Showing posts with label Blog. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Blog. Show all posts

Thursday, 7 July 2016

The Big Blog Question: What Do I Blog About?


Sometimes blogging becomes difficult. It becomes difficult because you, as a blogger, suddenly face a big blog question once again: What do I blog about? You first face that question when you create your blog and as you start to blog. It comes more easily to some people than others. Sometimes people know exactly what they want to blog about and they have a vast knowledge of the subject so blog posts just flow from their brains and through their fingers as they type. For others, it is a tougher question to answer.

It might be a tough decision to make because the blogger just doesn't know what they are good at or interested in. Or maybe they like so many things and can't decide which things to choose to blog about. Or maybe they feel that they don't have enough knowledge about the things that they like to actually be able to blog about them. Or maybe they are scared about what other people will think about their blog posts and are therefore afraid to blog about certain things. Or maybe they are perfectionists and they feel that they just won't do a good enough job blogging about certain subjects. The list goes on and on.

For me, it is definitely a tough decision to make because I love so many things. I am fascinated by and enjoy learning about so many subjects! I love doing so many things! I love making so many things! I love talking and writing about so many things! You get the idea... I am simply all over the place when it comes to living my life. I always have something to learn about or do. So you can see how it would be difficult for me to figure out what to blog about. I get worried that my blog will be too all over the place or sometimes there's just so many things that I want to blog about that I don't know where to start or even how to start. I have a list full of blog post drafts that only have a title that describes what the blog post would be about but nothing else. No outline. No text. No further explanation. No photos. No links. No labels/tags. Just the title. Because it's something that I want to blog about in the future but I just don't feel like writing that particular post right now or I just don't have an idea yet of what exactly I want to say.

I didn't even know exactly what I wanted to say in this blog post. Do I simply want to state the fact that I've struggled with this problem? Do I want to let other bloggers know that they're not alone if they have this problem too? Do I want to share tips on how to work through this problem? Or, do I  use this post to figure out a plan for tackling this problem that I have? How about I do all those things! After all, I've pretty much covered the first two already. Now onto the next two!

I'll start by making a list of the categories of all of the things that I love and enjoy doing/learning about/talking about (in no particular order):
  • Books and reading
  • Writing
  • Music
  • Arts and crafts
  • Photography
  • Cooking and baking
  • Health
  • Movies and TV shows
  • Nature
  • Outdoor activities
  • Animals and pets
  • Travel
  • History
  • Living a positive life
  • Frugal living

Ok, so I have a basic list of categories. Now I can add more detail! I can add lists to each of the categories. In each list, I can put the specific things that I like that fall within that category:
  • Books and reading: graphic novels/comic books, novels, short stories, poems, information/educational books
  • Writing: blog posts, pen pal letters, poems, stories
  • Music: playing piano, playing flute, singing, listening to music
  • Arts and crafts: drawing, watercolours, origami, loom knitting, making dreamcatchers
  • Photography: photographing... pets, my brother, nature
  • Cooking and baking: cooking with lots of vegetables, healthy cooking, baking cookies
  • Health: healthy eating, exercise, mental health
  • Movies and TV shows: way too many to list (hehe) but I enjoy talking about them and noticing things (especially since I took a screenwriting class when I was in university and can never watch a movie or tv show the same way ever again)
  • Nature: environmentalism, trees, plants, animals, landscapes
  • Outdoor activities: Geocaching, gardening, camping, hiking, walking, biking, swimming, exploring
  • Animals and pets: my dog and bunny and fish, birds... especially chickadees, bunnies
  • Travel: in Canada, in the U.S.A., in Europe, visiting museums, visiting landmarks
  • History: 1920s, early Canadian settlers, my own genealogy
  • Living a positive life: gratitude, self-love, happiness
  • Frugal living: natural DIY products, environmentalism, simple ways to save money

Now I can put certain categories together and place them under larger, more inclusive categories:
  • Arts: Writing, Music, Art, Crafts, Photography
  • Entertainment: Books, Reading, Music, Movies, TV Shows
  • Nature: Environment, Outdoors Activities, Animals
  • Living: Positive Life, Frugal Living, Health, Cooking and Baking, Travel, Pets
  • Learning: Books, Reading, History, Travel

I could now choose one of the above five categories to blog about. I could even choose one of the categories from my larger list. Some bloggers will choose to do this and it would definitely make for a more focused blog. Do you want to have a blog of DIYs? Recipes? Helpful tips? Educational information? Reviews? What category would you like to blog about? What parts of that category would you like to blog about? If someone wants to know specific information or is interested in a specific topic, they might come across your blog and find it to be very helpful and handy. Maybe they like the same thing as you. Maybe they'd simply like to learn more about something. Maybe they have a certain obsession. Having a blog that focuses on 1-3 specific topics/subjects can be very attractive to blog readers.

