blog, and you are so busy! Congratulations on your pregnancy AND becoming the host of Thankful Thursday. Much luck to you in the future.

Marching through (a drummer) with the FFMB! Have a great weekend!

Viamarie said...

I was tagged by Daydreamer of Oz so I am tagging you too.

no_average_girl said...

hey girl! i hopped over from eph2810's blog, and want to participate in thankful thursday if that's alright :-) i know i could always use more encouragement and be reminded of what i do have to be thankful for :-)

Kim Anderson said...

Iris clued me in to Thankful Thursdays. I'll be posting thanksgivings on Thursdays as I can. As a debate coach, this is my busy season of the year - competition season. I'm looking forward to becoming more regular this summer.

Surely a discipline of gratitude is much needed among us! Thanks for hosting!