{24 Days} Day 24 ~ Happy 1 year Blogavesary

Today is the day, my blog The Myrabev Life is 1 year old. I can not believe how fast time flies when you having fun. Apart from the giveaway I started at the beginning of this month I am not doing anything instead I want to take a step back and just appreciate all the work that has gone into The Myrabev Life and A July Dreamer. It has not been easy it's been tiring and at times time consuming but I have now learnt when to take a break and not burn out and that's what I will be doing in this week. It's a week of thanks so I will be doing my thanks in the background and hopefully come back more refreshed next week. I have two book reviews scheduled for this week on TML but other than that is relaxing time and stepping away from the net.

owner unknown

a Rafflecopter giveaway I wish you a wonderful week and a blessed thanksgiving to those celebrating and for those not enjoy the black Friday.

{24 Days} Day #18 ~ Dont go with the crowd

Fashion sense

Relationship advice

Me

Jewellery 

Products I love

When I started blogging I had no idea what direction I wanted to take, I thought maybe I should do fashion because people compliment my dress sense which if I am honest and seeing the many posts on the blogsphere I am not that great but its unique to me. I thought maybe I could do makeup and beauty products, well the make-up part failed miserable because though I do wear it now and again I am not really that into it but I do love beauty products and am sure you have seen my many posts on my main blog A July Dreamer. I was very confused when I started, I wanted my little piece of heaven to fit in somewhere. I have never been like that before in real life so I do not know why I wanted to be this on the blogsphere. Almost all the bloggy advice I read always talked about 'finding your blog niche' define it by plonking it in a category, some bloggers have even gone as far as said 'Lifestyle blog' is not really a category its for the undecided. I struggled with this for a while because I did not want to limit my blog to just say 'make-up' or 'out-fit' posts and there is nothing wrong with that I believe each to their own. When I chose to create my blogs I wanted to share me and the 4 corners of my world not just my love of nail polish or my addiction to jewellery or lipstick. I wanted to share my love of 'food', 'books' and share some motivational posts and personal confessions that might help someone somewhere, my advice to new and oddie bloggers is 'don't go with the crowd, follow your own path'. If you want a fashion blog only, do that if you want mummy blog only do that do not follow the crowd follow yourself. I love my blogs because both are LIFESTYLE and PERSONAL and I intend to keep them like that. I want to share all my loves, pevs and wants, I know it wont always be everyone's cup of tea but that's ok 'each to their own'.

Did you ever feel pressured to fit into a certain 'NICHE' or did you know already what you wanted to share or have it just developed along the way?

{24 Days} Day #16 Join a Hop & improve blog visibility

Hi there and welcome, we getting closer and closer to my 1 year anniversary celebrations for The Myrabev Life, most of you know I celebrated my 1 year anniversary for A July Dreamer in July so I am pretty excited to be able to celebrate for The Myrabev Life. As bloggers we all start out very innocent and mostly we just start our blogs as a place to share our inner thoughts, the other side of the moon etc and rarely do most start to be recognised. I for one started my blogs as extensions to my personality and wanted to share the love I have for certain people, things etc. But at some point in time we want our blog to be visible because of all a sudden we want to be in a same league as our fellow bloggers who have become friends and I think the best way to go about it is via a blog hop. There are countless blog hops in the blogosphere and the only thing stopping us from finding them and joining them is us. This week I am fortunate enough to be co-hosting this hop (The Chain Linky Climb) and I wanted everyone to come and join this amazing hop. I have been linking up for as long as I can remember so its nice to be able to co-host it.

