Ad Free.....kind of like Born Free

Did you notice anything missing on the sidebar over there? I took off the ads a few weeks ago...I am now ad free. When I started blogging I thought this would be a fun way to make some extra money. It seemed simple enough and some women were getting pretty wealthy from blogging. I thought if they could do it...so could I!!


As time went on I noticed a change in my blogging habits. If a blog was full of ads, I tended not to read it. If a blogger wrote a paid post, I tended not to read it and usually would not visit said blogs again. I realized that I was being a hypocrite because I had ads on my site. The ads had to go, and I don't miss them, not one bit.


I have found a community of friends through this blog. I write from my heart, sometimes it's funny, sometimes it's poignant, sometimes it's sad. My friends leave me comments and that is the best payment I have found. The monetary payments from ads meant nothing, the comments from friends mean the world to me.


I have never been a person to idolize a celebrity. Their lives mean nothing to me. I can't justify idolizing a blogger who is making their living blogging. I am happy for them, mind you. I think it is wonderful they have turned what they love doing into a profitable business, but I cannot idolize them. I do have respect for my friends. I respect the bloggers who write candidly about their struggles being a mom. I respect the bloggers who make me laugh, who take a mundane daily experience and turn it into a comedy routine. These are the bloggers I would love to have a cup of coffee with, have an IRL conversation with.


These are the blogs who have maintained their sense of innocence and honesty. They write what they feel, not what the masses dictate. These are the blogs I visit regularly and they are the ones who visit me and leave me comments. They are my friends.....and yes....bloggy buddies are real friends!!