Blog Hacker

I'm back! My blogger vacation wasn't really a vacation, let me tell ya. No fun in the sun for me. I spent the whole time on my laptop, playing with my blog template and sidebars and colors and fonts. It was work, baby!

But, in the words of my friend Misti Kallas over at Misti Kallas Designs (she makes lovely jewelry-check her out! I think she's in the middle of a blog-makeover, too) "I can now add blog hacker to my resume." I sure hope that doesn't put me on any watch lists. Blogger, ya hear me? I'm innocent!

Misti was fabulous, I couldn't have done it without her! She laid out the steps for me one at a time. I even got a little, um, overconfident and tried some new things, some that worked and some that didn't and some that worked but I didn't like. I am still in the experimental stage. Don't be surprised if you see a few minor tweaks in the next week. I was so proud of the that I put on my big girl boots and did it all by myself. I am not ready to hand over the credit card to have a professional design my blog, quite yet. The blog is going to have pay for that itself, and it's not at that stage, either. Besides, I love the creativity of design. In fact, I think I could make quite a hobby out of it- if I had a better grasp on what I was doing! My mom always said I should have gone into computers......remember, I was a self-publishing mini-mogul at 16! It's in my blood, I tell ya.

My new header tag line is Just a Cowgirl Blazing Trails. I thought that was very fitting for where I am in my journey back into the world of horses. But I can stretch that even further, and apply it to life. I think we all can. We are all blazing trails, in our careers, our relationships, our hobbies, our self-growth....it's an adventure. For some, the trail appears to be lit with fairy dust. For others, it appears to be rutted with potholes and steep climbs. I hope that whatever your trail has in store for you, you embrace the journey. Thanks for riding along on mine!

Okay, enough of the sappy stuff for now. Let me fill you in a little on how I plan, and dream, and hope that things are going to roll around here. Because I work full-time (I'm gone about 10 hours a day) and practically have to travel halfway across the country to see my horse (when there isn't two feet of snow on the ground) in order to post efficiently, I needed to make sure that I am well-organized. I am a writer at heart and have become a photographer at...eye. Goodness, that was bad. Most of the time I think out in advance what I am going to write about. Perhaps I am inspired by a story that evolves from my pictures or time spent with my horse or my family; or, something I have seen about horses in the media. Other times, I just have random, deep thoughts. Scary, I know.

So here is the general layout of how things will look each week. Because this is my creative outlet, I reserve the right to alter this course should something come up that I must post about, even if it doesn't fit on a particular day. I do not do that automatic posting. I am way too anal about how my text and photos look in each post to let blogger publish anything for me. That means if I miss a particular day because I am without Internet access, I will just miss it. Or, perhaps combine or double post the next day. I'll work it out when I cross that bridge. I teach preschoolers. Flexibility and inventiveness is my mantra.

Okay, here is the plan:

My Boy Monday~ Since I typically spend the weekend with my horse, I come back loaded with our adventures and pictures of them. It makes good sense to chronicle what we did on Monday.

Tuesday~ anything my little heart desires!

I Wonder Wednesday~ I tend to be over analytical. It's the psychologist in me. I often wonder about things, and wonder what you wonder about them. This will be my chance to bring up issues in the horse world and comment about them, or inquire of all of you for more information about a topic or help with an issue.

Thursday~ anything my little heart desires!

Fashion Friday~ Sounds a little like the latest reality show on The Learning Channel. Nope, just Pony Girl at heart again. I love cowgirl fashion, I love western and vintage home decor, I love horsey tack and stuff. In these recent times, I know that we are all being a little more conservative and are cutting back. But admit it, we horse people just can't seem to get enough of horsey stuff! So on Fridays, I hope to post horse or cowgirl things I have, have found and covet, or feature the talents and wares of fellow bloggers.

Saturday~ anything my little heart desires!

Simply Sunday~This will just be a picture day. Kind of like a Wordless Wednesday but on a different day (duh.) Just a simple picture that speaks for itself.

So, that is the layout, in a nutshell. Best laid plans, we'll see how long I stick to it. If I find that a schedule is too limiting to my imaginative spontaneity, I may give it all up and go back to Pony Girl blogging chaos within a week.

That is it for now...my new look for a new year! Since it is technically My Boy Monday I will end with a picture of him, doing his favorite thing in the whole wide world, with the hope I get to see him tomorrow!! Yippee!!