Tweet #ChainLinkyCLIMB
<a href="http://www.godsgrowinggarden.com/p/chain-linky-climb.html" rel="”nofollow”" target="_blank"><img alt="God’s Growing Garden" src="http://i1145.photobucket.com/albums/o501/AngieOuelletteTower/Sponsors/Climb200_zps6c2cafff.jpg" /></a>

  WELCOME! It's the month long Networking Blog Hop  With our 13th CLIMB GIVEAWAY! Networking means helping each other grow!!  If you want to promote a CLIMB link, then use #ChainLinkyCLIMB on Twitter or Google+ so that we can all help each other grow! Here's how the Giveaway & Co-hosting works - the co-hosts from the previous month's CLIMB will have the opportunity to participate in a Giveaway during the next CLIMB - that gives co-hosts 2 months in a row of blog growing fun!!  (If you would like to co-host please sign up at the end of this post using the last "Linky")  Please enter below -one person will win:

- $10 Target Gift Card from Sew Crafty Angel
- $5 Starbucks Coffee Gift Card from Cuddlebug Cuties 

- 1 Ad Space on A Peek Into My Paradise for 30 days - $30 value

- Turbo Sponsor Spot on 100lb Countdown - $10 value

- 1 Ad Space on Butterfly in the Attic - $15 value
- $10 Gift Certificate to PostcardsInTheAttic

- 1 Monthly Ad Space on God's Growing Garden - $15 value
- A beautiful Heart Shaped Gemstone Necklace with a raw Unakite/granite gemstone from Lake Michigan by ShorelineDesigned - $15 value
- "My Cookie Creation Countdown" ebook - $3 value
- "Making Your Own Cedar Roping or Pine Garland" ebook - $2 value
- "G.K.C.C. Gourdon Kringle Christmas Company" Children's Picture ebook - $4 value
- a beautiful handmade "Coffee Cozy"($5 value)  by Kaitlyn from Three Sisters & Us
- 1 Sidebar Ad Space on "Heartbeats~Soul Stains" - $10 value

Coffee Cozy by Kaitlyn from "Three Sisters & Us"

PERSIMMON SPLOTCH HEART SHAPED GEMSTONE NECKLACE -

Persimmon Splotch - Raw Unakite/Granite Gemstone, Lake Michigan Heart Shape Stone, 22 Carat Gold Grommets on Brass Bead Ball Chain Necklace

What a thrill it was to find this colorful and heart shaped persimmon splotched raw Unakite/granite combination gemstone in Lake Michigan!

I have 5 mm drilled a hole to fit two 22 Carat gold grommets which house two NuGold tarnish resistant large brass jumprings, and strung it onto a brass ball bead chain. The chain undone measures 25 inches, and as worn including stone will hang 14 inches. As seen in the last picture, the stone has a nice flat back which will rest nicely as worn.

by ShorelineDesigned

Gift Certificate to "PostcardsInTheAttic": "Travel back in time with Postcards In The Attic to a time when your purchases included fanciful detail and wholesome charm. Enjoy our beautiful vintage, antique and handmade postcards."

All 3 of these ebooks by Angie Ouellette-Tower


Total prize value is $134!!

CLIMB Giveaway Rules & Conditions: - this is open worldwide (void where prohibited) - You must be 18 years or older to enter  - You MUST have a blog to win the Ad spaces (otherwise these will become a second place prizes)

- You must live in the lower 48 of the United States to win the Necklace & the Cozy (otherwise these will become  second place prizes)
- Any tax or shipping costs going above the amount of any gift certificate will be the winner's responsibility

- This Giveaway is open from October 31st, 2014 until November 30th, 2014

- Winner must respond to email within 48 hours or a different winner will be chosen

- Giveaway Hosts & Co-hosts can NOT enter this Giveaway!, however - NOVEMBER 2014 CLIMB blog hop co-hosts ARE allowed to enter this Giveaway (provided they are not also part of the Giveaway)

- correspondence is done through email and the winner's email addresses will only be used to deliver or set-up e-prizes.  Email addresses will NEVER be sold or shared.

- All prizes will be delivered by the contributing Bloggers/Shop Owners.

- if you have any questions or concerns about this Giveaway please email one of the hosts:

Angie:  angeliquetower@gmail.com

Angel:  sewcraftyangel@gmail.com

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Now onto the CLIMB (blog hop): We have changed it up a bit - instead of linking your homepage you may now link up to 4 of your family friendly blog posts per month!!

 

By participating in this blog hop your understand that your link might be promoted on social media.  Also, by participating in this blog hop your email address will be added to our CLIMB list & you will be sent an email reminder next month. 


