When I first boarded the blogging bandwagon last March, I told myself I’d give it a year and see where I ended up. Well, it’s been a year. Earlier this week I posted some of the highlights from the journey.

Now the question is where to next?

Some of the goals on my year two road map are fairly simple:

• Add some new sections to my homepage to set the tone for the blog and feature some favourite posts.
• Make sure my About page gives a clear picture of who I am and what the blog is all about.
• Add some additional pages, such as a house tour, a before and after gallery or a project catalogue.
• Make more connections with other bloggers and readers.

Some of my other ideas are more hypothetical possibilities at this point rather than defined destinations. I may detour from these over the year:

• Add some extra functionality to my template–maybe even find a new template or hire someone to make a custom design.
• Set up the blog at my own url.
• Buy a better camera and improve my photography skills.
• Consider participating in a conference or blogging event, such as BlogPodium or Alt, to learn some new skills and also make some connections.
• Attract more readers–I think 100 views per day over the next year is an achievable goal.

Excuse me, do you have any friends?

The biggest thing I’d like to do over the next year is decide where I want to go with this blog over the longer haul. I blog for myself and for all of you reading out there. However, I am also trying to approach this professionally, with a regular posting schedule and thoughtful posts that will be helpful and interesting to readers. So I feel like I need to figure out what’s my destination with the blog?

• Do I want to sell advertising and make money? Extra income sounds good to me, and right now I think I’d be open to it. However, I’m cautious about how this might change my tone and my overall approach to blogging.
• Do I want to take on some side work as a freelance writer? Exploring possible new career paths and considering some independent work is intriguing to me.
• Do I want to want to work with sponsors? Seeing bloggers whose renovations are sponsored is obviously appealing. If there’s a company out there that is interested in building an attached garage, converting an indoor pool into a useable room, adding on a front porch, doing some major landscaping, or helping with any of the other projects on my wish list, I’m up for partnering… I think.

Who knows where this blog will end up? Right now, all I can say is I’m open to the bends in the road ahead, and I hope over the next year I can define some directions for myself.

I’d also really like to hear from you. I’m not going to do a reader survey… yet… but I’d love to hear your thoughts. What’s working and what’s not working for you on the blog? What would you like to see in terms of the design and functionality? What are your favourite topics to read about? Are there any topics you wish I wouldn’t write about anymore? From other bloggers out there, how have you attracted more readers? What are some of your goals? Please leave a comment or feel free to email me with your feedback at homeon129acres@hotmail.com.

Thanks everyone for coming along for the ride so far.