Monthly Archives: December 2010

When I started this blog my 12-year-old was a baby, and I was experimenting with HTML, publishing online and getting over my shyness about sharing publicly what I had previously only ever written in my journal. I continue to keep a written journal that I have written in every day since I was 12. Writing in my journal is an important ritual in my day. Writing this blog and opening up a dialogue with my readers has blessed me beyond measure and really opened up my world.

Brnwebgrrl was my first blog, and I started i before it was actually called blogging. I had what was referred to as a, ‘personal home page,’ or an, ‘online journal.’ I wrote about my life as a single mom, working in a non-profit and trying to heal from the break-up of an eight-year long relationship. My readers encouraged me and made me feel like what I was saying mattered to someone. My first website did not have any kind of built-in commenting function as I had hand-coded the site myself, so my followers just emailed me. Funny how in those days it was safe to put your email address right on your website, right? After awhile I found a commenting widget that I added to the sidebar and my site became more interactive.

I learned and grew and as the technology developed I moved from a free server–fortunepages.com–and bought my own domain name and hosting account. Finally, in 2008 it became clear that hand coding an HTML page by hand made no sense with all of the cool blogging systems available, so I switched over to Wordpress and abandoned my old website.

But now it seems that it is time to say farewell to brnwebgrrl. I gave my site that name because when I first got started online in 1996, I was only ever meeting older, white men who were online creating websites and exploring online publishing. But now so many of the dreams I held back then have come true. I’ve got my own successful online business which allows me to do work that I love from home. That business has taken up so much of my life and it deserves my attention because it is my offering to the world and my livelihood. I have been neglecting this blog to the point where it no longer makes sense to keep it up and only post once a month.

About a year ago I finally purchased evelynbourne.com, and that will be the home of my personal blog. I will be writing about what is going on in my life and in my business and on the topic of personal development. My business blog, A Productive Pen will remain and on that blog I will focus on writing and marketing.

So, as this amazing year comes to an end, so does this blog that has been like a close friend to me for the past 12 years. It has been my confidante and it has forced me to break out of my comfort zone and speak what is in my heart. It has allowed me to meet some amazing people and connect on a deep level with others that I may never meet.

As I kiss my girl, brnwebgrrl goodbye, I invite you to stop by my newest blogging project, which is my 31 Intentions Blog. Because 2010 was such a fabulous year for me, I wanted to challenge myself to take a solid month and write a positive intention for each day to set the tone for the coming New Year. I also wanted to express my sincere gratitude for all of the wonderful blessings of the year that has gone by. So, please visit, http://31intentions.evelynbourne.com, and leave a comment. I’m also welcoming guest bloggers who want to share a post about their intentions.

Thank you to everyone who has visited this blog and left encouraging comments. They mean more to me than you know. I covet your continued support with my other blogging projects as I move into another level of greatness in 2011.

I am blessed and honored to be a part of a fabulous group of women who all live and work here in D.C. We get together quarterly for ‘Girls’ Night Out,’ events where we take full advantage of living in this fabulous city that is our nation’s capitol. Last night we had our final GNO of 2010, and we ended the year with a flourish by visiting the White House for the Christmas Open House. It was a lovely evening after these days of bitter, freezing temperatures it was in the 40’s. We walked through the East Wing admiring the decorations and snapping photos every now and then.

There was a live band playing Christmas music and there was an air of happy festivity.

After our White House tour, we walked across the street to Old Ebbet’s Grill for dinner. For each Girls’ Night Out, one member takes on the task of purchasing gifts for everyone. Last night it was Kim’s night to shine. When we arrived at our table, there was a gift bag and a small, white pastry box tied with ribbon at each place setting. While we enjoyed our appetizers, Kim asked each person to look on the tag that was attached to each bag and read the number. As each woman read the number on her bag, she had to sing ther verse to the song, ‘The Twelve Days of Christmas’ that went with that number. I drew the number seven, so my verse was, ’seven swans a swimming.’ Then we opened our bags to find a Christmas tree ornament adorned with that number and an image, mine being a swan. We also got a bottle of sparkling wine and Godiva chocolates.

We enjoyed a lovely supper laughing and chatting and catching up with each other. One of the women recently got married in October, so we celebrated her, and we debated some of the hot topics of the day and just enjoyed each other.

I love my sister-girlfriends and I look forward to our next event, which is scheduled for some time in March.