Blogging from A-Z Challenge 2026 - Unofficial Badges

I'm sharing the badges I made for the Blogging from A- Z Challenge (which takes place in April) for anyone participating in the challenge as alternatives to the official badges. But I mostly made them for myself because I didn't like the official ones. Below are the official 2026 badges. They are using the same design as the previous year but with different background, colors and images.

A-Z 2026 official badge and the second version on the right.

    At the official A-Z blog, they use the first version as the header so you can see quite clearly all the elements. I wouldn't say these are ugly but what the heck is this? Readability is not an issue except in smaller sizes but the second version is more readable. Still, why the texture, why the butterfly, why the flowers, why the square shape or why anything at all? Most people are probably not bothered by this design but I guess it's a job habit as a graphic designer to question every design decision. The old badges are better because they are more like logos being circular and everything is clear and easy to read. (See all offical badges and graphics for this year at the official A-Z blog here. ) The old badges were created by a different person so it's why these versions looked vastly different. But it probably didn't matter what my opinions are because everyone thinks differently so let's leave it.

a version of the old badges

     For this year, I used the theme of adventure/exploration for the badges.  The yellow one has mountains or what I call the land version and the blue one has the water so it's the sea version. And that middle thing is a compass/ship's wheel. I hope that explains things. Anyone participating in the challenge are free to use any or all of them. Click on the image for the larger view and download them.

version 1 - land version

version 2 - sea version

    And here are the winner's badges for completing the challenge. I've never used the winner badges so I didn't realize they had been changed. Kristin (at Finding Eliza) pointed it out that the old winner badges used to say survivor but then it was changed to winner - that didn't make sense to me. The A-Z Challenge is not a contest so I don't understand why they changed it to winner. I prefer survivor so I switched it back.

survivor badge - version 1

survivor badge - version 2

    To use survivor makes more sense because the A-Z Challenge is demanding and exhausting so in the end, if you complete it, it meant you've survived something. I plan on participating in the challenge and I'll talk about it in a later post. More about the Blogging from A-Z Challenge here.

Do you plan on participating in the Blogging From A-Z Challenge this April?

Book Rants - Feb 2026

I had set out to read more fantasies and middle grade and ended up reading more grade fantasies with not a murder in sight except in one book which I didn't finish reading. I would like to read more varieties but at the same time, I don't really like to read too beyond my comfort zone so it's a bit difficult choosing what books to read. 
    It's been a snowy, cold February, quite a fast month. The days just zoom on by. It didn't seem like I did anything but I did some work, some blogging, some reading and other things I forgot. If I didn't have a blog where I post some of my activities, I probably wouldn't remember much. Anyway, here are the books I read this month and a few I didn't finish.

Books I Finished:

01 - Totally Psychic (#1) by Brigid Martin
What's it about: psychics, ghosts, school, family, friends, sisters
I guess I would have liked this better if it wasn't so predictable but considering I read many types of these books (boy or girl using their new powers and the chaos that follows and breaking rules or advice they knew they should follow but don't), I would easily know where it will go. This was a good book but the stakes aren't super high and you know things will turn out fine in the end. There's a sequel but I probably won't read it.

Fiction: Dreaming of Bowling Under the Sunshine

The train went on a loop and nobody noticed until it went around a fourth time and by then, the fifth loop had started. A scream escaped into the air but no one claimed it. The twenty-something passengers all paused to look at each other as another loop began. 
    A short man ran to one end of the car and a tall man went to the other end but neither were able to open the exit doors. What's even more strange, they were by themselves and not attached to other cars or even the car with the engine that kept the train moving. Everyone stared out the windows at the passing scenery of trees and buildings under the dull winter sun. 
    The passengers' panicky voices rose and fell. In his corner with his shopping cart piled high with stuff, a man wearing many layers of clothing was enjoying a bowl of something soggy soaked in milk. In between bites, he muttered, "Can't stop. Got to keep going til someone makes a wish."
    Just a few feet away, sitting by the window, Jill heard him but she ignored him. She was thinking if she was late to work, she would be fired. But she didn't panic. She was trained by her firefighter grandfather to stay calm during emergencies. If he was here, he would say, "This is a puzzling puzzle. We'll need to figure this out with our brains, not our emotions." 
    It was the wrong morning to stop paying attention to the train. Normally, Jill read her book and trusted the train to get her to her destination. The train had made its usual stops and passengers got on and off but now it was passing all the stops. What are they to do? Back and forth they went on with the loops and nobody had any answers to this strange predicament. So far, Jill counted nineteen loops. She glanced around her. This was no longer the B train - the sign was now a blank orange circle and not only that but all the advertisements all over the car were missing words. 
    The man with the layer clothing was now reading the newspaper. Jill thought to ask him why was he so calm but he would probably answer with something too wild for her to believe. She glanced at her wrist watch: 8:56. She was already late since it took five minutes to walk to the office from the station.
    The train began to speed up. Loop after loop, it went faster. Jill barely felt the velocity and no one tumbled but the scenery through the windows became long blurs. A little boy screamed that he wished to go home. A few people mumbled their assent. 
    The man with the layered clothing put down his papers. He looked around him. "Who else wish to go home?" he said.
    Everyone raised their hands including Jill. But she didn't want to go home and yet, she didn't want to go to work. She wished she could move to an island and bowl under the sunshine. 
    After a few more loops, the train began to slow down and came to a leisure halt. The doors whooshed open. For a moment, no one moved. Then they all rushed out the doors. Two uniform men appeared and directed them from the station while citing that the train was no longer in service.
    Jill got to work ten minutes late but she was just glad she wasn't looping anymore. Was she wrong that the man with the layered clothing had disappeared from the train? She was sure he didn't get out with them.
    In the afternoon, her boss came out of his office and announced the company would be moving to an island and it will occurred in a month. Jill was enjoying the idea of testing the new pins and bowling under the sunshine to worry about getting fired or having her wish come true.

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This month's Words for Wednesday prompts are posted here. This week's prompts are: train, loop, scream, puzzle, bowl.