Happy Birthday Blog!

My blog turned 1 year old. I could make a pro/con list for this year-old hobby/journal/electric scrapbook but I won't. I'm afraid the cons would win.

Instead I will post 5 things I really like about having a blog.

1. People. Both family, neighbors & new bloggy friends. The blog world has definitely enhanced those relationships. And mostly that's a "pro." I love being able to be in touch with those people and be a support in their lives as I feel it from them.

2. A record of our lives. I am a real fan of scrapbooking and have been doing it for 18 years now. I love that I can go back at my random entries and at least get a glimpse into our day-to-day lives. I have used many posts as journaling in my scrapbook pages. I tend to scrap about bigger events & holidays but this blog has made the daily grind more real for record keeping. That's pro if you ask me.

3. My kids & hubby read it. This may be insignificant at times, like when I post my favorite decor pictures or blow some steam about a selfish, pigheaded lady, but for the most part it is a pro in that my family can surely know how much I love them and are devoted to them. Someone a few months ago said, "I love your blog. It's like an ode to your children." It's also been a great behavior modificater. Conversations have gone like this," Oh, this is so going on the blog".."No, mom, okay, I won't do it" or the famous, "Mom, are you going to blog this?" or the couple of times I used photos and did what someone might call blackmail. That someone is surely not me. I'm just recording the daily grind, for, you know, posterity!

4. Inspiration. This is purely one-sided as far as I can tell. I love making my daily blog surf and reading about my favorite bloggy people's lives. They are some of the most hilarious, talented, devoted, creative, inspiring people. I just don't have time to take it all in everyday, as I have that family read about in pro #3.

5. My tech/photo/writing skills are being utilized. This could go in the con list but really, I want to stay up on things and keep the brain dusted off, so this really belongs on this list.