Hiatus Update

I had every intention of just publishing fewer posts, but again, Life has intervened..... This time, it had nothing to do with class preparation. In fact, my classes are now a thing of the past, in view of this new development.

We were, in short, hit with a nightmare -- the dreaded letter "C"......

We got the bad news on Monday, Feb. 25th, at a nearby ER we had gone to. From there, my husband was transported by ambulance to the closest hospital.

For the next 8 days, I was with him in the hospital, while the doctors ran tests on him. And these tests confirmed the ER doctor's original diagnosis. I called my PCP and requested meds right away, to help me cope. 

My husband was discharged on Tuesday, March 5th.

We have sought a second opinion, of course, and he's about to start chemo. I have quit my job, in order to take care of him at home. He now needs a special diet, too.

Obviously, this situation took top priority, and I abandoned the blog completely during all this time. I have unanswered comments, and comments back to make. All of them have had to take a back seat to this.

I hope that, as my husband's condition stabilizes, I will be able to start blogging again. I don't know when that will be, though. Worrying about him has taken some of the interest in blogging away.

Since so many days have gone by, I decided to publish something to let you all know that I had not just up and disappeared without another word. Yes, I had published a previous post in which I said that I would most likely go on blogging, but would publish fewer posts. However, soon after that, I totally disappeared from the blogosphere. I posted nothing at all for about two weeks. My most recent post before this one is dated Wednesday, Feb. 20th.

So that's the gist of it. Again, I don't know when I will return to blogging.....As of this time, I am definitely on hiatus.

I am requesting prayers from all of my readers and regular visitors who are believers, as well as best wishes from those who are not. Any type of spiritual help is welcome.

Thanks to you all, and I hope to return at some time in the near future! LUV YOU ALL!!!!  <3 <3 <3  :) :) :)

 

Book Blogger Hop No. 162: A Blogging Hiatus? Maybe....

Welcome to the Book Blogger Hop,

hosted by Billy @

Ramblings of a Coffee-Addicted Writer!

For more information, and 

to find out the topic of next week's question, click HERE.

This Week's Question

Have you ever thought of taking

a break from blogging or Booktubing

(if you're a Booktuber)?

If you have, how long was the break,

and what did you learn from it?

(Submitted  by Danielle  @ 

PoetryBooksYA)

My Answer

Here's the short and sweet answer..... Yes, I have, many times in the past. (And no, I'm not a Booktuber; I just have this blog, as well as a second one, which I have no time for, and is abandoned for now.)

And here are further details..... Although I do enjoy blogging tremendously, there have been times when "the real world" has encroached upon my precious blogging time, and I have been tempted to stop for a while. How long, I've never really decided. The fact remains, though that the thought has crossed my mind more than once or twice.

It's rather coincidental that this question has come up right at this point in time, because I am seriously considering taking a break -- perhaps for a month, at least. It might be longer, though; I really don't know. I am feeling very sad about even considering this, of course.

Those of you who have been reading and following my blog for some time know that I LOVE blogging, and would feel bereft if I were to stop doing it completely, even for a short length of time. So perhaps what I'll do, for now at least, is reduce the number of posts I publish per month. I don't like this solution to the problem, either, but at least I'll be doing SOME blogging. 

The problem is, yes, you guys guessed it -- "the real world". I have gotten very busy preparing classes. I'm an Adult Education ESOL teacher. In other words, I teach adults from other countries (mostly Hispanics) English in an evening program, which includes two afternoon tutoring sessions. 

The first session starts at 3:00 PM, and ends at 4:15 PM. Then there's a 10-to-15-minute break, and the second session begins, around 4:30. That second session ends at 6:00 PM. I have an hour for dinner, and my regular class begins -- at 7:00, ending at 9:30 PM.

The first tutoring session is for English topics -- grammar, dialogues, pronunciation practice, etc. The second is for help with preparing for the U.S. citizenship exam.

Both of these sessions require me to prepare copies for the students. Usually, I make originals which I then request copies from, at the school's main office. Sometimes, especially when a new student shows up, I do have to make copies on my home copier/printer.

