My Way of Living [Search results for Blog] 

We talk about personal journeys in blogging a lot.
How the road can be rocky at times, how you might lose your direction, your voice and how you will find it again.
It might seem just a matter of sitting down, writing, popping in a few photos, and voila, a blog post
Yes that’s a blog post, but when you share even the smallest details you become part of something that is bigger then you are.
Build a tribe, the experts will tell you when you start to blog.
Gather those together who like your blog and support it.
Those who tweet it, plus one it, and generally get the word out there into blog land.
Where does a tribe live?
They live in a village, I really like mine, and I think they really like me, we share, we comment, we celebrate good things, commiserate over the not so good, welcome newcomers, and look out for each other. Stop posting for awhile, and see how many of your villagers email to find out what’s wrong.
I’ve found blogging to be one of the most life changing social media experiences I’ve ever participated in. It’s a community, a like minded group that supports, and cherishes it’s members, allows them to grow at their own speed, and still remain true to themselves.
And despite that there are still those who are not involved in blogging that just don’t understand what all the fuss is about. You don’t blog for them, you blog for your village.

Why does it take a village to write a blog? Because it’s a support system, they are going to cheer you on, uplift, and inspire your thoughts, just as you uplift, support, cheer on the sidelines, and inspire others.
It’s give and take, it’s feeling that spark of creativity you might get after leaving a comment, a hey there’s a blog post somewhere in here, and you are off and running.
It’s following, and learning from someone who is an more accomplished writer then you are, not in order to copy their style but to better learn what yours is, and how to express it fully.
It’s looking at awe inspiring images that tug at your heart, wondering how they did that, and vowing to learn to be a better photographer, going back and rereading tutorials, taking the camera out once again, it’s that little push that encourages you to grow.
It’s reading a how to on something that has eluded you, learning a better way to do it, it a oh my goodness, I didn’t think I could do this, kind of feeling.

Building relationships with those who are into blogging is not just something to do because it’s pinned as the top 10 things to do to build a audience. It’s not just to keep your readers coming back, or your stats up, comments flowing.
It’s you being real, and authentic.
It’s only then that you realize just how big this village really is. It’s astounding how much support you can get from people that you have never met in person, how great friendships can develop.
F rom comments come conversations, those develop into friendships. Those friendships are real people… not just words on your blog, yes they are a tribe, and they live in your village.
Being part of that village will require honesty, truthfulness, and integrity, it’s not about oversharing, but discerning what to share, and how. It’s a driving force, that encourages you to write better posts with some regularity. You will want to write something worth reading, because you know that the people who read your blog, are interested in what you have to say.

In your village, bloggers will come, and some will go. It’s part of life, we are all nomads as bloggers, while it’s sad to lose touch with someone we have met and feel a connection to, and we miss their comments it was time for them to move on, interests change, situations change.
Expect the village to shift in size regularly, and be welcoming to those who are new to it, and c elebrate being part of something bigger then yourself.
Because it takes village to write blog.

Pin it baby, pin it
You sit down for a few minutes in front of the computer and the next thing you know it’s hours later, and you are deep into Pinterest pinning like a banshee. Your boards are rocking, and you are watching your follower count reach the stratosphere. Now before you turn off the computer for the night, you need some photos for a quick blog post, clicking on your Pinterest boards, you grab a few images that you had earmarked before, type out the post, and hit publish. There, all done you think, I’ve used images from Pinterest but I made sure to type the word “source” beneath each one, that should cover all of my bases.
Not so fast, it might be a case of blogger beware.

It’s not stealing if I credit the website is it?
Well, yes it is, you could be stealing copyrighted images without knowing it, or maybe you do know it, and don’t care. It’s becoming a trend among bloggers to use images found on Pinterest, and other sites for blog posts while typing “source” underneath the image with a link to the web site, or pinterest board that they found it on, it’s incorrect to assume that just by linking to Pinterest or a website you can make use of the image.
It’s not a excuse to say you didn’t know any better, more then one blogger has been sued for copyright infringement, you can read about Roni Loren’s less than idyllic journey of discovery here after she downloaded a picture for her blog off of Google images. She found out the hard way that it doesn’t matter if you link back to the photographer, or even credit them. It’s still copyright infringement, and it’s a big mistake.

Copy, paste, and repeat
It’s tempting to copy and paste a image from Pinterest or other online sources instead of using your own photos, after all we are mesmerized by the amazing images seemingly available for the taking out there.
Laura from La Caseta de Paper has written a well researched post explaining to you why this is a no no. She explains the legality of which images are allowed, along with what you can do to find images for free, or for a small fee for your blog. She explains how the difference between pinning a image onto Pinterest, and using that same image in your blog post creates a copyright infringement.
Not a source?
Bonnie from Coming home to roost explains why Pinterest is not a source, and how to use a Google image search to find the original image. I would suggest to be completely covered that you check the copyright usage, after your find the source, and contact the photographer or web site for permission to use the image before posting.

Pin mine, pin mine
All images are copyrighted the second you click that photo in your camera, but it’s also a good idea to have a description on your blog letting others know how they can use both your images, and text. As a blogger, and photographer I allow my images to be pinned to Pinterest because of the increased traffic it brings my blog. But I am fully aware that once it’s out there, it’s a free for all that’s why I have a copyright notice on my sidebar, and each image I post is watermarked, and has imbedded metadata. I monitor my Google alerts, and use Tin eye for a reverse image search. I’m working hard to increase my photography, and editing skills and those images are mine! Lets not make it any easier for those who steal images, and posts from bloggers who have worked hard to create good content.
One last word of advice from Laura at Caseta de Paper, is if you are unsure of a copyright use of a image, don’t use it.
Great advice that I hope everyone takes.

Start a blog blog today and you will be reading posts that explain how to figure out who you should be blogging for. How to tailor your blog for your ideal reader.

To conjure up a profile of who your reader is, right down to where she shops for her clothing, and what kind of coffee she drinks. Mocha, anyone? I find it fascinating that anyone can be so specific. Fascinating, and rather difficult. To me it's like planning your wedding before you have found a special person. Carrying around this huge binder full of ideas, samples, colors and possible venues hoping that you will meet that perfect someone to fit your specifications. I think that binder's kind of heavy, but it works for some people. I wasn't sure I was capable of being able of figuring out who my perfect reader would be. Beside if it was my wedding I'd change my mind so many times…you, pointing at a potential one, Oh no you…no maybe… Although it would certainly make it easier to come up with ideas, to write content that is pertinent to a reader's needs, and wants. Sometimes I feel like I am stumbling, lost, and other times I think I have a very clear idea of what I am supposed to be doing. Wonder if we all get that feeling.

