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Just Thauna

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January 1, 2018

Welcome 2018!

Wow, 2017 has been rough! However, there were some big blessings sprinkled in that year of rough patches and deep valleys. I welcomed a sweet new grandbaby and watching my sweet little Jbaby become a big sister has just been the best thing ever. Best part of the year.

In 2017 I lost my way a bit. OK, a lot. My business struggled some. I battled depression, again. I’ve kicked the antidepressants and even though some of the lows were very low, I’m glad to have them out of my system. Menopause is in full swing…adding to the challenge of giving up pharmaceutical help. I clung to relationships that have not been the best for me. I let a few people take advantage of my kindness both personally and professionally. I felt exhausted. I got really fed up with all the advice. I tried to listen to my gut, but honestly my “gut instinct” is pretty damn fickle. I’ve been uncertain about which way to turn a lot of the time. And on top of it all, I’ve been very, very hard on myself.

I went to sleep last night feeling lost, sad, devastated at how some things have turned out this year. I wanted to feel excited about the upcoming year. But how could I when I was so sad? I wanted to journal and focus on positive things….I just couldn’t muster up the gumption to do it.

I felt different when I woke up this morning.

I’m a sucker for fresh starts. The new year, a new month, even a Monday all fill me with hope and determination. And today is all three.

The thing is, I don’t want to be sad anymore. I don’t want to feel lost.

I want to be:

  • inspired
  • joyful
  • happy
  • creative
  • productive
  • loved
  • connected
  • grateful

The past few days I’ve been reading a lot about feeling better. All the reading reminded me that I’ve been through this before. And I’ve survived and came out on the other side brighter, happier, more joyful and positive. Living with depression is hard. It’s hard to remember when the darkness is it’s worst that the sun returns. But it always does. And I’m going to keep looking for the sunshine and enjoy every minute of it when I see it shining.

I’ve been wanting to blog about my struggle with depression for the last year. I’ve been afraid. So afraid. Afraid of people finding out. Afraid of the people who kind of know finding out that it’s worse than they thought. Afraid to be vulnerable and exposed. I’ve been ashamed of it. That shame gives it power over me…I think.

I like to be positive. I like to look at the bright side and I have my handy set of rose-colored glasses, but sometimes it’s a mask. It’s who I want to be all the time though or least most of the time. I know the valleys and the darkness will come, but I need to find ways to prepare myself for them. I need to be more diligent about fighting it off when I first see the darkness arriving. I need to find and cling to the things that make my times in the valley of darkness short. I have tools that I lean on, but sometimes the darkness comes quickly and it gets really f-ing dark. So dark that I can’t find a flashlight to find my tools. I lose sight of those things that help me through the darkness.

I need to remember, I have the tools. I have beaten this before. This is only temporary.

I have a friend who tells me “this too shall pass.” (Which I know is so true, but when you’re lost it’s so hard to remember.) He also has told me that his mother used to say the Bible says “it came to pass” thousands of times (I don’t remember the number or know how true it is) but it never says “it came to stay.”

So today I will remember this too shall pass.

And I will hang onto the hope for happy days ahead. And I will enjoy the bit of sun that shined on me today and helped me to even write this post.

I want to start writing about the little things that help me remember who I am. I am Thauna. I am strong, resilient, loved, tenacious, joyful, kind and oh so very grateful.

Welcome 2018 and here’s to some happy days ahead!

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Filed Under: Get Real

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Welcome to my little space where I ramble some, share some, and maybe even rant a bit. I'm just a girl (50+ but I still think of myself as a girl) who tries to see joy and humor in life, but sometimes stumbles and gets stuck in the muck. Life is what we make it and I want mine to be happy. Read More…

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Happy weekend!!! Do something worth journaling abo Happy weekend!!! Do something worth journaling about this weekend or at least Instagram worthy. 😁☀️❤️🌷🪴

I’m taking the weekend to work on a DIY project at home (making over our laundry room — @happyasthesmiths) and resting up fir a busy week next week. Oh yeah, and enjoying some spring like weather. ☀️☀️🌷🌷

Photo: @hearttakethewheel sign up for Friday Freebies!! 

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4️⃣ Business changes. Has you business changed or evolved? Your website should reflect those changes. 

5️⃣ Statistics. Do you have a high bounce rate? Are you attracting and keeping your target market on your site?

6️⃣ Mobile. Please tell me you are already mobile ready. If you’re not run don’t walk to getting scheduled for a redesign. If you are mobile ready are there things that can be improved? MOBILE IS SO IMPORTANT!

7️⃣ Function. Does your site function well on all devices. Do you need additional functionality?

8️⃣ Competition. How do you compare to others in your market? 

9️⃣ Customers. Do your customers or readers compliment your website? Are they finding what they need? (Analyzing your analytics can shed light on the second question)

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If your website is not performing in terms of traffic or conversion it is time to re-evaluate and make some updates. The main goal is to capture your user's attention and turn them into customers.

How do you think your site is doing? Tell me in the comments.

I currently am scheduling for May. Let’s schedule your redesign and make your site shine above the rest. 

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I also love spring cleaning and refreshing things in all areas of my life. ⁠
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Speaking of refreshing things....it's time to refresh your website. It's time to refresh MY website. This month I will be working on some new copy, new packages, and a new design/layout to get ready for the Core Web Vitals (the upcoming new Google ranking factor and will be rolling out around May). If you have been putting off a redesign now would be a good time to do it. ⁠
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“Don’t underestimate the value of doing nothin “Don’t underestimate the value of doing nothing, of just going along, listening to all the things you can’t hear, and not bothering.” –A.A. Milne

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A few things to know about getting on the schedule:

💜I have a limited number of design slots in my schedule each month.

💜My schedule is usually booked 4-6 weeks in advance. (I'm currently scheduling for April)

💜A 50% deposit is required to schedule.

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I currently have one opening to start of March 15th and one for April. Let's get you scheduled, space is limited. 

Your website or blog should be something your proud of and your clients/readers love to visit. Let’s work together. 

📸 by: @_bcartistry_ 

#customwordpress #webdesigner #creativelife #wordpressdesign #bloggertowordpress #customwp #genesiswp #webdesigner #creativelife #yourdreambiz #solopreneur #designyourlife #followyourdreams #onlineentrepreneur #womeninbusiness #foodbloggers #teacherbloggers #lifestylebloggers #lifecoaches #spiritblogger #makeithappen #customwordpress #webdesigner #creativelife #wordpressdesign #bloggertowordpress #customwp #genesiswp #webdesigner #creativelife #yourdreambiz #solopreneur #designyourlife #followyourdreams #onlineentrepreneur #womeninbusiness #foodbloggers #teacherbloggers #lifestylebloggers #lifecoaches #spiritblogger #makeithappen #booknow
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I always tell clients to stay on top of the available updates but it’s something that is easy to forget about. Updates are important. Often they are fixing bugs and security issues as well as offering new updated features. In all cases you want to make sure you are using the most up to date code. 

Before you run your updates do a backup just in case. Aim for running updates at least once a week or whenever you log into your site if less than once a week. 
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Looking forward to see what is to come with this new beauty. 

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