Hi guys! OHC is officially over a year old! We celebrated one year of OHC goodness on the 1st of September. Hooray! The past year we have talked about so many things!
I’ve been blogging my daily eats.
I’ve been providing tips.
I’ve been writing food reviews.
I’ve started doing some other exercise and nutrition discussion.
And basically just talking about life in general.
This past year has been rewarding and challenging in so many different ways. In this year I have also made some discoveries and have come to some conclusions that I would like to share with you.
First up is the daily eats section. Daily eats is hard, yo! It’s not taking the pictures that’s hard, it’s dealing with those pictures and writing the post that is hard and time consuming. One thing you might have already noticed is that I’ve started posting once a day now, in the evenings, instead of two posts a day. Two posts a day was stressing me out. Sometimes I would be in the middle of something and I would have to stop in order to have the time to get my afternoon post up. It takes me at least a half an hour to write a daily eats post and that’s if I do it quickly. Most times it takes me much longer.
I personally have a hard time keeping up with blogs that post more than once a day. I have specific times that I can read and comment. It’s not everyday although I wish it could be. Just know that I’m still reading your blogs even if I haven’t commented in a while! Sometimes I don’t have anything to add to the conversation. Anyway, my point is, when I finally have a chance to sit down to read blogs and see that one blog might have 25 posts for me to catch up on, that becomes a little overwhelming. If it’s overwhelming for me, it’s possible that it’s overwhelming for others. Because of that and because sometimes it is hard for me to find the time in the afternoon to do a post, I’ve started doing daily eats posts once a day and writing an entry about the whole day as opposed to in parts.
I have also started posting mostly about my dinners because my breakfast and lunches are the same the majority of the time. I will be creating a OHC Fuel page discussing how I stuff mah face, feed and fuel this gorg bod I’m rockin’. When breakfast and lunch is different, I’ll share it. I will probably still talk about my smoothies in detail though since I love them and they are something that I consider to be unique. Omitting the breakfast and lunch portion of the daily eats will free up more time for me to talk about exercise or whatever topic I’m thinking about that day.
I’m also taking a more laid-back approach to posting. If for some reason, I can’t get to a post that day and it moves over to the next day, no big deal. I used to stress about this a lot and wonder if delaying posting was costing me readership. What I’ve realized is that people are either going to like my blog or not. If they like what I have to say and my style, then when I post is not a big deal. I’m still getting used to allowing myself the ability to put off a post until the next day but it has happened before and I’m okay with that.
And also, in regards to tips and reviews, I am still going to do these posts because I enjoy them a lot. However, if there is a week where I don’t get one up or maybe I don’t have anything lined up for that week, then it won’t go up or maybe I’ll talk about something else. This has happened a few times already and nothing catastrophic has resulted because of it. There are a lot of things I want to talk about and discuss but sometimes there isn’t enough days in the week to post everything! :p So you might see a tip and review that week or you may not, it might be replaced with something else. Cool?
And last but not least, OHC has a new look! If you’re using a reader, please click through and check me out. Everything is now on the front page for easier access and reading. I think with the style before people didn’t understand I had multiple sections and not everything was found on the front page. Hopefully this should make navigation easier. The design is still a work in progress and I’m working on additional tabs to provide more information about me and the website.
Here’s a screenshot of how the new design is supposed to look. Just an FYI, but the site is designed with Firefox and Safari in mind, so it will probably look different with Internet Explorer. If it looks seriously different, please give me a heads up so I know what to tell Scott. If you are seeing weird issues and are using Firefox or Safari, let me know what those are!
Hooray for 2010 and a brand new year at OHC!
YaY Safari.
It looks great! Love it.
The new site design looks great, and I really like all the changes you have planned. Spending more time on the topics you want to talk about can only be a good thing! I applaud all these fabulous new steps — can’t wait to read the new entries.
Aww I’m so glad you wrote this post.
THis is exactly how I feel , I d love to be able to post 2 -3 times a day but I just dont have the time for that along with commenting .
I read a lot of blogs but don’t comment on everything I read. I don’t want to comment just to comment.
I do find it overwhelming , when i go away for the weekend and come back to 50 entries from the 3 a day bloggers.
I want time management tips from them!
Happy New Year
It looks gorgeous! I am glad you’ve come to the decision to blog in the least stressful way for you! Stress free 2010!
Love love love love all of it! Your approach, the changes you are making, and being laid back (I need to be better at that!) The theme is GORG, nicely done!
Beautiful new theme! I love the colors. A little wide for my tiny laptop, but that’s cool.
LOVE the new site design, and I’m looking forward to seeing what you have in store. HOORAY for less stress!
The new colors and header are beautiful!
And I can relate SO much to all of the things you’ve mentioned in this post. I agree that I have trouble keeping up with some pretty awesome blogs because there are multiple posts in the day, and I can’t spend all day at the computer (wish I could!)
I think posting meals that are interesting to talk about, tips, and reviews sounds perfect for the direction you’re going. Blogging is one thing that you are supposed to use as an outlet to talk about what you LIKE. Not what you’re supposed to represent.
Anyways, I’ll be here!
I LOVE the new look! It suits you very very much! I’m with you on keeping posts under control in both quantity and detail. I just sneezed. I’m going to go post about it
I love the new look. I heart purple
I have a hard time keeping up with people who post more than once a day too. And really… it is hard for me to find interest in some posts, because they are searching so hard for context. Yeah. I am a bitch. I think we should all blog when we feel like it though!
I use IE8 and it looks pretty good to me.
We talked about some of this at Foodbuzz and I definitely agree. It’s tough to keep up with blogs that post more than once a day. I try but my google reader still gets pretty backed up! Especially after being internet free for a week! I’m still recovering.
Love ya girl!
This looks amazing! I love it so much Andrea! Beautiful beautiful!
I am SO WITH YOU! I can’t deal with multiple postings. I do a lot of skimming and have really pared down on what I read based on my own preferences as a reader. Also, I’m a hugely shitty commenter due to the time it takes and the fact that I can’t justify just being like, “That bowl of cereal looks awesome!” Bad example, but you know what I’m sayin’ right?
I think your own realizations are amazing. I love when bloggers hit their own stride, blog from the heart, and just do what is best for them because it really shows in the writing. You’re such a badass and I gotchu!
Thanks gang! I’m so glad that you all are down with the design!
Erin, Totally get you. I had a convo with someone about this very topic recently. Both of us feel that comments should be about discussion or at least the sharing of something and not so much about the praise of a great bowl of soup.
Amanda, good to know!
Kilax, I really dig on purple too. It’s quickly becoming a new fave color of mine. And yes, sometimes multiple posts-per-day blogs do seem like they are reaching or content. It made me start skimming and then I realized I don’t want to skim. I want to read a blog, so now I focus on blogs that I like and where I read the whole content.
Mama Pea, You ALWAYS make me laugh out loud!
Jenny, I’m glad to know I’m not the only one who has trouble keeping up!
Thanks Mara!
Rachel, It’s too wide for my netbook as well. But I really like the design! :p
Allijag and HangryPants, hooray for stress free!
A, yes how do they have the time! I’m sure sacrifices are made and to be honest, I’m not going to sacrifice time with my loves or friends just so I can talk about dinner. A dinner post can wait till the next day!
Jenn and Heather, thanks girls! I’m pretty excited about the new changes too!
Looking forward to another year of your great blog!!
Happy (so very belated) New Year The new site design is awesome. I wish I had the time/funds to do a proper rehaul on my own site…one day. Looks good in Google Chrome as well (just so you know).