Reflections from three years of blogging

Flower arrangement

“I believe the term “blog” means more than an online journal. I believe a blog is a conversation. People go to blogs to read AND write, not just consume.” – Michael Arrington

It is hard to believe, but I am celebrating my third year of blogging. On April 22, 2011, I hit “publish” for the first time, not knowing where on earth this blog would go.

My initial thoughts in creating a blog were to chronicle my dad’s Alzheimer’s disease, and seek as well as offer support to others dealing with this dreadful disease. But his illness progressed much too quickly, and I shelved the blog for a while, as we dealt with doctor appointments, emergency room trips, hospitalizations, nursing home care, ICU, hospice, arranging a funeral and ultimately saying our farewells in July of 2011.

I was so busy and stunned from my dad’s death that when I did return to the blogging world, I used my blog primarily as therapy to deal with my profound loss.

In three short years, we have learned to move forward without Dad, which hasn’t been too easy. Every holiday and family event still feels empty to me. But we always toast Dad and know that he is in attendance, just in a different form. I still see him in dreams, and he has a way to send me a message from heaven every now and then.

Once I returned to writing on a more regular basis, I developed a blog following, which is very humbling to me. I truly appreciate all those who read my essays and posts, and I have been able to branch out and get a few sponsored posts and product reviews. It is always fun to test things out and share my findings with my audience. Some of my product review highlights include my time spent as a Verizon Brand Ambassador, and also tasting foods and addressing issues in order to help others along.

I have had the opportunity to share my faith and opinions, lots of opinions, and even share some of my crazy science experiments.

I also dabbled in a little travel, and would love to dabble a bit more! Part of my blogging life has included my military spouse trials. During part of this three-year blog journey, my Army reservist husband was stationed overseas on an unaccompanied tour, and I had the opportunity to travel to London to see him. Then he, along with our oldest son, deployed at the same time. I thought I would lose my mind, but I was able to write and had a good core of family and friends who kept me going strong until they both returned home, safe and sound.

Some days it just doesn’t seem possible that time could fly by so quickly. Since I started my blog, our youngest son has graduated, and our youngest daughter is finishing her junior year of high school. Our oldest daughter is now in our shoes, seeing how quickly time flies as her little ones grow by the minute. We survived severe summer storms and winter’s Polar Vortex – among other things.

Reflecting over the past three years I realize how immensely blessed I am. In addition to a wonderful family and great friends, I have a great support in the writing and blogging communities. I have taken a few refresher courses in writing and blogging; had blog posts featured on Midlife Boulevard, BlogHer and Vibrant Nation; I picked up part-time writing jobs and found friendships with fellow bloggers and local writers. So many positive things have happened just because I have put myself out in the blogging world.

I have read, and been advised by blogging experts that I should focus my blog and position myself as an “expert in the field,” which is kind of difficult as a “Random Rambler.” My interests are all over the map. I like the freedom that rambling gives me – to choose any topic and go with it! But as I contemplate their sound advice, I think I will eventually have to settle with a theme; maybe “Wise Random Ramblings,” incorporating all my sound advice from a half-a-century of life? 🙂

And, from the bottom of my heart – thank you so much for reading and following my blog. When you read, comment and share my post with your friends and family, it means the world to me, and motivates me to keep on writing. It feels more like conversing with friends, and I just love that.

© Lynne Cobb – 2014

 

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Boomer Products – Let’s Shop!

“I always say shopping is cheaper than a psychiatrist.” – Tammy Faye Bakker

When I was contacted by Tonya from TheBoomShop.com, I was excited to learn that there is an online shop with Boomer Products – just for us baby boomers. After “window shopping” the site, I decided I would take Tonya up on the offer to share my opinion of this store with my readers, and was compensated with a gift card.

BoomShop-Products-SM  772x431According TheBoomShop‘s press release, Boomers are the largest demographic for online shopping. It makes sense to me, as we’re a pretty busy bunch, with careers, caring for family – both younger and older loved ones, running households and more. Plus, we have grown wiser, and value our time, and can search and shop online faster than running to the mall. And, some of us have knee issues, which makes online shopping even more appealing 🙂

Anyhow, once on the web site, I was greeted by a clean design and easy-to-navigate departments. Welcoming me to the website was this quote: “Our quest is to search the world & create a collection of products that make your life simple, effortless & comfortable.” A non-cluttered site, in my opinion, is a great start.

The online store caters to the 50+ crowd. What I was most impressed with were the kitchen items – everything from gadgets to small appliances to cookbooks to accessories. In the Home department, I saw wellness mats. If you have ever stood in one place for a long time, think of how lovely it would be to have one of those cushion-y, anti-fatigue mats! Plus, there were several other departments, such as Health and Wellness, Fitness and Recreation, Sleep Science and several more. Look for a Nutrition Department soon. And yes, there is a sale section, too.

Several name brand items are available, and I found that the prices were inline with other stores – online and brick and mortar. TheBoomShop has a “no hassles” return policy, which makes online shoppers happy, and free shipping on orders $49 or more.  Also, the check out process is very simple! Basically create an account, shop-til-you-drop, add your credit card info and you are done.

Check out TheBoomShop, as they are giving my readers a 15% discount by using coupon code 99124. (Valid until June 21, 2014). My order should be arriving in a few days! I am sure you will enjoy this new online store geared for boomers.

Happy shopping!

© Lynne Cobb – 2014

Did you checkout TheBoomShop? If so, let me know what you think in the comments section.