So I thought I would try to figure out who my reader was, I gave it a really good try…even got as far as the first few sentences about who I imagined I was writing for. I kept drifting off on a tangent, following dreams, planning other stuff, thinking of what I had to make for dinner. Being interrupted by the Boo,"dinner, you're thinking of dinner?" See what I mean, there I go…off down another trail of the black hole of blogging. That's me…following trails, exploring, wandering, gathering. Learning, and being inspired by it. But I figured out who it is I blog for.

Whom I love to share my photography with? You.

Simple isn't it… You've been here all along…visiting my blog, leaving those wonderful comments, saying such nice things. So I guess when it all comes together, I've already found my perfect reader. And I just wanted to say thank you so much! I'm so glad that you are here.

Add caption Now that I buttered you up, can I ask for a favor? I'd like you to help me out a bit. Give me a idea about what it is that keeps you coming back to my blog. Is it my charming wit? My sincere devotion to filling in the details, to staying on track? Stop laughing. Can you tell me what it is that you love. And, [oh gulp,I'm being brave here], what you you don't like as much. Please let me know what it is that you are looking for in my posts, what you enjoy. And if there is anything that I can add to make them more enjoyable for you. Would you leave me some suggestions in the comments.
I would really appreciate it. Now I've got something to share with you. Drum roll please.. After much thought, research, and dreaming, I've decided to move my blog to Word Press. Wipes sweat off of her blogging brow. It won't happen until sometime in the beginning of March. Most of you won't notice anything if it all goes to plan. I'll give you lots of heads up, it's going to be exciting. But if something were to happen I have a back up plan… I'll bring out the Boo…he can entertain you for awhile. Meow! I'll give you more details when it's all firmed up closer to the move date. If you enjoyed reading this post, you might like this one also.

One of my blog readers was mentioning that I did not have a updated URL for her blog on my blog roll. I immediately went in to fix it, and that is when things really started rolling. With best intentions I went to her blog, visited, and then I was interested on another blogger on her blog roll, so I clicked on that blog, and had a good visit, and then there was another blog on the new blogs sidebar. And about 10 clicks, and 40 minutes later, well you get the picture. What was I there for again? Oh right, I was supposed to fix my blog roll.

Wondering why the blog roll is on the bottom of my sidebar? Well, that apparently is where Blogger wants it to be. And after trying 2 different browsers, and many attempts at a better placement I have come to a compromise with Blogger. It no longer deletes my blog roll, and I leave it where it is. This way at least I can add a new blogger to it without deleting the entire thing again. Anyone else having the same problems?

I really do read all your blogs, and there are many more that I don’t have listed. Who says the housework needs to get done in a timely fashion? Since we got our computer, and I started blogging, well…I may have let the housework slip a bit, but Bootsie doesn’t seem to mind as long as we feed him regularly. Jane

I’ve been slogging through my old blog posts for the last little while.
Correcting, eliminating, labeling, sorting things out.
Yes, some of those posts are gone, they don’t all deserve to stay.
Some I am treasuring… I can almost see where I stretched, and grew.
It hurt at times, it made me cry at others… laugh, smile, and know that it was worth the effort.
It’s somewhat slow going, but it’s enlightening at times.
The wistful “when will these Muddy Boot dreams come true” posts, wanting so badly to be up here in the Okanagan living our new life, not realizing during my deepest doubts how close it was to happening.
The newbie posts where I was lost, and lonely at times, when there was a good reason to celebrate a extra comment, and another reader, bringing me up to the whopping total of 10 readers.
The times I was so excited and sure that I knew where I was heading kind of posts, only to change directions like a flag buffeted in the wind.
We grow, and change the more we blog, that’s good.
The ones where I found my voice, misplaced it, only to find it again.
This time I am keeping it close to me. It’s mine, it’s me.

The growth of my love for photography, when I finally discovered the manual settings on my camera, and how to use them. The fact that there was more to shoot then the flowers in the backyard.
If I could visit that newbie blogger once again, and impart something that I have learned in these years of blogging, I know what I would say.
To write a blog, and do it well.
To be engaging, interesting, and thoughtful.
To be full of energy, and surprises, to keep your reader’s attention.
To keep them wanting more, y ou must give more, think more, experience more.
You must open your heart more, plan more, decide more, share more.
And sometimes it’s just not a possibility.
To write, to think, to do.
To be positive, and charming, and thoughtful seems to drain even the best of us at times, it’s life. Just move forward through it, it shall pass.

Life is so full of experiences, things to be done, requirements of our time, stuff we must do, there will always be something to blog about.
Into each blogging life a little rain will fall, things will break, disappear, fall through… and you will lose interest, just as much as you are thrilled to discover something or someone new.
Learn from your mistakes.
Blogging is like a puddle of water, that dries up, only to overflow with emotions, thoughts, ideas, and images that we can’t get down fast enough at another time. Sometimes filling in the blanks, sometimes the blanks are left there for a reason.
Because life is always happening in the background.
And when life happens, we will blog about it.
And when it doesn’t happen, we blog about that too.
The one thing you must do when you blog, is not to take it too seriously.
Life goes forward, things happen, people come and go in your blogging life, keep moving forward.
Live life and blog, love life and love blogging.
Use spell check!
Make friends, form relationships, yes, these people are real.
Write nothing that you wouldn’t want your Mom to read.
Always leave nice comments, even when someone leaves a mean one for you.
You have friends out there in the blogging world, and you will find that out when you need them.
Don’t let the urge to check your stats or your followers dictate what and how you see blogging.
Treat your readers like gold, for they are the reason your blog exists.

