Thursday, January 22, 2009

Expanding my Horizons and Still Trying to Connect the Dots

Well, the past few weeks have been a furor of webby bloggy kind of sedentary activity for me. We launched Hannah's biz at http://www.hannahmadesoaps.blogspot.com/ and I have been consumed with finding ways to accelerate the discovery process. Seeing as how I am the sole investor, it is in my best interest to make it profitable as quickly as possible. Hey, I just want my seed money back! Actually, I really want to see the business take off for her so that she can benefit from all the hard work and diligence she has invested in bringing this dream to fruition. It isn't just about making soap either. This girl is up every morning milking goats, and in peak production, she milks twice a day. The goat milk that goes into our soap is farm fresh let me tell ya - farm fresh!


Simultaneously to this venture, I decided to take a bit of a detour from wellness coaching. Well, actually I just added another job to juggle, but, since I've had such phenomenal success with Oh So Lean, I launched a Biggest Loser Challenge that will run through May. I wish I had some before pictures to show you... but you know what a size 14 looks like, right? 170 lbs on a petite sized 5' 4" frame ain't purdy. I avoided the cameras so much that I have no 'before' pictures. Which doesn't really cause me any duress, except that I'd like to have a dramatic pictorial testimonial page. All that to say, I now have another blog http://www.perfectbodyshapeforyou.com/ that just went live. I'll be fast and furiously transferring some articles I have written in the past, so hopefully you'll find some helpful information there if you are looking to lose weight and/or be more fit. I'll also be adding new content as time permits. My goal is a weekly post that will be educational and motivational. Wednesday's Weight Loss Tips? Or something a little more original maybe.


I do have an 'after' picture, even though I am still a work in progress. This was taken back in November when we went to Cancun (all expenses paid - the best vacation ever!)

I have been rambling about my activities, but I really haven't gotten to the meat of what is on my mind. Much of the time I have invested over the past few weeks has been overwhelmingly eye-opening. I feel a little like Alice peeping into the tiny door of another magical world. How long does it take one to get acclimated to the world of web 2.0, bloggydom, the social network sphere, and all that still lies over the horizon, undiscovered? I am not really sure how to balance it all. I can remember when I worked in IT part of the software we used compiled the data collected from multiple sources and reported the merged streams all in one place, in a way that was manageable. I am envisioning something like that for this newbie to be able to keep up. Somebody somewhere tell me it exists... please? You know - a split screen with all your social networks flashing updates, color coded ones to let you know when something really urgent needs your attention. Even if that handy dandy tool isn't on the market yet, I'd just like a simple tutorial on how to link blogs together, build buttons, badges, headers, and scrolling button ads. I guess I am asking too much. Hopefully, all our new followers will bare with us as we tackle each challenge, one search at a time. In the meantime, I'll try to put up a widget with links of all the blogs I am currently managing. What I find most frustrating is hindsight. Not knowing to build all the blogs under one umbrella. Maybe I'll explore the import blog option so that I don't have people thinking I have a split personality... signing half my comments as me, and the other half when logged in to Hannah's site. Sometimes I forget to note that I am operating under an alias.

Thanks for listening to my ramblings. Please feel free to leave me tips or instructions on how to make any of the above tasks easier or less time consuming. I will become your most faithful follower if you do. :)

2 comments:

Mary said...

Sounds like you're quite the busy woman. Wish I could help with managing life on the internet. But I can't because I'm just kind of winging it, myself!

What a wonderful project you and your daughter are developing together. You're a fabulous investor! Investing in a bond that will last a lifetime.

Unknown said...

Hi DeeDee, It was great talking to you!! I admire all that you're able to do!! It sounds a little like I was 10yrs ago with 6 kids, homeschooling, work, school and a husband with 8 computers!! ;) Anyways, I've found FriendFeed is about the only thing that actually keeps an "eye" on so many SMedia stuff at once. There's supposed to be more options in the works--apparently there's a HUGE market for it. LOL, wish I knew more about programming these days--I'm about 8yrs behind.... :)
Take Care!!
elaine