Calling experienced bloggers!

I'm considering doing something crazy!

I am thinking about a blog make over. And not just a new look, but a completely new blog. A name change an everything. In fact, I might leave this blog up, and just start a whole new one altogether. I'm a little bit hesitant to do so though. I've already built such a great following with this blog and I'm not sure if I want to start from scratch. 

Although I know a whole lot more about blogging now and it wouldn't have to go through quite so many growing pains, I'm not sure if it's worth losing the following.

As experienced bloggers, what do you think? 

Should I just change my blog name and design, or start up a whole new blog entirely and start from square one again? What are the pros and cons of each? Help me!!

Sunday Social [Blogging Edition]

Hey there blog! It's pretty dang cold in Utah today...I'm sitting here at work, sipping my chai and all bundled up in a blanket! I hope you (yes you!) wherever you are, it's a little bit warmer and you aren't combatting with stupid drivers who don't understand snow driving, snow plows that are obviously confused, and cars that have frost on the inside. 

 It's been forever since I've done the Sunday Social, so I thought I might give it a shot today! I'm linking up with Neely & Ashley to tell you all about my bloggy!

1. What is the name of your blog? How long have you been blogging? 

My blog is called Camo-Colored Chaos. 

I have been blogging since March 2012! Almost an entire year now!!

2. Why do you blog?  
Blogging has been...amazing for me. It has been therapeutic, enjoyable, a way for me to write and get my words out there. I've been met with enormous support from all of my blog friends and I truly believe that my life has been changed by this blog and I hope that someday, my words have changed someone else's life. 

3. What is the first blog you ever followed? 
I don't remember! I followed a whole bunch of blogs at once when I started getting into blogging. I guess among the first were 

Ramblings Of a Marine Wife
My Marine and Me
&
Handling With Grace

4. What is your favorite post you wrote in 2012? 
This is a very tough question! I had to go through a ton of posts to find ya'll my favorite one. 

I decided on one that isn't the most serious of posts, but I remember having a great time writing it and it really made me reflect on who I am and who I will be in the future. Give it a read:

If I ever have children, they may not survive

5. What are your blogging goals for 2013? Keep at it. Grow my blog. Get some more sponsors. 

6. Top 3 favorite blogs to follow?This is also a tough one...There are so many blogs that I enjoy reading, but there's a few that I almost always read:

 Taingamala (Jane has a rocking new design! Loving it!)
I Wore Yoga Pants (Whitney makes me laugh outloud while blogging in my cube at work...)
Mess. Dirty, Hair (Kelly inspires me in so many ways!)

Don't forget to check out my sponsor giveaway I'm running! You could win a free medium silver locket from Tina Graham, an independent designer from Origami Owl! I have a locket that I won through a giveaway and I looove it and I know you will too! Enter to win today!

All about Bliggity Bloggin'

First of all, don't forget THIS giveaway going on at Life & Everything Else In Between.

It currently has low entries so you're chances of winning are very high! Head over and win 2 custom leather bracelets and a 25% dicount to my favorite shop on Etsy, Nay's Custom Leather.

Also, there is a cute lil' post all about me live on my bloggy friend Jane's Blog! Head over to Taingamla to check it out!

And another quick thing! Please, please, please visit my sponsor page to learn more about sponsoring me! Don't forget it is 100% FREE!

Now, onto the real post for today!

Last night, I had a friend IM me on Facebook and ask me a few questions about blogging. She is planning to start a blog of her own and was wondering how I got mine to be "so cute". Her words not mine! She also expressed that she had no idea what she was doing and would love some help.

I decided that now is as good a time as any to talk about all the things I wish I had known about blogging when I started doing it almost an entire year ago...

• I wish I had gotten someone to design my blog for me right away. I didn't know anything about HTML or formatting and it just wasn't coming together. It would have saved me a lot of frustration to just do it right away.
• I wish I had thought to make my e-mail match my blog name...It still doesn't and I wish that it did.
• I wish I had started sponsoring other blogs sooner! I only just barely started doing that and I've already seen results from it! I can't imagine what it would have done when I first started my blog.
• I wish I'd started up all the social media stuff right away. I stayed away from Twitter and a Facebook page and I don't know why! I love twitter and it's a great way to connect with other bloggers and build relationships.
• I wish I had known how much time blogging really takes...Lately, I haven't had a lot of time to blog and it has really been effecting how much I write and what I write...

