A Thousand Thanks and More!
When I set-up ‘A Traveller’s Tale’ and posted my first article here at WordPress in July 2011, I promised myself to faithfully do these: (1) acknowledge my ‘likers’ by visiting their blog, liking back their posts, and leaving a comment if possible; (2) respond to each comment on my posts; and (3) personally thank my subscribers (if any) and get to know them by visiting their blogs and by exploring their posts. I did not think that in making these promises I was being too hard on myself then as the traffic to my blog was still too low and I was able to do all these things easily.
That was then. Now, 8 months later, I hesitantly admit that the promise I made was indeed a tall order. Though I try hard, I am not able respond to all the comments on time much less acknowledge new subscribers and ‘likers’. And I feel guilty! This is not supposed to happen! I am being rude and ungrateful! Those who subscribe to my blog and like or comment on my posts deserve an acknowledgement at the very least.
The First 1000!
The number of subscribers to ‘A Traveller’s Tale’ surpassed 1000 today(Holy smokes! I never imagined I’d get this far!). The lucky 1000th subscriber is Teresa Meier of Teresa Meier Travel and Documentary Photography — THANK YOU, Teresa. You represent a very significant milestone for ‘A Traveller’s Tale’.
Having reached this milestone is a very good reason to celebrate and it is also the best time to express GRATITUDE, make up for my shortcomings, and hopefully redeem myself from this nasty guilt feeling. Therefore;
To the 1000+ fellow bloggers who subscribe to ‘A Traveller’s Tale’, including those following my posts from Twitter; MY SINCEREST THANKS goes to ALL OF YOU!
To all those who left encouraging and colorful comments in my 100 or so posts, THANK YOU VERY MUCH!
And to all the hundreds, maybe thousands, who made their visits felt by clicking the ‘like’ button in my posts, I VERY TRULY APPRECIATE IT!
Special
I’m hesitant to name names but, now that I’ve said THANKS TO EVERYONE, I really have to specify fellow bloggers who truly deserve being especially recognized. The first group are the people who, while I was still groping in the dark in search for the best way to package ‘A Traveller’s Tale’; encouraged me to go on by subscribing to the blog despite its many limitations then. And so, I take a bow and offer MY DEEPEST GRATITUDE to the FIRST 20 SUBSCRIBERS of A Traveller’s Tale, namely:
superfoodchick
David Hall
Fourth T Photography
Jim Brickett
animalartist
Mike Moruzi
indiegirl94
annstewardphotography
sofiaalexis
Mesh Ashton
Rich Copley
Kristina
memissler
Lindsay Carreiro
T Hollis
AnaLuciaSilva
dannielleweddings
Doon Po Sa Amin: I Conquered The Cables
KDRPhoto
Beth Winter
-oOo-
Blog Builders
Award Givers
There are also those who express their appreciation of the blog by passing on various awards. I have been remiss in this part as well because I failed to pass on some awards after being nominated (except after my first nomination) but I personally consider these nominations as sincere recognition of the effort we place in our blogs.
Some of us may think that these so-called ‘awards’ are nothing but glorified chain letters and others seem to get irritated by the pressure to pass on and comply with the requirements but I always think that there must have been a good reason for us being nominated for the award instead of the hundreds of other possible nominees out there. And so I SINCERELY THANK the following persons for bestowing me these honors.
For nominating me for The Versatile Blogger Award, MANY THANKS to the following:
- Mark Sugden of Letters to Alfie , 02/25/ 2012
- Pearls and Flowers of 100 Pearls, 02/25/2012
- Christina of Travel Tales , 02/21/2012
- Christine of Somethingville.com, 02/19/2011
- Skinnywench of A Word in Your Ear 02/15/2012
- Mary Lou Rutledge of MaryLouRutledge, 02/13/2012
- Mona of Ramblings, 02/08/2012
- Ben Lowe of Ben Lowe Photography, 01/25/2012
- Leanne of Leanne Cole’s Blog, 12/22/2011
- Kristina of Little Trot, October 2011
And to Christina of Travel Tales for bestowing me the Kreativ Blogger and One Lovely Blog Award on February 21, 2012.
The Most Special
Finally, you will notice that 3 persons keep popping up in my lists above and they are Kristina of Little Trot, David Hall of A Monkeyhanger’s Motley Medley, and T Hollis of T Hollis. They have been visiting A Traveller’s Tale since its humble beginning and they saw it evolve into how it looks like now. More importantly, they often left comments which I consider partially responsible for the huge improvement of this blog. They are probably the three bloggers who would know most about A Traveller’s Tale and so, David, Kristina, and Ms. T; I give you MY MOST SPECIAL THANKS! and I will be honored to host each of you at A Traveller’s Tale. Please consider posting a topic of your choice at A Traveller’s Tale as a Guest Blogger soon. Again, THANK YOU.
