Things that make me leave your blog even if I like the content...

I'm not a blog snob at all (is that even a phrase!?). I love blogs. Especially homeschooling blogs. Small blogs, big blogs, medium sized blogs, if you are interesting, I'll follow. I've been going through this extremely long, but interesting (!), blog roll lately, and have found a bunch of homeschooling blogs that interest me. But, I've only followed a few of them. Why?

Here are some things that make me leave your blog and not return, even if I like your content:

1. Black screen, white or bright (think neon) words OR using italics or some other crazy font for every post. My eyes can't take it.

2. Follower button is not there or is far down on the page. I don't want to have to search for a way to follow you. Put it at the top, please!

3. Too many reviews and no personal content. I may be guilty of this at times due to being on a review team. But I really try to intersperse personal content with reviews. The reviews may help some people too, but a blog that is all reviews on the first page will not prompt me to look at older posts.

4. Showing only 1 post per page. Whose idea was this?! Yes, your pages will load faster, but I have to click through six pages to get an idea of what you post about.

5. No search option combined with no labels. It's not helpful to me to see how many posts you've done each month if I don't know what the posts were about. I want to ideally be able to read what kind of topics you post about AND be able to search for particular topics.

6. Slow loading pages because you have a bazillion buttons in your side bar. My laptop is newish, but it is tempermental. Don't make it or me work harder than necessary to view your content. Pare down the side bar.

7. Avoiding "real" blogging. If you have something on your heart, don't be afraid to write about it. I like seeing some "real person behind the computer screen" posts once in a while. I don't always want to read about craft projects and book reviews. I want to know who you are too! :)

And here are some things I think newer bloggers worry about that aren't all that important (to me at least) for gaining readers:

1. Being like the "big" bloggers. If you've been lurking on homeschooling blogs for a while you know there are a few big name bloggers who everyone knows about. You don't have to write like them, use their curriculum choices, or be like them in order to be interesting. Be yourself.

2. Perhaps the biggest one is an obsession with getting followers. If you are interesting and relatively active on your blog, you will slowly but surely gain followers who actually care about what you write about. I'll read your blog whether you have 10 followers or 8,000 if I like your content.

3. Providing something for free (printables, pdfs, etc etc). This is not important to me. I want people to read my blog because they like it and are interested in it, not just because they can get something for free. If you want to share, please do, that's wonderful! But if you don't know how to share pdfs and you don't write your own curriculum, that's perfectly okay too!

4. Super fancy blogs. You don't have to have a drop down menu and a custom header and discus comments and be a part of every social media site out there to be interesting. Just be you!

5. Worrying about blogging every.single.day. You don't have to. I used to think I'd lose readers when I didn't find something to write about at least 5 times a week. Not so. I have lots of long time readers who come back. And it holds true for me too; I visit the same blogs over and over even if they don't write alot because I know their content when they do write is always interesting to me.

Anyway, that's my rant for the day. What about you? Do you have pet peeves when it comes to reading blogs? Do you have certain things you wish every blogger would incorporate? Do you have blogging anxiety (lol) about your own growing blog?

I'd love to hear from you!

Comment issues

I noticed I'm having issues commenting on other people's blogger blogs. It follows that you all might be having the same issues on my blog. Whenever I try to comment on a blog, after I press comment, I am sent to the login page, and I log in, I'm sent back to a blank comment. When I try to comment again, I'm sent to the login page again, and on and on.

I *heard* that if ya'll change your comment setting to the pop-up window instead of the simple comment window below your posts this issue is averted. So I'm trying that. I hope it lets more people comment, and if others change their settings, the bazillions of failed comments I've tried in the last several weeks will finally be able to be posted. :)

New look, hope you like it!

A few months back I had the opportunity to create a blog layout for a blogging friend of mine. I created a new background (now featured on my blog!), which I loved, but as sometimes happens my blogging friend wasn't really feeling it. Well, I thought to myself, "I'm going to save that background for myself!"--and I did. This weekend, I finally had a free second (okay more like a few hours!) and decided to quickly put together a new look using my newish background. I hope you all like it! I still have a few more things that I want to add, and some kinks to work out, but for the most part it's done!

Giveaway Winners--Curriculum Clean Out Follow Up

A while back, I participated in The Curriculum Clean Out and gave away two historical picture books. I sent them out, and heard from one winner saying she received her copy. I never heard from the other winner, so if that's you, would please contact me and let me know that you got your book??

