Where have 3.0 GBs of Storage Gone?

Taken at Fort Ebey, Washington

After two years on WordPress, I have used 90% of my 3.0 GB of free storage. Those GBs represent the bulk of my creative ideas and favorite photographs – the evolution of ME.

At first I viewed blogging as simply a way to share the pictures I snapped on my cell phone, but it quickly developed into a daily photographic journey with “point-and-click” (as I hear some people say) and DSLRs images. People from all over the world were looking at my work. How cool!

But then came the dark, underbelly of blogging: stats wars, a scramble for followers, and hoping to be “freshly pressed”, which never happened. I went through a time of frustration and jealousy to see the stats of my fellow bloggers climbing beyond what I was reaching despite a lot of time and committment to the site.

I got over it. Blogging should be fun right, not a stat competition?

So, why do I keep doing it after two years? I love seeing the world through the eyes of people in distant places. I’ve also had the opportunity to meet fellow bloggers in person and to connect with others on Facebook. I love writing and sharing my thoughts regardless of who reads them. Blogging is something I can do on my own terms, without restriction, and it stretches my creative writing muscles.

Even after I hit 3.0 GB and have to pay for an upgrade, I will gladly do it. The benefits are well worth the investment!

Odd News

Do any of you fellow bloggers ever look at the “Referrers” section in your Site Stats?    As I perused my stats and maneuvered chopsticks over lunch today, I noticed a website called “Odd News“.   This sparked my interest, and I clicked on the link.  The person who noticed my blog name on the WordPress link had apparently been reading a story about a woman who fell 23 stories, landed on a taxi cab and survived.    There’s a terrible little picture of her still laying on the vehicle.  

Well, what else was out there?  The next one was about Hitler’s oldest and last surviving bodyguard who is no longer responding to fan mail.  Bizarre.  Almost choked on my Dynamite Roll after reading that. 

Yesterday I had a referral from an online dating website.  It’s so strange to me where your blog may randomly be advertised.    Others, in the past 30 days, include websites for:

“adult” dating
prostate cancer treatment (cause I need that…)
home improvement
hair color and treatments

Mostly, though, the referring websites are other blogs that I follow.  People find me through the comments I leave on other pages.   So, for new bloggers this is a good tip!  Show interest in others, and you’ll get more traffic on your own site. 

Speaking of Site Stats, I have an updated list of favorite terms that people typed into search engines to get to my blog. 

surviving the apocalypse
algebra calculators
дикие животные  (again!)
fat cat paws
sister snatch
open mouthed shell
and what should my wondering eyes appear
fable 2 how to open doors with purple light
blessed snow
you talking to me
sniegas
jolean pulled
space

Happy almost Friday!    Without any homework to do this weekend, I’ll actually be able to get out and take some new pictures!

Favorite Search Terms

I was reading Lisa’s blog this morning, and she mentioned the random search terms people used that ultimately connected them to her WordPress blog.   This got me looking at my own site stats, and I found some interesting things!  Now, I have absolutely no idea who actually is doing the searching.  All WordPress tells me is that someone, somewhere typed one of these terms into Google or another search engine, and that lead to Jolene’s Life in Focus.  

These are some of my favorite search terms from the past month.

learn to love guinness
love yourself
jolene artist alfalfa
дикие животные  (What does this mean??)
the revenj of the missipp squarl  (interesting way to spell it…)
statistics on cat scratch fever
blowing in the wind
pub photography
deciduous leaf litter
pictures of things in focus
cat paws
snow caps candy
“neptune theater” and “haunted” or “ghost”
hard life in Africa
busted laptop
how to take a self portrait with a cell phone
ireland door art
tromme Tanzania
wild animals
wild things on facebook

Also, Since August, I was searched for by name 82 times.   Not bad!

Sorry, I have no photo of the day for Thursday.   Instead of playing with the Canon, I helped my friend Ian decorate his Christmas Tree tonight.   It was nice to play the role of friend instead of photographer, so the camera stayed at home.

Still Thankful

I was convinced that no force on earth was strong enough to keep me from my camera or my blog.  I was wrong.

A stomach flu knocked me down the past couple of days.  With literally no strength to even pick up a book, I watched hours of daytime television…and then primetime television as I faded in and out of consciousness.  That being said, I was not out taking any new photos or thinking of anything interesting or inspiring to write about.  However, keeping with my spirit of thankfulness, I am grateful to have survived the flu and for neighbors like Andy who brought me soup and saltines.  

This picture was taken on a photo walk a couple of weeks ago.  The familiar Northwest rain may give way to some snow this weekend.  Instead of water droplets, I could maybe getting some pictures of snowflakes…

All You Need is Droid

image

image

And love.  This is my first blog post from my Motorola Droid using the WordPress app, and I decided to post a couple of pictures I took with my camera phone at my friend Jasmine’s wedding. 

The lighting was perfect to capture the cake, and these corks were a gift to me from the bartender to add to my growing collection.  What will I do with all these corks?  No idea.  For now, they overflow the small basket in my kitchen as I decide.

Camera:  Motorola Droid
Apps:  Picsay Pro
Location:  Country Club, Lake Stevens Area