I'm Back!

As you can see, I've been absent from my blog for almost four months now. I hate that I just left without saying anything, but I was really trying to figure out what I wanted to do. I love having this space where I can share photos and stories to look back at, and I love the friends I've made blogging. But with any form of sharing comes risks. I was starting to wonder if I wanted to continue having my daughter's face on such an easily-accessible website. And after receiving some strange Instagram comments, I decided to make my blog private and delete almost 1000 Instagram followers, keeping only those I knew. I really love blogging, but my child's wellbeing always comes first.

It's kind of one of those things that I'm sure comes up a lot in parenting; you want to keep your child safe, but know you also can't protect them from everything. Social media is just part of life now. It's not at all uncommon for people to post photos and stories of their children. And 99% of the time, it's a great thing! I love seeing photos of my friends and family and their little ones. I love sharing photos of Violet and my family. But sometimes that 1% of the ugly side of social media creeps in. People feel like it's okay to state any opinion they want, and it's almost opened up a whole new door to bullies.

But that made me think more, I would never want Violet to stop doing something she loves because of rude people or fear. Why let complete strangers decide for me? So instead of completely walking away, I've decided I'm going to keep my Instagram more of a private platform to share photos with people I know personally, and my blog can be more of an open space. It makes more sense to me to go about it with a bit more caution than to stop completely.

So I'm back! I can't promise I'll be posting every day or even every week (mom life is a busy one!) but I'm going to do my best to dedicate some time to Desert Darling. It's something I've put a lot of time and effort into and want to keep that going. So as long as it's a positive place for me to be creative and have some "me time," then I say why not!

So what have I missed in the blogging world? What's new with you all?

Currently

I haven't posted here in over a month, and that's something I never wanted to happen when starting this blog. One of the main reasons I started this was for myself to look back at thoughts and photos and current interests from my life, and now there is a whole month missing from that. I can blame it on being pretty sick for a while, or simply feeling uninspired. It's hard when you log on just to stare at a blinking curser on a blank screen, feeling like you have nothing at all to say, and just not feeling a purpose to it. But I have to remind myself why I started this blog in the first place. Even though it would be cool to become big and have a ton of followers, the real reason I do it is for myself. I enjoy doing it, and I enjoy looking back at what I've written. I want to use it to follow along what's going on in my life, and if I happen to make a couple friends and gain a couple followers along the way, then that's cool too.

No matter how life changes around you, I think it's important to keep some things for yourself that you love to do and that make you feel good. That's why I'm going to push myself to utilize this space and use it in whatever way makes me happy.

♥

Happy Birthday Blog!

It's official! I have been blogging on Sincerely, Cam for one year now! I'm pretty proud of my little blog! Mostly because I was able to find the drive to blog multiple times a week, which I wasn't able to do the first few months, and started to have fun doing it instead of worrying about it not being good enough and never going anywhere. I've learned so much since I first started, made so many blogger friends, and really feel like I'm starting to discover my voice as a blogger. I enjoy coming to this space so much and coming up with new ideas for it. Even if this blog never gets huge, I love having this space of my own to be creative, and love being able to look back to what I was thinking or feeling a certain day. 

Since it's been a year, I made a list of my personal favorite posts so far. And if you would like, I would love to hear what your favorite posts have been, what you don't care for, and what you'd like to see more of. I really would like to start more series and little things of my own, so your feedback helps a lot! 

Here's to a year of blogging, and hopefully lots more!

lets run away to the happiest place // our engagement photos

do you believe in magic // a fair day

all about tattoos // poise and click

dress like a nanny // benefit makeup review

PS. If you see in my archive that I've only been blogging for ten months, it's because I became insecure at one point and deleted my first two months of posts, which I wish I didn't do! I thought about waiting a couple months to celebrate a year, but since I've technically been blogging here for a year now, it makes sense to do it now :)

New Manicure and Thoughts on Blogging

How pretty is this nail color. It's OPI "If You Moust You Moust" from their Minnie Mouse Collection. I usually gear more toward darker colors like black or red for nails, so I thought it'd be fun to give something completely different a try. It's so vibrant and girly! Plus Joe noticed right away and said he loved them, so it was a good choice!