Giveaway--Two Historical Picture Books

After searching through my curriculum cupboard for something to giveaway in the Big Curriculum Clean-Out, I remembered that I had these two fabulous books to pass along. Both of these are historical picture books that go along with Winter Promise's Hideaways in History curriculum. These are great read-aloud companion books to any history program (we use them with Story of the World), and are packed with interesting information and illustrations to enjoy with your child. By mistake, the company ended up sending me two copies of each of these, and when I asked about returning them, they said to just keep them (thanks, Winter Promise!). So, both of these copies are brand new, and since I don't have use for two copies of the same book, I am passing them along to you!

There will be two winners for this giveaway. When you enter, you are entering for either book, not one book specifically, and not both books. This giveaway will run from April 12th to April 24th. I will randomly choose two winners and will contact you within a few days of the giveaway ending. If I don't receive contact from you within 3 days of me contacting you, then I will choose a new winner. Sorry, this giveaway is open to US only.

You can get a total of two entries:

1) Required entry--leave a comment on this post telling me one interesting fact about yourself, your family, or your homeschool (don't stress; it's just for fun!).

2) Optional entry--follow or subscribe to my blog, then leave a separate comment and tell me that you are following/subscribing. You can only get ONE additional entry for this, even if you subscribe and follow. If you already subscribe or follow, just leave a separate comment and say so--that counts for your second entry.

Be sure to leave your contact information in your comment, otherwise you will not qualify to win. And, don't forget to check out all the other great giveaways going on at Our Homeschool Creations.

The Curriculum Clean-Out

I'm so excited about the curriculum clean-out that's going on over at Our Homeschool Creations for the next couple of weeks. I entered several giveaways last year, and actually won one or two of them. So be sure to hop over there and see what's being given away--you never know, it may be just the item you have been looking for!

As for me, I am searching my cupboards for anything I can part with, with the hope of not only entering the giveaways this year, but doing a little giving away myself!

Something Wrong With Blogger?

I haven't been on the computer in a few days, and I'm noticing that pictures (including mine) on blogger blogs are not showing up. Does anyone know what's going on with this??

I Just Have to Say...

Thank you too all those who have passed awards on to me in the last few months! I'm afraid I have missed the opportunity to pass several of them along, and now I can't remember who gave me what and it would be hard to scroll through the comments and figure it out because I have several that I really dropped the ball on (or multiple people giving me the same award). BUT, I am so honored that people are enjoying my blog, and would think to pass an award on to me. I'm so sorry I haven't been able to pass them along lately. But, thank you!!

Giveaway Winner!!

And the random winner of the write and wipe clean alphabet book is Adriana from My Bilingual Boys! Congrats, Adriana, and I will be in touch! I have to say, the giveaway was very rewarding for me. There just may have to be another one in the near future! :)

Don't Forget to Enter My Giveaway!

Don't forget to enter my giveaway to win this nifty book for your preschooler! Click here to enter!

Holiday Giveaway!

As my regular readers know, typically I am not a big giveaway blogger. However, with the holidays coming, I've realized it's the perfect time to host a giveaway, so here I am!

One lucky reader will receive this sturdy write and wipe-clean board book, published by Priddy Books. This beginning handwriting book contains 26 exciting activity pages, focusing on both the upper and lowercase letters of the alphabet!

I love the images in all the Priddy Books. When Miss O was a baby, we frequently spent time on the couch exploring her My First Words book, with it's colorful, true to life images. This abc book has the same life-like photos for you and your child to enjoy. Best of all, your child can explore the activities again and again with the wipe clean pen that comes with the book! Check out it:

Now are you as excited about this book as I am?

To enter to win this this book simply do one or all of the following:

1. First entry: Leave a comment telling me what you'd like to see more of on my blog--arts and crafts activities or homeschool related posts. If you do not regularly read my blog, feel free to utilize the navigation bar to get a bit more familiar with my blog before commenting.

2. Second entry: Post about my giveaway on your blog, directing your readers back to this exact post. Leave a separate comment letting me know that you have posted about my giveaway on your blog, and directing me to the post so that I can verify that you have really posted about it. You may use my pics from this post to show your readers what the giveaway is for.

3. Third entry: Subscribe to my blog OR become my follower. If you already subscribe or follow, leave a separate comment letting me know--being a current subscriber or follower counts as well. You will only receive one extra entry for this option, even if you decide to follow AND subscribe.

This giveaway will end Friday, December 11, 2009 at 7:30 pm PST. The winner will be chosen at random. Please leave a way for me to contact you when you comment. If you win, I will contact you within 3 days of the giveaway ending, in addition to posting about the winner on my blog during that time. If I cannot contact you or if you don't reply to my email letting you know that you have won within a week, a new winner will be chosen.

