100th Post of the Year

 This is my 100th post of the year.  This marks the 8th year since this blogs inception in 2009, and the 4th consecutive year that I’ve published 100 or more post in a year. 

That is of course, it will be my 100th post of the year if and when I publish it. A few years ago  I wrote a post about having 100 posts in draft status. At the end of the post in the only comment, I had written that I had deleted all but 15 of the posts in draft status and hoped never to accumulate nearly as many post there again. 

Well it turns out that I have been accumulating posts in draft status again. I currently have 77 posts with that distinction. The majority of these are from 2023, but I do have 14 from this year. As part of my 100th post of the year celebration,I will now list each incompleted post of 2024 by title in Chronological order.

Double Library Day

Team Saturdazzle

(Untitled)

Milwaukee Brewers Catcher William Contreras bringing major league streak to begin season

Crystal Lake Library

(Untitled)

(Untitled)

Anniversary vs. Annual

A to Z 2024 Reflections

(Untitled)

What’s most wrong about the 2024 White Sox

The Newfangled Four - A Spoonful of Sugar (Parody)  [From Mary Poppins]

Former Chicago White Sox MVP , The late Dick Allen, elected to the Hall of Fame.

Not everybody needs a college degree (Writers Workshop)

That’s the 14. Some of these may see the light of day and most will be discarded. One of the drafts from last year  is scheduled to post tomorrow for the next edition of Wordless Wednesday. I also hope to share the story behind that picture in a subsequent post. 

Tomorrow’s post won’t be the last post of the year as I have a Michael Card Christmas Concert video scheduled to drop on 12/25. I’ll probably land somewhere between 103 and 107 2024 posts before the New Year and the whole race to 100 begins again.

I have 100 posts in draft status.

 Blog Insider: An unsolicited and superfluous look beyond the minutiae 

Today's Episode: Draft Status 

Back when I started blogging getting to your hundredth post was kind of a big deal.  People would celebrate the accomplishment in different ways.  When I got there I made a list of 100 people I knew who who influenced me.   At 500 I wrote a parody to I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles). Since I consolidated all my blogs here I have been in the process of consolidating all posts from all those blogs here as well.  Because of that I'm not quite sure what number post I'm at exactly but I am nearing 1,300 for the ones that have been written or transferred here.  

Earlier this week, I discovered a different century mark.  I noticed that I have 100 posts here in this blog that are in draft status.  That means they are not currently accessible to you. the reader. I was astounded that it was that many.  

When I consolidated the 2 other blogger blogs here it also brought over anything in draft status from those blogs.

The most recent of my posts in draft status was from May 26th.  Over the past 3 years I have had  35 more identical posts/  They have no title and no content whatsoever.  I don't think I was aware that i was leaving phantom drafts 

The oldest of my drafts is originally from my sports blog.   It is from January 10, 2012 (more than 10 years ago!) and entitled A thought on Harold Baines and the HOF.  It was written right after Baines was removed from the HOF ballot by failing to received more than 5% of the writer's vote.  Written is too strong of a word as the only thing written was the title of the post.  Baines was eventually voted into the HOF on the veteran's ballot in 2019.  So since the motivation for my post (expressing my opinion that Baines is HOF material) has been for all intents and purposes been achieved there is really no reason to keep it in draft status.  

The most recent of my posts in draft status was from May 26th.  Over the past 3 years I have had  35 more identical posts/  They have no title and no content whatsoever.  I don't think I was aware that i was leaving phantom drafts.  That's more than 1/3 of the 100 drafts and those will be easy to delete. There are other posts like the Harold Baines post that are title only with no content. 

The remaining posts  are basically in the following categories. 

* You Tube videos.  

I post quite a few you tube vidoes straight to my blog.  Since I have had in the past more than one blogger blog at a time, when I put those videos onto my blog I get a screen shot like the one below.  

If I accidentally put the video in the wrong blog it usually gets trapped in draft staus in that blog without being immediately aware about it.

* Consolidation

When I moved my sports blog and vlog to this one, I also brought whatever blogs I had in draft status with me, like the aforementioned Harold Baines post.

