ONE YEAR BLOGOVERSARY!

Thursday, August 27, 2015


SO I JUST REALIZED THAT TODAY IS MY BLOGOVERSARY.


It's 3:30 in the morning as I write this.  I woke up at two, randomly and wide awake, and haven't been able to fall asleep since. (I'm not sure if this happens to anyone else, but it's  been happening to me lately--I wake up in the middle of the night with no sign of tiredness whatsoever.) BUT. I was thinking about blogging in general and how horrible I am keeping up with it and how I should write my blogoversary post for August 29th. But then I found out my blogoversary wasn't the 29th, but TODAY, so here's to a mad dash to write and edit and publish and format this post so it gets sent out on time.

It's been quite a fun journey. It's actually astonishing to think that I've been writing on this corner of the internet for a whole year. To be honest, it sometimes feels like a lot longer. Blogging is one of those things I'm CONSTANTLY thinking about. I like to think that I have a little blogger bug inside my head constantly poking me to write a post. Blogging can be quite stressful, but I have no regrets.

My first post was exactly a year ago (Oh, wow. Shocker, right?). It wasn't anything special--just a welcoming post, and titled as thus. It's short, and has a grand total of one comment...from my uncle. It's nothing impressive, but 120 followers, 17,000 pageviews, 1,000 comments, and 63 posts later, it really was a start of a journey.

I don't have a fancy giveaway for all of you (I know, I know. I hear the sorrowful cries. Next year. I'm promising you. I'll plan ahead instead of writing it in the middle of the night.), so instead I'm going to share some highlights over the past year,

EXCITING MOMENTS:
  • hitting those milestone marks. 50...75...100...115 followers. 
  • receiving super sweet messages from my contact form.
  • figuring out design/coding stuff and not breaking the blog.
  • getting a facebook page and twitter.
  • writing 50,000 words in two weeks.
  • guest posting for people and having people guest post for me. (always open to guest posters if you're interested! Just shoot me a message. :)
  • finally learning how to create good looking graphics.
  • meeting so many new blogger friends!
  • seeing my name pop up around the blogosphere.

POPULAR POSTS:
  1. Why I'm Now Crazy Insane About Going to Writer's Conferences.
  2. The One Tip That Helped Me Write 50,000 Words in Two Weeks.
  3. Camp NaNoWriMo and Other Such Things.
  4. Three Word Count Boosting Resources for NaNoWriMo.
  5. Flash Fiction Challenge - The Thief's Blade.

I changed my photo that I use around the internet from the dandelion


to a picture of the back of my head. (lovely, right? :p)


Maybe next year I'll actually get a good picture of my face.

BLOGGING BUDDIES (the people who comment and keep me encouraged):
|| names lead to blogs ||

  • Aimee -- you're hilarious, I loveee talking to(or flailing with) you and it makes me happy when you comment. xD
  • Ana -- every comment you write is so genuine and insightful. And long. Long comments are awesome.
  • Victoria Nightsky - thank you for recommending MISTBORN! :p We need to have more bookish talks. *nods*
  • Morgan - super awesome that you're an author, and I've had some fun conversations in the comments with you. :)
  • Rcubed - your comments make me laugh.
  • Annika - my writing buddy! I love your posts and your comments. :D
  • Victoria Howell - so stoked that I got to meet you in person. You're awesome.
  • Eliza - I love that you check back for comments! 
  • Imogen - your face shows up in the comments quite a lot and I really appreciate it. ^.^
  • Sarah - you're so fun to talk to -- I'm glad you check back on your comments so we can talk!
  • Audrey - bookish buddies! Need I say more? ;)
  • Heather - I never understand how you comment so often on allll the posts on all the blogs. But I appreciate it. ;)
  • Athelas - your blog inspired me to create a blog in the first place. And THANK YOU for coming up with the title of my blog. xD

And now I'm going to be all cheesy and say: 

THANK YOU!

Seriously. I wouldn't be writing this blog if people didn't follow it. I wouldn't write as often (ha, I act like I post every other day.) if people didn't comment and weren't so encouraging. I might not have started this blog if it wasn't for my amazing writing buddies. 

