How to Begin Blogging

I have seen a lot of people talking about wanting to start a blog but having no idea where to start. I have been blogging on various platforms since 2002 so I thought I would give a few tips on how to start and where to find things to write about. Even though I have been blogging for so long, I am, by no means, an expert. There is no One True Method to blogging. Please take these tips and change them around to fit your particular style. 

Where To Host Your Blog

A lot of people start blogging on either Wordpress.com or Blogger. Both of these are great places to start blogging for free. However, if you are looking to make money with your blog, you will, at minimum, need to register a custom domain name. Many pay-to-blog sites will not accept blogs with wordpress.com or blogspot.com subdomain names. 

If you are willing to spend a little more money, you can purchase hosting services for your blog. For many years, the previous version of this blog - The Geek Within - was hosted on GoDaddy servers and used Wordpress as the blog software. When I decided to change my blog into a fully formed website, I moved over to Squarespace. They use their own blog software, which has taken some time to get used to, but I am able to do so much more with my site now. 

These are just a few of the most popular options out there. If you are not satisfied with these, there are some other options. Do a Google search for "blog software" and see if any of those tickle your fancy. 

What To Call Your Blog

In my opinion, this is always the most difficult part of the process. When I was using Blogger or LiveJournal or Vox (which no longer exists), the URL was always my name (cassandramorgan) but the title would change depending on how I felt that day. Sometimes it was a song lyric, sometimes it was just my name again...there was no consistency. When I registered the domain for The Geek Within, I had decided that I was mostly going to talk about "geeky" things like Japanese dramas or video games or nerdy television shows. However, after seven years of the name, I felt like it was too constricting for me. I wanted to write about other things that wouldn't necessarily fall into the "geek" realm. That is why I made the big domain change this year.

So. You want to make sure your blog title is descriptive of what you do. (Yes, I know Cassandra Morgan is not particularly descriptive. I intentionally made that decision.) BUT. You don't want to make it too limiting either. If you call your blog "Fox TV Shows," what will happen in a few years when you want to write about shows on other channels? Perhaps a better title would be "24/7 TV" or "The Television Guru." Be creative!

How To Find Topics

If you have found a title that you love and a subject that you are dying to discuss, topics should come fairly easily. Write about the things you know! When you get stuck (and there will always be a day or two when your writing muse has decided to take a nap), you can turn to sites like 30 Days of Lists or Pinterest for ideas. Google is your friend. Do a little bit of searching and I'm sure a topic in your particular niche will pop up. Don't be afraid to write a "fluff" article once in awhile. No one is expecting you to write prize-winning blog posts every day of the year. That said, try your best to stick with your genre. If you are writing a celebrity gossip blog, you might lose readers if you start writing about the hottest cars of the year. 

Blogging really needs to be something that comes from the heart. You shouldn't blog because you want to make tons of money or get free products or anything like that. I have found that if you write like you are talking to your friends, people are not only more likely to return to your site, they will also recommend it to their friends. 

Are there other things you want to know about the world of blogging? Leave me a comment and I will try my best to answer all your questions. 

One Lovely Blog Award

I was nominated for the One Lovely Blog Award by Carol from Intrice. She reviews beauty items and is so super cute. Thank you, Carol! Everyone else, go read her stuff. She is awesome.

So. There are rules to this here thing:

The Rules: 
- Take time to thank the person who nominated you and use the award logo in your own post.
- List 7 facts about yourself.
- Nominate 7 other awesome bloggers you would like to get to know better.
- Follow the person who nominated you.

Seven Facts About Myself: 

1. My very small house is very full. The house itself is over 100 years old. The occupants include myself, my husband, and my daughter. But then there are three dogs, two chinchillas, a cat, a bird, and a gajillion fish. Sometimes it feels like we don't even have room to move. 
2. I love Japanese culture. I watch anime, I listen to J-Pop, I watch Japanese dramas, I eat Japanese snacks...the list goes on. I'm not nearly as rabid about the fandom as I used to be but I still do those things occasionally. 
3. I doubled majored in Theater Arts and Visual Communications in college. Because I am insane, I also threw in a music minor. 
4. I hate the winter. I dislike the cold very much. I prefer the summer. 
5. I drive a light blue Honda Fit Sport and I love it!
6. I have been blogging on various platforms since 2002.
7. I get bored easily. As a result, I have a lot of hobbies.

