How to Create a Self-Hosted WordPress Blog | My Guy Friday Guest Post

Posted on May 17, 2013 in My Guy Friday | 0 comments

If you’ve ever talked to me about my blog, I’ve probably mentioned that My Guy is also my very essential IT guy. This week for My Guy Friday, he has graciously agreed to share what you need to set-up a WordPress blog.

If you want to stand out and be seen as a professional blogger, now is the time to transition away from your Blogger or WordPress.com account to a “self-hosted” blog. Self-hosted simply means that you have your own domain name that is hosted somewhere, rather than using a service like Blogger. So, here’s what you need to do to bring your blog to the next level.

Think of a name for your blog

To create a self hosted blog, the first thing that you should do is to give it a new name. Your blog’s name is called a domain, which is the address that people will use to find your blog (e.g., www.yourblog.com).  When thinking of a name for your blog, keep in mind that incorporating keywords into your blog’s name can help improve your visibility with search engines, which drives more traffic to your site.  Think of keywords as the words or terms that people search when looking for content on the web. For example, marysblog.com doesn’t contain any keywords unless someone is specifically searching for “Mary’s blog”.  A better domain name would be www.maryshomedecor.com, assuming that Mary’s blog focuses primarily on home decor.  You should try to come up with 3-5 names in the event that your first few choices aren’t available.

Determine if your blog name is available

Once you come up with some ideas for your new domain name, you need to see if it is available.Visit:  www.GoDaddy.com  or 1&1 Internet, Inc. to look for your name.

Tip: Stay away from using dashes or hyphens in your name.  Think of how it would sound if someone asks you the address of your website. 

If your name is available, then move to the next step.  If not, keep working through your list until you find something that is available.

Claim your name

Now that you have found a good name for your blog, you need to claim or register it to prevent anyone else from taking it.  There are many places that you could register your blog’s domain name such as hostgator, godaddy,register.com, namecheap, and 1and1 to name a few.  When you register your blog’s domain name you basically are claiming ownership of that name for a specific period of time (for example, one to three years).  This shouldn’t cost you anymore than $15 per year, but you can usually find good deals particularly for the first year.

Give your blog a home (Hosting)

Once you have the name of your blog registered, you need to have it “hosted”.  Think of this as giving it a place to live somewhere in cyberspace.  Basically, hosting allows you to place your blog, along with all of its associated content and files on a particular server (i.e., a big computer) online.  There are many places that offer hosting, but I would recommend either Hostgator or 1&1.  Pricing ranges from about $4 per month to $7 per month depending on the length of time you select. You will most likely get the best deal if you use the same company that you used to register your domain name.

Install WordPress

Once you have your name and your hosting set up, the next step is to install WordPress on your site. This is a software package that is the back end dashboard of your blog. Having WordPress installed on your site allows you the ability to fully customize your blog to the look and feel you want. There are many themes you can explore to customize the layout of your blog. Once you have the layout looking the way you want to you are ready to start creating great content.

Web Hosting for only 1 Penny!

 

 My Guy is the very talented Dennis Given, licensed psychologist and blogger over at SuccessfulPractice.net. He would love to hear if this info helped you out or if you have any other technical questions about your blog so leave a comment! Thanks for stopping by!

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My Family Flock- Silhouette Weekly Shape Challenge

Posted on May 9, 2013 in DIY | 8 comments

 

 

I couldn’t resist when I saw this week’s Shape Challenge over on the Silhouette blog. Yes, the banners are tempting to work with but those birds are what really caught my eye and I had just the idea for what to do with them. I love birds and this flock immediately made me think of my family. Okay, so I don’t really have ten birds people in my family but I knew I could fix that using a couple of tools in Silhouette Studio.  As luck would have it, I also happened to have some heat transfer and a new t-shirt laying around that would make this project complete.

Here’s how the image started out…

 

 

And here’s what I made it into using my Silhouette Cameo to cut out the altered Banners Set of 6…

 

 

By simply cutting off some of the birds, rearranging them and switching out the end of the branch to match I was able to create a custom design that matched my family.

