My Blogging Strategy & Resources That Inspire Me

I have several unsuccessful blogs that I have started over the past few years.  I always start out with a gazillion ideas and a ton of things to say, then life happens and my zeal and zest for blogging begin to dissipate and wallah — a bunch of frustration and no more blogging. 

This year it is going to be different!  I have read about blogging.  I have done some research on successful blogs because, as they say, the definition of insanity is to perform the same action while expecting a different reaction.  I want to blog successfully this year which means that I have to do something different than what I have done in the past.

The main thing that I have found is that I need to plan out my topics and try to stick to a plan of posting that makes sense for my lifestyle.  As a stay at home mother of 1 year old twin boys I have a crazy life right now, however I believe that with a little perseverance this can be done.  I purchased a 5 x 5″ old school calendar at Walmart for $1.99 and have outlined my blog posts through the middle of January.  I am aiming to add a new post three times a week, however I must add a new post at least two times a week.  Once I have mastered this for a couple of months, then I will try to implement some additional techniques on my blog.  This seems simple and doable!

Resources:

Blog Talk’s BSN Guide To Blogging 10 Week Series

Writer’s Digest: 12  Dos & Don’ts of Writing A Blog

Money Saving Mom: Free Printable Blog Planner

Money Saving Mom: How To Make Money Blogging

If you have any additional tips or resources that have helped you, please share them!

Writing: It Isn’t Always Easy!

Some things in life are hard to swallow.  Things that are good for us, we don’t want.  Things that we have to work for, we are tempted to give up because they are not easy.

I know that the home-made organic sweet potato baby food that I make for my twins is healthy, nutritious and tasty.  My oldest one eats it up, smacking his mouth happily and opening wide for more.  My youngest one, shown in the picture above, wants nothing to do with it.  One of my affectionate nick names for him is ‘my little glutton’ because he drinks until he spits up and then he wants more.  The baby food will not only help his little body to grow providing beneficial nutrients, but it will also help to satisfy his appetite so that he will — for once in his life — know what it is like to feel full.  My little one, who gnaws on his brother’s hand, his brother’s head and attempts to eat his own feet, will not even open his mouth if there is a spoon near it containing yummy goodness.  I have also tried to feed him rice cereal and avocado to no avail.

I think that he does not want to eat simply because it is something different, it is not easy to chew food (especially if you have never done it before) and what he has done in the past by drinking from mommy and bottles has worked pretty well.

What do my little one’s eating habits have to do with writing?

Writing used to be very easy for me BTT, Before The Twins.  I have always been a slow and deliberate writer, but I was always able to produce something more than decent given half a day or more.  Now that my life is different I have to approach things in a different way.  Clearly, I do not have uninterrupted blocks of time and often lose my train of thought.  I do have drive, desire and talent.  I know that I can write.   I just need to learn how to do it a different way.  This is very humbling for someone who has always been commended on the unique way she presents the written word sans any additional instruction or tools.

Instead of trying to do the things that I am currently doing again and again with no result (definition for insanity), I am going back to the basics.  I am reading books on writing.  The same way that I pray for God to bless the food for my babies, I ask Him to bless my efforts in honing my writing skills.  I am setting goals for myself (realistic goals!).  I am working on my craft and figuring out how to integrate this into my new life.  Back to basics.

It is hard.

It is not easy to chew.

It is beneficial and nutritious to my craft.

I am inspired.  I have a plan.  I am writing.  I am happy!

Dumb and Dumber? Go Longhorns!!

In my attempt to become an interesting person with views and opinions on things NON-child related, I have failed miserably.  I have spent the last couple of days reveling in the many amenities of my boys’ new stroller (Baby Jogger Double City Elite).  I love it.  I love it.  Did I tell you how much I love the stroller?  Then, realizing that it will be too big to take when we attempt our first road trip this summer, I began the internet hunt for two single strollers that will be comfortable for the twins, compact and easy on me and my dear husband.  Oh, and the other super exciting news is the fact that my boys, who have shunned rice cereal as starter foods, will eat homemade organic sweet potato puree that I make.

I turned to Yahoo to inform me of what is going on outside of my home while listening to the local news and found out about this:

1.  3 out of 4 students failed the writing portion of the Florida FCAT. which is a statewide assessment test.  The state’s response is to lower the standards for the test so that students more students can pass.  Granted that they raised the test standards this year, but really – is this the solution?
2. University of Texas made a major typo on their commencement pamphlet.  (Random fact – I received a full scholarship to attend UT and turned it down to go to another orange school, Syracuse University, in which I had only a partial scholarship.)  Students graduating from the School of Public Affairs learned that they were in fact graduating from the School of Pubic Affairs.

