Coffee & Honeycomb: blogging

Showing posts with label blogging. Show all posts

TAKING A STEP BACK.

Tuesday, March 4, 2014

Today I am making a vow to stop apologizing around here. It's an odd thing to vow to; almost offensive.

It's not because I don't mean it, but every time I sit down to write what I intended to, I feel the urge to first apologize for not showing up sooner. I want to explain myself and explain why that week in particular was so busy and how I meant to post or how I missed blogging... All things that are true, but once I begin, I find myself wallowing in my excuses, feeling a bit defeated for not having a better grip on my time. My honest words stare back as reasons why I'm not very good at blogging and I should probably not continue. So I close the screen without thinking twice.

I'm realizing that apologizing for life moving too fast is not a very conducive way to start moving again. It takes a bit to get back on your feet—and I have to learn that that's okay. Sometimes good things take time.

I've tried editorial calendars, weekly series, and pre-posts to help with a consistent blogging schedule, but at least in this season for me right now, none of them seem to help. In fact, they seem to make blogging more difficult! There are nights when I am filled with inspiration and good news, and want to share them with you, but then I remember Friday is coming up and I'm supposed to share a graphic. Or it's Monday and I'm supposed to talk about professional development. All topics I enjoy and were my idea to begin with, but they were put in place to be helpful, and if they're not being helpful then I should take a minute to reevaluate.

I like writing about professional development and creating graphics, don't get me wrong, but I want to have grace for myself that if I can't do it that week, then it's okay. I don't have to avoid the blog all together, I can just write about what I want to write. I hope that's okay with you, too. One day, I'd like to have a more structured set up, but I don't think now is the time. I really respected certain blogs because they had more structure and series to follow, and I thought if I implemented those, too, my readership would grow and Coffee & Honeycomb's identity would grow, but if it's not working for me, then I have to learn to accept that. If I'm right about one thing, I hope it's this.

Coffee & Honeycomb is a space for us to feel okay in our smallness, to show up as no one but ourselves, to let our souls breathe and feel safe in our skin. I never want it to be anything but that. So if I every veer off track, then I want to be honest enough to acknowledge it and turn back around.

I wrote the purpose of Coffee & Honeycomb last November, and I forgot. I do apologize for that, forgetting the true purpose and turning it into a platform to find worth and significance. Here is what I wrote in November to remind myself what this place is really about:

Coffee & Honeycomb is entirely dedicated to him, it's a love story to Him, and a live, beating heartbeat and reminder that God loves me. My only response is to share the good news with the rest of the world, too, hence, the title "Coffee & Honeycomb." It is a declaration of the ways God has been so good to me and because I believe that His words are sweet to the soul and bring healing to the bones, Coffee & Honeycomb exists.

So, I'm saying now that there will be no more apologies for late posts here on out. :) I hope you know that it's implied; that I do cherish Coffee & Honeycomb and regret when I am MIA for an extended period of time, but I'm throwing it out of my language so that I never view blogging as a burden but as a release.

I hope you, too, join with me and take a step back: what is holding you back? what is something you want to stop apologizing for? as a blogger, have you ever had a time where you had to take a step back and changed things around?

CONFESSIONS OF A BLOGGER [TAG]

Monday, November 25, 2013

Ella of Paper Umbrella tagged me to do the "Confessions of a Blogger" post last week and I kept pushing it off due to all the exams and traveling that was happening, but now that things have settled down a bit, I thought it'd be better late than never.

I was beyond flattered to be tagged by Ella (because she is great and phenomenal), but I also felt pretty hesitant and unqualified to participate because a lot of these questions are geared towards a "serious blogger," and I definitely would not consider myself one! Regardless, I am just going to give it a try for that small bunch who may want to learn more about this wittle blog of mine!

here we go:

1. When did you first start blogging and why?
I first started blogging in August of 2012 when I turned 20 to start documenting life as I knew it. I always enjoyed the blog world ___. My first blog also was actually @ jkfacee.wordpress.com titled, "Now, That's Lovely." Over the summer, I wanted more flexibility and freedom with my blog (without paying a pretty penny), so I made the switch over to blogspot, completely changing and reinventing the brand identity meanwhile.

