Two Years at Live By Surprise

It passed without any fanfare – this past week marks two years blogging at Live By Surprise.

This journey feels in some ways like it’s been going for a long time – and in some ways like it’s only just begun.

I was at home with Bae on an extended maternity leave.  He was just over six months old.  And I was getting bored.  I’d always enjoyed writing – so I thought, why not?  I read a couple of “How To” posts on blogging.  I landed on a theme and a brand – and I got social media accounts for Live by Surprise on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.  I took a few days to figure out Blogger, and on January 22, 2014, I wrote this post: The Seven Critical Decisions that have Changed My Life in Surprising Ways.  Two weeks later, I applied for and was approved as a writer on DivorcedMoms.com on Valentine’s Day.  My first piece with them, Resolving my Co-Parent Nightmares with Cartoon Violence went live on February 22, 2014.  Up to that point, I’d been writing solely for myself – but I finally felt like this was going to go somewhere, and I let Hubs in on my secret.

Some of you have been here since the beginning – as I wrote about my family, my son’s struggles with his learning disability, my love of my husband and kids, our dogs and of course my own struggles with the Goblin King.  I had pieces published on the Huffington Post, and last summer, a group of writers that I was part of in Facebook encouraged me to submit my first piece to ScaryMommy.  With that, I made my debut as a paid writer.  I haven’t looked back.  I submitted pieces to The Mid, Sammiches and Psych Meds and Your Tango.  Last week I had my first interview with a real writer!

This past August, my Blogger became LiveBySurprise.com.  I went from a Blogger platform to WordPress.  I love the flexibility and seamlessness of the templates – and now (especially after an incredibly rocky transfer), I’m not sure why I didn’t start on WordPress.

My stats tell me these are your favorite posts:

I had scaled back on writing about my divorce – but it seems that may be my niche.  So you will find new divorce articles from me shortly.

I also plan on broadening my writing abilities.  I want to write more humor – as I know you’ve enjoyed my MockMom articles.  I’m going to keep up with my YeahWriteMe Microstories.  I have plans to submit my writing to new places.  I’m going to enter the Erma Bombeck Writing Competition.  And if I don’t win, I’ll be back next year to try again.  I have plans to do my first blogging conference in the spring.  I’m going to work hard to improve my writing in the hopes that you all will keep coming back.  And some day soon, I’m going to write a book.

And I couldn’t done it without you all.  Thank you for your support.  If there are any articles that you think I should write, or something you want to know more about, please let me know in the comments.  I may write just for you!

Image Credit:  Rosen Georgiev / freedigitalphotos.net

39 Comments

  1. Congratulations! I am just catching up and I’m so glad I started here. Happy Anniversary! You and I started at just about the same time. I started on Jan 18th.

  2. Fun to read about the history! Happy Blogiversary to you! It’s been six years for me and I still plod along sometimes. I feel like you’ve gone pretty far. I can’t imagine what another two years will be like. I’m happy to be along for the ride.

    1. Author

      I’m so lucky to have “met” so many wonderful people here. You and your family included. I can’t wait to see what another two years does for both of us!

  3. Wow! What an awesome two years! Looks like you’ve been on the fast track to some really good and exciting things! Now that’s the kind of fast you can sink your teeth into. 😉 xoxo

    1. Author

      I hope so. I keep aiming higher and higher – and nobody seems to have knocked me down yet.

  4. Wow, congratulations Liv! That’s so cool that you’ve done so much in two years! I’d love to read more about how you started and how you got to where you are. As a new blogger, you’re really inspiring me to stick to my guns!

    1. Author

      From what I’ve seen so far, you’ve definitely got the chops to keep going. Glad to have met you and hope to see a lot more!

  5. Welcome to wordpress! I started on wordpress.com because I heard a lot about it in college and people who interviewed for internships/jobs always asked if I had a blog ( I guess that’s a big thing I should have been doing back then as a Marketing Major) and so I just joined in. It is rather simple! I hope to grow my blog and see success and be able to self-host, but at the moment I’m still figuring out the whole blogging world and meshing it with my life. Congratulations on all the progress you have made! It’s very uplifting to hear you succeed as a blogger! Wishing you growing greatness in 2016!

    1. Author

      Blogger was touted as the easiest thing to start with – and I wasn’t sure how long I was going to be doing it. I really didn’t think I would last for more than a few months. And here we are two years later.

      Welcome to the blogging world! I’ll look forward to seeing more of you!

  6. This is an impressive resume for two years of blogging. I’m sure many beginning and experienced writers who have been reluctant to submit their work will find this inspiring. Happy blogiversary! 🙂

  7. Congratulations I’m two weeks into blogging and so lovely to read your achievements! I shall definitely return x

    1. Author

      Congratulations to you too! Just checked your blog out and have added it to my Bloglovin feed.

  10. Happy blogiversary! My own blog turns one today. It’s hard to imagine a time when I WASN’T blogging (much like it’s hard to remember life before kids). Like you, I’ve also branched out and am LOVING writing for MockMom lately 🙂

    Love your stuff and excited to read more!

  13. OH you have come SO FAR SO FAST!!! I blogged for almost five years before branching out…. I’m THRILLED people have honored your words by publishing them on some HUGE sites!! Wow. Just wow. You should be SO proud of yourself, my friend. I love everything you write- no matter the subject. I can’t wait to read more and see your success as you go forward in your writing career. 🙂

    1. Author

      Chris – this means so much to me – as I enjoy your words and aspire to write as fluidly as you do. Thank you my friend.

  14. Congratulations on your two years!!!!!! So honored to be part of your journey. I love your writing! <3

  15. Congratulations on two years of blogging, Liv! Wow, you’ve accomplished so much!! It’s been a pleasure getting to know you through DivorcedMoms, such a great writing team I’m proud to be a part of. Keep us posted on that book.

    1. Author

      One of the best things about this journey is I’ve met amazing women like yourself Lisa! Thank you so much for your support!

  16. Congratulations on two years to one of my favorite bloggers! Can’t wait to see what’s next!

  17. Congrats on your anniversary! Some real milestones in here….and self hosting is a perfect present to give yourself.

  18. FRIST! And WHYYYY no fanfare? This is a big milestone and an awesome, AWESOME set of achievements, and a lovely record of how life has moved on in the two years since you’ve been writing. CONGRATUMANYLATIONS 🙂 *blows kisses*

    1. Author

      FRIST! And…as it happens, I forgot – otherwise I would have toasted the blog last week. I shall do it tonight. Will you raise a glass as well? Thanks for being so supportive – I don’t know what I’d do without you.

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