Your Favorite Posts of 2013

Last year I came up with an idea to look over my analytics and see which blog posts had the most views in the previous year.  I shared those stats with you in the Your Favorite Posts of 2012 entry.  At the time I pointed out that I was probably the only one who really cared about the numbers.  Well, it turns out I was right because that post was my least viewed post for the entire year with 49 views.  At least my sister, my wife and my mom all commented and said they liked it.  It's good to know that those who love me enjoy even my unpopular points.

Despite the fact that you guys were relatively uninterested last year, I enjoyed it so I'm doing it again.  Here are the most viewed posts of 2013.  (And, just like last year, I waited until March to tally the numbers so that any late comers to the game would have time to gather more views.  But since the loser was written in March, time was clearly not the biggest factor.)

So without further ado, here are your favorites:

1. A Morning Stroll With a Moose 873 views
This was a worthy choice for first place.  It was one of my favorite experiences of 2013, and it was totally unexpected.  Hanging out with a mommy and baby moose is the coolest thing ever!  Bonus:  The mommy didn't kill me.

2. Fat Guy in a Little Coat 854 views
What is more fun than a picture of a fat guy in his tiny coat?  Last year was the year of huge weight loss, and there are several posts like this where I look at old pictures and realize how far I've come.

3. Help us Start our Family  749 views
This is where we announced we were trying to adopt.  Friends, as well as strangers shared it on Facebook and we really felt loved.  We still need your help, so feel free to share the above blog post or our adoption profile directly with individuals who may be thinking about placing a child, or indirectly with your friends through social media.

4. Marriage Isn't Hard  652 views
I wrote this on Valentine's Day.  It was just some thoughts in response to what I had heard people say about marriage.  I was pleasantly surprised at the big response it got on Facebook.

5. Salt Lake ComiCon 2013 593 views
Who doesn't enjoy watching someone else geek out?  I have good news.  I bought tickets this year so there will be plenty more geeking out.

6. The Epic Monitronics Battle 506 views
I don't think these views were from my normal readers.  I think there are plenty of people battling against the tyranny of Monitronics.  Google lead them to me.  I hope I helped them fight their battles.

7. The Skinniest My Wife Has Ever Seen Me 467 views
As I mentioned above, last year was the year of weight loss.  This was pretty early on in the process, when I had lost enough weight that I was skinnier than when my wife met me.  Of course, this morning I was 227.2 which is about 43 pounds lighter than when I wrote this blog post.  But it was a big milestone at the time.

That was totally a good segway into this picture of the scale this morning, am I right?  Probably not, but I was proud of this, so I wanted to share it.

8. Victoria, British Columbia 446 views
Victoria was a beautiful city.  It was the last port on our Alaskan cruise last year.  I was a little surprised that this came above the posts about Alaska, not because I liked this city less than the Alaska ports but simply because I thought Alaska was a more popular destination.  I would enjoy taking a trip and spending several days exploring Victoria, Vancouver, and the surrounding area.

9. The Baby Food Challenge  440 views
Eating baby food is gross.  True story.

10. I Was Fat in Hawaii 396 views
Like #2 above, this was another one where I looked at old photos and realized how far I had come.

I hope you enjoyed last year's top ten.  If there's a post you think should make it next year, you vote by viewing and sharing, so make it so.

Your Favorite Posts of 2012

I like numbers.  They make me happy.  So I thought I'd examine the number of views that were associated with all of my posts last year.  I figure that's how you all voted for your favorite post.

I know that it's not entirely fair since January posts have had much longer than December posts to acquire views.  But you should know that the lowest views for the year was My Moment in (10% of) the Sun which was in June and only had 38 views, (apparently you guys hate solar eclipses).  So there were plenty of posts after that one that did just fine.  Plus, I waited all the way until March to give the December guys a chance to shine.

Without further ado, here are the top ten most viewed posts of 2012.


1.  Truly Awesome: Face Juggler (2052 views)
Everybody loves iphone apps that make good looking pictures atrocious.

2.  The Arm Folding Evangelist  (1964 views)
Sunbeam stories are always crowd favorites.  Who doesn't want to read about little girls that dance through church and preach about folded arms?

3.  The Time the Wind Blew my Wife's Clothes Off  (1551 views)
This one may have gotten a bump from google searches by people looking for something a little different.  But it's a great story.  I've even gotten permission from my wife to laugh about it.

4.  An open letter to I15 Construction Workers (1026 views)
I have great gladness that the construction has finally ended.

5.  Hawaii in Pictures  (416 views)
Who doesn't love Hawaii?

6.  Why My Coworkers Smell Like Hot Sauce  (388 views)
It's important to shower condiments on your coworkers.  That's how I roll.

7.  Road to Hana Part 2: The Pipiwai Trail and beyond  (360 views)
You should hike the Pipiwai trail.  It was worth the massive blister I got.

8.  Fun Facts About Hawaii  (238 views)
More Hawaii.  I'm noticing a theme.

9.  Bad Guys Eat Garbage  (212 views)
Primary kids always share such insightful things.

10. The Road to Hana  (207 views)
You guys really like to read about Hawaii.

There you have it.  The top ten are primarily about Hawaii, but there's some goodness from Primary Kids, some awkward moments, and just a dash of ranting.  You guys probably don't care about the numbers as much as I do.  But I find them fascinating, and since it's my blog, you got to partake.