amblogging - Ally Aldridge

December 3, 2018 Ally Aldridge Blogging, Goal setting, Goals, Personal, Writing

Thank you for helping me reach 200+ Followers

This is a really quick post as I can’t believe my blog now has over 200+ followers! Wow!

Thank you. I couldn’t have done it without all you amazing people who click ‘follow’. It means so much to me. That’s why I follow back most people who follow me.

When I first started blogging, I was scared to click post. I had this fear people would judge my writing and laugh at my amature content. I was intimidated by the thought of coming up with subjects to write and thought I would run out of ideas or be boring.

At the time, I had no idea how much I would enjoy blogging. I have suprised myself with how I always have a generous stream of ideas for blog posts. The most challenging this has been finding the time to write and take pictures for posts. I’ve learnt to schedule my posts to space them out and this also keeps me organised.

This year is the first year I have been consistent throughout. I used to post immediatley and I’d end up with a batch together. Learning to schedule is one of the most useful tools I have discovered.

Blogging has been a big commitment and I once my daughter was born I had to reduce my schedule a little. But, I couldn’t stop bloggin now. I love it!

There will defiitley be more blogging next year. I am seriously considering paying for my blog as I use it every week and love interacting with others that share my interests.

To some people 200 might not seem a lot but for me it is. I am really proud of myself and I’m daring to set myself a goal to double my followers by the end of next year. Can you imagine that!

I hope you are loving your blogging journey too.

Please comment and let me know how long you have been blogging and what you blog about. Do you pay for your blog – do you recommend it?

November 9, 2018 Ally Aldridge Personal

A week of celebrations

This week has been full of celebrations and it’s just the start of more to come.

Guy Fawkes Night

Every year, in the UK, on 5 November we celebrate Guy Fawkes night. Often, the fireworks take place on the closest weekend to enable people to attend.

Traditionally, people create a ‘guy’. This is like a scarecrow and will be thrown onto the bonfire. Then fireworks are set off.

This was Aria’s first firework display and I was so pleased that she loves them as much as the rest of the family.

The story behind this celebration is a little odd. Guy Fawkes was a Catholic that was trying to blow up Parliament and the King in hopes that a new Catholic leader would take the throne. His plot was discovered and Guy Fawkes and his accomplices were tortured and killed. It’s rather strange that this has become an annual celebration.

My birthday

My birthday is on 7th. This year, we didn’t really do much to celebrate. It wasn’t a special birthday and there is so much going on at the moment it doesn’t feel important.

https://instagram.com/p/Bp7U7yfFOvd/

I was happy to get a cake and some flowers. My husband bought me a lovely warm coat which is exactly what I wanted. Some people sent me money, so I shall try and treat myself to something nice.

Festival of Light – Diwali

Noah has been learning about India and Diwali at school. We went to the Library to borrow a book about festivals and we searched the internet. He drew the flag, traditional Indian dress, we looked at animals like tigers and elephants. He made an elephant out of a milk bottle.

I got to visit Noah at school and saw all the activities they were doing in celebration of the festival which is all about light over coming darkness, and good over evil. It also involves fireworks.

Diwali has a much better story than Guy Fawkes Night but the date shifts each year depending on the Hindu Lunar calendar. This year it was on 7 November, although it is celebrated for 5 days.

I decided Diwali was a good excuse to treat myself to a nice candle. I got the Neom Travel size in Complete Bliss for £16.00.

Although, it is described as being travel size, I think it is a decent size candle. It filled the room with a gorgeous scent even before it had been lit. I love this candle and I shall look forward to using it all winter. I’m now tempted to buy more by Neom – their products are a high quality and never disappoint.

May 16, 2018 Ally Aldridge Writing

Free resources for blogging

These are the free resources I used to get me started blogging and continue to use.

Blog site

First, you need to decide on your platform. Over the years I’ve used Tumblr, Blogger, Weebly and all have been great and free.

My current favourite is Word Press. It also has a great app that is easy to use so I can make a start on my posts and publish, wherever I am.

I’ve even been thinking about paying for Word Press because I am loving it that much.

Grammarly

I was late to discovering this app and site. The service is free (you can pay extra for more features). It checks your text and advises on spelling, grammar and punctuation. I don’t always have time to use it but posts I thought were fine have still thrown up some mistakes. It’s not easy to use on my mobile though so I only use it at my PC.

LoCal

This free online calendar has a function where you can schedule tweets which I have found incredibly useful. It only works on the PC.

Canva

This site (and app) enables you to create social media images – I’m talking blog titles, novel covers, infographics, Pinterest, Facebook cover, Instagram pic, flyer, invitation, etc.

There is also a handy app for making pics so you can create whilst out and about or using pics straight from your mobile.

Google Drive

I have a spreadsheet with ideas when to schedule my posts from (although, in the future, I may use Google calendar for this). I can save articles I’ve written too and back up photos from my phone (including Canva images I saved).

Simplenote

I jot down useful info like blog post ideas or favourite fonts on Canva, etc. Everyone needs a note.

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What do you use?

I hope you like the resources I use and hope I’ve introduced you to something new. Do you use any of the above? What are your go to resources for blogging?

Tag: amblogging