Comparison is the death of all creativity, we each have set out on a journey to a different destination, sometimes those roads converge, sometimes they take off in opposite directions. It’s your journey, no one else's, take the path that works for you.
There will be shooting stars, those who come, some will stay, and some will go just as fast. There will those who slowly and steadily climb, and those who just plod along in the same space for as long as you know them, that’s all OK, it’s their journey.
Blogging is so personal, the journey is so specific that no one else’s will ever be like yours. It’s yours alone, you have fans they are cheering on the sidelines, they are your readers. Can you hear it, that’s the sound of someone leaving you a comment.
And just when you think that you have it all figured out, the rules might change… your direction, your theme, your thought process might shift, and you will see the world from a different perspective, and that’s fine too.
Because there are as many or more readers as there are blogs, and they will find you and stick with you.
Blog on newbie blogger, blog on. Please add any advice you would have given to your newbie blogging self in your comments, we all need to read those encouraging words no matter where we are in our journey.
And I hate to disappoint anyone, but these are old images of spring bulbs, we are a long, long way from seeing anything green around here.
Jane

Some of you asked if there was something going on the other day when I posted about gone fishing, nope nothing exciting at all, no reason, just… well read on and find out for yourself.
Ever have one of those really good days?
When the sun shines, and you think about writing a really happy blog post.
But you decide to go out for a drive first to enjoy the rare winter sunshine.
Because after all, life is about living in the moment isn’t it?
And then just as you raise your cell phone to take a quick photo of a old barn as your husband drives down the highway a little too quickly to really capture anything, but you have to try, your phone rings.
And you get to go out for lunch, unexpectedly, and isn’t life just generally good?
And then after you get home, the sun is shining, and wow, did you see how the sunshine highlights the dusty floor, you had better vacuum, and then you should really sit down and write that blog post. But first you grab the camera and take a few shots.
Then it’s almost time to make dinner, but as you sit with a cup of tea, and realize you kind of forgot to write a blog post, you think, I’ve had a really great day and I’m just going to sit and relax for just another minute… or two. Life is about living in the moment isn’t it?
And then I will write a blog post, I really will.
And the next thing you know is it’s much later, and you still haven’t written that blog post.
And dinner isn’t made.
There is a great show on TV after dinner, you think you will write that blog post after you watch the show. Sure you can.
The next thing you know, you’ve almost spilled the cup of tea all over yourself, because, well, you kind of had a little nap. It was a eventful day, and life is all about living in the moment isn’t it?
And now you should really write that blog post. After all, you more or less promised to post it didn’t you. And yes, your feet are sore from the long walk that you took today, and it was so cold outside that you were sleepy when you sat on the couch, but now it’s time to write that blog post.
But life is all about living in the moment… so you sit for just another moment.
Oh dear… you fell asleep again.
Now it’s late, and you still need to write that blog post. The cat is snoring besides you, the husband has gone to bed.

And you have a great idea for the post. What was it again?
Right, you can’t remember… could you claim to have nothing to write about, and write about that, but hey, didn’t you do that last week?
Well, maybe they forgot, but they will understand, after all you had to go out for lunch, the sun was shining, it’s almost expected to live in the moment. And you certainly had to vacuum, no one will hold that against you. That’s important, and so was making dinner, and all that. Blame it on the weather.
Now what were you going to write about?
Stop nodding off, stay awake, live every moment, life is about living in the moment. n ot nodding off in the dark.
Now you really should write that blog post.
Wishing all a very Happy Valentines Day!

It’s probably going to happen in every bloggers life.
A time when you commit a blogging mistake, maybe break a unspoken rule.
A blogging no-no, you might have realized it, or maybe you didn’t.
Let’s just start by saying that maybe you didn’t post for a while.
Or you posted so sporadically that everyone forgot you were actually a blogger, and it lasted for longer than many of your readers were willing to wait, and they wandered off to other blogs, and stopped checking to see if you were there anymore.
And now you would like them to come back, but you don’t know how to go about it.

Or maybe you stopped engaging, and commenting on their blogs, you didn’t answer questions, and you didn’t reply to queries, even from your best blogging friends.
You literally dropped off the face of the blogging world.
There are things that you can do to fix it, all is not lost.
And most likely your blogging friends will understand.
They are a pretty cool bunch, and they know that life does sometimes get in the way no matter how much we might want to blog.
They will also tell you that blogging is supposed to be fun, not stressful.
You might try sending them cupcakes, and ask them to drop by for tea and a bit of blog post reading.
Or you could start by visiting their blogs again, let them know that you have reappeared, and would love to see them once again.
It happens, bloggers come, and go, change formats, ideas, themes, they will understand.
I’m sure that the village it takes to write a blog knows you well enough to withstand the latest storm.
Your dedication towards having visited, commented, and engaged with everyone in a real and authentic way throughout your blogging history will bring them back.
All the while building long term lasting friendships from those who read your blog.
Because every once in a while you’re going to break a blogging rule, spoken, or unspoken.
It’s life, and life is like that.
And when you do, you are going to need those blogging friendships even more.
So make sure you have built your village well, spent time crafting great content if you enjoy writing, taking good quality images, or choosing ones that you have permission to use.
Build those villages, and when life makes it harder to blog, let your blogging friends know I’m sure that they will understand.
And if you have any suggestions to help ease the pain of breaking a blogging rule be sure to leave them in your comments. So my blogging friends, here’s the deal.
I’ve read your blog, you’ve read mine.
We’ve exchanged comments, visited each other’s online world. We’ve been building our friendships and getting to know each other for a little while now, you know who I am, and I know who you all are and how thankful I am that I’ve got to connect with you.
But lately things in my life have been taking over making it harder to write a post, and even more difficult to visit your blogs and return comments.
I’ve tried cutting back on my posting, I’m down to twice a week, and I still can’t keep up with visiting all of you, I need to post, I need to blog, and it’s such a part of my life.
I know not returning comments is a huge blogging mistake.
And that was one rule that I have always tried to make sure I didn’t break.

I’m sorry, but right now I just can’t do it all, and I feel so badly about this.
As a blogger who writes about how it takes a village to write a blog, it isn’t easy to have to say that.
Because I can’t make it to everyone’s blog to visit right now.
I’ve tried.
And I am asking you to understand, and to keep visiting, to stay as a member of my village while I weather this storm, it’s not permanent.
I’ll be posting, and trying to keep up with visiting as much as I can.
Because it takes a village to write a blog, and without you, there is no point to blogging.
Jane

It’s your blog, own it.

Might be contradictory advice coming from someone who is very selective about letting people she’s met know that she has a blog. When I first started Muddy Boot Dreams I told people at work.and later I regretted letting the cat out of the bag so to speak. I read stories about bloggers being found out, and fired, and was a little concerned that my very uptight corporate employer might be reading my blog, my personal thoughts, my description of how my life ran, and it made me tuck my personality inside for awhile.

I only wrote about gardening, after all they couldn’t complain about that. But while it felt great during the spring, and summer months, my roots were restricted by the feeling that there was more ground to cover. So I started to write about what moved me, how I saw life, and what it made me feel. And as I loosened up the “rules” I grew. And I liked it. In fact I love it.

