Be a Blogger! Start Blogging on Blogspot Today

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I keep hand-written notes daily, from which I get my blog ideas

Keeping Journals is one of the best things you can do for your mental health and well-being. And a blog is no more than an online journal.

And…

It’s unbelievably easy to get started with a blog on Blogspot. Plus, it’s absolutely FREE!

What is a blog? Blog is short for "web log" or "web diary". Some people call writing in this diary or log: "journaling" and journaling is good for you. It can be good for others too... if you go public and they like what you write.

Here are the steps:

Go to www.blogspot.com or search “blogspot”. Either way, it will take you to Blogspot’s Home Page. You will also see a link to Blogger.com. What is the difference between Blogger and Blogspot? Read Isaac Yassar’s concise but informative article here:
http://isaacyassar.blogspot.com/2009/03/difference-between-blogger-and-blogspot.html

If you don’t have a Google Account you will need to create one. But it’s easy. Just fill in the blanks. Don’t worry if you use another account for your emails. I use Yahoo Mail and have never had a problem.

Once you’ve created your account, sign in, and then click “Get Started” on the Blogspot Home Page.

Then all you need to do is follow the prompts. Decide on a name for your blog and use it as part of your URL (your blog’s address on the web). Learn more about “URL” here:

http://websearch.about.com/od/dailywebsearchtips/qt/dnt0526.htm

To decide on a name for your blog, consider your subject and then do a keyword search. If the top keywords for your subject are in the title of your blog and also in your blog’s address, you’re doing great. It will place you higher in search results, thereby giving you more hits (readers of your blog!).

If you don't want to share your blog, you can set it to Private. Watch this video:
http://www.google.com/support/blogger/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=42673

How to add video to your blog post. Adding video to your blog is easier than you think. If you have videos that you like on YouTube or have uploaded there yourself, just go to YouTube and find the video you want to transfer. Underneath the video you will see several buttons: Like, Add To, Share, and Embed.

Click on the one that says Embed. A code will pop up. Make sure it is highlighted then copy and paste it to your blog. To do this, make sure that your Edit Posts page is set to Edit HTML. Then place it where you want it and hit Save Draft or Publish. Your video should now be on your page.

How to find keywords. To find popular searches using keywords and phrases, search “Google Keyword Tool”. It’s free and easy. At the top of the page you will see two ads that look about the same. But one is in pink. This means it is a paid advertisement. Below it, in the white part, is another one.

The white area is called “The organic listing area”. This means that these items have popped up based solely on your search criteria. They did not pay to be at the top of the page. Most people click  here first because they believe, whether it’s true or not, that these items will give them more genuine results, more honest businesses, etc.

So, the “Keyword Google Tool” at the top of the page in the pink reads “Get Qualified Visitors To Your Site Place Your Ad On Google Today!”. That is not what we want. We want the one that reads “Enter one keyword or phrase per line to see what related word searches your ad will show on”.

So click on that one and it will bring you to the Google Adwords page with two boxes at the top. We are only concerned with the one that says “word or phrase”. Type in the word or phrase you are searching for and voila! It will bring up a number of search terms divided by global monthly searches and local monthly searches. Depending on your business, whether you are seeking global contacts or just local business prospects, look in that section.

Then take note of the search terms from highest to lowest number. This should help you, not only choose the name for your site, but also in selecting the words you use in your articles (to bring a greater number of readers to your site).

Now, you’ll need to have more than one option for your title and address, in case it is already being used by someone else. So plug in your choice and proceed. Blogspot will let you know if your blog address is taken, and offer up a couple of alternative selections.

On the page that is Step 2, click on a template that looks nice, hit continue, and you have your blog. If you don’t like your template, you can change it any time.

Click on “Start Blogging” and it will take you to the posting page. Now you will want to click on each of the tabs and highlighted areas to learn more about your blog. If you have questions, click on the HELP tab in the upper right hand corner of the page. You will be able to do searches here regarding any area in which you are having trouble. If your question is not answered to your satisfaction there are also Video Tutorials and a Help Forum. Plus, there is always, what my husband and I call “the Brain”… just do a regular search on the internet. Guaranteed, someone somewhere has already asked your question and received an answer.

Comments and corrections welcome.

Journaling as Therapy:

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/40281/journaling_as_therapy_getting_to_know.html?cat=5

How Effective Journaling can Minimize Anxiety:

http://money.usnews.com/money/blogs/outside-voices-careers/2009/01/22/how-effective-journaling-can-minimize-anxiety

Start Journaling Regularly to help Reduce Anxiety:

http://www.ehow.com/how_2283427_reduce-anxiety.html

The Anxiety Panic Attack Journal:

http://www.easycalm.com/blog/


And for the Best Blogging Advice Ever:
http://futuretwits.blogspot.com/2010/12/5-tips-to-grow-blog-to-1000-visitors.html

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My Menopausal Workout for CHEAP BASTARDS

So I've decided that I hate the title of my Blog (PsychiatricSelfCare). But I don't know how to change it other than by creating a new blog. And I'm a little bit concerned that Blogger stated somewhere that I had a 100 viewer limit? 

