Thank you all so much for entering the giveaway! The winner is commenter Beth Cook, who wrote: “I think the most memorable moment was my father moving into an assisted living home with hospice services. You just think your parents will be around for a long time to enjoy their retirement years and their grandchildren. It’s hard on my mom going back and forth despite him not really knowing when she’s been there or the last time she came. It’s hard emotionally and financially. This is NOT what they wanted to spend their retirement money on. My guilt is living three hours away. Close enough to visit, but far enough away to have to balance family life/plans.” Congrats, Beth!
This week marks my eighth year of blogging.
Eight years feels unbelievable.
That’s nearly a decade. I still feel seventeen inside, so how this happened is beyond me.
I want to say how deeply grateful I am that you visit and spend time here. I understand what it’s like to follow the same voice for years — it can feel repetitive or overly familiar. This blog is just one person’s perspective: sometimes I change, sometimes I repeat myself, and sometimes I still feel seventeen on the inside. Through the years I’ve drifted away and come back to old favorite blogs, and I truly appreciate that you’ve chosen to stick around here.
You’ve read my rambles, shared your thoughts, and helped build a small, kind community. That means the world to me. I consider many of you invisible but very real friends — my long-distance, online BFFs.
I do this because I genuinely love it. Even though blogging became my job a long time ago, I try to keep things authentic and share the parts of life, food, and everyday silliness that excite me. Your support is the reason I keep going.
To celebrate eight years and to thank you for everything, I’m giving away a $1000 Amazon gift card to one lucky reader. This giveaway is not sponsored — it’s my personal thank-you gift. It’s open to everyone.
To ENTER:
- Leave a comment on this post telling me a memorable moment you’ve had so far in 2017.
- For an extra entry, preorder a copy of The Pretty Dish and leave a second comment saying you did so. If you’ve already preordered, thank you — please leave a comment to let me know. Preordering helps more than you might think, and this is just the first of many fun things we’ll be doing to celebrate.
Thank you for reading, for commenting, and for being here. Maybe, if the internet is still around, I’ll be writing to you again in another eight years. xoxoxo