Week 3: Bloggy Moms Guide to a Better Blog-Review Your Layout

For 2013, I am doing the Bloggy Moms Guide to a Better Blog 1 Year Plan. Each week focuses on tasks for me to build a better and more successful blog

What is the Bloggy Moms Guide to a Better Blog 1 Year Plan?

The Bloggy Moms Guide to a Better Blog 1 Year Plan will walk you through weekly tasks designed to give you a better focus on cultivating your unique blog.

At the end of each week, there are writing prompts from The Blog Dare to share with you guys and let you know more about me, my family, my blog, etc.

Week 1: Niche & Branding

Week 2: Your Style, Your Voice

Week 3: Review Your Layout

I know it’s only been 3 weeks but this was my most productive to date. The activities and advice was just what I needed. I spent a lot of time making subtle changes to my blog and fine tuning little things. I also made a “to-do” list for major changes.

Now for the Prompts:

Morning Madness Routine… wow, first of all I am NOT in any way/shape/form a morning person. I also have ADHD and have a hard time falling and staying asleep. Being married to someone who wakes up at 0-dark-thirty and being mom to two little girls (one early bird/one mini-me) forces me to wake up early. Not happy about it but I’ve learned to grin and bare it. I have created routines and organization to make mornings easier and wake up times a bit later. We lay out clothes for the week on Sunday, supplies the night before and I make a “to’do”” list nightly. I’ve found using the snooze alarm one time lets me wake up and lie there long enough to get my brain going. We don’t always have perfect mornings and it really is always a morning madness dash and sometimes really crazy but with the things we have in place it is always better than it could be.
The Moment That Brought Me Here…the day I married my husband. The last ten years have shaped my life, my marriage (obviously), given me my children and fashioned my career path from all of these experiences. If it wasn’t for that day I would not be writing this at this second. I wouldn’t have Blondie and Ginger. I wouldn’t have the passion and need to be writing about military families and special needs families. My husband has been my rock, my common sense, my biggest supporter and encourager along the way. He has allowed me and helped me push myself to run with my hobbies, my interests and my desires to be a writer.
The Most Expensive… thing I own (besides the car) is the laptop I am typing on. It’s a work-need that we broke down and purchased last year. My old laptop kept crashing and I was afraid of losing my blog archives. My laptop before that was crashed by Blondie and I was unable to retrieve anything. So, investing in my career was important. Actually buying it without throwing up at the price tag was painful to say the least. But it is exactly what I needed to be more productive, streamlined and organized.
Our First Vacation… was our honeymoon. We went to the beach in November. It was windy and COLD! We reserved a room but upon arrival it was awful. Obviously an old, rundown hotel meant for spring breakers. It still had actual keys to the room. There was barely any floor space and it was just dismal. Thankfully, we checked out and moved to a much nicer hotel the next day. We were able to enjoy the beach, relax and be newlyweds.
My Laugh Broke The Silence… when does it not? I laugh when I am nervous. I laugh when I’m scared. I don’t always laugh when something is funny, which is funny! A laugh, a chuckle, a snort. It happens and I can’t stop it. So, apologies in advance for the next hundred times my laugh breaks the silence.
A Very Scary Encounter… this is easy. In June of 1999, I almost died. I was in a horrible car accident cause by a day-time drunk driver. I had to learn to walk again and it has effected every aspect of my life from that day forward.
All Grown Up…. mean girls/ all grown up” So many adult women behave negatively toward other women instead of supportive, encouraging and inspiring. I’ve seen too much locally recently and there needs to be an open discussion with ways to change the hostile environment into an empowering, positive and supportive one. These “Mean Girls” remind me of the bullies in high school. If moms are like that, I dread the girls my daughters will go to middle school . have a hard time trusting people and opening up enough to let loose because of people like that. I hate confrontation and I’m such an introvert. It’s probably why I’m a writer and work online.
I try to use my words for good causes and to make a difference I’d rather show my daughters that type of role model They were bullies in school usually. Either a hard childhood or adult life and need something to control or need power
They learn from their parents k, mean girls all grown up seems to be the theme of so many women. Preferred FB pages, not so preferred FB pages, banning members for belonging to the “wrong” page. Bullying, ganging up on people based on one person’s opinion. Omg, I can safely say I am shocked, disappointed and angry.With two girls I am angry that if these are the moms of their peers, well ….yes, it seems like the need for attention, to feel like that “queen bee”, the “getting off” by trashing/gossiping/bullying another person, etc. is way too prevalent with the prominence of social media. Just always remember what Jane Barnes Capps always told us growing up…. Your girls are going face a bunch of mean, hateful, spiteful people in the world, always make sure home is never that way, that they always feel safe at home. We always have and even though times have changed that still holds true…. Always make home a safe haven!