I am totally shocked and happy to say that my blog has been nominated for a Blogger Recognition Award from Elizabeth at Family Farm School! I definitely was not expecting to see the nomination today in my inbox. Check out the blog above, it is quirky, entertaining and a great addition to the web.

I am shocked to have a nomination as I do not feel like I have progressed enough to get any recognition, still we are our own worst critics.

This award is a nice way for bloggers to recognise other bloggers, and help each other bring in some new readers to our sites. So, this award doesn’t come with a blue ribbon, but it does come with a small little to-do list…just a few rules:

I must recognize and thank the fantastic blogger who nominated me, and provide a link to her blog.
I must write a post to showcase the award.
I must write a story about why or how I started my blog.
I must give new bloggers at least two pieces of advice.
I must select fifteen other bloggers to receive the award from me.
I must leave a comment on my nominees’ blogs to tell them about the award, and provide a link to this post.

Why did I start this blog?

I have always loved writing. I criticise myself so much as I still do not feel 'good enough' but as a Mum, this feeling is all very common ground. Still, there is a sense of calm and enjoyment that comes when I write. When I am feeling happy, blessed, sad, angry; I turn to writing. It helps to get all of the pent up frustrations and feelings out of my system. Whether I am writing lists, or writing scribbles of my feelings. This blog helps me to write a mixture of humorous, emotive, handy tips and various of other types of posts. It is a mixed bag because that is what parenting is. So almost 2 years ago now, I decided that as I enjoyed writing so much and as I wanted to invest in myself and a hobby, I took a bold leap. I'm not even sure how far I thought it would go, I just wish I had more time to give to it and commit to it. Still, it is my little 'thing'. My blog. It's not where I would like it to be but I am still proud I took the leap for it anyway. If you want to read more about why I started my blog, check out my very first blog post here; Hello.

Advice for New Bloggers

I would firstly say; Get some content written first. My main problem I have each week is making sure I have decent enough content to publish each week. I try to do a new blog post each week. Some days I nail the writing and will sit down and write a few pieces which keeps me going so that the rest of my time can be focused on promoting the blog posts. Then other days, I wish I had more content. So I believe the more content that you have to begin with, that is written well and thorough then it will get you off to a good start.

Secondly, use social media to your advantage. Set up accounts on Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and Facebook. Focus on a main one, or two and post content to that and use it to share other blogger's content too. It can be a great way to network.