Happy 14th Blogiversary to the Yellow House

 

Today is my blog's 14th birthday, or blogiversary!

The Yellow House has made it to its second year of teenager-hood! Woohoo!

I know that it's Tumbleweed City around here sometimes, but I still have a great love for this space. Especially in the earlier years, I shared so much about my life as I tried to fit in in a new country, so this blog has a special place in my heart forever. Sometimes I'll come here as a reader of my own blog and I'll read about this woman from Georgia who came across the pond several years ago and I marvel at just how much has changed in my life and in the world. There is a comforting innocence when I go back to read from the earlier years of my blog. Even though I stumbled with adjusting quite a lot sometimes, looking back now, I see that those were still some of the sweetest days of my life. I never thought I'd say that (smile). There were some tough days back then, but little did I know that life would throw so many challenges my way. None of us ever know. I guess it's like they say though...that's life. 

This isn't meant to be a sad post or one of regret. It's not that at all. I guess that I'm at one of those points in my life when I'm pausing for a moment to look back briefly before I continue on my journey ahead. I guess that this pandemic has brought things into sharp focus for many of us. So I guess that what I'm trying to say is that I look back on some of the more innocent past times with gratitude in a way that I didn't appreciate before. And through this, it also makes me grateful for the beautiful things that I've experienced in my life and it leaves hope in my heart for beautiful things to happen now and onward (smile).

So I will continue writing here as I have off and on for fourteen years. As I've mentioned previously, I don't know if anyone reads my blog anymore since I'm so sporadic and nowadays there's social media, Netflix, and so much more for people to give their time to. However, if anyone still visits me here, I thank you gratefully (smile). And if I'm just talking (writing) to myself, well I imagine it makes a cool echo in here (smile).

I'll be back to write more, even though I don't know what to write about here anymore. Ha ha! I'll think of something though. I hope you'll join me just to see what I come up with. Thank you for reading this to the meandering end! Ha ha!

Happy 14th Birthday Yellow House....let's keep this going! Mwah!!💋

Feedburner Subscription By Email Ending

As you may or may not know, starting July 2021 (now), Google is ending their FeedBurner email subscription service, which is what I've been using since I started this blog in 2008. This means that if you are subscribed to my feed through the email subscription service, you will eventually not be alerted when I publish a new post. First of all, thank you for being an email subscriber. I truly appreciate it!

Since Feedburner will eventually stop working, I have switched over to follow.it as an alternative. If you are an email subscriber, you should continue to receive my posts via the new service follow.it. Please expect some disruption / duplication during the overlap.  

However, if you find that you're not receiving my posts, perhaps the switch over might not have gone as smoothly as I would have liked. Sorry about this. 

If you would like to continue as an email subscriber to my feed, please consider re-subscribing by entering your email address within the subscription box as seen below. You will find it on the homepage in the sidebar.

However, if you would not like to re-subscribe or continue as an email subscriber to my feed, I completely understand if you'd like to unsubscribe. 

I will say it again though, thank you so very much for subscribing EVER...whether you will be continuing along with me or not. I am forever grateful to anyone who has taken time out of their day to read something that I've written or taken a look at my photos.

An Intriguing Opportunity to Go Forth

Photo courtesy of Pixabay

 

I've been a bit absent and sporadic about my blogging lately, but for good reason. I haven't been feeling so well, but I pray that I'm on the mend. (Sidenote: I didn't have Covid-19). I'm certainly better than I was a few weeks ago, so for that I'm truly grateful. I will get there.

I thought that I'd drop in with a short post just to get back into the swing of things. It's kind of a good time to restart since tomorrow will be July 1st, the second half of 2021. It will be an intriguing opportunity to go forth with this blog again 😊 I hope you'll join me!

7 Things

I’ve been trying to get back into regularly writing here on my blog. As I’ve mentioned before, I’m rather sporadic now, especially in comparison to how often I used to blog back in the early days of this blog. I guess that getting back to regularly blogging has something to do with how irregularly I write posts here. I’ve lost a bit of my carefree way of blogging from the early days, and I’d like to get some of that back. It may sound simplistic, but I think that I just need to stop overthinking and just write what I feel because that’s what I did in the beginning and I enjoyed it so much. No pressure, just fun. I just need to let go and be me.

