I started blogging roughly three-and-a-half years ago.  I didn't plan on having it take me anywhere.  I didn't know that I would end up loving it so much that it would become my passion, or that blogging would lead me to conferences and Twitter, which would lead to my new job.

My whole life has come full circle, right here for the world to see.

Okay, so maybe the world doesn't read my blog, but I'm pretty sure my Aunt Shirley does.  Sometimes.  In fact, the 30 or so hits I used to get each week have grown into thousands.  I don't know where you people came from, but I'm glad you did.

I love it here.  It is my home.  And, much to my husband's chagrin, I like to redecorate. 

Out of all of the celebrities I have met through blogging, like her...

Top Chef's Padma Lakshmi.  Couldn't the pretty have been shared a little?  Not fair.

...and this fella...

The center of our solar system, also known as the Jimmy Dean sun.

...there are none whom I consider to be more inspiring than this lady here.

a)  Don't look at my hair  b)  I told you not to look!  c)  Nice glow in the dark necklace, Momo

That woman next to me is Ree Drummond, also known as The Pioneer Woman.  Also, I am in no way comparing Ree to the Jimmy Dean sun.  Though she can make a room brighter just by walking in.  Just sayin'.

Ree is one of the most popular, female bloggers in the world.  She is an amazing photographer, mother and author (of a cookbook, a romance story and a children's book...how well rounded can someone be?).  To top it off, she's about as down to earth as a person can get.  I want to be Ree when I grow up.

Now, I don't take a lot of advice about what to do with my blog.  I follow the advertising guidelines of my publishing network (Hi, BlogHerads!), but that's about it.  This is my hangout for crying out loud.  Stay off my lawn!

But, when the intelligent and successful Ree Drummond tells you that you should "change things up", you should listen.  She wasn't talking to me, specifically, but rather to her audience in her "Ten Important Things I've Learned About Blogging" section.

A couple of years ago I did change things up when I requested a custom blog design from Courtney of Judith Shakes Design.  She took a mish-mash of my ideas and made this page exactly the way I wanted.  It was a dramatic and brilliant alteration for which I am not responsible.  Dang it.

Now the time has come, once again, to "change things up".  I'm eventually leaving this platform and going where there is more to offer.  I'm getting a new custom theme, custom icons, a new twitter background, new page templates, miscellaneous graphics, all of my posts transferred and SO much more.

Courtney at Judith Shakes Design is doing ALL of it.

Courtney is about eighty shades of smart and I am not.  I want professional results, so I'm letting a professional handle it.  I'm taking Ree's advice and running with it, but I'm letting someone else do all of the exercise.  Wait...I am smart!

I didn't plan on this blog taking me anywhere, but it did, and I don't want the same scenery for my entire journey.  I'll create the experience, but Courtney will be my travel guide so I don't get lost along the way.

And, if YOU book space on the Judith Shakes Design calendar for a design project of at least $300, Courtney will give you $50 off with the code - MOMO4EVER.

You.  Are.  Welcome.

If you're a blogger, come and join me.  Let's go places we never thought possible.  Life is too short to just stand still.

Labels: BlogHer, Bringing Home the Bacon, My TV Addiction, Things I Would Change, Tooting My Own Horn