I came across an old blog post the other day and it inspired me to update it. It’s from January 28, 2013 and titled MaryFranniversary. It celebrates a FULL year, 52 weeks, of Monday blogs.

I was pretty proud of myself for having completed that many posts.

I realize it’s the end of June which marks no special “maryfranniversary” or big number, (like 500–it could happen!) but I thought it was fun to revisit and wanted to share. With everything that’s been going on lately, a friendly little flashback might be welcome.

Here, for your reading pleasure, complete with updated commentary in parentheses and in blue, is that post:

Cel-e-brate Good Times, C’mon!

It’s my third week of the In Print ABC Blogging Challenge, but you could begin today!
(you could do an Alphabet inspired blog series, but In Print is no more)

I’m happy to tell you that C is for Celebrate! This blog marks my 52nd, an entire year of weekly blog posts.

In that year I have covered a variety of subjects, from me to me.
(Dang, I wish I could put emoticons in these posts!)
(you can TOTALLY add emoticons, 🙂 I just didn’t know how!)
In those blogs I’ve shared things like my post card story,
(OMG, please go read about the post card story! click on the highlighted words)
the superlative nature of Wednesdays, plans for my after party,
(The After Party is another of my favorite posts! again, click on the highlighted words to open the new page)
my word nerdery, how I felt about the Batman movie (ugh) and my love of Diet Coke and Doritos.
Fifty-two weeks!
Hey Frito Lay, where’s my sponsorship?
(I have not received any sponsorships, but I have received surprise gifts from readers!)

I’ve enjoyed blogging more than I thought I would.
(YA THINK?! 443 weeks of posts!)
Anyone who’s read the very first post knows I came upon this by accident. Digitally challenged though I may be, I believe I’ve covered some interesting topics over the last fifty-plus weeks. (But how could I go wrong with me? Oh man, I bet you’re all waiting with baited breath for M week!)
(I do feel like I’ve expanded my sphere of subjects, although, I guess, there is no getting away from that they’re all about me in some way…)

I like that I wing it. Usually I wait until Monday morning, after Dave has left and the dogs have been tended,
(we have a totally different corgi crew now! 😦 sad face for the ones I’m missing, 🙂 for the new crew)
to sit down at the computer and let the thoughts fly. Probably not the most professional of ways to put my writing out there, but I wanted the blogs to be natural, untethered and unedited. I think it’s been good practice for me to write them this way. Yes, there are many that, when I reread them, I cringe,
(OMG, yes)
but that’s part of the learning curve. I’m trying to become a better writer through practice and habit.
(The ABC Blogging Challenge has given me much more opportunity to pre-think my blog subjects…, now I’m always considering things like P is for Practice, yeah, that’d be a good subject… what week is P?)
(I went with P is for Perspective)

I’m actually kind of proud of myself for making it to week fifty-two.
I have a frenetic creative nature; dedication and perseverance are often upstaged by distraction. To quote a common meme, Squirrel!

At first I worried that I wouldn’t be able to come up with subject matter week after week,
(HA!)
but aha! That’s where the frenetic creative nature comes in handy. As it turns out, coming up with ideas has not been a problem. Of course, I also worried that posting weekly would be a challenge for me. Other than brushing my teeth twice a day and my sacred Wednesdays, I rarely do anything regularly. I have missed a few Monday mornings, but overall, I’d say I could mark a passing grade in the consistency column.
(yes, I have done quite well with continued consistency)

Thank you for your eyes and encouragement (two potential E’s!).
(I went with Empty Nest)
I could do this without you, but it wouldn’t be nearly as rewarding.
(thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!)
I look forward to continuing my MaryFranSays blog, and I hope you will continue to check it out.
(thank you for still checking it out)

P.S. A celebratory shout-out to my C-friend whose birthday I will be acknowledging shortly at brunch over eggs and Grey Goose. Post the damn blog so we can party!
(HA! funny thing is, another C-friend has a birthday this week! unfortunately, no celebratory brunch…hopefully soon)

(as long as we’re flashing back…)