Dear Santa Nuffnang

Dear Santa Nuffnang,

I have been a very good girl this year.

I have written my daily blogs (well ..... not really daily - but I do think 166 posts since May is pretty good going for a time strapped mother of four!!)

I have made new friends (I have attended two bloggers parties - the first one - I knew no-one at all - and believe me this is a very big move for me!!)

I have embarrassed myself (carrying a blow up palm tree to said bloggers do!!) (another big move for me)

I have learned my lessons well (I can now add links within my posts, I can photo shop my photos, and I can also annotate them too!!!) Who said you can't teach old dogs new tricks??

But when you ask me (the Christmas Blogger's challenge) what has been my defining moment (ie my best blog) this year I am a little hard pressed to come up with one in particular - so I guess I would like to start with this one.... entitled Prawn Ravioli with Sauce Vierge.

Why do I like it you ask?  Well other than the obvious - it was a great meal!!!!  I would have to say .....

Having recently attended my first bloggers do (Yum Cha at the Marigold), I was encouraged to try a little harder.  I had met other people that were doing the same thing as me.  I now felt that there was a world out there listening to me - I wasn't talking to myself.  I learnt a few "tricks of the trade" - I was growing as a blogger!!  My hit rate started increasing, my comments section started reflecting that people were actually reading me!!  I still had my L's on, but I was now traveling the blogosphere with more confidence.

In this blog, I added more photos, photos that I had photoshopped, and that I had added my blog address to (I was very impressed with myself!!) - I tried to add a little personal "chattiness" (and even got readers to empathise with me)  I finished the blog with a photo of a tree that I could see from my computer as I wrote my blog - (more personalisation!!!)  By the way Santa, this photo still makes me smile, even now after the flowers are gone, and spring is but a far distant memory?!?  I know you haven't visited Sydney for nearly a year - but our weather has gone to the dogs!!  Is there anything you can do about that???  If it means no on the ipad, well, then I can live with the weather!!

So all in all, I look at this post as my turning point - I have grown stronger and more confident with each blog.  I now reach out to the greater blogging community feeling more sure of my work - yet still knowing that I have room for improvement.  We do not all do the same thing, but we all love what we do.

So Santa, please, please, pretty please with sugar on top, can I have an ipad for Christmas????

PS. If you grant my wish can you please make sure that it is clearly labelled under the tree so that "The Darlings" don't think that it is theirs!!!  We don't want any fights on Christmas day do we???