catching up

(mural Alice Springs. Pete, River, Sol silhouettes)

Finding time to blog regularly is proving a challenge at the moment.

You see I've made a few new rules for myself and one of them is I no longer go to bed at midnight most nights and let me tell you that makes a million miles of difference to so many things.

It is an easy habit to fall into staying up late while the house sleeps, just so you can have some quiet time to yourself but really nothing can replace good sleep.

Add to that drinking two litres of water a day and you have yourself a recipe for more energy right there!

So, now that I'm going to bed earlier and doing important things like you know watching Madame Secretary with my husband I have to find a new time to blog. And I will! And I'm serious about the watching TV with my husband thing. Spending time together is actually important obvious as it sounds!

The other thing I've done is set myself office hours. The key is, sticking to them. Which I'm doing. This sounds so simple but has been life changing.

Managing your time well when you work from home is one of the trickiest things about working for yourself and working from home.

In my case clearer boundaries needed to be set. There is a time to fold washing, a time to focus on work, time to drink coffee with your girlfriends and time to spend with your loved ones and if you feel like you're constantly chasing your tail it is time to make some changes.

Why am I telling you all this?

Because I just wanted to fill you in on what's been happening, where I've been and because I'm guessing there's a few people reading this who need to set some boundaries of their own. Do it!
It is easier than you think and it pays off in ways you can't even know about until you do it. And it is the small changes that make the big difference.

How is your week? Do you work from home? Tell us your time management tips in the comments. 
I'd love to know what works for you.

weekend reading

We are in Byron Bay for the next few weeks, I'm looking forward to a haircut with Norico and lunch at Doma in Federal

River and Sol are looking forward to some Spaghetti Circus action

Recipe wise, Chickpea & chicken, coconut green curry sounds good to me

As does this slow cooked Moroccan lamb tagine

A great guide and list of recipes for starting a plant based diet with a family from Adele at Vegie Head

Thanks Kevin Murphy for supporting the Culture is Life campaign that my husband Pete is working on with Indigenous Elders around Australia to end Indigenous youth self-harm and suicide. If you'd like to support the campaign by purchasing some of Kevin's hair care products go here.

Pip Lincolne's A-Z of Blogging is a good read for bloggers

If you have your own business or are thinking of starting one I recommend signing up to Leonie Dawson's Business Goddess E-course ($79) the course includes Leonie's great resource 'The Magic Money Making Kit'. I am a member of Leonie's online Academy and I return regularly to this practical resource that is very user friendly and gets results. If you sign up via my link I get a commission.

Pete has taken Sol into Byron Bay and left River and I back at the house so that River can do his schoolwork (which is very keen to do. phew!) and so I can work on my ebook. So, I better get on with it! Happy wholefood weekend everyone.

monday musings: on blogging for bucks

Post by post, reader by reader, my little blog has taken baby steps and grown, not grown up just stretched its wings a little. Social media is a noisy place and in light of that and the number of blogs out there I'll kick this post off with a thank you for taking the time to tune in here. If the whole blogging, advertising, sponsorship thing makes your eyes glaze over I totally understand, skip reading this post and come back tomorrow where we'll be back to normal.

I'm writing this post because the occasional email from PR companies or interested sponsors has started to arrive in my inbox and I want to keep you up to speed with the direction I'm heading in. The day will come where you will see advertising (advertising in keeping with my wholefood values of course) or sponsors on the side bar and I am open to doing a sponsored post now and then if I truly believe in the value and quality of the product or service, they will always be labelled as such though.

So far I have politely declined the requests because they have not been offerings that fit in with what I write about here! Oh and the other problem I had with one request was that I was asked to basically lie by writing about their product but to not label it as sponsored. Cheeky huh?

I've never had a problem with bloggers having advertising on their blog or doing sponsored posts, as long as they are clearly labelled as such. Having worked as a food writer contributing to newspapers and magazines, I'm no stranger to being sent things to review or consider for features and I figure this experience holds me in good stead to stick to what I believe in and only recommend things to you that I personally use and like and think that you would too. Amanda, Em and Jodi do this well. When I say they do it well, it doesn't mean I always read about their sponsors rather it's that they keep the business side of their blog in line with their content themes and personal values.

Affiliate marketing is another avenue I'm exploring. For those who don't know about affiliate links it is where a blogger places a link to a service or product on their blog and if one of their readers makes a purchase via that link the blogger gets a commission. Generally speaking, bloggers only sign up to be affiliates with products and services that they personally have used and believe would be of interest to and benefit their audience. Sonia does this well.

If you are curious about earning money from your blog Darren Rowse has written a number of posts about this on problogger, this one gives you a good overview.

And if you are still reading and are fascinated by the rise and rise of some blogs like I am here's a great interview with Lucy Feagins from The Design Files (do watch the video too) and I also like what Lucy has to say in this video about getting paid to do what you love - that you don't need to apologise for it!

