hmschoolmom22 Posted June 13, 2008 Share Posted June 13, 2008 I've thought about starting a blog atleast a hundred times, even started one a long time ago and then deleted it. Do you live far from family so you blog to let them be involved through the net? do you just like to share what you're doing and inspire others? I love to scrapbook, am always on a healthy lifestyle search and I homeschool...I'm thinking that a blog would be a great place to share my hobby of scrapbooking and share what we do as a homeschool family. I'm rambling...need another cup of coffee:001_huh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maria/ME Posted June 13, 2008 Share Posted June 13, 2008 I blog mostly for far away family. As a way to show them what we do daily...to reassure them about homechooling without feeling the need to constantly verbally defend myself...("oh, well you can read my blog if you are concerned about Math.") As a way to keep in touch. The funny thing is, not much of my family actually read the blog. I've ended up making lots of friends in the blogoshere! It's also a way to get what is on my mind down...and I like writing...and the reasons I blog change and grow. Right now I am going thru a "fallow" time and I don't blog much. Too busy...no great need for blogging...sometimes I feel the need to blog a lot...so if you aren't ready now, don't sweat it...don't feel like you have to blog every day, either...surely you'd burn out! Do it for FUN!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarheel Heather Posted June 13, 2008 Share Posted June 13, 2008 Mostly because we moved away from family, although now it seem mostly about birds!:001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted June 13, 2008 Share Posted June 13, 2008 Mine was because we moved away from family. My mom and dad read mine everyday. I think that's cute, it makes them feel closer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Qs3 Posted June 13, 2008 Share Posted June 13, 2008 I *just* started blogging. Part of the reason is because we live far away from family, and now dh has just joined the Army, so we know we'll be away for a long time. The other reason is because it's too much fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hmschoolmom22 Posted June 13, 2008 Author Share Posted June 13, 2008 thanks for your responses! all of our family lives within about 10 mins of us...I still think they would enjoy reading about our day though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jill- OK Posted June 13, 2008 Share Posted June 13, 2008 ...all of our family lives within about 10 mins of us...I still think they would enjoy reading about our day though. I started mine when we were living away from family...but even though we're back now, my mom still reads it, lol. (She thinks I'm incredibly funny, for some reason. :-) I've stopped before, then started again, and all I can say is that I love getting little peeks into the lives of others on a similar road...so I guess I keep coming back because I want to contribute to the phenomenon, lol. And it's a perfect outlet when you have something you want to share! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich with Kids Posted June 13, 2008 Share Posted June 13, 2008 I love to blog! I prefer blogging with pictures. It's where I get my inspiration. Come see me! My Nut Village Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mekanamom Posted June 13, 2008 Share Posted June 13, 2008 I mostly just do it for myself. I used to keep a regular journal and switched to blogging because I could post photos and such. I didn't make it private, but I didn't chose to list it with all the other public blogs either. I don't really care about how much traffic it gets, but I do love comments! (Thanks RM!!) It's also handy to blog about a topic and then refer people to the post if they are interested in the subject. For instance, I've been asked a few questions about Earth Box gardening- so I just keep posting progress on my blog to make it easier for others to see how it works. Soon there will be significant horse training progress to post too! I also use it as sort of a home page with links to all the internet places I like to go. Just keeps things organized so I can find them again, lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A.J. at J.A. Posted June 13, 2008 Share Posted June 13, 2008 I blog because I don't have the time or energy to scrapbook anymore. I blog all year (with pictures) and then have www.blurb.com slurb it into a book and "vwalah" I have a scrapbook. We did a small blurb book from the Guatemala mission trip my 8yr son and I took last summer and it turned out awesome! Can't wait to do this year's scrapbook and have it as a memory holder. I used to scrapbook like a fiend when my first son was a baby (he has 4 scrapbooks) but when DS#2 came along I lost time/motivation (he only has 2, which are incomplete). The boys just LOVE to look back on their books so this way I'll always have a record of our fun homeschool life (and their childhood) to look back on! Angela Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valerie in Chicago Posted June 13, 2008 Share Posted June 13, 2008 I suppose it's kind of a creative outlet. I don't knit or scrapbook. DH wishes that I wouldn't cook.;) I've told a few friends who I rarely see anymore about it, so they can pop around and see what's happening lately. I don't really have any other homeschool connections IRL, so it's nice to connect with "cyber-" friends. However, I've also connected with some folks who aren't even parents, let alone homeschoolers, so that's an unexpected benefit. If you don't like it, Blogger has the "Delete this blog" button. I found that strangely reassuring when I started. I couldn't imagine doing it now, but at the time, I figured that I could always just delete it and no one would be the wiser. BTW, my family does not know about the blog. I may tell them at some point. But not yet. Don't ask why -- that's a whole 'nother thread!:001_smile: Whatever your reasons, having fun with it should be #1, in my humble opinion..