In the early days, I was finding my voice, learning that there was life after hitting that first time scary publish button. Those early posts are almost embarrassing in the naiveté of the writing, but we all have to start somewhere. It’s life, it’s blogging, it’s kind of scary the first time you really put yourself out there, checking the stats, wondering if anyone is reading your posts. But we get so much out of blogging, that it’s worth it.

Own your blog, it’s what you do, maybe it’s not all that you do, you work, you have a life, you have interests, and blogging is one of them. Be proud of it.

I decided to make some postcards, and business cards, from Vistaprint to feature my blog, I love how they turn out… In fact I have plans for making more, some will reflect the other parts of my life, these show my blog, my style. While I am still selective about who in my personal life gets to know I have a blog, it’s nice to have a more polished way of giving out the information then just a scrap of paper with my blog name written on it. Click here to find out some other ways to incorporate business cards made by Vistaprint into your life.

It’s no secret that blogs that use great photos are among those that are the most popular. A great quality blog photo added to well written content, turns the post into one that engages your reader and keeps them coming back for more. How do you take a great photo? You practice edit, tweak, and play with the shot until you feel it’s ready to post, just like you do with your content. Here are some simple solutions to help you out if you are making these 5 common blogging photo mistakes. And at the by the end of the post see if you can spot the one mistake that I have made.

1. Using on camera flash, everything looks washed out, harsh, the whites have lost all detail. What to do? Solution: Turn off the flash on your camera. Set up your indoor shots near a bright window and use a large piece of white cardboard to reflect light onto your subject.

2. Using too many shots of the same angle, each photo looks like a clone of the one before it, and it’s boring your reader. Solution: Change it up, add something, take away something. Shoot from below, over top, the sides, grab the readers interest by changing the subject, or the angle. Make this a habit while shooting and you won’t regret it.

3. Using too many images in a blog post, it’s photo overload, there are too many images, and the reader starts scanning through the blog post trying to get to the end faster. Solution: Break up the blog post into two parts. Or use the extra photos for another post. Not every photo you take needs to be posted. Aim for quality, not quantity. Teach yourself to take less photos while taking the time to compose the shot, rather then just clicking away aimlessly.

4. Not using images that support your blog post. The photos you used in the post have nothing to do with the subject you wrote about, and it confuses the reader. Example, they are reading a post on making cupcakes, expecting to see a food image, and instead see a image of a dog because that’s all you had. Solution: Think ahead and shoot what you need for your blog posts. Shoot some everyday images that can be used for different posts, or shoot something that illustrates a blog idea in your head. Don’t have the right photos, work the post around the photo subject, and try to keep the image connected in some way to the subject.

5. Not watermarking your photos. Posting photos on your blog without watermarking, or adding metadata first. Making it even easier for thieves to steal your images. Solution: Use Picasa, Pic Monkey, or Photoshop to watermark, your images. I use Picasa, it’s has two different quick and easy ways to add a watermark to all of my images, sure it can be removed, but it takes longer to do so. You wouldn’t leave your car unlocked, why not watermark your photos, you’ve worked hard to compose and edit the shot, it’s yours, now own it! But remember not to have the watermark so large the image can’t be seen correctly. Now, did you catch #4, not using supportive images for your post? Yes, I am guilty myself of not using images that added anything to the blog post. It’s not set in stone that you have to, but being prepared makes a big difference in the quality of your post. I hope that these easy hints will help you develop into a better photographer, and avoid the 5 common blogging photo mistakes that we all sometimes make.

When I first thought about starting a blog.
Before I even tried to figure out how to start a blog.
I thought, whom am I going to be?
Will I be the fashionista?
Would I be the politically oriented, scientifically thinking, intelligent glasses wearing professional?
As if.
Would I try to pretend, and pass my self off as some type of expert on something?
My mind very quickly ran through a million or more scenarios, and quickly tossed them out the window.
It does that at times. Smart of it to do so.
It’s tempting to wonder what persona we should take on, if we should be someone whom we might think would be more successful then being ourselves.

At the time I was deeply entrenched in my Garden Center jobs, and plants were my passion. I was no more a politically oriented, fashionista fascinated scientist then I was an astronaut.
Photography was starting to take a edge over the blossoms, but it made perfect sense to read and think about garden blogs. I joined a Garden bloggers community that posted my blog to it’s members, exposed me to other great garden bloggers, and all seemed fine for awhile.
Much as I loved being part of the community, I felt fenced in when I realized that I was expected to write about gardening all the time.
Every time, each time, and I was trying to post every day.
This was great during gardening season, but during the bleak, wet winter, how can you wax eloquently on foliage, and be beatific on buds if you can’t take photos in the rain.
There were only so many things I could say about gardening much as I loved it. But I lost my words, my voice, my way. I struggled on not knowing that the lure of success was tempting me like a brilliant flower just out of reach.
It started to droop, and fade.
I dreaded having to post.

One day I rebelliously wrote a post describing the awe I felt at seeing masses of washed up jelly fish on the beach in the cold and frosty morning, it was a magical moment for me. I got real comments from that post, not just “nice shot.”
I felt good about writing it, it felt real.
I started to write for myself, describing how I felt, telling a story, being real, and I saw changes in the way my blog was reaching out to my readers.
Sure I couldn’t tell a great story every time, trust me there are still some cringe worthy posts in my archives, but I was trying, and sometimes succeeding.
It’s all been worthwhile, I feel like I am being me, I write about what I love, I write about life, and light as I see it. And I am seeing growth in my blog, my writing, my photography.
I’m not knocking communities, they are wonderful, but they didn’t work for me, I needed to write posts that have some sort of meaning as I grow and change. One reader commented that her blog has evolved past anything it used to resemble. I can completely understand that.
I think mine has too.
So write meaningful posts, blog as yourself, it’s worth it in the end.

Some of you have said that you are not sure which direction your blog is going in, your direction will come, be patient, don’t give up. Others have said that they don’t have that many readers, v isit other blogs, comment, build that village.
They will find you. It might take some time, but they will.
Grow.
And blog on.

I've got a friend who exquisitely files and organizes everything. From her silverware, and dishes, to her paperwork. She is the Martha Stewart of my life, so super organized she can put her finger onto anything you ask her to produce, dishes, documents, and the warranty for any appliance, no matter how old.

