Changing It Up Again

I've come to some self-knowledge this morning. I change my blog up (the look of it) when I'm struggling with self. Kind of like when you have an itch to move from your home, and either 1) that's not an option at the moment or 2) you just need a bit of "newness". You may rearrange the furniture or paint a room a new bright color. Neither are much of an option in my house and so when I'm feeling the need for personal change I change the look of my blog! I know I just did this a few weeks ago but I'm probably going to be doing it again soon....today.

I'm not exactly discontent with my life...it's more I'm feeling a bit lost in the area of self. And being a mother it can be hard to know how to get you "back". My blog is like my private room- my office, my studio, just mine. And playing with it is my form of me time.


I read a blog this morning by Hybrid Rasta Mama, the second in a series on Social Networking and Finding Balance. (The first is on Social Networking- A Mother's Best Friend, Arch Enemy, or Something in Between?) She has 9 tips for Balancing Blogging and Mothering (for the nonprofessional blogger). And for the most part I've found these work for me, especially the tip on blogging without children around. I tried in the past and found it takes me 3x as long to write a post that normally takes me just an hour. So I get up early and write- evenings don't work for me, I have a responsibility to my relationship with my husband, to put energy and effort into it and so evenings are for us (with a sprinkling of big kid time too).

But the tip I feel I struggle with most: #3

"Commit to writing about one or two basic themes. For example, I write about natural/peaceful parenting topics as well as real food/traditional diets. I occasionally delve into green living but that is part of the natural parenting philosophy so it still fits with where I want to take my blog. If you constantly switch up the topics you write about, you will struggle. Trust me. Many bloggers I know had a hard time finding their voice and ended up giving up blogging because it was too time consuming. Write about your interests and passions and leave the other topics to the millions of other bloggers out there. You won’t waste time spinning your wheels, trying to write posts outside of your knowledge base or comfort zone. This of course frees up your time." (Hybrid Rasta Mama)

I've often searched for what my blogs "theme" was...trying to streamline what I write about. But I fail miserably at it. I'm all over the place. I'm known to turn to you asking for ideas, inspiration, what you'd like to see or know, just so I have more, or less, to write about. I sat here thinking this morning about What are my themes. Mine are many but I guess the many could be simplified down into 2- Parenting (my experiences) and Photography (my photos). But in some ways #1 still feels so vague to me. I guess it may go along with my current feeling of restlessness and identity loss. I am looking for more direction, in all aspects of my life. 

So here you go again....another change to the appearance of my blog. And when you see it happen again in a few weeks, don't worry...I'm just rearranging the furniture in my living room.