Blogging Madness

It's November which means it's national write like nuts month. There's NaNoWriMo, NaNoBloMo, Blog Like Crazy, and probably lots more. But this year it seems like my circle is all in. And I haven't updated here in almost a month. So call it peer pressure. Call it inspiration. Call it a trial run.

Whatever you call it, you can thank/blame these lovely ladies:

Blog Fifty
Zoot
Space Fem
The Anvil Tree

I'm going to attempt to post every day this month. I make no promises, but at the very least it's got to beat last month, eh?

So let's start us off right with a cute picture of the hubby and I at a friends' (is that the correct punctuation, when we are the friends of both the bride and the groom?) wedding last weekend. I'll tell you about the wedding in another post (hey, I need like 30 of them! ; ), so for now just know that it was gorgeous. Filled with amazing people, personal touches, and old timey dancing!

31 Day Blog Challenge--Day 17

Today's topic: Why and when did you start blogging?

I stumbled into blogging, not really knowing what it was. I was online collecting ideas for our upcoming wedding and a friend has a blog to collect links and things. I thought that was kind of neat, so I signed up for one. Then promptly neglected it for about 6 months. At that point, we were moving 6 hours away from our college friends, so I started blogging as a way to keep up with them. This was in 2005. I found the process of writing to be extremely helpful/therapeutic so it stuck. : )

In 2006, I was selling cards on Etsy and the other sellers suggested using blogs as a marketing tool, so I started this one as a way to do just that. In 2009, when I shut down my Etsy store, this blog evolved into a purely personal blog covering sewing, baking, cooking, photography, books, and sort of whatever else caught my interest.

In 2010, I started The Dining Dragon for restaurant reviews. 2.5 years later, I'm still at it. : )

The Liebster Award

Aoife was sweet enough to select me for the Libester Award. A way of getting the word out about your favorite smaller bloggers, the award works as follows. Each blogger who is given the award selects their favorite bloggers with less than 200 followers and asks them 11 questions of their choice. Each blogger chosen then answers those questions on their blog and gives the award to their favorite bloggers.

Aoife's questions for me were:

1) If you could try out any craft other than stitch-y things, what would you do?

I loved painting, printmaking and playing with paper in my art classes. If I were to learn something totally new, I would like to try stained glass. (Which is an awful lot like quilting in design, so maybe that doesn't count? ; )

My Own Special Brand of Insanity

Things will probably be a little quiet on the blog for the next few months. Not because I have any intention of stopping blogging (good heavens no!) but because I will be spending much less time on the computer than usual. And, truth be told, much less time doing just about everything than I have been. Less baking, less sewing, less internet browsing, and less blogging.

Because I will be doing more studying. For the Professional Engineering exam this October. Think of it like the Bar exam for engineers, only optional. The way that the law works, not every single engineer needs to be licensed. However, in order to own a business, run a department, advertise yourself as an Engineer...you have to be. And since the test covers lots of concepts last seen in my school days, I figure it is best to get it over and done with as soon as possible.

This month I will officially have the 4 years experience required to make me eligible for the exam. So I have started studying (oh hello math, how I haven't missed you) for the eight hour exam of doom. I fully expect that my brain will be total and complete mush afterwards, but right after recovering I fully intend to jump back into, well everything! With gusto. I already have 2012 slated as a year of purging/cleaning/organizing the house. So far I've managed to sneak in a little baking and some wardrobe updates. Hopefully, I can keep up a bit of a balance.

But in the meantime, please forgive me if posts get a bit more sporadic. I'll try to hit the highlights. : )

Oh My

It's amazing how quickly time passes, one day fading into another like water through my fingers. I have so much to post, recipes to share (going back to September!), household doings, our winter CSA, fun stuff from my recent conference in Orlando, and new crafty projects! I'll be doing my best this week to start catching up. In the meantime, can you believe these gorgeous fall colors? And this fall has been mild, with temperatures staying in the low seventies last week. I feel fortunate indeed.

