Natalie Whatley

I know you’ve all been on the edge of your seats waiting for me to divulge the nature of the “big personal project” I alluded to last week. Your wait is over. 

Six months ago today, I introduced myself and stepped outside of my mostly anonymous existence as a stay-at-home wife and mother. Those who know what a loner I can be were probably a bit surprised. I enjoy solitude (as much as a mom of three can have), and tend to go my own way. Years of introspection regarding those facts, along with trying to decide if they were good or bad things, led me to the root cause – I was born that way. It was with some trepidation that I left my comfort zone to publicly dig up the parts of me that were buried as I traveled back through early childhood with my three children.

Writing this column has been loads of fun, interesting, and at times frustrating. It became stressful on a few late nights as I persevered through some “what have you gotten yourself into” moments while my deadline rapidly approached, and I had nothing to say. (Jeff is smirking, and sends his assurances on the rarity of that problem.) That negative has been more than balanced by those of you who let me know you enjoyed a particular article, or even better, me in general. I’m deeply humbled. Those words are gems as writers very much want to know if they’re hitting the target.

I’ve enjoyed this experience so very much that I’ve taken a rather large step for someone who always enjoyed living in anonymity. With a great deal of help and patience from Mike and Amanda at Vivid Evidence (www.vesol.com),   I now have my own website www.nataliewhatley.com.  

 I’m officially a “blogger”.  For those wondering just what in the heck that means: Blog is short for web log, and a blogger is one who writes a blog. I was a moron for many days before I could boast the new title.  Absolutely overwhelmed by some details, I questioned my mental fortitude on several occasions. Lucky for me, I had a couple of certified computer whizzes lighting my path.

You all have an open invitation. Come by and check it out. I’ve spent the past month getting all my articles there, and you can read by category and weed out what doesn’t interest you. All feedback (the good, the bad, and the ugly) is most welcome, and you may leave it by clicking on “comments” at the end of each article. You may also contact me with the information given on the “About me” page.

My immediate family is thrilled that I’m done with the site for now with the exception of weekly updates as I write new articles. I let the pantry run darn close to bare, and laundry took a back seat to learning all I could about site administration. Don’t tell them I’m already looking at new designs.

The site is very likely to evolve with me in the coming months. I’m not sure where it’s going, but I’d be honored to have you all along for the journey. You are my friends, and I welcome you to my world…as I attempt to keep it spinning on its axis.

© 2008 Natalie Whatley

Tags: new website