Congratulations! That’s really explosive growth and I can’t think of a blog that deserves it more. Best of luck for the upcoming year. Enjoy your new fame! 🙂
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Thanks a lot, giazon. The profuse thanks in this post goes to you as well. )
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This is so nice and amazing 1000! WOW! Congratulations.
Thank you, with my love,
nia
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Thanks and lots of love too, Nia.
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Congratulations.
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Thanks.
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Love your two passionflower photos. One of my favorite flowers simply because it looks so odd.
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Thank you, Russel Ray.
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Congratulations, Jessie!! How wonderful for you…1,000 followers!! What an accomplishment and what a testimony to the quality photos and commentary you provide for your readers.
And you are welcome for the comments. I always enjoy visiting with you…walking the trails, following you on the roads of your travels and discoveries. Such a treasure. Thank You.
Congrats again, my blog friend. 🙂
Scott
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Hello, my blog friend, Scott. I felt your lively presence in all those trips with me. Thanks again.
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You are most welcome, Jessie. 🙂
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Congratulations! What an accomplishment that is and you deserve the kudos! Keep up the good work, I enjoy your work and posts!
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You’ve been very generous in giving comments and awards to me, Christine. And for that, I thank you.
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Congratulation, Thanks for the flowers and go ahead to reach 2000 and more!
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Yes, those flowers are for you, anaslensea, and all the others who have shared the experience in A Traveller’s Tale. Thanks a lot!
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Congratulations and keep going! I love to hear about the places you go and your photos are wonderful. Best to you!
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I appreciate it, Karmen. Thanks.
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Congragulations Jessie! So well deserved. I can’t remember how I happened upon your blog, but am so glad that I did. Your photos are an inspiration, and I learn from them; your stories/histories are always good reading.
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Really glad you became part of this blog as one of its best commentators, Angeline. Thanks again.l
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Congratulations!
You deserve it.
Love your photos.
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Thanks, Rosina.
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Congratulations! You deserve it. Here’s to another thousand more, cheers! 😉
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Maraming salamat, cessology! Yeah, a toast to a thousand more!
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Wow! Congratulations, Jessie! Your blog is one of the first I’ve followed, and I have appreciated every post. I am totally honored to be among your 15 best commentators! Thank you for that, but more for sharing your art and insight with all of us!
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Thanks for being a big part of the journey, Lois. I truly appreciate your down-to-earth comments.
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Jessie, your blog is one that I always love viewing and you’ve made me feel by the photos and the way your write your posts that I’m getting to travel with you. Thanks for that and for including me in your 15 best commentators. I feel honored and blessed.
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Pleasure is mine, Gina. You’ve been an active part of the journey and I really thank you for that.
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This is fantastic… You found my blog a couple of months ago, and I was so grateful to have discovered yours in return. It has been a wonderful place to visit and to fuel my creative energies.
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I too get doubly inspired when people say that they got inspired by my work. Thanks, M. Hatzel.
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Awesome! It’s good that you’re so appreciative. I, too, am on my own journey to get my blog to a thousand subscribers. BOY do I have a long way to go! But I’m still going to try anyway. Your blog was encouraging. Thanks again!
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Thanks, ImaginaryCanary. I can see from the lay-out of your site that you indeed have big plans for your blog. Getting to 1000 subscribers required a lot of hard work for me but I’m sure you’ll get there too. Good luck!
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Congrats on reaching 1,000 followers. Hopefully I will be there someday too. Cheers!!
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Thanks, Jody. Would love to continue hearing from you when you get there. Cheers!!
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For sure. I get closer each day– ha.
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Jessie….you have an awesome blog….Congrats on your first 1000! I have far far less than that, but I, too, suffer the guilties of not being able to “care” for my fellow bloggers in the way I’d like. I wish I had time to comment on everyone’s blog, but there just isn’t enough time in a day.
Thank you for offering us such wonderful “tours” of places I have never seen. It’s been a fantastic ride so far…and I look forward to many more!
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Hello, Judy. I guess the positive side of feeling some guilt is it helps us stay humble and caring and it projects an air of personal touch in our work. You’ve been a great commentator as well and I really thank you for that.
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Thank you, Jessie…those are such kind words.
