You’ve met Melanie here before! Melanie offers the third post in the series The Life of a Blogger. I open her fun and creative blog first when I see it bolded in my Reader and this is not just because of that sweet face I’ve been seeing there these past eight months! Here is her story!
I started blogging after moving away from home and sending out issues 1 and 2 of my own personal “newsletter” called Smiley Melly. From there I developed a blog of the same name. It started out as a way to make observations about life and to keep my family in the loop about what I was up to.
As my life has taken many twists and turns, so has my blog. From dating, to a newlywed, to homeowner to mother, my focus shifts with each new adventure. One thing that stays the same is my desire to share. I like having an outlet to capture moments of my life to later look back on. I also love connecting with people who are in similar places in their lives. I now blog at S{Thomp}ing Ground and just love having my own little stomping ground on the web.
There is something empowering about knowing others will read what I write. I don’t blog for a large readership, it is mostly to cater to family and friends who want a peek into our lives, but I openly and gladly welcome others into that bubble. I can write and have people all around the world hear those words. This is something that hasn’t been possible all of my lifetime (with the exception published authors) and it is exciting! I used to think I wanted to write a book. When I was young, I always thought I would, but now I see my blog as an outlet for messages I want to share.
My husband says it makes me do everything “prettier.” He often says, “You are just doing it like that because you want to blog it.” I deny it, but the truth is, I think that blogging gives me a unique perspective on my life which inspires me to be much more particular and aware of everything I do. It makes me take that extra time when making that meal, it makes me decorate a bit prettier for parties, it makes me want to capture more of our wonderful moments.
Are you still blogging for the same reason as the one which first inspired you? Does your blog evolve along with your life? Do you think blogging makes you do everything prettier?
Would you like to tell your story? Email me and I’ll send you the Guidelines for submitting your contribution.
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Melanie - you make an excellent point on having a focus for your blog. Some people DO blog for readership and monetisation, and some because it's a creative outlet. My original reason to start blogging was for education, and of course for being able to write for the sake of creativity. That's pretty much still my reason. They 'why' is really important.
- Razwana
@razwanawahid Education? Very cool! To educate others, or yourself? I would love to hear more! =)
Solid mature approach! A lot of people (bloggers) can learn from that.
I am still sticking to my purpose but like you I have changed things up a bit as time passed but I will always stick to my passion; architecture and design.
Cheers.
Latest blog post: January 2013: Read This Stuff: Where can I find your Public Parts?
@rdopping Thank you! Sticking to one topic is smart- keeps the audience knowing what to expect. I will have to pop over and look! Writing about something you are passionate about is great!
@rdopping Hi Ralph, I'm looking forward to your story in the Life of a Blogger series! (Hint Hint - I feel like I've done this before :o ) Come in through the link at the bottom of the post so I can send you the guidelines!
Lori
Hi @Lori yes. I must. I have to be honest. My job is keeping me very busy with research right now answer I am writing my exams to finally get accredited in my profession. Feb to April will be very intense for me. Having said that my commitment to blogging has not waned. I just haven't had the time to visit as much. Please don't give up on me. Cheers. :-)
Latest blog post: QOTW 2013: Week 6: If you have all the answers you don’t know the question.
What a lovely post, Melanie! Thank you for sharing it, Lori.
I started out blogging on Melody Fletcher's site, @deliberateblog to make sense of my life. I tend to write about the emotional side of experience, and writing the posts, and especially interacting with commentors, helps me figure out what's going on inside. I just started a more 'commercial' blog, to support my novels, and it's a whole different ball game! Kind of like golf and football...
Hugs and thank you again, Melanie and Lori!
@Carole Remy @deliberateblog That's so neat that you are coming from a completely different perspective! I'd love to hear more about it. I actually (when not on mat leave) blog for our company site too which is very different. Have you ever thought about a personal blog? Do you keep a journal?
@MelanieAThomp @deliberateblog Hi Melanie, I really enjoyed your post and have subscribed to your blog! New Brunswick. I should have guessed from your vibe that you're Canadian. I lived in Vancouver for 27 years. Go Canucks!
I do have a personal journal sort of blog at http://soulofattraction.blogspot.mx/ where I talk about my experiences with the Law of Attraction and with Taoism. Very different from the promotional blog for my novels.
Love all the photos on your blog. You look like a very happy family!
Carole
@Carole Remy @deliberateblog Carole and welcome to Life, for instance! Melody's got a great place to hang out and figure out life! You have published novels? Sounds interesting. Would you consider submitting your story to this series? Come through the link at the bottom of the post!
@Lori @deliberateblog Hi Lori! I'd love to share my story with your readers! I tried the email button you mentioned but nothing happened. I've joined the blog, so you should have my email. Could you please send me the guidelines for submission? Thanks! Carole
I have a friend who has a septic tank company and their name is Shelley and of course the joke is Smelly Shelley. It's a good thing you decided to go w/ Smiley, huh......:).
Prettier, more purposeful; I like that, I think it has some merit especially when we know it might become a blog post.
At the core my purpose is still the same, engage and share. My day job is cutting into my interactions but I know where to find everybody.
Thanks for sharing.
