Time Management

In honor of Thursday's prompt on "having it all," I've decided to talk about something a few bloggers have actually asked for my advice on : time management, particularly as a nursing student/blogger/newlywed/etc.  So here we go!

Blog Posts

I definitely have posts on the ready in case things get a little crazy and I can't sit down to write a new post for the week or in case I have a complete blanking moment when it comes to blog content.  Some blog topics require a lot of work, like wellness posts, and others are fun and easy, like the inspiration board posts which right now you will be seeing every Wednesday through July for our new home  decorating inspiration.  Regardless, I make sure that I can have at least two posts scheduled a week, with the hopes of doing at least one or two more either from posts I've previously written as back up or new posts that I might right the day or even weekend right before.  

I know a lot of bloggers do this as it really is important to do.  

(via my Instagram feed)

As far as getting inspiration for your posts, well it just depends on what your blog features.  I like to do a little bit of everything, hence why I have a "lifestyle" blog and not just a fashion or home blog.  I love wellness discussions, inspiration, fashion, giveaways, introducing fellow bloggers, crafts, recipes, relationships, and so much more.  But I try to tailor posts to (a) what is current or what could be current and (b) what is realistic in my life right now.  I'm right in the middle of a crazy summer working day jobs, night shifts at the hospital, working on a house, travels, and a bunch of events.  So if you'll notice a lot of my posts are either short and to the point Monday Inspiration posts, fashion, Friday finds, or inspiration boards with the occasional posts about my life or my thoughts whenever I get a chance to sit down.  But I have a running Evernote note dedicated to all my ideas for future posts and blog series when I'm on the go.

Meals

Since my husband works the regular 9-5 job out of the house and I have a crazy schedule with a few day jobs and night shifts at the hospital, sometimes we go days with out seeing each other (because I leave to go to the hospital before he even gets home).

For meals, my husband loves the crockpot.  And I love it, too!  I can have a meal ready for him when he's home and then I can take some for myself to eat around midnight (my lunch time at the hospital).

For food prep, I often find time on Sundays to go ahead and prepare vegetables, fruit, and just plan ahead.  I will chop up practically all the vegetables and either put them in the fridge or the freezer.  The freezer is my very best friend in the kitchen.  All I have to do is go into the freezer and throw some of the pre-cut peppers, broccoli or whatever else and through them in to the crockpot or pan and they will defrost and cook perfectly.  It really cuts down time when actually preparing a meal.  

(via my Instagram feed)

I haven't yet done the whole make-five-meals-on-Sunday-and-eat-the-rest-of-the-week thing, yet.  I'll let you know when I do.

Last tip, I go to Costco.  I buy meats in large quantities and then I stick them in the freezer.  The Costco large quantity meats will last us the entire month.  I currently have Italian sausages, ground turkey, some steaks, and chicken thighs in there.  Like the precut vegetables, I can defrost them easily in the crockpot, but obviously I move them in to the refrigerator the night before I know I'm going to use them for the grill, stove, or oven.  My husband and I try to minimize trips to the grocery store as much as possible to both save time during the weeks and to save some money overall during the month.  It works out super well!

Calendars

These are my other best friends, like outside the kitchen.  I got a big fancy Erin Condren calendar for myself for New Years, and though I love it.  Nothing beats the calendar on my phone.  I have everything in that calendar (and right now, it's very colorful).  With iPhone and Android (and I assume Windows) you can use different calendar groups and get even more organized.  Some people will have their own calendar group for "Meals."  I have one, but I don't use it.  But this really helps me plan ahead.  Do I have a lot to do next week?  If so, I know I'm probably going to relax as much as possible and get in some blog planning, quality time with husband spending, and anything else that I need to do.  It may sound silly, but sometimes you have to plan for the little things in life.  This is an especially good de-stressing tip.  If you plan out when you're going to study, do housework, or even sleep, it makes you feel a lot more in control and you'll be a lot more productive during the day.

(via my Instagram feed)

Click on over to learn more about the new season of Tia & Tamera as the try to have it all.

Thanks to The Style Network for sponsoring today's discussion.

Watch tomorrow night as Tia & Tamera kick of season 3 on 

The Style Network where they, too, try to have it all.

Time Management

In honor of Thursday's prompt on "having it all," I've decided to talk about something a few bloggers have actually asked for my advice on : time management, particularly as a nursing student/blogger/newlywed/etc.  So here we go!