So, in the spirit of being me, I’ve taken a look back at some earlier posts just for fun. I’ve realized that this blog is something of a time capsule. Reading back through some of the earlier years has been revealing. Where has the time gone? 😊

I found an earlier post from the first year when I started blogging, in 2008. It was one of those posts that were popular then which asked you to tell some things about yourself and then you passed it along. There were no ground-breaking revelations in my original post, but it certainly reminded me of a seemingly simpler time in my life and it was nice to visit for a while. If you’d like to read it, you can find it here. 

I thought that I’d offer up another list for now, over a decade later, as I reacquaint myself with my blog. So here goes…nothing ground-breaking again, but I just thought, why not? 😊

7 Things About Me – 2021

1) I love the color blue. I've talked about this previously.

2) I like the number 7. 

3) I love spicy food and I add hot sauce to a variety of things.

4) I love films , documentaries or features, I love them all. 

5) I love books. 

6) I like writing lists.

7) Peonies are my favorite flower.

Peony

My Thirteenth Blogiversary

Today is my 13th blogiversary! 🎉🎉

Wow! Who knew that I would stick to this for thirteen years no matter how sporadic I am with posting these days? 😉😁

As I mentioned here recently, this is more of a passion project, since I don't even know if people still read my blog. Thank you truly to anyone who does. I sincerely thank you. 

I've looked back at my first blogiversary post and it was interesting to go down memory lane. Time flies. It felt like I was looking back forever ago. Time is funny.

If you'd like to take a look at my first blogiversary post, you can find it here .

Onward to more years of blogging...

I hope that you'll join me 🙂💕

Revisiting and Renewal

Image courtesy of Pixabay

 

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been thinking back about how much I used to enjoy writing here at my blog. I still enjoy it when I come here, but I’ve been sporadic over the past couple of years or so and I’ve lost my way a bit on the blogging front. To be fair, my life has been a real rollercoaster over the past year or so, not even counting the pandemic which we’ve all been going through, so I’m realizing that I need to cut myself some slack in regard to how much of a sporadic blogger I’ve become. 

Still, all kinds of questions come to mind like…Does anyone still read “this” blog? – Do people still even read blogs or is it better to have a podcast? – Do I have anything left to say here? etc. There are SO MANY questions that cross my mind. I haven’t been able to come up with any definitive, smart, or clever answers, however, I’ve changed my perspective when thinking about all of the questions that I have. 

Basically, I’ve decided that I should just not worry about the questions and just do what makes me happy. Life was hellish for me personally and for the world in general during 2020 and 2021 is still messing with us all. But I think that the earnest pursuit of what makes me happy, despite all the crap of the world, is a definitive act and I need that to get back on track and to rescue my mental health. It’s like they say, two things can be true at the same time. The world can be crazy “and” I can be aware of that, but alongside that, I can celebrate some good in this life. I can’t let “this or that” take me over so much. I’m going to do my best to have more “and” in my life. 

I’m not a Pollyanna by any stretch of the imagination, but I want to get back to some brighter things here at my blog again. I know that there will be times when I will write about something tougher or sad, but life is about balance and I’ve been out of balance here for a while. I started this blog several years ago to have fun and I did, but then I lost my way. I know that I can’t go back to writing the same things that I wrote back in 2008 because it is a different time now. When I started out back then I was in the early days of my expat experience. However, now in 2021, it’s still a good time to revisit this space that I’ve cherished so much over the years. 

As I mentioned earlier in this post, I don’t have any answers to those questions, but I’m not going to worry. If anyone is still reading this blog, thank you for still visiting me. If I pick up new readers that would be fantastic and I would be so grateful, but if no one reads I’ll just come here as a kind of “I was here world!” exercise. 😊 I don’t know if it’s better to have a podcast nowadays. Maybe it is and perhaps I’ll give that a go someday soon as another creative experiment. As for having anything left to say, well I guess this long post is proof that I can still ramble with the best of them 😉 Sidenote: If you’ve read this far God bless you for humoring me! This post is way too long, but it has been cathartic for me. It has given me the chance to think things through as I have written. I haven’t been this candid here in a long time. 

