This blog has been in hibernation.
I have a ton of blog ideas and things I’m trying to figure out but none of them include this blog. I’m not deleting it or changing anything. I’m just keeping it in hibernation.
A Little Update – Blog, Klout and Life
April 28, 2012 by · Leave a Comment
Life
Over the last few weeks I have concentrated on finding balance in my life.
I get away from the computer more often, sleep a few extra hours and focus on “what is” instead of “should be.”
I want to share a story that happened to me this week. I am still in awe. I was taking my kids to Wal-Mart before school. A man walked up to me and said that people always stop people in the military and police and thank them. He then put his hand out to shake my hand and said that he wanted to thank me for being a mom and that he appreciated me being a mom because it is a hard job and makes a difference.
It was surreal. It was amazing.
Momtain Blog
I have been updating my new blog, Momtain.com, on a semi-regular basis. I have a vision for it. Over the last few weeks, I have been posting to the 365 Moments section. I am a true believer that life is full of incredible moments. Over the next few months, I want to incorporate pictures on the blog as well.
Klout
I received an offer today for free ice tea samples from Klout. This will be the first Perk that is actually useful to me. So far I received a coupon for a store I would probably never order anything from. I also received an offer for free business cards — the catch being I needed to pay for shipping and handling. As much as I would enjoy the business cards that’s not my definition of free. Are you on Klout? Come visit my Klout page!
Review: Mom Blogging for Dummies
March 10, 2012 by · Leave a Comment
I recently finished reading Mom Blogging For Dummies by Wendy Piersall. I really enjoyed this book! There are not many books that I read from start to finish. This was a book that I couldn’t wait to see what she said next. When I started my blog I just wanted to help people. I didn’t even think of the potential for making money or the opportunities that could arise from blogging.
The book covers the basics of setting up a blog and benefits of WordPress. She also talks about how it is important to blog about something you are passionate about. The book discusses some of the top mom bloggers and how they approach blogging. The one thing that they all have in common is that they blog about something they love. They didn’t start blogging for the money or fame. I found this part really inspiring!
Another thing she discusses is how having an exit strategy is important. I have to admit when I started reading this section I was thinking Exit? I have hardly started! It makes sense though. One day because of time constraints, health issues or a better opportunity I may not be able to blog. I do love blogging so it’s not something I see in the foreseeable future but it could happen. She talked about her path of selling a blog and starting a new one.
This book changed the way I think about blogging. It has made me think about how I can make money eventually and what I could do with my blog if I can’t keep blogging. It has made me look at the bigger picture. It has made me look into my heart about what I am passionate about and want to share. This book is one of the reasons I will be stating the new blog soon. I would recommend this book to new bloggers and especially those who have not even started yet.
New Blog in the Making
March 7, 2012 by · Leave a Comment
There is a new blog in the making. This is the last one! I promise.
WorkFromHomeMe.com started as a blog about my life and helping people find a job. During the creation of the WFHM blog, I realized that helping people find a job and me rambling about my life and blogging should probably be separate. It was then that I decided to make MarieBock.com The MB blog was supposed to focus on my life. There are many aspects to my life. I think that trying to discuss my online life and “real” life may be too much for one blog. One day I am blogging about my pizza outing and the next day about my blog stats. I do blog a lot about blogging on the MB blog. There are times when I actually refrain from blogging about blogging. I think it is probably confusing to my readers especially those who are not interested in blogging.
Going forward MarieBock.com will focus on my online life. This will include blogging and social media. I am not an expert in either of these things. Ultimately, if the topic involves me sitting in front of the computer it will be on the MB blog. I will share what I learn and maybe it will help someone else.
I will be unveiling a new blog about my personal life in the next few weeks. I plan on talking about motherhood, being a wife, marriage, kids, money, crafts and food. As soon as it is ready, I will let you know. In the meantime, I will keep posting about my online life here.
Saved $73.00 Yesterday
March 6, 2012 by · Leave a Comment
I am not a super saver but I want to be!
Over the last few weeks I have visited webpages about coupons and saving money. Over the weekend, I took out a book by the Coupon Mom and read the first 4 pages. Yesterday I was determined to save money! I went though the CouponMom.com web page and figured out what I could save on. I made a list of things we needed and tried to stick with it. Between the coupons and buy one get one free deals they had I saved $73.00. I was able to get a couple of boxes of cereal for $1.00. They had a special that if you spend $75.00 you get a coupon for $10.00 off your next visit. The woman in the line in front of me gave me hers because she did not want it. It’s like she gave me a $10.00 bill. I feel very lucky that she did that! Since I ended up spending about $135 I was able to get the $10.00 coupon for my next shopping trip.