Blog Posts

I definitely have posts on the ready in case things get a little crazy and I can't sit down to write a new post for the week or in case I have a complete blanking moment when it comes to blog content.  Some blog topics require a lot of work, like wellness posts, and others are fun and easy, like the inspiration board posts which right now you will be seeing every Wednesday through July for our new home  decorating inspiration.  Regardless, I make sure that I can have at least two posts scheduled a week, with the hopes of doing at least one or two more either from posts I've previously written as back up or new posts that I might right the day or even weekend right before.  

I know a lot of bloggers do this as it really is important to do.  

(via my Instagram feed)

As far as getting inspiration for your posts, well it just depends on what your blog features.  I like to do a little bit of everything, hence why I have a "lifestyle" blog and not just a fashion or home blog.  I love wellness discussions, inspiration, fashion, giveaways, introducing fellow bloggers, crafts, recipes, relationships, and so much more.  But I try to tailor posts to (a) what is current or what could be current and (b) what is realistic in my life right now.  I'm right in the middle of a crazy summer working day jobs, night shifts at the hospital, working on a house, travels, and a bunch of events.  So if you'll notice a lot of my posts are either short and to the point Monday Inspiration posts, fashion, Friday finds, or inspiration boards with the occasional posts about my life or my thoughts whenever I get a chance to sit down.  But I have a running Evernote note dedicated to all my ideas for future posts and blog series when I'm on the go.

Meals

Since my husband works the regular 9-5 job out of the house and I have a crazy schedule with a few day jobs and night shifts at the hospital, sometimes we go days with out seeing each other (because I leave to go to the hospital before he even gets home).

For meals, my husband loves the crockpot.  And I love it, too!  I can have a meal ready for him when he's home and then I can take some for myself to eat around midnight (my lunch time at the hospital).

For food prep, I often find time on Sundays to go ahead and prepare vegetables, fruit, and just plan ahead.  I will chop up practically all the vegetables and either put them in the fridge or the freezer.  The freezer is my very best friend in the kitchen.  All I have to do is go into the freezer and throw some of the pre-cut peppers, broccoli or whatever else and through them in to the crockpot or pan and they will defrost and cook perfectly.  It really cuts down time when actually preparing a meal.  

(via my Instagram feed)

I haven't yet done the whole make-five-meals-on-Sunday-and-eat-the-rest-of-the-week thing, yet.  I'll let you know when I do.

Last tip, I go to Costco.  I buy meats in large quantities and then I stick them in the freezer.  The Costco large quantity meats will last us the entire month.  I currently have Italian sausages, ground turkey, some steaks, and chicken thighs in there.  Like the precut vegetables, I can defrost them easily in the crockpot, but obviously I move them in to the refrigerator the night before I know I'm going to use them for the grill, stove, or oven.  My husband and I try to minimize trips to the grocery store as much as possible to both save time during the weeks and to save some money overall during the month.  It works out super well!

Calendars

These are my other best friends, like outside the kitchen.  I got a big fancy Erin Condren calendar for myself for New Years, and though I love it.  Nothing beats the calendar on my phone.  I have everything in that calendar (and right now, it's very colorful).  With iPhone and Android (and I assume Windows) you can use different calendar groups and get even more organized.  Some people will have their own calendar group for "Meals."  I have one, but I don't use it.  But this really helps me plan ahead.  Do I have a lot to do next week?  If so, I know I'm probably going to relax as much as possible and get in some blog planning, quality time with husband spending, and anything else that I need to do.  It may sound silly, but sometimes you have to plan for the little things in life.  This is an especially good de-stressing tip.  If you plan out when you're going to study, do housework, or even sleep, it makes you feel a lot more in control and you'll be a lot more productive during the day.

(via my Instagram feed)

Click on over to learn more about the new season of Tia & Tamera as the try to have it all.

Thanks to The Style Network for sponsoring today's discussion.

Watch tomorrow night as Tia & Tamera kick of season 3 on 

The Style Network where they, too, try to have it all.

New Blog Design

Pop on over, friends!

I still have a lot of the same elements... but I so missed having a three column layout with the blog posts in the middle!  It just is my thing... maybe because I have some obsessive-compulsive tendencies! ;)

Anyways, I hope this is a friendlier layout!  I had the last one since January!  That's the longest I've ever stuck with a design!  Hopefully I'll stick with this one for the rest of the year... I am pretty happy with it :)  What do you think?  xoxo

New Blog Design

Pop on over, friends!

