Hi, my name is X and I have Blogger's Envy...

Yes, I said it, well, technically typed it but regardless, it's now out there.

I started blogging over 2 years ago but only got into it in earnest at the beginning of 2012. I was overrun with ideas and 'newbie' enthusiasm and spent a large amount of time dreaming about what to write and wether it was actually worth reading.

I joined networks, I joined groups, I researched, I linked, I linkey'd, you name it, I probably did it, thought about it or planned to do it. It turned into an obsession.

In the middle of February I contracted conjunctivitis in both my eyes which meant that even looking at my phone screen was ridiculously painful so I stop blogging.  It also meant that I looked like I'd been smoking something dodgy and had crusty eyes in the morning.  Sexy!  I could feel the cobwebs growing (in my blog!) and I was itching to compose my latest post, dreading the idea that my hit rate would go down or even worse, that people would loose interest. In my daily life I am a pretty straight down the line individual who would look at people like me and think 'what a nutter!'.  For goodness sake, it's only a page on the Internet anyway!

Well, it isn't. It's my release. A way of expressing myself and of improving my writing skills and ultimately setting me on the right track to penning that novel I've also dreamed of.   I could see it all unfolding before me eyes.  A Kindle book in the next few years that I could call my own would be a dream come true.

One thing I did forget to mention though is the extremely minute thing called a day job. Yes. I'm a mom, I am self-employed and run a business with my business partner.  I work 4 days a week but this means that I have 4 full days that I can't blog.  That is probably 35 hours that I am not able to blog.  After fetching my daughter from nursery in the evenings I make dinner and then put my daughter to bed.  From about 8pm I make an attempt to relax and wind down from the day, doing my best to stay away from the computer, but ultimately I spend 2 or 3 hours either blogging, reading blogs or tweeting.  You see, it's a bit of a catch-22 situation when you love doing something but you also need to spend time with your husband and not hide behind a computer screen, tapping away on the keyboard like a woman possessed.

I need to realise that I am a working mom who blogs as a creative outlet.   I can't let it to consume me.  My weekends need to be focused around my husband and daughter who are my number one priorities.  Having my daughter sit on my lap while mommy is blogging completely unfair to her. No, I don't have my husband sitting on my lap when I blog, for those of you with filthy minds!  These are moments that I will never get back and as much as my blog makes me happy, sharing time with my daughter and husband is far more important.  Blogging needs to be worked into evenings, nap times and Sunday mornings when my husband is cycling and my daughter visits her granny.  

So, with all that said, I do honestly think that if I can get the balance right, I can have a fabulous work/family/blog balance.  I can still do all the posts, meme's, reviews, competitions that I want without having to be glued to the computer 24/7.  Besides, I have an iPhone.  My blog and Twitter are only a tap away if either of them need me! ;)

Ax