Ads on blogs or How I am dealing with my recent identity crisis

This is kind of long but I beg of you to read through and give me your thoughts. That means leave a comment. Even if it says "Whatever, I just don't think ads are a good idea." Thanks.

There are lots of types of blogs out there- polictical, sports, celebrity, daddy, mommy, shopping, and whatever else. I think if you are an enthusiast of anything you can blog about it. I am an enthusiast of my family which is why I find the topic easy (most days) to blog about. D is an enthusiast of his projects, which is why he is so eager to share what he is working on and how he did it.

When I started this blog my focus was providing family and friends updates on Fuller and our family. I had been sending out monthly emails to an email list but something about posting it on the internet was more appealing. I liked being able to provide pictures and have the opportunity to write one line entries that would sound lame in an email but not so lame on a pretty webpage.

As we have been providing content for this blog something has happened- I have started to really enjoy the writing. I love writing about my family, our activities, our projects, our likes, our dislikes… it is really fun.

It has developed into a hobby that gives me some focus in my thoughts. I can be driving to work and be thinking about how I can turn Fuller’s antics into blog fodder. While working on a project I wonder what aspects can I blog about and how can I express exactly how it was completed while getting people engaged and equally excited about what we are doing.

Carrie Richmond is one of the first bloggers that I sat down and read all her archives in one sitting. That was five years ago. When she was interviewed on BloggingBaby she said that her online journal was like a “dynamic babybook… constantly changing and evolving into the story of our lives as a family.” I love to think about our family blog like that- the evolving story of our family.

I think there are some people out there who look at blogging as an odd way to spend time or even think that blogging is a waste of my time, but to them I say, “Do you play with model trains? Because I think model trains are strange and why would you waste your time with bits of plastic and electric circuits?” And then we can go our separate ways- me straight to the computer to blog about the conversation I just had with someone who thinks blogging is strange.

I hope that I have conveyed to you that I really enjoy blogging. I have decided that it is something that I want to embrace fully and give greater attention to in my free time. Which leads me to the next point.

I have been told many times (and it was recently repeated at my little sister’s graduation) that when you are deciding what to do in life that you should find something that you love and try to figure out a way to get paid for it.

I spent some time this weekend with college friends and one of them owns her own business. She was a sociology major, like me, and when she graduated she went to work for Georgia DFACs. She decided she wanted to be her own boss and began Mercy’s Chosen Children, a foster parent and adoption agency that works with the state of Georgia to place children in solid Christian homes. She has a heart for children who need love, care, and the healing power of Jesus. She loves what she does and she gets paid for it. I really admire what she is doing.

Before I get ahead of myself, I have to mention here that I am not announcing a move to professional blogging and I do not want people to think that this little site will ever support my family. I’m just trying to make a case for placing ads on a blog as a way to supplement an income or even to raise money for a cause.

I enjoy this hobby, so why can’t I turn a hobby into something I make a little extra cash with? Another example is those of you who knit or crochet or make beaded jewlery and then take your completed projects to craft shows or put up on Etsy to sell. It may not support your family’s needs but it brings in something extra. Can I equate blogging to selling stuff at my local arts and crafts fair?

All these thoughts are coming from a very recent identity crisis and total freak out over the fact that I am turning 30 in a few months and my life is nothing like I ever thought it would be. In trying to come to terms with who I am and what the heck I am doing, I have tried to focus on what makes me tick, what do I enjoy, and now that I am here where can I go?

I don’t have all the answers to those questions. I am only starting to scratch the surface of what do I enjoy (because really, sometimes I have no clue), but one of the answers is that I have this hobby, I enjoy it, and I would like it to see what I can do with it.