So, yes watch this evolving space. A mama's gotta make a crust too and aren't we lucky that blogging has been invented to help us with that?!

Are you interested in monetising your blog? If you have already, perhaps you'd like to share some tips for us beginners?

blog on

Before I started my blog, around a year and a half ago, I was sceptical about blogging and social media fullstop. I wasn't on facebook or twitter (I am yet to tweet! I have stage fright) and couldn't really see what the appeal was. Who wants to spend more hours at the computer than they already do for paid work, especially when working as a freelance writer? hmmm. Turns out I do. I still consider myself a baby blogger with a lot to learn. I love reading how other bloggers go about their blog and being the analytical, reflective gal I am, I like to reflect on the how and why I do things. So I hope today's little break from food gets a conversation started about the art and mystery of making a blog successful - whatever successful means to you.

Why I started my blog...

Having been a writer my whole life, the creative freedom of self-publishing has tremendous appeal. I don't have to fit into publication guidelines or 'sell' my story idea to an editor. That feels as good as a holiday!

When I began, I thought "I'll give it a go for six months to see if I like it" before I get 'serious' about it. By serious I mean posting regularly, spending time (and a bit of money on advertising and design) to grow my audience and in the long term monetizing my blog so I can earn some income. My biggest reason and motivation to blog, beyond creative freedom and business aspirations, is because I want people to eat well. I want everyone to have the high energy and great health that eating a diet with no or minimal processed foods gives you. I especially want that for children. But what I want and what the momentum of big food companies and advertising wants is two different things, so it appears I have my work cut out for me. I am up for the challenge and have decided social media is a fantastic way to reach people and share stories.

How I blog...

I started my blog with the title 'word for word' thinking a broad title would allow me to cover a range of topics. Fairly soon I thought "what am I doing?! food is my 'thing' always has been and looks like it always will be" so The Wholefood Mama was born. Added to this realisation, everything I read about 'problogging' recommended deciding on a niche. Wholefood and family is still a broad niche but it is a good start and I feel like I have found the happy place where I can write about what I love and not get bored. Writing my blog definitely doesn't feel like work which means my motivation to continue is high.

To get some more tips about the 'how' I attended a beginners blogging course at the Council of Adult Education in Melbourne taught by Lady Melbourne , and scoured through Darren Rowse's Problogger site and this year bought a Virtual Pass to his Problogger training day. I would also recommend Darren's 31 days to building a better blog workbook, if like me you have young children to look after, a house to keep organised and a business to run I would re-title it to '3 months to a better blog' because I have not managed to find time to work through a task a day.

The midnight hour...

Finding time to blog means I stay up late. Like midnight late. I fantasise about having my posts planned out, dedicating a day or an afternoon to writing them and then scheduling them to be posted but I think that has only happened once in a year and half of blogging! The flow of family life is unpredictable. The flow of freelance writing work is unpredictable. So, I blog when the house is sleeping. The quiet is bliss and even the tiredness I feel the next day has a certain bliss to it because it is there from doing something I wanted to do.

On design...

Looking at other blogs is a great way to pick up ideas of what you do and don't like about certain designs. It also a great way to feel 'blog awe' which can translate to 'their blog is so beautiful/stylish...insert word of choice...how do they do it?!' Well I have learnt some things about this the expensive way. The first thing I would say before you spend any money on blog design is make sure that blogging is something that you really want to do. Once you are dedicated then you can consider if you want to work with a designer and spend some money. I started with having a logo designed by Melbourne based graphic designer Fiona McKerrill. Love my logo thanks Fiona. Then I went a step further and decided to switch from Blogger to a professionally designed Wordpress site because that seemed to be what all the 'probloggers' were saying is the way to go as Wordpress has more flexibility etc; Therein was my first mistake.

I didn't really have a need to switch. The Blogger platform was already capable of all I wanted to do which basically is write and post photos. Bloggers who have inspired me from the beginning such as Allison Tait, Jodi Wilson, Joanna Goddard, are doing very nicely on their blogspot blogs. Why? not because of any fancy design work (they have all paid attention to their visual design but nothing over the top) but because they deliver what their audiences have come to expect from them and they do it consistently. The switch to wordpress for me was short lived. I didn't enjoy the process of working with the 'back end' of wordpress and was inundated with spam in the comments. Not wanting to deter people from wordpress but this was my experience. So, I cut my losses and reverted back to my simple blogspot space that I have put together with my limited design knowledge and for now while I am building my audience (& design budget) I am happy.

That my friends is where I will leave my blogging story thus far, (for fear of boring you!) I hope this post was helpful or interesting and would love to hear where you are at with your blogging ways, whether you just read them, want to start one or are a big time blogger (surprise me if you are reading!) leave a comment or a tip.

