jumping into a makeover challenge

#midlifeblog cresting the hill
The older I get, the more I realize that there is so much that I don't know. There are a million (gazillion) different internet processes and applications that I am totally unaware of. Blogging is a "whole new world" (thanks Aladdin) and I am just scraping the surface.


Most of the time surface scraping is all that I need. I started out thinking that nobody would be interested in what I write about, only to find a growing group of wonderful women who are facing life full on in so many ways and encouraging each other (and me) on the journey.

It's been just over six months since I started, I've bought my .com name and managed to get it to link over from my blogger platform - I still find blogger is fine for what I need and swapping to anything else is just too big for me for now. I've done a little bit of HTML coding (thanks to all those people who know how to make things work). I am the Guru of Googling (is that title taken yet? I might need to google it....) when it comes to needing quick fixes for the little extras I need for my blog.

Despite all the things that my little midlife brain has learnt in the past months (like drag and drop on Google images - who knew?), I am aware that there is so much more to discover. I have no desire to be a super blogger, or to make money, or to turn my blog into something for others but not for me. I want to stay doing what I'm doing, but I'd like to think that I am doing it in a way that works well and I'm using the tools that are available.

On that note, as I was cruising around Pinterest (as I am wont to do on a regular basis) I saw a pin for a blogging challenge that looked like it would be really interesting. It was created by Daniela Uslan and was called the 15 Day Makeover Challenge and I figured 15 minutes a day was a manageable amount of time. When I actually went and had a look at the link, I was most impressed to see that it doesn't start until 22nd June (I'd found it before it was a thing of the past) and it didn't cost anything (a big bonus for me) and I could do as much or as little of it as I liked (even better!) Anyway......it seems like a really interesting challenge, so this post is for any of my blogging buddies who might like to jump on board and see where Daniela takes us - it sounds like it might be fun.

http://danielauslan.com/blog-makeover-challenge/

14 comments

  1. Wow! What a change:) Looks great your website Leanne! Speaking of diving deep into the blogosphere:) I disappeared because I was busy updating mine too. I think it's that time of the year when we feel we need to do some changes in our lives. To trim our body (and our websites) for summer. Plus it's good to have total control over the content and layout of our websites. I like your policy about duplication etc. It's important to keep the rights to the stuff we're working so hard on. Anyhow, I'm happy you're taking part in the challenge, sounds really interesting. Good for you:)
    Abby

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  2. Hi Abby - I'm waiting for you to do a new post and then I can check out your refreshments! I'm learning so much all the time and there's still little things that annoy me that I can't fix - I'll get there!

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  3. There's always something new and of interest on your blog, Leanne!
    www.carolcassara.com

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    1. thanks Carol - it seems my blogging life is more exciting than my real life sometimes - lots of changes in both at the time being!

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  4. Isn't this just the most fun you've ever had?! I'm 18 months in and I swear, the steep learning curve is the most exhilarating aspect of it all -- like mentally climbing Everest! I figure it'll make me an interesting companion to my fellow nursing home roomies.

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    1. Hi Mithra - we'll be in the nursing home complaining that the wifi connection is too slow! I am astounded at how much there is to learn - a lot of it I am letting flow past me at the time being because my poor brain can only absorb so much before it starts to melt!

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  5. Leanne I didn't even know what a link was when I first started! Had always wondered (and actually was a little irritated by..) the words turning a different color when you scrolled over them... I am still learning so much. Good luck with your 15-day jaunt! It sounds fun and exciting. I learned a lot doing one of those "write a blog a day" things. Whew. Exhausting but really helpful.

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    1. Thanks Margaret - I'm not sure what to expect but it looks interesting and not too threatening!

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  6. Thanks so much for the Leanne! I definitely want to check it out I'll most likely do it as well! I love changing things on my blog. It's kind of like moving the furniture around in your house. I've learned a lot in a year in a half but realize there is so much more to learn and I find it fascinating! I would love to get into website design one day. I started on blogger myself but I am trying to make income from mine which I am starting to do now pretty regularly. Once you buy your .com you have to choose a webhosting company and download Wordpress. I went through GoDaddy and they got Wordpress downloaded for me. After that I just asked around(and I'd be more than happy to help you) there is a plugin which automatically pulls your blogger stuff over to Wordpress. It's very simple there are companies that charge a lot for it and it's really simple I did mine myself. I did hire someone to help me after I got it all going, but she not only did it she taught me how to do it myself.

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    1. I hope you join up Rena - I'm not sure what it's all about but I'm willing to have someone show me something new! I bought my .com from GoDaddy too and if I ever take it to the next level I know that I'm going to have to move to Wordpress - I'm sitting tight for now and pondering the future! At least I know who to ask for help from now :)

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  7. Thanks for sharing this Leanne - I'm going to sign up! I've been blogging for a year and I'm still on blogger - there are actually some very big blogs that are monetized and still use blogger, so there's hope!

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    1. It would be exciting to have you join the fun Lana - I have no idea what I've signed up for but any help is always appreciated! Some of my favourite bloggers use blogger so I'm not rushing to change anything at this stage either :)

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  8. I am also doing this challenge and I am also from WA!! I am pretty new to blogging so I am hoping to get some tips! Sure I will hear more from you in the next few weeks

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    1. How exciting - I love that you are a fellow WA-arian (is there such a word?) and looking forward to sharing in the challenge with you :)

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Thanks so much for your comment - it's where the connection begins.