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Eight and a half years later . . .

It is finished. There’s no turning back now!

I started Musings of a Housewife in the spring of 2006 on a whim.

Musings_Head

I had NO idea I would still be blogging eight and a half years later. If I had, I think I’d have chosen my name more carefully! Ha!

No, I really liked Musings of a Housewife. It fit me for a long time.

I’m one of the dinosaurs. When I started blogging, most of us were writing anonymously. There were no ad networks, no photos, no brands who cared about “working” with us, and no social networks to support our websites. I started blogging before Twitter, Pinterest or Instagram were born. I didn’t join Facebook until I’d been blogging for quite some time.

My blog has evolved over the years. It’s been a learning process, and I’m sure I’ve made some mistakes along the way, but I am proud of what it’s become. I won’t cower anymore when people ask me what I do or what my blog is called. I feel like I finally grew up.

Nothing major will change with the re-branding. If anything, I just feel more confident and focused about my content and my writing. I’m really excited to be writing under my own name — no cutesy titles or graphics.

I’m still ironing out some kinks, so please bear with me. And if anything looks amiss, or is difficult to navigate, PLEASE let me know. I have a reader survey I will be emailing soon. If you want to weigh in and you’re not on my newsletter email list, make sure to sign up!

If you’ve been here since the beginning or for a short time or somewhere in between, I appreciate you so very much. Thank you for being here, whether you comment or not. Blogging would be no fun without you.

I want to say thank you to Shay Bocks, who created the WordPress theme that I’m using and who created my last two blog designs. She’s got a brilliant design eye. She wasn’t able to help me with my rebranding so she recommended Julie at Blogger Boutique.

Julie hopped on board and made this all happen with a very tight deadline, so thank you, Julie!

And mega thanks to my faithful web developer, Cathy at WordPress Barista, who jumped in to help me tweak the minute details. She is always waiting in the wings ready to help me with my most nit-picky requests (and trust me, there are many. I am not an easy client to have.) It is often the littlest details that require the most time and expertise, so I am incredibly thankful for Cathy and her friendship and support. We have worked together for YEARS. If you need a WordPress guru, she’s your gal.

So here’s to a new tomorrow! It’s the end of an era, but not really. As I said, nothing will change much around here. I just feel like I grew up and shed my old skin. Cheers!

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24 Responses

  1. Not sure if it’s just me since no one else has mentioned it, but your email subscription box is covering up the right half of your new logo for me.

    1. Hi Beth. I don’t see it, but I have had a couple other people report this issue. I will troubleshoot and hopefully get that fixed. Thanks for letting me know! Blog design is weird – sometimes it looks different on different computers.

        1. Interesting, Firefox was the last to clear for me. I cleared my cache and that fixed the issues on my end. I am hoping it eventually fixes itself, but I have a call into Cathy just in case. 🙂

  2. Loved it from the moment I read the first blog (found you when I searched running & PF issues) and I love it still! I read EVERY DAY. I almost feel like you’re the sister I never had (I have 2 brothers) in the fashion/make-up category abd your recipes are fabulous as well -I made the pork tenderloin with leeks last night. Incredible! The family loved it. Thank you Jo-Lynne Shane. Thank you.

  3. As a newer reader, it was fun to hear a little more about your blogging history. As a four year blogger, I thought I was an early adopter. Way to go! It’s so funny, as I have focused more on fashion I am learning not to cower when people ask me about it either. We are so mature! 😉

    xo, Amy Ann
    The Real Arnolds

  4. Looking great, J-L!! I love the new banner. I did close out a little pop-up-type ad up there at the top — Modern Pantry, I think. Then they wanted me to tell them why I didn’t like it! Duh — b/c it’s covering up the top of the blog post! Ah well 🙂

    I must admit, that little cartoon you used to have is still pretty funny 🙂 You’ve done it all beautifully!

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