HAPPY 1 YEAR BLOG ANNIVERSARY TO ME!!!!!

HAPPY 1 YEAR BLOG ANNIVERSARY TO ME!!!!!
It seems like it was just yesterday when my trusty pal Mandy told me she had started a blog. I will admit I was skeptical at first, but I began reading hers every day, and I really enjoyed it, so I hopped on the blog band wagon and have never looked back.
I would like to mention a few things that I don’t like about blogging, and then I will post a LOT of things that I do like about it.
DISLIKES:
1. feeling like I have to blog….even when nothing important is going on
2. before I went private, I had major anxiety about people looking at my blog, judging me, making fun of me, etc….now that I have went private, I feel a lot better about that, even though I still might have some who judge and poke fun at my posts-oh well, at least it is not as many.
3. When I do a post and get 0 comments. I feel sad, and that is PATHETIC….but now lets go to my likes.
LIKES:
1. I love love love the comments that I receive. I know firsthand that it takes time, thought, and energy to leave comments, and I SO appreciate all that I get. It makes me feel so loved, like I am never alone, and that the things that are going on in my life actually matter to other people, not just me. So, if you are one of the many who leave comments, thank you so much, I really do appreciate it.
2. I love that I officially have a journal. Yes, I am calling this blog my journal, because I have written everything, and I mean everything (o.k. maybe not some things) on my blog. Not only that but I get to attach pictures, so it is double awesome. I have never had a journal, and I know it is a commandment. Pres. Hinckley said, "You will have significant experiences. I hope that you will write them down and keep a record of them, that you will read them from time to time and refresh your memory of those meaningful and significant things. Some may be funny. Some may be significant only to you. Some of them may be sacred and quietly beautiful. Some may build one upon another until they represent a lifetime of special experiences. " So….I feel like I am keeping a great record of my family’s special events, the ups and downs, the random happenings, and I am so excited to get it bound into a book and I will seriously treasure it. I am going to do 1 book a year and I hope that I can look back and laugh/cry/rejoice at all the things I have gone through. (Not to mention, all of this is stored on a hard drive far far away in blogger world, and it will always be saved, so if my house were to burn down or something, I would still have a copy of my pictures and journals!!! Hooray!-only I would think of that!)
3. I love keeping in touch with friends and family that are far away, or that I normally wouldn’t just call every week or two to see how they are. I love that I can keep up with my friend’s lives without taking too much of their time, and that I can leave them comments to let them know I am thinking of them.
4. This is a little cheesy, but I really enjoy creating the layouts and headers, and I look forward to each new season so I can change it!
5. I love being able to “talk” to my blog. Sometimes I just type and type and type, until all my feelings are typed out. (I have TERRIBLE handwriting-so I would NEVER EVER write my thoughts down) Sometimes I post the things I type, sometimes not, but at least I get it out some way or another, it is been great therapy for me.
6. O.K., when I first began blogging, I got tagged about something I don’t remember. But-I do remember me saying that I NEVER cry. Well, I don’t know what it is about this blogging thing, but now I can cry much easier, and it makes me feel so so much better. I cry when doing my own posts, I cry when I read others’ posts, and I cry for no reason some times. I just love it…lol. I was missing out before.
7. ummm. There could be lots more things, but for the sake of time, I will end now.

So thank you Mandy, for getting me going on this journey. Thank you also to all my friends who have taken the plunge as well, I love reading all of your blogs. I hope that I can keep it up. I hope you will all keep blogging too. Have a great day!!!!