So, basically, you're all awesome. Give yourself a pat on the back or whatever special treat you like to eat. (Pizza? Cookies? *shrugs*)

When's your blogoversary? I want to know so I can put it down on my calendar and then CELEBRATE on said date. 
Once again: thank you!

And now it's five I just made it before the email gets sent out. *collapses*

45 comments :

  1. Alea HarperAugust 27, 2015 at 5:44 AM

    Congrats! Congrats! Congrats! Congrats! You're blog has grown so much since you started it! It is one of my favorites!

    My blogiversary is June 1!

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    1. Katie GraceAugust 27, 2015 at 3:49 PM

      Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! :D

      *marks this down* I love your blog, too. ;)

      Delete
  2. UnknownAugust 27, 2015 at 6:00 AM

    Congratulations on your blogoversary Katie! I've loved reading your blog ever since I discovered it. And thank you so much for mentioning me as one of your blogging buddies. I'm proud to be the buddy of such a lovely person as you.

    My blogoversary is April 1st. Really, really bad day for it I know. I keep being scared people will think my blogoversary is an April Fool's joke!

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    1. Katie GraceAugust 27, 2015 at 3:52 PM

      Thank you so much, Imogen! I've loved getting to know you through the blogging world. AND, I very much admire your graphics. They fit so nicely with each other. :p

      Ha, that's awesome. xD Seems like a lot of people's blogs were launching on the first of a month. Guess I missed that memo.

      Delete
  3. Liz BrooksAugust 27, 2015 at 8:59 AM

    Congratulations on your blogoversary (blogversary, blogaversary?)!!! You have done so well this year, getting so many comments, page views, and followers. It's really exciting, isn't it, to realize you've hit an entire year of blogging? Here's to many more years of awesome blogging.

    And I think this is a hilarious coincidence, because our blogs are basically the same age. I just posted my blogversary celebration yesterday. :) Although it's funny, because to me the year of blogging seemed to fly by--like, I was really surprised to notice my blogversary was coming up. Anyway, good luck with all your blogging endeavors, and congrats again on making it so far and doing so well. :)

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    1. Katie GraceAugust 27, 2015 at 3:56 PM

      Thank you, Liz! :D (I actually have no idea how to spell it. It seemed right to me, so I just went with it. :p It's one of those words where I think everyone is just making up their own versions. xD)
      It totally is! Looking forward to many more years. :D

      AH THAT IS SO COOL. *throws confetti on both of us* Congratulations. :D

      Delete
  4. UnknownAugust 27, 2015 at 9:02 AM

    YAYYYY! *throws confetti* *cues hobbits who bring in a huge cake* A WISH YOUR BLOG A VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Or anniversary. But birthday makes it sound more human. xD
    And you should be glad to know that I finished The Well of Ascension. I don't think I've ever been more confused at the end of a book before. xP And yesh, we certainly need more bookish discussion. *beams*
    My blog's birthday is in June, actually -- 16th or the 17th, I believe. It's so amazing to look back and see how you've grown with your blog.

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    1. Katie GraceAugust 27, 2015 at 4:00 PM

      o.o You win the best gift for the blogoversary. I mean, HOBBITS and CAKE? I think I'm dreaming.

      Ooh, you did? Awesome. I liked The Well of Ascension better than the first book, but it IS confusing. And I've found that it takes a lot of energy to read the series. :p I still have yet to read the third book, but I'm not exactly sure if I'm going to or not yet. I feel so exhausted with writing and school and editing and blogging that I'm not sure I would have the energy to think through the story. :p

      Yes. BOOKISH DISCUSSION. *slides a chair up to a table* What was the last book you read?

      *writes this down* Bother, just missed it. :p (And I just found out that SOMEHOW I wasn't following your blog when I went to collect the link. I thought you had just went on a hiatus, but it was completely my fault. Note the lack of comments from me.)

      Delete
    2. UnknownAugust 28, 2015 at 11:25 AM

      *grins and beams* Hobbits and cake are a part of every celebration I'm involved in.

