101 things about me

Sunday 27 July 2008

This is my gift to you...

In February last year I started blogging. It was something I had been contemplating for sometime, but true to form, (being a great procrastinator) it took me sometime to sit down and just do it! EVENTUALLY I created my blog using a Blogger template, added a couple of personal touches and in no time I was hooked. I have never looked back. In fact, I often find myself creating new posts in my head and could easily spend hours visiting other blogs. Mal regularly complains about being a blogging widow!

What continues to surprise and please me, is how many creative, wonderful people are out there and the number of people that drop by and say hi! There are many bloggers I like to visit regularly and then so many new ones I keep finding! You all colour my internet life.

In September last year I added clustermaps to my blog, to track how many visitors I get. This week, I reached a grand total of 10,000! Yes, TEN THOUSAND visitors to my blog! That is amazing to me and is definitely worthy of celebration. And so, as the "This is" theme for this week is of our own choice, I have decided to make it my first blog giveaway in honour of the occasion. This is my thank-you for your inspirational blogs and comments.

So, post a comment by midnight next Saturday and you will be in the draw to win. What do you love about blogging? What is your latest blogging find? What inspires you? Who inspires you? On Sunday of next week, I will draw the lucky winner and post it on my blog.

This is what the lucky winner will win. Can you tell I like pink and that I have a 'thing' for notebooks? I made the Snugglepot and Cuddlepie badge. I plan to add a couple of other bits too, but I will wait now until I see who wins and go and take a look at their blog to see what might be suitable.

Good luck everyone, have a great week and thanks again for visiting.

42 comments:

Cathy {tinniegirl} said...

I was just reading this post as you were leaving a message on mine. Uncanny. That's what I love about blogging - how the universe just seems to line up and bring creative and like minded people together. There's a million other reasons but I think that one will do this morning.

Christie said...

I lOVE sugglepot & cuddlepie!!

I love 'meeting' new people through blogging & being inspired by others. I am contrantly finding new blogs & new craft ideas I want to try.

Congrats on making it past 10,000- wow!

Anonymous said...

Jacinta,
I love being connected to a generous group of crafty and creative online friends who inspire and delight me. In particular a big cheer to Pip and Kirsty who seem to hold some glue to all of this. And I just found out about Favicons (favourite icons), but dont know how to upload yet
Sharon
Cheers to your milestone

Mistress Meeyee said...

I love your giveaway stuff! I love blogging because I have been having a hard pregnancy and I have met people like myself and I I have met some of the most wonderful people ever.It makes me happy to meet nice people when I am alone so much.

flossy-p said...

WHoooWhooooo 10,000!!!! That's amazing! Congratulations.

By far the best thing about blogging for me is the new friends and sense of community. I'm addicted to it. Some days I think it's the only reason I post, just to chat to all the nice bloggers out there. Just for the company. :)

Dees said...

Congrats!!!!10.000 my gosh wowieeee!!thank you so much for sharing your blog with us,it is always such a huge pleasure to see your name popping up in my mailbox.Your comments are always so warm and kind it makes me really happy to 'know'you!!!hugs Dees

trash said...

10,000? Wow! That is lot of people, huh?

Why do I blog? I write, I have always written and the blogoverse was just sitting waiting to be filled. What I love about it is the connections I have made. All these people out there who inspire me, make me laugh, make me cry and even leave me shouting at my computer screen. My friendship group has widened. A lot!

Jenny said...

Wow!!! 10 000-that is awesome! Blogging to me is totally inspirational and so wonderful that you can connect with so many like mided people from all around the globe-thank goodness for the WWW!!

brittany said...

wow, 10 000! congrats!

Anna-Lisa said...

yeah - I never thought I'd be so addicted to blogging. At first I just kept a blog as a scrapbook of my favourite finds. It took me months to start chatting to other bloggers. Such a nice community! Congrats 10000 is quite an audience! And pink is a great colour - beautiful notebook cover!

Bird Bath said...

congrats! That's a lot of visitors. I enjoy blogging for the wonderful inspiration the crafting community provides.
I see we both like the gumnuts ;)

Melanie Gray Augustin said...

10,000! That's amazing! Congratulations! I love the sense of community that comes with blogging and it is those people who inspire me.

Don't worry about adding me in the giveaway, postage to Japan is a bit nasty, and I'm starting to think about packing to move home next year. I just wanted to say congrats :)

Michelle said...

Gosh - 10,000!! Wow!!

