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How many of you have a blog?
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I’ve been asked by several people if I’d consider starting one. I often share of recipes and ideas with people about how to stay within a budget (ours is $80 a week including toiletries and household items). We eat grassfed beef, raw milk and we do not have a garden, so it does take some creativity…especially with now making the gluten free transition.
I do not even know where or how to begin!
If you have a blog, when do you find time to post? How often do you post? How much info do you share? What about safety (do you let people know your first and last name, what about your kids/family, how much personal stuff do you share)?
Any pointers would be appreciated!!
ME! 🙂 http://teachthemdiligently-amanda.blogspot.com/ & http://artbyamandahilburn.blogspot.com/
I post whenever I feel like it and use my blog as a narration tool for myself as I learn new things. I do not share my children’s names or our location….
I also share my artwork on the second blog.
It can become addictive. Just a warning. I am seriously thinking about setting aside a certain time during the week that is for blogging and only allowing that time for myself.
Edited to say that blogger is the only host I’ve ever used, but it works great for me.
I have two blogs. One is my family/homeschool blog I’ve had for several years. I generally write a few times a week but it’s on break right now with the birth of Mason this month. That blog is: http://www.ourbusyhomeschool.blogspot.com
I also have a blog to share our medical journey with Mason’s Spina Bifida, Hydrocephalus, and clubfeet. Right now I’m posting most days of the week on there. You can read it here: http://www.masonsbjournal.blogspot.com
We share first names on the blog, and our state. I try to avoid sharing our specific location beyond ‘central ohio’. I typically write when kids are sleeping (morning, nap time, evening) and use Windows Live Writer (free) to compose posts on my desktop and then upload when I finally finish them. I may type a little bit on a post for a few days before it is published, or I may knock it out in just 15 minutes.
I love it because blogging is my journal, and it can be printed into a book at the end of each year (or anytime). It is wonderful to look back on for perspective on just how far we’ve come!
I have one – http://www.learningwithcharlotte.wordpress.com – where I share mainly about our CM education and other topics like chores. I do not share my kids pictures or names or our specific location. We keep those things private. I post infrequently, but when I do it’s in the evening when all else is done for the day. I typically share things I’ve been asked about more than once. It’s an easy way to do that and tell others it’s on my blog. I’m not interested in doing it more frequently at this time, but simply using it as a tool that helps me.
I’m impressed by all of you, I wouldn’t even think of starting something like that. I find I am already spending too much time on the net. I need to seriously control myself!
I just started one for the same reasons you mentioned, Heather. I also plan on using it to help share our not-so-personal lfe with my family who are all living in different states. http://mysouldothdelight.wordpress.com/
I usually write my post in the afternoon during our rest/masterly inactivity time before I start dinner or other things. Our personal information is private. =) I did ask my girls what code names they want. LOL
I do have a blog.
http://www.irienarrowpath.blogspot.com
I do NOT use our first and last names. My children have nicknames on the blog and I only use those. I also try to leave out any details about field trips and the like so that (hopefully) one cannot tell exactly where we live.
As far as when to post? Whenever I can. I’m still struggling with that one. I can only concentrate when I’m alone and we all know how often that is when you homeschool, lol. I might do it when the kids are outside playing or sometimes during quiet time. My brain is always blogging, meaning, I constantly have ideas running through my head. But, I rarely get those ideas “to paper” so to speak. But, I do what I can.
As far as topics, I mostly post about homeschooling and sometimes food (my entire family is vegetarian and we, too try to eat only/mostly whole, real foods). I’d love to hear about your $80 budget! 🙂
Many blessings.
Melissa
Yes, I do! You can visit me at http://livingthedigitallife.wordpress.com. I haven’t posted this last week since its been a bit crazy (I started teaching a class on Esther and Ruth at the church in addition to everything else) but I plan on getting on there this week.
A great place to start is to choose your blog platform: Blogger, WordPress, LiveJournal. Of these, Blogger is the easiest to set up and a bit more flexible with making money off of ads. I would recommend either Blogger or WordPress for first time bloggers.
Choose your topic and write a post. Most blog posts are 300-500 words per post. Now, I know I’ve read some really lengthy posts but those seem to be the exception rather than the rule. You can also embed images, video, and audio to share with others.