I, however, want to blog about all of those things that I'm interested in. Some people might think, well why did you do all of that work when you were never going to choose just one category. Why did you have to write down all of the things that you're interested in? Don't you already know all of the things that you're interested in? Well, I was actually thinking the same thing. I wondered why I did this exercise when I was still just going to choose to blog about all sorts of things. This exercise can still help me because now I have more of an idea of the specific things that I would like to blog about. I have a list of categories and the things that I like that fall under those categories. My interests are now organized. If I ever get stuck or need help with ideas for a blog post or ideas for what exactly to talk about in a blog post that falls within a certain category, I can refer back to these lists.

I guess you can say that my blog is like a journal for me. I write about the things that I like and feel passionate about. Except in this case, I'm sharing my words with a public audience and I also sometimes have to include information that I might not include in a journal. Like knowledge that I already know but that my audience might not know. Or website links. Or links back to other "entries." And then there's always information that I would write in a journal that I would not put online. Personal information that I don't feel like sharing or maybe should not be shared.

So here's my blog and, I guess, here's my life. You get a glimpse into it. I always like blogs where the bloggers share bits and pieces of their life and interests. There are more stories. More passion. More heart. The posts ooze with sincerity and authenticity. You don't get to see only one topic. You don't get to see only one part of my life. You get all sorts of different parts of it. You get all sorts of different knowledge and stories. Because that's the way that our lives are. We have lots of different interests. We have lots of different paths that we walk. We use our time on Earth to do so many things, to truly live! And I want to blog about it!

Cheers,
Kay

Wednesday, 24 February 2016

Another Goal for 2016: Productivity


So I missed another day of publishing a blog post. This time was different from last time, though. This time, I got so caught up in doing something else that I forgot to write a blog post. I have decided not to be too hard on myself, however, because I usually have trouble concentrating on things for a long time. I was working my way through this week's modules for a free online course about musical notation. Things like this (learning courses) are the types of things that I normally have trouble concentrating on but I was actually able to concentrate on it for a while so I'm happy about that.

I guess this blog is my place to talk about things like that, how I have trouble concentrating and how I try to keep up with things. There are all sorts of challenges in my life that I am trying to work my way through. I'm trying to improve. I'm trying to become better at working on things. I'm trying to become better at concentrating on things. I'm trying to continue to learn more about the subjects that interest me. Winter is the perfect time when I'm stuck inside a lot. Once spring and summer come along, I'm going to want to spend more time outside. I've thought about bringing my hobbies outside with me during the warmer months. I could bring whatever I'm working on whether it be art, writing, studying, reading, etc. Maybe I'll bring them with me to our swing in our little garden area that we have dubbed our zen garden. Or maybe I'll bring them with me to the table on our front porch or to the lawn chairs beside our pool. Maybe working outside will give me a boost when it comes to productivity since it will be a change of environment.

I find that a change of environment helps with concentration. At home, I often get bored of the room that I'm working in and want to move my work elsewhere. Working in new places like various libraries has shown to help me work. I'll be in a different location and suddenly I get a lot of work done. Accomplishment makes me happy. I get a burst of pure joy when I'm able to tick something off of my to do list, especially since I procrastinate on a lot of the things on my to do lists. I write so many lists and most of the things won't get done for days, maybe even never.

Well, here's to being more productive. Another goal for this year.