I still have a lot of the same elements... but I so missed having a three column layout with the blog posts in the middle!  It just is my thing... maybe because I have some obsessive-compulsive tendencies! ;)

Anyways, I hope this is a friendlier layout!  I had the last one since January!  That's the longest I've ever stuck with a design!  Hopefully I'll stick with this one for the rest of the year... I am pretty happy with it :)  What do you think?  xoxo

Charming Magazine Summer 2013 will go live tonight!

Want to stay updated on when it goes live or simply stay in touch?

Follow @thecharmingmag 

Charming Magazine Summer 2013 will go live tonight!

Want to stay updated on when it goes live or simply stay in touch?

Follow @thecharmingmag 

What's a blogger to do?

I'm sure you've all maybe heard by now that Google is foolishly getting rid of Google Reader, and subsequently Google Friend Connect.  They are hoping that we all start using Google+.  I've had an annoying time with Google+ and much prefer LinkedIn for that aspect.  But now, Facebook is experiencing some problems dropping some pages.  Though there isn't much talk about this, so it may end up being fixed.

Though this is certainly not the end of the world, social media is quite a big deal for our blogging community.  In fact, it's even quite a time commitment and investment for our blogs and our sponsors.  So whenever there is a major paradigm shift, things get a little crazy up in here and the question gets asked: what's a blogger to do now?

As far as for The Charming, I am definitely going to start promoting Bloglovin'.  I've been using it for awhile now and I love it.  It organizes my blogs and is so much more user friendly than Google Reader.  In fact, I only use Google Reader to help bloggers boost their GFC numbers, but will actually just catch up with them on Bloglovin.

Click here to follow The Charming on Bloglovin'.

I may try to give G+ another go.  I do like the idea of G+, even though I've been back & forth with actually having it.  But, I'm not getting a lot of feedback from my fans on Facebook, so I would like an alternative for being much more interactive with my fans (any recommendations?). 

In My Opinion

Personally, I'd like to keep social media streamlined and easy.  I feel like there are so many options out there: Twitter, Vine, Facebook, Instagram, HelloCotton, Pinterest, Bloglovin', Feeder, RSS, Email Subscriptions, Newsletters, and then the special interests like GoodReads.  It's kind of exhausting, don't you think?  I've always been a fan of simplicity and user-friendliness. 

I do love the main sites: Twitter, Bloglovin, Pinterest, Instagram.  But I have started a monthly newsletter for more exclusive offers, updates, and special events.  So those are going to be my main five until something better with enticing incentives presents itself.

Click to follow me on Twitter // Pinterest // Instagram.  Click here to sign up for my monthly newsletter.

I know others are talking about the switch to WordPress since GFC is going away.  I've researched this often quite a few times, and I always stick with Blogger.  For $10 a year, I get a custom domain name, email accounts, and customization.  I wouldn't say Blogger is better, but WordPress seems to be much more expensive ($18/year for a .com + $99/year for the cheapest plan that will allow a custom domain + customizations + email support).  Now, it is a Google product and Google has disappointed me many times in the past, including several email hackings, but it's still a great service so as long as they don't make a whole blogging community absolutely even more livid by dropping Blogger, I see no reason to switch.  It is a pretty great platform.

Other Readers.

Here are a few articles talking about reader alternatives:

• CNET
• LifeHacker
• Pocket Lint

What's a blogger to do?

I'm sure you've all maybe heard by now that Google is foolishly getting rid of Google Reader, and subsequently Google Friend Connect.  They are hoping that we all start using Google+.  I've had an annoying time with Google+ and much prefer LinkedIn for that aspect.  But now, Facebook is experiencing some problems dropping some pages.  Though there isn't much talk about this, so it may end up being fixed.

Though this is certainly not the end of the world, social media is quite a big deal for our blogging community.  In fact, it's even quite a time commitment and investment for our blogs and our sponsors.  So whenever there is a major paradigm shift, things get a little crazy up in here and the question gets asked: what's a blogger to do now?

As far as for The Charming, I am definitely going to start promoting Bloglovin'.  I've been using it for awhile now and I love it.  It organizes my blogs and is so much more user friendly than Google Reader.  In fact, I only use Google Reader to help bloggers boost their GFC numbers, but will actually just catch up with them on Bloglovin.

Click here to follow The Charming on Bloglovin'.

I may try to give G+ another go.  I do like the idea of G+, even though I've been back & forth with actually having it.  But, I'm not getting a lot of feedback from my fans on Facebook, so I would like an alternative for being much more interactive with my fans (any recommendations?). 

