I have so much going on at the moment that it has been hard to post as much as I would like. As you may have read on my about me page, I’m not a full-time blogger. I have a full-time job along with the housekeeping and mommy duties, so my day is already pretty full. But it does not stop there, and it does not stop at the side-hustle blog either. I want to chat a bit today to you guys about what is on my heart and tell you what I’m busy with.
Learning how to blog at Windmill & Protea and building an online business
I purchased my domain name last August, so although I only started posting in November, Windmill & Protea is turning one on 20 August! I cannot believe it has been a year already. Time sure does fly! I’m enjoying every step of this journey so far. If you want to check out how I came up with my name, and why it took me so long, head over to this post.
Of course, being relatively new in the blogging industry, I still have a lot to learn. On top of being a member of Elite Blog Acadamy, I am also constantly busy with other courses to equip myself for the blogging industry, social media marketing and build my online business successfully. You can be sure that these courses also take a lot of time. Hopefully, it will one day slow down enough for me to catch my breath; the learning curve is insane!
Top Windmill & Protea Posts for year one
My readers’ favourite posts for year one are:
- John Deere Themed Birthday Party with Free Printables
- My cross stitch patterns for South African Birds, and
- Our quick and easy guide to install sheet vinyl flooring.
And I have to say that my favourite posts or projects of this past year are:
- Our Industrial DIY Caged Pendant Track Light, we built for our kitchen
- The free wall art set from our European holiday from 2012, and
- The front door succulent planter.
Interior Decorating Course
I have a degree in Interior Architecture, and certificates in Project Management and Garden Design. Then I signed up for an Interior Decorating course. I like to study; I see it as a hobby and enjoy pushing myself to achieve more. So I enrolled for the course in December 2017, and it is now in the final stages as I have to submit the last three assignments by this December. It is going well, and I’m enjoying the course, but this final push is taking up a lot of my time. So I have decided to post a bit less for the next couple of months, just until I can complete the course.
Capital Singers
We have a project in our city, called Capital Singers. The project was started a couple of years ago by two local (but internationally acclaimed) choir conductors, Michael Barrett and Christo Burger. They wanted to create an opportunity for people with busy lives to still sing in a choir. The reality is that I can’t do weekly rehearsals, but with Capital Singers I can still sing!
They have three projects a year, and you enrol online. At the moment they allow for 1000 choir members in the four voice-groups! We get sheet music, and mp3 rehearsal tracks six weeks before the show, and learn the music in our own time. The choir members meet each other for the first time, two days before the show. There usually are two rehearsals, a dress rehearsal and two shows and then it is all done.
This will be the fourth time I’m participating in Capital Singers! The Capital Singers Iconic show is on again the weekend of 7 & 8 September, and we are busy learning the music right now. I enjoy being part of the experience and try and sing in every second production. This time, my father is also joining us in the choir!
Busy life in general
My little sister (well, my sister-in-law) is getting married in September! I’m coordinating the kitchen tea, so that is also taking up some of my time. I love every moment and detail of the planning though, so I’m not complaining. I’ve known her since she was nine years old, and to see her grow into a beautiful woman and getting married to her best friend is very special.
Between work and home, school choices, friends and family commitments, I sometimes struggle to balance it all. I do realise that we are incredibly blessed, in the life we have and the opportunities we have been given, and I am immensely thankful for that. But I do wish from time to time that we had a bit more spare time to breathe.
So that was my check-in and celebration of year one of the blog. It has been a rough, eye-opening, but fantastic journey so far, and I am looking forward to the next year. Hoping you will join Windmill & Protea for the next year as well!
