I recently found out about this amazing competition called The Big Blog Exchange, where sixteen bloggers from around the world will win the opportunity to exchange lives, blogs, cultures and places at the same time for ten days - all expenses paid for. And because my greatest passions in life include blogging, traveling and learning about other people and cultures - I just had to check it out. And though I was a bit skeptic at first, I was positively surprised by how the competition was presented - in an very inspirational and loveable manner, so I decided to enter.
Now fourteen of the sixteen bloggers will win mainly based on votes, but two bloggers will win regardless of votes. Instead these two bloggers will be chosen based on their motivation for why they should win this competition and the content of their blogs. The reason for this is that every blogger should have a chance to win, no matter how popular their blog is. An idea I really like.
The motivation I have written for why I should be one of the sixteen winners is this:
"I truly feel like my passion for blogging, traveling and enthusiasm for learning makes me a great candidate for this adventure. I also think that the person who will get the chance to exchange lives with me will gain great insights into how it is to live a relatively simple life in a lovely naval town in Sweden. And if I have the fortune of being one of the lucky 16 I promise I will devote 100 percent of my attention, energy, heart and soul into making my part of this journey of a lifetime the very best I can. Because I truly believe that every person can make a difference in this world, which is why I will make sure that my part in this Big Blog Exchange will be made with a positive and loving attitude - no matter what happens.
Thanks for this inspirational competition and opportunity! And Good Luck Everyone! :-)
// Lots Of Love - Alexandra From Sweden"
Of course I would never enter anything unless I truly thought I had a chance to win, so I hope you will vote for me? All you need to do to be able to vote is enter your email and then confirm the vote in an email which will be sent to you. If you are up for it, please click on the button below to vote for me:
I deeply appreciate every single vote - Thank You So Much!
If you are a blogger and want to read more about this competition or enter go to: The Big Blog Exchange.
Today we celebrate Fat Tuesday in Sweden, which means that we eat a super delicious pastry called Semla. But not only is today a treat filled day because of this, it also happens that today is my mum's birthday. Happy Birthday Mum! Which has meant that I also got treated to a very yummy Sandwich Cake earlier today when we celebrated her birthday. Of course she got treated to a lot of birthday presents in return. :-)
Close up of the amazing Sandwich Cake we had earlier today.
It was filled with lots of yummy seafood, salmon, eggs, vegetables, cheese and more.
Y-U-M-M-Y-Y-Y!!!
My (not so small) piece. Lol! ;p
My dog Lisen waited patiently for her turn. :-)
A bit later it was time for dessert, a Danish pastry type of Lenten Bun (Semla) filled with the traditional sweet filling of almond paste and whipped cream. So we did not eat a traditional Lenten Bun to celebrate Fat Tuesday this year. I first tried this version of a Semla - Lenten Bun last year and really liked it, because it was not as heavy as a traditional one. Which fitted great today, because of the Sandwich Cake we had earlier.
This is how a Semla should be eaten, the lid first with some delicious filling that has been scooped up. And with a big cup of black coffee. :p
Of course this little lady got some Semla too! :-)
Another fun thing I found out recently was that my blog was chosen as number 24 on a list of Top 100 Pet Blogs to follow in 2013 - yay! I have posted the entire list at Top 100 Pet Blogs To Follow In 2013.
So it certainly has been a treat filled day today, in more than one delicious way. ;p
I started this blog about two and a half years ago and along the way I have tried many different ways to market it, I guess you could call it experiential marketing. Because when I first started blogging I had no idea how it worked, both when it comes to the actual blogging part but also how to best get the word out about my blog in cyberspace. Now one way I could have done it was to pay for advertising or marketing, but I did not want to spend any money on those aspects of blogging - nor did I have any money to spend on them. So what I ended up spending a lot of instead was time.
Time to try different marketing methods and then time on those methods that worked best. My goal was to eventually not have to spend as much time on the marketing part of blogging and that visitors would find my blog naturally after a while, which is now the case. So devoting all that time on learning how to and then marketing my blog properly was a good decision, one I indeed benefit from today.
Instead of having to spend hours and hours on marketing my blog today, I spend more time on answering comments from my readers, creating blog posts and blog maintenance.
It was two years ago today since I published my first post here on ropcorn.com, in other words - today is this blog's second blogoversary. Yay!!! Now I had big plans for this blog when I started it (I still do). Some goals have been achieved, while others are still in the process of being achieved. And new goals have been set. But the most important thing is that I STILL LOVE BLOGGING! :-)
A feeling I think this lovely Bleeding Heart conveys quite accurately. :-)
And what I love about blogging is that I have the freedom and opportunity to express my creativity through my blog posts. Whether it be via photography, writing or simply sharing my everyday life experiences. I also really feel like this blog helps me to follow through on, and bring to life, many of the thoughts and ideas I randomly have. I mean, I can be anywhere and suddenly get an idea on a post I want to do or start to think of things I want to write about. Though I must say that this mostly happen in the shower. Hehe. But the point is that I actually do follow through on a lot of those ideas, instead of just letting them go, because I have a blog where I can share them. And when I manage to bring one of those inspirational moments to life in a good way, I actually feel pretty proud of myself. :-)
But not only do I love the creative part of blogging, I also absolutely adore reading comments and receiving feedback from all the wonderful people that drop by here. Which is why this celebratory post would not be complete without a proper Thank You and a heartfelt bow to to all of you marvelous individuals who visit, follow, comment and/or send me feedback through various sources. I truly value every single second each and every one of you spend on this blog, because it is all that beautiful energy that continue to keep this blog alive. Not to mention the huge positive impact it has on me personally.
Needless to say, I am very grateful that I made the decision to start blogging two years ago. And even though I have spent, and still spend, countless hours on managing, creating posts and networking. It continues to be so undoubtedly worth it!!! :p
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