What I Learned When I Started Blogging

What I learned when I started blogging:

Folks, my posts, and especially this one, are a total brain dump. It’s the conversations I have in my head when I’m blow drying my hair. It’s stuff I think about but don’t have someone to sit and listen to (even my arm candy Mr. Lane needs a rest sometimes). So I write it here and hope maybe somebody else is interested in the same stuff or will find it mildly amusing. Because honestly, I crack myself up with my own jokes.

But I have too much stuff I like to stick to one blog topic, too many varied interests. I like gardening and  especially roses, at least when I had a yard. I like decorating, more so when I had a house I could do anything to. I’ll sit and read house plans or recipes like they’re the latest novel.  I like getting bargains that look like they came right out of catalogs like Pottery Barn and West Elm, or dare I say it, Horchow. I like stocks and options and managing my own 401k. I like fashion and art and traveling, but rarely have the money for any of these things at the level in which I would like to indulge. I watch every single Housewives of NY/NJ/OC/BH and will admit it. I like spending an absurd amount of time researching a topic, any topic, online...such as how to fold a fitted sheet. I like procurement (my way of saying I like to shop).

This blog gives me an outlet to write whatever I want. No worries about bad grammar or spelling. No one is going to circle anything in red pen. No pressure about deadlines. Hey if I miss a day, I miss a day. Besides me, who’s going to even know?

The very definition of a blog is just an outlet to write whatever you want and share whatever part of your life that you’re passionate aboutthis post in your own words and at your own pace and in whatever way feels natural to you. And if people like it and follow you, that’s a bonus that just makes you feel good. (This seems like a good time to remind you to follow me by clicking on the icon on the right, or subscribe via email to have new posts sent to you).

I look forward to writing these blogs; it’s way more fun than writing a term paper or a magazine article or some form of marketing communications. And I’ve learned some things in the process. I learned I don’t want a bigger job with better pay. That’s not what I need, although the income would be useful.  I want a more connected life. I want to read more, write more, volunteer more, hang out with family more, use my Crock Pot more, go out with my husband more. I've even iron sheets a few times; never thought I'd have the time, much less the inclination, to do that.

Right now I'm experiencing life in the middle lane. No falling asleep at the wheel, such as in this post, because I feel like I have to be in the fast lane doing it all. Even without my rose garden, I am stopping to smell the roses more, thanks to this blog.