* No longer relevant, No longer interested, could not do it justice

These are actually 3 very similar situations.  In each case I start a post and put it aside to finish.  By the time I get back to them they are not worth finishing for one (or more) of the above reasons.

* Work in progress

After I have finished this post, this should be the only category of posts in draft status that remain.  These are posts that I am either still working on or do not want to give up completely on.

* Ready to publish/overlooked.  

There are a few posts that are in draft status by mistake.  When I find those I go ahead and put them into the blog as was originally intended.

100 posts in draft status is not an achievement I ever anticipated achieving.  Now that I'm finished achieving it, I'm going to spend a few minutes behind the scenes and unachieve it.  

 

A Puppyism is Born

As I said in my last post, we had a recent addition in our family of a niece/cousin. So not surprisingly the kids had babies on their minds tonight as we were driving home from dinner/shopping. We were talking about how all our kids were born by C-section. Amy explained a little about why that was and puppy from the back asked when I was born I had an ear infection? As we all laughed, I remembered that we had studied both Julius and Augustus Caesar in our Mystery of History
curriculum last year.   So I asked the kids if they knew what the C in C-section stands for.   None of them did, so I said it stands for Caesar.  After a little while Puppy said so I must be part Roman.

I thought this quintessential Puppyism appropriate for my 700th post here at HSD.  I am sure there will be more posts and puppyisms to come.

Turtle Cake is Best a HSD Rewind (Sort of)

This post was originally aired in 2010 in November.  It has been one of my most popular posts over the past 2 years.  Somehow, it has been in draft status for a while.  This is probaly from  back when I was trying to clear out all the kid's real names and put in their blog names. 

Since the post was in draft it did not count in my post count.  So this old post is actually # 600.  600 posts and I even brought a cake!



Spider Droid's Cub Scout Pack had a cake walk Friday Tonight. Each Cub Scout was to design and help make a cake according to a theme. I did not tell Spider Droid all the themes. There was an "other" theme which meant decorate the cake any way you want. I neglected to mention that one to Him. Otherwise it would have been A Star Wars Cake all the way. There is a limit to how much Star Wars stuff a guy can take, so I said nothing.


One of the themes was wildlife and SD decided to make a cake based on his favorite animal, the turtle. Here is how it turned out.

While Amy and I helped with some of the baking and decorating, SD was involved in every part of the process.

For each The scoutmaster announced 3 scouts in and asked them to come to the front. At that point, you knew they were in the top 3 but not what place.

When we entered the cake I heard many positive comments about the turtle cake and since some of those same people were judges I was not surprised that his name was called for the top 3.

But this did surprise me . . .

First Prize!!! Congratulations, SD! When it comes to having good ideas and implementing them, I guess you take the cake!

Meanwhile back in 2012 - Spider Droid is no longer doing scouts but he still likes turtles. 

I promised that I would wrap up the HSBA today.  If you check out my pages you will see a HSBA 2011 page. In it I have revealed all my voting for the awards and also highlighted all the winning blogs and shared a sample post from each. 

A Picture is worth 200 Posts

Click here for more Wordless Wednesday

Speaking of Wordless,my HSBA spotlight blog is Mothership Adventures who won for best pictures.  They travel the country in an r.v which is cool enough.  The pictures are fantastic.  Here is a sample post.

As the title indicated, this is my 200th post with pictures in it. 

500th Post Proclamation

It's finally here. My 500th post here at HSD over the past few weeks I have been making some tweaks to the blog but have not really announced them.

First of all, I have joined the 2nd decade pf the twentieth century and am now on twitter. Going forward I will be tweeting a link to all my new posts. I will also be tweeting my Next Time announcement that appeared and have now reappeared at the bottom of my posts.

Secondly I have added two new pages to the blog. Earlier this month I hosted the Carnival of Homeschooling with a post about my Top 10 Films of all time. I have made that a page as well as a 500th post page.

There are a few other changes, but you can check those out yourself.

I promised something very special for 500 posts. To commemorate the occasion, I have written a song. Within the lyrics, there are links to some of the posts that have appeared in HSD over the last 2+ years. So without further explanation and WITH my apologies to the Proclaimers, I present . . .