I knew I was going to save but had no idea it would be that much! If I can do that every week it will make such a big difference in our budget.
Blog Stats for February 2012
March 2, 2012 by · Leave a Comment
Every month I keep track of stats on my blog. I think it’s interesting and hope you do too!
WorkFromHomeMe.com (WFHM) has been set up since the middle of November.
Google Stats – Unique Visitors – My goal for this month was unofficially 150 people. There were 355 visitors! I have been commenting on blogs, networking, using Klout and Tweeting. I just changed my posting schedule from an exhausting every day schedule to a Monday through Friday schedule. I’m interested in how this will impact my visitors and stats. I am very tempted to post on the weekends since people are visiting but don’t want to get burnt out.
- December 2011 – 46
- January 2012 – 116
- February 2012 – 355
Technorati – Rating scale for blogs. I thought it would go up since I added content. The overall rating has gone down one. I have authority in travel. Why? I assume because I posted about a job with American Express. Although I find Technorati interesting and will be tracking it, it is not something I will be focusing on going forward.
- December – I had a really hard time figuring out how to get my blog on the list. I have no idea what my authority was at the end of December.
- January – Technorati Authority 110
- Business Authority 99
- Small Business Authority 90
- February – Technorati Authority 109
- Business Authority 58
- Technology 77
- Living Authority 50
- Info Tech Authority 79
- Travel Authority 68
Alexa Ranking – Ranks webpages on the internet. This makes me really happy!
- January – Rank: 20,693,827
- February Rank: 495,661
I am going to keep focusing on creating content. I do want to learn more about SEO. I am kind of guessing at my categories and tags. I am pretty sure I am overlapping things where they should not. I bought the StudioPress Genesis Framework and want to eventually set up one of the free themes on WorkFromHomeMe.com. It looks like the CopyBlogger theme would probably work well.
Don’t Be Alarmed
March 1, 2012 by · Leave a Comment
I am not getting married.
Today I went ahead and bought the StudioPress Blissful theme. I was able to get everything installed but haven’t attempted changing anything. Above there is a picture of a cake, I need to get rid of that. I’m not worrying about it today. Installing Genesis and the theme were super easy. I kind of thought that there were going to be more check boxes in Genesis to make things easier. I have some reading to do. They do have a whole support group that looks helpful.
Right now I am glad that I did not get the Pro Package. The package gives you access to all of the themes for one price. I have three pages (plus one top secret page!) and would love a different theme on each of them. For now, I am going to master Blissful. They do have some free themes that you can use when you have Genesis so I might try that out later. I am not going to change WorkFromHomeMe.com right now. I think the Blissful theme is a bit too girly without me changing things I don’t know how to change. They do have a free theme that would probably be perfect but I am waiting.
If anyone has any hints about this theme, I would appreciate them!
Bye, February
February 29, 2012 by · Leave a Comment
I can’t believe this is the last day of February.
This month went quick. It’s funny how relative time is. Speaking of relative – I did not blog about my relatives every day for NaBloPoMo. I did blog every day except the one night my nap became “sleep” instead. My blog has become a flower to me. I want to see it grow into something beautiful. I know the only way that can happen is if I attend to it regularly. I will not be signing up for NaBloPoMo in March. If I had more time to devote to it, I probably would. I do plan on blogging more and working on some personal matters.
Maybe in March I’ll figure out how to actually pin things? Bye, February. Hello, March!
New Word
February 28, 2012 by · Leave a Comment
Yesterday I made up a new word. I’m not ready to share the word with anyone yet. I think it’s pretty clever and catchy. I love the word but then again I am the one who made it up. I told my husband and he said, “Cute.” I also asked him if he would mind me blogging more personal stuff. He said he would. I have started keeping a journal. I would like to share it at some point if I can. The new word I made up revolves around my life — actually it is my life!
There are so many of us out there with the same types of problems and worries but everyone generally just keeps their thoughts to themselves. I have noticed that if I speak up with what’s going on in my life the other person will say what their problems are. I know what happens behind closed doors stays behind closed doors but should that always be the case? Maybe I’m just feeling a little isolated lately? I know I’m not alone.
Pintrest – Postive Experience
February 26, 2012 by · Leave a Comment
I haven’t used Pintrest much. Each time I find something to pin I can never get it to work right. I tried to pin a few things to make a “Have Been There” board but everything I went to a webpage the picture won’t come up. Over the weekend, I pinned something. It was a saying about Hard Work. I got an email about 30 minutes later that 7 other people pinned it too! Honestly, I have no idea how all those people even saw it. I am assuming someone is following me and they pinned it then their followers saw it? I keep hearing how Pintrest is the next big thing or is the big thing. I can see the power in it just by this one experience.