Happy 1 year Blogiversary! 

To be perfectly honest, I forgot the date that I started this little ole’ blog….that is, until WordPress sent me a very nice email last week congratulating  me.  It is hard to believe that a year has gone by so quickly, it doesn’t feel that long ago that I decided to put pen to paper.  Not actual pen to paper, but you know what I mean. 

I have no idea what made me decide to take the plunge!  It is truly scary business putting your thoughts, ideas, and projects out there for millions to see.  We are a nation that judges everything, and self-respect is constantly teetering on the edge.   What if someone didn’t like one of my projects or recipes?  Holy Moly……  What if they didn’t like me? 

That is heady stuff for a person to overcome!  Seriously!

Anyone who knows me, knows that I stew over this crap!  I am by nature a PEOPLE PLEASER!  I want people to like me…..don’t you!?  Which is why I say ‘yes’ way too much, even if it causes me to race around, multi- tasking ( I am sorry if I offend anyone….not many people can truly multi-task and do it well, most of us screw it up royally ), neglect my family and drop exhausted into bed every night, feeling like I have accomplished nothing!  I have recently challenged myself to start saying ‘no’ more, and it is getting easier each time I say it.  I don’t say ‘no’ to everything, just the stuff that I know is going to leave me rundown, too exhausted to focus on the things that truly matter to me, and for which I myself don’t feel is a worthwhile cause. Phew…..

With that being said, I started Tempting Thyme a year ago to get my creative juices flowing again.  I got into a rut when I went back to work full time.  It didn’t help matters when the chemotherapy turned my brain to mush (leaving me in a state of ADD—–yes, I personally diagnosed this),  my creativity and imagination sinking further into the gutter.  I needed a new challenge, and blogging was the perfect avenue for me to document all of my favorite things…..recipes…..crafts….gardening…..and anything DIY, and did I say recipes?

LOL, did you happen to notice this site is heavy on the recipes, especially the sugary sweet kind! 

Being a blog newbie, I have learned so much this past year, and seriously have so much more to learn.   Html, css coding, mapping, widgets……blah, blah and even more blah.  All of this is foreign to me even a after a year!  All I want to do is create pretty things and talk about them with you all.  Foreign or not, I am having fun learning all of the tech jargon that goes along with a blog.  Do I want to scream, stomp my feet and throw the laptop out the window?  Yes….especially after spending countless hours trying to code and map items, only to find that it doesn’t work once I upload it to my site!  It has seriously been enough to drive me to drink.  Wishing that I liked wine (HATE IT) to calm my nerves.  Kidding!  Actually, only half kidding…..

What I have learned is that I am more accountable if I put an idea, or thought, onto the web.  It’s easy to back out of something when no one knows about it!  Right?

I am the queen of declarations, but can easily talk myself out of a hole any day of the week.  It is much harder to admit failure if you have shouted it out from the roof top, or in this case….blog land! 

 You, and everyone reading this, have held me accountable this past year and I love it! 

Don’t get me wrong, I still play games with myself, and make promises to myself (I will exercise every day for 30 minutes….I won’t eat after 7pm….I will get up early to meditate), only to make excuse after excuse of why it isn’t happening.

I know you are with me on that last statement!  We are truly the enemy when it comes to our mental psych and well-being!

With that being said, I am making goals for my 2^nd year of blogging.   Without further ado…….

Blog Time:  I had no idea how much time it took to blog!  Creating the project/recipe, taking pictures, uploading them and editing them with Picmonkey, uploading them to Tempting Thyme and then actually sitting down to write.  I originally had intentions of doing 3-4 posts per week, but with each post taking 3-4 hours start to finish (that is everything, not just me sitting in front of the computer…doodling, wondering what to write about), it is just not happening.  For my 2^nd year, I am cutting myself some slack.  I am not making a dime off this site (it is totally for fun), so why beat myself up!!    

GOAL: I would love to do a minimum of 2 posts per week (3, if I can convince my sister and brother-in-law to add in a weekly Vegetarian tip/recipe), but if I only get 1 out, or worse……zero, I am going to remind myself that Tempting Thyme is for fun…. is not generating 1 penny, and I shouldn’t  lose any sleep over it.

Customized Blog Design:  I truly believe curb appeal brings in more traffic when selling a house.  Same can be said for websites and design.  I have left many sites, because the site doesn’t flow or is difficult to navigate.  I love simple, clean lines with splashes of color.  I am utilizing WordPress’s free platform, which means that they host it for free, and I have over 200 themes to choose from……again for free.  This is why you have seen my template change a few times this past year!   I would love to hand everything over to a professional to revamp/redesign, but that is not in the cards…..or even in my budget……so I am left to tackle it on my own……

GOAL:  I hope to have a new and improved design soon.  I will be utilizing Picmonkey to create a new header, button and sidebars.  I will also be adding a Custom Design element thru WordPress, allowing me to change the background colors and will also give me more control over the fonts being used….a bargain at $30/year!

Photography:  I love taking pictures, and finally received my dream camera for Christmas this year.  I had been using  the Canon Rebel, but drooled over the Canon D60.  PT, being the softy that he is, broke down and bought it for me. Actually, he bought me the Rebel 4ti….saying that the D60 was too expensive.   I was able to find the D60 online for $75 cheaper than what he paid for the 4ti.  Patting myself on the back!  Bottom line….PT made it happen, as I NEVER would have spent that money if it hadn’t been given as a gift!  Can we say LOVE!  I can’t wait to dive in and learn more than just the Automatic feature. 

GOAL:  Food photography is tricky business, and I need to learn the in’s and out’s of lighting techniques, white balance, etc.  Take awesome photos….I even want to go back and update my earlier posts!  

Writing:  I don’t know if you have noticed, but I have tried to interject some of myself into each post.  It is not just about the food, or project at hand….but the journey and life lessons I have learned along the way.  I want to dig a little deeper and give you more tid-bits about myself.  I am a blog addict and love reading about people’s lives.  These stories fascinate and inspire me at times.  The conflict and adversity people overcome blows me away.

GOAL:  Don’t be in such a hurry to get the post out….if I am not feeling it, wait a bit.  When it is time, the words will write themselves.  Quality over quantity is my motto! 

This year I would like to communicate/meet fellow bloggers!!!

I have a number of blogs that I follow and read on a daily basis.  Like I said earlier, people (and their daily challenges) inspire me, wanting me to be a better version of myself.  Although I read their stories, I don’t often leave comments. 

GOAL:  My 2^nd year, I will connect more with others.  I seriously LOVE reading the comments people leave me so why shouldn’t I return the favor?  We all crave feedback…..right?  If nothing else, commenting is a sure fire way to build relations and support within the blogging community.

From the sounds of it, I have a lot to keep me busy for the next twelve months!

Thank you all for a fabulous year!!!! 

                                    Shaunna

3 Questions for you:

What do you like about Tempting Thyme?  
If you could change anything about it, what would you do?
Anything special you are wanting to see in the future?