Blog Updates

With the ending of my 365 project, I took some time to update its page. Which got me tweaking many of the others as well. A new photo here, a new project there. And an all new About page which replaces the blurb on the sidebar. My favorite part though? The new mosaic I made for the About page from some of my favorite pictures.

What's In A Name?

I have been using the "MrsDragon" moniker for about 5 years now and it never ceases to amaze me the various hypothesis people put forth on what it all means. So, for the curious, I have added another static page, Why Mrs Dragon, to explain the origins of my name.

Static Pages

Recently Blogger added a new functionality--the ability to make static pages. These are the "tabs" you often see at the top or along the sides of blogs. Things like About and Contact Information. After spending some time playing with them and figuring out what made the most sense, I have added a whole host of pages.



Home
About Me
Cast of Characters
365 Photo Project
Recipes
Quilting
Spotlight Series
Contact Me

These serve to give a little more background on some things (who I am, what the 365 project is) and collect others (my current quilting works in progress or WIPs, the whole series of Spotlight posts).

So what do you think? Any other pages you wish to see? Any other information you wish you had? Burning questions gone unanswered?

TweetMeme

Tonight, while catching up on my backlog of blog reading, I found a neat little twitter widget on Buns In My Oven's newest posts. So, of course, I had to go see what this was about. Turns out TweetMeme is a service that allows people to easily retweet posts with the click of a button. You can install it as a widget into your blog template (in your sidebar) or embed the code directly in emails, blog posts, web pages, and rss feeds.

I've opted to add it to my blog posts directly. The only problem? The widget apparently looks to the page the user is currently on. Meaning that if I embed the code in a particular post than from my main page, it displays the number of times my main page has been linked to. However, if I am on the page for the individual post, it displays the number of times that particular post has been linked to. My only other quibble? The script automatically includes @tweetmeme in the retweet instead of my twitter account. This is a setting I can change if I use the blogger widget, but then it must be embedded in the sidebar.

Overall, the utility (and good looks) of the widget are enough for me to make it a standard part of my posts. Hopefully, these details are things TweetMeme will work out in time.

What are your thoughts on twitter links (like TweetMeme) on blogs? Do they make you more likely to retweet? Annoy you by taking up space?

A New Name

Several years ago, I purchased a couple of domain names. I had grand plans. I wanted (and still do, truth be told) to make a portal site. Somewhere to collect my etsy shop, Flickr account, blog, etc. that I could easily point people to. Of course, I also knew exactly what I wanted it to look like and I didn't want a cheap pre-fab site. Nor did I have the cash to pay a designer. And honestly, all I wanted was a single page, I didn't want to spend a lot of money on something that basic.

It's been an on-again-off-again project since. I've checked out various design-your-own-site programs and even found a pretty good tutorial that showed me that it wasn't such a big leap from the little bit of html I use to blog to the coding required for a site. But it's not something I've ever implemented, and since closing down my shops over the summer, my design and layout idea is out of date and a central page is much less necessary.

Prodded by my domain renewal notices from my domain provider and an interesting conversation at the Beer and Blog meeting on Tuesday (more on that later), I finally spent the time tonight to assign one of my domains to the blog. I am happy to report that my site is now located at http://www.mrsdragon.net . Any previous links should be redirected automatically, but if you run into any issues, let me know.

(Jack and Abby would like it noted that they helped.)

An Ending and a Beginning

Long time readers of this blog will have noticed a shift in content...where as before 90% or more of my posts were about the new items in my shops, now none are.

A few months ago I did some soul searching. And I realized that my Etsy shops had served their purpose. I started my first shop over summer vacation as a Master's student. Oddly enough, no one wants to hire you just for the summer when they know they have no chance of you staying for more than a year. So instead, I started an Etsy shop with my flower cards.