Cheers,
Kay

Friday, 12 February 2016

A Love Letter To My Blog For Its 3rd Anniversary


To my dearest blog,

Tomorrow is your 3rd anniversary, so I want to express how deeply grateful I am for you. When I published my first blog post on February 13, 2013, I didn't know what would become of you. I had hopes of watching you grow very quickly, of spending lots of time with you, of doing great things together. Sadly, I neglected you. I started off posting a few times a week but then I posted less and less often. Large gaps of time stood between each blog post, and I can understand if you were lonely or maybe even afraid of what would happen to you. But I came back. You see, I needed you. I had so much that I needed to say to the world. So much that I needed to share. I knew that you would be the perfect helper.

I took my time giving you a makeover and planning all sorts of posts that I would start sharing. And then? I started blogging again. I shared my feelings. My observations. My thoughts. My stories. My life. It felt so good! I finally had a way to open up my mind and let everything out. You became a dear friend, once again. I could turn to you when I had something to say. In these few weeks since I started blogging again, you have become a sort of therapy for me. I used to bottle everything up until I would explode. Now I can share my experiences and unpack them. I can break them down and figure out what to do about them. I can share all of that here and I hope that it helps some people.

I'm sorry, darling, that I didn't post anything on your 2nd anniversary last year. Do understand that I was thinking of you. I didn't forget you. I just didn't know what to write about anymore. I think you could have helped me, though. I went through a lot of stress last year, trying to figure out who I am and in which direction I wanted to go with my life. I still am. At least I have you now.

So many amazing things have happened in my life and so many sad things have happened too. I'm ready to start sharing my stories with you and the world, well, at least the internet world. I look forward to many more years, dear blog. Many more anniversaries. Many more posts. Many more stories.

Love,
Kay

Tuesday, 26 January 2016

My Word For 2016


Just like choosing New Year's resolutions, many people will suggest coming up with a word for the New Year. A word that you will take with you wherever you go. A word that you will keep in your back pocket for those times when you face a challenge. A word that will serve you and help you to accomplish your goals. A word that speaks to you. A word that you need in your life.

I decided to choose a word for 2016. I knew that I needed a strong word to guide me. I have so many plans for this year and I'm not really sure where to begin, or even how. I sometimes have trouble starting things, going after what I want. I needed a word that would give me confidence, determination, and strength. A word that would help me in my goals, but also in the challenges that I face. For 2016, I chose the word BRAVE.

To me, BRAVE means doing things even when they scare me. For me, the word BRAVE reminds me of other words like COURAGE, CONFIDENT, STRONG, ACTION, LEARN, and GROW. The word BRAVE tells me that it's okay to be afraid, but you just can't let that fear stop you. You need to gather up your courage and do or be whatever your heart desires. Through fear, we can be brave, and by being brave, we can grow and become stronger.

Blogging again is one way in which I am being brave. As I explained before, blogging scared me. My perfectionism and lack of knowledge of web design prevented me from posting here on my blog for a long time. I was scared to talk about certain things. I was scared to put myself out there. I was scared that I wasn't good enough. But I decided to start blogging again. I wanted to start blogging again, and so I did. I started talking about the things that I felt needed to be said. I put myself out there and I loved it. It helped me think about things that were bothering me. It helped me think things through, break things down, and learn.

This is just the beginning. I still have the whole year ahead of me and I have so many things that I want to do, many of which scare me. Many of which I could have started a while ago but didn't because fear was holding me back. I'm excited. I feel strong and motivated. I'm going to go and do things and make things happen. That's what BRAVE will do for me. It will guide me and remind me that, to do the things that scare me, I just need to be brave.

Cheers,
Kay

Saturday, 16 January 2016

We're Dancing With The Demons In Our Minds


Hello friends!

It's been a while, hasn't it? I apologize for the blog silence; I take full responsibility for it. When I started this blog, I thought that it would be fun. I thought that I would publish posts a few times every week and that my blog would grow into something wonderful. Instead, I posted a few times a week and then posted only once a while until I was hardly posting at all. I have thought about what happened, what prevented me from continuing my blog as I had planned, and I realized a few things, one of which is that the concept of writing and maintaining a blog scares me. I don't have a lot of experience with web design or writing for a public audience so, I'm scared to try and learn about web design and I'm also scared to publish posts until I know that everything is absolutely perfect.