My Nominees: 

1. Coriander at In The Spice Rack
2. Lynn at Savory Tart
3. Rachel at This Teacher Wears Makeup
4. Celise at Geek's Path 2 Beauty
5. Deana at Tesori Belle
6. Jessica at Sassy Gal Reads
7. Shannon at Canongirl

I can't wait to hear more about everyone! 

Morea Naturals Hyaluronic Acid Age Delay Serum

Morea Naturals puts out this very nice Hyaluronic Acid Age-Delaying Serum. I'm not sure that I noticed any "age delaying" going on while I used it but it definitely made my skin feel a little nicer. Unlike other serums, it did not make my face feel sticky or gross. On the contrary, once the serum sank into my skin, it felt soft and smooth. Maybe I will have to take a closer look at my wrinkles to see if there was any improvement going on.

Another thing that I liked was the bottle. The bottle is large enough that I could get a good grip on it (there are way too many tiny beauty bottles out there) but not so huge that I didn't have anywhere to store it. Also, the pump worked very nicely. It wasn't a spray pump. It was closer to a squirt pump, which I have had issues with before. This one, thankfully, pumped out just enough product to smooth over my face without making a mess of my bathroom counter or getting it all over my clothes. Thumbs up on this one.

Overall, this is one of the better serums that I have tried. I can't guarantee that I would buy more once I'm finished this bottle but there is a possibility that I will. Maybe if it really is making those wrinkles fade away into obscurity. 

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

UNi 100% Rosehip Seed Oil

This may be a little TMI but I'm going to say it anyway. I have stretch marks. Most of my stretch marks are on my abdomen from my pregnancy a million years ago. (OK, it was 12 but it feels like a million.) Since they are kinda gross, I try my best not to look at them. But it would be nice to get rid of them.

I saw that this Rosehip Seed Oil stuff might lighten the stretch marks a bit and I figured I'd give it a try. At worst, it won't do anything. However, it just make might the marks less noticeable, which would be awesome.

The instructions are pretty easy. Put about three drops in your hand, rub your hands together, and smear the stuff on the affected area. I tried three drops at first but it didn't feel like that was nearly enough oil to cover my stomach. I upped it to six drops instead. That seemed to cover my skin a lot better.

So, after my morning shower, I would apply some rosehip seed oil to my stomach and let it dry a bit before getting dressed. Now, it's possible that I am imagining it but, after about a week, I did notice that my stretch marks were fading a little. They were still there. They just weren't as obvious. I have to say that I was very surprised at the results. I don't think that the oil will get rid of the marks totally. But it is nice that they don't stand out quite as much anymore.

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Big Little Lies

Birchbox, one of my favorite beauty subscription boxes, runs a monthly book club. September's book was Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty. I've only recently gotten back in to the reading-for-fun game, meaning I hadn't heard of the book or the author before. This is a good thing because I went into the book with absolutely no expectations. I didn't even know what the book was about! 

Big Little Lies is set in suburban Australia, though I admit that it took me a rather long time to figure out that it was Australia and not England. A majority of the story is told as a flashback. The book opens on an adult trivia night fundraiser at the local school. Someone has been murdered. We don't know who and we don't know how. At this point, we are transported back in time to see, not only the events leading up to the death, but also the dynamics between all of the parents at the school. 

I loved this book. One of my favorite things, not related to the story in any way, is that it has very short chapters. This way I could read a couple of chapters while I waited for my daughter to get out of school or while she was in dance class and I wouldn't have to stop mid-chapter when it was time to leave. I also liked that, since this was told as a flashback, each chapter had comments from various parents about the various incidents. Granted, most of those comments were snarky or gossipy but a lot of real life parents are like that. 

