Not Feeling So Wordy: 4 Ideas for When You Don't Know What to Say

So it's been 3 days since my last post and while that's nothing for some people, (and definitely nothing for me, I've disappeared for months on my old blog!) it's definitely not a habit I want to get back into. Everyone is well aware that blogging successfully requires some dedication and if you just aren't into it then ... you just won't have the readership #straightlikethat. There's nothing wrong with blogging every other day or blogging every few days but the key is to be consistent so that your readers know what to expect. So basically, I'm just gonna share some advice/ideas (and take that into next week with me) for what to do when you just can't seem to get the words out and onto your blog .

Idea 1: Schedule posts in advance. This is a somewhat "controversial" idea among some lifestyle bloggers that I've actually read. Some people don't like the idea of scheduling posts in advance or just simply can't because they are waiting for those "life events" to occur that are worthy of blogging about. That's great, but it can leave you without content for days which can sometimes lead to your blog taking a loss. I personally know if I check someones blog for days on end and don't see an update (especially if it's a blog I look forward to reading) it gets annoying and I lose interest. 

Idea 2: Draft posts at least! This is a big big mistake I make all the time. I'll be sitting somewhere random or even typing out my post for the day and then a different idea pops into my head.... and i don't write it down. My mind is constantly on a thousand so it doesn't even take 5 minutes for me to forget the idea. Writing them down (or typing it in your notepad on your phone) at least sets the precedent for you to have extra ideas out there for a day when you don't have something specific planned for your blog. It's nice to have that little mental refresher. 

Idea 3: Wordless Wednesdays, Instablog, Life through My Lens... whatever you want to call it. There are plenty of days (and even more link-ups) when you can post pictures on your blog without having to write a full on post. This can even work for a day/event where it's pretty self explanatory and there isn't much to say word-wise. "A picture is worth a thousand words". Ain't that the saying?

Idea 4: Guest posts! Yea... I'm not saying email your favorite "top blogger" like "hey do you want to guest post on my blog today because I have no idea what to say" because you will most likely get hit with the #BYEFELICIA. LOL. But there are plenty of bloggers out there that want to reach different audiences. This is why networking in the blog community is so important. Reach out to other bloggers so that you can develop a relationship which will open up opportunities for you to get guest posts on your blog/guest post on other blogs (and make friends!! who doesn't love making friends????). Your readers will appreciate hearing something even if it's not from you! And if it's a day you post on someone's blog, some simple forwarding/redirection (i.e, "Hey guys check out my guest post today over on....") will benefit both your blog and your new bloggy friend! 

Do you feel enlightened? LOL. Hopefully I've sparked some ideas for you guys to get that content rolling! Remember that Quality outweighs Quantity when it comes to your blog so don't force it if it's not there. There's nothing worse than reading a crappy post and thinking "that's 60 seconds of my life that I'll never get back". And if you felt that way about this post then please let me know in the comment box so I can ban you from reading! (Kidding!! .... a little ^_^). 

What other ideas do you guys have for when you just can't think of what to blog about?

xoxo.

Tanay

The Struggle with Self-Love

Via Google image search 

Believe it or not my post today was inspired by last nights dose of ratchet reality TV. I'm pretty sure everyone is familiar with #LHHATL whether you watch the show or not and honestly it's not the only show that puts an extreme lack of self-love in full view for the world to see. Reality TV constantly puts women (and sometimes men) in the forefront to be .... embarrassed (for lack of a better word). As I sat and watched all I could think about is how Mimi is too daggone old to be so dependent on the love of another person that's she's completely blinded to them taking advantage of her.

In my later teenage years I really struggled with loving myself. I was never really equipped with that kind of thing growing up and that's not to discredit my upbringing at all because I was for the most part extremely happy (and I also believe generational patterns and cycles have a lot to do with things like this). But I was never taught the value of self. My first real relationship where someone "loved" me was even more damaging to me in terms of self-esteem and self-confidence. I honestly felt like at 18 years old I NEEDED to be accepted by this person who did nothing but tear me down in soooo many ways, disguising it as love. And I continued to portray the happy girl on the outside so that no one would catch wind of my insecurities.