So here’s to revisiting this space…this blog…and here’s to renewal on a few fronts. I’ll be back to write and ramble more about a little bit of everything way more often. I hope you’ll join me.

12th Blogiversary

Courtesy of Pixabay

Today is my 12th Blogiversary!  

I can't believe that I've been blogging for twelve years off and on. Time does fly. I admit that my blogging has been quite sporadic over the past couple of years, but I'm always operating in the hope that I can get back to blogging much more. When I show up here at my blog, I'm instantly happy and it brings back good memories when I scroll back over older posts. 

On this blogiversary day each year, I always look back at that very first post in 2008 and I'm instantly nostalgic. When I wrote that first post I was very actively trying to figure out how to "be" here in this new land. I have to admit that I was struggling a lot back then and I still do sometimes, but I firmly believe that this blog has changed the trajectory of my life in so many good ways. I love that I began this blogging journey on March 4th, which always makes me think of marching forth. 

Typing those first words on my very first post really opened up a new path in my life, that I am still exploring. I've been given great opportunities through blogging, but the most important thing that blogging has given me has been simply to give me an outlet, especially during a time when I needed it the most. 

My life is a bit more complicated than it was when I wrote that very first post back in 2008 and right now I'm working on making it a bit less complicated again. I know that I can never go back to that time and that looking back too much can be toxic, but I think that reflection once in a while is a very helpful way of checking in with myself. I think cutting down on some of the complication in my current life starts with getting back to square one with myself and doing the things that I love. I've been running on fumes for the last while and my tank is ready to give out if I don't help myself. I've come to realize lately that I don't really do much that I love anymore. I just do what needs to be done and not much else (I know I'm not alone in feeling this way). That has to change. Life is to be lived. 

Only I can make the changes that are needed to get me back on track in life. This blog offered me a great outlet in the beginning, so now it is time to let it do its quiet magic again, to help me look within. I am ready to do this. Here goes :)

Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.

~ President Barack Obama

Thursday Night Check-In

I thought that I'd just stop by for a quick hello post since it's been ten days since I've written here. It's after 11pm. I need to be in bed, because I have to get up early for work tomorrow morning, but I'm in need of something to break the monotony of every week day. Taking a moment to check in with something I love will sustain me as I go about my workday tomorrow. The plus is that tomorrow is Friday and that's one of my favorites since it leads into the weekend...and I'm sure that I'm not the only one :) Also by the way, I was born on a Friday, so I'm partial to Fridays.

I've posted the photo above before, but I like to use it as a tool for peacefulness. When I look at this photo, I can easily imagine that I'm sitting right there :) 

Well, enough of my rambling...I guess that I'll head to bed. 

Wherever you are, I hope that you have a lovely weekend!

11th Blogiversary

Today is my 11th blogiversary! I've been blogging since March 4th, 2008. It's been quite a journey and I hope to keep blogging for years to come. I haven't been able to blog consistently in the past year or so for a variety of reasons, but hopefully I'm getting to the place where I can be more present here again like I want. I'm getting some things rearranged in my life and in my mind in order to do more of what I want in this life. It's a process like these things are, but I'm up for the challenge :)

I like the number eleven. In numerology, it is seen as a master number. I don't know a whole lot about numerology, but it's very intriguing.

I'm just grateful that I've been able to keep blogging for this long, no matter how sporadically I've done it lately. Here's to going forward with more posts again :) As I've said on past blogiversaries, the date of my blog's birth always reminds me keep going forward in life...to march forth! So that is what I'll do in life and here at my blog.

Until next time...

10th Blogiversary

Well here I am. Ten years ago today, I started this blog. Doesn't a decade go by fast? 

