It’s Average Jane’s 8th Blogging Anniversary

I started writing this blog on February 15, 2004 and somehow I've kept it going all these years with no end in sight.

I can't say I've ever really had a plan for the blog—it's just an online home base for me to discuss whatever is on my mind at the time, be it recipes, pets, personal observations or just a diary of what I've been up to.

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank the readers who have hung on from the beginning as well as those who have discovered it more recently. I know it's a "take it or leave it" kind of blog and I appreciate that you've opted for "take it."

So how have things changed since the beginning? Well, back then most of my readers came directly to my blog every day to see what was new. Then RSS readers became more popular and I presume that caused a shift in how it was viewed. Fortunately, I've had exactly the same blog template since the very beginning (except for the addition of some sidebar bling, as you can see in the image above), so you don't miss much by not coming directly in.

Most of my traffic comes from Google and it's mostly people looking for recipes. The rising popularity of Pinterest has me going through my recipes and making a note of which ones don't have photos so I can make the food and take pictures to add to the posts.

Eight years feels like an achievement but it also seems like it's gone by so fast. This summer I'm planning on attending my eighth BlogHer Conference and I'm trying to decide if I'm going to continue going every year or if maybe it's time I turned my attention (and budget) to other goals, such as travel for travel's sake.

But that's a decision for the future and this is now and I couldn't be more pleased with the people and opportunities that blogging has brought to my life.

Thanks for reading! I'll resume the February Photo Challenge later today.