My regular class also requires me to provide copies to the students. This is a combined High Intermediate (Level 5) and Advanced (Level 6) class. The students do have assigned textbooks, but they are reluctant to buy them, as they books are expensive. Besides, not everything I need to teach them is covered in ONE textbook, so I add copies.

Both the tutoring sessions and the regular class function four afternoons/nights a week -- Monday to Thursday. (At least I have Fridays off, lol!) 

Just this past week, on Monday, 2/11, and Tuesday, 2/12, we got some basic training for a new software program that the school district recently bought: Burlington English. This program is rather complex and detailed, and, after receiving the basic training, we ESOL teachers are expected to study and practice it, on our time, no less, so as to start using it as soon as possible in our classes. 

Part of this program includes.....you guessed it -- copies! Haha..... Yes, this is what the Burlington Company calls "a blended program". Students are to do part of their work on computers (I have 25 of these in my classroom), and part of it on worksheets. These have to be prepared in advance for each lesson. For instance, if I want to start teaching a particular lesson this coming Tuesday, I have to have all of the worksheets for that lesson ready by Tuesday. I do have the originals printed. So now I will have to make copies.....sigh.....

Well, you get the picture by now..... I hope I don't have to stop blogging altogether for any length of time, but it might be necessary, at least until I get organized with this new program. Some of you may have noticed that lately, I've been publishing fewer posts. AND, I've REALLY gotten behind on my replies to comments here on my blog, as well as comments back on the blogs of those who have commented on A Night's Dream of Books.

Whatever I decide to do, whether it be just publish fewer posts, or take a break, I will be sure to announce here on the blog. I don't like to just stop all of a sudden, with no warning. Of course, sometimes bloggers have to do just that, for whatever reason. This happened with Jill @ Breaking The Spine. Her last post is dated August 24, 2016. (Click on the link provided and you'll see for yourselves.) She posted no explanation for this, either, but just stopped blogging -- cold turkey. Other bloggers -- including me -- have left comments on this last post, asking her if she's all right. She has not replied to any of these comments, though. I still think about her and her blog sometimes, wondering what could have possibly happened....

Jill was the creator of the popular book meme, "Waiting On Wednesday", so a LOT of bloggers used to link up to her WOW posts. (Many of them have continued to link up to that last post, too, incredibly enough....) A similar meme exists now, titled "Can't Wait Wednesday". It's hosted by Tressa @ Wishful Endings.

Anyway.....I sure hope I can still continue to publish at least a few posts per month. I am REALLY ticked off at having these obstacles in my path, but, since they're job-related, I have to give them priority. 

Whatever I decide to do, I will be SURE to let all of you guys know! For now, you have a bit of a heads up.      

What are your thoughts on

this topic?

Please leave a comment! 

If you're participating in this meme,

I'll go comment on your 

own BBH post.

If not, I will then comment on one 

of your blog posts!

Thanks for visiting!!! 

Book Blogger Hop No. 154: Searching for New Blogs vs. Sticking with "Regulars"

Welcome to the Book Blogger Hop,

hosted by Billy @

Ramblings of a Coffee-Addicted Writer!

For more information, and 

to find out the topic of next week's question, click HERE.

This Week's Question

Do you tend to visit the same

blogs each week, but also

try to look for new blogs?

(Submitted  by Elizabeth  @ 

Silver's Reviews)

My Answer

Here's the short and sweet answer: I stay with my regular blogs.

Now here's the long answer, lol.

When I first started blogging, I wanted to meet new bloggers, of course! I was like a kid with a new toy! So I enthusiastically used to visit many blogs, followed most of them, and commented. To my disappointment and dismay, I soon discovered that many of these bloggers were not commenting back on my blog.....

I also discovered, pretty quickly, that book bloggers (and probably other kinds of bloggers as well) do tend to stay with their "regulars". At first, I was a bit annoyed. I used to think they were acting like high school cliques! Lol. Now, after eight -- yes, EIGHT -- years of blogging, I must admit that I can see why bloggers do this. Every single one of us leads busy lives. Many bloggers have kids, and have to juggle family and work responsibilities. So, time is limited. It's better to stick with people with whom you resonate. Besides, this way, good friendships are forged. 