Although there were a lot of things I didn't know, there were also things that I did right and words of advice I have for new bloggers, or really, any bloggers who care!

• Blog about whatever the heck you want. The best posts are written without a care in the world about what anyone would think about them.
• Link up with other blogs. It's so fun to meet other bloggers and read what they have to say about whatever given topic. And if you do link ups, do them as often as you want! It's your blog!
• Utitilize the "pages" feature (for blogger). I always like to look for an "About Me" section and learn a little bit about the author of the blog.
• Post pictures! Wordy blogs are great, but it makes it more fun to read when you have pictures of what you did (or made, or saw etc.) 
• Tell your story. Your readers like to think they know you. They know what you wear, what you do, maybe where you live etc. How ever vague you are with your story is up to you, but it's always more fun to read a blog where you feel like you're getting ot know the person your reading about!
• Most of all, enjoy it! When blogging becomes a chore and something you'd rather not do, you've got a problem! Make it fun for you. Post as often or as little as you want, follow other blogs, enter giveaways, and love blogging!

A Blissful Giveaway

To Celebrate my 50 (and beyond!!!) followers I am giving away a lovely giftcard to my cousin Jessica's Etsy Shop DefineBliss.

Jessica has been creating all of her amazing hand-made decor since May 2010. Since she started her shop, she has learned a lot about her craft. On top of this, she works a full time job where she is the sole trainer for a whole department and a Team Lead Supervisor. She works her butt off all day long at work and goes home to continue working.

Everything that she makes can be custom ordered and she has had nothing but satisfied customers! She is great at what she does. She truly puts her heart and soul into every project. I have personally seen the joy that she gets out of positive feedback or when she makes something that she is proud of. 

These are some of my favorite products!

This one is actually hanging up in my house!

And I'm asking for this one for Christmas....

I'll admit, I'm a little bit biased because she's my cousin and I love her. But you can see for yourself! Enter the giveaway and select your very own DefineBliss Product!

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/5a8cf11/

Thanks for being awesome and dedicated followers! I look forward to making new bloggy friends through this giveaway and I am so excited to giveaway this awesome present!

Post #100

Well, I made it. Post #100. 

You know, I really like big benchmark posts. That way I can reflect on what my blog has been thus far. It has been a lot of things for being so young. I've been at it for a couple days over 7 months and things have changed....a lot.

My entire life is different from the day I started this blog...It even had a different name!  I've come so far...and I've also regressed a lot. I've made mistakes and I've done a few things right. When I started this blog, I was really excited about my future with a boy.  I couldn't wait to be one of those popular MilSO blogs that a million people followed and always had a zillion comments.

Well, 100 posts later, everything is different. I don't care about having a million followers (Although, I am always happy to see that there is another person on this planet who cares what I have to say!) and comments are nice and I really love to get them, but I'm not blogging for fame. I'm blogging to survive my life and maybe start loving it again...

It's amazing to have documentation of the person that you were and the person that you are becoming...

I think that is probably the best thing about this blog. It constantly changes with the person that I am becoming. Each day and each experiance is shaping me into the person that I will one day be.  Sometimes, I think that we have to be someone that we don't like in order the find the person that we do like. It's like...dating yourself. You've got to try the wrong things to know what the right ones are. And you've got to date (and almost marry apparently) the wrong man to know that he's not the right one for you...

Today, things are getting better.  I'm still...discontent. But I'm working really hard not to be. I think that eventually, I'm going to be okay and I'll be better for it...And hopefully, I learn from my mistakes.  I guess I have this blog to remind me how I felt/feel. 

Things will continue to change every day...and I guess I want to keep it that way.

And BTW, if you're visiting from the Walkabout, I recommend you visit the pages at the top so you can understand what on earth I'm talking about!

Big Things Coming

I'm doing this thing where I put way too much food on my plate and then I try and force myself to eat it all in one sitting...I decided that I'm going to have to get a doggy bag and finish when I get home. 

That was a terrible metaphor for "I have way too many things to blog about and not a clue how to get it all out in one post" I have decided to take this one post at a time meaning that I'm pretty much spreading one post into 2 or 3 days.

First of all, I was nominated for an award! Holly over at The Marrow has nominated me for the Liebster Award. 

I want to thank her so much for giving me my first ever award! It's tough to try and make a name for yourself in the Big-Blog-World but I'm doing my best and things like this really boost my confidence!   I will be responding to the award in my very next post! Watch for it! It's coming.

