What has Happened During my Break?
Finally a new post, 2 days later than I originally planned so I apologize for the delay, but was touched to see the email messages and post comments asking whether I was ok or when I was going to post again. Thank you for that, you all know who you are 
This has actuaclly been the first break I have taken in a few years now and there were days that I did not even check my email, which is very unusual but it showed me the world just would not come to a stand still, always nice to put things back into perspective and I am sure this will help me save a lot of time in the future.
I have learned that this blog is important to me, not because of the blog itself, but because of the growing base of support and the interaction going on between readers, something I had not really expected when I first started now almost 3 months ago.
It was absolutely great to be able to take a few steps back though and relax, not fretting about little things but being able to look at the big picture in a more relaxed way. The week before my break, I came across Vic Franqui´s blog, bloggerunleashed.com which really made me think about a lot of things I do online and a lot of blogs I used to read. And again I came to streamlining a lot of the time I used to spend reading blogs, cutting down to a small number of blogs I am signed up for. If you are looking to make money online, I would recommend you read his blog, well better said, watch his videos, because they certainly offer a big wake-up call if you have been struggling to get ahead.
I have spent an awesome week relaxing, laughing and talking with my mother and her best friend, we went to the beach a few times, something I normally hate doing eventhough I am only 30 minutes away from the Mediterranean Coastline of the Costa del Sol (Coast of the Sun). But this time we went during the week, the beach almost completely deserted so we could completely relax, enjoy the sun and company, having fresh seafood served accompanied by some nice wine.
This has been by far the best birthday I have ever had, in the company of the people I love!
Most important though is that my energy has been refreshed again and many little and bigger issues have been put in their place, and I finally got to set up a completely different workshedule with different goals and ways to get there. Not having a single worry on my mind or new idea I needed to test out was a new experience for me, since I always have a zillion things going on in my head, many times forgetting them and then fretting about the great idea I seemed to have lost.
A lot of cool things have happened these past few days that made me smile, proud or excited so I will continue with a little update:
Terence Chang featured me on his blog and I was completely thrilled to see I am mentioned as one of the blogs he recommends reading. I have been reading his blog since the time I started this one and there are very inspirational posts and ideas and many have come right at the moment I needed to read them, lifting my spirit or confirming my own thoughts. So Terence, thank you so much and know that “mi casa es tu casa”! (The picture at the beginning of this post is taking off of his blog)
My friend Jim, initially from TheDudesDad.com has finally made the plunge and bought his own domain, The Movie Whore and I am eagerly looking at his progress, knowing the future of his blog looks bright with all the support he is already receiving and his efforts will surely make this The Blog to Read if you are into movies. Jim, thank you so much for all your support and comments, you don´t know how much I appreciate it!
Leisa Watkins featured me in her EC “Who am I” Contest she is running on her blog and when she initially contacted me to give me the heads up on me being the featured blog I was completely thrilled. It took a whole 6 rounds to be identified and it started to get a little nervewrecking, having to keep my mouth shut. Leisa, thank you for choosing me as the mystery blogger, it was a lot of fun! If you want to participate in her contest, she has a new one going on right now, so check it out!
Apart from the prize I won in the contest The University Kid was running, I also won a $5 prize on webdiggin and maybe $5 isn´t that much when you think of it in financial terms, but I have since turned them around into 5 running domains and they are actually starting to make money. I will post on how I did that in the future so stay tuned for that!
Many times have I heard things like, “life is hard”, “you have to fight for your rights” etc, but sincerely, I believe there are a lot more great people out there than people that want to do wrong. Only looking at the wonderful contacts I have made through this blog, the heartwarming comments and selfless acts of generosity that I have encountered, the mails I have received during my break of readers checking in to see how I was doing or just to wish me a great break and b-day, it shows what a great place the blogosphere is.
It was really weird not to post, and I must admit, the first few days my fingers itched and ideas to post on where flowing freely, but since I had already announced my break, I had to stop myself from posting anyways. In the past I have posted on changing and setting shedules, focussing on more important things and changing my shedule in order to become more productive, but the thing I really needed was to take a step back and relax my mind.
Now I am looking forward again to stepping back into the blogosphere, thank you all so much for sticking around!
Popularity: 36% [?]
My name is Mirjam and I welcome you to my blog about personal growth and the things I think about. I´m on a journey of improving my life and I hope you will drop in often and participate. Thanks for visiting!
Of course we are sticking around. Every body needs a break now and again.