This doesn't mean that one can't occasionally go on little blogging adventures to seek out new blogs. But, for me at least, this is indeed an occasional adventure nowadays. In fact, it has become a VERY occasional adventure.

I don't usually mention much of my personal life on my blog, and perhaps that might put off some people. Well, I'm doing so now! Here is the main reason I'm sticking to my regular blogs, and have fallen behind on commenting on even those, as well.

I have been working part-time as an ESOL teacher in Miami, Florida, for several years. I used to combine that with a full-time office job. Don't ask me how I was able to blog at all during the years I did that.....lol. Oh, and what does "ESOL" mean? It's an acronym for "English for Speakers of Other Languages". I teach this subject at a local high school, but in the evening program, since my students are all adults.

Back in May of this year, my regular Level 2 class, which met from 7:00 to 9:30 PM, Monday through Thursday, was closed by the night school principal, due to very low enrollment. I still had tutoring, though -- from 3:00 to 6:00 PM, on the same days. Still, this class closure was not a good thing, as I no longer have a full-time job. (Hence the tutoring, which I had asked the principal for, back in 2015). 

Well, a little miracle took place! Two weeks after closing my Level 2 class, the principal gave me another one -- a combined Levels 5 and 6 class!! I was ecstatic!! It turned out that another teacher had a family situation that made it impossible for him to keep teaching that class, so the principal gave it to me.

There was only one little problem, though....the previous teacher had been lending books to the students to use during class, but the students were not allowed to take these books home. How could they possibly study at home? So I began to make copies to hand out to them during class. They would now be able to take these home to study. However, since this was my first time handling this level, I had NO materials at all. So I began collecting books -- some from the school library, and a few that I bought on Amazon -- in order to make copies for my new students. 

You might be wondering why I didn't just ask the students to buy the books. Well, these students are very reluctant to buy ESOL books, as these tend to be quite expensive, and many of these students, being immigrants, work at menial jobs. And I don't like to lend out the books during class, either, because, in the past, some have disappeared. So I think that making copies works out the best. It does create a LOT more work for me, though! Frequently, I have had to make copies at home, on my own copier, because I haven't had the time to request them from the school office. You see, we are supposed to give the office staff original copies for them to duplicate. The principal doesn't want us to give the actual books to the office staff, to make copies from. This means that we teachers have to make our own original copies first. So I have to do that on my home copier (which is also a printer).

I've told you guys all this because all this extra work at home has taken me away from blogging VERY often since I got this class in May. Furthermore, I have also needed to make copies for my tutoring group, which now consists of two sessions -- the first, for grammar and conversation, the second, dedicated to preparation for the American citizenship exam.

So all of this extracurricular activity means that  I'm WAY behind on replying to comments left on my blog, as well as visiting the commenters' blogs, so as to comment back.... Heck, I'm even late in publishing this Book Blogger Hop post! I am very sorry about all this, but, obviously, work has to come first!

Given all of the above, I am presently unable to go exploring for new blogs. Of course, if a blogger previously unknown to me visits and comments, I will do my utmost to reply here on my blog, and comment back on theirs. But I will probably not make it a habit to keep visiting them, unless they continue to comment on my blog. I simply don't have the time.....

The present trimester (night school goes by trimesters, not semesters, as day school does) will end on Dec. 20th. Then we will have two weeks off, and return on Jan. 7th. By then, I will have plenty of copies ready to hand out, since I now have materials that I can order new copies from. And I will start that process this coming week, so as to be ready to go on Jan. 7th! So, hopefully, this next year I will be better prepared, and not have to scramble around for materials! That will enable me to concentrate on blogging about my favorite subject once again! 

I sincerely apologize to all of those who have been leaving comments on my posts, to which I have not replied. Nor have I commented back on those blogs..... I'm working frantically to catch up!! Thanks to all of you guys!! Don't worry -- I will indeed reply and return comments!! I just ask for your patience and understanding. HUGS TO YOU ALL!!!!  <3  :)  

What are your thoughts on

this topic?

Please leave a comment! 

