First Anniversary Celebration

Happy New Year to you and Happy Anniversary to The Orange Bee!  The folks at word press made it pretty simple for me to summarize my first year of blogging, statistically speaking, that is.  It seems that my post titled “Cheese Please” received more hits than any other.  Here is the link incase you missed it.  https://theorangebee.wordpress.com/2011/05/09/cheese-please/   It makes me laugh as that is the ONLY photo that FoodGawker or TasteSpotter ever accepted from all the photos I’ve submitted.  I’m convinced real people with talent are not making those decisions, although I was thrilled to have had one accepted and to have received so many hits that day.    Turns out it’s a pretty great photo to use today for my celebration.

The post most read through search engine terms was “An Exciting Day”, about the arrival of my first bee hive and a loaf of Banana Blackberry Bread.  https://theorangebee.wordpress.com/2011/03/07/an-exciting-day/   I’m thinkin’ a few zillion people were looking to make blackberry- banana bread in 2011.  Maybe more of us are starting to use up those over ripe bananas instead of tossing them.  What ever the reason I’m grateful for those of you who found me in search of banana bread.  Now, don’t all of you go out and bake a loaf just for the hits…. I’m on it.

The other stat that caught my attention was how many of you stumbled upon my blog from countries other than the USA.  I think my favorite part of blogging is meeting and conversing with you through comments and emails, and in one instance meeting face to face with Linda from “Vittles and Commitals” http://vittlesandcommittals.blogspot.com/.   We declared we would be forever friends, and we met through our blogs.  I appreciate the time taken by each of you in the USA as well as those of you from foreign lands, to read my blog .  I never meet a stranger and it is for that reason that I enjoy each comment received, each thread of likeness discovered, and every laugh I muster from you and or your blogs!

I thank each of you who have read, passed along, awarded or mentioned  “The Orange Bee” this past year.  Sure I’d like to be one of those “Pioneer Woman” type blogs, making the big bucks, having celebrity status and bursting at the seams with material and time to blog BIG!  For now, I’ll continue to press on, being patient, enjoying my time creating in the kitchen, relish writing about my food and bees and delighting in the simple fact that I made it through my first year and I still take great pleasure in being a part of the foodie blog world.

My first post this year will be about the most delicious “Orange Cheesecake” I made for a New Year’s Eve party.  It made a splash along with a few,  ummm…I mean several, eerrrr uhm….oodles of bottles of bubbly.  We toasted in the New Year in the perfect fashion with our kids and our great friends.  Come back soon as you won’t want to miss this recipe.

In the meantime relish the newness of 2012, the return to routines, and the start of resolutions made.  And remember to convey your love daily to those dear to your heart with words, gestures, acts of kindness or just a plain old hug and a smile.

Enjoy!