      Yesss, it takes a ton of energy. And yes, I'm going to take a nice long break before I embark on The Hero of the Ages because too much stress and awesomeness and wowness. xP

      Oooh. *puts cookies on the tables* The last book I read was The Exploits of Sherlock Holmes, a collection of short stories written by Doyle's son and some other dude. *nods* OH AND my library FINALLY got Heartless, so I'm reading that now, and it's funny because the copy I got looks like it's never been read so I'm super careful with the cover and the pages. xD

      Oh dear, I WAS missing your wonderful presence on my lovely little blog. I shall look forward to its resurrection. *beams*

      Delete
    3. Katie GraceAugust 28, 2015 at 8:10 PM

      We must have more celebrations together, then. xD

      I had to return Hero of the Ages back to the library today. *sniff* I'm going on vacation soon here, so I'll probably put it back on hold after that. You'll have to tell me what you think of it. :D

      *nods* Was it good?
      OH. HEARTLESS. I ADORE THAT SERIES SOOOO MUCH. YOU MUST READ IT AND TELL ME HOW YOU LIKE IT. Heartless is actually my least favorite out of the whole series, but it's still amazing. And each one keeps getting better and better. :D
      Haha. xD I had that happen with Golden Daughter (another one of the Tales of Goldstone Woods). I don't want to break the preciousesss. o.o

      *grins* As am I! I'll have to go through and read all the posts I've missed. xD

      Delete
  5. AnonymousAugust 27, 2015 at 9:10 AM

    Congratulations! My blogoversary is technically May 26, but I moved from Weebly to Blogger just a few months ago, so I don't know what it'll count. 120 followers? That's amazing!

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    1. Katie GraceAugust 27, 2015 at 4:01 PM

      Thanks, Morgan! :D
      *nods* I would say that May 26th is your blogoversary. (And I've already marked it down on the calendar so too late to change it now. xD)

      And I know. o.o I find it a bit hard to believe myself. It's taken a lot of commenting and blog-reading to get to that number, but I love doing it, so it hasn't been a chore at all. :)

      Delete
  6. Sarah PenningtonAugust 27, 2015 at 10:52 AM

    Congratulations on one year of blogging!
    My blogoversary is January 17. I never do anything to celebrate it, though.

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    1. Katie GraceAugust 27, 2015 at 4:02 PM

      Thank you! :D
      Aw, you don't? Well, I'll make sure to celebrate with you next year. *nods* Is this your wordpress or blogger blog?

      Delete
  7. Eliza NoelAugust 27, 2015 at 11:10 AM

    Congratulations! Lol I was so surprised to see that you mentioned me in your post. Thanks! I love your blog and I think we have so much in common :) Thank you also for linking to inthecharactersshadow.blogspot.com . That blog is struggling all of us teens are so crazy busy haha :D Well the one I will probably celebrate will be the one year blogoversary for my private blog this October 18. The group one I post on occasionally (In the character's shadow) I think it's first blogoversary would be sometime this December. Woukd you mind sharing your amazing graphics secret sometime? Pleeeaaassseee? ;)

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Katie GraceAugust 27, 2015 at 4:07 PM

      Thank you! :D
      Well, you shouldn't be surprised since you completely deserve it. ;)

      And you're welcome! I've learned that group blogging is hard. It can help when you have a bunch of people blogging together, but it's also hard if one person does more than the other or you feel the constant pressure to post. :p

      Mwahaha. NEVER.
      Kidding. xD
      I use Picmonkey and Canva for photo editing. Picmonkey is great, but since SO many people use it, the fonts on there are kind of "cliched." (Yeah, cliched fonts. :p) I download my own fonts from 1001 fonts or font squirrel and then use them for my pictures to give them an original look.

      For the background, I usually can find pictures on Pinterest, just Google Images, or lately I've been using Unsplash. If I remember, I try to make sure I give credit to the photographer.

