"Anyone that doesn't agree with leggings as pants can physically fight me.
And I'm going to win because I have a full range of motion due to the fact that I am wearing leggings as pants."

Thursday, January 8, 2009

A Plea for Help

Ya hear that?

It's the sound of my forehead bouncing up and down on my keyboard.

So here's the story. Sometime last year, I began to get really fed up with Blogger. I don't like that I can't make stand alone pages and I especially dislike that most of the time, it doesn't give me commenters' email addresses so I can respond to them like a civilized person.

I'd also really like to be able to do more customizing and organizing of my pages since I'm so utterly scattered in my content. You know, make it a bit easier to navigate the mess. One of my biggest priorities is dividing out the topics so readers can subscribe to individual categories if they so choose. I've wanted that since Day 1 with Blogger. (And I promise these gripes have nothing to do with the fact that they called me spam.)

After some research, I decided to go with WordPress. Supposedly, I'll be able to do anything at all that I want to with my site.

The sky's the limit! Woo hoo.

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(Migrating my blog makes me feel grrrrr. It also casts an unflattering light on my face and makes my hair look pretty crappy. And, for some strange reason, it makes my nose look all bent to one side, which it totally doesn't look like in real life. Holy crap, when did I break my nose? It must have been while I went comatose reading the Codex.)

Ya, not only is WordPress not exhibiting any of the ease I was hoping for, but just figuring out how to organize my content has been a huge stumbling block.

That's when the headbanging started.

It's my categories. They vex me.

So if you've read this far through my random, sleep-deprived tangents, could you please do me a solid?

Pretty, pretty please... leave me a comment letting me know what your favorite kinds of posts are here at Wisdom of the Moon, using your own words, not my ridiculous tags from the side.

I want to corral my tags into 4 to 6 parent categories with the tags then becoming sub-categories. And I'm basically trying to decide if certain categories deserve their own top spot, or if they get sorted in with 'Miscellaneous'.

'Cause I've got a lot of miscellaneous. Maybe I should just have 'Home Page' and 'Everything Else'. Oh wait, that would put us right back where we started.

Anyway, if you let me know your favorite categories, I promise to repay you with a more navigable and useful site, sometime in, oh I don't know, the next decade.

How's that for a deal?

12 comments:

Donna said...

First - I have no idea how or when I stumbled across your blog, I don’t know you from Adam. But I do know why I stayed. Your posts generally make me laugh! I am a working mother with two daughters. I try to be all that I can be and encourage my girls to do the same. I like that your blog gives me ideas without making me feel like I'm falling short. For example, I like reading about your environmental escapades (worm farm, composting, etc). I know I need to do things along that line, but recycling and buying American is as far as I've gotten (still working on it though). I like that you present the idea without the preachy side comments that would make me feel like I'm killing the earth! One day I’ll dig the ideas out and make them a reality in my life. But back to the answer to your question... Weird Kid Wednesday is my favorite thing on your blog. Kids are great and celebrating their innocence is fabulous! Thanks for doing this blog. I check it out several times a week to see what you and yours are up to.

em for mighty said...

i like real life thoughts & emotions. i like to see one's gooey innards displayed across their blog. im not crazy about the more trival & day-to-day stuff. & i never click the option for email when i leave a comment. i think it's because im trying to force people to visit my blog. underhanded, yes, maybe...or just a need to be heard & seen & read. i will click it for you this time.

Anonymous said...

These are the categories that I think you should have:
-Gardening
-Arts and Crafts
-Weird Kid Wednesdays
-Parenting (anything that is associated with parenting skills, activities, challenges, highlights, etc. and children)
-Home School (activities, challenges, ideas, etc.)
-Home improvement projects
-Book reviews, recommendations (by either you or your many children)

Hmmmm, that's all I can think of right now.

My favorite topic: arts/craft projects (that I won't get around to doing any time soon, but I like your ideas and your step by step instructions and tips).

Also, as you can see, I am still "anonymous" because I still can't find or remember my password.

Melody

Renee Unplugged - said...

I LOVE YOUR BLOG JUST THE WAY IT IS!

Ok, having said that I agree with Donna (but I have 2 sons :))
about not remembering how I came across your blog...and about the frank, un-preachy way you present your material. Mom-to-mom style.

I also agree that if you're going to go with categories that anonymous pretty much has it.

I really love the blog, and I like to think we'd get along well in the real world, so please don't go away!

Renee

Anonymous said...

The only thing I would suggest that your readers might like to see is more articles about your FABULOUS brother.
KA-KOW!

FinnyKnits said...

First of all, I just read all your posts - regardless of their categorization.

Perhaps it's because I read all blogs via Reader, but still.

All I'd wonder is whether we'd have to subscribe to certain tabs or we could still get it all through the reader.

Good luck!

Anonymous said...

I'm with mighty jo about the gooey innards, but that won't come as any surprise to you! Real life thoughts and emotions - they illicit more detailed responses than the other topics, which usually get a "good job" or "how interesting", or "what a good idea". But that's just me! I read them all, but, as I've said before, at my age I'm beyond home schooling and crafts, though I enjoy hearing about your experiences. I'm sure whatever you come up with will be enjoyed by everyone!

Anonymous said...

This is the first time I see your blog, so I'm forced to suggest head banging as a category.

Anna said...

I agree; I read all the posts. But! I do LOVE the Weird Kid Wednesdays and the Art/Craft posts most.

Personally, I think less is more when it comes to categories with a personal blog. I mean, if you are doing culture critiques or tackling major media several times a day, lots of categorization is necessary, just to keep things straight. As a fan of your blog and your lifestyle, I like to check in several times a week, and then if I need inspiration or am trying to remember a particular project, I can sort and search at that point.

Anyway, that's my humble two cents.

Natasha said...

Hmm wish I could help but- 1. I just found this lovely site and 2. I am a bit dense. I do know that I look forward to reading more from you either here of there!! Happy categorizing!!

the little travelers said...

feeling your pain on the blog thing- i really wanted to switch from typepad to square space last summer because all it could do. it was supposed to be simple and would've allowed me to ditch my website that needs managing by a high priced web dude- i could've had my blog and site all together. i gave myself 2 days to figure it out and if i made no progress i'd stay with typepad plus a website. unfortunately, i was too technically impaired to figure it out- WAH!!
agree with anonymous melody on the categories. I LOVE your creative posts, but also you crack me up!
-angelina

Anonymous said...

First of all, I think you have a great blog. I recently moved to Wordpress from iweb, and it has been a huge improvement for me. The tags will be a great way for you to narrow down some of your categories, but I agree with many of the other comments, something like this:
Gardening/Earth - Green, Composting
Parenting- Homeschooling, Weird Kids
Projects- Arts & Crafts, Kids, House, How-to
People & Friends- Funny
Inspiration- Feeling Good, Karma, thoughts