My blogging anniversary (and a giveaway)!

Exactly one year ago today, I had just returned from the train station in Wilmington, DE after having dropped off our eldest son for his trip back to the Big City. I remember sitting down in front of the computer to write my sisters and my husband bringing me a drink.

I'd been toying with the idea of making the e-mail letters I send to my sisters look prettier. Rather than sending group e-mails to the 3 of them and attaching my photos to the bottom, I thought there must be a way to make them look more interesting. So I googled "how do I start a blog?"

I researched what people had to say about the various blog platforms and blogger looked fine to me, so I jumped right on in with this, my very first post.

I set it to private, and it wasn't until several days later when I sent the link to Adrienne to get her advice on it, that I opened it up to the public. She was so excited to see herself on the internet that she sent it to everyone in her address book.

And if you know anything about Adrienne, it's that she has thousands of people in her address book. I was seriously nervous about it all. I have no idea why.

Then I posted the first of some of the conversations I have with my husband. These are always pretty weird, and this one was no exception. I even had someone comment on it, which surprised me no end.

Surprisingly, after several days, other people actually began to find me and they began leaving comments. It was (and still is) quite exciting to have people write me. Sort of like having validation, I guess.

And so, in honor of this evening a year ago when I began this craziness, and on this, my 450th post, I'm having a Giveaway. I'm offering a STANDOUT of this print:

A standout is a print that's mounted on 1 1/2" gatorfoam and is sealed with a smooth textured black trim. It's 8 x 10 in size and will be shipped directly from my pro lab to your home. That is, IF you are the winner.

All you have to do is leave a comment. That's all! And just to make it fun, you can tell me what your favorite gift was this year for the holidays!

I'll leave this post up until Sunday at 6 PM. I'll then draw the winner and let you know Sunday night. Good luck!

If you'd like to get a better idea of what a standout looks like, check this post I wrote over the summer.