Today is a special day my friends. As you may have guessed from the title and graphic, it's my two year blogiversary! I am so surprised and delighted that I've kept this thing up for two years. I've learned some things along the way and I have some ideas that have evolved into plans. I'll be sharing all about it today.
For the past 2 years, I've blogged sporadically. Basically whenever I felt like it. This has really been a fun hobby. As I go through life I can't help but think about how I should share this or that on the blog. But then I never got around to it. I'd even take photos sometimes, all with the best of intentions. But, life. Life is busy. As a wife and mother and employee working 40 hours a week outside the home I really don't have time to blog. I may be crazy for taking this on or it could be just what I need to achieve my dreams.
I've committed to things in my head before and you know what? I fail. Every time. So I'm going to share my blog plans with you in hopes that this will give me the accountability I so clearly need.
Lesson 1: Consistency is important in blogging. As I mentioned above, I've failed at the is in the past.
Plan: You can now expect at least 2 new posts per week. I'm hopeful that I can add to that as time allows but for now I can maintain 2. As much as I want to commit to certain days, I know better. I will tell you my goal is to have a new post up in the morning on Tuesday and Thursday but that is my goal, it my fluctuate.
Lesson 2: Blogging cannot replace real priorities in my life. When I've posted consistently in the past, I've neglected other important things like my household chores or my husband. I can tell you this did not go well and I had to step back from blogging for a bit as I regained control over our home and spent quality time with the hubby.
Plan: I've searched my daily life for "fringe hours" where I've been wasting time. I'm currently using my hour lunch break from work 3-4 of the 5 days of the work week. The other 1 or 2, I go to the gym and talk with friends like a normal social person. I'm fortunate that Starbucks is just a 5 minute drive from work and they have tasty treats and free WiFi. What more could a part time blogger want? The plan is also to do blogging at night after my people are in bed. This does not happen on Sunday-Thursday because momma needs sleep. But I can drain a Redbull Friday and Saturday late afternoon and make some great things happen.
Lesson 3: Appearance matters. Just like how I look at work matters, how my blog looks matters. As a blog reader, I gravitate to blogs that are neat and clean looking with a white background and minimal "decorations" or ads. My free Blogger template did not make Coffee Before Crayons look like a blog I would want to follow.
Plan: If you've been here before then you probably noticed I've got a new look around these parts. I finally realized I could buy a much better template on Etsy without spending a fortune. I'm sure one day it'll change again and eventually I plan to switch to a self-hosted Wordpress blog which will entail another redesign. For now, I'm really happy with the new look.
Lesson 4: About Me page. Y'all I have wanted to put together an About Me page for the last TWO YEARS. Yes, I did just yell that. Because how ridiculous.
Plan: I did it. I finally created an About Me page. And you know what? It wasn't scary or painful. I have no idea why I've had writers block over this for so long. On that note, I also added the little About Me blurb you see over on the right hand sidebar. If you haven't done it yet, take a second to click over and get to know me better.
Lesson 5: Blog your passion. This theme keeps popping up as I read about blogging. I have really just been sharing our daily life for our family to keep up with us.
Plan: I had a vision recently. I started this as a way to share about our flood renovation and I've viewed our home that way ever since. No more. Welcome to Coffee Before Crayons where I will be sharing about our journey in turning our starter home into our forever home! I'm so glad you're along for the ride. You can expect organizing, decorating, DIY, and room makeover posts. With the occasional family update sprinkled in.
I hope you're excited about the things to come here on my little slice of the internet. I sure am!