Good luck!

Looky Here!

Remember when I was interviewed by Starr at Examiner.com? Guess what? She contacted me again, about using some of my pictures for an interview she was doing with Sue Patrick about her Workbox System. I was so honored to have my pictures included in the article, and she even mentioned that I host a weekly MckLinky about workboxes! I am hoping the article may encourage more of my readers to participate in the MckLinky.

I just hope that if Mrs. Patrick reads the article that she found that my boxes lined up with her philosophy! :) If you are interested in the article with Mrs. Patrick and want to see my pics, head on over here!

Yup, I really couldn't wait any longer...

As I said the other day, I've been working on a new layout for a blogging friend, and working on hers has prompted me to re-do mine as well. I still have some kinks to work out on my friend's blog, but was dying to show off some of the things I've been working on, so I decided to go ahead and change my layout now.

You'll notice I have two navigation bars. I hope it isn't too much, but it was something I felt would add a bit more organization to the blog. The navbar above my header includes all the obligatory information--about me, contact info, our curriculum, etc. The navbar below the header includes links to various types of posts on topics that are central to my blog--arts and crafts, language arts, math and science, creative play, etc. If you are interested in sifting through all the posts I've written on a particular topic, just click one of the links that pertains to that topic.

I've got a new button, so if you are interested in grabbing one for your site, you can pick it up in the side bar. A workbox button is in the makings, and will be available soon.

I hope you like the new look! I certainly liked making it! I am just learning as I go, so it's been a long process. I'm finding that learning about designing layouts has been quite an enjoyable experience for me, so if you like what you see and need some help with your blog, please let me know. I'd be more than happy to have the opportunity to help you and to learn more about designing layouts in the process!

You May Have Noticed...

Some of my regular readers may have noticed that I haven't been posting as often lately! I've been a little busy designing a new layout for a blogging friend, which in turn has prompted me to redesign my own layout, so that's been taking up a lot of my free time lately! While I still try to post regularly, I'm excited about the layout projects I've been working on, and can't wait to finish working on them and get them up and running.

In the mean time, I'd like to hear from you: What are some of the things you like and don't like when you go to a new homeschooling/craft blog? What features do you really appreciate? What are those things that kind of bug you or that you wish a blog would include?

I'd love to hear what YOU like from a homeschooling/craft blog (both in content and layout)!

Thank you Nifty Notebook!

Consider yourself tagged if you see your name on the list below. Jenny, over at Our Nifty Notebook gave me an award! Thank you! I've gotten a few others recently, and unfortunately since I didn't act on them right away, I lost track of who gave them to me and was never able to post about them. So, I'm doing this one right away in order to avoid that again!


Here are the rules:
- answer the questions with only one worded answers
- thank the blogger who gave it to you
- pass it on to 6 of your favorite bloggers


1. Where is your cell phone?
Nightstand
2.Your hair?
Back
3. Your mother?
Home
4. Your father?
Work
5. Your favorite food?
Depends
6. Your dream last night?
Pets
7. Your favorite drink?
Water
8. Your dream/goal?
Overseas
9. What room are you in?
Front
10. Your hobby?
Thrifting
11. Your fear?
kidnapping
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years?
China
13. Where were you last night?
Study
14. Something you aren't?
Dynamic
15. Muffins?
Banana
16. Wish list item?
Curriculum
17. Where did you grow up?
California
18. Last thing you did?
Homeschool
19. What are you wearing?
Sweats
20. Your TV?
absent
21. Your pets?
zero
22. Your friends?
great
23. Your life?
great
24. Your mood?

great
25. Missing someone?
No
26. Vehicle?
sedan
27. Something you're not wearing?
Socks
28. Your favorite store?
Thrift
29. Your favorite color?
all
30. When was the last time you laughed?
today
31. Last time you cried?
Unsure
32. Your best friend?
dh
33. One place that I go over and over?
Thrift
34. One person who emails me regularly?
Kirsten
35. Favorite place to eat?
Chinese

I'm going to pass this on to 6 of my favorite bloggers, but if I pick you, please don't feel obligated to fill this out and pass it on as well. You are welcome to if you like, but if you don't have a chance to, feel free to accept the award and not do the survey part! I know life gets busy!

The Your Blog is Over the Top Award goes to:

Life, Learn, Love

Superheroes and Princesses

Miller Moments

Satori Smiles

Let's Explore

and

Flipflops and Applesauce

Look! I Was Interviewed!