If you're participating in this meme,

I'll go comment on your 

own BBH post.

If not, I will then comment on one 

of your blog posts!

Thanks for visiting!!! 

Book Blogger Hop No. 144: Checking Out Post Views

Welcome to the Book Blogger Hop,

hosted by Billy @

Ramblings of a Coffee-Addicted Writer!

This Week's Question

Do you sneak a peek at the 

numbers of views

your posts have gotten?

(Submitted  by Elizabeth @

Silver's Reviews)

My Answer

Well, it's not so much that I "sneak a peek", as the post views are plainly visible in my Blogger dashboard, in the hours and days after I've published a post. I can't help but see them, lol.

The one time I actually focus on these views is whenever I have noticed a big discrepancy between post views and comments left. I really don't understand THAT at all. Sometimes the difference between the amount of views and comments on a single post can be considerable. So this really puzzles me. If a given post has had lots and lots of views, then why hasn't it also gotten lots and lots of comments?

I can give examples of this rather strange phenomenon. So here are three posts that have this huge discrepancy between views and comments, starting with the most recent. (Note: the total number of comments shown below include my replies. I always reply to every single comment, too.)

Blog Tour: Victorian Town, by Nancy Thorne
(Mini-Review & Giveaway included.)
Date: 7/9/18  Views: 293  Comments: 17

Blitz: Shift, by M.A. George
(Mini-Review and Giveaway included.)
Date: 6/5/18  Views: 429  Comments: 4

Shelf Candy Saturday Surprise Giveaway
(Favorite Cover Giveaway included.)
Date: 3/17/18  Views: 1,299  Comments: 36


Interestingly, these three posts all include giveaways. Still, the difference between number of views and comments is puzzling. I have tried to figure this out, and the only thing I can come up with is that many people just don't like reading blogs with a dark background. They will look at my posts if giveaways are included, but then they don't want to take the time to comment. However, the comment box has a white background, so that shouldn't be a problem. I can only scratch my head on this.....

From its beginnings in 2010, my blog has never gotten lots of comments. I've always tried to make my posts interesting, but nevertheless, I just don't get the volume of comments other blogs get. Perhaps this is actually a blessing in disguise. Lol. After all, replying to comments on my blog, and then commenting back on other blogs, is very time-consuming.

One week, I decided to comment on a specific blog hop/meme (which shall remain nameless), to see how many comments back I would get. I commented on a total of fifteen blogs. How many comments back did I get? Five. It was very disappointing, to say the least..... I had taken the time to comment on these blogs, and got no response. Well, I stopped participating in that blog hop.

I have recently come to a conclusion regarding views and comments, and any discrepancy between the two. I can summarize this conclusion with a very well-known modern saying that has become so common, it's now ubiquitous: "It is what it is." Yup! 

So now I've taken the stress off of myself regarding comments left on my posts. There's a small group of blogging buddies who regularly comment on my posts, and I've come to be satisfied with that. If my dark background does indeed put off some people, well, I refer back to the famous saying above. I have a very distinct blogging personality, and it involves not only having a dark background, but also lots of images. Minimalist I sure "ain't"! Lol.

I put myself out there with my blog posts. I work hard to make sure they're as good as I can possibly make them. At the end of the day, that has to be enough. I know I did my best. If this is not noticed or appreciated, yeah, refer to that well-known saying again! Just knowing that I enjoyed creating a given post, and poured my true self into it, hey, that's a tremendously GOOD feeling! Because I've given the world what I had inside to share. 

So I've come to the point that I no longer worry about the number of comments left on my posts, or on who failed to comment back, or even on how many views my posts have gotten. My entire focus is now on bringing my readers the quality I want to achieve (and continue to improve upon), and that's that!  

So I'm throwing out a big, hearty "THANK YOU" to all of you out there who continue to read and comment on my posts, as well as comment back when I've left comments on your blogs! I LOVE my corner of the blogoversary, and you guys are part of it!!  :)  

What are your thoughts on

this topic?

If you're participating in this hop,

I'll go comment on your 

own BBH post.

If not, I will then comment on one 

of your blog posts!

Thanks for visiting!!!