Blogging started out for me, a little over a year ago now, as a way to get my writing energy focused into a specific medium. That’s maybe too simplistic an explanation, but… meh. I have always enjoyed writing, and I kept a journal throughout my teenage years and into the early years of marriage, where it more or less fizzled out. The journaling, that is, not the marriage! Writing out your thoughts and feelings is therapeutic, and having others read those thoughts and respond to them is gratifying to say the least. Blogging is a wonderful way to express yourself and connect with people you’d otherwise never come across. Such a phenomenal way to expand your horizons, and prevent becoming narrow minded.

There is an ebb and flow to blogging, as I’ve come to realize. I’m experiencing, along with my friend and many others as well, an “ebb”. Less energy spent on writing, fewer readers/commenters… I’m not panicking though. I love my readers – many of whom I now consider friends – and I know they’ll be back when the mood strikes. It’s summer (except where Betty, Broot, and a few of my other Central and South American, Kiwi and Aussie friends are concerned) and “real” life has to come before anything else. I understand and plan to embrace that concept more fully over the next couple of months! Not only do my hubby and kids deserve my attention, but I deserve the chance to unwind and enjoy my life.

I’m not “taking a break” per se, and will still be posting as the mood strikes, but for the summer at least, the only thing I will promise to keep up on faithfully is our Sensational Haiku Wednesday. A well-rested blogger is a must. Otherwise you’re never sure what drivel you’ll end up reading… and I don’t want to cringe when I go back and read posts that I can’t “take back”. You’re welcome. ;)

Oh, I got an email from J-B yesterday! He and his wife are in Ireland, and unfortunately their weather has been dismal – cold and rain for the most part. However, they’re in the midst of a massive family reunion, and any time you get Irish and/or Scottish folks in a crowd (and they have plenty of both) things are bound to be… “spirited”. They are heading to Scotland in a few days for the second half of their vacation. I’m sure they’re having a wonderful time and we’ll get the full story when he returns in a few weeks. It was so great to get word from him though – we haven’t been apart for more than a week in almost a year… Knarf, ShaMoo and I miss him like crazy, and can’t wait for him to come home to us!!

My friends, I find that I’m on the verge of that drivel I mentioned earlier, so I’m going to end here, and go for a swim. Have an absolutely wonderful day!

Thanks to Scholastic Scribe – a truly Superior Scribbler. A big congratulations to her also, for achieving her 500th post. This is a milestone many bloggers never reach, although anyone who reads her work cannot be surprised that her wonderful blog has withstood the test of time. We look forward to her next 500!

First, for the readers out there. Most of the people who swing by my place are other bloggers, but then there are friends of mine who I haven’t yet converted, like ShaMoo and Doodle Cakes (although they are both working on websites, which I’ll showcase when they’re ready!). For these folks, the only thing really necessary is a good reader. I use, and really like, the “Google Reader” app you can get when you have a Google account. I love Google, although there are a good many reasons why that we will have to talk about another time, because they’re not related to blogging. Getting yourself a Google Account just makes sense. Trust me. It’s part of my daily life, and if it were to disappear tomorrow, I would not be alone in my despair.

Once you get your Google account, you can “Get Stuff” to customize your Google home page. This isn’t like a blog or website “home page”. It’s a TOOL, and you can create your one-stop do-everything page in only a few moments, by adding a calendar, your local weather, local movies, news, (whatever), and of course, your Google Reader.

Boy it took me a lot of words to get to the point, didn’t it? Sorry, sorry… I’ll try to be a little less verbose from here on. (yeah, right)

For bloggers who visit other bloggers, there is something that irks me to no end where (the service) Blogger is concerned; Having comment settings where you can only comment if you have a blogger profile (egads people, don’t just use this one), or an “Open ID” profile (again, no!). What about us poor saps who have an actual domain, and don’t want or need a Blogger or other blog-service profile? We want to leave you a comment – we know how wonderful and crack-like-addictive comments are! We want you to feel the love!

I think it’s the fear of being spammed, ya? Possibly also not fully understanding who it prevents from commenting on your posts. Blogger has some fairly dandy tools though, that will let you allow “anyone” to post, and still not get spammed into oblivion. They are in your “Settings/Comments” area. Look for “Show word verification for comments?” and set it to YES. If you’re still worried some spam might show up, set your “Comment moderation” to ALWAYS if you like. That means you have to approve/delete as comments come in, but as visitors, it’s A-OK with us if you want to be careful. Anyway, using those settings will allow you to set this very important one close to the top of that page: “Who Can Comment?” … ANYONE. Yay!

A fun tool that I use, and you can see it over there on the left panel, is “Feedjit Live”. If you click on the link that says “Watch in real time”, chances are good you’re the visitor sitting at the top of the list! See what it tells me about you? I can see where you are in the world, what Operating system you’re using, and what browser you use (yay to Firefox users!!). PLUS I can usually see where you were coming from. I usually have the live feed open in a tab behind what I’m working on, with the sound turned “on”, and gleefully check in when I hear that delightful “ding”. Reminds me a bit of Pavlov’s dogs, actually. A few minutes later, you know I’m checking to see if you left me a comment. I love your comments… it makes my day to get comments (remember what I said about “crack-like-addiction”???). So many people drop in and leave without saying a word. Don’t be that visitor.

