HAPPY 2nd BIRTHDAY MY URBAN OVEN!

It has been 2 years since we started this adventure together. A rollercoaster of 2 years too.

I am not going to say I have been the best blogger over the last 2 years. There have been times where I have been on a roll, and posted every day straight for 25 days – flashback to 25 days of Cookies cera 2011- but then there was a time where I abandoned my post for a good 8 months.  Life begins to happen, and time just gets away from me sometimes.

Although, I admit my very amature blogging status, there are a few things I have learned in the past 2 years:

1. Find what works for you. You have to take it one day at a time.  My journey with blogging has been all over the place. And only now, after 2 years, I am starting to feel like I am finding my groove.  I think about what I want to put on my blog more. Recipes are created for the blog, not just because I am taking something to an event. I openly tell people I am a blogger. That one is a strange one, right? Why wouldn’t you tell people you are blogger? Well, I was always worried about what people would think or if they would understand what blogging really meant. Or if The Boy would tell people I was a blogger, I would down cast my eyes and try to change the subject, because I knew my last post wasn’t so recent. I am still on my journey to understand what the right balance is for me. I hope you stick around to see it.

2. Blogging is hard, Food blogging is harder. Really, you can’t just make dinner at night, and call it a blog post. Yes, I have done this, but that only goes so far. Or you can’t just rely on the recipe archive you have, because that only goes so far too. Blogging about food is about coming up with something new, testing it out, maybe failing the first time, then once it is perfect, you get to photograph it and then write about it. Then after all of that you have a post to edit. That all doesn’t happen in one night. Its takes time, energy, and lots of ingredients. Probably one of the biggest factors that has stopped me from posting all the time. I never want to post something the first time I make it. I want to test it out a second time before I tell you all about it, because the first time you make something you always learn something. You learn how the ingredients blend, or how they don’t blend. You learn how the preparation process works or how you can improve it.  You learn if it is really a meant to be recipe.  A second try always feels more right. This is where I always get stuck- I am too excited about a new idea to go back, and try something over so it can go on the blog.  This is the perfectionist and impatient sides of me playing tug-a-war.

3. You might need a Associate degree in Technology and a Photography degree to be a blogger. I just spent 2 hours on the phone with Technical Support last weekend, because for the first time in 2 years, I tried to make a change on my blog that caused the screen to read “Fatal Error”.  Computers hate me most days. And recently I had a friend tell me that he should take the photos for my blog, because mine could be better. That one hurt a little. But then I think, I don’t have a Technology degree, and I have never taken a class on Photography. I know my photos aren’t as amazing as the ones on so many of the blogs I read, and that I don’t have the super interactive pages others do.  I am just learning as I go, and you know what, that is just fine.

4. Find support. On the days I get down about having received no comments on a post, those are the days, my best friend send me a text saying “Great post today!”. Or when I have been slacking on posting, my dad or friends start to say, “I noticed you have not been posting lately”. Reminds me that people DO read what I put out there.  They are a silent support system, but a support system that I know exists. Then there is The Boy, I am pretty sure he doesn’t read any of my posts unless I make him proof read one, or I read one out loud to him because I thought I was particularly witty that day. Yes- I do boast to myself about how funny I find myself.  If you can’t talk yourself up to you, who can you? Even though he doesn’t read them, in his head I am the best blogger out there, and he doesn’t miss a chance to tell people I am a blogger. It’s a pretty great feeling knowing your other half thinks you are amazing! Especially, when you have your doubts about your amazingness.

5. Join the community and become a social media guru. This is one that I am working the hardest on right now. I read all types of blogs daily, but I don’t always comment on posts. You have to give to get.  Putting your name out there in a comment field also can drive traffic, I have seen an uptick in my views from clicks off other pages. Now that was simple, right? Creating a network with other bloggers who also are blog readers can grow your network, support system and following.  I recently joined Twitter, Bloglovin’ and created a Facebook page, something I should have done 2 years ago. I am hoping that putting more effort into these areas, people will start to notice my little old blog in the sea of other, and maybe tell a friend. Small plug here, please follow me on Twitter, Bloglovin’ and Facebook 🙂

6. Have passion. This one speaks for itself.  Be passionate about what you do.  For me, I have found an outlet in blogging. I enjoy sharing with others my thoughts, recipes, crafts, and random activities.  I get excited every time I hit publish on a new post, happy when someone tells me they enjoyed something I made, and motivated when I hear someone tried my recipe and it turned out. I am going to keep cooking, baking, crafting, traveling, gardening, and being completely random with you all because it makes me excited and energized!

Going into my 3rd year of blogging there are a few things that I want to goal myself on.

• Grow my presence in the blogging community 
• Be more adventurous with my recipes
• Stop being a perfectionist- Share my kitchen stories- even the failures
• Keep learning- My photography can stand to improve along with my understanding of technology
• Continue on this blogging adventure 🙂

I hope you all will continue to follow me in the years to come. 2 years down and so many more to go!!