I love to stand in when there isn't a particular photo to go with the post . . .

Wow – one hundred posts in a row.  This isn’t my one hundredth post as I started the blog before January first, so I’m actually up to 135 posts, but it is the first time I’ve created one hundred entries in a row – I’m kind of impressed and pleased!

So now that I’ve hit this big milestone, perhaps it’s time to reflect.  Am I doing what I planned to do with my blog?  Is it still serving a meaningful function in my life?  For the most part, I would say yes.  I keep my blog pretty positive overall, so the process of blogging regularly gives me an opportunity to make sure I notice the little things to be happy and excited about each day.

Being part of the Post A Day challenge has been just what I need to keep a fire lit under me -  I seem to be much better about keeping commitments to others than to myself, and even though nothing will happen to me if I don’t post every day, I now have actual subscribers –something I didn’t have before the challenge.  I like having an audience of people who read and comment on my posts – that helps a lot with motivation.  Having both of my photo blogs Freshly Pressed was pretty exciting too! And having readers from around the world gives me an opportunity to share not only my personal experiences, but “insider details” about New Orleans, a city I find endlessly fascinating.

As I’ve said before, I thrive on projects with short deadlines, and daily blogging is about as short as it gets – so I enjoy that part as well. I love to post a tidbit about the city or something mildly interesting from my day. I like sharing random favorite books, items and activities on Fantabulous Fridays.  I’ve always been a nostalgic person, so it’s fun to dig back into my past and reflect on an experience for Story Saturdays.  And I look forward to thinking about what meditative, quiet, or reflective tip or idea I can share for Stillness Sundays.  Photos are as important as the writing to me and I love sharing pictures of what I see each day.

Writing and taking photos is only one half of the blogging experience – the other half is reading, and I’m enjoying (probably a little too much!) access to far more blogs than I paid attention to prior to this challenge. I’m inspired by the creativity and beautiful writing and photography of so many fellow bloggers, and I love having a window into their daily lives.  I learn something new every day from reading others’ blogs and I never fail to find something delightful or surprising on the Post A Day tag page.

The cons of all of this blogging are that I don’t know that posting daily is improving my writing – sometimes I think that instead my writing is deteriorating because I’m on a deadline and don’t necessarily have time to polish my work.  I’m more aware of my “crutch” words – ones I use ALL the time like love, lovely, fantastic, fabulous, gorgeous, etc.  Managing to write meaningful posts and keep up with others’ posts without spending too much time on the computer can sometimes be a challenge.

I’m so grateful for my blogging buddies and for the other cool folks in the Post A Day community – I appreciate every like and comment so much! I hope that when you visit my blog you find something here that makes you smile.  Cheers and congratulations to all of my fellow bloggers who’ve posted 100 (or more) posts in 2011!