Tag: chasing dreams

Can you feel the winds of change softly blowing? February is almost over and I’m still in the process of trying to wrap my head around how fast this year is unfolding. The past week was particularly difficult for our family too, with my Lola passing away.

We celebrate her life and we rejoice that she’s in a better place now, but there’s just no easy way to deal with death. Especially that of someone who’s been an important part of your life growing up. The past weeks felt like life was put on hold, and it took some time before our schedule eased back to normal. In fact, even until now I’m still catching up on some backlogs.

On a positive note, Lola’s life motivates me to continue living mine with passion (my one word for 2014), and to keep chasing my dreams. So. It’s back to regular programming in this space, and here’s what I’ve been working on for a while:

Chasing Dream’s New Brand Board

I’ve been quietly (and sporadically) working on relaunching Chasing Dreams for the past few months. And  well, here it is.

To some of you who have been following this blog for a while, I’m sure you’re no stranger to my constant tweaking of this blog’s layout, design, and colors, depending on my mood and the time of the year. I’m restless like that. All these years I never really thought about my personal branding and the importance of maintaining one, to think I’ve been in this online business for years. I create branding and content strategy for clients, but never thought of seriously doing it for myself.

For the first time in years I can actually say that I’ve put some thought to this particular design “tweak”. I couldn’t say, however, that this one is for good because I still want a hand-drawn logo, and I’m foreseeing some major changes happening around here come mid-2014. In the mean time, this works for me, and I love that it inspires me to be more creative and to publish more posts. :)

Color inspiration

I’ve been obsessing with the color gold lately. I’ve had this Pinterest board made of pink-and-gold pins for months, and I finally found an excuse to go for it. Initially, it was just pink, blush and gold. But it felt like missing something, so I tried a pale shade of blue, and I loved how it all turned out.

Mobile Responsive

One of the other obvious things you’ll notice, in case you’re viewing this with your mobile gadget is that, Chasing Dreams is finally mobile responsive! *fireworks* Now you don’t have to squint your eyes when you’re reading CD from your mobile phones or tablets. Ahhh, so many hours spent just making this work! As someone who reads a lot while in transit, mobile responsive sites make me sooo happy. I hope it makes you a little happy too, in case you chance upon my site while mobile.

The other changes that you can’t see yet, well, you’ll notice them as they come along. And I probably won’t tell you about those anymore, you’ll just.. see them for yourself. So.. now that housekeeping is over, expect a flood of 52 Week Project catch-up posts. Also, expect great things from Chasing Dreams this 2014.

[DISCLOSURE: This post was originally published in December last year, but since I made some changes to my branding board and blog layout at the start of this year, I felt the need to revise this post and re-publish altogether. Thanks for bearing with my OC-ness. Hee.]

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I offer wordpress, logo, and branding packages for creative people who dig dreamy and minimalist designs. I also design stationery and invitations for weddings, birthday parties, and events. Feel free to message me if you like what you see. Read my Design Process to know more. Or view my Design Portfolio to see some of my work. Let’s create something beautiful!

I wouldn’t have remembered that this blog turned 4 years old if I didn’t receive an email from a stranger yesterday asking me why my site was down. Followed up by another email from a friend, and 2 private messages on Facebook, asking me the same thing.

See, my domain registration expires every 19th of June and I forgot to renew yesterday, which caused the downtime. Thanks, you guys, for letting me know.

I’ve always thought of this website as my “baby”, but I’m so glad that it’s not a real breathing baby because that means I’m a horrible mother for always forgetting her birthday. #badblogger

Disclaimers aside, hooray for four years! Of blogging. Of life. Of love. Of chasing dreams.

Four years ago

On June 19, 2009, I registered this domain name after so many years of hopping from one blog host to another. I don’t usually reference old blog posts because they’re embarrassing, at least those from 3-10 years ago, but just for today I invite you to CLICK HERE and read my first ever blog here at Chasingdreams.net. It’s embarrassing, I have to reiterate, because I ranted a lot of nonsense and negativity in that first post, but go ahead, READ IT ANYWAY. :)

Because I want you to see how much has changed since that day.

How I once saw my life as a tragedy, a failure.

How I registered a happy-sounding domain name to conceal my feelings of frustration and rejection.

How I merely wanted a place where I could express myself, not caring about what people would say or think.

And I want you to see how God has redeemed me and turned things around since then.

Four years later, this place has transformed into something more than just a venue for self-expression, or a sounding board when I’m feeling sad or frustrated about my life. Somewhere between then and now, Chasingdreams.net has become bigger than myself and my dreams.

The turning point

I like to think that I’ve grown somehow since then. And I know it’s not for me to say if my growth is obvious in the way I write or think, but I know in my heart that I’ve grown. I feel it. Because every time I start to write something, my mind zooms into that random stranger who would someday land on these pages, and I think about what she’s going through and how I could make a difference in her life.

Or I think about my babies, and how my thoughts (and the things I write about them) would impact their lives soon as they start reading and making sense out of these things.

Or I think about the chance, however small, that the stuff I write would encourage someone out there who’s going through a tough ordeal in her life, a heart break, a loss.

You have no idea how these things cross my mind and make me restless every single day—How I can make an impact to at least one person. How I can be a constant source of inspiration to my circles of influence. How I can make a difference in this world.

So thank you

To you who never get tired reading this stuff.

To you who approach me on Sunday afternoons to tell me how a post I’ve written resonates well with how you feel or what you think.

To you who get out of your way to leave me a comment or send me an email, short or long.

To you who lurk and not say anything—whoever you are, your hits are counted.

To you who lurk and not say anything, and then tell me months later that you’ve been lurking. ;)

To you who inspire me to keep writing and never quit chasing my dreams.

Finally, to the three of you with whom I start and end each day, whom God has so graciously used to make a wife, a mother, and a better person out of this once lost and purpose-less girl that I was..

Thank you. You’re God-sent. The least I can do is to pay it forward and to strive to be a blessing to others like you’ve been a blessing to me. It’s a tough call to impose upon one’s self, but allow me to do just that. :)

Base image found in Pinterest, addition of filter and words by me. Is this photo yours? Let me know so I can give you the credit.