LET'S CELEBRATE!
My Word Of The Year for 2022 was "Fabulous" and I just about wore it out... but, I think there's one more Fabulous post to write, and so I'm borrowing
it for today. November this year has brought 3 Fabulous things to celebrate
and I'm sharing them today - there's a birthday, a milestone, and an
anniversary - so here we go.....
FABULOUS THING NUMBER 1
Well, I think this is a Fabulous thing - November 4th was my birthday and
that always means time to celebrate with the family. We had a lovely lunch date, and of course there was cake, and presents too. I'm not a big fan of
gift giving and receiving, but it still feels special when the people you love
want to give you a present for your birthday. My husband loves to give (it's
his Love Language) so I know he'll always find a way to make my birthday
special.
It wasn't a big birthday - I turned 62, and I still can't believe I'm in my
60's - most days I feel like a 40 year old - especially now I have my bionic hip! Still, I'm grateful for every single day I'm alive - and a birthday is
a great time to reflect on how Fabulous my life has turned out to be. This
second half of life feels like the gift that keeps on giving - and that's
pretty darn special isn't it? I'm sure there'll be a photo or two from the day in my end of month wrap-up post.
FABULOUS THING NUMBER 2
I have a little counter in the sidebar of my blog and it's been creeping up
steadily this year towards a big number. I remember when I first started
blogging that I thought I'd be amazed if I had 50 people read my blog. Then one
day I looked at my stats and I'd had 20,000 views and was shocked to think
that so many people had read what I'd written.
The numbers kept rising and I wrote a post to celebrate when
I hit 250,000 views
because that was beyond belief! Then 18 months later
I hit 500,000 views
- that's half a million! After that I just kept writing away and didn't
dedicate a post to any other milestones..... until this one..... I've just
reached a Fabulous 2 million views on my blog - good grief that is just so
hard to get my head around. All I can say is THANK YOU if you are even
one of those views. As well as that, I've had 31,000+ comments and quite a
few private emails. The friends I've made, the people who've shared their
stories, the encouragement I've received - it's just so unbelievable. So
again, THANK YOU! And that leads to my final Fabulous thing....
FABULOUS THING NUMBER 3
The final Fabulous thing for November is that it's my 9th blogging
anniversary towards the end of the month. I can't believe that I'm still
here and still hitting the keyboard every week. The number of posts I write
each week has slowly decreased - I used to write three a week when I started
(and six a week if there was a Blogging Challenge!) but over the last few
years I've dropped to one post each Monday - and that feels like a
sustainable amount for me these days.
My blogging has changed over the years too, I tend to write about ideas or
experiences that I'm engaged in - whether it was leaving my toxic job, early retirement, living simply, being unbusy, my health, or whatever new concept I came
across that caught my attention. I feel like I've settled into a nice little
cosy corner, and those who stop by are on similar paths to me. I'm not trying
to be the biggest and the best, I don't want to compete or compare, I just
love my little corner of the blogosphere where I can be Me and share my
journey with other like-minded souls.
WHAT LIES AHEAD?
I'm hoping to keep on blogging each week and be back this time next year
with a post that says I'm celebrating a decade of Cresting the Hill, but
then again, I may quietly call it quits and fade away into the ether. I've
finally stopped trying to plan too far ahead with my life. I'm happy to take
it one day or one week at a time. I don't even put all that many
expectations on myself anymore - and my heart and soul are happier and more
content because of that.
So, I have no idea what lies ahead in any aspect of my life. Retirement is
so fluid that it allows me to go with the flow and stop or start whenever
the whim takes me. I really hope that I keep hammering the keyboard and that
you keep coming back so I'm not my only reader - it's been such a joy being
here each week and sharing friendship and gratitude and positivity and joy -
THANK YOU!
A FEW OF MY MORE POPULAR POSTS OVER THE YEARS:
BEFORE YOU GO:
If you'd like to know when I write a new post, please click HERE for email updates.
If you'd like to comment but not here on the blog, feel free to email
me at
leanne.crestingthehill@gmail.com - I'd love to hear from you.