2. Have you had any past online presence?
I'll tell you a secret. I used to have a youtube. I was really shy about it and only told a few of my closest friends — and I wouldn't let them talk about it in front of me. I did it my sophomore year of college and only uploaded a handful of videos talking nonsense on fashion... But that is in the past.

3. When did you become serious about your blog?
Mm, I think when I started becoming more consistent with this blog was last winter when I was getting ready to go study abroad in Italy for a semester. I wanted to document all of my travels, as well as keep my family updated on my whereabouts, so I began to post on a daily basis. That's when I started being more deliberate on photo and writing quality.

4. What was your first blog post?
My first post was titled, "Cheers to Twenty." It was a little introduction to the new year of adulthood and the blog. You can read it here.

What have been your biggest challenges blogging?
My biggest struggle has been probably carving out time to crank out quality posts while juggling my other responsibilities. Although advised, I never created an editorial calendar for myself so I kind of just blogged when my fingers felt itchy or when I found the time, which resulted in random waves of clutter and/or absence. However, since I've always limited my blogging to things I enjoy, there really are no rules for me. A few years ago, I mostly blogged about professionalism and fashion when that was something I wanted to concentrate on, when I was Italy, the blog was covered with travel photos, and now I dabble in whatever. (: It's a good thing, but it also makes for an unorganized read.

6. What is the most rewarding thing about blogging?
How much time do you have for this one? Because I could go on for daays. Literally. But for the sake of time, let me limit the rewarding aspects to two. First, I love that what started out as an online journal has turned into a hub for my inspiration and reflection of who I am as a person.
Coffee & Honeycomb is a space for my creative bones to exercise through design, photo, and writing, and it's also a reflection of the different and spontaneous interests that kept me occupied over the last few years. I've said it before, but my interests really jump around like crazy through the year, and this blog really reflects that. Second, the network. My relationship with God is and always will be the most important thing about me. And because of that, and because my walk with Him is always a struggle, I needed a space to spit that out, too. As I've shared bits and pieces of my spiritual walk on here, you guys listened — and responded. Finding sisters who are also learning to love the Lord has made lifetime dents into my own walk and I am so incredibly thankful. Reading comments from those who have been touched by my own walk leave me humbled and amazed for days. Yes, this blog is about my life and interests, but in a bigger picture, it's about God and his faithfulness in my life and the different ways he is shaping and molding me. I lied — let me tell you a third reason why blogging has been so rewarding. The way God has revealed himself to me using this blog. Coffee & Honeycomb is entirely dedicated to him, it's a love story to Him, and a live, beating heartbeat and reminder that God loves me. My only response is to share the good news with the rest of the world, too, hence, the title "Coffee & Honeycomb." It is a declaration of the ways God has been so good to me and because I believe that His words are sweet to the soul and bring healing to the bones, Coffee & Honeycomb exists. (Phew, I told ya that one would take awhile.)

7. What is the most discouraging thing about blogging?
I think most people respond to this one with something along the lines of discouraging comments or negative feedback. I am nowhere near well-known enough to have "haters." My most discouraging thing? When I use a measuring stick. When I forget that this blog is my own personal and unique corner of the internet — and not something to be compared to next to others. I get discouraged when I look at numbers. NTS: never focus on the numbers.

8. What is your last inspiration or motivation?
Practice makes perfect. Blogging is a skill you must hone, a language you must learn, and a culture you must observe. The blogland is real — and just like any other new foreign place, you must learn the norms. And that truth is far from discouraging, it's exciting. :) Practice, practice, practice. Practice until your writing voice becomes clear and cutting, practice until you only know how to blog about things that excite and inspire you, practice until you find your own niche.