      Any specific questions you have? I was kinda vague above, but could help if you have detailed questions for me. :p

      Delete
    2. Eliza NoelAugust 27, 2015 at 5:52 PM

      I think you answered my questions :) Thanks!

      Delete
  8. AnonymousAugust 27, 2015 at 11:13 AM

    Congratulations, Katie! You've come so far with your blogging and your writing, and I've really enjoyed being able to read all of your posts and race through Camp NaNo word counts with you. My first blogoversary was on April 1st and like you, I couldn't believe that I had actually continued blogging for a whole year. I think the key is the community. If I hadn't been commenting on GTW and other blogs, I wouldn't have learned so much and I probably would have stopped blogging long ago. And thank you so so much for the shoutout! My comments do tend to get long...and sometimes rambly... :P But it's fun! I look forward to reading many more posts on your blog, Katie!

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    1. Katie GraceAugust 27, 2015 at 4:11 PM

      Thank you so much, Ana! :)
      It's been so much fun being in Camp with you and seeing your crazy word counts. You're so dedicated and determined... I'm astonished by you. :p

      Ooh, April first? That's same as Imogen. Funny. And DEFINITELY on the community part. Seeing all these teens my age creating blogs is what inspired me to make one.

      Ha, no, they aren't rambly. I ramble. My replies to your comments are probably the rambly ones. xD

      Thank you! Same goes with your blog. I've enjoyed reading it. :)

      Delete
  9. UnknownAugust 27, 2015 at 12:26 PM

    CONGRATS! That's so awesome. I just celebrated my three year anniversary earlier this month. Your blog is on a roll and you've reached many awesome milestones over the course of this year, you should be very proud! And you totally deserve it all and more. Praying for an even more successful second year of blogging!! Excited to be on this journey with you.

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    1. Katie GraceAugust 27, 2015 at 4:14 PM

      THANK YOU! Ooh, really? Three years is a long time. I admire people who stay dedicated with something like that for so long. :p

      Awww, thanks! That means a lot to me. I'm excited to have you with me. ;)

      Delete
  10. UnknownAugust 27, 2015 at 12:41 PM

    Happy blogoversary!!!! That's awesome! You inspire me to go blog now. ;)

    I *think* mine is October 1st. At least, that's when I launched my current website. Yeah, we'll go with that. This year will be my 2nd blogoversary.

    I'm looking forward to your future blogs and awesomeness! :) *HUGS and much confetti* ;)

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    1. Katie GraceAugust 27, 2015 at 4:16 PM

      Eeee, thank you, Nadine! :)

      *nods* That's impressive. AND if I remember correctly, you've had a blog before that, so you've stuck with it for quite some time. *hands cookies*

      Thank you! :) *HUGS and dances in confetti*

      Delete
  11. Ruth ElizabethAugust 27, 2015 at 2:08 PM

    Congratulations Katie!! 120 followers is amazing! :)

    My blogoversary is July 20. Next year will be my first blogoversary. :)

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    1. Katie GraceAugust 27, 2015 at 4:17 PM

      Thank you, Ruth! ^.^

      Awesome. :D I can't wait to celebrate with you then!

      Delete
  12. Grace AnneAugust 27, 2015 at 3:16 PM

    Congratulations on your blogaversary!! That's fabulous!!! :):):):) 120 followers is fabulous!!
    xoxo
    Grace Anne // http://totallygraced.blogspot.com/

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    1. Katie GraceAugust 27, 2015 at 4:21 PM

      Thank you, Grace. :) *just realized that your name and my middle name is the same* *is just a little slow on things*
      Thanks for commenting! :D

      Delete
  13. JessicaAugust 27, 2015 at 7:17 PM

    Congratulations! I like how realization struck in the middle of the night - my brain is constantly thinking of blogging too. :)

    And I know I've never commented on here before, but I've been seeing that lovely photo of the back of your head around lately, so I just had to come and check you out!

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    1. Katie GraceAugust 27, 2015 at 8:54 PM

      Thank you! Haha, that's me most of the time. My mind only seems to think at night. *sigh*

      Aww, that's awesome! I'm glad you made it over here. ;) Thanks for commenting! :D

      Delete
  14. TheScribblingSpriteAugust 27, 2015 at 8:30 PM

    Eeeee!! Congratulations! You are so awesome, Katie. Keep it up.