Anyways, I feel like recently I've been getting more and more into blogging and always thinking of things I want to write about. When I first started this blog, I felt stuck a lot and didn't post very often. I think because I was trying to live up to something and didn't want to bother if it wouldn't be "good enough." Now, I post almost every day. I feel a lot more confident just posting what I feel and not worrying if it doesn't meet a pretend protocol. And although I do plan on doing more "bloggy" posts in the future, I still want to come here to talk about my day, rant, and show off my new manicure. I really enjoy having this online space where I can do that whenever and however I want, and I think that's the whole purpose of having a blog!

So I don't have many followers yet, but I really appreciate the ones I do have, and want to  know more about the people who read my random little blog. Who are you? How'd you discover this blog? What do you enjoy reading most here? What would you enjoy me doing more of? Spill your guts, I want to know it all! And thanks so much for reading and following :)

ALSO- I removed the captcha thing from the comments, sorry if that was an annoyance! Thanks Tanya for letting me know about that!

Confessions of a Blogger

Emorie from Oh Whimsical Me tagged me to do the Confessions of a Blogger post, so here it is. 
I tag anyone who would like to post one, too :)

1. When did you first start blogging and why?

I actually had a blog before this one that I started when I was probably seventeen. I never knew what to post about and kind of abandoned it. Then earlier this year I decided to give it another go and start fresh with this blog. I really wanted to be committed to this one and take it seriously. I always really enjoyed reading other blogs, especially A Beautiful Mess, Sometimes Sweet, and Skunk Boy, so they're a lot of what inspired me to start blogging.

2. Have you had any past online presence?

Yes. I've had a Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and all of those types of websites forever. I really like having them but definitely prefer this space where I have so much more freedom.

3. When did you become serious about your blog?

Right when I started. I didn't want to just start another blog I was going to neglect. I knew I just wanted to keep up with it even if it meant constantly posting random photos of my day (which is what I do now.) I would love to become a more "professional" blogger eventually, once I learn more about it all. 

4. What was your first blog post?

I think it was a photo of my thigh tattoo. I had a hard time thinking of actual words to say and started just posting a lot of photos. 

5. What have been your biggest challenges blogging?

I sometimes have trouble thinking of things to post about. I worry if I go too long without posting I will lose peoples' interest. But on the other hand I don't want to post every day just for the sake of posting. So I'm trying to find a good balance there. Another thing that's been challenging is thinking of a "great" idea randomly like in the middle of the night or when I'm driving, then when I sit down to blog I completely forget what I wanted to say. 

6. What is the most rewarding thing about blogging?

So many things! I've met a lot of really cool people I wouldn't have otherwise. There are such sweet, caring ladies on this site that were so helpful to me when I was first figuring things out. I also love having this space to myself that I can write anything I want. Like an online diary I can share with people. 

7. What is the most discouraging thing about blogging?

Sometimes I get discouraged by seeing other blogs with such creative content, amazing photos, or a ton of followers. I feel like I will never be that good, and why would people want to read my blog if there are such better ones out there. But everyone has to start somewhere. And you can't expect to be the best right away. There will always be at least a few people who can relate and are interested in your content. I just have to remind myself that I do this because I enjoy it, not to be perfect or popular.

8. What is your lasting inspiration or motivation?

I always love posting photos of random days, trips, or new outfits I get. Joe and I always have a ton of fun running around with the camera and I always love sharing the photos.

9. What is your blogging dirty little secret?

I guess it would be to never limit myself to one specific type of blog. It doesn't fit under the category of fashion, cooking, art, or crafting, but those things will all make appearances. I just want to keep my options open and feel free to blog about whatever comes to mind.

10. What is your current goal as a blogger?

My goal is to always keep fresh ideas and content on the blog. I would really hate to be a blog that gets boring or repetitive. I think that's what turns a lot of people off of certain things. I just want to make sure I never run out of things to post about and can keep peoples' attention.

11. Have you learned or become passionate about anything through blogging that caught you by surprise?

I learned a lot about using photoshop, codes for websites, and designing things for Blogger. I know it is pretty self explanatory and easy for some people, but it took me a while to get the hang of it. Now I feel like I know it pretty well, which is great! I also became passionate about having pen pals, especially from other countries. I came across a blog a while ago and the girl mentioned she had pen pals, so then I posted saying that I wanted a few, too. I now have a bunch and get a lot of emails from people requesting to be pen pals. It's awesome! I am now obsessed with buying pretty stationery, and learning all about other people from handwritten letters.