Showing posts with label Party. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Party. Show all posts

Friday, August 26, 2016

MY BLOG IS A TODDLER!


Why am I posting on a Friday? you ask. Because Out of Coffee, Out of Mind turns two years old tomorrow! That’s why! *flings confetti* Instead of making a cake and letting my little toddler smash its face into it, I’m going to throw a small virtual party, since it’s much less messy. (Also, I was informed blogs don’t eat cake. I’m still not sure if that’s true, but okay. Whatever you say. *rolls eyes*)

 Over the course of the year, my blog has garnered more followers and more pageviews than I had expected (in fact, my pageview count for this year is seven times what it was for my first year). Not that it’s about numbers. *shifty eyes* But it’s encouraging to know that at least some people continue to be interested in what I have to say. 


According to the stats, these were my top fifteen most popular posts of the year: 


















Along the way, I have had some great encouragement and support from so many bloggers, and I feel bad for only listing a few, because I don’t want to leave anyone out. Also, there are so many nice things I want to say, and I’m feeling strangely speechless. But here goes: 

Aimee @ To the Barricade!: I love Aimee’s energy and her different perspectives on deep issues. Plus, she got me hooked on Twenty One Pilots. Need I say more? 

Alexa @ Summer Snowflakes: Alexa’s blog is great for reminding me how fun it is to be a fangirl. She’s also super sweet and thoughtful. 

Ashley @ [insert title here]: I love reading Ashley’s thoughts and seeing her get excited about books, fairytales, and Sherlock, among other things. She’s always been a bright spot. 

Cait @ Paper Fury: Cait is hilarious, and she's a blogging inspiration. But I have to watch my back because she’s always trying to use her dragons to steal my throne. 

 Clara @ Lost in My Library: Clara is one of my newer followers. I haven't read nearly enough of her posts, but I really like what I've read so far, especially her thoughts on books. 

 Grace @ Somewhat Reserved: Grace is also one of my newer followers, and again, I haven't read nearly enough of her posts. However, she reminded me how much I love BATTLE ROYALE and even got me more excited about it, so she deserves extra cake. 

Heather @ Sometimes I’m a Story: With her snarky, dry humor and her polite way of introducing negative opinions, Heather gets me to think even when I don’t want to think. Also, she was my first steady commenter. 

Imogen @ Gossiping with Dragons: Imogen always gives great writing advice, and she has a great singing voice. *nods* We also have very similar taste in stories, from what I can tell. 

Katie @ A Writer’s Faith: Not only do we share the same blogversary, but we also love pizza. Whenever I need to remember how writing and editing can be humorous, I hop on over to her blog. 

Opal @ Opal Swirls: Opal is deep and thoughtful and poetic, and she gave me lovely feedback on one of my manuscripts. 

RM Lutz @ The Book Hound: R.M. is understanding and supportive, and she is my main source for more obscure bookish recommendations. 

Tessa @ Books, Bubbles, and Arohanui: Tessa is kind and quirky, and I always find her posts inspirational and encouraging. 

 Topaz @ Six Impossible Things: Topaz doesn't hesitate to share about her struggles, and she's always kind and understanding. 

TT @ introtoblurb: TT started blogging back in February, and I’ve really appreciated his support and involvement in the blogosphere. When I want to remember why I love blogging, it always helps to head on over to his blog. Also, he talks about food sometimes, so…

Victoria @The Endless Oceans of My Mind: Victoria has been invaluable, from her funny and thoughtful blog posts, to her supportive comments on my manuscript and blog, to her concern for my wellbeing. 

Victoria @ Wanderer’s Pen: Every time I drink tea, I think of this sweet, kind, wonderful person whose posts always make me smile and whose emails always make me feel valued. I’m glad I stumbled onto her blog, even though *whispers* I still think coffee is better than tea. 


This is by no means a conclusive list, and if I’ve missed you, please don’t be offended. I still like you! I just may not have read your blog enough to feel confident in giving an accurate description of you. 