That's a big thing that has been stopping me from doing what I want: perfectionism. When I was little, I was a bit of a perfectionist and, although I have learned not to be so hard on myself about things, the perfectionist in me still comes out once in a while and scares me out of doing things that I want to do. I've learned over the years that our minds can be our greatest enemies. It's like the lyrics in Eurovision 2015 winner Måns Zelmerlöw's song "Heroes": "We are the heroes of our time/ But we're dancing with the demons in our minds." Sure, you could interpret "dancing with the demons in our minds" as going along with evil ideas or doing bad things, but I interpret it differently. We go along with what our minds tell us instead of choosing what we want. It's like the angel and the devil on your shoulders, one telling you to do good things and the other telling you to do bad things except in this case the demons in our minds are preventing us from doing what we want to do with our lives. They are putting us down, telling us that we are not good enough. They stop us from moving forward.

Moving forward is a big thing for me. It would be a huge accomplishment! I have never been diagnosed with anything, but I have been dealing with a lot of things going on inside my mind for quite a few years now, starting in high school. I've talked to friends and family about what I go through and I also just deal with it on my own. Maybe I should talk to a doctor about it but for now I just try and learn how to get through it on my own. I want to move on. I want my mind to be my friend, not my enemy. I want to stop dancing with the demons in my mind and start dancing along in life, doing all of the things that I want to do, all of the things that I want to accomplish.

This blog is one of the things that I want in my life. I want to write. I want to share my stories, my experiences. I want to share happy things. I want to share fun things. I want to show everyone all of the great things that we have in our lives but I also want to show people that they are not alone if they are going through a tough time. Maybe this blog will help me deal with the challenges that I face. I have already been writing things down, trying to figure out what to do and how to deal with everything that is going on, and it definitely helps. Transferring thoughts to paper instead of letting them continue to swirl around and wreak havoc in my mind helps a lot. Maybe putting them here on this blog will help too.

Thanks for listening!

Cheers,
Kay

Monday, 29 December 2014

My Plans for 2015!


Lot of people like to make New Year resolutions and I am no exception. Instead of making only one or a few, however, I like making several goals for myself. It's great to make a list of goals or plans because writing it down and seeing it, whether it's attached to a bulletin board or fridge or it's in a notebook, can really help you stay motivated! So, here are my personal goals for 2015 as well as my plans for my blog in 2015!

Personal Goals

A lot of the personal goals that I have for myself for 2015 (and 1.7 years after that) are in my 101 Things in 1001 Days list which I already talked about in a post and which you can follow updates on through the 101 in 1001 tag.

My main big goals for 2015 are the following:
  • Put my Crohn's Disease into remission (or at least heal the inflammation in the end of my large intestine)
  • Go geocaching more
  • Read more books for fun!
  • Start doing more meditation, yoga, and exercise
  • Spend more time outside

Blog Plans

I also have new and exciting plans for my blog, one of which is to blog more! Also, I want to have a proper blog schedule (which I still need to work out... this is in progress).

I will also have new content (or I'll be talking about some things that I've talked about before except I will talk about them a lot more): 
  • Geocaching (news, stories, and tips): I'll talk about my own geocaching adventures and share my thoughts on news as well as share my own tips! For example: what to pack in a geocaching bag, tips for creating creative geocaches, etc.
  • Nature/outdoors: I like geocaching, hiking, and spending time in nature so I want to spend more time outside and write about it too! I'll write about outdoor adventures that I have and also my feelings about nature (because it's such a beautiful thing!)
  • Book/poem reviews: I will review and share my thoughts on books and poems that I read. Some of the books that I will talk about include The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner, The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold, Inferno by Dan Brown, as well as Shakespeare plays! Yes, I'll be talking about both classic and contemporary literature!
  • Journal prompts: I'll share journal prompts that my readers are welcome to use. I'll use them too and share some of the things that I write.
  • Eleanor: During the summer, I bought a wooden mannequin. It's an artist's mannequin used for figure drawing. I named her Eleanor and she gets up to all sorts of crazy shenanigans and I'll share stories about her!
  • Gratitude lists: I want to write many more gratitude lists! Gratitude lists are amazing!
  • 101 Things in 1001 Days updates: Every month, I'll be sharing updates on the progress that I'm making with my 101 Things in 1001 Days list.
  • Sharing my journey of living with mild Crohn's Disease: I have mild Crohn's Disease so it's a part of my life. I have been trying different things lately to try and heal the inflammation in my intestines. At the same time, I try not to let it get me down and I continue to work at living a life full of positive energy.
Of course, I'll also be writing more about living a life full of positive energy and I'll also still be sharing photos of my dog, Finnlegh!

