If you haven’t already noticed, the blog has gone through a re-birth of sorts. A few days ago, amid the eery midnight glow of my laptop and with my fingers ground down to bloody stumps, I rolled out a whole new look for MyShinyNickels.com. What triggered this re-decorating of my little internet home? Grab a chair, and I’ll fill you in.
It all began Thursday of last week. My husband and I were headed to a financial blogging convention called FinCon, held this year in New Orleans. I’m a relatively new-ish blogger, and until now it’s been a little side hobby of mine. But Johnny over at JohnnyMoneyseed.com convinced me to give FinCon a try; he promised it would be extremely inspiring at best and a really fun 3-day long party at worst.
Sign me up, Scotty (er, Johnny).
To keep this short and sweet, the conference was so much more than I anticipated. I left feeling rejuvenated, but a bit challenged. Many times during those few days we were asked why we write. What we want out of this still-strange concept called ‘blogging’. For a while it’s been ‘that-thing-I-do-at-night-when-I-have-a-spare-moment’ kind of deal, but I’ve realized that has to change.
This blog is my outlet, and the work I do here is something I’m extremely passionate about. And yet I was letting my work-life-blog balance go all whack-a-doodle. Work? Not much I can do about that. But life? There is plenty of wiggle room there. I needed to start setting boundaries. Boundaries that would allow this blogging passion to become a larger part of my life. My readers deserve it, and so do I.
So before I’d even boarded the plane back here to Sacramento, my cerebral cortex was buzzing. Soon I was scribbling notes on the backs of pamphlets in the airport, and even those cute little Southwest Airlines beverage napkins were no match for my chicken-scratch frenzy. I’m sure I drove my husband crazy during that 4-hour trip…
Me: “So, hey hey hey, I have this idea. I’ll change out the header image…”
Him: [looking up from his iPad] “Hmmm, sounds good.”
[5 minutes later]
Me: “Hey babe, what do you think about re-focusing the…”
Him: [looking up again from his iPad] “Sure, that would work.”
[5 minutes later]
Me: “What if I changed the navigation of the site so that it…”
Him: [s-l-o-w-l-y craning his neck away from his iPad] “Yup. Sounds like a plan, dear.”
This pattern repeated itself for the remainder of our flight, and the poor guy was patient the entire time. Needless to say, I’ve made a lot of changes, and there is plenty more to come. A blogger’s work is never done, they say. [Not sure if that’s something anyone has actually said, but it sounded good.]
My hope is that even with this blog getting a new look and moving in a new (but similar!) direction, my loyal readers will follow along with me, while new ones join in. In the past this has been a ‘get-out-of-debt-and-retire-early’ blog. But if I’m really true to myself and all the things I’m excited about, this blog is destined to be a whole lot more than that. My favorite low-cost recipes, super-cool life “hacks”, simple living, lots of juicy DIY projects, traveling on the cheap, and of course the stories and real-life blunders (enjoy a sample here) that my readers have come to rely on.
And sometimes God’s timing of things is eerily perfect. As I was pondering the whole work-life-blog balance this afternoon, something very fitting caught my ear. The television had been turned down to a dull rumble in the background, but I heard Steve Harvey (of all people) quietly say, “Work is what you’re paid to do. Your calling is what you were made to do.” That’s precisely how I feel about this little blog I’ve created. Showing others how to pursue a fulfilling and blissful life while being financially responsible is what I feel called to do.
And who knew…Steve Harvey may be the next Dalai Lama.
You know it’s funny. Don’t judge me.
Nice to see you blogging again, Laura. I was starting to wonder where you had disappeared to (blog-wise). From what I read (in all the other many many blogs that I follow), the annual FinCon gig is a real blast. Great that you attended, enjoyed it, and were inspired by it . So I’ll be looking forward (hopefully) to reading more pearls of Mrs. Niickels’ wisdom from your “bloody stump” fingers! 🙂
As for Steve Harvey, well I know that dude is very multi-talented. We watch him on TV here every weekday evening at supper time as he hosts the Family Feud game show. A really funny guy!
Pearls of wisdom! Love it, you are too kind. Yes, you’ll be hearing (and seeing) a lot more of me from this point on! So happy to hear you’re sticking with me. You’re one of my most interactive and loyal readers!
Oh my gosh, I love that quote. I’m excited to see what you have up your sleeve with your new-ish direction! I’m sorta at a crossroads with my baby blog, too. I’m not sure quite what to do with it at the moment, but I know I need to stay true to the religious themes (seems like people liked that enough to make me a finalist for Plutus Awards, after all), but I’ve struggled with the best way to incorporate that and follow “rules” to make my blog grow. For now, I’m just going to abandon the rules!
Isn’t that quote great? I had to press “back” on my remote to catch who said it. And yes, since you have a loyal following, sounds like you’re staying true to yourself and your readers see that. But you’re right…sometimes it’s a fine balance between staying authentic and working within the “rules” that help blog growth. Here’s a virtual high-five for abandoning the rules!
Loving the new look! And Ditto to what Rob says – I’ll be following along here too.
Thanks! It’s definitely more “me”. The previous look was just kind of thrown up there to get the blog started. But even blogs that have great content, if wrapped in an unflattering package, won’t do as well as they could. I like this “packaging” much better! And thanks for staying with me!
As a design-oriented person, I can only politely say that I get extremely irritated with poorly designed blogs. If I can’t get around the site easily, I’m out! I quickly judge people based on their site. I’m sure not everyone is like this, but I skip content altogether if it’s bad. I’m working on getting over this habit, but I don’t see it stopping anytime soon.
I’m excited about the re-launch and seeing what the future brings with it. This blog is such a great way for you to communicate using your creative writing skills and share your ideas for living life to it’s fullest while saving for the inspiring future you are planning.
Yes, yes, and yes! Thanks for the supportive words!
I’m glad you got so much out of FinCon! The site looks great, and I really love the story you shared on your about page. Looking forward to following your adventures!
Thanks! Yes, I have a feeling FinCon will now be on the annual calendar. We had such a great time. (The fact it was in New Orleans probably helped too. 😉 ) Thanks for following along Erin!
I’m new to your blog but it looks good to me. I’m thinking about changing mine too. I actually just took the header pictures down today. Glad to hear your FinCon experience was great. I’m planning for my first next year.
Thanks! I can’t recommend FinCon enough. Worth every penny. Already making plans for next year, maybe we’ll cross paths!