Tightening Up: What Do You Think?

Don’t get all excited, because this has nothing to do with working out!  But, in the interest of always improving my blog, I realized that my Category list was becoming extremely long and out of control.

Every time I wrote a post, I was adding another category, if necessary, and I realized it was time to make things short and sweet.  So I re-categorized everything into seven simple sections, and I think they are pretty self-explanatory.  All of my former categories were transformed into tags, with a little magic thanks to WordPress, so they can still be easily located by searching for phrases like Photography and Beauty.  Hopefully, this will be easier on your eyes and mine, and will force me to focus specifically on the main subject of each post as I choose its appropriate category.

I’m also sick of my picture staring at me on the front page, so I’m itching to remove it.  That didn’t last long, but I still post pictures of myself from time to time and there’s always the one on the About page, too.  I’m pretty proud of that picture because I took it myself with our old digital camera, and I think it looks kind of artsy.  Sort of.  But what do you think?  Do you like seeing a blogger’s picture on the front page, or is it okay to have it somewhere else?

Even though I’ve been blogging for several years, I still feel like a beginner as I continue to work out little kinks and figure out what looks best on this site.  I appreciate your patience and your readership immensely.  During a recent Twitter blog chat, Stacy Morrison said, “Truly, I think if any blogger has two world-class commenters, you’re amply rewarded and your gifts are proven.”  That has really stuck with me, because I’m blessed with more than two awesome readers who leave great comments all the time, and I am so grateful for you!  You keep me writing every day and give me a place to share my thoughts.

And on that note, if you are a regular reader but don’t comment often or at all, I hope you’ll feel comfortable enough to do so.  Comments are like candy for bloggers, or in my case, makeup, and we get a thrill each time someone leaves a nice remark.  Thanksgiving seems like an appropriate time for me to express my gratitude to you, my dear readers, and I encourage you to share your feelings and ideas here, too.  Please know that they are always welcome and treasured.

I confess that I wish blogs were more conversational, and I will sometimes leave more than one comment on someone’s post, in an attempt to start a conversation or keep one going.  I can’t tell if this is helpful or not, but I think part of being a successful blogger means engaging with your readers, and I hope you feel safe doing that here.

So take a moment to leave a comment and let me know your thoughts on the front page picture.  I really do want to hear what you think.  Otherwise, it’s off with my head!