Are these incidents in separate states at all connected?  Sadly, I believe that they are.  In today’s need-it-yesterday age where texting, messaging and emailing are the normal modes of communication English skills are obviously on the decline.  When I say English skills I mean writing and speaking.  Shame on Florida for giving the excuse that the students did so poorly because they were not properly prepared for the test.  The state is doing a disservice to its students by not teaching them and by letting them know that if they do not know the answers, well, that’s okay too because the state will still pass the students.    ‘I’ before ‘E’, except after ‘C’!  Use ‘an’ before words that begin with vowels!  I could go on and on.  Today’s youth culture has everybody using abbreviations, short cuts, any easy way to just get it done fast. People no longer write letters which would give them an opportunity to flex heir writing chops.  Fast is not necessarily better.  Honestly, everybody knows that a potato baked in the oven for an hour tastes way better than one that was nuked in the microwave for 6 minutes.   SMH.

IDK what else to say so I will move onto the Longhorns.   The University of Texas debacle would be something that I would normally LMAO about and then move on, but it is just so sad that laughing is the only activity that will  prevent my tears from falling.  Grammar and spell-check features are standard on all software programs that I know of.  I am absolutely certain that the University of Texas uses an up to date software system that contains spell-check.  Why didn’t they use it?  Why  didn’t anyone catch this error before it went to print?

As a former court reporter and the current daughter of a minister and an English teacher this casual approach to syntax rubs me the wrong way.  If this lackadaisical view of the English language will make it possible for more and more pubic errors– err, I mean public errors to occur both in print and during conversations.  Are we getting closer to the fictional tale of Idiocracy the movie coming to fruition?

Disclaimer:  If there are any spelling/grammar errors in this post, please, forgive me.  I am operating on only four hours of sleep.  I have not had a full nights sleep since I was five months pregnant and my boys will be five months old tomorrow and both have started teething.  I would, however, be able to pass the Florida FCAT and would never send out something to print without using spell-check even in my sleep deprived state.

Fast is fine, but accuracy is everything.
Wyatt Earp

Photo Credit: Dr. John Bullas courtesy of Flickr

(Notice the nice typo in the photo that I selected for this post.)

Keep It Real – Personal Blog Advice

I have been blogging for only a few days and have had the pleasure of acquiring a few Followers (Thanks, Guys!). While learning about Word Press I discovered the Stats section and immediately became hooked.  All of a sudden my blog, which is really just a way to ensure that I have grown up thoughts (and proof of those thoughts) at some point throughout my day, became about seeing if anyone read my posts.  Did they like what I wrote?  Did they like me?  What should I do in order to drive more traffic to my site?  Most people like my posts on blogging, should I write only about that?  I posted something that inspired me from God’s Word the other day, am I alienating people?

Then I read Lick The Fridge’s  post today which brought me back to reality.  This is my personal blog.  It is a representation of who I am.  I should not and will not be hesitant to post something because it may offend people or not be popular.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I had two other blogs that I did not update and eventually just neglected.  I believe that the reason I neglected these sites is because I was attempting to write for other people in a way that was foreign to myself.  I would like to be a writer.  I am simple, blunt and no nonsense.  I would love to be able to write with flowery fanciful words,  but this is not me and to try to do so just comes across as insincere, flat and boring.

All writers say that you must write and write and write in order to be ‘a writer’.  This is the way in which I choose to write publicly while I work on my craft.  I am not trying to be perfect.

I suggest that you take a look at: Fine, Don’t Read, See If I Care on Lick The Fridge’s Blog.  Look past the profanity to the heart of his post.  It is so true.

Lick The Fridge also recommended a must read humorous article by Brown Road Chronicles that is awesome and that I must now recommend!

Enough with the numbers and stats and what country are the people from who frequent my blog.  Don’t get distracted.  Keep it simple.  Keep it real.  Write what you want the way you want for you.

Blogging Rocks!

I am very excited about blogging.  Although this is only my second post on this blog, I have started two others in the past.  I was NOT successful in keeping up with them.  This time is different,honestly!

Blogging makes me-

• Interesting- It gives me an excuse to look up things that I like or to even have a conversation that doesn’t involve poop or sleep schedules or parenting styles all in the name of research.  This is a plus as I am currently obsessed with our twins.  I love them so much – they are so cute!

• Current – I will stay on top of current events.  I sometimes am a day or even a week behind on major happenings, while this is great for people who reach out to me (everything is news to me) it does not sit well with me and certainly is not an attribute of the Hot Mom On The Block.  She definitely knows what is going on.
• Accomplished – Every post that I write proves that I do have a mind that works beyond the realm of Dr. Seuss.
• Published – My dream is to be a writer.  When I see my words in print on the screen I feel good.  I have so many ideas in my head, but only a handful of them make it into my notebook and from that I have only worked on two short stories since the boys were born.  It is hard to write when you only have 20 minutes at 4am after a feeding.  My mind is pretty much like mush at this time of day.

Blogging is instant gratification!