Several weeks ago I was contacted by a writer from examiner.com, about my blog. She is doing a series of articles on inspiring children's activity bloggers (like myself?!?--who knew?). I agreed to do a short interview with her via email, and the article is now online! Please visit her here to read the interview and see my pics! Be sure to scroll down once you follow the link to view the other articles she has written about inspiring mom bloggers!

Totally Excited!

Some of my homeschooler readers may have heard about the Curriculum Clean Out over at Our Homeschool Creations which was going on a few weeks ago. Jolanthe, the author of Our Homeschool Creations hosted a giveaway blog carnival, where mom bloggers hosting curriculum giveaways linked up to her blog. I entered a few of the giveaways, and (yipee!) actually won one of them! Susana, over at Our Homeschool Fun, who participated in the Curriculum Clean Out recently sent me Volume One of Five In a Row, a literature based preschool and elementary school curriculum. I can't thank Jolanthe or Susana enough for hosting this giveaway! What fun!

Awards

First, let me just say that if you see your blog listed here, consider yourself tagged. I can't go to all 25 blogs individually and comment about these awards, and I think most of these go to my regular readers anyway. :) Second, blogger has been messing with my linking lately, so if you notice broken or wrong links, please do let me know so I can correct them.

Eva, over at Handmade Beginnings recently awarded me with the Honest Scrap award. I am supposed to tell my readers 10 things about myself and then pass the award on to 10 more bloggers who I enjoy keeping up with. Thank you, Eva!

Here goes:

1. Most important thing about me: I am a Christ-follower, who believes that the Bible is the true and accurate Word of God.

2. My dream is to go into full-time ministry in Asia.

3. In college, I pursued my elementary teaching credential. It was during that process (student teaching) that I realized that I wanted to homeschool my children.

4. I have a special place in my heart for those struggling with infertility. I spent the better part of the last two years as a gestational surrogate, and carried and gave birth to fraternal twins in Dec. 2008 for a couple dealing with infertility from my Bible study.

5. It may not seem like it from my blog, but I am terrible at organizing.

6. I like blogging. In fact, I have started at least 5 different blogs, but this one is the most active.

7. I am actually kind of terrified of large dogs. Unfortunately, I've passed this on to Miss O. :(

8. I can speak conversational Mandarin Chinese--pretty nifty, huh? :)

9. Kind of crazy--I've only attended public school for about 7 months of my life. I am the product of private, Christian education.

10. I used to want four kids, two close together, then a gap, and then two more close together. Now that I have my first two, 15 months apart, I don't think I can handle anymore! ;)

And, Sheena, over at Turning Ordinary into Extraordinary and Nicole over at Tired, Need Sleep both gave me the One Lovely Blog Award. Thank you both! :) The rules for this award are that I am supposed to pass it on to 15 more blogs that I have newly discovered and am enjoying.

Coming up with 25 different blogs to pass these awards on to is quite a task, but I am up to the challenge, so here goes!

I'll pass the Honest Scrap Award on to:

1. Boy, Oh, Boy
2. Catholic Christian Homeschooling

3. Crunchy and Green

4. Christian Unschooling

5. Miller Moments

6. The Adventures of Bear

7. Three Queens and a King

8. The Home Teacher

9. Our Homeschool Fun

10. Bubbles, Balloons, and Blessings

The One Lovely Blog Award goes to:

1. Spinner's End Nursery School

2. Sowing Precious Seeds

3. Passport Academy

4. Our Nifty Notebook

5. Fun With Mama

6. Live, Learn, Love

7. A Hundred Happy Things

8. A Bit of This and A Bit of That

9. 1,2,3...Come Homeschool With Me

10.Homeschooling--A Life

11. Too Many Hats

12. One Inch World

13. Satori Smiles

14. Spell Out Loud

15. Fun With the Kiddos

Blog Roll

Feel free to check out my blog roll up on the navigation bar! Please let me know if you aren't listed and would like to be, you are listed but are miscategorized, or if you find a missing or broken link. Thanks!

Changing the Layout

Yes, I am once again changing the layout. I am bound and determined to figure out how to make my blog as pretty as some of the others that I frequent without paying someone else to do it. I also really wanted to create a navigation bar and clean up my sidebars a bit. After a lovely day alone (while dh took the kids to the beach), I think I've finally figured some of it out. Now the only thing left (okay, maybe not the only thing!) ;) is to figure out how to put dividing lines between my side columns. Anyone know how?

What do you think of the new look?