Blog Goals Revisited (And a Lot of Rambling...)

It's been about 6 months since I blogged about my goals for the year. It's always important to evaluate your progress, so I'm here today to do just that.
*Caution, this is a really long post (and it's okay if you don't read it. I promise I won't be mad.)*

1. Blog More. Blogging daily went really well until the end of April when life got a bit busy. And it was nearly impossible to find time to craft in May and the beginning of June as we were rounding out the end of the school year. Plus it didn't help that I was feeling so uninspired.

I'm a numbers kind of person, so with that regard, here are some statistics to share (hehe):

• In 2010, I blogged a total of 199 posts. For the first half of 2011, I've blogged 155 posts!
  
• In 2010, the average blog posts per month was about 16. In 2011, the average was about 26 posts a month.
  
• In 2010, I had a blogged about 55% on days in the year. So far for 2011, I've blogged about 85% of the days!

So statistics-wise, I'm definitely showing success in this area. Go me! :) To help keep me on track, I use a monthly calendar to plan out what challenges and posts will be going up each day. Yes, it seems a bit much, but it's the only way to keep me on top of things and give you a card in your inbox each day. :)

2. Get Personal. I've divulged a few details about myself, (like the fact that I'm a total nerd - see #1), but not a whole lot. The truth is my life is really uneventful. Haha. Seriously. I'm a bit of a work-a-holic. (Really. I know I've told you that I've been on summer vacation, but I've worked every single day since I've been out.) Plus, most work stuff is highly confidential (although it's pretty exciting). My job keeps me on my toes so much, that the rest of my life is pretty bland. I kind of like it that way. The only problem is that it keeps the blog pretty quiet too.

I'm not sure if I've told you this before, but I actually maintain three blogs. One for my cards, one for work (I told you I'm a work-a-holic), and a private one for my family and friends. The third one has been pretty quiet for a while, partly because I've been focusing a lot of efforts on maintaining this blog, but also because my life really is that uneventful. I don't even have stuff to tell my family and friends. Oh wow. That sounded really sad.

It was kind of funny when Chris R. commented "We know you like ribbon and green but what else would you like to share with us!" a couple of weeks ago for my blog candy drawing. I thought, "seriously? That's all you know about me?" but then I realized that it's so true... I really don't share much. And here I was after just a few weeks in January that I felt like I had told you everything about me. (I seriously told my hubby "I don't have anything else to tell these people!" Ha!)

I feel like I need a little help in this department, so if there's anything you want to know about me, ask away. It's way easier for me to talk when someone asks. Otherwise, I feel like I'm just blabbing about nothing. Like I am right now... Sorry... moving on...

3. Challenge Myself. Inspiration challenges still remain my favorite, but I did push myself to participate weekly in Pals Paper Arts (which mixes up their challenge type each week) until my disappearing act. But I'm back to participating now that things have slowed down a bit. I also just discovered the Wednesday Stamp Club challenge over at My Favorite Things which has grabbed my attention with all those doily centered sketches. If you're ever looking for a good challenge, links to all the challenges I've participated in can be found through the DEEsign Challenges link at the top of the page.

And, with my new I {Heart} Ribbon Challenge series, I'm helping out in the challenge world. So that counts, right? I hope you're playing along!

4. Inspire Myself. I think I've been doing a bit better with finding my own inspiration for cards. I was particularly pleased when I created my Band fundraiser cards, Watson Raccoon card, and Locks of Love cards. Plus don't forget my Pottery Barn card series back in March. I'm always on the look out for inspiration and am doing my best to share it with you all. I have a few ideas for the future, but if you have some ideas, do share! This month, I'll be sharing some birthday inspired cards, so be on the lookout for that.

5. Find A Home. So my Special DEElivery section of my posts only worked for a bit... Mostly because Etsy hasn't been quite a priority. My box of cards has grown tremendously and has even had to relocate into a larger box - a duplex of boxes if you may. And some are entirely homeless, as they don't even fit into the boxes. It's not pretty. But I have a bit of a plan, so stay tuned... And if you ever want to take a few cards off my hands, just say the word!

So that's it for now! I hope I didn't put you to sleep with all my rambling... I'll continue to work on these goals through the rest of the year, but please do let me know if you want me to do anything different, share something special, or just want to chat. You know where to find me. :)

P.S. Click here if you want to see my original post with my 2011 blog goals.