Updating the blog

Boredom? Not me, EVER! Today as I waited for my hubby (who was taking longer than expected when we were supposed to be going somewhere), instead of drumming my fingers and whining, I decided "Hey! Let's use this time to mess with the blog!"
So I did...

So yes, I've been making changes to the blog. Hopefully you'll bear with me and let me know what you think. BE HONEST. It seemed to me that I have such a long blogroll, plus long lists of labels and archives, that a reader would have to scroll WAY down to see them. So I've done a few things:

• I've moved "this is me" (info about me and my blog) to a separate page, since it took up a lot of room. I figure that if you've been reading my blog for a while, it wasn't really necessary at the top of the blog. I've also made sure that my photo, still on the main page, links to my profile.
• Then I changed the single column on the right to 2 columns, so I can have my blogroll on one, but also the labels and archives more accessible, since I know I find these things useful when reading other blogs. I've looked at a lot of other blogs, and some people don't post the labels, but I know I use them a lot when looking for something specific. So the labels and also the archives will stay.
• I am experimenting with the sizes of the columns, but it is a problem because I cannot seem to change the size of my dragon. Hence filling in extra space with black.
  
• And finally, I'm experimenting with the ability to add pages. I thought, along with my "this is me" page, I'd also post a page about my art room. The page is now there, but honestly, it is kind of awful. Blogger is fighting me on this page and it is not at all what I intended.

Meanwhile, I realize that we art teachers are often easily distracted. I know I seem to be spending a good deal of time playing with Pinterest, and so are many of you, but I want to make my blog something you'll want to continue to read. ( I think, even though it's a whole lot of fun, that Pinterest might end up more of a passing fancy.)

I used to, every time I got a new follower, click on that person to see their profile and check out any blogs they might have, because I am interested in who is reading my nonsense. With 272 followers currently (yikes) that has gotten difficult to keep up with, and it makes me kind of sad. I like the friendships that develop with blogger colleagues, even though we may never meet face-to-face, and I don't want to lose that personal feeling with blogging.

So let me know what you think - and if there's anything I could/should do differently to keep the sense of collegiality that I so enjoy. Thanks!