Thankfully and (I honestly feel like) by the grace of God I met my boyfriend (who was of course a friend back then). He became a person I felt completely comfortable in confiding in and in the beginning of our friendship he taught me so much about loving me first. I truly believe that God can send you people to convey messages that you might not be hearing so clearly directly from Him. I could be completely wrong but either way our friendship was my saving grace. Leaving my old relationship I spent months and months working on me and building myself back up to a point where I felt like it was OK to just be me. I began focusing on my dreams and my own aspirations and it was a completely different feeling not needing someone to validate or confirm my emotions.

In any case, I said all of that to say to be successful in anything in life it starts with yourself. Validation and confirmation from another person will only take you so far. I feel more equipped now  than I ever have before to love other people because I trust myself to know the limits of that love. I trust myself to be an amazing mother and teach my son the value of himself so that he never feels the need to seek other peoples idea of his worth. And I know for a fact I'll mess up. There's no such thing as a perfect human-being but I'm glad I have an amazing support system to pick up where I lack. And I don't depend on or need them, but it's nice to have them there.

What's the most important lesson you've learned about loving yourself?

xoxo,
Tanay

Sunday Social =)

Happy Sunday Guys! Today I'm linking up with Neely of A Complete Waste of Makeup and Ashley of Ashley Lately for the Sunday Social. Since this is a new blog obviously this is my first Sunday Social and I'm excited to answer the questions and link up with some new bloggers. Here we go =)

1. What's your favorite scary movie?

Am I the only one that can't read that question at all without hearing the guy from Scream's voice? It seriously creeped me out a little JUST reading the question haha... I don't think I have a favorite scary movie though. I haven't seen a GOOD scary movie in a while the ones that come out now are sooo predictable. 

2.What is your favorite weird TV show you think no one else watches?

Dance Moms! Which I'm sure lots of people watch or it wouldn't still be on. But it's probably completely random for me to watch that and my boyfriend HAAAAATES it lol. He leaves the room whenever he sees me switching to LifeTime lmao.

3.What is the song you can sing all the words to without any music?

There are sooooo many songs of all different types that I know the words to. I've always been really good at picking up song lyrics. 

4.What is your favorite book to re-read?

Have you checked out my About Me?? I could re-read Harry Potter a million times. I also loved reading the Hunger Games so I'd have no probably re-reading the first two in that series. The third one was a little blah for me.

5.The one website you visit more times a day than others?

It'd probably be a tie between Facebook and YouTube. I just started watching a whole bunch of random daily vlogs on YouTube and I'm always looking at baby product reviews. Facebook I'm in a couple different groups for bloggers and then I just have always had a problem with checking my Facebook timeline way too many times a day. Old habits die hard.

Are you guys linking up with the Sunday Social or any other link-ups today? Leave the link to your posts in the comments I'd love to read some!

xoxo, 

Tanay

Reasons Why You Shouldn't Use Captcha

via Google Images

That guy up there^^ I loathe him. And you're probably thinking... ummmm you have 4 blog posts ma'am who are you to be giving anyone any bloggy advice... in which my response would be... here because I'm becoming a mommy and I've changed my ways and decided telling people where they can shove their opinions is not very mommy-like (I'm totally, partially joking). Seriously though, this isn't my first trip around blog-land and I had to learn myself that that obnoxious little jerk up there, is just that.

• It's annoying as hell! Seriously, half the time I go to comment on someones blog and that annoying little box pops up... I want to die. I have to now sit and decipher whatever made up word this is (because whoever captured that image up there got lucky to have two clear and REAL words) which 90% of the time is wrong on the first try and now I have to restart the annoying process all over again. 
• It is almost IMPOSSIBLE to see on a cell phone. A lot of people are either on-the-go blog readers or just don't feel like opening their computer just to comment on another blog. I personally already don't have the best vision. Paired with me trying to decipher this coding and well....
• ....it leads me to point three... it can discourage your readers from commenting. And we all love a good blog comment. But if I have to sit there for 5 minutes trying to figure out that crap and I'm on attempt number three and it's STILL telling me it's wrong. Screw it! It's not that real for me. And no one wants that to happen because interaction is one of the best parts of blogging! 