I remember once about 4 years ago I was getting ready to move on with my ex wife and I was talking to my bos about taking just Monday off. She recommended taking the whole week off and taking some time to contemplate my navel. First I laughed then I started trying to convince her I did not need the week off. After spending the weekend moving I went back to work on Tuesday and after about 2 or 3 hours I asked my boss of the offer to take the rest of the week off was still on the table. As it turns out I was trying to convince myself that I did not need the time off.
The point is that you need down time to just relax and put things in perspective. I am happy you enjoyed your time away and thank you for your kind words. I have already scored a couple celebrity interviews and none of this would have been possible with out the support I have gotten from you and others in the blogging world that have been giving me their support. I realize I am the odd ball blogger that ignores all to of the rules but I figure there is enough room for all of us.
I did miss getting my daily fix here and I am glad your are back. Thank you for everything. The world could use more people like you my lady.
TheMovie Whore’s last blog post..A new found respect for Michael Bay
Hey Jim!
down time was great and well needed, I only now see how many time a day I used to spend and taking a step back surely made me have another look at it all, making me realize that many hours were put in the wrong things …
Getting back into a rythm of any kind is hard though, since this down time has completely given me the opportunity to reset my mind, if that makes any sense…
Keep at it with your blog, your passion for movie shines through everywhere!
Thanks. I just got confirmation for an interview with one of my film making heroes so this little blog of mine is going so much better than I could have anticipated.
TheMovie Whore’s last blog post..It may not be “Good†but damn it’s entertaining
Mirjam:
Welcome back. I have been waiting for your new post for days. Now I have something new to read. I bet you have found something meaningful while taking the break.
Looking forward to seeing more inspirational posts of yours.
Terence Chang’s last blog post..Will new Alexa Traffic Ranking System kill StumbleUpOn?
Hi Terence, always good to see you again!
There are many things to write about, the weird thing is though that after the complete break away, many things I believed were right, have changed aswell, so this blog will probably change a bit over time aswell *grin*
Hi Mirjam,
Good to have you back!
Alex.
Alex at Net-Entrepreneur.com’s last blog post..An Ode to Bounce Rate
Thank you Alex,
good to be back again, will see you around in blogosphere!
We didn’t realize it was your birthday. Happy b-day. Welcome back.
Glad you were able to win the $5. (We’re now paying our friends $25 - good luck
)
We tried to follow in your footsteps to get 5 domains for $5 with free privacy included, but we made a mistake during the registration and GoDaddy’s free privacy offer is only valid if you set it up correctly before you complete the sale. Bugger.
By the way, GoDaddy’s offer is bait-and-switch. The $0.99 domain price is only for the first year and the free domain privacy is only valid for 1 year as well. (Afterwards, domain privacy goes up to $6.99 or $8.99 per year, per domain.) So… After the year, we’ll just move our domains over to our Bluehost account and get the free privacy anyways.
But, if your domains are making money, you might recover the cost for next year’s registration now. Looking forward to reading about your projects and how they’re making you money.
WebDiggin’s last blog post..Yahoo Search Marketing - Will our PPC search marketing campaign die today?
Somehow your comments keep ending up in my spamming box, had to fish this one out when doing my weekly spamcheck… just so you know
True, the 0.99 offer is only valid the first year, but it will give you a period of 1 year to turn your domain into something profitable, and do the same with many domains without having to invest a lot more
Hi , I like your blog , dont give breaks too much. As I see many people like to read your blog.
Ä°simyok’s last blog post..Ä°nternet Suçları
thank you for your kind words
So nice seeing you back and knowing you had such a great time. And for being so close to the beach and not using the opportunity: you are officially hated
At least I know who to bug when I’ll come visit the place
Welcome back.
Ramona Iftode’s last blog post..How to start your own web business while still keeping your job
hahaha Ramona
mi casa es tu casa, but don´t expect you will get to see the beach often
In all seriousness, I don´t hate the beach, I just hate to go when it is completely crowded, which happens to be most of the time.
I love the area where I live right now, tranquil countryside, no neighbours who get bothered when turning up the music a bit and not too many sounds plus I have a great view …. guess that is why I don´t normally take the time driving up to the beach, although these last few days I did go, it was awesome
thanks for the welcome back
[…] as I should have in this blog lately, and I am really sorry about that. Thing is though that after my break I had come to the conclusion I was on the wrong path, spending my time in ways that weren’t very […]