I Just Blogged (500 Times)

When I wake up, yeah, you know I'm gonna blog
I'm gonna blog about playin' puppy on the floor.
When I go out, well you know I'm gonna blog
I'm gonna blog about a field trip to the store.

If it's Christmas, yes you know I'm gonna blog
I'm gonna blog about how much we like to bowl.
And if it's Easter, yes you know I'm gonna blog.
That it's not a little rabbit that makes us whole.

I just blogged 500 times
And I might blog 500 more
To blog and ask what you guys do
With children screaming on your floor.

When I'm teaching, yes you know I'm gonna blog
About something good that Bunny or Spider did.
And when puppysims come
I'm gonna post 'em here. She's really quite a kid.

When we travel. yeah, you know I'm gonna blog
Whether close to home or Washington D.C.
And when we get back you know I'm gonna blog
With words and pics and videos for all to see.

I just blogged 500 times
And I might post 500 more
Just to be the guy whose 1000 posts
Will make you laugh but never snore.

When I'm fed up, yeah you know I'm gonna blog
I'm gonna blog 'bout how my family drives me mad
But when I think straight yeah you know I'm gonna blog
I'm gonna blog about the super times that we have had.

I just blogged 500 times
And I might tweet 500 more
Just to be the guy whose posts and tweets
reveal the passion at his core.

So that's it for post #500. Unless I get a lucrative contract in the music biz. I will be back very soon inching my way to 1000.

Next Time: Paragraphy for a Monday Morning.

Six about 25 before 500

Six Word Saturday time at Show my face dot com and my six words are packed and ready to go. They're standing here outside your door. Oh, sorry about that, I was listening to John Denver on Pandora earlier.

Here's my Six:

Blogging about blogging, an acquired taste.

Amy and I have many similar interests and opinions but we don't agree on everything. That is to say, that not all of hers are correct. For example, I some times engage in what I call meta blogging. Blogging about the process of blogging or even blogging about the minutia of blogging. I think she calls it, choking the life blood out of her soul. This doesn't keep me from doing it, just from asking her to edit those pieces. I mean who wants to read a post that starts: "Anyone who still has a brain cell left please read something else!!!"?

This, is one of those pieces.

Back in 2009, when I was just a novice blogger, I noticed that the 100th post was a big to do. There were generally give-a-ways, hyperbole and a sprinkling of ballyhoo when someone would go to 3 digits on their blogometer. I was not immune to such excitement, I love celebrating milestones. I even love celebrating milestones that aren't really milestones. If I had it my way I'd commemorate each and every post. . .

We now take you to HSD behind the scenes. . .

Dave: for my 217th post I wanted to give away a tray of Lasagne. Amy wanted to know why and I said because the first time I remember eating Lasagne was July 31st and as you know 7 times 31 is 217.

Amy: That really didn't happen. But yes, He is that crazy. And yes, this is really Amy and I can prove it. Note the font, Trebuchet. Dave is allergic to Trebuchet.

We now return you to this post, in progress.

So, I noticed recently that I am chugging along on my way to 500 posts here at HSD. I have decided to commemorate the event some way for the past few weeks I have had a countdown to 500 in the left hand corner of the blog. Starting with the next post that will be replaced with an estimated date of the big event. My best estimate as of today is sometime in early May. No, I don't have ultrasounds, so this will have to do.

I am planning to celebrate # 500 with a special post. I have some ideas but have not ironed them all out yet. The rumours about me hosting Letterman are way too premature. I understand his guest correspondence is written in Trebuchet.

For more Six Word Saturday click here.

I wanted to be a 4hundrenaire.

Today is a big day in the life of my blog. Yes, it's true. Home School Dad is 400 today. 400 posts that is. It has been a crazy ride to 400 but I have loved every mile. It hasn't always been easy. Writing 400 hip posts is the same as writing 20 squared ones.MATH JOKE ALERT



As I did prior to 300 posts I have been tweaking the look of the blog in preparation for 400 posts. I hope you enjoy the new look, I certainly do.

Starting tomorrow I am adding a new feature called HSD rewind. From time to time I will be reprinting (not just putting links to) older Home School Dad posts. These regurgitated posts may come up from time to time. BODILY FUNCTION JOKE ALERT.

