I’ll tell you what the big deal is…
As we have recently talked about, this blog really has brought us closer together for so many reasons. It’s our project together as well as our life album, our creativity, our writing, our experiences, our thoughts, and our adventures!! That’s a pretty big deal.
From the very beginning, we learned that it takes work and dedication to be consistent on a blog for over two years, ask anyone that blogs or writes regularly…I’m not making this stuff up. However, we wouldn’t have it any other way, we absolutely love doing what we do and we have been insanely blown away (yes insanely) by all the people we’ve been able to meet and the experiences we’ve been able to have that have come solely from doing THIS blog.
What people?
The list is far too long but we’ve been able to meet so many people from around the world, some we have met online and have not yet met in person while others we originally met online but have since met off line…and then there’s all the folks we’ve met face to face while traveling, at events, tasting rooms, and restaurants that we simply started chatting up. All of you that read this blog and all of you that don’t but we chat elsewhere…you have proven to be the most amazing community of people I have ever known. When we have questions you are there with answers and when we give you a glimpse into our lives you are there with accepting open arms.
There is nothing more important than community and we feel extremely lucky to be part of yours and for you to be part of ours…we never take that for granted, ever!
The blog experiences?
Yes…the experiences! We have been fortunate to be invited to so many great wine and winery events, foodie events, restaurant events, private parties, and even people’s houses for dinner where they wow us with their hospitality, food, and wine! We’ve covered practically every wine event in Paso Robles and some elsewhere, cigar events, and so many other hidden gems that it feels like a whirlwind!
I (Hoot) have had the opportunity to start an additional business after getting involved in social media well over three years ago and blogging over two years ago…that business is related to social media consulting, brand advocacy, and many writing gigs. The interaction with the people as well as the writing has put me right in the mix of what I love most. None of these opportunities would have come if it wasn’t for this blog. I am amazed and humbled every time I think about all the down and dirty awesomeness that has come my way.
As we’ve discussed before on here, Annie and I had no clue (literally, not a clue) what we were doing or where we were going with all this online stuff…but we didn’t care that we didn’t know. We were (and are) living our life, our path, our experiment…our ADVENTURE…and when we saw the huge out pouring of support from YOU guys when we shared our experience of the miscarriage we were honestly floored. We weren’t floored that some people cared….we were FLOORED that SO many people cared and how deeply they cared.
That is what this blog has brought us, as I stated earlier….community. Our sincerest hope is that you understand how much we appreciate YOU and we hope to keep bringing fun adventures to you and hope that you bring your adventures to us. We want to be involved with you…we want to interact and know what you are doing too.
Most of all today, on our 500th post, we wanted to share our thoughts on all this and hope that you will get more involved with us…this isn’t about number of page views or hits to our site…it’s about building community and living this short but wickedly amazing adventure together. So cheers to 500 and our journey to 500 more!!
Thank you again for being part of it!! Cheers!
Related articles
- Blogging; How it Has Brought Us Closer Together (hootnannieblog.com)
- Bloggers, Writers, Storytellers, and Real People (hootnannieblog.com)
- Fenomenal: The Newest Joint in Our Town! (hootnannieblog.com)
Prartay! Congrats WOW 500!
Yes indeed Denise…500, who would have thunk it! LOL. Been a super fun journey!! Have a great Wednesday Denise!
Congrats to both of you…great blog too…LOL
Thanks Cynthia. It’s been a fun process and even more fun to find our own voice! Cheers!
I so know how you feel. You made me check my numbers…. I’m at 492! I may just take this post & put it on my site in a week or so… although search & replace really wouldn’t work since I’m just me… not sure I want to be both Hoot & Annie! Keep it going Matt & Annie! You guys rock!
Thank you so much Janice!! It’s certainly a fun and exciting road!! Cheers to you and your soon to be 500th post!
Congrats!! Looking forward to reading the next 500!
Thank you Elizabeth, super kind of you and we appreciate it!!
Congratulations. I recently passed the 500 mark myself. I never imagined nearly four years ago where a wine blog (and newspaper column) might take me. I appreciate the your post and mirror your marveling at the journey! Again, congrats! Howard Hewitt
Howard…it’s been a wacky but crazy fun two plus years to get to 500. Congrats on your 500. The journey is funny, you start with a certain thing in mind but things change constantly…like anything I suppose. Cheers to ya!
We are very impressed and proud of you both. This is a great accomplishment. We wish you much success going forward on your journey together.
Thanks you guys, we really appreciate that!! And congrats to you on the Hawaii wedding!! Cheers
Hi Matt,
Congrats on the milestone! You never fail to put your unique voice on the content you put out, and your posts and videos are always insightful and entertaining. I look forward to continue following along with you and Annie on your blogging journey.
Cheers!
Zoe Geddes-Soltess
Community Engagement, Radian6
You rock Zoe, I/ we really appreciate that!! That has been part of the journey, finding our own voice rather than trying to do what others are doing! Cheers to you!
Congrats on 500! What an amazing journey for you two! I love reading about all you do since distance keeps us apart! Love you both!
Thanks sister! That was an unintentional fun thing, family being able to see what we were up to and staying connected via the blog. Good things to come. Love ya.
You’re both awesome, but you knew that already, right? 🙂 Congrats, my friends. Now get to work on the next 500!
Well Dahlynn, we think you guys are pretty dang awesome too!! Thank you very much, we’ll get started on the next 500 on Friday!! 🙂
Congratulations on the big 500!
What amazing adventures you’ve let us partake in.
Thank you so very much for sharing your lives with us!
Hugs and much love to you both!
~ ❤ ~ Tuesday ~ ❤ ~
Thank you so much Tuesday, appreciate it. Hopefully our next 500 will be even more fun than the first 500!! Cheers!
Let me add my congrats! 500 posts in 2 years shows serious commitment and consistency. Maintaining it over a couple years isn’t easy…good inspiration for others.
Thanks David…not easy to be consistent but it’s been sooooo worth it! Cheers my friend!