So, first things first, I am happy to announce the randomly-selected-winner of my first-ever giveaway!
Drum roll, please...
The prize goes to...
Besides being a great blogger, Susanna is an amazing picture book author. We've loved the books we've read by her (Punxsutawney Phyllis being one of them), and we currently have Can't Sleep Without Sheep in our stack from the library.
(And no, Susanna did not ask me to give her books a shout-out, but as long as she's the winner, I thought I might as well point them out to you!)
Next item of business: I know a few of you are dying to know what the book is in the header. I've had that picture at the top of my blog for a whole year, and no one has ever asked what it was, so I thought it was so funny that once I mentioned it, not knowing was driving a few of you CRAZY. So I won't keep you in suspense any longer.
The book is...
Thanks so much to those of you who made a guess!
And finally, I wanted to mention just a few of the things I hope to do with Sunlit Pages over the next year:
- Join Twitter. I put this one first because I can actually already check it off! My brother helped me set up an account last night, but I still know next to nothing (no, really, I know nothing). I'm definitely not ready yet to tweet or follow or whatever it is you do. I've considered joining Twitter for several months and finally decided that the only way to know if I would like it or not would be to try it. So, we'll see...
- Facebook and Google+. In a similar vein, I'm also planning on creating a separate Facebook page for Sunlit Pages and becoming more active with Google+. I already have a personal Facebook account, but I'm getting a little tired of posting book reviews there when I know that 95% of my friends have no interest in this blog. And as far as Google+, some of my favorite blogs (What Do We Do All Day, for example) are big Google+ fans. So again, as with Twitter, I figure I might as well give it a try and see if it's something that enhances or diminishes my connections with people.
- New look. I'm getting a little tired of To Kill a Mockingbird up there at the top. I also want to update my "About Me" page. And also, give the social media buttons on the side a more uniform look. These changes are all entirely dependent on Mike finishing his dissertation and having time to help me since I am totally illiterate when it comes to technology. So this change could still be several months out.
- Learn to use Photoshop (or something similar). I might follow a tutorial, or I might just wait for Mike again (it would be a fun month of date nights, right?).
- Continue reading, writing, and exploring the world of literature!
Yay, I'm glad you're joining the social media sites!!
ReplyDeleteYou're fantastic!
ReplyDeleteI love your look but I'm sure whatever you come up with will be great.
ReplyDeleteGood luck on all the new changes. :)
BTW, beware Twitter is addictive. ;)
ReplyDeleteI will say, once you start fiddling around with your blog design, it gets kind of addictive. Kayla at Freckles in April has some great tutorials of how to do stuff yourself, if you're so inclined.
ReplyDeleteI would be happy to give some pointers on helpful photoshop tricks. Especially some shortcuts that make it quick and easy. This is the first time I have really looked at your blog. I think you are doing a great job.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for the prize, Amy, and also for the shout-out - so very kind of you and I'm thrilled to know that you and your kids have enjoyed Phyllis :) I didn't guess right about the book at the top, but I love To Kill A Mockingbird - my dogs' names are Scout and Jemma :)
ReplyDelete"To Kill A Mockingbird" ahhh, relief. Now why didn't I guess that one? On a side note... from a recommendation at the bottom of one of your posts I read your post about when you were out of town and Mike didn't water your flowers. I don't know how I missed that one last year, but I did. I'd like to commiserate with you- Brian has let several of my plants die and I forgive him every time:)
ReplyDeleteI can fill you in on Twitter and Photoshop tricks if you'd like help! I'm excited to see the changes that you make. It's fun to make updates. :)
ReplyDeleteI just finished reading your sequence of posts about your blog turning one. I always like hearing about what inspired others to start (and keep on blogging). My own blogging motivation and goals have both stayed the same and drastically changed since I took it up over 5 (!) years ago. I also would love to learn photoshop, but am finding it hard to add it to my list of other to-dos that I am constantly putting aside in order to read. :) Right now I'm sticking with picmonkey's simplicity. And yes, I'm a big fan of Google +, I'll be happy to "see" you over there whenever you take the plunge!
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