How were you successful in your blogging this week

How were you successful in your blogging this week?

Many don't like to think of blogging in terms of something one wants to be "successful" at. "I'm just doing this for fun," you might say. I've actually heard others say, "I don't care if I get comments." I'm astounded when I hear that. I think, "Why are you writing, then, if you don't want to be read?"

Whether you're blogging for fun, or you're blogging for money, it's hard for me to believe it doesn't matter whether or not you get comments, or whether or not your're being read. If you don't care to be read, why are you writing? Don't go online then! Write what you have to say in a little paper diary with a lock and key, and stick the diary in your drawer at home! If however, you do come online, then you may as well admit you want to be read, and furthermore you like those comments (so you know somebody is listening, and you have an engaged community)! There is certainly nothing wrong with that...

So now I have a question for you. How were you "successful" in your blogging this week? What did you do to be successful and to draw readers in? Please tell us of some of your successes.

Did you write good content so that your readers would want to come back? I'm not saying you wrote good content for the sole purpose of having readers come back. I know you would have written good content anyway. But did you "make an effort to write good content" in your posts this week?

Perhaps you added more pictures to your blogs (either graphics or photos). Perhaps you tried to explain things to others. Perhaps you took the time to comment in other's blogs more.

Some of the things I did were to write good content (write about interesting subjects), to be more open and honest in my posts -- give more of myself, think about what my readers wanted to hear about and write about that, and comment in more blogs. I think I was successful.

How were you successful in blogging this week?

Monday Morning Question -- Would you be interested in my doing a Twitter blog?

Would you be interested in my doing a Twitter blog?

If I were to start a Twitter blog, sort of an instructional one, would you be interested? I was thinking along the lines of starting out very basic. It would be for those who had never tweeted before, all the way to those who had been doing it for a few months, or even a year. I love Twitter, and I wanted to share my knowledge with others. I'm thinking we could all learn together. It wouldn't take up a lot of time, bc I am thinking we would learn about one lesson a week, perhaps at the beginning of the week, and then we would have the week to practice what we learned. We would also have some days where we would just have fun!

So, who's interested? I promise, it won't be intimidating, as I will help you, and we will all help each other! And Twitter is so worthwhile, you get to meet so many new people and learn so many new things. The people are so helpful... So are you in? :)

Blog's 5 Year Anniversary

I wanted to thank you all for sticking with me, even though I haven't posted in awhile.  I was sick for a month, and then three weeks ago, John was hospitalized for two weeks.  It's been a long month and three weeks.  I'll explain more later, today we have to go yet again to John's Bone Marrow Transplant Center and Hospital -- Hershey Medical Center.  

It's mostly for check ups, and a consultation to get his kidneys functioning better.  He's got one third kidney function (both kidneys).  He also has no antibodies.  This just means he can't catch any infections -- such as pneumonia or flus.  It figures swine flu just started, but we're not anticipating he catches it, and he's wearing masks everywhere!  He'll even have to wear the respirator kind some times.

Other than that, John is doing FANTASTIC, and we are actually looking forward to this trip to Hershey, as we will be getting out some!  We have been somewhat quarentined, as John hasn't been allowed to catch anything, because of his immunities which have been almost nonexistent.  So he was quarentined, and me along with, because I can't bring anything to him.  So we'll just wear masks on the trip, and have a blast.  

This time I'm going to perhaps go to a class and make a bracelet, go to some doctors appointments, go talk to the divisional Leukemia & Lymphoma Society campaign leader to tell her about some of my fundraising ideas I will be doing, and then do some photography if I have time.  We'll be back around Saturday.  

I'm actually looking forward to going out of town.

Now don't you all worry about John, this is the best he's looked in years!  He just must stay indoors most of the time, and when he ventures out, for example, to get groceries, he simply wears a mask.

By the way, I guess it was yesterday, maybe, this blog made five years!  I really can't believe it.  

It has been one of the best things in my life, and has led me where I never expected to go.  It has allowed me to be more honest, more open.  It has allowed me to have friendships I never expected.  Opened new worlds to me, caused me to want to learn, gotten me out of myself.  It has challenged me, caused me to not hold myself back, allowed me to decide I will NO LONGER fear success.  I have not held a job since I have been helping john for these past almost 4 years when he was diagnosed with this last cancer.  Actually 10 years with his 2 cancers I haven't held a significant job.  But that will change after I am able to work again -- when things settle down more with John and we don't have to go to the hospital as much.  I'll most likely work from home, because I still need to help John.  I'm most likely going to own my own business, because it's what I want to do, the way I want it to be.  No rose colored glasses here, yes it'll be difficult, but I want to do it, and I have=2 0enough confidence now, I'm just the entrepreneurial type, and that's that!  Yes, blogging, and online activities have allowed me to do it... 

What has blogging meant to you? What has it done for you?  Where has it taken you?  Has it changed your life? Even if you want to say -- I now have new friends! -- we want to hear from you!  What has blogging done for YOU?

Comments please!

Blogging Is In My Blood

I was thinking yesterday about why I hadn't been blogging the last month -- actually why I hadn't been blogging much for the last six months.

The answer came to me. I've been living in stress for six months -- and I almost let this stress drain me of my focus and energy, before I recently became aware of what was happening.

It's stressful living with a Bone Marrow Transplant Survivor. All the ups and downs can be particularly stressful. But I needn't focus on that stress, and allow it to take away my focus or energy. I needn't allow the stress to take away the fact that I want to blog and do other things in my life. I can't let the stress win...

Yes, it is stressful living with a bone marrow transplant patient. I'm not complaining, though. I wouldn't be with anybody else but my husband John. He means the world to me. Perhaps that is why it was so hard when he was hospitalized in October 2008, and then again in November 2008, and we almost lost him a couple of times at the hospital. Since that time, John and I have made frequent trips to Hershey Medical Center, his hospital and Bone Marrow Transplant Center, to take care of his health problems.

By the way, John had his three year anniversary of his Bone Marrow Transplant in January of 2009. When he first had the transplant I was imagining he wouldn't be having these problems at three years post transplant, but now I see it is something I'm going to have to live with. At least for now. He is just one of the survivors who gets many complications. He always has been. And he is always the one to survive against great odds! So I am thankful for that -- that he's a real fighter!

But while I'm thankful, I'm still very tired. That's really the reason I haven't written much -- I've been tired, and I've had a very hard time focusing on blogging, writing or photography. I've had a hard time focusing on just about anything in my life other than medical appointments. I've just been attempting to "make it through."

But it's not going to be like that anymore. It's time to move on. I want more purpose back in my life. I can still help John and focus on goals I have wanted to accomplish for a long time. And blogging is one of them. So I'm back to it.

Blogging is in my blood.

Do you like my new blog header?

I have a new blog header.

I want to thank Valerie Fisher of There is a Season for creating it for me. That's her own photography.

I told her I absolutely loved the colors in the header. The red is so vibrant and high energy. I've been feeling sort of high energy lately! I guess you've observed, by now, that I like red.

For those of you who have a Blogger blog, the header wasn't difficult to install. I even played around with the html code a little in the template, but if you're thinking of changing your header to make it uniquely yours, you shouldn't have to do much html coding, if any, to get what you basically want, as Blogger makes it pretty simple for you.

So how do you like the new header?

And yes, I will be back with the post I promised. I know I've been lagging lately on posting. The housework has been horrendous, and I've had so much "stuff" to do here at home playing catch up, as John was in the hospital about half the time in the last three months. I'm getting caught up, so I'll be back again later today to catch you all up on what's been going on...

Love you all, Krissy :)