Try not to share too much information about family as you can. Privacy is always a concern and the internet does have its dark side. So, I refer to my children as I, Big J, and Little J. And my husband is Hubby. I live in a pretty unique place and have posted on it several times but good luck finding me!
You can determine how often you post. Once a week, 5 times a week, once a month, etc. Its up to you. Blogging does take time. I spend at least an hour each time I sit down to write a post.
Read other blogs and comment on them so you can build friendships, get practice writing, and potentially have others see your blog.
On a side note, for those who are interested, EduBlogs has a Blogging Challenge for students twice a year. They learn how to blog responsibly and how to use the Internet.
Good luck!
April
@heather, have you been asked by SCM followers or others?? I was just wondering if you could post those ideas to penny-wise women…could there be a section for your ideas?? Or would that not allow for enough questions to filter through??
Just an idea. Plus, I’d love to hear/read how you are able to keep your expenses so low for both food and toiletries.
Heather, I started a family blog last fall using Blogger. It’s very simple to use. Basically, you just plug your information into a template. http://reflectionsfromdrywoodcreek.blogspot.com/
It’s been really fun to document our lives and our kids really like it. I’m very visual, so I like to use lots of photos. I personally don’t care for long wordy blogs. I know how busy we all are and I don’t like to get bogged down by long posts. I’d rather be spending time making memories with my family to blog about. 🙂
We do use first names, other than my husband who is referred to as The Farmer. I try to keep our location more general, but really if someone wants to find you, they will find a way with or without a blog.
I typically post 2-5 per week, depending on our schedule, and never on Sunday.
I’m always gathering ideas for posts and often will draft several posts at one time. Then I just tweak and publish randomly. I blog on many things including our homeschool/education, curriculum/books, daily life, food, and whatever else is on my mind.
Best wishes in your endeavor,
Melissa
I use Homeschoolblogger. Nicknamed the kids. Post sporadically. But, I do enjoy reading others’ blogs from time to time. I also keep a blog for our local support group.
http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/notetoself
http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/tailormade
Blessings on your blog!
I’m going to have to add all of you ladies to my Google Reader, yay! I love the ideas I get from other blogs.
I have a blog (here’s the link) that is usually about preemie issues, raising my DD with Italian as a non-native speaker, and just general learning and life and parenting (which will evolve into homeschooling-type stuff as time goes by… we just started using the Early Years guide).
I blog sporadically at http://www.MunroePalms.wordpress.com about our homeschool. It’s more of an online journal for me to place my thoughts & things I’d like to remember.
My goal for this year is to average 3 posts per month.
We live in Central Florida and I don’t use my family’s full names.
As a few others have mentioned, blogging is a great way to journal for your own benefit and rememberence, while possibly blessing others too. But I thought I’d mention another aspect of blogging.
We encouraged our children to start blogs as a way of giving them a creative outlet for their own interests. We set out some ground rules to keep them safe, like only use your first name and never give out your contact information without our permission. So our family now has a whole pile of blogs.
As our kids got older, we encouraged them to begin more fully using those outlets to show their skills, get their name out there, and build an online reputation for themselves. Every employer, or those looking to buy your products or services if you’re self-employed, will check on line to see if you can be trusted. It’s very helpful to have a body of good, positive information for them to find. A blog can be one of the tools to provide that reputation.
I also have a blog that I’ve been writing on for over three years. I love it as an outlet and as a way to post homeschooling ideas, recipes, family pictures, and other things I find inspiring. I really like to write birthday letters for my kids, so I have used my blog as a way to do that. It will be there to share with them when they are old enough to want things like that as a keepsake. I also like to chronicle family milestones, trips, memories, field trips, and other things that have pictures to go along with them. If I don’t post the pics to my blog, they’ll either get deleted from my camera or they’ll get lost in my computer files.
I do share our first names, and our blog title has our last name in it. I’m not fearful of someone trying to stalk us or whatever because of our names being made public. There are lots of ways for people to find out info about us, even if I didn’t have a blog.
I hope that our children will want to start their own blogs in the next 5-6 years. I think it will be a great way for them to write, express themselves and their interests, or for a place to post photography, if they’re interested. It would also be a great place for them to have online nature journals.
I also help in running the Penny-wise Women blog. We haven’t posted anything to it in several months because all of us had some life circumstances that required us to lay down unnecessary things. There are some really good recipes and tips on there though!
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