I admire her organizational skills, and part of me is asking? How do you do it? Did you learn it, where you born with this skill? Is there a class that I missed, did I misfile the ability somewhere between lost socks, and the cat demanding lunch at 10 am? I struggle to organize my thoughts, to be able to put them on the screen in a manner that is readable and interesting. We know it takes time to write a interesting blog post, and that good content takes effort. You've heard the phrase,"time expands to fill the space available" it's called Parkinson's law. The more time I have available the longer it takes to write my post. It can take me all day if I were to let it, and it won't be any more organized. Am I the only person this happens to? For me writing a blog post is similar to making dinner from scratch. I might start with p lans for homemade pasta, Alfredo sauce, broccoli, consider those the outline of my blog post. As I try to write down my thoughts the butter burnt, the cream curdled, and we ended up eating store bought pasta, and jarred sauce, with over cooked broccoli. It tasted OK, but it's wasn't what I had in mind when I began. Learning how to transfer the jumble in my mind onto the computer screen is one of the hardest things for me. The seat of your pants style of blogging has been my default for much too long, and I'm trying to improve by being more organized. Writing posts ahead of time still feels awkward, I'm still writing the night before, but I know that if I make something a good habit, it becomes much easier for me.

I'd like to be able to write a blog post in 20 minutes like this but I am far away from it. Sometimes I need to trick my brain into using organizational tricks to get things done in time. I've been using these and they seem to be working.

• Writing standing up, sitting down encourages me to daydream, and we all know that it's wonderful.but not going to get that post written.

• Setting a timer, the more time I have the longer it takes me to write my post.

• Drafting out a post, writing a outline, going back and filling in the details afterwards.

• Retyping awkward sentences in CAPITAL LETTERS. If I'm struggling with a word, I will just type it in caps so I can find it later and fix it.

• Planning sheets from organized home they offer free printables, calendars, and to do lists that I've been using to organize my thoughts.

I'm in awe of bloggers who are able to write posts that flow effortlessly, the kind that make you wish you had written them. It's a journey, and each step we take to improve ourselves, brings us closer to being better bloggers. I need that on my wall…each step brings me further along my blogging journey… I'm always on the lookout for more organizational tips to help my blogging, so if you have any tips that help you organize your blog posts, please let me know in your comments.

The big move update: My move to Word Press is still a couple of weeks away, I've purchased my hosting, bought the Genesis framework, and picked a feminine theme I love. I'll let you know the exact date of the move when we get a little closer, things should stay almost the same on your end. I understand changes to our routines can be difficult, and I am hoping that you will hang out with me no matter what platform I'm on. I'm not changing who I am, or how I blog, what kind of shots I take, just where I do it.
Laura from I'm so Vintage is going through the process of changing her blog name, and URL, she wrote a post describing it here. In the end, although changes might not be easy to go through, they help us grow in our blogging journeys.
Thanks for reading!
If you enjoyed this post you might want to read this post also.

It never ceases to amaze me how we bloggers have this magical ability to pull something out of nothing.
Such as:
Creating a blog post out of a inspired sentence, or experience that comes from…
A conversation

That you might be having with someone.
[Check out the great photo that Stephanie used a cool app on, with gorgeous results.]
A experience
And this all happens just in time, when you realized.
That yes, you should have been thinking about writing this post waaaay before the last minute.
But you were
Puttering in the garden, taking down the beans, drying the sunflowers for the birds.
Enjoying the flower’s last blooming hurrah before the first frost.
And maybe.
You should have been blogging
Instead of walking in the glorious sunshine down country roads with your beloved.
Taking time to refresh your creativity.
Wondering if the sheep will be out in the field.
And are there to be more cows in the red barn before the winter?
Discussing whether or not the caterpillar’s wide stripe means a hard winter.
Does a squished by a vehicle caterpillar mean that the stripe is wider, and thus a harder winter?

Maybe a post evolves from a experience
Of dashing out of the house alone, in the early morning to take photos of fog patches that linger on the river.
Catching the only moment of sun breaking through the clouds, bathing the mountain in light for the entire day.
Score!
Despite feeling uncomfortable being out there alone on the river walk path.
Wondering if it was a good idea.
One eye on your truck with your wallet locked inside, and one hand firmly hanging onto your “much to expensive to replace” camera.
Hoping the that little town that you have travelled to next to yours was really safer at this time of morning than you thought it might be.
Wishing that you had brought your husband along instead of going off on a whim.
And being thankful that there was another person, who also was female striding towards you.
After all the unseen threats couldn’t take you both on, could they?

Making new friends
With her, while walking beside the gorgeous river and discussing it’s reputation for nature, and safety.
Only to realize just how vulnerable you felt once again when you had to turn back, retrace your steps, now alone passing that man staring into the magnificent river vista.
Despite his dog being beyond friendly, you still felt uncomfortable. He was so silent, and stern.
The area has less then a stellar reputation that early in the morning.

But the views, the clouds, the mountains, the wild geese, and the ducks trying out their landing gear on the river.
The absolute beauty of being able to see as far as your eyes could strain.
The clouds, the sky, the glow from the hidden sun.
Took only your breath away.
And for that you were thankful.

Many thanks to all of you who take the time to read my blog posts, and to those who also leave a comment, even more thanks! I truly appreciate your time spent doing so.
A tip, a tip!
I’m just wondering if anyone else has encountered the jiggling, vibrating sidebars that seem to be happening to a few Blogger blogs… and thought I would share a solution that I found online.
If you use Chrome as your browser, you might have this problem also.
It may be the Google follower’s widget causing the problem, apparently it can be fixed by moving your follower’s button down lower on your sidebar.
As a reader a quick fix to stop the vibrations would be to zoom in or out to a different setting… say 110% or even 90%. That seemed to work for me if I am reading a blog with a vibrating sidebar.
And one more bit…
If you have a Blogger blog could you please check that the list of blogs shown in your profile has your most current blog at the top?
We are all so pressed for time, if you are a new commenter we might not know which blog is the one to read and comment on.
Also for those who use a Google+ profile for your Blogger blog, please consider putting the link to your blog in a extremely visual place, maybe even more then once… less clicks for us = more views, and comments for you.

I do believe there is a black hole. A endless sucking vortex that swallows all of those good blogging ideas you have. [Along with your single missing socks, gloves, spare change you knew that you had in your wallet…you get the idea.] It's headquarters are situated right here, it lurks in the shiny new blogging planner I bought.