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A very nice way to thank your followers @devtramp! For this blogger a visit to your place is always sheer pleasure: please continue 🙂
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Hello, Sisyphus47. Thanks for reminding me that A Traveller’s Tale has a good number of Twitter followers as well. Will need to insert that somewhere in the text above. 🙂
Thank you for your kind remark and encouragement.
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No worries, mate!
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Thanks again.
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that’s really sweet of you
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Hi, namitalad. The flowers and thanks goes to you as well. 🙂
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🙂
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1000 followers! Nice! I like your pictures very much, you really deserve this!
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Many thanks, thesweetkitten.
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It is very nice to be well mannered, and to show respect to those who honor you or honor your work. But it seems to me that relationships on the internet are quite different from those in cultivated society. On the internet, and especially on blog platforms, there is the practice of saying hello to another blogger, or sending a like, with the intention that that blogger will notice you, and will take interest in you. And if he does? What obligation do you have towards him or her? Obviously, with 1000 followers, you would be forced to spend all your time in front of the computer, if you wanted to repay in kind the attention that you are getting. So it seems to me that it is more appropriate to follow, and comment just on those blogs that you are truly interested; where you learn something; or appreciate something… of have a true human interest in the author of the blog. Otherwise you will be run ragged by good manners.
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I know what you mean, ShimonZ. But so as not to be judgmental, I take comments and likes as sincerely given and I try not to read too much on the intentions behind the comment/like (unless of course when the comment already has the appearance of a spam which I simply edit or disapprove). Yes, it eventually becomes physically impossible to respond to all likes and comments especially if your blog subscription is rapidly growing but my solution to that is this post — a thank you note that covers everyone. 🙂
The thank you note goes to you too. You have been frequently visiting and sincerely leaving honest thoughts about my post — THANK YOU!
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I actually read most of your posts (being honest :))… Thanks for the mention, very kind of you.
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I believe and felt that, Bashar, my blog friend. That is why you made it to my list. Thanks.
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I feel that the ‘Thanks’ should go to you….so ‘Thank you’
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I accept. 🙂 Appreciate it, David.
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Your attitude to your blog is brilliant. I follow very similar ideas on mine. For everyone who likes my blogs, I look at their blogs, for those that I notice like on a regular basis, I bookmark their blogs and start following them and checking them daily. For everyone that takes the time to comment, I make sure I reply personally. I think those touches are good. Thanks for your blog and thank you for liking mine.
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Thanks, Leanne. I’ve been following you and I appreciate all the photos and thoughts you share in your blog.
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Congratulations Jessie and thanks also for always contributing to my blog. Your comments are especially welcome. I just wish that I had your way with words as there could be some interesting stories along with my photos.
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Hey, David, one of my most special honoree. This post is largely about you. Perhaps you can supply the photo and I can write up the story when you become my Guest Blogger. My sincere thanks, once again.
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Proud of you. Keep on. 🙂
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Daghang salamat, Jojie!
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Congratulations Captain!
What a wonderful tribute! I have a lot to say, but I choose a different way to testimony your work. I will see where my trails reach! For now, I could share it on my facebook wall. 🙂
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Thank you very much, Kam. I am honored for my blog to appear in your FB wall. 🙂
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well done jessie!
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Thanks, nitzus.
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Amazing growth in 8 months. Love seeing your photos. Oh and thanks for following me too!!
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Pleasure is mine, Sue.
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There is a reason you have a large following. It’s an excellent blog. Marvelous Pictures. Cheers.
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Well thank you, John. You help promote my blog in a way. Appreciate it.
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Congrats, a fabulous result which you deserve, don’t know how you find the time.
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I tend to get obsessed with what I do, Ian. But you’re right, I invested a lot of time before I got this far. Thanks.
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Congratulations! I’m new to the blogging world and your posts have been an inspiration. Thanks for sharing!
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I’m relatively new too (less than a year), travellingflip and, as I said, I got my inspiration from all those bloggers and groups listed above, including you. Grateful for making me your inspiration.
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Congratulations Jessie! From the very first time I visited your blog I was captured by the beautiful photography and by the poetry and prose that accompany it. You have been an inspiration to me and have tickled my imagination so much with your stories and with your photos that I feel doubly blessed. I am very humbled to be part of your community.
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Pleasure is mine, Dezra. You are one of my most esteemed commentator, glad you are part of this small community of bloggers. Thanks.
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Your blog is great; I am not surprised at all you have so many followers! Congratulations! And thank you so much for mentioning both of my blogs 😀
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Hello, Kristina, one of my most special honoree. Can’t wait to host you at A Traveller’s Tale. 🙂 And thank you for being there since the beginning of this blog.
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Congratulations! And thanks for your kind words.
