Happy Blog Birthday to A Square Of Chocolate! Come on in and bring your chocolate and cheers to celebrate 2 years! I’m celebrating with a **Giveaway** but, please hang with me through the celebration tidbits first and then I'll unwrap the details for you.
For those of you who have been with
me from the very beginning - can you believe it?
It's been 2 years!!
I truly thank you from the bottom of
my heart that you've stuck around to watch it grow and to follow along with all
my silly amusing stories, easy recipes, adventures and moments from MN Living.
I also want to thank any newcomers
and visitors that felt this was a fun and inspiring place to connect.
I've been writing and publishing
posts pretty much every week for two years and…
Here’s the
Truth:
It's
been trying.
It's been insightful.
It's
been time consuming.
It's been a confidence
builder.
It's
been intimidating.
It's been self-fulfilling.
It's
been disappointing.
It's been enthusiastic.
It's
been reluctance.
More importantly, it's been a place
of personal growth and self-awareness!!!
As you can see, it's been a roller
coaster of ups and downs. All in one little blog and 160 written stories
later!
And, I'm so glad I experienced the ride!
Here’s the Reality:
I literally had no idea what I was
doing in the beginning, but since then I'm now part of several blogging
groups, had the chance to meet other bloggers at the MN Blogger Conference and
I've gained an exceptional amount of information from other veteran writers and
blog curators.
Things I feared in the whole process
were if anyone would read it? What would I write about? And, could I
commit?
I've learned that it's my writing
canvas and an outlet for what's milling around in my mind. I was on this
road to motivate, inspire, make you laugh, relay positive messages and to bring
a smile. Honestly, these were all the things I wanted for myself too.
I told myself not to get sucked into
the funnel of failure. Sometimes flops or failures are just an awakening of
what to do differently. The successes are the gold stars reflecting from those failures.
Venturing into unknown territory was
intimidating in the beginning and to put myself out there for all to see made
me anxious. However, with each written post I gained more confidence.
Here’s the Ups
and Downs:
I’m very grateful for some of the unexpected
recognition and for the rewarding feeling it’s brought me. I had one of my blog
stories published in an anthology book called Feisty After 45, published
by Mill Park Publishing. I’m also a contributor
to Midlife Boulevard and Erma Bombeck Writers’ Workshop. Then, a few others that I’m still waiting to hear a response. Fingers crossed.
Along with successes came disappointments.
Like I said, this is a roller
coaster adventure! I've submitted essays to several other forums that have
gotten rejected. It's part of the territory and I've learned not to take it
personally and that I must keep writing and keep submitting.
The support of other writers is
really what pulled me along to keep going. Being among other people who have
the same fears and have mutual experiences was a real eye opener for me.
Now, I feel I'm ready to take on the
next challenge.
Here’s What’s Next:
To avoid getting into rut, I thought
I'd take a pause and will be posting less often so that I can expand into other
areas. I want to explore new ideas and breathe fresh thoughts into A Square Of Chocolate.
- I recently joined Toastmasters to improve on public speaking.
- I'd like to contribute to women’s organizations & charity events.
- I'll be attending writing workshops, retreats and conferences.
- Continue to search out online publications for essay submissions.
- Look into other publishing opportunities.
I figure if I write and share these
goals here, then I'm more on the hook to do them.
A Square Of Chocolate is
my little place to express a little storytelling humor, to share ideas and to
inspire. I'm pretty proud of what I've done with it.
I once read that writing is like
building sand castles with words. I want to continue discovering new ideas so I
may build better sand castles.
Here’s to YOU and Encouragement:
Truthfully, if it wasn’t for feeling your encouragement, I may not be celebrating two years today. There are no words to express my appreciation for those who have supported me along this journey and have taken the time to read my little blog and have expressed how it has struck a chord with them. Whether it be with a smile, a giggle or feeling inspired.
It would be terrific if you sent me
a personal message or put in the comments below to let me know what things
you'd like to continue seeing or reading. I love reading your comments. I
write for my own enjoyment and for therapeutic reasons, but it's important to me that you enjoy it too.
I'm always working on discovering my writing voice and it’s because you are
coming back and finding something of value here that keeps me motivated.
Here’s a Gift Giveaway for YOU:
Here’s a Gift Giveaway for YOU:
I hope that if you haven't already
subscribed to receive new posts to your email that you subscribe here today,
so you won't miss any posts or future giveaways when I share them. You'll receive notification
straight to your email.
If you do subscribe (I hope you do)
please remember to confirm subscription
from the follow-up email. It's the only way to activate your subscription. I won’t inundate your inbox or share your
email address.
Not to mention, it’s doggone FREE people!
Here’s to Growth,
Progress and Celebration!
I may post less often on my blog,
but only to focus on other opportunities and experiences that I hope to share
when I can. It's my goal to gain more knowledge and to put myself out there on
the next road less traveled.
Yep, today deserves some good
chocolate to celebrate! It was the chocolate wrapper message that inspired the blog
name and got me motivated in the first place. Interestingly, those simple messages
should not be overlooked - they can grow into future opportunities that will add
more meaning to who you are.
So, the roller coaster ride continues
and as I clickety-clack up the next hill, hopefully, the anticipation for
what's up there does not disappoint. If it does…oh well…then I’ll go for the
next one.
Put your HANDS in the air and let's RIDE!
Hi Laurie, Congratulations on two years! Look at all you've accomplished. Who knows where the next 2 years will take you!....Either way I have a feeling it will be interesting. :)
ReplyDeleteThank you Anna...especially since your blog was one of the reasons I was inspired to take the first step. Appreciate your kind words!
DeleteYou heartily deserve recognition for your determination and skill for telling a story. I smile every time I see your emails appear in my box! Many thanks for the joy and giggles!
ReplyDeleteOh, Puppet and Junie were at first embarrassed when hearing their "encounter" hit print but now it's something of a "remember the time..." Wishing you every success! Dee
Thank you so much Dee! Smiles and giggles are what this is all about. I'm so glad Puppet and Junie were my muse to give me a creative writing challenge. I doubt we'll see them on TMZ anytime soon, but yes, their story will linger in the blogosphere for some time. ;-)
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