Blogging is addictive and heaps of fun!!! Why? I think it's because I've met so so many lovely people with such great crafty ideas over the past few months.

I'm so upset that I've started working again after maternity leave as I don't have as much time as I used to for blogging!

Hila said...

oh congrats! Blogging is so much fun and this is really sweet of you :)

kate said...

Congratulations Jacinta! That is so very exiciting, but im not suprised, your blog is so lovely :)
And i totally agree about blogging becoming so addictive!!

kate said...

Congratulations Jacinta! That is so very exiciting, but im not suprised, your blog is so lovely :)
And i totally agree about blogging becoming so addictive!!

Lisa [strickerin] said...

That is a lot of visitors Jacinta and quite literally from almost everywhere. (am doing my best to make the Dubai dot huge)

I like playing show and tell plus the community in blogland. I feel like I could have a lovely afternoon chatting with many of my favourite bloggers.

Bec said...

Hey congratulations!!! Yes I agree the sense of community found among craft bloggers is awe-inspiring in itself, let alone the great inspiration to be found as well. I love knowing that there are so many people who have similar views, or a similar sense of humour, or who like the same sort of stuff that I like. I am also continually humbled by the generosity of spirit found amongst craft bloggers, and it inspires me to be more giving, and thoughtful, and generous myself. It all makes me happy :)

Rebecca said...

Congratulations, 10,000 visitors is amazing!!! Your blog inspires me, all your interesting pics and fascinating stories and the quotes that make me smile and the stories you tell that make me laugh and all the things I identify with and the inspiration the combination of all these things brings! Love your blog and I'm sure your next 10,000 visitors will too!! :D

LingoVise Says... said...

Wow... 10,000!!! That's amazing. Major Congrats are indeed in order. I've only been blogging for a few months now. I really enjoy the blogosphere... and all it encompasses. A very cool place to lurk about. Although I'm currently working at delurking. I didn't realize how cool comments were until I started my own blog. Who Knew?!

Mine can be seen rightchere ;)

sophie said...

10 000! What a great milestone. Congratulations!

Thanks for your encouraging words on the Monday Project - funnily enough we were talking about The Artist's Way in my writing class last night!

This is exactly what I love about blogging: sharing ideas and encouragement.

And it is no surprise to me that you've reached 10 000!

Juddie said...

Hey there little Acorn!
Congratulations on hosting 10,000 visitors!

I've found blogging to be such a great way of finding new inspiration from like-minded people, and of 'meeting' a whole new sphere of kind and generous and interesting people from all kinds of backgrounds and locations. I love the way bloggers share their thoughts, opinions, experiences, expertise, general musings, and celebrations of life!

Thank you for your happy blog, and may you soon be celebrating another 10,000 :-)

Karin said...

Wow, that is a lot of visitors. That is really great! And I'm one of them!! LOL!!

The blogging community is very special. I really love this because I find that I'm so inspired by so many different people and all they do. It's just wonderful.

Congratulations on hitting 10,000! Your giveaway is gorgeous. How exciting!

Sasparilla Sue said...

That is so generous of you! And WOWSERS!!!! 10,000 visitors! That's about 9,950 more than I've had - amazing!
I've found that for me blogging is cathartic a lot of the time. It doesn't matter if the post isn't this deep meaningful soliloquy. Just saying that you've had a bad day or a good day in a couple of sentences is amazingly therapeutic. I also feel I've tapped a creative vein within myself just by being inspired by all the creative bloggers that I read regularly.

Louise Dalton said...

Hi Jacinta!
On my trip home so many people said "I love reading your blog" which is strange y'know, cause they never comment! Apart from those shy folks, I really enjoy taking time to reflect on the special things in my life, what inspires and what amuses me! Life has it's tough, sad and frustrating times, but if we really look there is so much to celebrate! Writing my blog and reading other people's blogs is an excercise in positivity.

Lilli boo said...

Hey Jacinta, Congratulations on 10,000 visitors that is truly amazing. As you know I had commented on What inspires me without realising you had prompted this theme! So What I love about blogging is sharing my life (albiet slightly doctored you guys don't need or want to know everything!) actually writing wether succinctly or in point form there seems to be no rules as to how you should present a post. I really enjoy the feedback. I am also inspired by the amazing amount of creative and like-minded people I have meet or read about online and enjoy reading about their life journeys. This in turns enables me to see that we all ride the roller coaster of life and how wonderfully challenging it is.

Jenaveve said...