If you are still hungry for more read Allison Tait's  top 10 tips for writing your best blog
...update: just found another good link on Fat Mum Slim...Finding readers: how to get the people to your blog

when bloggers meet

We are still enjoying our Byron Bay bliss. On Sunday I asked our dear friend David, who we stay with each year, if I could invite some friends over for a chai, "They're coming up from Bellingen and staying in Mullum". In his usual generous and gracious way he said,"Sure that's fine". I added, "There's one detail that I have to tell you and that is, I've never met them before". We both cracked up laughing and when the laughter settled, "They're your friends and you've never met them before?" he quizzed me. "We met online. Jay is a blogging friend," I explained.

And so. It happened! The super lovely Jay whose blog and the trees was one of the first to capture my undivided daily attention came to visit with her beautiful family. Before they arrived I confessed to my friend Ruth that I was feeling a bit nervous. But I needn't have been nervous Jay, Scott, Poe and Ilo were every bit as delightful in real life as they are online. They arrived with warm smiles and hugs, nuts and berries and rhubarb grown in Bellingen. We settled on to blankets on the lawn, drank chai and chatted while the children played tug-of-war and ran around playing ball.

I was first drawn into Jay's blog by her photos, her sense of humour and the warmth that she conveys in  her posts. Jay and Scott made the move with their children Poe and Ilo from Sydney to Bellingen 16 months ago and I admired that because in time moving north is on Pete and my wishlist too. Coupled with the fact that I have great memories of Bellingen from a time Pete and I spent there about seven years ago, Jay's blog has all the ingredients to keep me happily reading along.

On Monday morning when I was sifting through the photos my friend Michael had snapped of Jay and I (just look past my current hairstyle that is an unintended cross between Farrah Fawcett and Suzi Quatro), my friend Ruth wandered in and we sat looking at photos and chatting about blogs. Ruth is mama to one year old twins and was there with her family to meet Jay, Scott, Ilo and Poe. Ruth is not a blogger I showed her and the trees and she said "ooooh isn't it beautiful. I can see how you can fall in love with a family you've never met!"

my new loves

The sun is sparkling on the bay here in Sorrento and I have a whole two hours to myself out of the house. Deep breath. I wish I could magic up a whole two hours flying solo time for every mother reading this, it is such a joy to have uninterrupted thoughts. And then return home to my two favourite little professional interrupters :)

I had planned a post about play for yesterday but the day was swallowed up by unpacking, washing, entertaining little people, helping big people with computer questions. You get the picture.

So here I am at Daisy's cafe the newest cafe kid on the block here in main street Sorrento. I like it for its WiFi, good coffee, music and unpretentiousness. And I just thought I'd share a few of my new favorite blogs to visit, new to me perhaps not to you. Sometimes while I am supposed to be writing blog posts I spend time reading blogs. Research I tell myself. Here are the results of my latest 'research':

The Beetle Shack is the colourful, stylish creation of Emily, who in just one year of blogging (happy birthday to The Beetle Shack) has put together a space that for me is well, sunny! Visiting Emily's blog is like visiting a friend and when you leave you feel a bit brighter. Even if my house is messy and I'm in my pyjamas at 11am and the boys are squabbling over who the fishing rod belongs to I can look at the pretty, well-designed and written space at The Beetle Shack and feel better. As much as I love that looking at a blog can do that, I am still slowly coming to terms with for me the slight weirdness I feel about the voyueristic nature of the internet and relationships born of it. I guess in someways it is the modern day pen pal with pictures. Slight digression. Back to the blogs.

Jodi who pens Che and Fidel is a yoga teacher and reading her blog I feel 'yoga calm' coming off the page.

Look at this gorgeous honey bee post on Tea with Lucy

And lastly for now (my free time is almost over. oh so quick), it is not a blog created by a mama it is the result of another area of my research. As my man Pete is a photographer and not so much a fan of looking at blogs or websites (he'd rather be surfing or fishing) I love photography and looking at blogs so I do that task for him and the one recently soaking up my attention is the lovely work of Sydney photographer Tim Coulson.

What are your latest faves? Love to see more photographers work.

the name game

Being a first time blogger is akin to my experiences of learning a foreign language and then attempting to speak it with the locals. It's very much a learning by doing process, there's no easy way and you can't wake up one morning having mastered it without trying it out and risking ending up on the wrong side of town or ordering guinea pig when you wanted fish. My experience of 'speaking the language' in France and South America was fun, frustrating, entertaining, embarrassing and required patience and practice all these words in my experience apply to blogging.

So, after six months of 'having a go' I've decided to change the name of this blog to something that says more clearly what I'm about. 'Word for Word' got me out of the starting block but is non-descript in terms of content. The new title.....'The Wholefood Mama'.....for me is a more accurate heading. There's some new design work going to and fro and down the track a new address waiting to be filled (I have the same apprehension about moving web address as I do the thought of moving house!) The content though will remain much the same: real food, motherhood and inspiration and information for living a happy, healthy, creative life.

Thanks for reading and if you have any feedback I'd love to hear so leave a comment or email me nikkifisher@iprimus.com.au