Don't have much more to say for 400. I think I've got at least another 400 in me. Thanks again for being part and parcel of the program, and that's no joke. NO JOKE ALERT

Keith Time: Let's go fly a kite.

Hitting 300

Blog Insider - A look at the widgets, gadgets, and what-nots of Home School Dad.


Tonight's Episode: I'll Take Labels for 300.


I started this blog back in January of 2009. It took me less than 6 months to hit 100 posts. Click here or on my 100th post page to harken back to that time. 4 and a half months later I came in with post #200. Now, I have hit my 300th post.


I have labeled those posts with 71 distinctive labels. A label is a way of indexing the blog, so that it is easier to look up older posts by topics. A post can have many different labels at the same time. Today's post has 3: Blah Blah Blogging (Which is how I describe when I post incessantly about inane blogging practices), Blog Insider (where I talk about different gadgets, apps and tools I utilize) for this blog, and Posting in the Hundreds (Where I commemorate my posts that have multiples of one hundred). In a sense, all of these labels are very similar and there is a degree of overlapping in my labels.

If I could direct you to the label section of my blog you will see that instead of all 71, I have only 26 listed. This is because in celebrating my blogging longevity I plan to post about my 25 most popular labels in the weeks and months to come. There are 26 because there was a 7-way tie for 20th place. Instead of making a label for these labels, which would seem superfluous, I will be creating a page that will link to these homage posts. Until I have completed all of these I will have the label list show only the top 26.

Not listed in the top 25 are some of my favorite labels like: Hockey Lessons, An Open Letter, A Poem and FAQs of Life. But the 25 labels listed do give a pretty good insight to the kind of blog this has been the past year and a half. I hope you will enjoy the closer look behind the blog in the posts to come.

I plan to finish my D.C. trip remembrances before unpacking these labels, but as usual, prepare yourself for the randomness which is me.

As I bring this post to a close, I just want to give you links to my favorite posts of 4 labels that just missed the top 25:

Amy Roller Guest Blogger with Trudi's Garden.

Awana Scouts featuring Turtle Cake is Best.

The Labels Lincoln and Our Kid's Write are both featured in the post: In praise of Home School Kid's Write.

Next Time: Washington D.C. Day 8

Keith and the Bicentennial

This is my 200th blog post. If I weren't posting every 39 minutes today in honor of Keith's 39th birthday I would probably not make the 200 mark until late December, early January. Since this day is not about me, I will tell you about Keith circa 1976. (The bicentenial of America). Keith began kindergarten in 1976. He turned 6, 33 years ago today. While his older 3 siblings were attending Queen of The Rosary (QR) and/or Grove Junior High, Keith was becoming the 4th member of our family to attend kindergarten at Salt Creek School . QR did not have a kindergarten program at the time and our sister Bonnie was the first to attend QR's kindergarten rather than Salt Creek's. Incidentally, the 5th member of our family to attend kindergarten at Salt Creek was Keith's son Bobby, who stayed with his family at my folks' house in Elk Grove during the first year of Keith's illness.

My dad was in the throes of putting an addition on the house that would give Keith his own room. Up to this point, Keith had been staying in the same room as his 10 and 12 year old brothers.

Editors Note: I'm the 12 year old. Chris is younger than me! So, back off!

Editor's Note the second: Read all about my fraternal angst with my middle sibling at I'm not bitter dot com.

A 6 year age difference is a pretty big thing at 12 and Keith and I didn't exactly hang out in the same circles. What I do remember about him is equal parts affability and annoyance. He was the quintessential give him an expensive present, he'll play with the box kid. But he also had an insatiable curiosity in how things worked (not unlike a son of mine.)

So that's 1976, the year Rocky didn't need a Roman numeral. The year of Olympic heroes Franz Klamer and Nadia Commanecci. The year my Dad put an addition on the house. Uncle Sam turned 200. Keith started kindergarten and I started 7th grade for the first time. But that as they say is a story for a different time.

Centennial Celebration

I tell my kids on a regular basis that people are more important than things. I tell them this, because I believe it is true. Like most true things that I tell my kids, I also try to model them. This post marks the 100th here at Home School Dad. I have noticed many bloggers make a list of 100 things about them as their 100th post. Since I believe that people are more important than things I present for you . . .