Remember - If you co-host you will receive a free Weekly Sidebar Ad and your blog button will appear on both Angie's blog & Angel's blog!!
(The Ad will run live a few weeks after you have co-hosted)

Sign up to receive emails about the CLIMB

{24 Days} Day #11 ~ 11 Months Ago

When I started this blog off my main blog A July Dreamer, I had an idea of exactly what I wanted to share on this blog. I wanted this blog to be more about my Personal Confessions to connect and maybe help others out there and also I wanted to share some of my insights on Relationships be it long distance or otherwise. I also wanted to share my journey towards being healthy and share some of the (self) Motivation that I have to achieve certain health goals in my life. Have I stuck to that original plan? maybe! maybe not but one thing I do know is that it has been a process and one that I have and still am enjoying. I have learnt so much from so many people that visit this blog, who read and comment either on here or privately and for that I am grateful. I feel very blessed to have this platform where I can share whatever I want, write whatever I please and though judgements are there at most I do not give a damn. This is my little piece of haven and I love it. I have always talked about how its being easy for me to make friends though not always the right ones all the time but friends nonetheless. Starting A July Dreamer and this blog The Myrabev Life has been the best decisions I have made in a very long long time, I have enjoyed making 'virtual friends' I have enjoyed talking to people with same 'beliefs',  'intellect' and 'drive. So what has happened in the last 11 months of The Myrabev Life?

November 2013: I volunteered to help a local charity for thanksgiving to clean up a riding school for disabled children.

December 2013: I attend my first ever blogger event hosted by Next store, thought I did not blog about it on this blog I shared it on A July Dreamer. And attend another event for 'The princes' charity' hosted by in love with fashion and etailPR.

January 2014: On the 5th day I parted ways with the company I was working for, my dreamer Job was gone and I was devastated.

February 2014: I got my now new dream job, better than I could have ever imagined or even dreamed of. I am got the most devastating message of my life.

(c) Owner unknown

March 2014: I was recognised at work for work well done and I could not be happier, life was TOUGH and it was HARD but no one was the wiser I kept the lid on it and life went on.

(c) Owner unknown

April 2014: We celebrated my brother's 25th, we had an amazing Easter with family and friends.
May 2014: We confirmed and booked our family holiday/church convention to Germany, I was so excited this was the first family holiday (though my brother was missing) Mum, Dad, little sister and I went on a holiday in over 15 years.

June 2014: We attended the church convention in Munich Germany (I am still yet to blog about it) and spent a couple days extra enjoying the town and meeting friends.

July 2014: Cancelled my trip to paris and swapped it for something better  -my nephew, my brother and his wife brought he down for the weekend and I took him shopping. This was money well spent, last weekend my brother was telling me of how much my nephew loves the trucks I got him. Feeling = priceless and beats paris any day of the week.

August 2014: We celebrated my sister's birthday and I met up with my friends in Sheffield where we partied for 2 nights straight life pros (though being one of the eldest in the group I felt the fatigue).

September 2014: Made my first ever trip to Zambia alone, I bought and paid for my own ticket with my own hard earned cash. I am still very happy about this, my dream of being able to do this has come and pasted and I met with my lovely family and friends so that was a bonus. Also celebrated mum's 50th so proud of this old lady.

October 2014:  1st day celebrated Dad's 51st and though was still in Zambia for most of it but came back to a new house and a new me was born, I have been cooking every day since I returned and I have loved every minute of it. Today I created a totally new recipe of my own and I ain't sick yet (haha). Also we celebrated 50 Years independence and mourned our 5th Zambian President. Happy and Sad times all in one month such is life.

#Dinner is served #cooking bacon beef steak and #rice with the @DegustaboxUK cooking kit #foodblogger #foodflirt #food #healthy #recipe #eats #feedme #instafood #foodphotography #foodgram #foodporn #healthyliving #healthy

A photo posted by A July Dreamer (@myrabev) on Nov 11, 2014 at 10:43am PST

The past eleven months have been a trial but they have also been a blessing in disguise, I will not claim that it was easy but my pure determination and want for a better future drove me to where I am now.

How have your last couple of months being? Did you start 2014 on a good note? How do you intend to finish 2014 (God willing)?

