Tag: gratitude

2017: A look back and Thank You!!

What an amazing year!

For this blog post, I had already planned to do a bit of a look back at last year, so I was pleasantly surprised to see the WordPress Daily Post Photo Challenge of 2017 Favorites.

First, I’d like to express gratitude to all of the wonderful readers, browsers, commenters, who have made running this blog so much fun!  And, of course, a great bigh thank you to all of you who have participated in the Tuesday Photo Challenge throughout the past year; I never imagined that running this challenge could be as much fun as it is!

A couple of statistics to reflect the progress of 2017:

  • My fantastic followers went from about 1,000 to over 3,500!  That alone blew my mind (I had set my goal for 2017 at reaching 2,000).
  • Views of this blog grew from 26,000 to over 42,000 during the past year.
  • Number of views per blog post went from 47.5 in 2017 to 126 in 2018.

As I restarted the blog in January of 2016, it is the wonderful response and feedback from fellow bloggers and readers that have helped me improve what I post.  Also, I was humbled to be mentioned in WordPress’ Discover section for my 3rd post in a series about the Forum in Rome; this made a huge impact on the success of my blog.

As our trip to Italy was a big part of my photography this year, here are some examples…

Looking across the Forum
Looking over Massa Marittima
Fields of Tuscany
Looking over Volterra
Cupid and Psyche
Looking over the Valley
Connecting with neighbors
Alleys everywhere!
Looking toward the Capitol
By the temple of Augustus
View across Palatine toward Maxentius

Again, thanks to each of you for making 2017 a year of progress and growth!  I’m very much looking forward to pushing forward in 2018 and learning from all of you!

Have a wonderful and happy New Year!

I received a Liebster Award!

Now this was a real surprise!

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I was pleasantly surprised when Angel nominated me for the “LIEBSTER AWARD”. Thank you so much for considering my blog worth this award.  As I am just finishing up the Blogging101 course, I am truly honored and excited!

Thank you very much, Angel!  Please check out her blog, where she has lots of uplifting posts and interesting posts, as she tries to make things of the hard things in life!

Now, for those who have not heard about the award, here are the rules:

  1. Thank your nominator
  2. Show the award on your blog
  3. Answer 10 questions asked to you
  4. Ask 10 questions to 10 new nominees (who have less than 200 followers)
  5. Notify them

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Thank you once again, Angel, as I can’t thank you enough for this nomination!

10 Questions asked to me by Angel.

  1. What was your first thought when you read about your nomination?  I was simply overjoyed, as it came completely out of the blue.
  2. What is your favourite thing about blogging?  The ability to interact with other bloggers, and get their feedback on what I post.
  3. Would you take more classes like Blogging101? Why? Blogging101 was a tremendous kickstart to finally get my blog out of the doldrums; I’m looking for additional classes to continue this drive forward.
  4. Is there a specific thing you would like to blog about but have not yet?  There are some drafts building up right now, so stay tuned for some completely new material.
  5. What will your blog look like in five years? Hopefully, it will continue to evolve and become ever more inspiring to my fellow bloggers.  As my graphic design skills improve, the look and feel of my blog should grow with these skills.
  6. What inspires you? A unique view into the world around me.  A moment of perfect stillness.  Completing a tricky task.  Inspiring someone else to stretch their abilities.
  7. What drives you nuts? Mindless people, by and large…
  8. If you were reborn – who would you be?  I’d come back as an artistic scientist…
  9. From today’s perspective: If you could change an event that happened in your life would you do it?  There are lots of things that I might do differently with hindsight, but it’s not too useful to dwell on the past.
  10. What is your inner child’s favourite activity?  Musing over things, challenging myself.

The following bloggers are my nominees for the “Liebster” award, and I hope they accept it:

  1. The Inkwell
  2. soFarsoStu
  3. Blue Car Painted Green
  4. Raines Journal
  5. Booksmart
  6. justbluedutch
  7. paperclipsandpins
  8. Gerry Wilson
  9. Poems in the Wild
  10. Spark!

Nominees are kindly requested to answer the following 10 questions:

  1. Why did you start blogging?
  2. How do you feel about being nominated?
  3. What is your opinion about Blogging101?
  4. What are your hobbies other than blogging?
  5. What inspires you the most?
  6. Is this your first/only blog or do you have other blogs too?
  7. How would you describe your blog?
  8. What are the things that annoy you?
  9. who would you want to be if you were reborn?
  10. What is the message you want to give to your readers through your blog?

Keep on blogging!!

Thank you all!