100 People who have made an impact on my life

A few quick ground rules ...

A. This is not a ranking of the 100 people who most influenced my life.

B. These people are all people that I have met. These are not authors, artists, fly fisherman etc. who I have never interacted with personally.

C I am listing each person by first name, last initial and one piece of identifying information. This piece of information is not necessarily an explanation of their impact on me.

D. In cases where I know more than one person with the same first name and last initial I will not differentiate any further. SO, I don't want any comments like hey you said John S in # 27 and # 47. You only put 99 people not 100!

E. Finally, if you are reading this, know me personally and do not appear on this list. That does not mean you have had no impact on my life. I mean really Amy, maybe when I get to my 200th post you'll get a mention. Just Kidding! My lovely wife definitely made the list. If I would have made a list like this on my first post, She would make the list (of 1)!

No further explanation is needed (This much explanation was probably not needed) So without further adieu here is the list ...

1. Paul L - Who said opposites attract and then they grind.

2. Dave O. - Who was kind to me, when he didn't have to be, and most people weren't.

3. Geoff W. Who taught me that Turtle Soap really is best.

4. Jerome H. - Who showed me that people are worth the time.

5. Lisa B - With whom I discovered how giraffe's poop.

6. Carrie L. - Who may be the kindest person I know.

7. Sheryl R. who I used to listen to Lisa Whelchel records with.

8. Amy R. - Who said sure and meant it.

9. Dave I - Who taught me random.

10. Mark M -Who knows everybody.

11. Bob H - Who knows everyone else.

12. Chris H - Who hosted a weather talk show with me, in the dinner line at camp.

13. Steve K - who noticed I rode a 5 speed in a 10 speed world.

14 Dave R - Who took me to my first White Sox game.

15 Izola R- who knew me from the many.

16. Charlie R. who will invent so many things that people will say Thomas Alva who?

17. Melissa C. - Who plans her spontaneity.

18 Vladimir L. - who says I have the ministry of bad ideas (and is right).

19 Craig M - Who makes me seem normal.

20. Paul F. - Who was one of my first singing partners.

21. Mark M. - Who warned me against onus shifters.

22. Jeanne R - Who writes ourfamily history to the tunes of Christmas carols.

23 Bert F. - Who sold me my first car.

24. Emma R. Who will someday run a bunny farm.

25 Dominick A - Who showed me that life does not end when you lose your job.

26 Kathy A. - Who home schools her kids.

27. John S. - Who looked at a sports stadium and saw a field of souls.

28. Keith R. - Who never earned that 100 dollars but now has so much more!

29 Gordy J . - Who first called me Stroll.

30. Jon C. - who had a fellowship of the travelling pants moment with me, except the pants were a Ford Taurus.

31. Dan B. Who I will ask to write the foreword for the first book I ever write.

32. Terry N. - Who taught me that people who are a lot alike often dislike each other; then, when they are becoming friends one of them moves to Alaska (Okay, not all of them.)

33. Jeff C. - who never tried to be popular, and succeeded.

34. Brian M. - Who gave Amy and me great advice when he married us.

35. Chuck F. Who once made my wife the same kind of gift basket he made for Patti Labelle.

36 Tom M. - who never met a "quotation mark" he didn't like.

37 Dave H. Who lived with me and still likes me.

38. Bonnie R. - Who is much more capable than anyone thinks (including her.)

39. Rebecca C. - Who is as good of a friend there is.

40. Angela R. - Who introduced me to one of my favorite places (Stone Mountain),

41. Leanne P. - Who showed me that there are few things better than farm fresh boiled peanuts.

42 Harold H. Who knows everyone in Missouri.

43. Scott P. - Who taught me that a reputation is very difficult to lose.

44. Kim W. - Who made an eye emergency seem hilarious in retrospect.

45 Cynthia F. - Who missed a Sammy Sosa, Mark McGwire game at Wrigley in '98 to visit with Amy and Me.

46. Alan J. - Who reminded me that life is an adventure.

47. John S. who took his passion and made it happen.

48. Kathy W. Who let me tag along.

49. Alec M. - Who showed me incredible kindness.

50. Lindy S. - Who showed me that politics and Christianity can mix.

51. Pat G - Who has given me new found appreciation for the Stevenson Expressway.

52 Don W. - Who writes just like he preaches.

53. Jeanette M - Who cared enough to knock.

54. Tab H. Who asked me what was wrong.

55. Diane I - Who taught me that p.k.'s are people too.

56 Phil B. - Who knows everyone in Mcdonough County.

57. Mary Jane W- Who is related to everyone in McDonough County (and outlying)

58 - Chris R. - Who is not my older brother, okay? Can we get together on this?, I am 18 months older!!!!!