Also, my new blog design is getting closer to being completed!

We've had a few little technically difficulties that have delayed my design, but it will hopefully be all ready very soon! Are you excited? I'm excited!

In other big bloggy news, I have just created a "likable" Facebook page for Camo-Colored Chaos!

My new blog design will have a cute lil' icon that you can click that will lead right to the page, but until then, you can click HERE "Like" my page. Understand that everything I've got going right now is suffering from some...growing pains. Hopefully I can get the kinks worked out soon enough!

Don't forget that I also have a Twitter and Instagram account. Are you following? 

Click HERE to follow me on Twitter

And search @camocolored to find me on Instagram!

Happy Social networking! 

Up-coming Posts To Look Forward To:

Award Reception Dealy

Family trip to Lagoon Amusement Park

My first Yoga experience (Awesome BTW!)

First Drill

And much more...Stay tuned!

Blog Stars!

***It's official, I'm getting my blog professionally designed and you will no longer have to suffer through the ugliness that is my blog! Yay!***

I've been trying to figure out what to post on my humble lil' bloggy for my entire work day and beyond, then as I scrolled through my feed, I discovered, it's the first Tuesday of the month! I can link-up with Ms. Monologues.  And you can too! I know that everyone wants to be a blog star, and now you can be :D

If your stopping by from the Blog Star Link-up, welcome to my blog! If I'm just a stop on your daily stroll through you blog feed, welcome back :)

My name is Katie 

That's me...In the First grade.

I've been blogging here since March and it's still kind of a mess. But I'm working on it.

You can visit my "About Me" section or the "Our Love Story" section to get my full story, but right here right now, here is the gist of my sitch.

I'm 19 going on 40. 

I'm in a long-distance relationship. 

I like to think that I'm wise beyond my years. Sometimes it's true,  and sometimes...well it's not. 

I joined the Army a couple of weeks ago! ( I leave for basic in several months.)

I have an iPhone that I am obsessed with. 

Despite my love for a neat organized house, my room is always a disaster. 

I play bluegrass mandolin from time to time (I used to be serious about it, but I see it more as a hobby these days.)

I try to quit drinking Coke every day, but every day I find myself at the vending machine buying one...

I love to make goals and achieve goals especially in the gym. 

I always plan to eat healthier each pay check. It lasts one or two days. 

I started this blog to document my life with my Marine, and it has morphed into something completely different and awesomer...is awesomer a word? It should be.

I love my lil' bloggy and I hope that you do too. 

Stay tuned for a whole bunch of changes around here including a new name, new layout, a grab-able button, and a whole bunch of other fun stuff.  

Thanks for stopping by to my little piece of the internet. I hope you enjoyed getting to know me. I know that I will enjoy getting to know all the many blog-stars that are out there!

The Bloggy Life

Yesterday, I got some good news.

On Tuesday, I get to go in for a consult appointment for the Army. Should they decide at this appointment that I am no longer broken and I can go the distance, I will begin processing for a waiver and I will become a Reservist for the United States Army. Boy, how things change.

When I started this blog, my intentions were to document my engagement, then my life with my Marine. I wanted it to be a place where I could talk about how I was preparing to build a happy home with my future husband and talk about how we survive this long distance relationship.

Things have definitely changed.  Like I said in my very first post, this blog is unlike others I have ever created. I wanted to actually talk about my life.

I have really gone through a lot of changes since I started blogging here. When I started in March, I was excited to be engaged, I missed J, I was jealous/sad/really lost. Things just weren't going well for me besides the fact that I was happy to have a ring on my finger.

Now here I am a few months later, feeling like a completely different person. I guess that happens a lot when you're this age though. Things have a way of switching up on you without notice. Really, it happens at all stages of your life, I guess.  Since I have started this blog I have...

complained a lot.
bought a bunch of thrifty things for my wedding.
been ridiculously unhappy with my life
been really happy with my life.
been unbelievably ungrateful for the things that I have.
gone to 29 Palms three times.
gotten broken up with.
made/planted a garden.
gotten back together with J (technically we're not engaged. But honestly, we might as well be...don't tell him that though ;))
decided to join a different branch and go to school.
taken the high road.
put a sewing machine in my room.
gutted my room of junk to prepare for a yard sale (It's tomorrow! I'm excited and sad...)
And I have been happier than I have ever been before...

Wow...what a flipfloppy blogger I am...

Happy 50th post to me!