Hi, I'm Amber, and I used to be your "normal" stay at home mom... then I became a Blogger.
My usual day-to-day routine once consisted of chasing around babies, paying bills, making meals, and running errands. During my down time, I would read a few chapters in a new book, work on a craft project, or maybe even catch a few z's. My mind would be quiet and peaceful as I relished in the utter silence that filled my home during nap times. Life was seemingly complete... until it wasn't.
Being the Type A, competitive, reformed gypsy-soul that I am, "settling into a routine" has never really been my style. Once I got the hang of juggling a schedule with two under two, I began to notice that something was missing. I needed a new challenge - something to call my own, something to push me out of my comfort zone and provide me with a new drive.
Enter Blogging.
Since I started Cupcakes and Coffee Grounds, I have morphed into a Facebook-messaging, Google-searching, tweeting, internet junkie. From the moment I wake up, until I lay my head on the pillow at night, my brain is oozing with thoughts of blogging. Post titles, Instagram photos, fonts, and clever word play flood my brain every waking moment.
When my children are eating breakfast, I'm reading my blogging friend's posts from the day before. While I am putting together puzzles with my toddler, I am jotting down ideas for a new article. In the afternoon when my kiddos are passed out in their cribs, I should be doing laundry, making a grocery list, and showering. Instead, I am editing words, rearranging my theme, and checking Google Analytics.
To say I have become obsessed, would be putting it mildly.
Blogging has opened up my eyes to a whole new world (not to go too Aladdin on you). I used to think that people who had blogs just wrote because they were keeping online journals or were looking for a place to vent. I had no clue how much really went on behind the scenes; how many hours were spent pulling together the perfect article or how many bottles of wine were downed in the process.
So allow me to let you in on a little secret...there is more to it than you may realize.
1. Most of us aren't getting paid.
I was blown away when I found out what some bloggers make. "You're telling me that companies are giving you things FOR FREE just so you will write about them? People are paying you to post pictures of their products on Instagram??" Uhh...sign me up. The reality is, the majority of the bloggers you know aren't getting paid a dime. We do what we do because we sincerely love doing it. That doesn't mean that I would be upset if I was making a little cash flow off what I write, however, the time I spend day in and day out on C&CG is solely compensated by readers likes, shares, and comments. (Which make my day more than you could possibly imagine!
2. Our lives are a mess.
I can't even see my kitchen table right now. It actually serves as my "office" space. Sometimes we eat at it, and when we do, we just do a double arm sweep across the top to make enough room for our plates. There is a hamper full of laundry always on my living room floor waiting to be folded, and the bed is never made.
You might be reading this and thinking, "I don't have a blog, and my home always looks like this."
Well, mine was like that too before writing, but there at least used to be a few days in the month that the place was sparkling. Everything was put in its place, all of the laundry was folded away, and I could actually find what I was looking for. Not anymore.
Bloggers live and breathe their website. Any free moment we get, our fingers are more than likely glued to our keyboard, typing up some sort of verbal magic for you to read. Everything else becomes background noise, and you...yes, YOU, the reader becomes our number one priority. So in other words, you're to blame for our messy lives.
3. We suffer from blog brain.
As I mentioned earlier, we think about writing 24/7. If I'm not thinking about what to write, I am checking my newsfeed, reading other people's posts, or chatting away in blogging groups. It is a disease I tell you! Just ask the next blogger you meet if they know what their next post is going to be about, or if they know how many page views they have had that day. Trust me, they know.
4. Some of our closest friends are people we have never met.
I started my blog at the end of July, and I have made more friends via the internet than I have anywhere else since I've graduated college. I probably know more about the people on the other side of my computer screen, than I do about some of my relatives. The world of blogging is like an online sorority, filled with bloggy sisters just waiting for you to befriend. I love my little online community so much that I want to host a giant sleepover somewhere just so we can all hang out. Seriously...how cool would that be??
"Bye, honey! I'm going to New York for a blogging conference." (AKA wildly awesome slumber party.)
5. Nerves set in every time we hit published.
I can honestly say that I get butterflies every single time I hit the publish button. While there have been a few posts that have slipped out that may not have had my full heart and soul in them (you'll know which ones they are when you read them), most of the time I've slaved over a post for countless hours. The last thing I want is for a reader to see a post and think, "Dumb." I want you to enjoy reading the new things that I publish on my site. Posting a new article, feature, or recipe has somehow or another played a role in my life, and I enjoy sharing these things with you guys; so the thought that you might reject it can be extremely intimidating.
6. We care about what you think.
Please refer to the above. While I can't speak for every blogger in the history of blogging, I feel pretty confident in saying that we care about you think. Each and every blogger has a story as to how they got started, but I guarantee the readers are why the keep on the grind. We adore all of our followers, and we genuinely care about what you think of us and what we write.
7. We're unintentional night owls.
As I'm working on this post, it's currently 10:14pm. I sat down and started working around 8:50pm after I finished nursing my youngest; and chances are, I'm going to be up until midnight editing out all of the details. Interestingly enough, I won't even know how late it is until I check the clock during a bathroom break. That's because I'm passionate about what I do.
8. Talking about our Google Analytics is like posting our salary.
Don't ask a blogger about their Google Analytics unless they volunteer the information. Talking blog stats is like comparing salaries. I may get more page views than some, but I also don't get near as many as others. Let me live in the reality that I'm awesome!
9. We network 24/7.
Did you know that there are blog networking groups on Facebook? I didn't. At least, not until I really decided to start hardcore blogging. These groups are filled with all kinds of people. People asking for tips and advice, people with questions about technical issues, links for people to meet other people. It's wild. While you're binge watching your latest favorite drama on Netflix, we are chatting with another writers, reading blogs, and shooting off emails to publishing sites.
10. We LOVE support.
Every time you like something we post, you comment on an article, or you share what we have published, it makes everything we do all worth it! We read every message you send us, every word you type, and like we receive. Our reader's support means more to us than you know, and without it, our blogs wouldn't be successful. We absolutely LOVE you and we LOVE LOVE LOVE your support!!!
So now that you know my blogging confessions, what are yours?? Leave them in the comments below!