What a great idea! Please count me in to your fabulous offer. And yes, you can never go wrong with pink.

Hmm...blogging huh? Where do I start? There's days where I try to wean myself away from the computer but it doesn't last long. There's times when I try to cull my list of blogs in my RSS feed but then I start missing them and sign them up again, or find new ones and end up with more than I had before.

It's the magic of creativity from the blogs of others that I find so wonderful - color, texture, stories, emotions, imagery, honesty, excitement, the shock of the new and the nostalgia of the old. The whole shebang!

A whole new group of friends, even though they cannot be seen are still so real and sometimes more honest and caring than the ones met through traditional means.

And the love of writing ... a blog allows me to do what I love, with or without an audience. (And read and read and read!!!)

Maureen Reynolds said...

Congratulations! 10k... those #s are fascinating, aren't they?

I knew when I retired I'd miss having people around and yet I really really wanted to enjoy my own house in the daytime. When I jumped into the blog world, I had no idea that so much of it would be taking me to Australia!

I could have also said ...What They Said...since so many of the comments are my own thoughts too. When I take up knitting needles, I'll know it was The Blog that made me do it...

Cindy said...

I have just started blogging and still feeling a little nervous about the whole thing but I must say that there are so many great people out there. I love that even though my friends are not crafty types that I can sneak peek at so many great ideas via blogs.

JustJess said...

YOU are my new find!! I love that it's a friendly group, who always want to be uplifting, complimentary and supportive. I love the sharing of ideas. I also LOVE Snugglepot and Cuddlepie!!

Anonymous said...

WOW I have just found you through Comfy and Cosy as I am having my first giveaway too. I am constatnly inspired by the kindness and generosity of bloggers. It was something that came as a total shock to me. Seeing what other people manage to do in their busy day really inspires me and pushes me a little when I have lost my mojo!! glad I found you!! :)

blackie said...

Wowsers trousers! What a momentous day to have discovered your blog. I have just reached 100 posts...no idea how many visitors though. I am a bit of a reluctant blogger though. Sometimes I feel trapped by my blog, but every now and then someone shares something with me, or responds to one of my posts in a way that really connects. That's what keeps me going.

PS I knitted my baby girl a gumnut baby hat. Where ever we go people comment on it and you can see people out of ear shot talking about it too. Everyone loves a gumnut baby!

Anastasia said...

way to go on the hits! blogging is so inspiring and i love meeting like minded people and seeing all the great images and fun projects...for me its helped me get back into drawing which I hadnt done since I was in my late teens...so thats a big plus!

Jodi said...

blogging providing the perfect creative outlet for me in post-birth days. It encouraged me to write frivolously and now I'm back to writing on a professional level. Hooray for blogging. And congrats on 10,000. A wonderful effort!

Shellbells said...

long live blog land for other mothers like me that need a creative outlet....being mum is so important to me but I need something for me...my blog is it. Congrats on the 10000 hits!!! I think mine is only at the humble 3000 stage.

Jo (sparkly green knickers) said...

I love being inspired by other crafters, and possibly inspiring others in return. I love the sharing, the connection with like minded people.

Nathalanes Place said...

I love going from one blog to another as finding some comfort from some is very rewarding, and some become my haven or sanctuary. Some blogs are my humour place while others are for crafts. Thanks for the giveaway

Marita said...

Congrats on all the big 10,000 thats alot of people dropping by. Blogging for me is about trying to chart my crafty adventures, but lately I've been adding some other aspects of my life. I love reading blogs because of the info bloggers share, I really enjoyed your Lady in Pink post.

Pecos Blue said...

Wow 10,000 that is an achievement. Count me in if I am not too late.

Also if you like super hero capes come on by and win one! My first giveaway.

Anonymous said...

I love blogging and I love reading blogs. I seem to find out so much of what's going on in the creativity world via blogs!! One of my inspirations is lottielulu:
http://lottielulu.blogspot.com/

Stephanie said...

Wow! That is a lot of visitors...good for you! :) As a new blogger I would have to say that I love blogging because I can share ideas and finds with people all over the world and get there feedback (comments are fun!). I have recently discovered Starving Crafter (http://starvingcrafters.blogspot.com/) which I love. Other creative people, blogs and ideas are what inspires me. I love how many wonderfully, artistic people there are out there...from the cooks to the crafters...they are all so fabulous.

Thank you for this opportunity! and best wishes for a bright blogging future =)

whit said...

Glad you got into blogging. I always smile at your posts, thank you.