Another thing I really liked was the dynamics between the three main friends - Madeline, Celeste, and Jane. While I found myself identifying more with Jane (even though I am not a single mother nor have I ever experienced an emotional trauma like she had), I know people who are exactly like Madeline and Celeste. It was nice to see that these people had more than one side to them. Despite Madeline's selfishness and vanity, she was ready and willing to be there for her friends whenever they needed her. Jane's anxiety and need to fit in with everyone was a direct result of the trauma she experienced when her son was conceived. Even though Celeste's life seemed so perfect on the outside, it was anything but on the inside. 

The book also deals with some very heavy concepts. Domestic abuse, bullying, children growing up and trying to assert themselves as "real" people. I think, for the most part, these topics were handled well. Moriarty shows that people are flawed but it isn't necessarily those flaws that define them. It is how they handle or react to events or people around them. This will probably be one of my favorite books this year. I'm very glad I got the chance to read it. 

Podcasts I Love

Since I have a one-hour commute each way to work, I use that time to listen to podcasts. Generally, I listen to them on my way to work because morning radio is terrible. The radio isn't so bad in the afternoon or evening. I only have six podcasts that I am currently flipping between. Please feel free to suggest some new ones!

1. Ear Biscuits - Rhett & Link have a morning show on YouTube that is really funny. They also create hysterical songs. In 2013, they started their podcast. They basically interview other YouTubers to find out how they got their start. Ear Biscuits is what inspired me to start my own YouTube channel.
2. WTF With Marc Maron - I came upon this one quite accidentally. I think he was on another podcast or something and he sounded very thoughtful so I decided to check out his podcast. He has some amazing conversations with some awesome people.
3. girl on guy - I have a bit of a girl crush on Aisha Tyler. She is funny and gorgeous and nerdy and all those things I wish I was. Girl on guy is basically Aisha geeking out with people. I like it.
4. Not Too Deep with Grace Helbig - I'm not a huge fan of Grace on YouTube. I do subscribe to her channel but I rarely watch any of the videos. Not Too Deep is a podcast/YouTube hybrid. She has silly conversations with YouTubers on the podcast then she makes them do some sort of goofy challenge on her YouTube channel. I like the challenges better than the conversation.
5. Bizarre States - My husband is a Jessica Chobot fan. As a result, I watch a lot of Nerdist News. I don't even know what made me check this out but it is all about ghosts and aliens and supernatural things. Even if you don't believe in this stuff, it is interesting to hear what other people think about it. 
6. The Nerdist - This is another one that I got dragged into somehow. I think Chris Hardwick was talking to someone I like and I wanted to hear that conversation. I don't listen to every single Nerdist podcast. I only tune in when the guest is someone I am interested in. 

And that is it. Those six are currently the only podcasts I am flipping through. Let me know if you have any podcasts you'd recommend. I have a lot of drive time and not a lot to listen to.

This also ends the 30 Days of Lists. I hope you enjoyed the lists and I hope they made you think about a few things yourself. Now it is time to actually welcome October and the inevitable oncoming of fall. Come back summer!

I Am Thankful For

Including this post, I have two more 30 Days of Lists prompts left to finish. I am doing these last two out of order because I really want to save the other prompt until the end. You won't regret it. It's a good one and I have a lot to say about it. Onto today's prompt!

1. I am thankful for my family. My husband is a great guy who always try to help others when he can. My daughter is an amazing kid and I have no idea how she turned out that way. The rest of my family have always been very supportive of everything I have done, even when I have done idiotically stupid things. It's nice to know that someone will have your back when you (inevitably) screw up.
2. I am thankful that my husband and I have finally gotten out of the living paycheck-to-paycheck lifestyle. We did that for a very long time and, while we aren't rich by far, we are at least comfortable. 
3. I am thankful for my writing skills. They aren't paying the bills yet but they do give me some extra cash. That alone lets me do a few things that otherwise would not be possible. 

