Happy Birthday, Blog!

Today marks the one-year birthday of my blog. (Yes, this cake has three candles, but I couldn't find an image I liked with just one.) I wish I had something exciting to post today, but I don't. I wish I had something fun to give away, but I assure you that you would not want the things I might give away anyway. On this blog birthday, I do want to say thank you to the few folks who drop by once in awhile. I covet your visits and comments!

Because the truth is that I'm really not that fun anyway :-), I thought I'd take a more analytical approach and see how I'm doing against the goals for this blog that I set out one year ago today. It's sort of a blog performance appraisal. (Yeah, I used to work in human resources.) As posted last year, here are the goals and my assessment of how I'm doing on each.

To discuss various attributes of both cats and cardstock
I think I'm doing pretty well on this one, especially since I added an entire cat shortly after the blog was born. I have recently gone back and categorized most of my posts as either "cats" or "cardstock" (or other labels), so theoretically one could actually COUNT (and even GRAPH!) how many cat-related and how many cardstock-related posts there have been over the past year. But lest I give some of you (and you know who you are, DB!) even more reason to call me a complete NERD, I shall refrain from further analysis. :-)

To write more, especially stuff that could be used for my scrapbooks
OK, I am actually writing more frequently because of the blog. We could certainly debate the quality of what I'm writing but nevertheless, much of it is destined to end up as journaling on scrapbook pages. In addition to this "everyday" sort of writing, I am continuing to work on my essays and over the course of this year, I'd like to post a few more of those on the blog for feedback. Hold me to that, OK?

To inspire myself and any wayward soul who might happen to pass this way
This goal is actually somewhat cheesy. In reality, I tend to look inward for inspiration, and if I happen to find it lurking there, I might share that on my blog. Other times I look outward for inspiration, in which case I'd find it on someone else's blog, not my own. I don't believe my blog can inspire me directly, but it can be a reflection of inspiration acquired elsewhere. (Deep, huh?) Now, I think I'm doing fairly well in the "wayward souls" category, and I'm grateful for every one who stops by occasionally! If you happen find something useful, inspirational, or day-brightening here, that would satisfy me.

To avoid political ramblings, if at all possible
This was, in fact, a lofty goal and is becoming more so each day. I have very strong political leanings but I make a point to NEVER discuss politics with my extended family or friends. I could easily write every day about my political opinions, but then, as DH said, my blog would no longer be "kitschy". (As an aside, one could call this a back-handed compliment, as "kitsch" refers to "anything that claims to have an aesthetic purpose but is tawdry and tasteless." Surely he couldn't have been referring to my blog in that manner. I bet he really meant to say "kitty." Yeah, that's the ticket.)

To learn how to add cool features to my blog, thus improving my technical skills
I think I've had some success in this department, as I converted to the new Blogger Beta this year (that may sound impressive but actually required no technical skill on my part) and have added more items of interest in my sidebar (again, fairly straightforward). I recently changed the blog template to improve readability. I'd like to do a custom banner and add more features over time.

To look really hip by having a blog!
In my ongoing efforts to achieve hipness, at every possible opportunity, I mention to my teenage daughter's friends that I have a blog. This bold proclamation is usually met by weak smiles from the friends and screams from DD, "Mom! Do NOT tell them about your blog!" I feel momentarily nerdish but recover quickly by telling myself that in fact, the average teenager is probably not my target audience, so it really doesn't matter if he or she thinks I'm hip. I'm here for the older, perhaps (but not necessarily) more mature crowd, who most definitely might call me hip, just because I have a blog. Please?

Anyway, it's been great fun having the blog this year, and I am looking forward to all the blog posts yet to be thunk of. I hope you'll continue to stop back once in awhile. I do enjoy the company.