Meet Teri of Keeping it Personal

“I’ve always been a people person, a social butterfly from an early age. I love introducing people to one another; some of my introductions have developed into life long friendships, and several into marriages. I have a passion for connecting with others. I’m an encourager, a good listener, a friend.

Through my life experiences I’ve learned the importance of Keeping it Personal with others, with myself, and most importantly, with God. My life had become a mess; I had gotten to a place of hopelessness. By discovering how to Keep it Personal, I’ve overcome a period of isolation. I’m on the road of recovery from addiction and being restored from great life losses. I’ve realized that through my wounds I’m becoming who I was created to be.”

Read more at Getting Personal with Teri

The DSWP Reader Only Special:

Keeping it Personal Life/Business Coaching “Peel Back The Layer” session. This takes approximately 2 hours. Together, we will explore your core values, goals, commitments, life roles, and passions. Our systemized approach allows us to design a unique coaching plan specifically for you. Through this process we’ll help you identify your current states, obstacles, and life goals. You’ll develop a personalized identity/vision statement that will serve as our road map as we journey together.

To receive the 50% off ($100 value) exclusive discount simply email Teri at  teri@keepingitpersonal.com and mention that you saw it here!

For More Information:

• Visit the Coaching section of Keeping it personal
• Like Keeping it Personal on FaceBook
• Follow @KeepitPersonal on Twitter

Wendy, La Phemme Phoodie, with gorgeous photos all over her foodie blog, wrote this:

I exchanged messages with Jenny at PickyPalate. She uses Picnik. I have been using Picnik so I was thrilled to hear she was doing it on their site. It’s super easy.

On the Create tab, click in to Text. Type your text, Add it, and toggle through over 100 fonts until you find the right one. Click and drag the text wherever you want, and use the circles around the box to both resize and rotate. The ‘Text Properties’ box lets you adjust the color, Size, Fade, and both horizontal and vertical flip. Use the Advanced Blend Modes to instantly transform your text into a perfect watermark.

Tip: Use keyboard shortcuts to move your text in exact increments. If you’re a perfectionist, you can use your keyboard arrows to move text very slightly, Shift+arrows moves it a little more, Ctrl+arrows moves text a lot.

Picnik is a program online, where for $25 a year (or free for the lesser version) you can edit your photos easily. Click here to view all the options (and there are a lot of them!):

Let me know if you end up giving picnik a try!

I asked Melanie to answer a few questions at the beginning of the summer (before my unplanned hiatus) and she graciously took the time to answer some of my burning – ‘How do you do that?” questions.    Visit her blog here – the Big Mama.

And then read how she does it here:

Why did you start blogging, and how?

I began blogging as a way to record memories for my daughter, Caroline. She was just about to turn three when I started the blog and she just turned seven a few weeks ago. I love having a record of the last four years and I would have never been one to sit and make some kind of scrapbook.

When I first began blogging, I used Blogger because I wasn’t sure if I’d continue doing it for long or just lose interest. I switched to WordPress once I realized I’d developed a new obsession.

What kind of wizardry did you use to find such loyal readers?

I’m not paying my readers with anything of monetary value. I like to believe their reward for reading is knowing they aren’t the only person in the world who likes too much reality television and can’t stick to any sort of exercise program.

Honestly, I’m not even sure how most of my readers have found me. In the beginning there were a few different bloggers that linked to me, but now I think it’s just word of mouth. I think the biggest key to getting readers and keeping them around is consistency.

How has your blogging changed over the years & where do you get your inspiration?

I don’t really think my blogging has changed much over the last four years. My blog has always been about nothing and it continues to maintain that high standard of nothingness. It really is the Seinfeld of the blog world.

I find inspiration in whatever is going on in my life. It can be a rude checker at the grocery store or a sale at Gap. It can be how I managed to throw away my car keys or the discovery of pretzel M&M’s. You can guarantee that there are frequent mentions of various television programming.

What was your biggest blunder in the blog world? and how can we avoid it!!

Don’t put anything out there that you wouldn’t mind anyone finding. I wrote a couple of posts early on that I later went back and deleted. It’s easy to feel anonymous because the internet is so big, but you never know what someone may find.

So before you bash the PTA president or your mother-in-law, you may want to rethink that decision and choose your words carefully.

Can you talk about the dollars & cents of blogging?

About two years ago, I became part of the Blogher network and have ads on my blog. As blog traffic grew I needed to update my design, hosting service, and blah, blah, blah. I felt like the ads justify the expense because I’m making some money.

I’ve heard rumors of big time bloggers that make bags o’ cash, but I’m not one of them. Either I’m not smart enough or I just don’t have that much traffic. I’m not sure which.

The bottom line is that the blog provides a little extra income for my family and justifies those hours I sit on the couch trying to figure out what I’m going to write about and checking Twitter constantly.

If you figure out how to get rich by blogging, let me know.

I’ll write a book – you can buy it.  :)

Any advice for a wannabe writer?

This is the most cliché piece of advice ever, but it is so, SO true. If you want to be a writer, you need to write.

I know. It’s genius.

But it’s totally true. When I look back on my early posts, I cringe a little bit at how bad some of them are. Seriously, it’s painful. The more you write, the more you begin to find your voice and figure out how to string words together. It truly is a discipline. The hardest posts I write are the ones I write on Sunday night after taking the weekend off. It’s like my brain has forgotten to use the English language.

Write often to write well. And it also helps to read what other people write. It stirs up all your creativity.