A Texas-Sized Welcome to New Readers!

Whether this is your first-ever visit to Frodo Seven or you are returning for the first time since I made it private, please know, I am glad you're here.  This blog is special to me and to our family but it wouldn't exist if I hadn't been posting for people to read all of the miscellaneous things I write.  When the blog was public, I really had no idea how many people were reading it or who I was writing for.  Now, I know exactly who my pool of readers is which is the way I like it.
Today's post is a kind of FYI session about Frodo Seven.  I decided to write it in the form of a Q & A using the kinds of questions people tend to ask me when they find out that I blog.  If I leave any stone unturned, please feel free to ask any other questions you have in the comments section.

How long have you been blogging and how did you get started?

Good question :)....I posted for the very first time in December of 2008 right after Ella's first birthday.  Back then, all of my sisters and sister-in-laws were blogging and I wanted in on the fun.  Before launching ours, I sat down with my sister-in-Martina for a quick introduction to the blogging world.  She showed me some of the blogs she followed then and I was completely intimidated.  I'm sure most of you have seen some of the elaborate, glossy, perfect-type blogs out there, the kinds with all the bells and whistles.  I knew right away that that was not something I could aspire to.  I decided that my focus was going to be the story. I wanted to tell the story of us and our life.  I also decided to focus on capturing the good, the true and the beautiful in our daily wanderings.  If you are a regular reader, you know that I do not often share about my struggles and challenges--as a mom or anything else.  That is not because I do not have them!  I am simply following some great advice my dear Dad gave me.  He told pre-teen me that when I journaled, I should journal some of the good times.  If I'd followed his advice back then, I wouldn't have so many notebooks full of angst-filled ramblings :).

Frodo Seven, where did that come from?

Click here to find out.  Frodo Seven is not our family nickname.  It is just the name of the blog.  People have asked what I will do if another member of the family comes along.  I really don't know.

How do you find time to keep up your blog?

This is probably the question I get most often because I blog consistently, write a lot and post a lot of photos.  For me, it's easy to find time to blog because I love it.  I love to write and I love to take pictures.  I think we all find it easy to find time to do the things we love and feel compelled to do.  A better question for me would be, "How do you find time to make dinner?"
I also set goals for myself.  I think setting goals helps in any endeavor and, for me, it adds to the fun.  Right now, I am racing to hit post #200 for the year before midnight on December 31st.  My first year, I tried to write daily or as close to daily as possible.

What is your favorite thing about blogging?


Just one?  The number one thing I love about blogging is that it has given me a chance to be George Bailey--you know, from It's a Wonderful Life.  When I play photographer and reporter about our life, I see it from a different perspective, stepping out of it to a certain extent.  As head blogger of FS, it is my job to find the amazing and magical moments among the ordinary of daily life.  Because of that, I truly believe that Frodo Seven has made me a more grateful person.

What is your least favorite thing about blogging?

Well, those sisters and sisters-in-law that got me started have all quit and I miss them.  Ideally, blogging would be more interactive.  I sometimes feel self-conscious putting so much out there about us but making the blog private helped with that.  I certainly don't think our lives or stories are more interesting than any others--but, of course, they are more interesting to me.

Any last comments?

Yes!  If you like reading our story, I encourage you to let it inspire you to write your own.  I can't tell you how much I wish the special people in my life had done that.  The interesting thing about life is that we don't stay the same.  The years change us, our perspectives and memories.  So there is no time to lose.  Write your story for the people you love or for the people who love you.  You do not have to be a good writer to start.  In fact, writing is a craft that can be learned by doing it and...You can DO it!  Also, if you decide that blogging is for you, I'd love to read your story....

Finally, a few of my favorite posts over the years:


OBX 2009

Star Wars Saga:  One, Two, Three and Four

Lucky

The Harriets

Characters

Free Falling (or how I celebrated my 40th)

In Her Own Words by guest blogger Madeleine

Celebrate Good Times: en la playa (OBX 2011)

Again, welcome to Frodo Seven!!  We're glad you're here.