 

 

Don’t I have the cutest “flock” around?!?  I think I will consider this a Mother’s Day present to myself

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Why I Wish I Could Turn Back Time & Use Invisalign Teen

Posted on May 6, 2013 in Family Life | 14 comments

Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post. However, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Last Saturday I was invited along with a group of bloggers to learn more about Invisalign Teen. Being a mom to four kids who seem to have inherited my small jaw and crowded teeth, two of which who have not started orthodontic treatment yet, I was eager to hear what options existed outside of traditional braces. Of course, I had heard of Invisalign before but never truly took the time to learn the details. I didn’t even realize that Invisalign now offers treatment to teens as well as adults.  Well, this just may be a game changer and as Cher would say, “If I could turn back time.”

Invisalign uses a series of clear removable aligners made of lightweight plastic that sit directly over the teeth.

Invisalign vs traditional braces

 

I’ve experienced traditional braces myself as well as with my oldest daughter and currently with my son so I think I can officially say that it’s NOT fun. Teen years are hard enough without walking around with a mouthful of metal; just one more thing to be teased and self-conscious about. I can still remember incidents where my braces were the catalyst for unrelenting taunts. I don’t think my daughter had the same experience in that regard but she did have to worry about how her braces would look for special occasions and photos. How awesome is it that you don’t have to worry about any of that with Invisalign?!? No metal and the aligners can be easily removed when needed!

With my sons in particular, there are other reasons that Invisalign appeals to me. They are at the age that internal motivation for personal hygiene is lacking a bit so brushing hair, showering and even wearing deodorant are viewed as chores for them. I’m pretty sure they don’t brush their teeth completely without having to navigate around and between metal adorned teeth so I always worry about how thorough teeth are getting cleaned with braces in place. The idea that Invisalign is removable is very appealing in that aspect.  There is also a compliance indicator so you can make sure it’s being worn enough.

These things alone make Invisalign priceless. Well, almost priceless. The one thing I had heard about Invisalign before was that it was expensive. Turns out, in most cases, it is comparable to the cost of a regular set of braces. Not cheap in any regard but nice to know that cost doesn’t have to be the deciding factor.

We got to hear many other benefits of Invisalign as well such as, no need for traditional impressions, shorter appointments, and fewer office visits but these are the ones that resonated with me enough to consider this as an option for my other two children. Heck, I’m even dreaming about using Invisalign to fix my lower teeth that shifted after my wisdom teeth came in. If I can’t turn back time I can at least try to realign it, right?

Have you or someone you’ve known used Invisalign? And if so, what was their experience?

 

Disclosure of Material Connection: This is a “sponsored post.” The company who sponsored it compensated me via a cash payment, gift, or something else of value to write it. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

 

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Target Haul Video

Posted on Apr 28, 2013 in Home Decor | 3 comments

I thought I’d share a quick video with you on my finds from my most recent shopping trip to Target (aka- my happy place).

I can’t seem to get through Target without a complete walk through of the entire store just to make sure I’m not missing out on something. So tell me… What’s the one section you simply CAN’T miss when you go to Target?

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Easy Garden Fresh One-Pan Ravioli

Posted on Apr 24, 2013 in Recipes | 1 comment

 

I know I just got done ranting about how I hate to cook but here’s one recipe I can honestly say I LOVE. Not only does it combine some of my favorite ingredients like tomatoes and basil

 

 

but it’s also SUPER EASY!! And as much as I hate cooking, I do love all things EASY!

This is also the PERFECT season for this recipe since fresh basil and tomatoes will be plentiful in the upcoming months. The sauce is also very light which makes it a perfect accompaniment if you want to serve it as a side instead of a main dish. So enough rambling about my love for this dish…here’s the recipe so you can try it for yourself.

 

 

If you give it a try, I would love to hear what you think about it! Enjoy!!

 

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