A Few Words to my WordPress Family

 

When I got the idea to start this little blog sixteen months ago, I didn’t fully appreciate what lay in store. For those who haven’t been following my blog since the beginning, my purpose for blogging was to give me incentive to create, and to develop the stick-to-itiveness I would need to tackle the project of writing a novel.

By sharing something regularly, I anticipated Jennifer’s Journal getting some initial feedback from my family and friends, and indeed, that was how it progressed for the first few posts.

But as time went on, I gained other followers. I was thrilled! As many of you did before me, I was claiming a tiny corner in the blogosphere with my words and pictures, and you gave me the inspiration to post every week. Bit by bit, you helped my confidence grow.

What I hadn’t counted on, though, was how a number of my new followers have turned into friends. My WordPress family feels very much like a family, in the way we support one another and appreciate what we as individuals are trying to contribute as we blog. Some connections have even gone beyond our blogs. But whatever the connection, I love this community and value your support. Big Hugs to all of you. 🙂

This brings me to the subject of blog awards. I am always honoured and pleased when someone nominates me for one of these tokens of recognition, and I happily accept it in the spirit in which it is given. However, to blog about them individually can be very time-consuming and repetitious, not only for me but for my readers as well. That is why I am taking the liberty of changing the rules and doing what some others have done: combining accumulated awards in one blog post, dispensing with questions and answers, and giving a shout-out to some of my most recent new followers.

So here goes!

New (to me) Awards:  

Very Inspiring Blogger Awardveryinspiringbloggeraward

nominated by:
–   Solothefirst @ solothefirst
–   exbullet @ my secret diary


WordPress Family Award

wordpress-family-award2

nominated by:
–  Kelly @ free little words

 Awards I’ve Received a Second Time:

Versatile Blogger Award

nominated by:
–  Olivia Stocum @ theclaymoreandsurcoat.com


Liebster Award                                    

–  Shaun @ praying for one day


Thank you, everyone!
Readers, I urge you to check out these wonderful blogs.

Here are some of my most recent blogger/followers. Thank you, and welcome aboard. In appreciation, I share the WordPress Family Award with each of you. Respond to it, or not, as you wish. Once again, Readers, I suggest you sample these interesting blogs for yourself.

 Kristen Mazzola

Rantings of an Amateur Chef110430_WordpressIcon

 The F Stoop

 Cristian Mihai

 Seven Hundred 50

My Nascence

 Digital Hegemon

Poetic Licensee

 Flux and Flow

Andrew Toynbee’s Very Own Blog

Related Link:
 In the Beginning: Follow the Yellow Brick Road

Friday Pick 44 – a Reblog

Hello, Friends and Followers. A dear and close member of my husband’s
family has suddenly become very ill and is currently fighting for her life in ICU. Because of this, I have not been able to focus on my novel-writing, or my blog recently.
So I thought I would share with you something that made my day on March 29th: one of my favourite bloggers, Diana Schwenk, chose my blog as her Friday Pick for that week. I was beyond flattered when she posted this. I suggest you check out her inspiring blog; you won’t be disappointed.
Jennifer x

dianasschwenk's avatartalktodiana

She’s real with a heart full of love and has inspired me many times to want to be a better person. Jennifer is also very interactive and this appeals to my “community building” nature. That’s why I follow Jennifer at Jennifer’s Journal. I hope you will have a look and I’m sure you will agree that Jennifer is worth a second look and a click on the follow button!

In her own words, Jennifer says:

Looking back on my blog after its first year, I can safely say that my Journal’s overall theme has turned out to be one of Love, more specifically, the sharing of what I love or have loved in my life, with you. Two years ago my husband and I got out of the city and returned to rural life in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Our hope is to continue living life simply…

View original post 95 more words

The Liebster Award and Sharing the Love

Yesterday I was pleasantly surprised to learn my blog has been nominated for the Liebster Award, by Alessia and Fabrizio, the authors of a lovely blog I’ve been recently following, Maple&Saffron.

liebster-award

Thank you, Alessia and Fabrizio!  I recommend for my readers to check out this wonderful cooking and travel blog, by a couple who have immigrated to Canada from a country I adore, Italy.

Here are the rules for this award:

  • When you receive the award, you post 11 random facts about yourself and answer 11 questions from the person who nominated you.
  • Pass the award onto 11 other blogs (make sure you tell them you nominated them!) and ask them 11 questions.
  • You are not allowed to nominate the blog who nominated you!
  • Make sure the blogs you choose have 200 or less followers  ( I did the best I could with this, but sorry, I might’ve cheated on some).

Okay, time to get down to business. Here are my random facts:

  1. I have the worst handwriting of anybody I know. Good thing I can type well.
  2. I am eight months younger than my husband.
  3. I have one older brother and one younger sister. And you know what they say about the middle child.
  4. Being in nature calms my spirit.
  5. I have a cat figurine collection.
  6. There is a sandy beach 25 yards from our front door.
  7. I like a good joke and a thoughtful quote, some of the reasons I still use Facebook.
  8. I feel more comfortable in small groups, or just one on one conversation.
  9. I can’t imagine a life without pets.
  10. I worked in a bank for about 15 years.
  11. I consider my daughter and my son my most significant contributions to this world.