In My Opinion

Personally, I'd like to keep social media streamlined and easy.  I feel like there are so many options out there: Twitter, Vine, Facebook, Instagram, HelloCotton, Pinterest, Bloglovin', Feeder, RSS, Email Subscriptions, Newsletters, and then the special interests like GoodReads.  It's kind of exhausting, don't you think?  I've always been a fan of simplicity and user-friendliness. 

I do love the main sites: Twitter, Bloglovin, Pinterest, Instagram.  But I have started a monthly newsletter for more exclusive offers, updates, and special events.  So those are going to be my main five until something better with enticing incentives presents itself.

Click to follow me on Twitter // Pinterest // Instagram.  Click here to sign up for my monthly newsletter.

I know others are talking about the switch to WordPress since GFC is going away.  I've researched this often quite a few times, and I always stick with Blogger.  For $10 a year, I get a custom domain name, email accounts, and customization.  I wouldn't say Blogger is better, but WordPress seems to be much more expensive ($18/year for a .com + $99/year for the cheapest plan that will allow a custom domain + customizations + email support).  Now, it is a Google product and Google has disappointed me many times in the past, including several email hackings, but it's still a great service so as long as they don't make a whole blogging community absolutely even more livid by dropping Blogger, I see no reason to switch.  It is a pretty great platform.

Other Readers.

Here are a few articles talking about reader alternatives:

• CNET
• LifeHacker
• Pocket Lint

Becoming YOU.com

Becoming YOU.com

This was a fun decision!  I did this January 2012 when I finally started working on my branding and Internet flow.  Blogger made it super easy.  When I was considering switching to Wordpress it sounded like a few extra steps and some extra money (if that has changed, let me know).  But with Blogger & Google it was something I could easily do within my Blogger account and it only costs $10 a year.  I love it so much, I officially have three blogs with their own fancy URLs... and personal email accounts to boot.  I feel so official!  You will, too (if you want)!  Go to Settings > Basic > Publishing and work through that process.  It may take a little bit for your blog name to officially work, so don't worry about that.  I think the first time I did it in January 2012 it took about two days, but my latest time took only a few hours.  

After you do that, you need to go through Settings > Basic > Publishing again just to make sure your brand new big girl URL is set up for everyone.  Under "Publishing" you will now have "Advanced Settings."  Check the checkbox that says "Redirect yourblogname.com to www.yourblogname.com." (Shown above.) It took me awhile to figure this out because it was so annoying that everyone had to type in exactly www.thecharmingblog.com to get to my blog, plus on one of my business cards I only have thecharmingblog.com to save space.  So this was a wonderful discovery and one I just thought I would share. :)

Other Thoughts on Blog Design Elements for the New YOU.com

Blogger Navbar

Something that Google has recently and awesomely made easy is getting rid of your blogger navbar.  Instead of coding, this is now just a simple click and save: Go to Layout > Navbar > Edit > "Off".

Keep Things ASAP (As Simple As Possible)

Clutter and confusion is not very attractive.

Be Personable

Have a little introduction graphic, "meet me" button, or whatever else the lingo is for something on the sidebar with a picture and a few sentences.  Even if you don't have these at least have an about page.  I love checking these things out and it's good to have them on the blog to make you seem more relatable. 

Captcha Commenting
In my humble opinion (okay, in the opinion of many bloggers): remove CAPTCHA "comment moderation" please.  I sometimes just don't comment it all together.  If you need to moderate your comments, you can do so by keeping them private until they are approved.

Lastly, Stop Being a No-reply Blogger

We all love replying to comments left on our blogs as often as we are able to.  But it makes it impossible if you are a no-reply blogger!  This post is amazing and fixed my problem!

Thanks for stopping by!

Becoming YOU.com

Becoming YOU.com

This was a fun decision!  I did this January 2012 when I finally started working on my branding and Internet flow.  Blogger made it super easy.  When I was considering switching to Wordpress it sounded like a few extra steps and some extra money (if that has changed, let me know).  But with Blogger & Google it was something I could easily do within my Blogger account and it only costs $10 a year.  I love it so much, I officially have three blogs with their own fancy URLs... and personal email accounts to boot.  I feel so official!  You will, too (if you want)!  Go to Settings > Basic > Publishing and work through that process.  It may take a little bit for your blog name to officially work, so don't worry about that.  I think the first time I did it in January 2012 it took about two days, but my latest time took only a few hours.  