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    1. Katie GraceAugust 27, 2015 at 8:55 PM

      Thank youuuu, Ally! You're super awesome, too. I love your blog. ^.^

      Delete
  15. ghost ryterAugust 28, 2015 at 8:37 AM

    Congratulations!! Iubdan's beard, time really flies! I always forget about my blogoversary (June 20th) until it's too late.

    Your blog is fabulous, and hope you'll still have it for many years to come. :D

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    1. Katie GraceAugust 28, 2015 at 9:44 AM

      Thank you! And it does, doesn't it? I wish I had a remote that could make time slow down -- I really need it. :p
      *nods* I'll help you remember. xD

      I plan to. :D

      Delete
  16. AnonymousAugust 28, 2015 at 9:19 AM

    Congrats on your one year blogoversary! I haven't gotten that far with my blog yet. :-)

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  17. Victoria Grace HowellAugust 28, 2015 at 11:07 AM

    Aw! You're awesome too and it was so great meeting you in person! *hugs* My blogoversary is July 8. ^ ^ I didn't actually celebrate it till this year haha.XD

    storitorigrace.blogspot.com

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    1. Katie GraceAugust 28, 2015 at 1:07 PM

      *glomps* You had a awesome blogoversary celebration with giveaways and everything, though. xD

      Delete
    2. Victoria Grace HowellAugust 28, 2015 at 9:52 PM

      Yeah 'cause I had to make up for missing the previous years haha. XD

      Delete
    3. Katie GraceAugust 29, 2015 at 10:17 PM

      That's what I'll have to do. xD

      Delete
  18. LizzyAugust 28, 2015 at 8:09 PM

    Congratulations! I just found your blog since you commented on mine (thank you very much) and I'm following now. And our blogs are almost twins! My blogoversary is in two days. (-; Your blog is so lovely, and I can't wait to read more of your posts.
    ~Lizzy

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    1. Katie GraceAugust 29, 2015 at 10:21 PM

      Aww, you're totally welcome! Your blog deserved the comment. ;)
      Ooh, really? That's AWESOME! *has to remember to wish you a happy blogoversary* Just in case: Happy *early* blogoversary! :D
      I hope they don't disappoint. :)

      Delete
  19. HeatherAugust 28, 2015 at 10:16 PM

    Happy blogoversary! :D It's so cool to see how your blog has grown over the last year, and I hope that it continues to grow over the next year! It's so cool to see how your connections have grown over the last year. I'm so glad to consider you part of my blogging community! And, thanks for the shout-out. :)

    (Although, to be fair, I am late in my congratulations for your blogoversary, and for that I apologize.)

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    1. Katie GraceAugust 29, 2015 at 10:33 PM

      Thank youuuu! It's been so fun to see everyone else's blogs grow and become more popular. Then it's awesome for me to say "Hey, I followed that blog near the beginning!"

      (Totally okay. xD At least you commented, right?)

      Delete
  20. O WilliamsSeptember 18, 2015 at 11:58 PM

    Isn't it all so exciting? I hit my two-year blog anniversary last month too, and it feels so good (but also strange) to look back at old posts with only five sentences and about three comments from family members and/or old elementary school teachers :P It's so fun once you see people mentioning you, and helping you out, and once you learn coding and making your blog look pretty...it's really all so exciting!

    So here's to next year! Here's hoping you're still around, and able to look back on now and be even better then! Here's to you! :)

    O | Life as a Young Lady

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    1. Katie GraceSeptember 19, 2015 at 12:04 AM

      AH SO EXCITING!
      Whoah, two years is double my blog. xD But seriously, blogging takes so much work so kudos to you!

      Oh, yes. I love seeing my name over the internet and I'm just a teensy bit obsessed with trying to make my blog look pretty. ;)

      Aww, definitely! I hope you'll still be around, too, even though I just found your blog. ;)

      Delete

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