Blogtember would like for me to share with ya’ll the ways that blogging and social media have changed me.






I honestly don’t think that Blogging has changed who I am at all.
Yes, it’s true folks. I have always been an over share-er without a filter who doesn’t mind saying things to shock people (isn’t my Husband lucky?!).
Of course, I have a whole new knowledge base on things like HTML code, button swapping and linky parties, but I strive hard to blog just as I talk and think. The biggest compliment I can receive is when someone mentions that reading the blog is just like having a conversation with me. This blog is who I am, who we are, blemishes and all, and if I wasn’t true to my own voice, blogging would be a complete loss for me.

The Newlyweds:North button that I made – complete with HTML Code on a widget on my sidebar. 
And yes ya’ll, I know that the photo is out of focus, it’s artistic!

I will say that writing Newlyweds:North has brought me more happiness that I ever thought it would. I love that every day I am creating something – using a part of my brain that I typically couldn’t/wouldn’t use in any of my professional roles has been surprisingly fun.

In a practical way, blogging has saved me from answering the same questions over and over again! I know that sounds silly, but questions drive me nuts. Putting all of our crazy shiz out there on the World Wide Web has allowed our friends and family to follow our life step by step – and has eliminated the need for me to tell the same story a million times over.
I think our parents feel relieved that they can check in on us without really checking in by reading the blog. I know both families were relieved to see our new house in Maine as soon as they did – all thanks to the blog (I think they thought we were moving into a ramshackle nightmare, which might be my fault, because I called my Dad crying after we closed and I was left alone in the house to finally notice the state it was in. Oops.).

If you read yesterday’s Blogtember post, you know that the move from Charlotte to Greenville was really tough for me, for many reasons, but being bored and feeling useless didn’t help the situation. The blog has allowed me to feel like I have responsibilities and obligations to fulfill that are all mine, and during this move to Maine, that has been invaluable. I get that I’m not actually “working” per say (or at all), but I didn’t start the blog to half ass it, so I take my responsibility to provide new content to my followers seriously. And honestly ya’ll, blogging takes a TON of time! I average about 3 hours a post from coming up with a concept to writing a rough draft to photography and photo editing. On top of that, I typically spend another hour a day reading other blogs, supporting my friends in Blogland and utilizing social media to compliment that day’s blog post. So, if my math skills serve me correctly (Husband, please check behind me), that works out to be about 20 hours a week at the computer.
Bet you non-bloggers didn’t see that coming, huh?!

So the bottom line is this: While I don’t think that blogging has changed who I am, I am thrilled and pleasantly surprised to say that I really love being a blogger and am grateful to Newlyweds:North for sparking a creativity and love of writing that I didn’t know I had buried somewhere deep down.
(Hello, run on sentence!)

And thanks to ya’ll who keep me writing!

(My local Starbucks thanks you too, I keep them in business with my almost daily venti Pike’s Place Roasts loaded with cream and sugar.)