After you do that, you need to go through Settings > Basic > Publishing again just to make sure your brand new big girl URL is set up for everyone.  Under "Publishing" you will now have "Advanced Settings."  Check the checkbox that says "Redirect yourblogname.com to www.yourblogname.com." (Shown above.) It took me awhile to figure this out because it was so annoying that everyone had to type in exactly www.thecharmingblog.com to get to my blog, plus on one of my business cards I only have thecharmingblog.com to save space.  So this was a wonderful discovery and one I just thought I would share. :)

Other Thoughts on Blog Design Elements for the New YOU.com

Blogger Navbar

Something that Google has recently and awesomely made easy is getting rid of your blogger navbar.  Instead of coding, this is now just a simple click and save: Go to Layout > Navbar > Edit > "Off".

Keep Things ASAP (As Simple As Possible)

Clutter and confusion is not very attractive.

Be Personable

Have a little introduction graphic, "meet me" button, or whatever else the lingo is for something on the sidebar with a picture and a few sentences.  Even if you don't have these at least have an about page.  I love checking these things out and it's good to have them on the blog to make you seem more relatable. 

Captcha Commenting
In my humble opinion (okay, in the opinion of many bloggers): remove CAPTCHA "comment moderation" please.  I sometimes just don't comment it all together.  If you need to moderate your comments, you can do so by keeping them private until they are approved.

Lastly, Stop Being a No-reply Blogger

We all love replying to comments left on our blogs as often as we are able to.  But it makes it impossible if you are a no-reply blogger!  This post is amazing and fixed my problem!

Thanks for stopping by!

Blogger's Digest

HAPPY FRIDAY!

It is the last day of November.

What does that mean?

Tomorrow I am going to have a dance party

and run around the house shouting HAPPY DECEMBER.

Seriously.  I do this every December.

It must be the little girl in me.

________________________________________________________

If you are in need of some great online, homemade business shops to spoil yourself or loved ones, don't forget to check out Charming Holiday magazine & catalog!  You won't be disappointed and will feel plenty inspired. 

Here are the shops I featured this week:

Dottie Adele

JVKom Designs

Soapopotamus

Get to feeling organized for this holiday season with this lovely post by iHeart Organizing.

This is such a magical DIY ornament by Craftberry Bush for your trees.

I can't wait until after finals so I can be all crafty and do this.

Chai tea lattes are my go-to drink all year round.  But I can never seem to make them

at home the way they do at Starbucks or Saxby's.  Ah, it makes my soul sad.

But this seems to be a perfect way to make homemade chai deliciousness.

Do you have a sweet tooth like me?

I like even just a little bit of something sweet after my dinners.

But this Caramel Apple Cheesecake might just be my dinner:

________________________________________________________

Link Up Party Rules

Blogger's Digest

HAPPY FRIDAY!

It is the last day of November.

What does that mean?

Tomorrow I am going to have a dance party

and run around the house shouting HAPPY DECEMBER.

Seriously.  I do this every December.

It must be the little girl in me.

________________________________________________________

If you are in need of some great online, homemade business shops to spoil yourself or loved ones, don't forget to check out Charming Holiday magazine & catalog!  You won't be disappointed and will feel plenty inspired. 

Here are the shops I featured this week:

Dottie Adele

JVKom Designs

Soapopotamus

Get to feeling organized for this holiday season with this lovely post by iHeart Organizing.

This is such a magical DIY ornament by Craftberry Bush for your trees.

I can't wait until after finals so I can be all crafty and do this.

Chai tea lattes are my go-to drink all year round.  But I can never seem to make them

at home the way they do at Starbucks or Saxby's.  Ah, it makes my soul sad.

But this seems to be a perfect way to make homemade chai deliciousness.

Do you have a sweet tooth like me?

I like even just a little bit of something sweet after my dinners.

But this Caramel Apple Cheesecake might just be my dinner:

________________________________________________________

Link Up Party Rules

Blogger's Digest

Black Friday & Cyber Monday discounts -- support the small businesses online from the fellow bloggers you love!  Over two dozen shops offered discounts and promotions for the Charming Holiday and I summed it up in this post!

Charming Holiday launched Monday, November 19!  It was my baby for since August and I'm so excited it's here for you!

Meet two lovely shops : The Goosebeary Shop for women of all ages from infants to moms ; and Tailor Made for stylish accessories for all the women in your life.

