First, I know that I say this every year, but to you who is reading now, to you who has paid this blog some visits all through those years, to you who became my virtual friends because of this platform, THANK YOU! I mean, for the first years I was blogging, it seemed that I push posts out into the air, literally, to no one. But now, blogging is more fun that I actually get to connect to you, and that I am not the only one who reads this blog anymore. Thank you!
I was not actually sure what to say today, because almost yearly, I do these anniversary posts and I pretty much say the same things 😁😁. But I want to be here today though, and there must be a reason why I suddenly woke up at 1 am, and can’t go back to sleep. So I opened my laptop, and there it is, an idea flowed to me. Ten Moments I Won’t Forget During My Ten Years of Blogging. I can’t think of a better idea than that.
And I told you in this post, how I love to flow these days, ha! It is the moments like this that just flow and I love it.
Ten Moments I Won’t Forget During My Ten Years of Blogging
- I was interviewed for a tv segment that aired in our city called Blogtown. Please, know that I cannot watch past the one-minute mark of this video because I get so awkward with my own awkwardness. So if you feel the same way, that makes the two of us 😆😆.
2. Drama Queen Moment. I cried several times in this blogging journey but 2 of them I can’t forget. One is when I cried in front of our bedroom dresser (really drama queen moment, huh 😂), thinking that I failed again because I still had to go back to work after my maternity leave with my second child. I wanted to be a work-at-home mom so badly, but three years into blogging, that was still not happening so…I cried. ( But after my maternity leave, I ended up not going to work actually, because even though the blog was not making money that time, my husband and I figured that my income from my job will only be spent on childcare anyway, so I stayed home, which was a major step in my blogging).
3. Another Drama Queen Moment. I cried silently in the laundry because I had a long list of grocery ingredients for my blog, then I realize I didn’t have a budget for it 😋. It makes me laugh thinking of it now. But the news is, I am becoming less and less of a drama queen these days, thankfully.
4. Ms. Lalaine from Kawaling Pinoy Messaged Me On Messenger. Well first, she left a comment on one of my posts. Months later, she messaged me and asked me how I was doing! I cannot believe it. I cannot believe that this successful blogger was so down to earth. She helped me in so many ways, gave me lots of work opportunities and we remained friends up to now.
5. My First Photo That Got Accepted in Foodgawker. Man, I was jumping for joy! And this acceptance was after soooo many rejected photos so I was really elated 🙂 Fun times. Here is that photo:
6. Pregnancy and Blogging. I have severe cases of morning, no, all-day sickness in all of my pregnancies. And I cannot stand food. I cannot bake. I cannot look at food photos and I lose all appetite towards baked goods. So for a good 3-4 months in each pregnancy, I was completely a different person. I did not have a baking blog. I was not a baking blogger😁 .
7. My Husband Upgraded my Camera. This is actually one of the major factors for the blog growth. Improving my food photos helped in a major way, and my Olympus camera gave me beautiful photos for a long time within this ten-year period until I upgraded to a DSLR two years ago. Even though I don’t use it anymore, I don’t think I can ever let go of my Olympus. It is so dear to me.
8. My Kids Baking. Though they make the work longer and messier, these moments are gold.
I mean, look at the determination on this one.
9. A Snowy Day Walk to The Asian Supermarket. In my intent to make a recipe one day, I decided to carry my second child on a carrier, who was less than a year old, so I could walk to an Asian grocery that is not really very far away, about 3 km, from our apartment. I wanted to buy frozen grated purple yam. I realize I did not have one in the freezer. My husband was at work with our vehicle and I just cannot wait till he gets home so I decided to walk there. Our baby strollers just didn’t glide well on snowy roads so I decided to carry my baby on a carrier in front of me.
Minutes into walking, my baby was getting heavier and heavier. Then the snow started falling, and the wind started howling. Then I realized my worn-out boots were not so waterproof anymore. My socks were so wet that I can feel the weight of my feet wringing out the water in them with a squeaky sound in every step. It was gross.
I thought of turning back because it is getting harder to walk: a heavy baby in front of me, snow blowing in my face and my feet swimming in wet socks. No to mention, it was cold. I was sure all the people in their vehicles were looking at us. More than halfway into the journey, I regret not turning back. But if I turn back, it was too late. So I carried on.
We reached the store. I got my frozen purple yam. And I had to do the same journey going back, in the same conditions, this time with an extra bag in my hand. Good times! It is impossible for me to forget this moment and I cannot remember it without having a tug in my heart.
10. This Very Day, Ten Years Ago. Ten years ago today, I was pregnant with my first child and I sat down to write my very first blog post. I was so excited with the idea that you can make a passion turn into your job. I like the idea of staying home with my baby and not having to go elsewhere to work. This idea did not materialize until many years from that very first day, and there were definitely low moments in between. I think looking back, the constant thing underneath it all is my love for having this space. I love loving it, I love cultivating it. And during hard, stagnant times, it’s that same love that kept me going.
If you made it this far into the post, thank you so much! You are magically heaven-sent, and I still really cannot believe that people are actually reading this blog. It is all magic and you are. Thank you!
Awww Sanna, thank you for sharing this. It brings up memories when I started creating content as well! Anyways, keep up the awesome work, I love your recipes!
Thank you so much, Lainey! Thanks for being here 🙂 Blogging is a wild, wild ride.