Love the flowers photos today!
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Thanks and flowers for you, T Hollis. You have become a special part of A Traveller’s Tale. Please consider my invitation to be my Guest Blogger. Thanks again.
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Jessie, your blog is amazing. You have done an amazing job of following up with all. I began to think perhaps you had hit BlogPro status, you know those who have a staff that hit the “like” buttons and do the follow up comments.
You earned all 1000 followers. Congratulations! And keep those blogs and photos coming. We love them!!! 😀
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Hi Shez. Whatever BlogPro is, I probably can’t afford it. I haven’t even upgraded this site. 🙂
Thanks for all the wonderful comments you’ve been leaving all over A Traveller’s Tale. This thank you note goes to you too.
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“BlogPro” = one of those people I hear about who make a living by blogging. I certainly have no idea who they are or how they do it, but no one can answer 1000 people a day. I think that somewhere along the way some editor stumbles across your work and wants to publish it for you.
And thanks for taking the time to “like” my posts and for the reply today. Please don’t let me take you away from what you are doing so extraordinarily well: shooting fab photos and writing wonderful essays to go with them. You have a gift and are creating an awesome “book,” if it crosses paths with the right people. 😀
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Congratulations! I salute you and I am so proud of you my dear Big Brother.
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Thanks a lot, Sis!!!
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I have dreams beyond my blog, or maybe because of my blog. It is reassuring that so much can be possible within this realm (the blogger’s realm). I plan on continuing making the dream a reality. I love this particular blog mostly because it wreaks of gratitude. Well done, indeed.
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I had similar dreams since I started blogging and even during my few waking hours and it’s good to realize that some dreams are possible. Thanks and keep on following your dreams!!
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The amount of people that read your blog are proof of its quality. To me this blog is a bit like the stories of my youth which would come in installments. I’d always know that the next installment should be something good and looked forward to it. This blog is like that. I’m amazed that you mentioned me and thanks for that. Congratulations and keep it coming.
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My salute goes to you, Joseph. I can sense your excitement and sincerity in all the comments you left in my posts. You truly are one of my best commentators and for that I sincerely thank you.
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Newbie here. Nov2011.
Thank you for blogging this. I have learned from you. Personally a “like” back is a simple quick way to acknowledge that person.
I’m not surprised that you lost sight of your promises you have an amazing photographic eye that you can share through WP and the community and that attracts pressers.
Cheers to you and congrats on your 1000.
SueAnn
ps thanks for following my blog.
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Hello, SueAnn. Glad to know I contributed to your learning even just a bit. I’m sure you’re on your way to a thousand followers as well. Keep up the good work.
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(: thanks
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personally….1000 is to many ….eeek
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You have a thousand followers (and now probably more) because your blog and your photography are excellent, instructive, and entertaining. Thank you.
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Not only that, but you’ve given me good feedback and advice. I’m sure that there are many people who could say the same.
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You have been an inspiring visitor of A Traveller’s Tale, Mona. And thanks a lot for the compliments.
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🙂
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Wow!! So many accomplishments! Congrats!
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Thank you.
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Wonderful!
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Wow! Brilliant!
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Thank you timetales and greenbenchramblings…
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This is soooo sweet of you! and thank you for this post. I thought exactly the same about 3 months ago when I started my blog, and as I don’t have many followers, I can keep my word for the moment and keep track of most of them! And whenever I can, I just thank in a post to my followers, cause they deserve it.
so! Congratulations for the 1000 followers! and wishing you more and more great people around you!
kisses and hugs!
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Hello, simphonyblue. Glad you can visit. Yes, being grateful and polite is a good thing to observe. And even when we get to 1000 followers we can still afford to say thanks, can’t we?
Thanks a lot for the visit and for your kind comments.
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that is so cool.. congratulations.. amazing stuff ! i have only started my blog not all that long ago and you have always been there with every post I have made, every step of the way, and now also on my second blog that I have just started, you are there once again, on every post. it wouldn’t be the same without your little avatar their liking every post. i do not know how you do it, you are a very dedicated and a very talented man. i most always see you on every bog i visit. i can’t keep up with responding to all of my likes and commenters, and exploring all of the wonderful bloggers, i don’t know how you do it but you do it well. i want to take this time to personally thank you on your blog for being there with me every step of my blogging way.. best regards.. xo ; )
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Congratulations, Jesse. Well deserved!
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Hi,
I have been tagged to answer some questions and in turn must tag other bloggers I find inspiring. That would be you! If you would like to participate visit my post http://bellaremyphotography.wordpress.com/about/ and congratulations!
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