It was three years ago today that I started this blog.  Wowza.  Time flies!  I can’t believe it has been three years already.

It seems like an anniversary is always a good time to evaluate where you are and where you want to go.

A good time to stop and wonder, why do I do this?  And am I successful at it?

Success is defined as:

• the accomplishment of an aim or purpose.
• the attainment of popularity or profit.
• a person or thing that achieves desired aims or attains prosperity.

When I began my blog the goal was to use it to sell my painted furniture.  As it turns out, that has been hit or miss.  While I do occasionally sell a piece to a reader, those sales are not the norm.  Most of my pieces end up being sold on Craigslist.  So I can’t say that I have really achieved that goal.

I’ve read that on average it takes 8 to 10 hours to write a blog post.  That includes writing the post as well as taking & editing photos for the post.  And it also includes the time invested in the project itself whether it be painting a piece of furniture or decorating a room for the holidays.  That sounds about right to me.

I usually post about 3 times a week.  That translates to 24 to 30 hours per week.  Holy cow.  Do I really spend that much time on it?  I think I might.  If you count the time spent painting furniture.  But the thing is, I’d be painting furniture anyway so even if I wasn’t writing a blog I’d still be spending a significant amount of time on that.  The time I spend just writing the blog is more like 6 – 8 hours per week.

Earlier this week I came across an article about how to drive more traffic to your blog.  I got about halfway through the article and then I just grew bored and stopped reading it.  I realized I didn’t want the goal of my blog to be gaining more followers.  I don’t want to tailor the content of my posts for the sole purpose of attracting a wider audience.

So, if I’m not meeting my original goal of selling furniture via the blog and I’m not particularly motivated to ‘attain popularity’ in the form of more followers, why do I spend that much time on this?

Well, the answer is simple.  I really enjoy the process.

This is not a job for me.  It’s a pleasant pastime.

Every now and then I have to stop and remind myself that it doesn’t matter how many followers I have, or how many ‘views’ my blog gets every day.  I have to resist the accountant side of my brain that wants to crunch the numbers.

I am not going to measure the success of my blog by the numbers.  I’m going to measure my success by whether or not I am having fun with it because that is why I do it.

That being said, an anniversary is also a good excuse to host a giveaway to express how much I do appreciate my readers, even if I’m not counting you to measure my success.  Especially those of you who take the time to leave comments and let me know that you are out there.  Getting comments is one of the things that makes blogging fun for me, so please keep them coming.

I’m going to give away two gifts today.  The first is already spoken for and is going to Victoria.  Victoria and I have never met.  She lives down south, while I am up north.  Victoria found my blog back in December of 2013, so only one month after I started blogging.  Since then she has left me 557 comments making her far and away the most prolific ‘commenter’ (not a real word, I know) on my blog!  And I have appreciated each and every one of those comments.  Thank you for all of your kinds words of encouragement Victoria!  I hope you enjoy your gift, it will be on its way to you soon.

For the 2nd prize, I will draw a name at random from any comments left on this post by Friday, December 2 at midnight.  There are no special requirements, you don’t have to follow me or click on a link to something; you just have to leave a comment.  I hope you’ll take a moment to do so.  Here’s what you’ll get (MMS milk paint in Schloss, a tiny green vintage floral frog with a Christmas greeting, a set of vintage cookie cutters, the latest issue of Flea Market Style and the Winter 2016 issue of Flea Market Decor).

Flea Market Style has a great article about re-purposing vintage cookie cutters …

So when I saw this Christmas-y set at a local shop I knew I had to grab them and throw them in.

I hope you’ll continue to read my blog and leave the occasional comment or two down the road just to encourage me.  Here’s to another year!  And don’t forget to leave a comment for your chance to win!