What the heck does THAT mean? Don't all bloggers aspire to millions of readers? Hmm. Once again I'm baffled. I searched "Best Blogs" and came up with some really interesting things: ZenHabits.net, PostSecret, and PerezHilton, among others.

I've been trying to figure out if a blog post is supposed to be designed as an article or as a journal entry. It seems that the ones I found were all written from the personal perspective (as in journaling) but... still they had a focus (as in an article).

And how concerned do I need to be about web searches? All these great sites had great names. My crappy site name came from my trying to find the best search term for my subject area. "Psychiatric" had the most searches in one month in regards to mental health and physical fitness.

Anyway...

My Menopausal (aka Anti-Aging) Workout for the Day
2 Hours Total:
1 hour and 15 minutes of CARDIO:
= 30 minutes on the treadmill (set on Manual with walking, climbing, and a short run), 30 minutes on the elliptical machine (again set on Manual), and 15 minutes on the Stair Master. I have a membership at Golds Gym. What's great about that is that most of the machines have a television monitor now and cable TV (something we don't have at home).

In case you haven't figured it out yet, we're cheap bastards. That's probably why we're not sweating the recession as bad as we could be. We have money in the bank! Yes, and it's not because we make great money (we don't). It's because we're CHEAP BASTARDS.

We don't make a lot of money and I've been out of work for six out of the last 12 months. But we don't spend anything... well, groceries. And we get those at the seconds store!

Yes, there are second hand stores for groceries... sort of. What happens is that they take the stuff that's about to go out of date and send it to this store... WAY marked down. We save about $400 a month by shopping there. In the summer we stock up on clothes and other essentials by (what we call) "Garage Sailing". All this frugality, we figure, saves us about $20K a year.

We dine out with "2 for 1" coupons, cut each other's hair, drive used cars, and seek Entertainment with the word FREE attached. And, thanks to Jerry and Esther Hicks, I can truly say that I (we) find joy in every single day.

So, all we have is money in the bank. Which ain't so bad. It's funny because, at the bank, I'm treated like GOLD. And there I am in my little red 1988 Mazda.

Anyway... back to the workout! I digress.

So we have 1.25 hours of cardio  (my new MENOPAUSAL STANDARD is a minimum of 1 hour a day exercise!) and 15 minutes of weight lifting (both free weights and machines) and 30 minutes of yoga cool down. Whooh!

Here's the low-down:
In my 20's - 30 minutes three times a week was enough to maintain a flat (a very flat and sexy!) belly.

Then in my 30's - I had to up that to 1 hour three times a week.

In my 40's - 4 to 5 hours a week was plenty.

Then one day, at the ripe old age of 49 I noticed that I'd gained 25 lbs. What? Yes, it had been creeping up for some time at the rate of about 1/2 lb. per month. Virtually undetectable. I started increasing my workouts and nothing seemed to happen.

Finally, after going back on Atkins (which used to work like a charm!) I realized that I'd better take it a step farther. Now I'm counting calories (not something I used to be concerned with) AND I've DOUBLED my workout time. Apparently your metabolism slows down so much during menopause that double is what's needed.

So, in the last month, I went from 4-5 workouts a week to 7-10 AND I've started watching my caloric intake (reducing by approximately 500 calories a day).

Thank God I measured because... in that month's time I GAINED 2 lbs net but lost 5 inches. Yea! Finally some results. I guess the moral of the story is that it gets harder not easier. Pa-dum-pa-dum!

That's it folks.

Oh, P.S., I still watch the sugar and white foods (white bread, pastries, cookies, cake, potatoes, rice, and pasta). For bad health, they're the worst culprits. I wrote a book about my healing experience in relationship to quitting sugar. It's called The Sugar Addict's Diet by S.J. Wise. And, just for the record, it's out of print. Which just means that I no longer receive any money for its sales. Still, I recommend it if you have health issues. This program literally saved my life.

Oh, by the way... nightmares two nights in a row? I forgot to ask myself the key question: Did I have sugar? (It slips back in so easily) Yes!

Every now and then I forget and have a little. I had eaten one, make that two over two days, yogurts with added sugar. Thought I could get away with it, but NO. The nightmares were my clue.

Do YOU sleep well? Try quitting sugar for a while and see what happens. No more waking up at 3am and having difficulty getting back to sleep.

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