When I started this blog in July 2010, I had no idea how long it would interest me and whether it would be popular. Yet here I sit, heading into the third year of its existence and I still manage to find the time and the inspiration to write.

Regular readers will have noticed a trend over the last 10 months. The posts have gone from twice a week to once a week, if that. The truth is, that having taken on additional study, I just haven’t had the time to ponder life’s curiosities and start typing. I already endeavour to lead life to the fullest, so in my busy calendar, I guess something had to give.

One thing that hasn’t changed is my editorial philosophy: quality, not quantity… although I’m sure some may dispute the level of quality! But that’s just a matter of taste. I personally can’t stand the millions of blogs that have daily (sometimes twice daily) posts about ‘what my cat likes for breakfast’ or equally dull musings. So if I can’t think of anything interesting, and hopefully amusing, to cover, then I won’t post.

One thing that has surprised me, is the continued popularity of old posts. I realise that all of you take a sadistical pleasure in my tales of dating woe, and these continue to receive views, but I have to admit to using up all of my bad experiences. I’m not such a loser that these happen regularly, they span the last 5 years or so. Wait a minute… 16 bad experiences over five years. Okay, I guess they are quite regular. Feel free to align your thumb and forefinger at a right angle and place them on your forehead. I won’t be offended…

Even more popular are the spam fighting posts. I nearly didn’t publish the Natalya the Stripper posts as I thought that maybe they were a little similar to earlier posts, but someone persuaded me that I should. Just as well, as the response was great and I’m happy with how they turned out. I guess the key thing about spam fighting is to assume a ridiculous alias to maximise the humiliation of the spammers!

Other than these two categories, other posts really do vary in their popularity. Some are slow burners and take a while to bring in the views, whilst others ‘blow-up’ instantly, before tailing off sharply. It’s hard to tell how they will be taken sometimes.

So as I wrestle with the insecurities and demanding nature of my very own two-year-old, I know that I should be grateful for what I’ve got. I’m honoured when someone subscribes after reading one or two posts. I’m pleased when people take the time to leave a comment. Incidentally, I’ve only ever had one negative comment and ‘he’ was clearly an idiot, so it amused me greatly. He didn’t seem to realise that Duke Marmaduke was an alias and mocked the grammar. Doh!

I am also a little bashful when people give me compliments in person. I’ve never been at ease with receiving compliments, yet it does give me a massive boost, naturally!

The stats also look good too. For the relatively small number of posts, they receive a good average number of hits each, and the year-on-year volumes consistently grow, despite the lower number of posts in recent times. For a moment I was wondering if the key to healthy audience growth was to limit the writing!

So when I sit here again next year I wonder, will I still have an appetite to write? I think so. Will I still have had year-on-year growth? Probably, but maybe less sharp. I think it’s likely that I will want to nurture TLTCL for several years ahead. It’s the creative outlet which I never realised I needed and it’s become a part of who I am.