@bdorman264 I actually changed my name because people thought it said "Smelly Melly" oops! That's so nice to know that you can find everyone when you need and be able to step back a bit sometimes. I definitely do that too!
@bdorman264 Oh Bill - what a bad coincidence of naming!
Do you, say, wear nicer golf short when you know you might put the photo on your blog? Admit it - we preen when a camera is near - even if it is our own! ;-) What do we do to ourselves? This blogging venture is life-changing! Hahah!
Latest blog post: Where is Your Solid Ground?
Hi Melly,
Your story is pretty good, I like the fact that you don't blog just for readership but your primary importance is your family and friends.
Glad that you're doing things better and that's a very nice pic, BTW!
Hope you find tons of positivity from what you share on your blog.
Good luck!
Aditya
@adityasamThank you so much! For what reasons do you blog? :)
This made me laugh! I guess we do all try that little bit harder when we know someone is watching. But surely that's good, if it makes us do things better?
@Jane Bailey BainThat's what I think! :) On the other hand I sometimes ask myself if my intentions aren't pure- does that reflect in my actions? Like doing something prettier more for the blog as opposed to just for my family or husband... Do you think it's still good if it makes me better, or do you think it gets tainted a bit?
Good morning @MelanieAThomp ! What a wonderful story! In the past I have stopped by as a voyeur and thoroughly enjoyed your posts. Your most recent post of 1001 Days is so touching and so filled with love and gratitude. Your decision to share parts of your life journey as well as your creative endeavors serves as a lovely place for people to visit and become inspired but, perhaps more importantly, it serves as a journal of sorts that depicts your life's evolution and will be an amazing gift to Eli and perhaps any other children you have and then, their children etc. etc. What a beautiful gift for future generations to read about the life of Melanie Thompson! As I read other people's blogs as well as review my own, I think that most often they DO evolve with our own life and life experiences...I think that is what keeps blogs dynamic and rich! I LOVE that your husband has picked up on your making a slightly bigger effort in the things you do so that they look "prettier"...that is funny and yet....he is probably right! If I post a photo that I have done, I certainly don't pick the "bad" ones....and, truth be told, sometimes when I am actually taking photos, my mind is telling me that I may be posting this eventually so, make it good! ;-)
Thank you for sharing this lovely post Melanie. @Lori you have such good taste in guests! ;-)
@SocialMediaDDS Thank you so much for your incredibly sweet words! :) It is funny to adjust things because I might blog them, and it's even funnier when the family runs from my camera saying "Oh no, she's going to blog me!" hahaha. I find sometimes I will clean a specific area by shoving the "mess" asside sometimes too. It makes me think sometimes about how we can "hide the mess" in our lives when we blog. I find it's the posts where I share my life's mess that have the biggest impact though too. Do you think we as bloggers "hide" things too often when we should instead share them?
@MelanieAThomp Hmmmm...I'm not sure about that. I think the things that I hide are things that I feel that I've already "cleaned" up and don't need to share or vent about. Those things that still need "cleaning up" probably DO end up somewhere in my blog or in my comments in places like LFI...
@SocialMediaDDSThat's so awesome! It's probably why you draw people in with such ease! :)
@MelanieAThomp @SocialMediaDDS LOL, so we are all spiffing up our lives in preparation for the publication on the blog ! I wonder if life is the real thing or the dry run, the draft for the blog! Hahahahah! Wiat! This may take some thought! :o
I've got to run out this morning and want to get my two cents in before I run! I love how you reflect your life in your blog Melanie! It really is (sorry everyone else - but check it out and you'll understand~) the first blog i open in my Reader! You share projects, decorating, and little Eli! The posts aren't long but they're well-written and loaded with pictures.
I get what you say about blogging making you look more closely at your life and be more aware of things in it. I catch myself at dinner noticing an interesting conversation and thinking, "I should blog about that!". There's that moment when I know I have an inspiration to share on my blog - a conversation to start which is so much fun.
Now that Eli is such a big part of your life (all of it!?) do you find you're still blogging for the same reasons you started blogging? Do you think because of blogging you'll be more likely to write a book some day?
@Lori Thank you so much! I'm so glad you enjoy coming to visit! It's so true that blogging inspiration can come from anywhere!
Now that Eli is such a big part of my life I think it really amplifies the reason I started blogging. Now updating family on my life is that much more important. Especially with all the family and friends we have in Ontario. They just love to see pictures and videos of the little guy. I also think it does make blogging more important in that it is the way I'm documenting Elias' childhood. I have a calendar with some notes, but I think I'm doing a much better job of documenting his life on the blog. I keep many things private- but those fun moments I share. Now that I think about it, I don't know what I would do if I lost my blog! I'm not sure that I am more likely to write a book because of blogging. I feel like I have so many little thoughts of mine out there already. If I wrote I think it would be on something entirely different. I'm not sure. I like the immediacy of blogging though. I think it keeps me more honest. If I thought too long about what to write I think I would "fluff" it up too much- but that is just me. What do you think?
@MelanieAThomp I can relate to the immediacy of blogging. So true - there is little time between thought and publication.
What a nice way to chronicle a life! Imagine Eli looking back on this!