Friday, September 22, 2017

Blogging - Looking Back - Part 1


  I have wanted to be a blogger for a long time. I guess that makes me a blogger-want-a-be.   I started a couple blogs and then quit. No one followed my blogs or made comments. Maybe that's part of why I quit. Why continue if all I'm doing it for is myself? But I enjoyed it. Now that I think about it, that reason alone should be enough for me to have continued.
   For fun I decided to go back and read my old blogs. See what I posted about. Review the projects I completed. Where I was in my life. What a great time I had going back and reading my posts! My first blog was called Scrap On It! But I later changed the name to A Little Bit of This & A Little Bit of That. I started my first blog on July 23, 2011. It's hard to believe it has been that long ago. I started as a way to help me recover from a break up of a toxic relationship. To take my mind off the hurt and heartache I was dealing with. The relationship ended terribly late 2010 but recovering from the emotional and verbal abuse I suffered took a long time. I was devastated when the relationship ended. Looking back I don't understand why. That was one of the worst times of my life. It's funny how we can convince ourselves something that is so bad for us is good and not realize how bad it is until we are no longer in the situation. But I digress.
   My first post introduced myself and talked about how many UFOs (Unfinished Projects)  or PHDs (Projects Half Done) I had. I talked about how I made a list, organized my projects and how my system worked for me. After reading my post I want to reorganize, update my system and begin working on unfinished projects again.  I just realized that my post invoked the very emotion I wanted. Excitement to do what I wrote about. It doesn't matter if I am the one that got excited. The post accomplished what I wanted it to do.
   The next several posts dealt with sewing/quilting projects, baking fun, scrapbooking pages,  techniques I tried and events that were happening in my life.  As I read through each blog post the memories start rolling in. The fun of doing the projects and the satisfaction I had when I completed something created the desire to jump back in to getting stuff done. Remembering the fun I had with family and friends.  Not to mention wanting to do more blogging.
   A later post I did talks about the book 52 Scrapbooking Challenges by  Elsie Flannigan. I forgot all about having this book. I talk about the challenges, my scrapbooking goals and what I completed. Reading this post makes me want to pull the book out and start the challenges all over again. Fifty-two challenges is only one layout a week. That's an easy goal for sure. And I don't have to do the challenges in order so I can switch things up a bit. In another post I write about sketchbooks by Scrapbook Generations. These books are filled with sketches that are easy to follow and adapt to whatever scrapbooking style you have. I completely forgot about having these books too. I've moved away from traditional scrapbooking and gone in the direction of a Project Life style memory keeping but these books remind me of how much I enjoyed creating pages. Something I think I will start doing again.
  I found a blog post that deals with being alone. Living alone. Doing things alone. Having a life alone. Of stepping out of my comfort zone and creating a life. Funny how life changes but remains the same. I am no longer alone. I've been in a relationship for almost a year. I've been in a couple relationships since the one that broke my heart and started me on my path of blog writing. Anyway, I am not alone anymore but the possibility of no longer being in a relationship is looming in the horizon. If issues aren't resolved, the change will happen in the very near future. This brings me back to my post about being alone. I am again looking at the possibility of being alone.  Living alone. Doing things alone. Creating a life alone. But this time being alone won't be as difficult. I think this time being alone will be just fine. I actually like the idea. In fact the truth be told, I actually miss being alone. How funny is that?
  There was a post that had a Project Bucket List. I went through the list and realized that I completed almost all of the items on it. I have to say  I was quite pleased to see that. Out of eleven items I listed I got six done. I don't think I got them all done in a month like I planned. I actually don't think I got them done in the same year.  But the important thing is they got done. Not bad. I definitely will need to make another Project Bucket List. I did find another post where I made a List and this one was LONG. This list didn't get as many completed as the first one. Some of the items on the list still aren't completed. That tells me I need to keep the list short and easier to complete.
   I got to one post about my big baby Sweet Pea. I recently lost him to cancer. Seeing that post made me want to cry and laugh at the same time. So many memories. During this time in my life I felt like my life didn't have a lot of meaning and I was just existing.  But as I read this blog and remember the events behind the posts, I find I'm missing that time in my life and I'm upset with myself for not appreciating the time more. Perhaps there is a life lesson in this for me. Appreciate and enjoy where I'm at in life the moment I'm in it.
   The last post I made on this blog was June 21, 2013. I didn’t post every day or even every week. Sometimes I didn't  post every month. There was a period of time where I didn't post at all. Almost eight months without a post. When I began writing again, my post talked about why I quit. One of the reasons was that no one read my blog. And I tell why I started writing again. I started writing again for myself and for my daughter, who was my only follower. This is a reminder to myself to keep writing even when I feel no one is reading. If one person reads, enjoys and get something from what I post then that is a reason to keep writing. Even if that one person is me.
   As I read my blog I realize I got a lot of things done. My posts may not have been fancy. Sometimes they were "clumsy".  Some had a lot of pictures, some had few. I didn't think to do step by step directions on how to do something. But after reading my blog from the beginning to end, I am motivated and excited to go and retry some of the things I did then. So I guess that makes my blog a success even if it's just me that benefits.
   So if you are a new blogger, a long time blogger or a hit or miss blogger, keep writing. Even if you are the only one who reads your blog, keep writing. You will enjoy going back and reading what you wrote. You will get something beneficial from your blog. And that makes writing your blog worth every minute you spend on it.  

Thanks for visiting with me at
Down Home at Dee's

No comments:

Post a Comment