My Blog Ate It

People frequently ask me questions about the business side of blogging and how we justify the time and money we pour into it.

And by people, I mean the IRS.

Just kidding, y’all. We’ve never been audited.

[Until she was dumb enough to put that in writing.]

Seriously, though, I’ve had several friends and family members ask me questions about how we justify the time we spend on a business whose quarterly report resembles that of a neighborhood lemonade stand…in February.

And, I’ll tell you, it definitely takes plenty of commitment and a positive attitude.

[And denial, Katy. LOTS of denial.]

I begin my day (after my prayer and Bible time) answering emails, responding to guest post requests, turning down advertising offers from condom manufacturers (kid you not), responding to your awesome comments, and updating my various social media pages. During the kids’ nap time, I prepare for the following day’s post. In my free time, I read about how to monetize a blog, how to blog a book, and how to book speaking engagements. Occasionally, I read other blogs that inspire, encourage or entertain me. I spend most of my evenings writing, shooting and editing video. Brian spends most of his evenings proofreading, researching and fixing anything technical on the blog that I managed to break during the day.

We take this blog very seriously because we both truly feel led to do this. When one or both of us no longer sense God’s calling in this direction, we’ll change gears.

It’s as simple as that.

But there is an obstacle that stands between my good intentions as a blogger and your computer screen (or mobile device):  technology.

If it wasn’t for Brian and his technical prowess, this blog would be slightly less professional than the aforementioned lemonade stand.

Technology can kick my butt sometimes. And I’m so thankful for a husband who is as passionate about this as I am—even though the return on his investment up to this point has been little more than my sincere appreciation and undying affection.

Which, he assures me, is pretty much priceless.

[Hang on a minute while I take a peek at my brain.]

Hey! I can hear you rolling your eyes over there.

[Wait. Can she seriously hear me?]

This just got weird.

Anyhow, I told you all of this back story to tell you about something that happened to me this week. Brian and I scheduled to have a romantic dinner at home on Monday evening after the kids went to bed. So, I planned to have all of my blogging business sorted out well in advance. This is no small feat for a procrastinating perfectionist.

I was excited that I managed to get my post completed, spaghetti cooked and…ahem…let’s just say Brian let me sleep later than usual the next morning.

Because I was so worn out from all the carbs at dinner.

Get your mind out of the gutter, people!

(Wink, wink.)

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaand we just lost my dad.

I checked my email from my iPhone the next morning as I usually do (though quite a bit later than normal), and I was surprised that my newsletter was not in my inbox. I knew I scheduled it the night before because I’m a little bit OCD about checking and rechecking the scheduled times for my posts.

I ran downstairs to my desktop and opened the “dashboard” on my blogging software. There, I found this cryptic message next to the scheduled post:  “Missed schedule.”

Wait…huh?

What does that even mean?

Did my blog post have a doctor’s appointment that it failed mention to me?

Did it hit snooze one too many times?

Was it stuck in a long line at the DMV?

MISSED SCHEDULE?

Folks, this is a piece of software that is programmed to post particular things to a particular location at a particular time. Every. Time.

And it just decided to oversleep on April 22nd?

I can’t understand how something like this happens in the year 2013. This has Y2K written all over it. But not 2013.

I took a deep breath when I realized my post was still just sitting there like it had nowhere important to be at 7 a.m.

I went ahead and rescheduled it to run later, but I was curious about what whould have happened if I’d just left it sitting there. Would it have eventually woken up and been like, “Oh my goodness, Katy. I’m SO SORRY I’m late. I ate WAAAAY too much spaghetti last night, and then I was sick all night in the bathroom, and then I overslept after my alarm didn’t go off, and then I remembered I had to get my driver’s license renewed. Pleeeeease accept my apology…and this box of warm Krispy Kreme donuts.”

And I’d be all, “How DARE you show up late when I’ve got…ommmm nommmm nommmm. You’re forgiven.”

I’m just glad it wasn’t a guest post from a fellow blogger or something.

Because, I would probably get a frantic call like, “Um…Katy, where is the post you were supposed to publish for me?”

And I’d be all, “I’m soooo sorry to have to tell you this…but…I think my blog ate it. But, it’s totally cool. I got donuts.”

Two words for you, people:  Hot light.

Warms my heart every time.

Note:  This post is dedicated to my high school teacher, Mr. Dooley. Who repeatedly excused me when I was late to my first period class as long as I brought donuts. We all pretty much gained 50 pounds that year.