Ruby Tuesday, Mosaic and
Blue Monday are in the next post.
Scroll down for Thursday Thirteen

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Alice Audrey of Alice’s Restaurant honored me with Nemo’s Award and I’m delighted to accept and to share it with others today.

Neno’s Award—-Rules and Regulations

1. As a dedication for those who love blogging and love to encourage friendships through blogging.

2. To seek the reasons why we all love blogging.


3. Put the award in one post as soon as you receive it.

4. Don’t forget to mention the person who gives you the award.

5. Answer the award’s question by writing the reason why you love blogging.

6. Tag and distribute the award to as many people as you like.

7. Don’t forget to notify the award receivers and put their links in your post.

Why I Blog

I’ve written about Why I Blog a few times already, and I’ve decided to revisit this July 2008 List of 13 Reasons here … just because.  I’ve amended that list in purple with some additional thoughts reflecting changes in my blogging over the past year or so.  I’m celebrating my 2nd Blogoversary at Small Reflections right now and at Sacred Ruminations on Friday, October 23rd. My first Blogoversary for this blog, Happily Retired Gal, will be on November 25th.

It’s clear to me that blogging …
** provides a way for me to experiment with sharing what I write … without having to sit face to face with someone as I do this thing, and I’ve discovered that I’m much more of an introvert than most people (including myself) generally realize
** allows me to become accustomed feedback from a variety of readers and get over my tendency to keep what I write to myself
** introduces me to others who write (and take photographs)
** keeps my mind active and learning new things all the time
** stretches my imagination and my boundaries
** fills free time with interaction when I’m alone
** opens my eyes to what is … and what might be … if only
** expands my world and opens me up to new possibilities & experiences
** allows me to make & interact with ‘virtual’ friends

Initially I blogged because others suggested I might enjoy it. They were right. I did ;–)
1. Each day at Small Reflections I wrote whatever entered my mind, pretty much as if I was writing in my journal, and at Sacred Ruminations I followed Carla’s example … celebrating My Sacred Life for a month in daily posts then changing to a weekly Sacred Life post, while sharing whatever came to mind each day.
2. I visited other bloggers to gain ideas & information, returning to my own blogs to experiment and share what I’d encountered.
3. When 2007 came to a close, I revisited my first ten weeks as a blogger and thanked my ‘blogging buddies’ … linking to various posts I’d written and activities in which I’d participated … surprising myself with what I’d discovered & accomplished in such a brief time.
4. In mid-January I pulled together my Small is Beautiful Top 7 in ’07 Blog Review at the request of Magpie Girl, and by the end of January I’d reached 100 posts.
5. Once again, at the suggestion Anglophile Football Fanatic … I created a list of 101 Things About Me on my 101st Post … sharing a brief history of my life … revealing more perhaps than I intended to, but leaving it ‘just because.’

A few days later (when I reached 106 posts on my 2nd blog, Sacred Ruminations) I created A Milestone Missed? in which I celebrated and reflected about blogging to that point.
6. I had participated in NaBloPoMo and Holidailies … posting daily on both blogs for two months straight, and with encouragement from Sandy of Momisodes (although I had reservations) I signed up for Blog 365, but began to do some rethinking.
7. I moved the initial information introducing myself from the About Me section of the sidebar to How I Became a Blogger and introduced myself all over again briefly in an updated paragraph which remains in my sidebar now but is in need of another revision soon.
8. Interestingly, fellow bloggers honored me with ‘awards’ that I displayed in my sidebar and passed along to others in posts with links … introducing my ‘virtual friends’ to one another and building a ‘virtual community’ of sorts.
9. I celebrated my 63rd birthday online … here and here … participated in the Ultimate Blog Party … joined a wide variety of new weekly activities … and generally had fun playing.
10. As my sidebar got cluttered, I created a special page for Awards & Bling at Small Reflections to make room for new things.
11. When folks complained about the site locking up and/or being slow … I created a 3rd Blog and moved them over there instead.
12. Gradually I’ve added sidebar links to my posts by category in the About Me section in hopes that visitors could locate, read, & comment on what interests them more readily.
13. To speed up things even more at Small Reflections, I moved my multiple Blog Rolls over to the 3rd Blog along with Logos and Links to memes I enjoy.  After several friends lost control of their Blogs, I decided to back up my 3 blogs at WordPress … then started this 4th blog to teach myself how to use the WordPress format.

So … to answer the question of Why I Blog …

it’s FUN and I enjoy everything about it!!!

Sometimes ‘life’ intervenes and takes precedence over blogging, but when things calm down this Blogosphere remains … inviting us each to share & engage as much or as little as we choose.  These days I share more photographs  and mosaics than words (other than a bit of Haiku) … but I suspect that I’ll return to writing eventually and hope to achieve a better balance of images and words.  This is my 178th post here and I’ll be celebrating my 1st Blogoversary at Happily Retired Gal on November 25th ;–)

Since there’s no specified number of folks to give this award to, I choose to share this award with EVERYONE who would like to ‘snag’ it and pass it along on their blogs.  I just ask that you acknowlege & follow the rulez enough to share why you blog (as briefly or in as much detail as you choose) … include where you found it by linking here … then let me know when you’ve published your post so I can visit your blog.

Click image or here: 2nd Blogoversary at Small Reflections

and for others participating in T-13

Thought for Today
“Once children learn how to learn, nothing is going to narrow their mind.” Marva Collins

Click for comments at the TOP of the post under the title, rather than at the bottom ;–)

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