Let the adventure begin!

Did you know that God answers prayers?  Even prayers we don't actually pray? 

This summer, I was getting a bit discouraged about this blogging business.  I had big goals and dreams when I started about three years ago, but haven't seen real progress in building a reader base, and with the summer months, even those numbers were slipping.  Of course, I haven't been reading anyone ELSE's blogs, either, so I tried to blow it off as a seasonal thing.

But still that sense of failure nagged at me.  In retaliation, my fear of being a quitter would start up.  So it went, back and forth, for several months.  I finally decided that if I was going to be happy, I needed to stop relying on traffic and comments to deem my blog a success.  It had to be for me and my family.  Since blogging is, essentially, my form of journaling (more about that later!), it's where I record all the little things about my kids as they grow up.  Other people may not be so compelled to memorialize every. blessed. detail, but I am and always have been.  I decided to continue blogging just for my family's sake.

And then my amazing friend CB stepped in!  She recommended Modern-Day Jane to a local woman who works for Forum Communications, based here in Fargo, but covering about 35 newspapers in a tri-state area.  This woman, Tracy Briggs, has asked me to join the Forum's website called Area Voices, and then she'll promote Modern-Day Jane as a featured blog!  This means that those 35 newspapers could choose to list MDJ in their papers, in whatever section they like.

Basically, I was recruited.

And after looking around at some of the blogs on Area Voices, I can see why.  Most of them are political (Freethinkers, anyone?) or sports oriented, and a lot are just selling stuff.  I have only found a few that are about family life, and those are well done...mostly by people who work for Forum Communications!  There appears to be a big opening for "normal" mommy bloggers (an oxymoron if I've ever heard one.  Like talking about poop and wiping snot all day is normal).  I'm going to step in a take a chance.

Area Voices uses WordPress software, which I've heard is superior to Blogspot. If this whole thing doesn't work out, I'll probably stick with WordPress anyway.

My biggest concern, naturally, is that some of you reading now won't follow me to my new site.  PLEASE come with me!  You don't have to login to Area Voices or create an account there to see the new Modern-Day Jane page, but you CAN, of course, and it's super easy.  ALSO, be sure to change your "favorites" link to the new page and Google Reader, etc...  I'm not deleting this version of MDJ, so if you forget, you can come here and link to the new site.  No new posts will be put here, however.

My biggest regret?  Area Voices does not have a function for "following" a blog, so no longer will I have your friendly faces keeping me company in the right hand column.  I will truly miss your silent (and maybe even inaccurate) voice of support. 

One other, smaller regret?  Losing my hyphen.  For some reason, the Area Voices site does not allow punctuation in their URL addresses.  My blog address is now http://www.moderndayjane.areavoices.com/ , but the blog will continue to be Modern-Day Jane, with the hyphen, thankyouverymuch.

I'm excited for a new challenge, and new readership possibilities!  Already I've had a new comment, which may or may not rub you the wrong way, if you've been a reader here and have a feel for my parenting (and writing) style.  I

Can't wait to see what's around the bend!