Blog book

I don't scrapbook. I did for a few years as a teenager, but it's not my thing anymore. I hate having to keep track of all of the pictures, paper, stickers, scissors...it's all just messy to me. I don't like it and I don't think I ever will. PLUS, everything's digital these days, if I were to scrapbook, I'd have to print out my pictures, and that's just a lot of extra work. Oh, yes, I know, there's digital scrap booking now. Sure I could do that...but I think it's just the idea of SCRAP BOOKING that I don't like. Maybe it's too cutesy for me right now...

I also don't write in my journal anymore. I was never very dedicated to it, though I did document important things like my developing relationship with Ryan...but it always seemed like such a task. "Oh I guess I HAVE to write about this in my journal" kind of thing. I want to have something to look back on, it just takes so much time to WRITE it all out.

Then I discovered blogging. Originally, I didn't want to start a blog until we had kids. I didn't think we had that much to blog about. I reluctantly started one, and to my surprise, I LOVED it. Whether it was interesting to the readers or not, I was documenting our lives. In a way, I was 'writing in my journal'...but better, because there were pictures!!

A month or so ago, we met up with some friends at an Angels game and I told her how I'd love to print my blog out so we (and our kids) could look back on it. Then my friend Aubri told me something that would change my life...ok, maybe not, but she told me something really cool!! There are programs that allow you to import your blog into them and turn it into a book. AMAZING! She emailed me the link to blurb.com. I downloaded the free program and started working on our first blog book. It takes a while to format everything and figure out which blogs you want to keep in the book, but I finished within a week. I was working on it all the time.

Now I just have to send it to be printed...and it will be like a regular professionally binded book. And it only costs about $40...more or less depending on how many pages you have.

Now, I'm addicted to Blurb. You don't just have to do blogs, you can make any kind of book, a cook book, a wedding book, a portfolio, a picture book, etc. The possibilities are endless. I'm already working on a Christmas gift for a friend of mine!! And I plan to EVENTUALLY make a wedding book, but that is a LARGE task, so I'm doing what I do best, putting it off!!

Anyway, I encourage you all to check out blurb.com, or something like it (I'm sure there are tons of similar sites). If you're not all into the scrap booking or journaling, it's a great alternative to keeping track of your goings on...and having fun with it.

Wow, I sound like an advertisement. I'm not getting paid for this, really. I'm just excited about it and want everyone to know that they can do this too...if they want.