Happy fifth birthday, little blog of mine!

A few days ago it occurred to me to look at how long I'd been blogging, and was delighted to discover that my blog was approaching its five-year birthday on Thursday, March 8! Holy cow!

I think I started this blog primarily to share my annual book lists in a public forum, but it has become my most regular creative outlet. Over the years, I've had various creative obsessions:

• Collecting stationery
• Writing letters
• Playing violin and cello
• Playing guitar
• Playing organ
• Singing
• Finger-weaving
• Calligraphy
• Sewing
• Song writing
• Cross-stitch
• Creating custom-made painted, calligraphy calendars
• Shodo (Japanese calligraphy)
• Making cards, bookmarks, and other paper crafts
• Beading
• Mosaics
• Knitting
• Weaving
• Playing mandolin

• Candle making

I'm great at starting projects and dabbling, but I'm pathetic at keeping at them and following through. I started a cross-stitch quilt for my eventual first baby...which never got finished. I've dabbled in a variety of musical instruments but never dedicated enough time to practicing to get really good at any one of them. That's the story of my life. So the fact that I've kept up my blogging for five years is a huge, triumphant success!!! Here are some facts about Every Day Is a Miracle:

• Number of posts during the first (not quite full) year: 91
• Total posts since March 8, 2007: 1,413 (counting this one)
• Year with the highest number of posts: 2010
• Most popular post: Have you ever wondered what happened to Stephen Hawking? (3,202 page views)
• Second-most popular post: Mommy's as smart as Velma, apparently (2,129 page views)
• Hits since July 23, 2008 (when I thought to put a hit counter on the page): 82,388
• E-mail subscriptions: 42
• RSS Feed subscriptions: 60
• Google followers: 15

• Spin-off blogs: the currently inactive One Year to an Organized Life (started 12/2008) and Marie's Book Garden (started August 2010)

My writer husband, after pooh-poohing blogs, Facebook, and Twitter for several years, has now fully embraced all three. I helped him start his own blog in February 2010. Now not only does he have two of his own blogs and write on another multi-author middle grade blog, but he also tweets and Facebooks with the best of them. He also showed me something new on Blogger the other day...one of the first times he's been able to pass along a computer tip to me! He has developed a huge, faithful blog follower community. People comment far more on his blogs than they do on mine...I suspect because they are all writers and he's writing about a specific topic: middle-grade fiction.

I realize that my blog could attract more followers and comments if I narrowed my focus to a particular topic (for example, parenting, travel, Portland, theater, or music), but I'm not out to make a living by blogging as some people have done. My purpose is threefold:

• Marvel at miracles in everyday life (manifested to me by love shared with family and friends, expression of creativity through arts and literature, and the world's wonders)
• Express my opinions (I don't particularly relish arguments, so this is my soapbox!) and share the knowledge I glean from other sources
• Chronicle my life, beliefs, and interests in writing

Yes, I'm a generally open person, and some people are amazed at what I write about on this blog...but believe me, I do not treat this as a journal. With the exception of public figures, I try not to be critical of others or hurtful in these posts. I do not post everything that crosses my mind. I'm acutely aware that anything I post here is on the internet forever...so I do not want to post anything I will regret later.

Happy birthday, little blog and all of its wonderful readers!! I hope you enjoy what I spew forth in these pages!