So clearly I just dropped some amazing knowledge on you guys and you all should run to your blogs and remove that annoying spawn immediately. I know some people like to say they have it on for spam purposes but lets face it ...1. If your blog isn't that big then you most likely aren't being over-flooded with spam comments and you can delete them. Don't be lazy. and 2. If number one applies then would you rather no comments at all then like the 1 spam comment you get and the 5 other amazing ones that could come along with it? There are plenty of spam blocking programs (whatever those are called) that you can install that won't drive your readers bat-sh*t crazy like captcha and then its a win-win situation for everyone!

Please... I beg you.... take it off!
xoxo,
Tanay

BabyLove: Anatomy Scan

I cannot believe that by the time Monday comes I will be halfway done with this pregnancy! It sucks that I started a new blog so late because now you guys only get to hear about it halfway but I had a fairly uneventful pregnancy either way. I had started doing bumpdates on my old blog but my bump at the time didn't seem like it was changing that much and neither were my symptoms.. so it felt kind of redundant.

Anywho, I had my anatomy scan today and I was super anxious/excited for it all day! I'm happy to report (praise God) that the doctor said everything looks amazing and the baby is beautiful! =). He does weigh a pound already which from looking at my "What to Expect" app seems like its huge because they have the average weight as half a pound. I keep thinking about how the heck I'm supposed to push him out if hes almost 10 pounds by the time this is over because I was 5'1 and like 100 pounds when this all began so suuuuper tiny! I'm just happy that he's healthy and all is looking amazing!

If you follow me on Instagram then you've seen that I posted a picture up of him already but I'm going to re-share it anyway. And a few more. This may be the only time I get 3d pictures of him also so I was HYPE about that! haha.

She tried to get him to move his hands for like 5 minutes but he was NOT having it. He's also a very active baby so it took about 45 minutes for her to make sure she got all the measurements she needed cause he kept moving away from the ultrasound wand! LOL. Either way I still love his pictures and think he looks adorable! Mothers love? Lol. 

xoxo,

Tanay

Mid-Week Inspiration

I have grown up in church practically my whole life. I did have my rebellious teenage years where... I don't even know WHAT I was doing (HA!). But even during that time I still found myself in church a good amount of the time. I just didn't feel like I was absorbing anything. Anywho... I am back to going more regularly and I truly feels like it gives me a sense of level-headedness (who's word is that?!) that I was lacking before. I still catch myself sometimes but I can blame that on pregnancy hormones =D.

I was random blog/instagram/twitter scrolling yesterday trying to build up my network for this new bloggy and I skimmed past a quote that I knew I would HAVE to blog about today.

I am impatient by nature. I'm pretty sure God knew that when he made me. I am a planner, I like to be organized and chaos seriously stresses me out. I also like to think long term. Seriously when I say planner I want to have life planned for like the next 20 years. LOL. So imagine my surprise getting pregnant (though it wasn't REALLY a surprise it was just the timing was)! Or.. getting pregnant when I JUST switched jobs. I seriously sit and think sometimes about how I should have done things differently, or made different decisions. 

But, I am learning that every decision I make leads up to the present. If I could go back and change it I wouldn't at all because at the end of the day I am still blessed beyond measure and who knows where I would be if things were different. God doesn't give anyone more than they can handle and I am learning daily to lean and rely on Faith more and more. And I have no reason not to. I am the happiest I have been in a LONG time. I still have my moments that I feel overwhelmed or I think what the heck did I get myself into but I am confident that my situation will all turn out more than amazing. It's by no means bad now but I'm an overachiever lol.. I always want to be at my best and more. 

**I decided to do mid-week inspiration because I personally haven't seen it that often. I see a lot of posts for Monday or Friday when the week is just beginning or ending but I find personally that sometimes I need that push in the middle of the week to help me actually GET to the end of it. Just thought I'd share my motivation behind it ;)**

New Beginnings

This is officially my second blog. I loved my first blog. Really and truly. But I didn't give it the time that it deserved. So many new things are happening in my life right now. I'm expecting my first baby, I'll be moving in with my boyfriend soon and just the consistent day to day changes that I am making within myself. I only thought it fair to start over. I didn't think it was right to keep half-documenting things that I found were important to me especially because I enjoy doing it. I was already in the habit of half-*ssed blogging on my old blog. And right now, I feel like its time to go all in! Can't wait to share my journey with you all =).

xoxo,

Tanay