I enjoyed making the cards, but, what's more, I really loved the business side of things. Learning about pricing and marketing and psychology and branding. It gave me somewhere to apply the lessons I was learning in my classes and a social network while I was in a lonely new town with just the hubby for company. Perhaps more importantly, the Etsy forums introduced me to social networking. Big names like Flickr, Twitter, and Blogger. Smaller names like Squidoo and Ning and Quassia. I developed a love for photography, founded and joined several teams. Made friends.

Eventually I moved my cards to Ink and Vine and kept MrsDragon stocked with the little dragonlings that had covered my notebooks and wandered their way into my shop..

However, three years after this grand adventure began I realized I was at a crossroads. I had learned all I could about casually being in business. I needed to either take the next step (get a tax ID, devote real time to product lines, market) or stop. Not because I couldn't do what I was doing, but because it was no longer holding my interest and it showed.

And the siren calls of other pastimes called. Getting back into my quilting. Learning more about photography. Baking. Decorating our new house. Going for walks. Getting involved in my local technical societies.

So I am closing down my shops. I've canceled my ArtFire subscriptions, and let all the stock in my Etsy shops expire. I am finishing a last custom order and then I will be solely a buyer. And buy I will. I love Etsy and the handmade movement. I've gotten more out of the last three years than I could have possibly imagined going in. It's not an understatement to say that my decision to start an Etsy shop changed my life. And now it's time for other interests and passions and life changing decisions.

For this blog that means more of what you have been seeing lately, these other passions. My 365 house project. My baking. My quilting. My cats and my husband. I hardly expect to have a huge following, but anyone who is interested is welcome to come along for the ride.

To my dear Etsy friends, I will still be reading and cheering you on! I am continuously amazed by the creativity and passion you pour into your work and I look forward to watching you grow.

For My Dear RSSers

I've updated the settings on my blog so that the full post (and images!) will show up through your readers. I know how much easier it is to read all your favorite blogs from within your reader and now you can!

One of the downsides to this is that it will make it harder for me to gauge traffic (since only views to my blog itself are counted). So feel free to stop by and leave comments or click through once in a while. Or use "the power of the click" to vote for posts you especially like. I promise not to bite. ; )

Honest Scrap Award

Copperheart (check out her Etsy shop for some beautiful jewlery) nominated me for the Honest Scrap Award! (No, I have no idea what the "Honest Scrap" means or how it relates to burly forearms either).



Here's how the Honest Scrap Award works:
- I must thank the person who gave me the award and list their blog and link it
- I must list 10 honest things about myself
- I must put a copy of The Honest Scrap Logo on my blog.
- I must select at least 7 other worthy bloggers & list their links
- I must notify the bloggers of the award and hopefully they will follow the above requirements.

1. I am horrible at remembering books, movies, tv shows etc after I've watched or read them. I'll remember a few key events but character names, even the overall plots, will escape me.

2. I like dogs but am honest enough to admit I'm too lazy to own one. The training, the walking, the shoveling...enh.

3. I am completely sick of the whole "blue and brown" color combination that's been popular for several years now. Give it 10 years and people will be calling it dated and gross. I'm just ahead of the curve.

4. I don't understand women who refuse to camp outside. It's not dirty or bug filled unless you make it that way. It's also not hard. And if you want a real bed, rent a cabin!

5. I am a total child of the 80s and am convinced that I can do anything I take a mind to, if only I try hard enough. (This does not always work out, however.)

6. My younger brother calls me "Sister". Always has, probably always will. I never think of this as weird until other people, hearing him say this inevitably ask "He calls you Sister...?"

7. I defend Twitter's honor to my husband who has never used it but insists he knows what it is about from the news stories.

8. I love to take my camera around with me and snap pictures like crazy. I'm always a bit shy of getting photos of people though. I suppose because you don't have to ask rock's their permission to get photographed or could they please move just a little bit this way thank you.

9. I don't wear skirts to work for practical reasons but I refuse to give up on heels. The funny thing is I never wore heels on a regular basis before starting work.

10. I hate shorts. As in I will wear jeans in 100 degree weather, when I am going to be outside all day. Pants, skirts, dresses--any of those are fine, but not shorts. I hate the way they feel and the way they look.