Want to join the Blog Hop?  Meet Nykki from Nykki Talks Beauty!  This is such a great Blogger's Digest.  You can sum up your blog posts as well as some of your favorite reads from fellow bloggers!

Plus, Nykki is super awesome, so definitely go say hi!

Blogger's Digest

Black Friday & Cyber Monday discounts -- support the small businesses online from the fellow bloggers you love!  Over two dozen shops offered discounts and promotions for the Charming Holiday and I summed it up in this post!

Charming Holiday launched Monday, November 19!  It was my baby for since August and I'm so excited it's here for you!

Meet two lovely shops : The Goosebeary Shop for women of all ages from infants to moms ; and Tailor Made for stylish accessories for all the women in your life.

Want to join the Blog Hop?  Meet Nykki from Nykki Talks Beauty!  This is such a great Blogger's Digest.  You can sum up your blog posts as well as some of your favorite reads from fellow bloggers!

Plus, Nykki is super awesome, so definitely go say hi!

Charming Holiday 2012 Launches!

The Charming Holiday 2012 issue is officially live at www.thecharmingmagazine.com!  Head on over for some inspiration and great discounts to some fabulous shops!  Thank you to all the contributors and wonderful bloggers and shops.  The magazine turned out better than I imagine.  It's been a long few months getting ready for this baby!  

Charming Holiday 2012 Launches!

The Charming Holiday 2012 issue is officially live at www.thecharmingmagazine.com!  Head on over for some inspiration and great discounts to some fabulous shops!  Thank you to all the contributors and wonderful bloggers and shops.  The magazine turned out better than I imagine.  It's been a long few months getting ready for this baby!  

500 + early 600 Milestone Giveaways!

All winners will be announced on Thanksgiving (next Thursday, November 22).

All bloggers are welcome to enter,

regardless of country of residency.

a Rafflecopter giveaway
a Rafflecopter giveaway

U.S. & Canada only, please.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

International entries welcome.

$10 = 5 cards.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

500 + early 600 Milestone Giveaways!

All winners will be announced on Thanksgiving (next Thursday, November 22).

All bloggers are welcome to enter,

regardless of country of residency.

a Rafflecopter giveaway
a Rafflecopter giveaway

U.S. & Canada only, please.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

International entries welcome.

$10 = 5 cards.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Become a Blog Angel in October!

You might have heard the name 'Blog Angels' popping up all over your social media over the last few months and wondered, what ARE they going on about?

Blog Angels is run by Rosie at Craftbotic. Every two months 100 bloggers get the opportunity to help each other out, build friendships and community in the Blogosphere.

The principle is easy. By signing up to be a Blog Angel you are promising to help another blogger for a whole month.  The least you need to do is comment twice a week on their blog, but the possibilities to do more is endless.

In the first two rounds of Blog Angels we had people commenting, guest-posting, giving social media shout outs, new blog design features and warm words of encouragement. Some people swapped addresses and sent little packages. The choices are endless.

So what's the catch? Well, it's all done in secret. For this round, things are changing slightly. Here are all of the details:

1. Sign up is on 15th September (tomorrow!). The form you fill in can be found at Rosie's, but also on these sites:

A Little Piece of Me

The Houtz House Party

Lipgloss and Crayons

White Lights on Wednesdays

 2. The form is slightly more detailed to help with the matching process. It still takes less than 5 minutes to complete though.

3. The project will start on 1st October and will be secret for the first two weeks. This will allow you to get to know your blogger, build up a relationship and start to act to help them. You would need to as a minimum comment twice a week on their blog.

4. After two weeks you link up a 'reveal' post at Craftbotic on 15th October.

5. You can then communicate with your blogger and give them more specific help, build friendships and develop your role. This is the newest part of the project and came out of a long conversation with the angel regulars.

6. On the 31st October you write a 'reflection' post reviewing your experience of Blog Angels and what you achieved with your Blog Angel.

It's pretty simple. These small steps will help you to be part of growing community of bloggers who care.

On a serious note, there is always a 'drop off' of Blog Angels. Those folk who get busy and disappear. Apart from being incredibly uncool, it is completely unnecessary. Please make sure you have time to help out in October BEFORE signing up. If life gets crazy you just need to email and let Rosie know. Orphaned bloggers can then be reassigned.  In Blog Angels the only thing you are guaranteed is the opportunity to help some-one else.

What an amazing opportunity that is! The first 100 people to sign-up before 25th September will be taking part. We all hope that it will include you!