What are your plans for 2015?
-Kaylie

Monday, 22 December 2014

My 101 Things in 1001 Days List

Saturday, 21 June 2014

Happy Summer! It's been a while...

Happy Summer! I'm so glad that it's finally Summer and that it's warmer and things are winding down. Our winter was pretty harsh this year. The snow took a long time to melt (it just kept snowing!) and then it rained a lot. I finished my university exams in April and I'm happy with my marks. My third year of university is finished and I am looking forward to the fourth year of my undergrad. On Monday, I'm going to be teaching the last piano lessons of the school year and I am excited about that too. I bought cute stickers and pencils for my students. The pencils have erasers on top and there are three themes: animals, bugs, and dinosaurs. I kept a stegosaurus pencil and eraser for myself because that's my favourite dinosaur and I gave a cow pencil and eraser to my brother because he likes cows. The last piano lessons are going to be group lessons and I'm going to get my students to talk about how the recital was for them and what they're doing during the summer. They'll also get to play songs for each other (fun!) and then I might play a song for them (super fun!). The recitals went well and having to play at the several recitals that we had (because of the large amount of students) helped me get over my stage fright a bit so I am really happy about that!

I have clearly been busy with school, teaching piano, and my family has also been moving into what used to be my grandparents' house (right next door, but still, there has been a lot of stuff to move over and a lot of work to do) so I haven't had a whole lot of time for blogging. Also, I have been kind of stuck on what to write about and what to do for the header and layout for my blog. I want to get my header and layout organized before I really start blogging and I have just been procrastinating on everything about this blog. My plan is to therefore organize the layout, make a new header, and then really start blogging again.

Stay tuned for my new plans for my blog!
-Kaylie

Thursday, 13 February 2014

The Wandering Chickadee Turns 1!

My blog is 1 year old today! Yay! On February 13, 2013, I published my first post, Positive Life: It's All About Gratitude! I specifically chose February 13th as the day to publish my first blog post because my lucky number is 13 and February 13th is also the day before Valentine's Day! When it comes to living a positive life, loving your family, friends, and yourself is incredibly important and that is what I celebrate Valentine's Day for. I chose the name for my blog, The Wandering Chickadee, because I love chickadees and by the word 'wandering', I refer to journeys. This can mean a traveling journey or the journey through life, both of which are important to me and which I love paying attention to. Thanks to all who have read my blog during the first year! I know that I haven't posted quite as much as I would have liked to but I am determined to make this blog into the blog that I have always wanted it to be! I will continue to improve my blog and enjoy it even more during the second year!
-Kaylie

Monday, 3 February 2014

Hello again!

First things first, I really need to start posting on my blog more often. I love writing and I really like trying out all sorts of different forms and outlets for writing. I'm going to try and work on my blog a bit this week. I want to change the header so I'll have to work on putting that together. I might change the arrangement of the blog as well. Stay tuned for all of this!
So much is going on right now and I'm just trying to keep on top of everything and not go crazy. I have classes, I joined that free yoga class on Mondays and Wednesdays at my university, I go to the gym with a friend every Wednesday (swimming, jogging, rock climbing), I'm teaching piano two days a week, and I have school work and reading to do around all of that. I'm pretty busy! Plus, I also want to start practicing piano daily and organize my bedroom.
Yoga is really helping during this busy time. It's so relaxing and I feel great after each yoga class! I'll have to write a post about my experience with yoga some time.
Well, this was mainly just an update on what's going on with me and my blog. I hope 2014 has been lovely for all of you so far!
By the way, feel free to comment, email me, or follow me on twitter or facebook. I'd love to hear from you about any comments or suggestions that you have for my blog!
-Kaylie

Saturday, 6 July 2013

I'm on bloglovin'!

Hi everyone! You can now follow my blog with bloglovin'! Bloglovin' is a website where you can follow all of your favourite blogs and receive updates whenever your favourite bloggers write a new blog post! So click on the link below to follow my blog!

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

-Kaylie