Of course, I don’t need Feedjit, because I have my very detailed stats that come with having a professionally hosted website (yay Crosswinds!!), but I do love to see what is happening, as it happens. It’s just fun!

For the actual “blogging” part of it, even though there have been “issues” with it in the past with security (from what I see these have been fixed), I just love WordPress. It’s a smart, totally customizable blogging platform that has everything you might need for your blog. It was straightforward to install, and is easy to keep updated. There are countless themes available for it, or you can build your own if you know what you’re doing. Then there are widgets and plugins galore – it’s fun to experiment, to find the look that is truly your own.

Other tools that I sometimes use are:

• Mr. Linky – I paid for a “Silver” membership because I wanted a customizable form, but there are some free ones you can use as well.
• Wordle – just plain fun. Create art with your own words. Beautiful!
• BigHugeLabs – again, fun. I use Photoshop for my Mosaics and other photography related work, but this place has some really cool applications you should check out.

I forgot – I use Wordle for something else:



It helps me see what words I’m using too often. I get stuck in a rut sometimes, or glom onto a word that I love. Until recently, the word I used a LOT was “Awesome”, and wow, could you tell. I made a conscious effort, just by “doing a Wordle” now and then, to change it up, and not get too hung up on any one word. So I’d say it’s as useful as it is entertaining.

So obviously this isn’t a huge list, (although my word count is closing on is over 1000 now – yikes! Talk much?!) and I put it out there for discussion. What do YOU like to use in your blogging life? Do you have something that you use that you can’t do without? It’s good to share!

 

]]> http://youknowthatblog.com/2009/08/08/blog-tools/feed/ 19 http://youknowthatblog.com/2009/07/18/and-now-a-word-from-our-sponsor/ http://youknowthatblog.com/2009/07/18/and-now-a-word-from-our-sponsor/#comments Sat, 18 Jul 2009 19:21:10 +0000 Jenn http://youknowthatblog.com/?p=519 I don’t have a sponsor. I just like that line ;)

It’s been a while since I posted anything that was just about ME. Mostly it’s because… well, while I do adore talking (and writing) and sometimes I wonder if it’s just to see/hear myself do it, I don’t talk about myself all that much. Probably a good thing, since you’d all get very bored and never visit me again. That said, this one post will be a bit of a ramble about me, so if you’re interested, grab a coffee and settle in. If not, I have a fabulous list of blogs in my previous post – I highly recommend each and every one.

The last few months since I started blogging again have been both terrible and great. I get such joy from writing and creating. It’s therapeutic to be able to put your thoughts down digitally or on paper, working out frustrations, worries, joys. I kept a journal throughout Jr. and Sr. high school, college, and into the early years of marriage before kids came along and life got in the way. I remember laying in bed writing pages and pages on the things going on in my life, wanting to capture every nuance, and knowing that as I wrote, I’d be able to figure out how I wanted to deal with a problem, or approach something new. It definitely probably kept me from murdering my bratty little brother in his sleep doing a few things that crossed my mind more than once. Blogging is certainly a more public way of doing the same thing. I’ve enjoyed sharing ideas and events, and have made some truly diverse and interesting friends recently!



'Stolen' from the sites of the many bloggers who have made my days brighter! Can you find what I took from your site?

You might be wondering what I meant by terrible though… I have a bit of an OCD where things that I love are concerned. Being overweight fluffy and having a few health concerns (PCOS, Hypothyroidism, high Cholesterol [all very much related to being fluffy], and a few other minor issues) means I should be far more active than I am. I’ve chosen career paths that mean I spend long hours sitting in this chair here though, ostensibly so I could be home with my kids as they grew up, whilst still bringing in a paycheque (“check”, for my Merkin friends!). While I know full well I’m hurting myself by doing so, I can’t seem to help it. Work must be done, and oh yeah, Facebook and the Blog can be done at the same time! “Wow, it’s midnight already?”

So while I do work 12+ hour days more often than not, it’s really only my fingers and my eyes that get a solid workout on a regular basis. Blogging has not helped that out at all, even though I have loved every solid minute of it!

I know what I need to do, it’s just a matter of getting off my butt to do it. Other women have no trouble getting in lots of exercise, so why can’t I?? I’ve been a member of the Goodlife gym for 8 years now! They haven’t seen me in about 4 years a while though.

Past the fact that I will never, ever be seen in a bikini again, and I’m ok with that, I really think I just need to get active to be healthy. With this birthday anniversary looming over me next week, it only drives home that I’m no longer in the blush of youth, and time isn’t going to wait for me. My kids deserve a healthy mom who cares enough about herself to work at enjoying “real life” with them.

So look what this random, rambling rant has done! I do believe I’ve decided to finally jump into action and get off this chair more often. The summer time makes it easier, definitely – play dates to keep the Wee One entertained mean that I’ll be chasing after her and her friends with my camera glued to my face.



I did buy an annual pass to the Toronto Zoo – one of the most fabulous zoos on the planet. Can’t be sedentary there – the place is massive. I think I’ll head out and get an annual pass to the provincial parks in our area too – they have some of the most gorgeous hiking trails and beaches in Ontario.

I’m going to need your help and encouragement to get off this chair more often though. It’s like training a dog, really. The more positive reinforcement I get, the better at it I’ll be! So leave me a comment every so often, and ask me what I’ve done recently… maybe I’ll have some great tales to tell, and pictures to share!

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