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenny in Atl Posted June 13, 2008 Share Posted June 13, 2008 I also find it a fun and an easy creative outlet. I love the photographs, the memories, and stories. Things seem to move so fast, blogging is a way to slow down and check in with friends, family and even myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TammyinTN Posted June 13, 2008 Share Posted June 13, 2008 I blog for my parents. They love the pictures and hearing about our family. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kari C in SC Posted June 13, 2008 Share Posted June 13, 2008 I started reading homeschool blogs and really took something away from each one. Maybe a recipe or a tip or just a laugh. I was going through a very tough time of losing a loved one, having a new baby and feeling that sometimes life just exactly what I wanted it to be. I decided to start my blog about Crazy Everyday Blessings. I was forcing myself to look at the blessings in my life. I had to stop focusing on how my best friend had died and my baby was crabby most of the time. Each time I sat down at my blog, I made myself look back on my day or week and find some good thing from it. That was the main reason I started it. A side benefit was for family and friends to see pictures of my kids. I also loved writing when I was younger. I tried to journal for my kids, but I never kept with it. Blogging really helped with that. I just wish some computer guru would come up with a way to print our blogs in nice books to give to our kids. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kari C in SC Posted June 13, 2008 Share Posted June 13, 2008 I blog because I don't have the time or energy to scrapbook anymore. I blog all year (with pictures) and then have www.blurb.comslurb it into a book and "vwalah" I have a scrapbook. We did a small blurb book from the Guatemala mission trip my 8yr son and I took last summer and it turned out awesome! Can't wait to do this year's scrapbook and have it as a memory holder. I used to scrapbook like a fiend when my first son was a baby (he has 4 scrapbooks) but when DS#2 came along I lost time/motivation (he only has 2, which are incomplete). The boys just LOVE to look back on their books so this way I'll always have a record of our fun homeschool life (and their childhood) to look back on! Angela Okay, I am eating lunch and then I have to get back to painting... I quick went and looked at the book site. I didn't see a way to import a blog from blogger. May I ask how you do this? I so want to print my blog. I have this fear that someday I will come back to over 2 years of blogging and it will be all gone! Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3lilreds in NC Posted June 13, 2008 Share Posted June 13, 2008 I started as a way to keep family updated. Then, of course, my dad told me how unsafe it was, and my inlaws deny ever receiving my email telling them about the blog.......... oh well. I don't think anyone looks at it much besides my dh and my friend Susan, but that's OK. I don't remember to do it very often. Actually, I think about it a lot, but never seem to have the time to get the pics together and whatnot. Plus there are lots of thoughts I'd like to share but not necessarily with my inlaws, if you KWIM. I did start another blog on Xanga but I've only posted on it once. That's for my "here's my weird thought of the day" posts. Heh. It's not so much that I think people care what I think, LOL, as a quick place to write my thoughts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christine Posted June 14, 2008 Share Posted June 14, 2008 Why did you start blogging? I started blogging because we're military, yet on top of being military our family was far-flung anyway. (DH and I met in the military and we came from different parts of the country. . .my own family was far-flung to begin with.) It keeps our family, those that choose anyway, up to date on our goings on. A secondary reason was that it helped me iron out thoughts. . . I'm starting to be more inclined to use it as a journal (finding my memory isn't near as good as it used to be). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Remudamom Posted June 14, 2008 Share Posted June 14, 2008 I think I started blogging when our good friends moved away so we could keep in touch. My family is also a day's drive away, but they won't read my blog. They just don't get computers. My mom loves it if I email her my blog entries, my sisters try to read my blog but they forget. So on my private blog I keep up with our buddies, and my horse blog is just so my buddies don't have to wade through all the horse stuff. Sometimes they blur. I hate to scrapbook, but I'd like to have my private blog turned into a book somehow. Anyone know of how you can do this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peela Posted June 14, 2008 Share Posted June 14, 2008 I dont blog regularly, but I think I started because it appealed to me as a creative outlet, and also as a way to give people who may know me a link to my homeschooling world- that includes my far flung family, but i don't think they visit it much anyway. More friends, casual acquaintances, and its a place to refer online friends to. It is also a "record" of some sort. Also, I liked visiting other people's blogs, so I figured I could do something like that too, and maybe someone out there in cyberland might enjoy something I have to say. In reality, I often don't feel like I have much to say, so I don't blog much, or at least its sporadic. The idea of it appeals to me more than the reality, it seems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nancypants Posted June 14, 2008 Share Posted June 14, 2008 I like writing and taking pictures. Back in 2005 my husband told me that I "needed" to blog and that I would love it. I made fun of him because #1 I hated the sound of the word "blog" and #2 I decided that blogging was only for those who like to hear themselves talking. He kept saying, "You would love blogging." Well, he knows me pretty well. I finally started a blog one day when I was frustrated with something and needed a humorous way to "get it out." So that was in March of 2006. