I’m Stephanie, and I’m maybe-slightly-kind-of addicted to blogging. I don’t need, like, group meetings and an intervention or anything. I just really, really like it. I can quit anytime. I swear! (No, you don’t need to speak with my husband. Let’s just keep this between us. *wink wink*)
I started several years ago, have been through three domain names as I finally narrowed down my focus, and now I have two blogs, run a wonderful Facebook group for bloggers, and contribute to several websites. “All the V’s” is my primary blog, where I share my love of photography, beauty, fashion, and writing. “Janus Lane” is a new venture and it’s where I let my creative side out through recipes, crafts, and homemaking.
By the way, naming a blog is about as stressful as naming your new baby. That name is forever. I finally settled on “All the V’s” because our last names start with a V, as do our dog’s names. And one snake. Janus Lane is a throwback to a street I use to live on, so that one was actually pretty easy.
By the way, naming a blog is about as stressful as naming your new baby.
Blogging is a unique experience in that I never really turn “off.” I see the world in terms of, “Can I blog that?” My camera – be it my smart phone and/or one of my three digital cameras – are my faithful travel companions. My phone is filled with blogging ideas and reminders.
I go through a LOT of Post-It Notes. My desk doesn’t know what it’s like to stay uncluttered. It was clean last weekend, I swear, but now it is littered with a portable hard drive, a camera, my wallet, a jar of maraschino cherries, a recipe, two picture frames, an iPod, an empty cupcake wrapper, Poster Putty, eye drops, a mostly-empty bottle of beer, my “I’d die without this” notebook, my cell phone, a syringe, and a seashell. Every single one of those items somehow relates to blogging. Except the beer. I just like beer.
I started blogging because I like to talk. I like to talk a lot. It wasn’t until a few months in that I realized I could maybe make a little pocket change from it, and then I had to let go of the idea that I could have a successful blog for little-to-no investment. I had to spend money. My blog-related expenses so far this year are over $1,000. I have seen no monetary return… yet. I am hopeful to at least see both of my blogs become financially self-sufficient. I don’t see myself making six figures a month from blogging, but I do have long-term goals that are doable and probably lucrative. You have to think “big picture” if you intend to blog as a profession. It’s like choosing your major in college – there’s a lot of small goals you’ll need to achieve along the way, and you can’t slack off, but they all lead to your future.
I blog full-time. I work 6-10 hours per day. I’m up between 4 and 8 am, depending on when I went to bed. I often do blog-related tasks until midnight or later. I have insomnia, so it’s not uncommon for me to be awake at 3 am, on Twitter or Pinterest, or editing photos. I’m on Pacific time, and so the rest of the U.S. is often awake before me, which means no sleeping in if I want to get in on link parties and anything else before I’m the last one to show up. The early bird gets the readers.
Speaking of photos, one of the most time consuming and expensive aspects of blogging, for me, is photography. My costs and time spent in that area are higher than most, because photography is one focus of All the V’s, but any blogger that intends to have traffic from Pinterest will have to learn photography and invest in a good camera, or be skilled at finding and using stock photos. There’s just no way around it.
You’ll often find me chasing the good lighting around the house so I can get the best photos. Like last week, when I set up a cupcake photo shoot on the living room coffee table. It felt a little silly, but the photos turned out great.
You may be wondering what is so great about blogging. I’m wondering what isn’t great about it. There are so many things that I love about blogging. I get to interact with people from all over the world. I learn something new every single day. I have a place to share my thoughts and talents. Blogging pushes me to be the best that I can be in all areas of my life. You, the readers, hold me accountable. As long as I am a blogger, I will never stall, never stagnate, never stop learning and improving. What’s not to love about that?
Speaking of that husband I mentioned at the beginning, he’s written up what it’s like to live with a blogger. Here’s his take on it:
I am prepared to answer the following questions at any time, with zero stress:
- Which is the best tank of the Second World War?
- Which is better: Godzilla, or the Kaiju from Pacific Rim?
- How do I get a 70 ton tank across a river?
(See end of post for answers.)
I am not prepared at all to answer the following questions:
- Which of these shades of very similar/so-different-as-to-not-even-be-remotely-comparable colors is more attractive?
- Do you know any berries that have a really red color? Not like, raspberry red, but really red?
- What do you think about hosted advertising on my blog?
Needless to say, given the nature of this post and the fact that I am married to a blogger, you can guess which questions I am asked on a daily basis. At any time, at any point, no matter if I’m on the computer, making dinner, or futzing around with my hobbies, that inquiring tone will sneak into what I’m doing and leave me to answer one of those highly crafty or bloggy questions.
Not that I mind. I actually enjoy being involved with Steph’s projects, and I’m happy she trusts me enough to ask my opinion (even if I’m totally clueless on the matter!) and I am continuing to encourage her to do more food blogging because she’s an awesome cook, and having to wait a few minutes to dig into dinner for photos is okay and worth waiting for.
Being married to a blogger means you don’t really get to wander by random objects or consumables, because anything, at any time, could turn into a new project that you’ll be asked to hold up part of, or assess if it’s better THIS way or better THAT way.
It means also accepting the small legion of projects in process, or the small scale disaster areas left by projects in the kitchen. It disappears in due time, but the fact that 90% of the dishes in the house have been consumed by culinary experiments, or the dog has attempted to become entangled in wreath making materials, can occasionally be slightly trying.
On the other hand, any healthy relationship includes being supportive of your spouse, and it remains a two way street for us. Just as much as I support Stephanie’s blogs and craftiness, she supports my desire to paint insane amounts of model tanks, or play board games that require four or so hours TO READ THE INSTRUCTIONS AND SET UP ALL THE THINGS before even starting play.
So it’s really not at all that bad. I’m happy she’s found something she likes, and I’m happy to help her make the cupcakes she just made disappear. The occasional odd questions or requests for help are well worth that much.
(1. M4 Sherman. Not the toughest or biggest, but having a tank all the time beats having a tank sometimes.
(2. Depends. Godzilla because it’s classic, but the variety of the Kaiju beats out fifty shades of green rubber lizard monster)
(3. Haha oh God that was fun times.)
So there you have it, a glimpse into being a blogger and being married to one. I’m incredibly grateful to have such a supportive spouse, although he kind of owes me. He did run off to South Korea for 18 months to have fun with tanks.
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Website: http://www.janus-lane.com
