Accountability: February 2022

February has come to an end and what a month it has been. Have you ever had a time when you get lots of good news but it’s all really on the cusp of good news and you have to wait a bit for it to come to fruition?

Well, that was February. I am oh-so-hopeful that March is going to be the month where those good things all come to fruition. Alright, so, possibly the biggest of the news…

I am going back to sea!!

I have accepted a position onboard and will get to spend most of this contract on the same ship as my husband! I will be heading out in a few weeks and am so excited to get to work onboard, explore the world (and get paid for it!) and as a huge bonus – get to spend those months onboard with my husband. This has been a long time coming. Anyone that has followed this blog (or my life) for any amount of time knows what a journey this has been. Perseverance and patience (although I’m not sure how patient I was at times) has paid off!

We had planned on doing a Scottish road trip in March, but as I will be heading back to sea (and back to the US to deal with getting my medical certificate renewed), we moved it up to February. My blog post on our road trip around the North Coast 500 of Scotland (blog post is here) is up and I will be making a few YouTube videos about our adventure. It really was incredible with some breathtaking scenery and lots of animals to spot.

I am so excited to head back to sea again and I am so hopeful for what is to come. I know that life doesn’t always go according to plan (does it ever?), but it’s excited to be moving forward.

Now, I would be remise not to mention that while I have good things happening in my life there are some terrible things happening in the world.

Part of what I love about travel is the opportunity to explore the world and meet the people in it. It creates empathy and compassion for people that otherwise might seem like just faces on the news. I feel so bad for everyone suffering from Russia’s invasion of the Ukraine. I feel bad for the Ukrainians, for those fighting to get on trains to get out of the country, for the families being separated, for all those whose sense of peace and safety have been taken from them.

Blog Goals 2022:

Where I Want This Blog To Get To:

I want to grow this blog. These goals are a bit hard because it relies on people reading my blog, finding it online, and subscribing to me on here and YouTube. I can’t make people do those things, although I can do things to make it much more likely to happen. These goals may prove to be just out of reach but those are the best kinds of goals!

• Get YouTube channel to 2,000 subscribers by the end of the year
  • Currently at 219, 230 now! Head on over to my YouTube channel to subscribe and help me reach this goal!
• Increase the subscribers to my blog mailing list to 150
  • Currently at 82, 92! Subscribe to this blog to help me read this goal. 🙂
• Blog specific stats:
  • DA of 15 (currently 9, 10!),
  • 150 Ranking Keywords (currently 56, 60)
• Monthly views up to 10,000
  • Currently fluctuates between about 900 and 1,500, so far this hasn’t gone up at all. 🙁 Working on it!

As Success Doesn’t Happen by Chance, Here are some Steps I’m Going to Take to Get It There

• Write four new posts each month + Accountability post
• Just barely did this for February – if you count my NC500 post (it went up at just after midnight) and this accountability post for the month
  • Figure out Search Engine Optimization
    • working on it!
• Post one long YouTube video per month (30-60 mins)
  • I did one longish (25mins) video. It’s an interview with my husband on how he became a cruise ship engineer, you can watch it here.
• Post one short YouTube video per month (15 mins or less)
  • Didn’t do this but I did post a couple of “shorts”
• Do two YouTube lives each month
  • Yes! I was joined by Kristin to talk about Holland America Line Grand Voyages and Travel Chef Spencer to talk about different travel and life experiences.
• Write four guest posts over the course of the year
  • Haven’t done any yet but will start working on this.

Want to Help Me Achieve My Goals? Here are 5 ways you can support this blog (p.s. Thank You!)

1. Subscribe and follow wherever you’re willing to!
2. If you like a post – share it!
3. Send me questions for ideas for blog posts, YouTube videos, etc! Happy to answer anything I can.
4. Feel free to use those affiliate links. My favorite product that I highlight on my blog is laundry detergent sheets through EarthBreeze.
5. Feel free to directly monetarily support this dream through Ko-fi. This money helps me pay for blog expenses such as domain fees, SEO programs, courses and tech support, as well as hopefully new cameras and microphones for YouTube. 🙂