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Alfred Academy Posted June 14, 2008 Share Posted June 14, 2008 I have a blog to keep in touch with family and friends. We move around a lot and it's a great way for them to see the changes the boys are going through. Plus, I get to brag about how wonderful the boys are doing in school to my not-so-supportive-of-homeschooling family members! And let me just say that their opinions are turning! Now, though, it is also a way for me to keep in touch with the ladies I have met through this board and other groups. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A.J. at J.A. Posted June 14, 2008 Share Posted June 14, 2008 Sorry for the delay in responding to you. I was up until 3am last night finishing up my blurb book for our 2007-2008 academic year. I put in a lot of time to get it finished but it is still a ton less time than I would have spent on a scrapbook throughout the year and the book winds up being very professional looking. You have to download their booksmart software and then when you start a new book (I believe there is an online tutorial) it tells you how to slurp your blog in. If you try it out and can't figure it out, just email me and I can try to walk you through it. It is really awesome! I can't wait to get my book now that I'm done with it. I splurged and bought the hardback image wrapped book and when it was all said and done I had a 120 page book! WOOHOO! Blessings, Angela Okay, I am eating lunch and then I have to get back to painting... I quick went and looked at the book site. I didn't see a way to import a blog from blogger. May I ask how you do this? I so want to print my blog. I have this fear that someday I will come back to over 2 years of blogging and it will be all gone! Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BizyPenguin Posted June 14, 2008 Share Posted June 14, 2008 I blog because I don't have the time or energy to scrapbook anymore. I blog all year (with pictures) and then have www.blurb.comslurb it into a book and "vwalah" I have a scrapbook. We did a small blurb book from the Guatemala mission trip my 8yr son and I took last summer and it turned out awesome! Can't wait to do this year's scrapbook and have it as a memory holder. I used to scrapbook like a fiend when my first son was a baby (he has 4 scrapbooks) but when DS#2 came along I lost time/motivation (he only has 2, which are incomplete). The boys just LOVE to look back on their books so this way I'll always have a record of our fun homeschool life (and their childhood) to look back on! Angela I'm going to look more into this! I've always heard there were ways to print out blogs. Printing them out into scrapbooks could put a whole new spin on this blogging thing. I'm curious though, what did that 120 page scrapbook cost you and is the process of putting it together simple or complicated? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A.J. at J.A. Posted June 14, 2008 Share Posted June 14, 2008 I'm going to look more into this! I've always heard there were ways to print out blogs. Printing them out into scrapbooks could put a whole new spin on this blogging thing. I'm curious though, what did that 120 page scrapbook cost you and is the process of putting it together simple or complicated? It took me more time because I had pictures that I wanted to include that weren't in my blog. I didn't really start my blog until Christmas time but I wanted to include our entire school year so that took quite a bit of time. The 120 softcover book is $30, hardcover w/dust cover is $42, hardcover with image wrap was $45. $10 for shipping but I think it's pretty easy to find a $10 or free shipping online coupon if you do a google search. If I had only slurped my blog in and then placed my images it would probably have taken me about 3 hours for the book. Which, considering I used to easily spend 1 hr on 1 scrapbook page, is a steal! ETA: I didn't really touch on the easy/complicated question. I feel like it is pretty easy. Their booksmart software is pretty easy to use and to choose a different template for each page on where to put your images and text. You can tell that it is growing though, they don't have a ton of templates to choose from and you can't move images & textboxes around so that's a little frustrating, but all in all it is a great product. Let me know if you have more questions, Angela Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BizyPenguin Posted June 14, 2008 Share Posted June 14, 2008 nt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom42terrificgirls Posted June 14, 2008 Share Posted June 14, 2008 Well, I first started my blog so that people could read excerpts from the book I am writing, but then a writer told me not to do that. So then I started taking my camera everywhere with me and shooting funny signs, things that were out of the ordinary. Now I tend to post OCD cartoons, videos that call to me, or just blurbs about our daily life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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