6 Years Young

Today Inspiring Max is 6. I can’t believe how much life has changed. My first blog post back in 2014 was titled Happy Mother’s Day.

Here is my 12 month celebratory post, my first blogiversary in 2015. I was excited by how far I’d come. In May 2014, I had 23 views and I didn’t care I had no followers, I had views and I began to believe in myself. I could do this. By May 2015, Inspiring Max was moving up with 12,567 views and 415 followers. This month, May 2020 I have created 574 posts, have had 16,106 visitors, 30,444 views and 1,108 followers.

I also love that after a year of blogging Inspiring Max had been read in 114 countries and in the following 5 years it continues to find new audiences and now has been read in 134 countries. Many of these countries I never knew existed.

One of the things that surprised me during my break from blogging is how my site kept growing even without me working it. Like our finances growing with compound interest for the approximately 800+ days I was absent Inspiring Max kept growing at 2-3 views per day without new content. This makes me wonder where I would have been if I had stayed.

When I returned to Inspiring Max, one of my favourite things was visiting my old blogging friends and seeing how much their blogs had grown. After all, blogging isn’t just about writing and posting good content. I believe it is a package. We are part of an ever growing community and no-one can blog alone.

To me, blogging is divided into four parts:

  • Blog hoping – going from one blog to another viewing and reading their sites
  • Joining in challenges created by other bloggers
  • Engaging with new and old blogs, by liking and commenting on their posts
  • Gaining knowledge by sharing experiences. Never has this been more relevant than now. We can all check on each other during this time of world lock down.

Coffee Catch-Up #25

If we were having coffee I would tell you how much I miss having real coffee dates. In Australia, we can buy takeaway coffee. But we can’t sit down anywhere to drink it. Mostly I enjoy my takeaway coffee alone. However, occasionally I share the experience with someone. Walking and drinking coffee isn’t the same luxury as sitting down together for a coffee catch-up.

Takeaway coffee doesn’t give you such amazing art.

If we were having coffee I would ask you if you did anything to celebrate Anzac Day last Saturday. Although I have always thought about attending a dawn service or Anzac Day march I never have. Some years I have gone to the pub to watch the Two-Up. This is a traditional Australian gambling game only legal on Anzac Day.

This year however was very different. No dawn services, no marches and no Two-Up. Instead families and individuals gathered on their driveways, social distancing and remembering our diggers at 0600. For me, it was very personal. I stood alone on my driveway. I was filled with emotion as I could hear the bugles playing The Last Post over the sounds of birds. Next year, I be on my driveway again. This time I will light the dawn with my candle.

If we were having coffee I would tell you how frustrated I have been over the past month with my blog not working as easily as it used to. The problem is everything needed updating and I am not computer friendly. Making the necessary changes has given me a lot of new knowledge about my blog and computer so my confidence has grown.

If we were having coffee I would tell you that I bought a subscription to Disney+for the family as an Easter present. My husband and I grew up in the 60’s watching the Wonderful World of Disney on Sunday nights. Our kids grew up with Disney channel, so there is something on it for everyone. We have all found many hidden gems and been entertained for hours.

If we were having coffee I would tell you I was pleased to complete this years A-Z blogging challenge. I stated a few days late but caught up and finished on time. It was a great way to retrain my brain into writing regularly and simplifying my words. Now the secret is to come up with a plan for Inspiring Max that helps my creativity develop.

If we were having coffee I would ask you how you have been filling in your days during the world’s lock down. Let me know in the comments.


Weekly Photo Challenge: Growth

On the 26th Nov, I was excited to finish planting my last vegetable garden before leaving on our holiday to Perth, the next day.

Two weeks later Dec on 10th, I returned from Perth and was surprised by the growth.

However, today Jan 6th the GROWTH is amazing. Who knew I had green thumbs.

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/photo-challenges/growth-2/


Cozy Time

I like to get cozy everyday. Taking time for myself, alone with no other distractions, is something I like to do at the start of the day as well as in the evening. Sometimes I am lucky enough to have some added cozy time after work before I start my nightly routine.

For me, cozy time is sitting in my very comfortable lounge chair focusing on what I want to do. In the morning it’s thinking about my goals and planning out my day. At other times it might be reading, blogging or slowing my mind down by watching a movie on Netflix.

In the above photo you can see the love we have shared over time by the creases in her folds. She has been a dear friend for nearly 2 decades now and if she could read my mind the stories she could tell.

Sometimes it only takes 5 minutes but my cozy time is my favourite way to centre myself.

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/prompts/cozy/


Weekly Photo Challenge: 2017 Favourites

 

In January 2014, our family planted this frangipani tree to remember our cat, Yoda who had died days before. Last Thursday when I arrived to visit my daughter at our Sydney property, I noticed it had bloomed for the first time.  I was so excited. I rushed over and took a quick photo to show my husband on my return home. However, when I got home I was so busy with Christmas I forgot but fortunately my daughter was also so excited when she noticed the beautiful flowers that she shared her photo with us. One thing we all agreed on is that our frangipani’s beauty was special and a great choice for Yoda’s garden.

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/photo-challenges/2017-favorites/


Christmas Calendar 2017 #12

 

Today we have decided to take this quote about not cleaning up mess seriously. As we near the close of Christmas day in Australia, our lounge room is still littered with presents and shredded paper, which is the remnants of what turned into a ‘snow fight’ during the opening of one of my presents this morning. Even looking at the mess brings a smile to my face remember the fun my husband, daughter and I had throwing shredded paper over each other this morning. A classic Christmas moment that couldn’t ever be planned or choreographed.

 


Christmas Calendar 2017 #11

Personally I love Christmas. But as we get nearer to the day itself, let’s consider why we put all the effort in to make our Christmas day special. I agree, it’s love. Let’s face it, if we didn’t love the people we spend Christmas day with, we wouldn’t be bothered putting in the time and effort to create our Christmas every year.


Christmas Calendar 2017 #6

I am good at starting and making plans to seek the truth about my goals. Where I get stuck is finishing them off. I am often distracted along the way by great excuses, but they don’t help.

The main truth I want to achieve in 2018 is to be a published writer. In order to get there I need to focus on completing the editing phase and pluck up the courage to hand my manuscript over to my publisher. It has come along way since the first draft many years ago, so let’s bring on its time to shine.