It started with such great intentions, get a blog planner, write down every single idea that pertains to blogging. From the brilliant to the mundane…get it out there in the universe. Get ahead of the game, plan, schedule, and sit back and relax. Watch how fast the pages get filled up with interesting things, make a system that highlights post ideas, so should the remarkable day come when I need a idea, I just page through it and voila! Sure it filled up quickly…with notes, ideas, quotes I wanted to use, tips, and blogging advice that I needed to retain. But something odd keeps happening. The ideas concerning the blog titles that I write down disappear as soon as they are written. Much like invisible ink…whoosh it's gone. That great idea I had about Baby Boomers…whioooooshhh. Wafting onto the air…like a snowflake. Sure was good while it lasted. And that funny post about the Boo…slurp…drank it up as soon as I wrote it. When I make the connection between pen, paper, and brain, all that is left is the title.thoughts, the ideas that would flesh it out are gone. Much like my resolve around chocolate cupcakes with vanilla cream frosting, made with real butter and cream. Gone.

Do you? Have you? Any thoughts on using one? Not the cupcake…the blog planner. Should you be distracted by thoughts of deep chocolate…with a touch of raspberry filling…and ooooohy gooey fudgy deep chocolate…and cream vanilla rich frosting…see what I mean…what were we talking about again? I'm sure it's a great idea those blog planners… Now all I need to do is put down some ideas about eating chocolate cupcakes with vanilla cream frosting, write them down twice to be sure it works to plan. And voila…those ideas will be gone too. For now I'm off to find some more cupcakes. I've got a blog planner to fill.

One good thing to keep true to your heart, and in your mind, whether you are a shiny bright newbie, or a established blogger with lots of experience, is your personal blogging boundaries.
What one blogger considers to be a open field, might be oversharing to another. Those lines should be clear in your mind, and be refreshed every now and again on your journey.
Sometimes a incident will occur, or you will read something that you might consider a little too revealing in blogging and it will make you sit up and pay attention.
That’s good.
Boundaries are a good thing, we haven’t just fallen off of the turnip truck, we know in our hearts how much we want to share. It’s those moments of recognition that define our boundaries.

Blog post boundaries:
Sharing facts about yourself doesn’t mean that you need to tell all, unless you want to, and you feel comfortable with that.
I’m paraphrasing a comment left by Meredith on my post “Blogging as yourself” that resonates so true to my heart.
“That doesn't mean you have to tell everyone your deep dark secrets, just be true to yourself.”
Sometimes when we start to blog, it’s tempting to share more then we are would like to in order to be popular. To get those extra comments, gather in more readers. Figure out where you stand on this, and build that fence, if you decide to move it, think before you do, it’s a choice you should make because you feel comfortable, not desperate. The comments will come, the readers will find you, it’s going to take time, and being too out there is not going to give you the kind of people you want to share your village with.
Once it’s on the internet, it’s out there forever. Who wants to be deleting blog posts later about a problem when it’s all over, or the situation has changed. This of course is a matter of personal preference, but I am suggesting that you decide how comfortable you are with sharing before you post anything too personal.

Offers, and giveaways:
When you have been blogging for awhile that first offer of a prize for a giveaway can sound very appealing. Wow, they like my blog, they want to sponsor a give away, on my little blog? It might suddenly feel like you’ve made the big time, and you may have caught the eye of a legitimate sponsor, if so, that’s good.
But don’t be too quick to respond yes, until you have thought through what the implications are, and if the offer is only going to result in free advertising for them. I’ve seen multiple inexperienced bloggers accept conditions that are only benefiting the companies and their products, because the rosy glow of being picked overshadowed the reality of what they were giving away for free.
I get offers from different sponsors, some are legitimate, and others just want me to write a post highlighting their products for free. You’re the reader of this blog, why should I waste your time, and mine on a product, or review of something I haven’t even tried, held in my hand, or looked over?
It’s my brand, my blog, and my reputation at stake here, I pick and choose the sponsors I promote with great care.
To me that’s one boundary I won’t cross, and I have no problem telling potential sponsors the truth, don’t treat me like I’ve just fallen off of the turnip truck.

The time you spend blogging:
You’ve been blogging for some time, and while it’s a great to see the comments roll in you’ve been feverishly working on new projects, and posts to the extent that you are ignoring family, and friends. Decide for yourself how many times you will post, and how important blogging is in your life. I’ve gone from posting once a week, to posting every day, and now I post 3 times a week. This works for me, and it might change, but I am happy with where I am now.
Blog on,

The longer you blog, the more you learn.
The more you learn, the more you realize what you need to do in order to keep up.
The more you do, the more you realize that there is so much more you don’t know.
And this goes around in a vicious circle until you have blog burnout.

Follow any good blogging websites and the advice ranges from: do this, to do that, and never ever do that. Click on over to another site, and you will be told to do the exact opposite.
About the only consistent advice might be:
DO NOT USE WORD VERIFICATION.
That’s great advice.

I like blogging advice, and I like tutorials, hints, and ideas on how to do things, I like social media… but that’s just me. You might have other things that appeal to you. That’s OK, we all don’t have to be the same kind of bloggers, remember that village I wrote about a while back?
But there comes a time when we have to question if everything we are reading is important enough to us to follow through on, or should we just use our own judgement on certain things. How much free time do you have, and how much are you willing to spend blogging, and promoting your blog? And for what reason, monetary, growth, friendship? When did blogging become about learning SEO, key words, transparency and social media, and less then connecting with your community?

There are some experts out there that will tell you to make sure to hit all of the social media sites to promote your new post, Google+, twitter, Face Book, the works. I have also noticed that despite the thousands of followers they have, some of those sites have very few comments, it makes you wonder what’s up with that? Are they so busy building a empire of social media influence that they don’t have the time to interact with anyone?
They will tell you not to have two columns of sidebars, not to forget to put up your social media icons, not to use more then 3 colors in your design, and to make sure your posts are under 300 words, while others will say at least 1000 words. It can be exhausting to read, and process and I haven’t even written a blog post that day.

I personally can barely put out a project a month, much less one every day. But that’s me, there are amazingly some bloggers who can do it, and good on them. I used to blog every day, and while I agree it’s made me a better writer, and photographer, practice makes anyone better, all that blogging would improve anyone’s skills.
But I find that I need time to get out there with my camera, because as much as I love blogging, and I do love it, I love photography even more.