{24 Days) Day #7 Lessons Learned ~ Once bitten twice shy

When I started blogging I had so many ideas of what I wanted to call my blog, as months went on found myself in need of a new name because I did not feel the name I had for my blog fit who I was (am) at the time and/or what I wanted to portray. My main blog AJD was originally called ‘Myrabev’s world’ this quickly changed to ‘Myrabev against the world’ then changed to ‘purely-by-accident’ (I am sure I have skipped a couple of names in there). I stayed with PBA for almost 9 months before I decided to change it to AJD. Now what I did not do before changing my blog name and URL was research, I think if I had researched this thoroughly I would not have experienced the heartache of every new blogger ‘losing comments’ and ‘losing followers’ – I know people say if they were true followers they would have found you and moved with you but it’s kinda hard when the URL does not work and due to too many name changes people do not know what to search for. Anyway here are some of‘do not do’ tips for new bloggers (even the oldies who might not know).

@Reese22 blogger is where I lost it all and I did it incorrectly because I was using Google+ comments
— Myrabev (@MyraBev) November 2, 2014

Google+ comments: If you have installed and use google plus comments do not and I repeat do not change URL before switching the google+ comments option off first. I did receive the warning but I did not fully understand it and I was eager to change the URL to match my blog name. I lost all my comments (even if there weren't that many) but I was utterly devastated, I felt like I had lost the connection with my readers, some had shared some wonderful thoughts with me and that was the most important part, the message in those comments not necessary the comment themselves to be honest.

Bloglovin: If you change your blog URL make sure you e-mail bloglovin helpdesk and inform them of this change, obviously they will do security checks which prove you're the owner of the said blog but it’s totally worth it because if your blog URL does not match your bloglovin URL it becomes a problem of soughts e.g. none of your posts from the URL will be displaying.

Other social media:  Remember, who the tweets with the old URL will become invalid in that if someone clicked on them they would go nowhere. Remember to go back and change the URLs (if possible) hence important to do this at the beginning or not at all. If other networks depend on your ‘old URL’ they will no longer be able to reach you so it’s important to be mindful of this.

These are my three top tips of what not to do or what to be aware of when changing URLs etc. What are some of your tips of what not to do?

{24 Days} Day #4 ~ How to promote your blog

Over the last couple of months I have learnt the art of promoting my blog, I am not saying I have perfected it or even know how to do it better I am saying for 'me' I have learnt what seems to be working for me. I do not have 2k or even 10k views a day I have 200 to 500 and for me this is HUGE to some this is peanuts which is fine by me 'each to their own'. I never thought my blog would be where it is now in a million years, I had hoped and dreamed of it reaching somewhere near to where it is at now but never knew how to get their. So now that we have settled that let me share a few ways I promote my blog;

#bloggers how do you promote your blog? What tools do you use? #blog #lbloggers @fashbeautylife @UKBlog_RT
— Myrabev (@MyraBev) November 2, 2014

Facebook - love it or hate it, it is one of the biggest ways to promote your blog. Some people get a lot of traffic from social networks like Pinterest but I am yet to get such traffic from it but then again I hardly pin things. I have joined a couple of facebook pages (I would like to mention but not sure if allowed so will skip this part) but these facebook pages have really helped drive traffic to my blog and helped me make friends who check out my blog not because I shared a link but because I have become a part of their morning routine (checking out other blogs) as they have mine. If you don't have a facebook page for your blog I suggest you get one but don't neglect your normal account because it usually starts with family and friends.

Family & Friends - Almost all my close friends and friends of friends now read my blog via word of mouth. I had a friend of a friend the other day PM me to say 'thank you for being so inspirational continue blogging I love waking up to read your blog' I was taken aback because though I hope my blog touches or even helps someone's life I did not think or even imagine ever hearing such words it is truly amazing.

Advertising - most people use PassionFruit Ads (I did too until recently), check out bloggers in your niche first and see what those blogs offer and how much readership they have etc and then invest some money into appearing on their side bar. Don't only stick to small bloggers think big and go large but remember not all will accept so be ready to accept that.

Twitter/Instagram - for the last two months I have seen a great increase in traffic from twitter and even IG. I am so glad about this hence its included, I use Hootsuite to schedule my posts (I have hash tags all set up) and this has made all the difference.

