It’s Our Blogaversary!

Do You Know What Today Is?

It’s Our Blogaversary! 

Wow! I can’t believe it’s been ONE year since I’ve started blogging! I can’t believe I’m STILL blogging! And, I can’t believe that I am more passionate about Woman, Live! today than when I started! 

The first blog I ever started was The Belly Button Connection. I thought I wanted to be a mid-wife. I volunteered at a midwifery clinic, didn’t really like it, was pregnant myself, and as my love for pregnant women dwindled so did the blog.

#EpicFail

Last year,  I decided to create a blog specifically for women’s devotionals called Woman, Eat! But, I felt it was lacking. I’m not a Bible scholar (which I didn’t necessarily have to be) but in addition to that I didn’t have enough to say. Plus, I felt there was so much more to being a woman than just reading your Bible. You have to actually live it out. I wish I could say I had an “Ah-ha” moment and thus came forth-eth the name, Woman, Live! But, that didn’t happen. I forgot about Woman, Eat! and created Brandi Hawthorne.

Brandi Hawthorne was the blog where I could just be me. Now, you’d think I could just be me at Woman, Eat! but, it was feeling more like work than pleasure. At Brandi Hawthorne, I didn’t have to outline topics ahead of time. I could just write whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted. Big problem. I crave focus. I need a schedule! I didn’t want you to come to the blog one day and I was talking about being a vegetarian and the next day I’m sharing my husband’s NY Strip recipe. I needed an agenda, even if the blog was about me. So, I took a really good look at my life.

• Who am I?
• What do I believe in?
• What kind of life am I trying to create?
• What about me do I believe is beneficial for other women?

I love great articles, testimonies, and quotes. I believe people need to experience (or be fed) new ideas, new ways, new experiences. Otherwise, how will you grow? So, I decided to keep Woman, Eat!

I believe in being healthy and fit. I know first-hand how being overweight can rob you of freedom and happiness. So, Woman, Move! was a no-brainer.

Giving makes me feel good. It’s the nuts and bolts of why I blog. Why should I learn all these life lessons if I’m not sharing them with someone else? Woman, Give!

I can talk about healing for a lifetime! You can’t live a good life if you drag every offense, every hurt, every disappointment with you everywhere you go. And, when our arms are full, we don’t have room to receive good things. Healing is hard work, but it’s absolutely pivotal to living a wonderful life. Woman, Heal!

And, most recently, I added what is a personal struggle for me, Woman, Play! Sometimes you just need to get a pedicure, put on a nice lacy bra, some 5″ heels, have wine with your girlfriends, and go skydiving! All work and no play makes for a boring life.

Then, I needed a title that encompassed all of these ideas that I believe are key to living a fulfilling life…

Woman, Live!

The biggest lesson I’ve learned is:

The man on the top of the mountain…he didn’t fall there. 

I had a total of 85 views in Feb. THE ENTIRE MONTH! Then 107, then 137, 165, 186, 443, 789, then November brought in 1,651 views. The climb. 

Some of the bloggers I love get 5000 views PER DAY!!! But, they didn’t start there. They’ve been blogging for 2, 3, 4, or 5 years! The climb. 

I’m phenomenal at quitting when the tough gets going so the fact that I stayed is such a testimony to my maturity (and sticking things out) but even more so a testimony to how much I LOVE the purpose of this blog! It is my baby! And, I’m so glad that all of you love it, too! 

This year I want to stretch the blog even more.

I’d like to introduce the following:

• Hey Woman, Live! video series  — This is an opportunity for you to send a video where you’re asking me a question or sharing a quote/thought/tip/article/testimony/recipe, etc. with the Woman, Live! community!

• A Fitness Series — Let us pray! Let me just be 100% honest and say that my confidence in successfully losing 50 lbs. isn’t very high. I’m afraid I’ll fail just like before. So, encouraging words, prayer, some magic tricks, whatever you got that will be helpful to me actually meeting my goal will be greatly appreciated! My schoolmate Shay named her fitness series Shay Shapes Up! <–Isn’t that SUPER cute? So, I thought I’d let all of you decide on the name of my fitness series. I can’t wait to see what you come up with!  I decided to strike the fitness series out and here’s why! 

• Dear Brandi Q&A video series — I like to talk and give suggestions soooooo I’m hoping you ladies will email me situations that you need advice on and I can answer them via video!

• Guest Bloggers — I read your comments! You ladies have some great tips, advice, and insight. You should guest blog for Woman, Live! We’re waiting….

• Conference Call!! — I would like to get to know you! And, since we can’t all meet up at a coffee shop, I think we should have a conference call! If you’d like to chat with me and the rest of the Woman, Live! community, please let me know! 

I also want to be more balanced…talking about each facet of Woman, Live!: Heal, Eat, Play, Give & Move. I tend to write more articles in Woman, Heal! and Woman, Eat! because those come more naturally. So, writing about each topic will be a challenge, but I say, “Bring it on!” 

Last, but definitely not least, Woman, Live! got a present for her anniversary.

Hint: It’s not the cat.

Woman, Live! now has her own office space!…in the living room…beside the kitchen…but it’s ALL GOOD! Haha! My husband bought me a desk. Little does he know I’m now going to pile paper all over the desk AND on the living room floor, but we’ll cross that bridge when we get there! (Just kidding, honey!)

Again, thank you so much for being a part of the Woman, Live! community. This year is going to rock!

Remember to:

• Suggest a cute name for the fitness series
• Let me know if you’d like to participate in the Woman, Live! community’s conference call, and…
• If you have any ideas for the blog, leave a note in the comments! There’s always room for improvement! 

With a year’s worth of love,