It is December 31, 2019. End of the year. End of the decade….Cue Barbara Walters…..
On this last day:
Forgive those who have wronged you, but most importantly forgive yourself.
Tomorrow is the day that we all get to begin again- Let go of all the bad things that clutter your mind, your body and your heart. It’s Ok- let it all go.
To better days….
Happy New Year to you all!!
Wow.
Another year blogging.
I took some breaks during the year : felt like I needed to recharge my batteries. I had a little crisis of faith as to the direction that I wanted my blog to go in, but I’ve been pretty happy with finding a topic and then working off of it until I think it’s done. It’s far from perfect, but it’s working, so I’m sticking with it.
I wrote a lot of blogs this year: some better than others. I had a discussion with a friend recently, and we batted around the idea of why some of my pieces are better than others. Of course, it’s a chicken/egg thing: is my writing just better in some posts, or is the topic just better sometimes. I think the better the topic, the better the blog, and that my writing style is pretty consistent. My friend thinks sometimes I just write better than others, regardless of the topic. It doesn’t really matter…just different ways to look at it.
Different ways to look at things: If I were to create a new mission statement for my blog, it would probably be something along those lines. We all look at things differently: no rights or wrongs, just different. The key is to listen to others and respect other opinions.
OK- the diatribe is over for today. On to the stats…
I don’t know how many blogs I wrote- suffice to say, a decent amount.
My most popular posts:
Obviously- influencer is a word that gets searched, so when you write a post, be sure to include it…or blogging..another hot button search word….
I had 38,989 views, the overwhelming majority from America (shocking), following by UK and Canada. And apparently there is one person in Papua New Guinea who found me amusing….
12,400 visitors. 17,600 likes. 11,800 comments (you know that’s the big number for me personally. Conversation and communication would be the next buzz words on my hit parade.
The most popular time to read my blog is 9am on Friday (which is funny, because I always think my Friday posts are boring…)
As of today I have 2,991 followers. That’s just amazing to me….so thank you.
There you go. Onwards and upwards to a new year, and new adventures in blogging!!!
Very adorable red pandas….Central Park Zoo
“When anything can happen, everything matters.” Ian McEwan “Saturday ”
Guess what? Doing gratitude Saturday’s again!
Today I am grateful for the ability to speak up when something is bothering me, and accepting whatever consequences that may lead too. The older I’ve gotten the more I realize that you need to say what is good, or what is bad, and be true to your heart. This is not easy, this being open, but it’s necessary.
If you love someone, tell them. If someone doesn’t make you feel good, tell them. Just communicate.
Goodreads tabulated my reading habits for me…
First off- I set a challenge to read 50 books, and as of 12/16 I had read 62 books. Yay me!!
I read 21,539 pages!
Shortest book- “The Importance of Being Earnest” Oscar Wilde (76 pages)
Longest book- “Vanity Fair” William Makepeace Thackeray (867 pages)
On an odd note- I read both of these for the same book club.
My average book length was 347 pages.
The most popular (how many people read last year) book was Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, and the least popular was “The Accessory Handbook” by Alison Freer.
Average book rating: 3.4
Highest rated book (based on Goodreads submissions) “Where the Crawdads Sing” by Delia Owens
For the uncalculated stats:
Favorite books I read this year:
“A Gentleman in Moscow” by Amor Towles
“Daisy Jones and the Six” by Taylor Jenkins Reid
My favorite thing about apps and the internet is when I get to see a year end compilation of what I did throughout the year. Sure, every single thing I do, see, and listen to is tracked, but who cares…Big brother I’m here…I guess my life really is THAT interesting…
But anyway…
Spotify wrapped me up. I was actually a little surprised by my music habits of the past year. Here’s my musical life in a nutshell:
I played 4,768 different songs on spotify! Can you imagine?!
Yo Yo Ma was my most listened to artist. I totally get that- love him- love his music! After Yo Yo my surprise number two was Taylor Swift (I really didn’t think I listened to her that much) Three was Maren Morris, Four was Goo Goo Dolls, and five was Elvis Presley.
Shockingly, as my music taste was all over the place, I listened to music from 56 different countries.
My number one genre was Pop, followed by rock, classical performances, folk-pop and Broadway.
And shockingly in some cases, my top five songs this year were:
Holiday To Do List:
Photos taken by my husband…
Remind yourself what is actually important
Respect the opinions of others
Realize that there is more than one way of looking at something
Restrict negative thoughts
Remember to be kind
Repair broken relationships
Read a variety of things
Reap the benefits of an abundant meal
Review a statement in your head before you say it
Repay a good deed with a good deed
Reply without animosity
Refill with healthy food and water (sometimes)
Remove what you no longer want or need
Relax….
Waking up on the Wrong Side of 50 