I will still continue to participate in my chosen areas of social media, I will still be posting on my Muddy Boot Dreams face book page, and I have a Google + page for MBD, but I will also be out there with my camera a lot more. It’s important to me to hone those skills, continue to develop my eye, and forge a new path for myself.
As I am mulling over tutorials, hints, and ideas that I come across on how to use social media, I am going to be reading about, and using only those ideas that I feel are really worth my time, and effort. Some are well worth it, but I am leaving it up to my inner blogger to decide which ones I believe in, isn’t blogging supposed to be about fun, and community, along with learning to do new things?

How many social media outlets do you regularly participate in? Does your blog have a FB page, a G+ page, are you on Pinterest. Do you follow fellow bloggers personal, and blogging social media sites?
Let’s continue the conversation in the comments, I’m curious about how many of you have expanded beyond the blog. This post was inspired by Brenda from a Cosy Little House, one of my favourite seasoned, and beloved bloggers who has written a great post at Brenda’s blog tips where she is sharing her opinion about blogging, virtual assistants, and linky parties…… click on over, it’s well worth reading.

In the blogging world it seems there are as almost as many types of bloggers as there are tutorials on how to blog out there. DIY’s, photography, coupon counting, household hints, childcare, homeschooling, the list goes on.

It’s endless I’m sure, no matter what the niche might be there will be a blogger that has captured the very essence of it, and is flourishing there.
There are also expert bloggers who are willing to share their advice on how to become as successful as they are.
Then you have the rest of us, the Naked Niche bloggers, those who go from topic to topic, changing our subjects like our socks, touching on various ideas, expressing our thoughts, our feelings, learning and trying different things as we go.
We’re all at different stages in our blogging journeys, some might just be starting out, other’s further along. Our villages are starting to be populated, we’re adding readers, our audience is growing follower by follower.
Things are good, but hey, maybe they could be better might be lurking in the back of our minds.
Some of us might get a little restless, want to change things up, or do something different, and we start to explore. That’s when we come across the “Blogging must do” posts written by the experts. They’re interesting, full of good ideas, and lots of promises, you start to wonder if this would work for you.
It sounds alluring, and you make the changes, maybe it’s setting up a email list, writing longer posts, writing shorter posts, adding more personal information, adding less.

Maybe they suggest that you find 5 social media platforms that you are active on every day on them, posting tweets and asking your audience to retweet them for you.
It’s great advice, maybe a little time consuming, but you think, I just need to persevere, it will come. Things will start to happen soon, they have to.
You follow their suggestions for a short while, maybe it’s posting everyday, or only once a week… but slowly you come to the realization that it’s not really working like they said it would.
You give something else a try, and that doesn’t really work either. There are no hoards of readers demanding your next post, hanging onto your every word. No one is banging down your blogging door to ask you to guest post for their company.
Most of it’s good advice, and sure your blog looks better, cleaner, loads faster, but where are the new followers that you are supposed to get?
You search out some other ideas, giving some of them a try, what have you got to lose?
Nothing really seems to work, after awhile you realize that much of the “expert advice” out there doesn’t apply to your blog, or your readers.

And you know why?
Because if you are a Naked Niche blogger, your so called “audience” is made up of real people, bloggers that you follow, and who follow you. They care about what you write, and they come to read your blog because they like you, and you like them.
They are not just anonymous commenters who stop by occasionally to learn how to makeover a piece of furniture, find a good chicken recipe, or the best way to hang a curtain rod.
Your Naked Niche readers are not the audience that the experts are writing for.
They are writing for bloggers who have chosen to stay within a tight little niche, no matter how small the box might be crammed into a tiny space, and working at becoming a expert in that particular subject.
The advice is wonderful, but it’s for bloggers who want to give their “audience” what they want, on a certain subject. The advice is great for bloggers with editorial calendars, who pre-plan each post ahead of time. That’s not who we are, we don’t follow a set and ridged schedule.

They probably will find success with that method, it’s a lot of hard work, but it’s not the kind of blogging that we do. Not that our type of blogging isn’t made up of hard work, and enthusiasm, it’s just a different type of reader.
It’s simply doesn’t work for us Naked Niche bloggers because some of us don’t even know what we are going to write about when we sit down at the computer!
Why don’t they suggest tweeting that?
So yes, by all means give new ideas a try, learn something interesting, or not, continue on in your regular fashion, or make a few changes. That’s the joy of Naked Niche blogging you never know what the next post is going to be about.
And that’s why the expert advice doesn’t always fit. My Dad is going through a rough time in the hospital, [he fell and fractured his hip in the middle of the night, despite a 24 hour attendant] and this has worsened his dementia. I would so appreciate your kind thoughts, and prayers for him, and my family. I’ve been spending time with my family and we are trying to sort this out as it happens, things seem to change, day by day. If I am slow to return your comments and visit your blog please understand that I will be there as soon as I can. T hanks so much.
Mention Mondays: So we’re shaking it up a bit. I really like the idea of spreading some bloggy love around, and bringing our attention to other bloggers. It would be even better if we were to have a bigger selection of bloggers to introduce the Mention Monday bloggers to. That’s where you come in, I’m mentioning a blogger each Monday, and letting you know what their blog is about, and maybe you can think of a few bloggers who might have similar interests. Be sure to nominate any bloggers that might like to take part and have their blog highlighted, you can email me, it’s on my sidebar. Today’s Mention Monday blogger is Joy from Canadian Garden Joy . She’s a Canadian blogger, and has a garden to swoon over. My only wish is that Joy, and I lived closer to each other, say… less then 10 minutes away. Just close enough to take my wheelbarrow over and visit. If there is a must have plant in your life, Joy probably already has it, and it’s flourishing in her garden. Stop on by Joy’s blog, say hello, and if you know of some like minded bloggers please mention Joy’s blog to them. Jane

Ebb and flow: Idioms, and phrases A decline and increase

constant fluctuations.

You know when it seems

that everything sparks a

new blog post, and you

have papers littered all

over the place, notes to

yourself, thoughts, ideas.

Each one feeding into the

other, pushing that creativity

so far that you seem to hum.

You’re being woken up at 3:00 am writing blog posts in your mind, and it feels like it will never end.

It does.

Abruptly.

But only for a while, and then it’s back again. It’s blogging ebb and flow, creativity creates, and the more you write, the more you create. The more you blog, the better you blog.

[And… I found out that the steroids I am taking for the eczema on my face are giving me this hyper energy. I kind of forgot that part… and being sensitive to them, any fluctuation in the dosage makes me hyper, or crash… great choices.]

