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Goodbye 2008, Hello 2009
By Andrea | Wednesday, December 31st, 2008
Wow, what a year it has been around these parts. OHC HQ has definitely seen some things, shared some things, and just lived some things.
I had the idea for this blog for some time and started putting things into action around May-ish. It took months because I rely on my husband for coding and website related things. Plus, I wanted my site to work a specific way which he then had to tweak and create plugins so that it would happen.
September 1st my little site was born and it became more than I thought it would. My original idea was to just post recipes and things I created in the kitchen. During the months of site prep, I stumbled into the world of food blogging. I don’t mean recipe sites, I mean food blogging. People living healthy, real lives and enjoying it and taking pictures along the way for the rest of us to see. And when I say “real lives” I mean it. These are people who exercise and eat real honest food which includes wine, cheese, chocolate and so on. You can live a healthy lifestyle and still have those things. This appealed to me so much because I can’t stand diets and feel that all of them are bogus, set about only to make someone else money off of someone else’s insecurities. I decided that I was going to adopt this method of taking pictures of what I eat for every meal. Daily eats was born.
Then I thought I have more to share than just recipes and food pictures. Which is how Tuesday Tips and Flashback Fridays came to be.
And then I thought, “Andrea you try a lot of products and sometimes you love them and sometimes you hate them. Maybe people would be interested in that as well.” And so we have the Review section.
That’s a lot of stuff for my wee little blog who has only been around for 4 months.
In October I became a FoodBuzz member and was also accepted into their featured publisher program. Wow! Little me now has a title, business cards, and my little blog generates some extra cash. I’m still kind of amazed by that.
I also was provided the opportunity to work with Bryan and his wife, Linda, on their Cheaplander site. Occasionally I write food reviews for them which is an opportunity I am grateful to be a part of.
I’ve met lots of people through food blogging and am really appreciative of the support from Bobbi, Lindsay, and Erin who took the time to read my blog at its start and gave me the motivation to keep moving forward. If you are at all interested in food blogging, please check these ladies out.
And there’s the support from old friends, like Heather, Brenda, Monica, Becky, and CamTim who have been with me for a long time. From my personal blog which is gone into the ether, to my newest adventure of making OHC the best it can be.
Sometimes blogging can seem lonely because you have days where you feel like you are just talking to yourself. But when you have people who comment and support you, it makes things run that much smoother.
Of course I can’t go without mentioning my husband who supports me more than anyone else and always has my back. And who is responsible for getting this site up and running the way I had envisioned it.
I am really grateful for everything this site has taught me and it’s been a lot.
Site related, my goals for 2009 are:
- A new site design.
- Better planning for recipes and articles.
- Get my office in order so planning and organizing become easier, allowing me to think more clearly.
- Make the site the best it can be.
- Make navigation easier so people can access all the sections ( I don’t think people realize the daily blog exists even though I mention it a lot).
- Post more recipes!
I am ready to tackle the new year head-on and put more energy and focus into this blog of mine. Feedback is welcome, if there is something you would like to see or if there is more of something you would like to see, just let me know. I take everything into consideration.
If your interested, I have a list of more personal goals (diet and exercise related) over here.
I wish you all a very Happy New Year and thank you so much for taking the time to read my little home on the web. Looking forward to 2009 and all it has to offer!
Cheers!
Topics: Site | 7 Comments »
And now a few words from our sponsor…
By Andrea | Tuesday, September 16th, 2008
Hey guys! So we just got power back (which had kicked off Sunday at 3pm thanks to Ike) and have been running around like crazy getting everything back to normal over here at OHC HQ. It’s going to take me some time to get things updated and to catch up. I should have everything updated by tomorrow afternoonish. I hope! Thanks for hanging in there with me!
Topics: Daily Eats, Site | 2 Comments »
Welcome to Off Her Cork!
By Andrea | Wednesday, August 27th, 2008
In a previous life I had a blog where I talked about this, that, and that other thing. A good bit of that blog talked about cooking. What I had made, what I was going to make, how I was going to make it, you get the picture. Sometimes I even posted my grocery list. I’m that kind of crazy about cooking. “What if you did a cooking blog?”, Scott said to me a couple months ago. “Do you think I could?”
“Why not?”
And here I am, trying my hand at the concept of being a food blogger. I’m a bit nervous putting my recipes and ideas out there for the world to see, but I decided to grow a pair and just do it. I love cooking. It’s a part of who I am. It’s my very essence. If I’m unable to cook for a while, I start to get really cranky and a bit unpleasant to be around. Because I cook so much and talk about it to Scott constantly, I’m sure this is what prompted his suggestion.
With this blog, I want to share recipes and ideas with others. It’s also a tool for me to gather information and learn from other’s experiences. I am always learning and researching about food. I’m always cooking. Growing up in a really small farming town didn’t allow for much exposure to things (you mean tuna doesn’t always come in a can?!). It wasn’t until I moved out and away that I really began to experience cooking and had the ability to explore different ideas, ingredients, and techniques. Some things that I have now grown to love and consider staples, are things I have only recently been able to get.
I never write anything down, I just cook. I don’t even measure stuff unless I’m baking. Toss this in there and add some of that and do this, presto, food! And I realized that I really should start keeping track of what I do and how I did it so that I can do it again. Having a cooking blog is a way for me to archive my ideas and the things that I make while at the same time sharing them.
Consider it my own little online recipe box and archive of things that I discover along the way.
Topics: Site | 6 Comments »