Wednesday, May 4, 2011

I Can’t Believe I’m A Year Old Today!


It seems at once that time has flown by, and like it was just yesterday that I put on my big girl panties and hit the publish button. I had lurked for months on different blogs, agonizing over starting my own. Who would be interested in my ramblings? Would anyone be interested in my ramblings? One year, 627 GFC followers, 304 posts, 72,781 pageviews, later... it seems the answer ( in addition to being chocolate) is yes! And for that I THANK YOU!!!

There was no special significance about May 4, 2010. I just decided to take the plunge that day. I remember my husband came home and I said: “Guess what I did today?” and his response of “What exactly does that mean” when I told him I’d started a blog. We're both still trying to figure that out.

Blogging has been one of the most rewarding experiences I’ve ever had. I’ve met so many amazing bloggers and made so many friends. I’ve never encountered one blogger who hasn’t been helpful if I’ve asked them a how to question and so many have freely given supportive advice. I read every comment left on my blog and try to respond to each and every one as well. If you’re a “No Reply Comment” blogger, I can’t encourage you enough to change that!

A year ago, I had no clue what a blog hop or link party was (or how to link to them) , how to create a button, and a long long long list of things. I had no idea what if any expectations  I should have about how fast or big my blog “should” grow. I learned this is unanswerable, at least for me. I’d never sent a tweet, stumbling was something that previously involved gravity and stairs, and pinning was a sewing term.

I learned that you should try a bunch of different things but there is no one right way to blog. It’s easy to see other blogs that start out around the same time as yours grow faster than yours , have more followers, pick up sponsors, do giveaways etc and it’s human nature to be a little competitive. Be honest! It is. And I admit to getting caught up in those feelings but realizing that ultimately, you should be yourself. Be authentic. I know I feel it when I’m not.

I started blogging because I’ve always loved creating, and the more I do, the more ideas I get and the more projects I see, the more I want to do! This is where the hubs gets scared. "What else is she going to get into?" I found a community of people who “get it”…the thrill of a new material, or technique, or lesson learned from a fail!

I had no idea what to expect from blogging, and now I can’t imagine what I’d do without it.
Thanks to everyone who’s made it through this post and who’s decided to be part of this chocolate fueled journey with me. You all are the best!

This coming Friday, I'll start my weekly link party and celebrate my blogiversary with a giveaway. I hope you'll come and link up and celebrate with me!


And one year later, still can't get that darned button centered!

22 comments:

1CardCreator said...

Enjoy the day, happy blogaversary!

Amy at Ameroonie Designs said...

Happy, Happy blogiversary! So happy you're here and that I have been lucky to "know" you through your awesome blog! Hopefully one day we'll get to meet in real life.
xoxo,
Amy
p.s. you should come to SNAP! next year in slc. :)
I'll be there. ;)

Michele {The Scrap Shoppe} said...

Congratulations, Carol! And happy blogiversary! You're one of my favorite bloggy friends. :) Can't wait to see what you have in store for the next year!

Jocelyn said...

Congrats on the one year in the blogging world! I am glad to be following your blog and I always enjoy seeing what you come up with!

Terrell said...

Well a big congrats to you, missy! I have enjoyed your blog so much and I can't wait to see what else you have to bring! :D
Terrell

Screaming Sardine said...

Congrats! I'm a relative newcomer to your blog, but I love it. Here's to many more years of blogging for you!

As to centering anything put
div align="center"
in between the bird beak brackets - i.e., < > Then code whatever it is you want to be centered. Make sure you end it with /div in a new set of brackets because you need to "close" it. A command needs a closing.

(If I do it here the way it should be, I'm afraid it'll code it, and you'll have no idea what I did - lol).

Cheers,
Tracy All Thumbs Crafts

jandjhome said...

Incredible. Happy blogiversary to you to. Whatever your doing, keep doing it.

Michelle L. said...

Yay to you! For someone who claims she did not know anything, you have turned your corner of the web into one of the coolest and most pro-looking blogs out there. I am continually impressed by it and you. Many congrats and I'm SO excited you are doing a weekly linky party - can't wait to join up!

the cape on the corner said...

how exciting and happy blog birthday!

Katie P said...

Congrats!!

Our Hopeful Home said...

Congrats, Carol! Can you taste the virtual red velvet cake I'm sending your way? Love your blog and so glad we're friends!

xoxo
Kathleen

Christine said...

I think it's sooo special that our blogs are the same age! Awww, that's why it feels like a playdate when we tweet--lol!!! Happy happy blogiversary my friend!

Pininkie said...

Congratulations!!! To celebrate I have nominated you for an award: http://pininkie.blogspot.com/2011/05/one-lovely-blog-award.html

Netty said...

Congratulations with your blogversary. Love visiting you. Annette x

Beverly {Flamingo Toes} said...

Carol! Happy Blogiversary!! What a special day - I'm so glad I've gotten to know you! You are so talented and truly I'm so glad we've met. :)
I'm looking forward to your link party on Friday!

live and luv said...

Happy, happy day to you! Congrats!!

Lori said...

Congratulations, and awesome work for one year!

Jill said...

Congrats on one year! I'm looking forward to the link party! :) I love your blog!

Anonymous said...

Happy Blogoversary! I hit mine in January. I think my follower count was between 50 and 60 at the time. I have yet to hit 100 - 21 more followers to go! No idea how I'm going to do that. So yes, you're right, this is a bit of a competition. A high school classmate of mine has over 100 followers and hasn't even hit her blogoversary yet! I don't even think she's a part of blogging communities like 20 Something Bloggers and For the Love of Blogs. Although, I have a bit of a reason for not being popular: I'm not a mom, a wife, a crafter, or a cook. I'm a college student who loves to bake but doesn't have time to do it. I'm a shy girl who doesn't have friends or cousins and siblings around my age to have fun times with that I can report about on my blog. I'm just a wannabe writer who's only publishing credit is her blog.

Anyway, congrats again on the blogoversary. Here's to many, many more!

JC's Loft said...

Congrats on all your success and here's to another fabulous year! Keep up the awesome work : )

Paula

Unknown said...

Hey, congratulations Carol! It seems like so many of us got started at around this same time last year. Yay for blogging and for coming so far in such a short time! You've obviously learned a ton and continue to do so everyday, enriching blogland with your sweet sense of humour, and your cooking, printables and crafts. Keep it up! I'm sure we'll be celebrating many more years of making and blogging!

xx

michele

Vicki said...

Hi, Carol! Congrats on your milestone. Thank you for so many great projects and introductions. Here's to another great year! xoxo