Blogging sometimes seems like we can’t get those words and pictures out fast enough, we have so much to say, and other times there is almost nothing. I was joking around with Brenda from Cosy Inspirations that I had all of my blog posts organized and written weeks ahead, as if. And then right after that, I ebbed, or was it flowed? Total block. She has some great tips on how to inspire yourself when you encounter writer’s block, check them out here.

How do you inspire yourself, what encourages you to write that great blog post, to create, to share? Do you worry when you can’t seem to come up with post topics?

How do you kick start a blog block? Do you use images to start the process, or are you a written word kind of blogger?

Ebbing, and flowing…

After you have been blogging for while you find that you have built a village of like minded people who read your blog, comment, and interact with you as you do with on theirs.

They are readers who share parts of their lives, just as you share parts of yours while enriching, and adding diversity to your life.
Bringing up blogs on your device is like diving into a good book, answering a phone call from a old friend, or getting a email from someone you haven’t heard from in a while. It’s catching up, it’s keeping track, it’s finding out.
It’s comfort food on a cold night, crunchy salads on a hot day, that first sip of your favourite beverage, it’s also about knowing that you have good friends who have your back.
Blogging is laughter, tears, joy, and sharing some sadness along the way.
It’s opening up, and closing in, building a tight circle, but at the same time stepping back and opening up your arms wide to welcome new readers.
Learning about new people, cherishing old friends, finding inspiration, and sometimes being uninspired for short periods of time until something strikes you as a good topic for a blog post.
It’s about blog breaks, and the dreaded “blogitis,” posting everyday, posting once a whenever, and that sometimes not knowing what to say turns out the best posts.
It’s about sitting at the computer tears running down your face, heart breaking for someone you have never met in person, and most likely never will.
And it’s about the times too numerous to count that laughter that has echoed through the house when those same people make you laugh out loud, and family asks what’s so funny?
It’s the blogging world, it’s complicated, simple, fun, and sometimes feels like work, until the scale tips back to a more balanced level. The balance is a personal one, each of us will find ours.
So this day, now six years after I published my first blog post, my friends raise your glass for all of us.
By this time over 1128 posts, 23144 comments left on my blog, countless blogging comments made on others, it’s just… stats… that’s all they are, numbers.
The real numbers that count are the friendships, the relationships that I am part of, the knowledge that there are people out there who understand and appreciate me, and that I understand and appreciate them.
It’s being a part of something so big it’s changed history, one typed word at a time.
Raise your glass to the new bloggers, shiny and bright, keep it up, don’t despair, you are doing a great job and are on a journey of discovery, it’s going to be one heck of a ride so don’t give it up just yet.
Celebrate the long time bloggers who have helped clear the paths to our villages, pitched in to build our huts, and helped out as we decorate them. They are the friends who cry over our disappointments, and cheer us on when life is good.

Blogs lost, started, found, revamped, renamed, posts good, mediocre, and heartfelt. It’s about building a community, one word at a time, one comment at a time.
It’s about not knowing that naked is the new normal, until everyone starts to say hey… yes that’s me. And you realize that it’s not about clothing optional, but choosing to blog about what you find interesting.
It’s blog posts written late at night, and those that wake you up before dawn, demanding to be written down, before they are forgotten.
It’s putting in the years, marking the “blogaversaries” and realizing just how important it is to raise your glass and celebrate, acknowledge the effort and emotions that we put into our blogs.
Change, diversify, grow, and learn as you go along, be sure to make new friends, and cherish the old.
Because we are bloggers, and this is what we do.

We all blog for different reasons, some for fame, some for money, some just because if we don’t get those words out they will overflow and douse the flame that is our creativity. But let me introduce you to my wicked twin Comparison, I really don’t want her in my life. I don’t like her. She likes to compare my blog to those of the big bloggers, the ones with readership in quadruple digits + and I don’t want to do that.

My evil twin Comparison

and I need to break up.

That’s it Comparison, we are through, I need to be true to my heart.

She’s always showing me other bloggers that have become amazingly successful, pointing out webinars, and online tutorials on how to grow your blog in just 30 days. She is always talking about SEO’s, market shares, and niche marketing, while that may be interesting, I just can’t go there right now. Then she has the nerve to point out the success of Bloggers that have turned a rotten pallet into a 2 story summer cottage, thrown a party the same day for the entire neighbourhood, using gourmet food that they bartered for during their last pilgrimage to photography New York City’s private gardens.

Part of me wants to be that blogger, but it’s not going to happen anytime soon, sure I can turn out a hand painted sign or two, oh about every 3 months. I still haven’t painted that pink bathroom, and we will have a periwinkle living room until I get inspired enough to paint it. Comparison my evil twin, is always showing me bloggers who start up a new blog, and suddenly are overwhelmed with so many comments that they have to write a post on why they can’t reply to their comments. I may have fewer comments, but I can respond to them in person, in the process I get to know my readers, and what they like to see, and read. Let Comparison agonize over my stats, she can have them.

I write about what I love, from deep in my heart, the quirky things that occur in my life, and occasionally I have a good tip to pass along. Of course those big girl bloggers influence me, who wouldn’t be awed by what they are achieving, but this is me, my blog, and my life, and that’s it for now. I photograph things that mean something to me, and in the process my readers, and my blog have made me a much better photographer. I appreciate each and every comment that my readers make. My wicked twin Comparison might not like that as much as having a huge amount of comments, but I like it. Sure I may incorporate a idea or two, everyone likes to improve their blog, but I am going to be writing, and photographing what I love. Write from the heart, be real, write about what you love. From the heart……

I found out about Donna from Funky Junk interiors through a few other Bloggers, I love her blog. This amazing woman is one powerhouse of information. She is participating in the 31 days blog to biz series, and I am enjoying, and learning from each post she writes.
The one that convinced me to finally get going and give Muddy Boot Dreams blog it’s own domain was the one she wrote called
Purchase your own domain TODAY. This is a must read for all bloggers, since she doesn’t just cover domain name ownership, but how to back up your blog, and many other important pieces of information. We all fear losing our blog, or screwing it up so badly we can’t fix it. Actually it’s pretty easy to change to your own domain, and you have some good choices.
My number 1 reason for not doing it sooner… I didn’t know how either. Wow, well now I do, and am I ever glad that I did it.
It was rather painless, surprisingly. Yes, that’s me, the non techy blogger saying it was easy. Look into it for yourself, read Donna’s blog post, she also has a give away for a wonderful E-book written by another blogger.… and go and back up your blog.