Happy one year of blogging to me!! Wow one year already, that sure went by so fast!! Ā I actually forgot that I wrote my first post back in May of last year. So it’s really one year and two months since I first started blogging.
I had been toying with the idea of starting a blog for many years before I actually plucked up the courage to just go ahead and do it. I have always really enjoyed reading blogs from so many lovely ladies living in all different parts of the world. I loved hearing about their day-to-day lives and seeing their kids grow up was so much fun to read. I almost felt like I was reading about a friend living out there in the big wide world somewhere.
So a really big reason why I was keen to blog was that I saw it as a fantastic way to document some special moments in my life. I also thought that it was a great way to have a record of the average day-to-day stuff that happens in life too. Sort of like keeping a journal. So after a very long time of just thinking about it, I finally plucked up some courage and jumped in.
COVID Lockdown
2021 was a year of restrictions and lockdowns. So I found that this was the perfect opportunity to get really get serious about starting a blog. I honestly think that if it wasn’t for COVID lockdown I might not have been able to give blogging a good go. Because it just took way longer than I had ever anticipated! And I’m really not at all sure that I could have managed to get my head around the technical side of blogging as well as work full time.
Start A Blog In Five Minutes They Said
I had no clue where to start so I did what I always do when I’m trying to decide something. I asked Google. Some articles that I read assured me that it was easy peasy and that I could get this blog up and running in five minutes. Ahem……no!!
Yes, I could download WordPress but that was THE only thing that took five minutes. The rest was a whole lot of technical stuff and I have to admit. I really felt out of my league and my head was exploding with so many new things that I had never heard of before like widgets, plugins, template choices, web hosting, domain name…….aaaaaarrrggghhh!!!
I watched a LOT of YouTube tutorials and I did a lot of reading. Bit by bit things started to make sense. And slowly and I mean very very slowly my little blog started to take shape. I had envisioned myself setting up my blog quick as a flash and then starting writing articles and posts straight away. No way did that happen!
So to find that I had to spend so long doing all the technical stuff was such a huge surprise! And not always a fun one. At one point I remember that I seriously had to resist the urge to pick up my computer and just hurl it out the window!! But on the plus side, I didn’t lose my mind, and I think that I may have even developed some more neural pathways in my brain. Win/win.
Being Brave!
Once the blog looked sort of ok I wrote my first post and my heart was thumping so hard when I hit that publish button for the very first time. I’m really quite shy and putting myself out there is such a huge deal for me! I wanted everyone to read my blog but at the same time, I wanted no one to read it!! haha, talk about being conflicted!!
I didn’t tell anyone about my blog for quite a while and then one day I felt brave enough to confide in my bestie and she was SO encouraging. She cheered me on and made me feel like I could actually make this little project of mine happen. Everyone needs a friend like her and I am so lucky to have her in my life.
Favourite Things About Blogging
Blogging Is A Fun And Creative Outlet!
Blogging has become my favourite hobby and it doesn’t feel like a chore or something that I have to do. I would love to dedicate more time so I could post more often. Way back when I first started I was posting every day! I loved it and had a really great rhythm going for a while.
Sadly when I lost my dear mum I just couldn’t bring myself to even look at the blog. So I gave myself some time off and then I slowly started to post about twice a week. Just recently I am beginning to want to really get back into posting again more often and that makes me happy.
Reading Other People’s Blogs
Reading other people’s blogs was what actually inspired me to start my own in the first place. So I still love reading blogs from so many fantastic writers and getting to “know” them.
A Great Blogging Community
I feel like I am part of a really nice community of bloggers. I love how many of them take the time to read my blog and when I get comments they are always so kind and encouraging! I know everyone is busy so the fact that people take the time to comment means the absolute world to me. Thank you so much!!
So there we have it! My one year of blogging and happy blogging birthday to me! I am so glad that I started this fun journey and I am really excited for the future and to continue posting. Hopefully more often! I love you guys and like I always say and really mean it. Thank you so much for stopping by to have a read.
Linking up with Andrea and Erika for today’s Friday Favourites post
Congrats on your milestone! Iām glad you blog- I enjoy reading about your corner of the world!
Thank you so much, Liz. You just put a great big smile on my face and I really appreciate your lovely comment xxx
Congrats! I really enjoy your blog and learning about your life so far away from mine! I agree with everything you said! You think that the writing part will take the most time, but it’s the other stuff and I have learned so much!
Thanks so much, Amy, I love reading your blog too! It’s so fun to get to know you and I always love looking at your photos of your great fashion styles. Plus your delicious food pics always make me hungry! š xxx
Happy 1 year anniversary to you! Love reading your blog!
Thank you so much for your sweet comment, Lisa. I really appreciate it xx
Really! I thought you had been blogging a lot longer! Congratulations on your first year. I love reading your blog and about your life.
Ahh! I remember trying to use WordPress when I was first thinking about blogging and it was way over my head and there was just too much to figure out. I feel the same when it comes to blogging. I am a shy person and sometimes I get really nervous about publishing posts in case too many people read them. lol x
Thanks so much, kim! I really love reading your blog too. It’s a big step outside my comfort zone every time I hit that publish button!! š But I really love blogging so far and am looking forward to many more years of it.
Happy one year of blogging!! I probably was one of those people that put out my first post in just minutes (I used Blogger which at the time was suuuuper user friendly) but not having researched anything at all I had zero ideas what I was doing. My first probably year of blogging I had tons of long posts with zero photos (I was blogging about homeschooling and didn’t want photos of my young kids and our home online– oh how that has changed!). But it’s been such a fun learning curve and the community of bloggers really is great. I do feel like I have acquaintances all over the world.
Thank you, Joanne. I was totally expecting WordPress to be much more user-friendly!! Like yourself, I too feel like I am making so many connections and acquaintances with lots of lovely people. It’s been a really great experience š
Happy anniversary! I love reading your blog!
Thank you so much! I really appreciate your lovely comment xx
Aw, happy 1st year blogging anniversary! I am so glad that you stumbled across MMBC. That’s the fab thing about blogging, you meet lovely new friends all across the world.
Have a fab weekend Ruth! xx
Thanks so much, Jayne. I’m so glad I found MMMBC too where I have gotten to meet some really lovely bloggers xxx
Happy Anniversary!
I started blogging almost 10 years ago and I had no idea how much it would change my life and how many lovely people I would meet. It’s a fun hobby to have. I’m looking forward to seeing how your blog develops over the next year :o)
#MMBC