I Wasn't Going To Do This....

But after reading all the other blogging stories and their responses, it just felt...."right." LOL. So here is MY blogging story. Oh yeah, and you can find all the other blogging stories and more details here from Chilihead's site.

How did you start blogging?
Honestly, I don't remember. I think it started becoming a big thing on this scrapbooking message board that I read (or was addicted to) at the time and so out of curiousity after reading a few of their posts, I decided to try it. I was pretty much instantly hooked. I had kept a journal faithfully as a teenager up until I got married when I no longer had the free time to hand write all my thoughts down. (I have about 5 or 6 full handwritten journals from the time I was about 10 or 11 until 18) It's really interesting now to go back and read what I wrote back then and how my writing and thoughts changed over time. I figured it would be great to record this part of my life, too, for future reference, and blogging online is so much easier and faster, that it seemed like a perfect solution. And it was fun to play with the html and design. (Speaking of design, one of these days I'll come up with a design that I'm 100% happy with and then it will stay the same for a long time....so far, I haven't reached that point....so please forgive the constant changes)

Did you intend to be a blog w/a following? If so, how did you go about it?
Nope. The most I ever wanted this to be, is just a place for me to write out the thoughts that go through my head on a daily basis along with the details of my days and the days of those I love that will be forgotten if they're not written down. I don't think I have a following....outside of a few friends, and I'm fine with that. Occasional comments are nice though! *grin*

What do you hope to achieve or accomplish with your blog? Have you been successful? If not, do you have a plan to achieve those goals?
Um, it started out as just a place to have an outlet for my thoughts and random details of my life, and it's still that, but now, one of my biggest kicks is making Wally laugh at whatever I'm blogging about at the time (hahah). And since both of those things seem to happen fairly often, then, yes, I guess that means I have been successful. =)

Has the focus of your blog changed since you started blogging? How?
Maybe a little. I think my writing has changed some. I'm not sure if it is better or worse, but it feels a little different. The focus is a little more on life with kids and foster care, but since that's MY life now, I guess that's not really a change of focus since it's still a blog about MY life.

What do you know now that you wish you'd known when you started?
Well, before I answer that question, I would like give you Shannon's answer to this question as I feel like she said it better than I ever could.....
No matter what you write, no matter how plain-jane-vanilla your subject matter will be, somebody, somewhere, will find a reason to be offended. I wish I had realized this more fully and been more prepared for it. - Shannon @ Rocks In My Dryer
Since that technically can't be MY answer, then I guess my answer to that question would be that I wish I'd known when I started that I should keep last names out of it, keep all specifics out, etc., so that I wouldn't have to go back later and try to fix it after the fact.

Do you make money with your blog?
Nope. Personal satisfaction is worth more than money anyways. LOL. Okay, so I wouldn't MIND making money with it, but I highly doubt anything would come of it since I don't have a "following" as previously mentioned. Hehe. S'okay though. I ain't mad about it.

Does your immediate or extended family know about your blog? If so, do they read it? If not, why?
Uh. Yeah. And, uh. Yeah. And uh. Sometimes. It's used against me. Bummer.
Nah, really it's no big deal. At first I kept it under my hat, but after awhile when people asked me questions or wanted to catch up on my life, it was just easier to say....do you really want to know? Just go to my blog. And then I lost track of who I'd told that, so when someone asked me how things were going I had to start asking them if they'd read my blog so I wouldn't be like telling them something they already knew.....and then if they weren't aware of my blog before, they were then.....LOL. I do miss the privacy sometimes, but then that's when I started the private blog....that helps.....although I don't feel the need to use it very often. I only know of a couple family members that read it though....the rest of my readers (that I know of) are friends.

What two pieces of advice would you give to a new blogger?
1. Keep it anonymous. Don't give out your last name, your town, your work, etc.
2. Blog for yourself first, and do it regularly. You'll thank yourself later on in life, and if you pick up readers on the way or give your friends a chance to keep up with your life, then that's just an added bonus!

And that's it for now.
Later!