I had planned to write something special for this milestone, but alas, I'm not feeling great again. I got a reprieve of a few days, but now I'm feeling kind of icky again. Icky....(smile) I guess it's the only way to describe it. We've had a very harsh cold snap of freezing temperatures and snow. I think that walking home the other day in the cold wind has perhaps pushed me a couple of steps back in my quest to get well. Oh well, that's life. I won't make this milestone for my blog about my not feeling well. That would be a real downer. (smile) After I write this, I'm going to go have a lie down and give myself a bit of TLC. I'll be fine. 

This inclination to know when to take a rest is something that has grown increasingly within me during this past decade. Blogging and life side-by-side have ushered me into some healthier ways of thinking so I'm grateful for that. When I started this blog I was ten years younger and I still hadn't quite realized the true value of being kind to myself. It's not that I hated myself at all, it was just that I didn't think of what I needed enough. I was a giving person then and I'm still a giving person now, but I also have learned that if I don't give some time to myself then I'll have nothing to give to anyone else. I know that this isn't groundbreaking stuff in the scheme of things in the world, with so much going on, but this has been life-changing for me. 

So I guess that this 10th blogiversary...ten years of my life, has given me the chance to look back on this part of my life. I'm so grateful that I started this blog. In the beginning, it was a means of coping with being so far away from home and trying to find my feet in a strange land. Later it grew into me telling about the places here and there that I've visited. It's also been an outlet for my love of taking pictures, long before Instagram came along. Through blogging I've also had some fun opportunities come my way like: visiting the US Embassy, going to the Ideal Home Show, and my favorite...going to London Fashion Week. 

My blog may not be a big thing like some, but that's okay. I just enjoy having a kind of digital time capsule of my time here in England and I like sharing what I see. I'd like to freshen things up here and offer more and this is part of my plan, but this will come in time.

In the meantime, I just want to thank everyone who has visited me here over these ten years. I appreciate this so much! Here's to another ten years and to making this space better and better!

Delayed But Not Stopped

I haven't posted in a while because I've been a bit under the weather, with a nasty cold. Actually I've been sick as heck for about a week, but hopefully I'm getting out of the woods with it all. Fingers crossed.

Being sick arrived at the wrong time, although sickness is never a welcome guest. But on the day that I got sick, I was planning to share a great experience that I had the day before. I had the chance to attend a show during London Fashion Week! It was fantastic!!

Even though I'm a bit late, I'll still be sharing my experience at London Fashion Week here on my blog this week, along with some photos.

Also in anticipation of my upcoming 10th blogiversary coming up next Sunday, I'll be sharing a couple of special posts to mark the occasion. The first will be on March 1st and the second will be on my 10th blogiversary on March 4th. So I hope that you'll come back to check those out.

Have a great new week!

Checking In

Hello :)

I just wanted to check in. I haven't posted in over a week. Sorry. Things have recently become quite hectic, so I'm not able to get here like I want.

However, this weekend I'll be back to share some photos and some thoughts, so watch this space :)

I hope that you're having a fantastic week!

My 9th Blog Anniversary

Today is the 9th anniversary of the day that I started this blog. Who'd a thunk it? :) I can't believe that it's been so long, but then it seems like the last nine to ten years have gone by in a blur anyway. I started out on March 4th and I've always liked this day because it feels for me like it sounds...I march forth! :) When the month of March comes, even though it's still chilly, the mind turns to thoughts of spring and summer. It's like we get to shake off the chill of winter and go forward into the renewal that spring brings.

On the first of March, I shared a quote on Instagram that I thought was very appropriate for this month. It's a quote from Great Expectations by Charles Dickens and I thought that it sums up March perfectly.

“It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold: when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade.”
― Charles Dickens, Great Expectations 

I hope that I can bring some renewal and new energy here as I go forward with my blog....as I march forth and onward towards my 10th blog anniversary. I'm planning to share more photography as always, but I also would love to dive a little deeper and share inspiring things. I hope you'll join me :)

Changes

I wanted to share some information. Very soon I will be changing over to my own domain. I don't have an exact date, but it will be coming in the very near future. I appreciate everyone who visits me here and I hope that you'll follow me as this change happens. I just wanted to give you a heads up.

I've been meaning to change things over for quite a long time now, but life happens and the move kept getting pushed to the side. When I get closer to the day that it happens, I'll put up a short post to share the information.