I am sure there are many more things I could put on the list. After all, we live in a nice community, both my husband and I are employed full-time, and we have our health. These are all things that most people take for granted. However, they tend to end up on lists like this a lot. I am thankful for those things but I wanted to show some of the other things I am thankful for as well. 

The Rainy Day Man

I recently finished The Rainy Day Man by Amnon Jackont. The book is listed on Amazon as "political mystery" but I'm not really sure where I would classify it. Basically, the plot revolves around Danny Simon, a retired Israeli explosions expert, getting sent to a small South Lebanese village with no real instruction. His bosses tell him that he is supposed to wait for intel from a local agent, though they never tell him who that is, in order to blow up something important, though they never tell him what that is either. As a result, he ends up living in this small town with no allies and no goal, which makes him question everything that has happened in his life up to now.

Maybe "political mystery" books are not for me. Like Danny, I spent the entire book waiting for something to happen. For his agent to contact him, for him to either get over his infatuation with a local woman or actually open up and do something about it instead of sneaking around behind everyone's backs, for him to step up and be a real father to his son. None of this really happened. The plot plods along chapter after chapter with no real progression in the story. It isn't until the final few chapters that the ball starts rolling. I would have been way more interested in the book if those events happened in the middle of the book instead of the end. 

If you are one of those people into political mystery-type books, please give the book a read and let me know if I am completely off-base. It is possible that I just haven't read enough of this genre to fully understand that this is how they work. For me, the book was just too boring. 

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

InstaNatural Thangs!

InstaNatural sent me three product to test and review. Their Pore Tightening Vitamin C Facial Toner, their Advanced Formula Vitamin C Serum, and their Youth Express Eye Gel. I have tried all three of them together as well as separately. Here goes:

The facial toner is my favorite of the three. You spray it on your face then wipe it with a cotton ball before allowing the toner to dry. It made my skin feel really soft after using it. I also noticed that my pores did, indeed, look smaller. I thought that it was just me, but my husband noticed it as well. Especially on my cheek area.

While the Vitamin C serum has a lovely citrus smell, I didn't like it quite as much as the toner. It was another product that I had to wait to dry, which makes your routine a little long when you use all of the products. I also think that this is what caused a pinkness in my cheeks. My face didn't break out or anything but my cheeks looked flushed all the time after I used it. I think it was from all the acids in the serum.

My least favorite was the eye gel. It comes in a little pump can that makes it very difficult to get the appropriate amount of product to come out. The directions don't tell you how much you should use. However, when I used a full pump, the area around my eyes got very sticky. When I used a half pump, it was slightly better but I still had a lot of stickiness in the eye area. Every time I used it, I ended up washing it off after about a half hour. 

Since the toner was so good, I am interested in trying some of their other products. I think the serum and the eye gel just weren't for me. 

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Guilty Pleasures

Sadly, I do not have a new YouTube video for you today. I had some other commitments and I just ran out of time. On the good side of things, I hit 100 followers over on Instagram this morning! Yay! Just to round out the linkage, here are the other places you can find me: Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr. 

Today's prompt is Guilty Pleasures. Most of my guilty pleasures are TV shows. They are so bad but I can't stop watching them...

1. Cheaters - My husband and I watch this together. We both like Clark Gable better than creepy Joey Greco. Definitely a guilty pleasure
2. Supernatural - This is one of those shows that isn't OMG!AWESOME but it isn't terrible either. My favorite character is Castiel and I have a fondness for Misha Collins' off-screen antics. 
3. The Dark Parables game series - Dark Parables is a series of hidden object video games that all revolve around fairy tales. Usually the fairy tale characters have gone wrong and you need to save them. Both my daughter and I love playing them.
4. World's Dumbest... - Yeah, it's that show on the Spike channel or whatever that has the washed up celebrities commenting on videos. It's kinda funny sometimes.

These are the guilty pleasures that I actively watch on a regular basis. Any other guilty pleasures are shows that I only turn on when nothing else is on. I don't think those count. There is just so much bad TV out there!