— written June 27th, 2021 in SE Michigan —
You may (or may not) have noticed that each little post or article in this section starts /bit/… and each one in my prayer blog section starts /ramble/. First, let me describe for the curious what this IS, in techie terms, and then I can explain WHY Bits and Rambles, specifically.
As a little backdrop, let me briefly explain my website coding history. I created my first website (HomeEducationResources.com) from scratch in MS Notepad, back in 2004, without any help from website design software, just endless tables within tables within tables in order to achieve layout using simple HTML. In 2012 I switched to a WordPress platform and turned one website into two dozen. In 2019 I consolidated those down into this website you are viewing.
TECHIE VERSION: Each method of website design has its own pitfalls and progress, but one of my favorite things I have done with THIS website is to create a personal system of custom post types and custom hierarchies (using Pods), along with my own layout designs called “templates” that I create using Elementor, Elementor Pro, and Anywhere Elementor. Basically, custom post types create separate databases, and custom hierarchies appear as separate fields within those databases, allowing me to do MUCH more with WordPress than even the most expensive WP template allows. 😀
NON-TECHIE VERSION: Modern technology has allowed me to create as many different TYPES of “articles” and “tags” as I desire or need. THIS means I can safely host learning materials for children on the same site as my life story of abuse and torture, without the two ever crossing because they are stored separately, almost like having completely different websites for each topic or subtopic. THAT is why you will find NO big search-everything areas on this site… Any search bar you see works on only THAT ONE TYPE of post (examples of which are /bit/ and /ramble/).
What is a BIT?
Bits are like blog posts for me: My own personal thoughts on a wide range of topics. I try to pick one word or one topic, and write about that. At this time in my work, I will use bits mostly as my “middle ground” while writing my life story — between my unpublished private writing and my published books. Some parts of some bits will show up in the two versions of my life story (mild and hardcore) that I plan to publish on my 50th birthday — 10.05 or October 5th, 2021 (still 3 months away as of this writing, heehee).
I decided to call these BITS in honor of my favorite aunt who is now deceased. She was a warm, strong, lovely and lively woman of many talents, one of which was writing. She had a column in the local newspaper called “Bits and Pieces,” and when I went searching my mind for a short-and-sweet name for a custom post type (see techie version, above), BITS fit the bill. Hats off to you, Aunt Joanie!
What is a RAMBLE?
If you have not read any of my prayer blog, you will not be familiar with these. My rambles are a certain TYPE of blog post — those which follow the format of sincere prayer, Bible verses, and usually more prayer. I reveal a good deal about myself and my life in my rambles, everything from my daily struggles to my major life events. Almost invariably, they find me thanking God for both the good AND the bad in my personal and professional life, and praying for humility and the strength to keep moving forward. 😀
I decided to call these RAMBLES because I ADORE Led Zeppelin and one of my favorite songs is “Ramble On” — which totally describes my wanderlust self — AND because I do tend to RAMBLE all over the place in them — much like these BITS, I might add. Not sure how much editing I will have to do, if I decide to make my published life story books break this pattern, lol. 😉
Just as a sidenote: I started my public prayer blog years before I started this website and it was only once I started writing HERE, on this website, that I called these posts “rambles”. Before that, they had their very own website, Praying with the Word. I did NOT have custom post types and custom hierarchies on ANY of my old two-dozen-plus websites, so I had separate sites for each separate topic. I even had one for my most hardcore parts of my life story — and you can imagine why I had to keep that separate from my preschool printables, right?! :O