And please share this post by clicking on a share button before you
go.
Three great things to celebrate Leanne. Happy birthday and what an achievement with your views that's phenomenal. I remember starting my blog in the January a few months after you so you keep me updated on how old my blog is. Let's try and get to the 10 years its a nice round number. x
ReplyDeleteHi Sue - thanks for the birthday wishes - and yes, I'm hoping I'll make it to 10 years of blogging. I tend to feel like I'm slowing down and will stop....then get a second wind with the new year. Hopefully I'll keep typing away - even if I'm only here more sporadically. x
DeleteWell done Leanne, some momentous things to celebrate here! Happy birthday to you and welcome to 62. We're the same age for another few weeks then I'll tip over to 63 - not a bad thing at all :) Your blog numbers are fabulous so congratulations on that huge number! It's always good to see bloggers mention their blogging anniversary as it shows commitment and interest in their topics. Hip hip hooray for you - no pun on the hip replacement intended!!
ReplyDeleteHi Deb - I'll take the hip pun regardless :) And yes, I like blogaversary posts because there are fewer and fewer of us around these days and it's nice to celebrate the milestones together. Hopefully I'll be here for number 10 - time will tell!
DeleteWish you a Happy Birthday, dear Leanne. I am glad you had such a lovely day.
ReplyDeleteI am following you, five years behind ... I can't imagine that I am nearing the end of the fifties, forget being in the fifties in the first place!
It's unimaginable that time is flying so fast. They say age is a number. It's all in the mind, is it not? Be active as long as we can.
Your posts are always nice to read. No wonder there are so many readers.
Blogging is a very healthy habit. It's a platform where we can express our thoughts. We can connect with people who share the same interests. It is as much therapeutic as much as it's energizing.
Once again, wish you wonderful years ahead, Leanne.
Hi Pradeep - thanks for your lovely wishes - and yes, blogging brings such wonderful connections all over the planet. Who'd have thought that people like yourself in India would be reading what I write! Also hard to believe that I'd just begun my 50's when I started CTH and now I'm soooo much happier and more settled. Time flies, but it brings good things with it. :)
DeleteHappy birthday, Leanne! 9 years of blogging is a long time and I'm happy you've continued so long and experienced all the good things with blogging. I hope you'll make it to the 10h blogging anniversary and of course many years ahead of your nice, relaxed life. Go with the flow is a good and healthy way of approaching life, making the best of every moment since we never know what's around the corner.
ReplyDeleteHi Susanne - it feels like forever and also like only yesterday since I started this blog. I love that I've met so many wonderful people in the process (like yourself) and been able to share life's journey - it's certainly made my attitude to middle age so much more positive and I'm so grateful for the life I have now - blogging included. :)
DeleteHappy Birthday, Leanne and congratulations on your 9 years of blogging. I hope you continue in whatever fashion suits you. I think the sincerity and positivity you put into your posts comes across and that’s why you have so many views. Maria
ReplyDeleteHi Maria - thanks for your lovely compliment. I really do try to be as authentically "me" as possible (good and not so good parts) and it's lovely to have others who it resonates with. :)
DeleteThose ARE three fabulous things to celebrate this month! Happy birthday and congratulations.
ReplyDeleteThanks Joanne - it feels a bit like blowing my own trumpet, but it's such a great feeling to know I'm not alone in the blogosphere.
DeleteLeanne, it has been wonderful to watch you settle into yourself these past few years. In a way I think blogging keeps us honest and helps us sort and sift until we get there. 'There' being defined by our own terms, of course. Happy Birthday kiddo!