The new site will be at www.fromayellowhouse.com .

Watch this space for further updates :)

Blog Anniversary #8

Today is the eighth anniversary of when I started this blog. I'll say this...nah, I won't say it...oh well why not...time really does fly! :) It's a cliche, but it's so true. Who knew that I'd keep blogging for this long. Lol. I appreciate all of the opportunities that have come from blogging. It's been fun!

I can't believe how much time has passed and how much has happened in my life since I started this blog. I'm eight years older, but I have no hang-ups about aging at all. I'm relishing this time in my life. Over these eight years I've had ups and downs but I'm still here. Thank you God :)

I'm so glad that I started this blog back in 2008 and I plan to continue on for years to come. I hope you'll join me as I go forward :)

Happy Weekend!

Lesson Learned

Hi :)

I just wanted to let you know that I'm still here. It's been several days since my last post. I'm still very excited to get back to blogging, however, I haven't been feeling so good again. All will be well though. I feel pretty good today, but I think that I've been pushing myself to feel 100% better before it actually happens organically. So I'm having to learn to pace myself a lot better. It's all about balance.

This is actually a good lesson for me. My body is teaching me that sometimes you just need to slow down and catch your breath literally and figuratively and be in the moment :) This has been shown to me time and time again before, but THIS TIME I got it. Older and wiser maybe...hmm ;-)

Anyway, like I said, I'm doing fine today and will be posting again in a couple of days. Don't worry though. I'm not rushing myself...I've learned my lesson :)

Have a great day wherever you are!

Hello Again

When I started my break back in October, I didn't know how long or how short it would be. I just knew that I needed to take a break because to be perfectly honest I didn't know what in the world to talk about anymore. Lol. I  was boring myself a bit, so I figured I was probably boring the heck out of those of you out there who were visiting me :)

So I thought that it was time to take a step back and then come back here with a new perspective and fresh eyes. I know that I did the right thing. When I took my break, I was also not feeling very well healthwise at the time. I needed to take a break to feel better and I do now. Thank you for continuing to visit me here even while I was gone. I appreciate it so much!

I don't know if things will be any more entertaining or interesting this time around, but I'm going to give it my very best try :) This time I want to have a more focused concentration on the things that I love, such as:

That list looks quite full, but I think as humans we're drawn to many things, so I'll be doing my smorgasbord blogging over here ;-)   If I were a tree and I was able to 'show my rings', these are the things that would show up within my rings. I love a little of this and a little of that, so I figure why not embrace that and celebrate the variety of life. Also, my mind wanders, so I need a few different places to wander.

Oh and I almost forgot...how dare I. I'll be sharing some of my photos from time to time. I just have to get back out there and take some new ones. (By the way: Yes, I forgot to put it on the image above. Oops! Lol.)

I know one thing though...I'm so glad to be back! I hope you'll come back and visit me from time to time.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Quick Hello

I just wanted to stop by and say hello :) Thank you for continuing to visit me while I've been taking this break. I appreciate it so much. This break has been very beneficial and I look forward to returning. I'll be back with a new post in February. I hope that you'll visit me again!

Lots of love...

Merry Christmas

I just wanted to stop by and wish everyone a Happy Christmas Eve!

 I love Christmas Eve because there's the wonderful anticipation of what's to come. It gives me fond memories of growing up back home :) 

And of course, the big day is tomorrow, so Merry Christmas!!! 

I hope that wherever you are that you have a wonderful Christmas tomorrow.

I'll be back very soon, with a regular blogging schedule and I'm looking forward to it very much. This break has been quite beneficial and I hope that you'll come back to visit me again.

Taking a Break

Hello. Happy Monday  :)

Starting today I'll be taking a blogging hiatus for a little while. I need to pause and gather my thoughts for a bit.

I've never really taken a blogging break of any length in all of my seven and a half years of blogging, so it'll be an interesting experience. I'm looking forward to coming back with a refreshed perspective.

I hope that you'll come back to visit me when I return and as always, thank you for taking the time to stop by!

I'll be back soon!