Maple&Saffron ask:

  1. If you were to leave for a trip in 5 minutes, what are the 3 things you’d take with you?  An easy one, if we are talking living things and a long trip: my husband and our two cats. If not, my iPad, straightening iron, and camera.
  2. What instrument have you ever wanted to learn to play?  The piano. The guitar is a close second (tried three times but never stuck with it ).
  3. Which recipe do you really love cooking?  Not exactly a single recipe, but a big turkey dinner with all the trimmings.
  4. What’s your favourite song when you’re travelling?  Hmm..only one? That’s hard. Life Is A Highway? 🙂
  5. You’ve just landed in Italy: what’s the first dish you wish to taste?  Any kind of pasta! Or maybe margherita pizza..
  6. Mountains, hilltops or beaches: where would you go on vacation?  Anywhere is fine with me if the weather is nice, and it’s not too crowded
  7. What’s the best thing about your country?  Lots of open spaces and open minds
  8. How do you like spending your day off?  Getting outdoors for a walk or a hike, or sitting on our deck in the summer
  9. What’s your favourite world cuisine?   Italian
  10. If you could only save one of your books, which one would you choose? One of my poetry anthologies
  11. What role/part would you like to play in a movie?  Another tough one, but I went with Ripley in Alien. 

Here are my nominations, lovely blogs on some of my favourite topics. For those of you nominated who don’t do awards or don’t have time to participate, please know that I understand. For those who do, thank you for participating. Your questions to answer are after the nominations list.

Nature is my Therapy

One More Day

trifles

Welcome to my Mind, Pull up a Chair

Kurt Rees poetry

bliss in images 

lindatownsdin

Cauldrons and Cupcakes

Almost Spring

talktodiana

onewildword

  1.   What is your favourite book genre to read?
  2.   How long have you been blogging and what made you start?
  3.    Name your favourite meal.
  4.   If you could go anywhere in the world on your next vacation, where would you go?
  5.   What is your most prized possession?
  6.    What is your favourite way to relax?
  7.   If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
  8.    Which do you prefer: music, TV, or theatre?
  9.   What movie did you see in the past year that you liked?
  10.  Who is the most important person in your life?
  11.  What are you most passionate about in life?

My First Anniversary…and Ten Things I Didn’t Know When I Started

 

One year ago today, on New Year’s Eve, 2011, I started this blog, Jennifer’s Journal. And as I mentioned in the very first post, Follow the Yellow Brick Road, I had no idea where my blog would take us. So here is what I found out.

1. I didn’t know I would have the resolve to faithfully post to my blog a little more than once a week on average. WordPress, being the best blogging site – in my opinion – had a lot to do with my enthusiasm.

2. I didn’t know I would be taking my visitors and followers on a pictorial journey of our 2011 trip to Italy and France. Nor did I know that one of these installments,
“Scenes From Italy – Part Three: Siena and Florence, Tuscany” would consistently be my most visited post, from all around the world!

3. I hadn’t made plans yet to take a Spring vacation in Florida, with my husband and my daughter and her family. My photo album from that trip,
“For the Young, & the Young at Heart: Disney’s Magic Kingdom“, would garner a record of 449 views on May 8th, the most views I had in one day.

4. I wasn’t fully aware of how beautiful it actually is where I live, here in Bonavista Bay, Newfoundland, until I read your lovely comments on my local photographic efforts. 🙂  “Autumn Walk on the East Coast” was a particular favourite.

5. I came to learn how the poems, musings, and photographs of my grandchildren would be a popular subject for many!

6. That goes for the posts of my little cats, Maisie and Vivian, as well. One of them even guest-posted in “Vivian’s View From Here“.

7. I was overwhelmed with the outpouring of support my blog received, as I was losing my mother. I cannot fully express what a source of comfort those caring comments were, and still are.

8. I didn’t know I was going to publish sixteen of my poems, and that I would be proud of them. 🙂

9. I wasn’t sure (but I am pleased I did) that I would keep my resolution to start writing a novel, and am now starting Chapter Six of the first draft. My post about it, Then You Must Write It, would be one my most popular blog posts, generating many of your comments.

10. Novel writing or not, I love my blog as the vehicle of self-expression it has turned out to be, and I will continue to update it in 2013. Connecting with many of you and making new friends is one of the best advantages of blogging.

So, let me say to all of my followers and visitors from sixty-six countries, a GIANT THANK YOU! And a Happy New Year to you all. 🙂

Jennifer’s Journal: 2012 in review

Well, what do you know? WordPress.com prepared a 2012 annual report for my blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

600 people reached the top of Mt. Everest in 2012. This blog got about 5,700 views in 2012. If every person who reached the top of Mt. Everest viewed this blog, it would have taken 10 years to get that many views.

Silly statistic, isn’t it? But don’t let that stop you:

Click here to see the complete report.