And now for my worthy bloggers:
1. Athena's Armoury
2. Cool Zebras
3. Elegant Bloggery
4. Fog And Thistle
5. Lauren Alexander
6. Pepperina Press
7. Vol 25

"I Love Your Blog"

Adore By Nat awarded me the "I Love Your Blog" award. So now it is my turn to share the love.



Here are the rules:

If you are nominated, and choose to display the logo, please follow these simple steps, after accepting your award:

1. The winner can put the logo on his/her blog.
2. Link the person you received the award from.
3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs.
4. Put links of the nominated blogs on yours.
5. Leave a message on the blogs you nominated.

So here is my list of blogs I LOVE to visit:

1. BabyHoot
2. Elegant Bloggery
3. Fog and Thistle
4. JellyBeansArt
5. MtJoySchool
6. PepperinaPress
7. Vol25

In addition to having great blogs to read, these wonderful bloggers all have something else in common...they all have great etsy shops to boot!

Mrs Dragon's Wares is Awarded the Arte Y Pico

BIG thanks to Janine of Athena's Armoury" for giving me the Arte Y Pico award!* This award recognizes a blog's creativity and overall contribution to the blogger community. Thank you!!



Once you've been selected, please follow these guidelines and pay it forward:

1) Choose 5 blogs that you consider deserving of this award based on creativity, design, interesting material, and overall contribution to the blogger community, regardless of the language.

2) Post the name of the author and a link to his or her blog so everyone can view it.

3) Each award-winner has to show the award and put the name and link to the blog that has given her or him the award.

4) The award-winner and the presenter should post the link of the Arte y Pico blog , so everyone will know the origin of this award.

5) Please post these rules!

My nominees are....

1.The Dreamy Giraffe
2.Elegant Bloggery
3.Pepperina Press
4.vol25
5.Blurbs and Blogs of Babyhoot

*I realize this is a bit delayed, but I am just now getting back to all that stuff that was piling up on my "to-do" list. ^_^

All A'Twitter

After hearing about Twitter from several friends, I finally got the nudge I needed to sign up when another Etysian sent me an invite. For those of you who haven't seen Twitter before, it's sort of a cross between Instant Messaging and a blog. You can write posts from your computer, an Instant Message program, or your cell phone via text message. Each post must be under 140 characters and the basic premise is that they all answer the same question "What are you doing?". (Although that is a suggestion at best as people twitter about all manner of things.)

For those who have wanted to try out blogging, but have been hesitant of their own ability to generate content, Twitter offers a starting point. It is also a social networking tool, allowing you to connect with and respond to other users. For store owners, Twitter offers a quick way to say "New items in the shop!" without having to find a whole lot more to say about it.

It certainly has the chance to become plenty addictive. : ) I've added my Twitter to my sidebar on the right, showing my three most recent twitters.

New and Improved!

I may have a bit of a rocky relationship with my photography, but when I love it, I adore it. I adore this one. I was playing around trying to take a picture that would allow for my etsy thumbnail to showcase both the flower and the stem. It's only because the thumbnails are square that this pic didn't make the cut. But it did make it up onto flickr and thus here! You can see the whole card (and the thumbnail that *did* made the cut) right here.



In other (very exciting) news, tonight I sat down and reworked my blog. I have been getting increasingly "blahed-out" on my generic template and distinct lack of sidebar space. So the other day, when someone in the forums mentioned a super blogger who was giving away a three column template I bookmarked it! And today I finally got a chance to implement!

Meet my lovely new layout. Other new and spiffy things include

*My shop banner replaces the heading entirely
*New sidebars--an introduction, an Etsy Mini, and a list of tags
*Older sidebars have been rearranged, renamed, and generally poked at
*A new user pic (though this one gets pretty blurry at that size, I may switch that out later)
*New background and "clicked links" colors

I luff it! Input and suggestions are (as always) appreciated.