I’m guest posting today for Tona Wertman, of Letters for Lucas. Tonya is a fabulous person and a wonderful writer, and I do hope you’ll go visit her blog.

 

 

You can get there either by clicking on the Letters for You button above, or by clicking here.

Hi, everyone!

Well, the blog world has been up in arms about this, but I highly doubt anyone else has noticed.

Feedburner, the service through which most of you subscribe to this blog, is going bye-bye.

So that means if you’d like to keep receiving updates, you’ll need to visit the email subscription box in the top right corner and enter your email address. And then – this part is very important – when you get a confirmation email, be sure to open it and confirm your subscription.

I don’t want to lose you just because Google decided to stop offering Feedburner.

Dear readers, I can’t quit you. You complete me. You had me at hello.

Go sign up in the dang box already before I get all weepy.

Sniff.

Today you can find me at Shell’s blog, Things I Can’t Say. Please go give my piece a read and hang out and explore a while. Shell’s got a wonderful collection of some of the most authentic writing around, and you’ll love her voice.

 

 

UPDATE: The contest is now over, and we have our winners!

1st place and winner of a $300 Amazon gift card – Amy Pike

Tied for second and both winners of an $80 Amazon gift card – Renee Schuls-Jacobson and Julie DeVisser

Congratulations to all!

Now, I know you’re dying to see the answer key, so, without further ado, here it is!

Did you guess me?

Here’s me, then and now. How much have I changed?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Let me know if you guessed me, or if I was one of the ones you had trouble figuring out.

And go visit the other blogs below, and see their then and now pictures side by side!

 

 

I don’t remember my kindergarten teacher’s name, or what we did most of our days in class. It’s the strange details that stand in my memory. The floor in the hall was a marbled black and white; and in the classroom, a multicolored carpet. We wrote with chubby pencils, and the teacher and her assistant would walk around telling each of us how much our pencils were screaming because we were gripping them too tightly.

What I learned most in kindergarten had nothing to do with reading or writing. It was about talking – or, to be more accurate, how sometimes, you should not.

I was filled with curiosity, and everything sparked a “Why?” So I asked “Why?” Pretty much all day, every day.

And I talked.

And talked.

And talked.

The day that is seared into my brain is the one day I was disciplined. I was talking too much (shocker), and the teacher wrote my name on the chalkboard. That was standard practice: you get in trouble, your name went on the board.

Never in my short life had I been so mortified.

I’m still a talker. Big time. My husband has been known to say I have no filter. He may be right. But the first place I learned that my mouth can get me into trouble, and that sometimes, I might want to consider keeping it shut?

Kindergarten.

It’s not surprising that as an adult, I’ve become a blogger and a writer. Professions that remind me of that all-important lesson from kindergarten every single day. Seriously. I think about my name on that board every day. And then I usually open my mouth anyway, but at least it gives me pause, right?

So, to commemorate all the wonderful things we learned in kindergarten, as well as our amazing collection of haircuts, I’m joining some of the most fabulous bloggers around (there are 23 of us total) to do something super fun for you, dear readers. We present:

It’s very simple – just match the picture (with the assigned alphabet) to the blogger whose blog is listed below. What’s in it for you? Other than some fun (and it’s fun, promise), you can win an awesome $300 Amazon gift card. You can also get to know some of the bloggers listed here, if you don’t already. You can have a laugh at our expenses. Don’t worry, we did. Now, go forth and play!

 

Enter your answers on this form (https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1qwSRhga4-tpR4_dmP7F8kKZrCLzRn0AnyVgtrnfssMs/viewform).

 

Participating bloggers, in alphabetical order:
Angela of Angela Amman

Angie of Angie Kinghorn

Deborah of Ask Doctor G

Robin of Farewell Stranger

Poppy of Funny or Snot

Leigh Ann of Genie in a Blog

Greta of Gfunkified

Jennifer of Jennifer P. Williams

Tonya of Letters for Lucas

Kiran of Masala Chica

Laura of Mommy Miracles

Natalie of Mommy of a Monster (and Twins)

Brittany of Mommy Words

Jessica of My Time as Mom

Kimberly of Reflections of Now

Tracy of Sellabit Mum

Elaine of The Miss Elaine-ous Life

Sarah of The Sunday Spill

Galit of These Little Waves

Kristin of Two Cannoli

Arnebya of What Now and Why

Kristin of What She Said

Alison of Writing, Wishing
Terms and conditions apply:

• You must be 18 years or older to enter.
• This contest is only open to residents of USA and Canada.
• This contest is open from March 11 – 15, 2013 (closes at 9pm Eastern).
• Visit the link above, where you will be able to enter your guess for each blogger pictured. (All information will be kept private.)
• The person to correctly match all the faces with their blog will win a $300 Amazon gift card. The two other closest guesses will each win one $80 Amazon gift card.
• If more than one person correctly matches all the faces with their blogs, we will randomly pick a winner via random.org.
• If no one guesses all the faces correctly, the winner will be the person who made the most correct guesses.
• This is not a sponsored post. Prizes are paid for out of the participating bloggers’ own pockets.
• You CAN enter more than once!
• Winners will be announced week of March 18.

 

“Name That Kindergartner” was inspired by the “Name That DIY Blogger” contest, over at My Blessed Life.