9. What is your blogging dirty little secret?
Write everything down. Any line that passes in my mind, I jot it in my planner in case I want to use it later. Any blog topic or theme or title, I scribble it because it may inspire me later. Also, I draft — a lot. Sometimes I'll open a new post and just write with no punctuation marks as fast as my little fingers can take me, and then I'll hit "save." Weeks later, I often find those drafts to be unpolished gems, ready to be dressed up with periods and commas and shared with the world. Other times, the drafts are garbage or nothing but angry rants — I keep it saved anyways. Who knows, maybe in another season it will mean something to me.

10. What is your current goal as a blogger?
I am a quitter so my main goal: keep on. Second goal: expand and grow readership. Third goal: tighten my blog identity so it can be more organized.

11. Have you learned or become passionate about anything through blogging that caught you by surprise?
Oh my gosh, yes! One hundred times yes. I fell in love with Pinterest, design, DIY, photo editing, and so much more. As I begin to exercise one creative muscle, a lot of other things become intriguing and exciting, ready to be explored, too.

Phew! We're done. (: If you got through all of this, bless your little heart — and thank you. Thank you for caring and walking with me. Today, I would LOVE to hear from...

Ellyse @ With Love, Ellyse
Amy @ Taking Steps Home
Meg @ Rivers and Roads

I'm tagging you. Hope you participate.

Currently...

Monday, November 5, 2012

blog planning.

And I'm having a blast. Oh blog, I have fallen head-over-heels in LOVE with you. (:

I'm trying to pick up as much as I can on: writing styles, driving traffic, design, coding, etc. JKFACEE is still a baby; it's figuring out its identity and corner of the internet, but it'll grow. It'll find its niche. This is going to be one fun, rewarding journey. Can't wait to see you grow, baby blog.

GOALS: NOVEMBER

Sunday, November 4, 2012

Happy November, everyone!

I know I said this last month but I just have to say it again: time FLEW BY. I feel like I just recently did one of these posts for October. Hope everyone is staying healthy and bundled up-- everyone around me is getting sick. My roommate included. ;( Not me quite yet, I feel like my immune system has toughened up since I was a kid. (Knock on wood.) I'm drinking my warm fluids and wrapping up in scarves. And my loving madre recently sent me my sweaters and jackets which was perfect for this past week's freezing cold weather. It really feels like winter has already hit the midwest.

October was a crazy one with midterms, client meetings, work, and church.

For now, I just want to quickly welcome the month of November and celebrate the season of fall and Thanksgiving. Cheers!

GOALS:

Be thankful

Send out cards

Keep blogging

Organize computer space

Do laundry

Go to class

Consistent quiet times

Love God

What are your goals for this month and what's your favorite part about fall? XO.

on writing

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

If you haven't noticed, I'm blogging frequently now.

Sometimes once a day, others twice. And the blog posts aren't long. They're short. My thoughts are short, often, so it just regurgitates all here. White space gets filled with topics on everything— television, fashion, faith— and in no organized matter. Whatsoever.

But I think that's okay. And I think that's just how I am as a person.

Random. Short-lived. I jump around interests faster than Jimmy Johns delivers my un-whiches at 1 am.

From scrapbooking to photography to football to instagram, I jump around grabbing random sparks of inspirations anywhere I can get. Sometimes I get bored quickly, and other times I hold onto those moments of inspiration forever.

But the reason I've been blogging more is because it came to my attention that my writing skills are rusty.

I mean, I can write papers and I can deliver analysis. And I can spit out real-time updates in 140-characters or less. (Cheers, my Twitter friends.) But what I struggle to do and aim to do better; is put language to the reality of my life and who I am. Ask me how I'm doing or what motivates me or what my favorite coffee tastes like? Game over. Allow me to stumble over my words, sprinkle in a lot of "um" and likes" in a direction towards doom.

So, how do I say what I mean in a very concise and entertaining matter that is relevant to the reader? They say practice makes perfect. So here I am trying to practice... a lot.