my one thousandth blog post

I told Rory, "I think this whole blogging thing isn't just a passing fancy. I think I'm in it for the long haul." That was probably clear at post number three hundred. But I wrote another seven hundred posts just to be sure.

I started thinking about how cool it would be if I kept this thing up for another one thousand posts, and how technically, when I am sixty five, I could still be blogging. What an odd thought. Though I love having life documented like this and don't plan on stopping anytime soon.

Anyway, to commemorate my one thousandth post, I thought I would tip my hat to a few of my favorite blogs. These are the bloggers I look up to. These are the ones that inspire me to keep it up. I love the blogging community. Love being a part of others lives in this way. 

For example,

Elise Blaha is one of my favorite bloggers. She is full of imagination and diy projects. She makes me feel like I can try and accomplish anything new. I love that feeling. I have never met her, she doesn't know me at all, and yet I squealed when she recently posted that she is pregnant with their first. That is the crazy-amazing thing about blogging. The strange closeness you feel to the blogger after following their life through pictures and stories. I personally love this. 

Marta Dansie is another all time favorite. Marta is a stay-at-home mom and a graphic design artist. I read her blog long before Ivar was born and I so appreciate her happiness in being at home with her sons all day, her devotion to her husband and family and the way she paints homemaking in such a lovely light. I have learned a lot from her. 

Hootenannie. Love this blog. She is so funny, so adventurous and so, so honest. Can't say enough good things. Read this post if you're looking to laugh out loud. Funny, funny stuff. This post gives a good feel too.  I have never met Annie either, though just a few weeks ago I left a comment on her blog, she emailed and said she reads my blog and it turns out we have been following each others lives for years, while not knowing it. I adore her and her blog and was so flattered to think she reads this one!

The Forest Room is a blog that has actually transformed the way I see my future. I mean that. Sarah makes homeschooling look incredibly fun. And challenging. But so worthwhile. Her pictures are amazing, and the outdoor adventures she takes with her kids are inspiring. I may or may not home school one day (this feels far, far away) and we live in a great school district, but the creativity, imagination and intention she brings to her kids education makes me excited about teaching my kids, whether they go to public school or not.

Lisa Jo Baker. I am very new to this blog, but I can't get enough. Lisa has taken on the role of Cheerleader To The Mothers. She is a Christian who writes candidly about the hardships of motherhood, while shining a beautiful, encouraging light on how important and noble the call of the mom is. I feel understood when I read her blog. Like she's watched me in action and knows the parts of my duties that I struggle with. She's a good read.

And a quick word to you, faithful readers: I want to thank you for stopping by this blog so often. Truth be told, I would write on this blog if it was just my mom and sister reading (they had better read!) but it is so super fun to have such a great group of people reading what I write. I have always seen my life in stories, but since starting this blog Rory will often beat me to the punch saying, "oh, get a picture. this should go on the blog."

Here's to many more pictures and stories. Thanks for reading.

comments!

This picture has nothing to do with the subject of this post. But it sure is a cute picture, isn't it?

 

There is a strange thing that happens in blog land. People write their hearts, their minds, their joys and sorrows and then they hit publish. And sometimes someone leaves a comment.

Oh a comment. A comment can sustain the blog author for weeks. It can get kind of quiet sometimes, posting pictures, writing stories, wondering if anyone out there is taking notice.

So when someone does...when someone says hello, I like this. Or, hello, your kid is cute. Or, hello, sometimes you're funny. Well, when this happens, somewhere out there a rainbow appears. A choir sings. A kitten purrs. A child laughs joyfully down a slide. (Aha! I worked the picture into my post. Brilliant!) And the blog author may just think to themselves weeks later, 'member when I got that comment in 2010. that was awesome.

So what I am about to tell you is terrible. Just terrible.

A while back I changed my settings for people to leave comments so that you wouldn't have to go through so many hoops just to leave a word or two. Mostly this was for my Aunt Louie who often tells me that my blog hates her. Well, she doesn't say that, but you can tell she feels dejected. So I took off all the safeguards. So it would be easier. As a result I get a lot of spam comments that blogger filters. They never go public, and mostly they are gibberish and go right in my gmail spam folder. But apparently it also means that the comments you have been leaving, the ones here, still on the blog, have been going into my spam folder in my email. This means nothing to you, and really isn't a huge deal. They still end up on my blog because blogger is smart like that. Except that it means I haven't seen the comments you've been leaving on this thing for months because I read all my comments in gmail... which has been marking them as spam. For months! Months! I just thought we all got real quiet.

Sometimes I'd check a post right on the blog, and then I could see them. And I'd respond. But just now I scrolled through and found a whole bunch of comments I never had read.

For shame. For shame.

So, blog readers. A couple things. Please comment! For the love, leave me some love. And second, I'm going to try to respond more. Blog books say this is key to good blogging etiquette. And thus far I've been a terrible host. Bad manners. Poor form. But I'm going to try to change all that and respond.

Deal? Deal.