Oh excuse me, I got a little carried away. Let's try 58 again:

58 - Chris R - Who is co-inventor of the best sport ever, garbage ball. Garbage ball season is any time you are supposed to be cleaning your room.

59. Lucy R - Who woke me up to play puppy on the floor.

60. Millard P. - Who taught me about valuing life, family and ministry.

61. Lisken S. - Whose dad is right, I am weird!

62. Laura R - Who kept my kids in vegetables.

63. Mike O - Who takes his Pinochle seriously.

64. Cassandra O - Who along with Mike and the rest of Roberts Road gave us an amazing Christmas gift.

65. Anna K - Who blesses my socks off.

66. - Pat G. Who takes scrabble as seriously as one should.

67. Gerald W. - Who continues family traditions.

68 John R. - Who taught me the power of a label maker.

69 Matthew M - Whose friendship I value more than his Dr. Who collection (He has every episode.)

70. Allen L. - Who made my 40th birthday party a musical event to be cherished always. (Thanks again Amy!!!!)

71. Donn A. - Who has held every job, except President ( and maybe that under an assumed name.)

72. Ed C. - Who's made our house, a gallery.

73. Sara C. - Who lets us watch their kids!

74. B. C. - Who sends us money on our birthdays and showers us with love the rest of the time.

75. Katie S. - Who gave a nine year old a shirt and then let me know where she bought it. Thanks for letting me do my own stunts!

76. Beth M - Who finally took my relationship advice.

77 Jimmy S - Who did the same.

78. Eileen F. - Who always spoke her mind.

79. Joe H. - Who called to say thanks.

80. Jeff W. - Who helped me through an emotional roller coaster with a story about roller coasters.

81. Dawny Jo C. - Who like many on this list disprove the notion that all of the good ones are taken.

82. Frank R. - Who knew me for our likenesses rather than our differences.

83. Joel A. - Who deftly mixes stand up comedy with biblical exposition (without a 2 drink minimum)

84. Vladimir L - Who made me feel like part of his family when I needed family the most.

85. Linda B - My first LTR, who introduced me to my First Love.

86. Jeff S. - Who put music to my lyrics.

87. Dale C - Who one mistook a grocery store for a jewelery store.

88. Kayrene A - Who knows more than any college could have taught her.

89. Roger J. - Who gave me my start in radio (if you call recording onto 8 tracks, radio).

90. Don B. - Who remembers W.H.E.N.

91. Mayn S. - Who provided for his family.

92. Jack C. - Who has the whole town talking about the Webb boys.

93. Dave D. Who I taught a Sunday school lesson on dating to and then gave him an exam when I double dated with him to his H.S. Homecoming dance.

94. Julie G. - Who was part of the trio "Just the Two of Us."

95. Beth G. - Who like my brother, left much too soon.

96. Judy M. - Who has the spiritual gift of Hospitality/Librarian.

97. Greg O. - Who is a kind sir.

98 Roy B - Who introduced me to my first LTR and equally as important brats boiled in beer.

99 Ray H. - Who shared a need, that God let me meet.

100. Steven W. - Who once asked my wife if I was funny. When my wife answered yes, he inquired about how often. Amy said about every 20 minutes.

So it took me a couple hours to write this, so I hope you laughed at leat 6 times. Some of you may recall that I promised give-a-ways galore in behalf of my 100th post. In short, I lied. If you expected sinless perfection you came to the wrong blog. I do have loads of stuff to give a way and will be doing so in subsequent posts. 100 has been awesome. I look forward to at least 6 or 7 more.

Next Time: The End of Blogging?