The Big 5-Oh-Oh

This is it...post 500!  Let's pause for a moment as balloons, confetti, and streamers magically fall from the sky.

Well that was a bit underwhelming.  Okay, to commemorate this occasion, I came up with some Ocean in a Cup mindless trivia:

• The first post was written on August 16, 2009.
• This blog has seen six different names:  My Ramblings, Iridescent Bubbles, Fizzyjo, Quarter after One (I have NO memory of that one), Trying to Fit the Ocean in a Cup, and finally, Ocean in a Cup.
• My friend Kristyn's blog Retold inspired the creation of this blog.
• Blogging actually rekindled the friendship between Kristyn and I.
• My twin sis Shannon began co-authoring this blog with me on April 28, 2012.
• Shannon's last post was her Cliche Christmas Post on December 28, 2012.   
• I lost my beloved URL (fizzyjo.com) on May 15, 2012.  I then purchased oceaninacup.com.
• Since switching over to the new URL, this blog has received 65,927 page views. 
• My own IP is blocked so that my own visits don't mistakenly get added into that total. 
• The post that receives the most Google hits is Shaking Bed Syndrome. 
• The second most viewed page is my sloppy practice painting of a cherry blossom tree.
• The most commonly used label on this blog is "Family," with 118 entries.  "Life's Moments" is a close second, with 101 entries. 
• The label least-used is "Short Stories," with only one entry.
• The first label I ever used was "Blogging 101", followed by "Married Life" and "My Insanity."
• This blog contains seven deleted entries.  The titles for these posts still remain as a reminder of what used to be there.  These count toward the 500.
• This blog has a mysterious follower in the Army who has never given up reading it in the past few years, despite where he/she is stationed. 
• This blog contains 1,227 comments.
• My page views went up to 65,938 since I wrote this list. 

In addition to compiling this list of pointless fascinating facts, I created a page listing my favorite 25 posts (top tool bar).  I don't expect the reader to actually click on each of these entries.  Crap--that would take all night.  I compiled the list for myself. I'm officially saying goodbye to this blog next weekend, and I'm starting to get all sorts of nostalgic about it.  I wanted a space where I could quickly reference some of my favorite posts from the past.  Unfortunately my list isn't entirely accurate.  It's impossible to "scan" through almost four years of blogging to choose favorites.  Plus my list doesn't take into consideration some of the intriguing or hilarious conversations that have taken place via the commenter's page.  Unfortunately there was no way for me to account for these issues, so I simply tried to find a good variety of posts dealing with the nuances of teaching, married life, kids, and so on.  Basically I looked for posts that made me smile.

I kept the sad stuff out, even though all of that is important to me too.

This is rough.  It's not that this is the last blog post I will ever write, but it sort of feels like it is.  Shan and I are officially launching our new blog next weekend.  At that point, Ocean in a Cup will float around until the URL expires, and then it will be gone. 

Wow, that puts a little pang in my stomach.  Maybe I'll transfer this blog back to blogspot so it can hang around indefinitely. 

On a bright note, I couldn't be more excited to launch the new blog with Shannon.  I've had this one now for three-and-a-half years, and I'm ready for a fresh start.  My next, and last, entry on this blog will direct readers to the new URL.

Cheers to 500 posts of laughter, triumphs, trials, and tears.  Thanks for hanging in there with me for so long.