ReplyDeleteHi Suzanne - I think you might be absolutely right! I do feel like blogging has given me somewhere to thrash through my thoughts and life's events - and the opportunity to hear from others and to participate in their journeys too. I love that we can cheer each other on through the celebrations and through the tough times too. xx
DeleteLeanne That is amazing, 2 million views Not surprised though Your blog touches our minds and hearts and invites us to share. YOU are "fabulous". Am reading a a book by Michael Singer, Untethered Life and I think of you. Here's to this next blogging year and Thank You,
ReplyDeleteHi Judith - I feel so honoured to be in your thoughts as you're reading - now I'm going to have to find the book and have a read! I just love sharing my heart here and sometimes I wonder whether it's all just going into the ether - then I get a lovely comment or email and I know that there's other kindred spirits out there on a similar path - and it makes me really happy. x
DeleteSo great to celebrate milestones including another tour around the sun. I've come to your blog late having just discovered it in the past few months. I share Pradeep's thoughts - the blog is therapeutic, energizing & I would add engaging, thought provoking & creates community. Congrats on all the milestones.
ReplyDeleteMona, it's been lovely reading your comments (and I always appreciate every single one that people are brave enough to leave!) I really do hope that you find encouragement and positivity here - I just feel like the last decade has been such a transformative time for me - from feeling a bit lost and 'same old same old' to a new and brighter - and much happier and more content "me". I do hope that sharing my journey prompts others to step out and find what will make them happy too. It's different for all of us, but there's a similar desire behind it I think. :)
DeleteHappy Birthday, dearest friend. I'M so happy that you are in my life, even if it's only virtually for now. We are all so privileged, to be able to read such inspiring words every week. xx Christina Daggett
ReplyDeleteHi Christina - you're another kindred soul that blogging has brought into my life and I'm grateful for our ongoing virtual friendship too. And I'm looking forward to another video tour of the apartment and tree of life too. x
DeleteHey Leanne. I'm a new reader and I'm excited to read here about your success with your blog. Congratulations! I'm with you in finding more joy, peace and fulfillment these days by making only relatively short term plans, having smaller and fewer expectations (other than the big dreams and hopes we hope to manifest or be gifted by the Universe). I'm unsure whether the pandemic taught us this, or if the world itself is morphing too quickly for anybody to sync with it or if this is just a more serene version of ourselves emerging in this season of life. Whatever it is, I'm liking it too. Thanks for blogging - I'm inspired by your words. xo karen
ReplyDeleteHi Karen - I'm so glad you found me and that you "get" where I'm going. I think the pandemic just reinforced to me that I like solitude, and I like my own company, and I don't need to have a million events on my calendar. I thought I was more sociable than I actually am - I think I might be a secret introvert underneath....and all I really want is a peaceful, authentic, simple life. What I've found since blogging about all of this (when I finally got brave enough to leave my sucky job) is that there are a lot of us out there who don't want what Instagram is selling - we just want our own little space in the world with people we love and a haven to call home. Life is very good and I hope you keep coming back to share the journey with me. :)
DeleteHappy Birthday, Leanne! Huge congratulations on your 9 years of blogging and your two million views!! That's awesome! January 1 will mark my 8 consecutive years of blogging. Like you, I am grateful for this corner of the blogisphere and the many great people that I have met here. I look forward to your continued posts. :D
ReplyDeleteHi Donna - you've inspired me with your authentic, genuine interest in others - and a desire to cheer them on in whatever they choose to make of their lives. I love that even when you're not blogging every week, you're still visiting and engaging. I hope if I drop my posting down to being more irregular, I'll still be buzzing around the blogosphere to see what everyone's up to. x
DeleteCongrats on all three milestones! We actually celebrated my hubby's BD yesterday (pizza gathering with friends), and that combined with our local Wine Festival the weekend (it was a success) of which I was one of the coordinators... all that meant no blog post this week. That's my new go-with-the-flow! Not feeling bad when life gets in the way of posting a blog. But like you, I love the blog world and will be back in next week. And maybe someday I'll be hitting a million views! No Compare & Despair... just a hope for.
ReplyDeleteHi Pat - I think it's a great thing when life gets in the way of a blog post. I tend to write in spurts, so I'm usually at least a couple of weeks ahead of my posting schedule (the super organized oldest child!) I always look forward to reading your posts as you're exploring life like I am - we may divert at times, but there are always so many similarities in what we're looking for in this lovely retirement space.