Affiliate networks - I met one of my now best friend (yet to meet in person) on an affiliate network, we have been chatting for over a year now and I feel so close to her than I do with most people I have know for a long time.

There are so many ways to promote/drive traffic to your blog and the few mentioned above have worked for me quite well. What other ways do you promote/drive traffic to your blog? What has worked for you?

**Don't forget I have a giveaway ongoing, win £15 amazon gift card** a Rafflecopter giveaway

{24 Days} Day #2 - How to manage time and schedule posts

When many people start blogging (including me) they always wonder how the 'older bloggers' do it producing blog posts every day. My first advice is don't post daily just to keep up with other bloggers - this took me almost a year to learn, blog when you have good content. I do not know how true this is but am told usually its best to produce a content worthy post with no less than 500 words and apparently google looks favourably on this but do not quote me as I can not remember my source. This is not good content, me talking about 500 words post without even including a link or a google search to support my claim of knowledge. Good content is talking about things that you have at least the basic knowledge of and though not necessary something everyone talks or has talked about but also something you and/or others have proven. New bloggers always wonder how people manage to blog when they have other jobs, this is not easy I can testify but it is not hard either if you learn to manage your time (how ever little) and learn to schedule your posts.

Learn to manage your TIME

This as a new blogger can be one of the hardest things to learn because you always feel like you need to be blogging to keep up, as I have mentioned before 'blog as often as you can produce good quality content' and I am not claiming that I do but I am learning. Blog because you want to and not because you want to copy other people. We all have bloggers we admire and we all have ideas of where we want our blog to be and what level we want to reach. I learnt to manage my time when I went to uni, when I finished I carried this skill with me. When I started blogging I would wake up 5am and start to write a post and have it published by 6am as my bus to work was 6.50 so needed to shower and walk to bus stop in 20 minutes. Then at break time I would share on twitter and that was it. When I returned home after work I would spend almost 3 - 4 hours reading other blogs and commenting on what I could and so forth. But lately my workload has increased ever since changing companies and I usually do not have time to promote my blog or even write a post. I still wake up at 5 (sometimes 4am due to insomnia) and still work on my blogs after work to some this is not enough but for me it is unless I have lots of posts I want up. In instances where I have too much I decided to dedicate a weekend a month to my blogs where I would write up all my posts (providing I don't suffer blogger's block) and schedule them to post on days I choose.

How to schedule posts (in blogger)

I remember one morning reading one of my favourite blogger's post when I stumbled upon her answer to a question about how she manages to produce blog posts every day (she posts twice to thrice a day) and also manage to run a successful youtube channel. Her response was simply this - I schedule my posts. Since then I was on a mission to learn how to schedule posts, I turned to youtube to find if there were videos showing how to schedule posts and sure enough they were. It was so simple that I laughed to myself, I was so worried it would involve some 'code writing' so was happy to learn it is not. So how do you schedule posts in blogger?

Blogger
So I am assuming you have written your post and now ready to schedule it for the date you want.

• On the right hand side of the screen there is a tab called schedule, click this button to reveal two options (automatic or set date/time). Automatic - posts will publish as soon as you hit the publish button.

• Click on set date and time to reveal the calendar and the time, choose the date and time of your choice and click done.

• So now you have set the date and time you want the post to appear, click publish - do not worry it will not publish there and then so long as you put the date and time you want plus clicked done you're fine.
• Once published, go to your posts tabs and you will find another added tab called scheduled click on this tab and you will (should) find the post(s) you have set to appear on a certain date and time.
  

And this is how you schedule posts in blogger. Did you find this how to post useful? Have I missed out important steps that you do? Please share your tips on managing time and how you schedule posts. I am happy to share how to schedule posts in wordpress if you interested, let me know in the comments section.

{24 Days} Day #1 ~ What have I learned

Happy 1st November, I can not believe that in less than 10 weeks time it will be christmas. Let us give that 10 minutes to sink in, yes 10 weeks and I have not even started buying cards or presents. I know to some people 10 weeks is far far away but for someone who works 9-5 and only has weekends to do anything its not much. Ok now that it has sunk in lets get back to today's post.