Quick, look over there! A giveaway! *hides* 


 This giveaway is open anywhere Book Depository ships. Please make sure you are either 18+ years old or have permission from your parents, as I will need your address if you win. Also, I am not responsible for any shipping failures. If you win but you either already own ILLUMINAE or don't want to own it, then I will be happy to substitute a book of equal or lesser value. In case you aren't familiar with ILLUMINAE, just click on the gorgeous cover photo below for the Goodreads description: 





Well, that's it for today, my little coffee beans. Thank you for coming to my blogversary party! *throws more confetti* *hands out coffee* 
Posted by at 32 comments:
Labels: , , , , ,

Wednesday, August 26, 2015

Out of Coffee, Out of Mind's First Blogversary: Here, Have a Giveaway


Via Pixabay
 
Technically, my actual blogversary is tomorrow, but tomorrow happens to be a Thursday, and I don’t post on Thursdays. Which means I’m celebrating today. And just as a warning, this post will probably be a little long, but it’s my party, so I’m allowed.

When I started out last year, I wasn’t sure what I was doing or where this whole blogging thing was going to go. On the one hand, I didn’t know if I wanted to pursue blogging in the long term or if people would even be interested in my random yammerings.

Some of you may not be aware that my blog initially went by another name for a grand total of two weeks before I came up with Out of Coffee, Out of Mind. And if you want to know the only-slightly-but-not-very interesting story behind that, here’s a link to the explanation.

I’ll admit, I think I got stage fright trying to figure out some of this stuff, because the first few months pretty much went by in a haze of blind panic. Now that a whole year has passed, I still haven’t gotten the hang of everything (or much of anything), but I will say that I love blogging so much more now than I did even six months ago. Also, I just want to thank everyone who has taken the time to comment on my blog—it means so much to me. For the first two-and-a-half months, I wasn’t sure if anyone was actually interested. I mean, I got page views, but I figured they were probably from lots of disappointed people wondering how they’d found a link to a site about coffee that wasn’t really about coffee. Sorry, not sorry.

Starting out I was also, unfortunately, rather ignorant of blogging etiquette. But that’s no excuse, really, because I could have researched or used common sense or whatnot. So for an embarrassingly long while after I started getting comments, I blithely answered them and ignored the rest of the blogging community like a spoiled little princess. So, to any of you I ignored—I really wish that I had gone back and commented on your blogs to show my gratitude, and I promise I’ll make that effort from now on. I’ve only recently begun to realize that more than half of the fun comes from interacting with other bloggers and reading what people have to say in their own little corners of the world.

Anyway, enough with the boring stuff. Now I’m just going to throw a bunch of links at you, like, for instance, these blogs I’ve especially enjoyed over the past year (in alphabetical order, of course, because I could never order them by preference—I love them all):
 


I’ll admit, often when it came time to post, I didn’t feel like I had much to offer—I just grabbed at the first idea that came to mind and went with it. There were days when I worried I’d offend someone or make everyone hate me. But there were other times when I felt confident about what I was doing, times when I was surprised by how well-received some of my posts were.

According to the stats, these were my reader’s top ten favorites for the year:
 

And these were my top fifteen favorites (in alphabetical order):



And now for the giveaway!

I’ve mentioned on several occasions how much I love Ray Bradbury. So I’ve decided to give away a copy of his brilliant novel, FAHRENHEIT 451. This 60th Anniversary Edition includes an introduction by Neil Gaiman, essays by the author, and lots of other fun stuff (along with the actual story).

 
So here’s how you can win:
 
If you follow Out of Coffee, Out of Mind, you get an entry.
If you comment, you get an entry.
If you share this post via Twitter, Facebook, your blog, etc… and provide proof that you’ve done so, you get an entry.
If you tell me how you came across my blog, you get an entry.
And if you tell me your favorite post(s) of the year, you get an entry.
WHICH MEANS…
All in all, you can get as many as five entries.
Note: This giveaway is open to all residents of Earth.
 

The giveaway runs until September 15th. I will notify the winner via email on the 16th. If you do not have Google+, please include your email address in the comments.

 

Thank you again to all my readers, new and old! You make blogging ten million times more enjoyable.
Posted by at 22 comments:
Labels: , , , , , ,
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)