Ten Things I am Proud Of

Dominique Parenting and Kids, Thoughts Monday Listicles, tuesday thoughts, tuesday top ten

Monkey boy’s birthday cake.
Photo taken using my new Tamron 90 lens

There are many things which I am proud of. Some of the things that I can do now is due to hard work and lots of experiences gathered throughout the years. Here are 10 things which I am proud of.

My kids know that I love them and am there for them always
.
They look forward to spending 1 on 1 time with me daily and are enjoying their childhood. I am also the first person that they turn too when they need a hug or support.
That I know how to bake and cook.
These skills I picked up on my own and have been learning new bakes and dishes every month to add to what I know. I never studied Home economics in school as I did music elective instead and my mum didn’t really teach me cooking when I was young.
My ability in language and writing.

I’m certain that I inherited my linguistic ability from my mum as she too is an advent reader and loves writing too. I’m glad that through writing here on this blog I am able to share with my readers my thoughts and experiences.
Being able to set up a website from scratch and being a freelance blogging coach/web designer.
I only started learning HTML after Monkey boy was born and since then have moved on to learn how to use Adobe Illustrator and other tools for web design and creator. It has also helped me in creating a whole package of web creation + content delivery for my freelance clients.
Achieve the goals that I have set out in life.
I’ve started setting goals for myself since I was a teenager. I’ve always consciously work towards them and been able to achieve all that I have put my mind to.:)
Being able to support the family both physically and financially.
I’m sure that R’s glad that I am able to take care of the house and kids AND at the same time help supplement the family income.
Not giving up and going all out to pursue my passions.
Dream do come true although it may take a longer time then one expects. As long as I keep the fire burning for the passions that I have I’ll be able to be one day recognized as a prolific cook, baker, writer & photographer. I’ve already made steps towards being more professional in each area. This year I have invested in a macro lens and am learning how to take better food photography with it .
Surviving staying abroad for 4 yrs to finish my studies in Uni on my own
It was a trying period for me leaving the house at 16yr old to study but I survived and returned home with a Degree in commerce at 20 yrs old.

Celebrating Monkey boy’s 9th birthday
My family.I’m proud of their personal achievements and the joy and love they bring into my life on a daily basis.

Being part of the Singapore Mom Bloggers
It has been really fun to be part of this group of Mom bloggers and I have made many great friendships with the ladies there.

What are you proud of?

Top Ten Tuesday at Many Little Blessings

March 4, 2013

Keeping Motivated Blogging on a Monday

Dominique Parenting and Kids, Thoughts Monday Music Moves Me

Photo by Photoxpress.com

Yesterday Sarah of Not On My Own Anymore dropped by the blog and commented the following

Congratulations Dominique ! I hope one of these days you could write how you were able to attain the PR 3 status and how much of your day is spent on blogging . That will really help a lot especially who really want to earn from their blogs. Blessings and more power !

It feels really great to be able to inspire other bloggers to blog and show that certain blogging stats are indeed achievable.

I have been blogging for the past 10+ years and this blog dates back to 2007. Just after Doggie boy was born I decided to blog more as it helps me in chronologically listing down the kids milestones and share my passions in education, parenting, food and photography. I purchased my own domain and moved from wordpress.com to a self hosted domain. Prior to being on wordpress.com I was on blogspot too. I still keep those blogs even though they are now being used to note down other important events.

Maintaing a blog and driving traffic to it needs a lot of determination and discipline. Here are some tips which I am sharing that had help me move the blog to where it is today.

Blog regularly and have a blogging schedule which you follow.

Set out the type of posts/themes which you want to pursue and blog about things which you are passionate about.
I do a yearly blogging calandar and most of you who follow this blog know I do review my goals that I set monthly to see how I have been progressing.
Get social. Very social!!.
Having a blog alone is not enough. You too need to have your voice heard on other platforms like Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram , Facebook etc. Link up all your accounts so that they cross post to each other and it maximizes your reach on every post you make to your blog.
Keep abreast with the latest happening in the blogsphere.Join forum and/or follow popular blogs in your niche(s). It pays to be in on the constant changes in this digital world as you be alerted to the latest blogging opportunities which are suitable for you.
Take note of SEO and how to bring out your post so that it gives maximum benefit to the readers.Make your post easy to be searched and read. If your post are too lengthy break them up with pictures or create a short series on your chosen topic.
Be efficient with the time you spend online.
Since learning how to eliminate time wasters like facebook games, blog surfing etc. I keep focus to the task at hand ( Ie: churning out blog post) and complete it within the time which I allocate to myself. Being a full time mom with 3 different kids schedule to handle + housework + freelance work doesn’t give me many hours a day. I spend about 3-4 hours online each day to finish up all the necessary task which I need to do online. This time doesn’t come as a full blog but as a combination stolen minutes and hours. I do my bulk of blog posting during my golden 1-2hr lunch time whereby all the kids are off at school. On an off throughout the day I will check my social media outlets and respond to any queries or follow up on the work schedule with my clients.