My First Plan with Me!

          I know that all new experiences are learning experiences. But sometimes learning those lessons can be heartbreaking.Especially when you are trying to create something beautiful for others!
          Filming anything in our home with my son awake is impossible! That is not an exaggeration. He has a happy squeal that you can hear outside in the yard! Sometimes if I film when he is asleep, my voice wakes him. I don't mean that I am loud but the familiarity of my voice. Maybe I could film easier if our house was bigger or better insulated. This was such an issue that I set up a place to film in my van! Because of time limitations I had to film in small increments. After I filmed the first part I went to watch the video and realized my phone had rotated the footage sideways in a vertical orientation. I was heartbroken. I couldn't take up all my stickers and start over! I turned off rotation, remounted the phone, and started again. I explained what had happened to the camera and recapped that part of the spread already complete. I planned and little more. Then I decided to stop and check my phone camera. Some how it was still rotating the footage. I took the SD card out and put the footage in my video editor. The editor turned the footage back to a horizontal orientation. The problem was that both the rotated and un-rotated footage was rippling like a road blurs on a hot day. I googled the problem and changed my camera settings the way the forum suggested. After filming the last of that week's spread, I again reviewed the footage. It was just as rotated and bad as the rest. Finally I hooked up my DSLR to my tripod and tried filming while my son was asleep. The camera was great! So I filmed a post plan video. I should have just pulled out the nice equipment the first time. Besides, you guys deserve the best!
          At least now I know where, when, and how to film my next Plan with me! I am excited to plan and share with you guys! I also hope you can learn from my mistakes! Happy Planning! Happy St.Patrick's Day!

It Ain't All About the Money! (Why I Do This!)

          I know that some people are just making YouTube videos because they like the attention. I know that some people are making them because they want to make money. Some YouTubers just want to get subscribers. They like the status and being famous. Some people are just into the numbers. They want to be able to say that they have X amount of subscribers.
          Then there are people that make videos just for fun or to share with others. They don't even care if they make money or if they are famous. If they had 2 loyal subscribers they would keep making videos. Some people don't care if they have ANY subscribers. For them YouTube is a journal or scrapbook of their life. I have seen a few people with large channels that started their channel as a school project or to meet study abroad requirements.
          I am none of these people and all of them! I like making videos! I think it is fun to film them! I am trying to be a stay at home mom. I need the income! In a way, I would like being famous. I don't want to be unable to go to the store. But, I would like someone to recognize me or to get big enough that people wanted to do meet ups! At this point, I would brag about the number of subscribers I had because it would be so few. Later, I would be proud to say I had X amount! It would mean that I was providing content that people wanted to see! Yes, YouTube will be a journal for me. Hopefully, sharing and helping others will make me feel like I am going through all this for a reason! Sharing and helping others will relieve a lot of my stress! It will make me feel good!
          Some people say all YouTube content providers are bad because we are trying to make money off of people. But a grocery store hopes to make money off people. No one thinks that the grocery store owner is bad. Maybe it is because he is filling a need. But that is just it. I hope that my channel isn't just entertainment. That I am not simply making money off people's tendency to fall down a YouTube hole. I hope that my content is entertaining but I also hope that it fills a need! 

Planet ShanChan YouTube Launch!

          This blog is a place where I can write about anything on my mind at the moment. It is a place to talk to you guys about the things currently going on in my life. It is a journal. It is a way to help others going through the same things. It is a way for us to form sort of an online family!
          Now that family will be expanding! I have created a YouTube channel that will be a companion to this blog! I am so excited about this news! Now we can communicate in both formats. Plus, I have so many things to share with you guys. Some of it I really thought a visual was just easier to understand. But all video posts will still be accompanied with a corresponding blog post.
          I struggled to try to decide on a post schedule. In the past I would say I would post and life would happen..I think you guy deserve better. So this time I will be very real with you guys. I hope to post at least once a week. But again that may not happen. So I will just say that I will post when I can. If you want to be sure not to miss anything, then subscribe and hit the bell to receive notifications when I post. In fact, I am filming a short video on this subject. So stay tuned you guys, lots of good things coming down the pipeline!