Why I love my blog

Well, that title kind of came out wrong.  I don't mean why I love my blog significantly more than any other blog out there.  I suppose I should title this post "One of the many reasons why I've found value in maintaining a regular blog" - but I'm trying to work on being more concise, okay?

One of my goals for February, being near the start of 2012 and all, was to order prints for many of the photos I took in 2011 and organize them into an album.  You'll notice that I didn't say all of the photos I took in 2011.  I left out some gems.  You know what they say.  Can't print 'em all.

It's apparent that, since I launched Miles and Laurel in late May 2011, I took just an absolute slew of completely junky photos.  But keeping up with my blog - a pursuit that turned daily in November - prompted me to start carrying my camera with me most of the time, to be able to snap a photo of the kooky, beautiful, quirky sights around me.  And that made me start to notice those sights more, which made me take more photos.  So while it's true that I have a bunch of goofy photos of grapefruit and squash and clouds, I also unintentionally ended up with a yearbook for what my city looked like in 2011.

Going through all of the photos and selecting enough to print for my 2011 album also reminded me of everything that happened last year, which sounds like I just have a poor memory but is another reason why keeping a regular blog is so helpful.  Sure, I will always remember that Josh and I traveled to two wonderful out-of-state weddings in 2011, but I might easily have forgotten about the slugs that crawled on Lopez Island or the maple ice cream I tasted in Vermont or how tall Sara's basil plants were last summer.  I want to remember those life details just as much.  If taking more photos accomplishes that - heck, I'll keep doing it.

Over the last few years, I've printed photos out sparingly and sporadically, usually after a big race or a trip.  Picasa and Facebook - and now Miles and Laurel - have done an adequate job of holding them for me.  But today I ordered more than 400 prints, thanks to a really good deal I found at Snapfish advertising 4x6 prints for only 3 cents each (use code febprints). I can't wait to get an enormous envelope in the mail, chock full of 2011 - and then get them into a book.

What about you, Reader?  Do you still print out photos, or do you keep them online?  Do you put 'em in piles, like I am prone to doing, or do you have a more organized system?

Happy weekend!