Thoughts of the Week - What I've Learned

 

{this is what I wear when I'm blogging of course! Source}

In the last couple of weeks I've covered eating habits, drinking habits, kids, arm parties, DIY stuff and emotional stuff.  Why not round out the assortment and cover another one of my favorite topics; blogging?  I've been dedicated to blogging consistently for over a year or so now.  While I've learned a lot of different things about myself and others, here are some of the top bits of morsels I can walk away with...

* My favorite posts are not ones I planned out in my head for days, but come to me all of a sudden and are usually written in less than 15 minutes.   

* Food is the hardest thing to photograph.  Seriously, take a look at this rice, and this cantaloupe salad.  I'm no good at photographing food.

* Emotional, from the heart posts will ALWAYS get the most feedback, i.e., comments.  Emotional posts can never be forced though and have to actually come from the heart.  Readers know the difference ;)

* Tutorial posts usually get the least amount of feedback, but the most number of hits.  Go figure.

* If you can spare the dough, hire a blog designer to create your space.  A space you love is an inspiring one.

* The blogging world is an amazingly generous place.  Take a look at this giveaway that some friends of Lara are hosting.  To help her family with the costs of bringing their baby from Uganda home, they're hosting a virtual baby shower and giving away some pretty amazing prizes, including a Canon Rebel EOS camera and a 75-30MM auto focus lens.  With 4 adopted nieces and nephews of my own, adoption is a pretty spectacular thing here in my family so I was more than happy to spread the word about Lara's virtual shower.  Head on over for a chance to enter, but hurry because the giveaway ends this weekend.  

* Lastly on the list today is that I've learned when you don't feel like blogging, simply don't.  Feeling tired, uninspired, or simply unmotivated, just step away and do something that will recharge you and give you back your creativity and inspire you.  For me it's reading, watching movies at night with Art, going out with friends and going to the gym.  I've been doing a lot of all these things the last couple of weeks, which is why I've only been posting 3 times a week.

What have you learned from blogging?

I trust Annie's taste in books wholeheartedly and so when I finished Emily Giffin's series Something Borrowed & Something Blue, I asked her what she recommended.  She told me about Joshilyn Jackson and I started with Gods In Alabama and am now onto Backseat Saints.

Last weekend we watched Morning Glory, which I give two big thumbs up.  Harrison Ford, Diane Keaton and Rachel McAdams are some of my favorites and this movie was just happy.  Happy is good after watching a string of downer or bad movies including True Grit and Dinner For Schmucks.  Anyhow, the lovely Natasha Bedingfiend, known best for Unwritten, sang the title song Strip Me.  It's been on auto play ever since.


And that folks is all I have for you today.  We're off to the Environmental Nature Center in Newport Beach, just Syd and I.  It should be fun.  Do you guys have any fun plans this weekend?