Friday #lunch I took it another level lol now I added fried pork pieces to wait for it| jacket potato with cheese, tomato & Basel soup and self made salads #recipe #food #foodflirt #cooking

A photo posted by A July Dreamer (@myrabev) on Nov 11, 2014 at 12:56am PDT

I have started a new series for this blog called 24 days (I know very original - insert rolling eyes here), in exactly 24 days The Myrabev Life will be celebrating its 1 year anniversary and I am so excited. I can not believe that this blog will be a year old soon, when I started this blog on the back of my main blog A July Dreamer (Then called Purely By Accident) I wanted it to be a place where I shared more personal posts like my Personal Confessions, I wanted to share my Book Reviews, Relationship Advice and also my Healthy Habits and Food choices. This blog has evolved to more than I thought possible and honestly I am very happy with where I am at and the direction I am taking my blog. To kick start my new series I wanted to share with you what I have learned so far on this journey and this is not to say I know it all just my 2 cents worth.

Post by Myrabev.

• I have learned Patience in blogging is very important, things take a while and hard work before you start to notice the fruits of your labour and if you are one of the lucky few then you will see it sooner.
• Setting Monthly Goals to help you stay on top of what you want to accomplish. They do not have to be monthly goals they could be weekly or even yearly.
• Success doesn't happen overnight - I am not saying that I am success or even claim to be but giving my two cents here. I feel I have accomplished so many of my goals I set myself when I started and I am very proud of that.
• Socialise and Interact - It is very important to always socialise with the blogging community and readers. When someone comments on your blog reply like as soon as you see it and if its fellow blogger and they have left a link to their site then go visit them and return the courtesy.
• Simple is better - I personally think its important to keep things as simple as possible

Many a people have started blogging for so many reasons and some its only to make money which is not bad but you need to be willing to put in the work. If you started to blog so you can get free stuff then I am sorry to be the one to say it doesn't come as easy as many big bloggers make it look or sound. I have gone through a period where I have applied for so many things and got nothing, why! because I just wasn't what they were looking for. Brands have a certain type of bloggers they look for and to be able to be that kind it takes time and a lot of work and social networking.

These are my two cents on what I have learnt so far, this is not an exhaustive list but my top few. What advice would you give a new blogger?

Week 9: Happy Belated Anniversary

Hello my lovely guys&dolls, firstly I would like to apologise to my readers for being MIA for the last two weeks and not really putting my heart and soul into my blogs. So many things have happened in my life that I can not share with you my readers but do not despair as God is looking after me.

Embracing the afro in 2014

Anyway back to today's post, my partner and I celebrated 6 years on sunday 19th and let me tell you it has been the best 6 years of my life and I cant wait to see what God has got planned for us for our future. Most of you know our story but if not check it out here, I can not believe how far we have come because we still treat each other and feel like we still in our honeymoon phase which is a wonderful feeling.

Cambride, UK

Before I met my partner I had dated some guys who made me feel bad about my self and I didnt appreciate myself enough, it took a while before I was comfortable in my own skin. I am so grateful that I had a chance to kiss a few frogs before I found my partner because I appreciate my partner more. I think he came into my life at the right time not too late or too early just at the right time.

I am blessed to have what I have and to be where I am right now in my life, I am so excited about the next phase Marriage...Kids...etc and I pray I will get to experience this with my partner who has brought so much into my life and I am eternally grateful.

Do not get me wrong not everyday is perfect but its what we do about it and how hard we fight to get together that makes all the difference in the world. My advice to anyone is pray for you,your family/partner then your relationship. Always get God's opinion on this in your life, on sunday when we were at church the priest mentioned in the semmon that we all need "salt" in our lives to give us "flavour" and "tasteful" and God is the right kind of salt. This word stayed with me and my partner so much that  we were able to reflect on this for our relationship and I am happy we started our anniversary with a visit to the good lord's house.

we spent the rest of the beautiful day walking around cambridge then dined at a Brazilian resturant to sit, eat, drink and reflect on where we've come from and plan where we going.

I finished the day off by inviting Bruno mars to my eyes and replayed "Treasure".

Thank you for reading my post, see youin my next one.