DeleteHi Leanne - belated birthday wishes and congratulations on 2 million views - that is a huge achievement. I do hope you make it to 10 years of blogging, as I have enjoyed reading your posts and, more recently, joining in and commenting. You should be very proud of all you have achieved.
ReplyDeleteHi Elizabeth - I've loved reading your comments - they encourage me to keep going. Whenever I turn the comments off I find myself much more disconnected from my community. I love the interaction and feedback - I think I have more like-minded friends on here than I do in real life - and that's very special to me. So thank you xx
DeleteHappy, belated Birthday, Leanne! Congratulations for your blog and I hope that you will continue blogging for many years to come. I can relate so well to your many posts. You're very special and authentic. Such a joy to read you on Monday morning. Keep up the good work!!! xox
ReplyDeleteHi Yvonne - it's encouraging voices like yours that keep me going. Every time I think I've said all that I have on my mind, something new pops up that spurs me on to write more. I hope you keep popping in for a Monday morning catch-up and that my posts keep resonating with you as you grow through this difficult season of your life. xx
DeleteHappy belated birthday Leanne and congratulations on your blog views and finding your little corner of the blogosphere! I must admit I'm not a very good blogger because I don't have a counter and I never even look at my blog statistics and wouldn't have a clue how many people have viewed my blog or what posts have been popular and all that stuff. I'm glad you're so happy and enjoying your blogging. I'm sure you'll still be here to celebrate your 10 years! Take care xo
ReplyDeleteHi Min - Blogger has a little counter widget that I put in my sidebar when I first started (don't have a clue how I discovered it!) There's also stats next to each post for views and comments on my dashboard - so numbers stay in front of me every time I go to write a new post. It's a bit of incentive for me to keep going - or else I'd assume I was the only one reading my stuff and I'd have given up years ago! I do hope I make it to the 10 year mark - I often say around this time of the year that I'm running out of steam - and then January comes around and I'm off and running again (I think I get inspired by a new #WOTY each time) xx
DeleteCongratulations Leanne on all of these milestones! I'm so happy that we connected and I've been able to follow along with your journey for nearly a decade now. I enjoyed my recent time away, but was looking forward to checking in with all my favorite bloggers, including you.
ReplyDeleteHi Christie - I certainly value your friendship too - and the similar journeys we're undertaking as we launch into the retired life and figure it all out. Your holiday looked so relaxing and lovely, and I'm sure you came back feeling refreshed.
DeleteCongratulations on all three milestones, I hear you about going with the flow . I am trying to stick with the don’t compare just enjoy what I have. So reading your blog helps me to stay on track. Thank you
ReplyDeleteOops didn’t add my name, sorry. Wendy, Bribie Is.
DeleteHi Wendy - I'm so glad you're on a similar journey and learning (along with me) how to slow down a little and let life happen gradually, instead of trying to push through and control everything. I'm finding that the more I release, the more I flow, and the more I connect into who I am and what I really want out of life. I hope you're finding the same thing. x
DeleteHi Leanne, I am glad I returned back to read this post. I don’t believe you can ever wear out “Fabulous.” Happy belated birthday! Always a reason to celebrate. I wholeheartedly agree “…a gift that keeps on giving…”
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on the number of views! No surprise here: fresh perspective, wisdom shared in a new way, gems, key values that resonate with many readers. I especially love “…where I can be Me and share my journey with other like-minded souls.”
Thank you for understanding how I pop in and out at different times and usually read all. We were away again camping, then visiting family, and unexpected private scary family stuff…a constant for all of us…I try to replenish when I can…reading your words is part of this, Leanne. xx Erica
Hi Erica - I'm so sorry to hear about the family stuff - it seems to have been a constant thread in your life over the last few years (sending you a big hug). Thank you for your very kind words and birthday wishes. I really do hope that my blog resonates with others - it helps me feel less like I'm on my own through all the navigating of this second half of life!
DeleteThank you for being my favourite cheer leader - and I hope the camping brought refreshment and relaxation into your world. xx