1.31.2007

Schmogiversary

Some words make me cringe: Prezzies. Panties. Hubby and all its derivations: Hubs, the Hubs, the Hubster. It's the inner William Safire in me, (the grammarian William Safire, not the Republican mouthpiece William Safire) or maybe just the fact that I'm an anal-retentive Virgo who likes real words just fine enough--which, I know, doesn't really explain my distaste for panties. It just sounds porny.

Ugh, I hate the word porny.

Above all, I really don't like the word Blogiversary, despite the fact that far better people than I are using it. Maybe because it seems like an outdated Friends reference, or maybe just because I'm weird.

But that seems to be the word we're saddled with and so, I take a deep breath and say,
This week is my blogiversary.
Yes, it's been one whole solar calendar year since my first confession, despite the date stamp on my very first posts which might lead you to believe that it's been one year and a couple of days. I wrote that "first" post a day later then backdated it. Then I wrote the backstory and backdated that before the first one. Pathetic, huh? What can I say, it doubled my archives at the time.

One year ago, I didn't really know what a blog was. I thought html was pronounced "hatemail." I certainly didn't think I'd still be here today, not with actual readers and advertisers and writing opportunities and blog friends, and certainly not with so many blogfriends turned flesh-and-blood friends. And certainly not with so many lame-o press releases from behemoth PR companies showing up in my in-box weekly. Hey Mom101, love your blog! Do you want to talk about our new Splenda-filled pudding packs on your site? It will be a GREAT fit with your content! Don't you always talk about giving your 19 month old daughter chemicals to snack on? Plus, in return, we'll send you THREE twenty-five cents off coupons.

And lord knows I never thought I'd have a second blog that would slowly turn into an actual business with a real business partner and super committed writers and (gulp) an accountant. How did that happen?

So I'd like to take this opportunity, this blogi-[mumble mumble] to pay it forward.

I'd like to acknowledge my very first person-who-didn't-know-me commenter, a guy named Freethinker. I don't know much about him except that he must have hit "next blog" at the top of the blogger randomizer and come across mine, and he in his infinite mercy and kindness left me a comment. Here. In my bad haiku post. You can still see it.

So how did I respond?

I didn't.

I clicked over to his blog and wow, he was very popular. I think he had nine comments that day. He knew how to post photos. He had a blogroll! I was intimidated. And maybe a little freaked out, as the realization struck that anyone could read what I wrote here, not just my mother and Nate's sisters and Hally.

I did not comment back.

To this day, I'm kicking myself for it.

And so, if you have ever enjoyed anything here at Mom101, I ask that you help me right a wrong, do penance for the ultimate blogging sin. In honor of my [that one year thing with the word I hate], mosey on over to FreeThoughtGuy and just say yo...

Because I think he's a really really nice guy. And nice guys deserve a million comments every single day.

Maybe next week I'll honor my first troll.

All sarcasm aside, thanks for being here. Thanks for reading, thanks for supporting, and above all, thanks for keeping me writing.

It means everything.


69 Comments:

Blogger Me said...

Is porny a word?

For the record I always hated the word panties too. Sounded too perverted and sexual. But... then I had little girls and somehow 'underwear' turned into calling them 'big girl panties'.

I still cringe when I hear 'other people' say the word panties though. LOL.

And I HAVE ALWAYS HATED THE WORD BLOG.

Hate.
It.

1/31/07, 9:35 AM  
Blogger S said...

Congratulations! You do inspire the rest of us.

1/31/07, 9:43 AM  
Blogger Movin Mom said...

YO!

Porny? it rhymes with horny and I hate that word....actually I hate the word hate.

BUT I do use the word HUb and hubby I didn't know you were getting your "panties all in a wad...Is Husband better? hee hee

I guess I should just call him movin; dad?

Schmogiversary? Sounds like something Willy Wonka created! YUM-O

well...congrats to you, I don't have to tell you that you ROCK, and now I will head over to freethinker!!

1/31/07, 9:46 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

In honor of your blogiversary, I'm wearing panties!

1/31/07, 9:58 AM  
Blogger sarah doow said...

Happy anniversary! I've enjoyed reading your blog for ages now, so here's to many more years of keeping me entertained.

Oh, and ...

knickers.

1/31/07, 9:59 AM  
Blogger Rachel said...

Happy Anniversary! Thanks for sharing your writing with us.

1/31/07, 10:10 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Awwwww!! Happy...um....Dayyoustartedyourblog Day!

And, I don't like the words "fork", "tail" or "arm". Does that count for something? Or am I just nuts?

1/31/07, 10:15 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Happy Anniversary!

I'm with you on the despised words list (with two kindergarten children in my house "hate" and "stupid" are forbidden words). I'll never type the other-word-that-means-anniversary even if I could remember how to spell it. It always looks wrong when I see it. And awkward to pronounce. But maybe that's me.

1/31/07, 10:18 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Word snob here too. Big time.

And as I told Cath, I'm so thankful that I had the opportunity to meet you (and now work with you) through this forum. The world is a big place, and I'm glad I managed to find you in it.

1/31/07, 10:28 AM  
Blogger Mayberry said...

Happy ... you know. So glad to have met you both online and even in real life too!

(And might I add: preggers/preggo. Ick.)

1/31/07, 10:35 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY. Let's have cake!PS: I can handle panties, it's the word vomit that makes my skin crawl.

1/31/07, 10:35 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

a toast to you and your blog! hurrah -- lucky us! you're a thoughtful, funny, clever talented writer and new posts from you make me happy.

i too hate the word panties. even with 2 4-yr-olds in my house, we don't use that word. ditto preggers. and also moxie. and kudos. and lovey. and mommyblogger -- god i hate that term. it is so diminutive.

ok. shutting up now.

1/31/07, 11:40 AM  
Blogger Mahlers On Safari said...

Thanks for another shout out! It made me rush and get out my latest new blog :)

I am glad to have been one of the first and one of the most devoted fans of Mom-101. Congrats on your anniversary.

1/31/07, 11:49 AM  
Blogger suburbankamikaze said...

Happy Blogoversary.
It is a stupid word and I will never be using it again. But I had to write because 1. Your posts had me laughing vitamin water out of my nose, and 2. I am also a fan of Safire, the grammarian, and 3. I wanted to pimp a post on my site (see, I will not call it a "blog") wherein I discuss/engage in the practice of using the word "panties" in a crass attempt to boost a piece of writing's appeal.
See for yourself. www.suburbankamikaze.typepad.com
Congratulations, SK

1/31/07, 11:55 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I don't like the word panties either. Sounds too personal. My husband and his brother use the word "gaunchies" which is supposedly Canadian and may just apply to the boys' version. Unfortunately, it just sounds like they're in need of a wash.

1/31/07, 12:01 PM  
Blogger metro mama said...

It's been a pleasure.

1/31/07, 12:03 PM  
Blogger Girl con Queso said...

Happy Day. Very glad you're here. Let us eat cake.

1/31/07, 12:07 PM  
Blogger Stefania Pomponi Butler aka CityMama said...

I hate the words "sammie" and "brekkie." And "blogsphere."

Happy Anniversary of Your Blog! I'm delighted everytime my Bloglines feed alerts me that you've posted something new!

1/31/07, 12:11 PM  
Blogger Redneck Mommy said...

Happy Anniversary Liz! As I've been stalking you for almost the entirety of your blogging life, I can tell you what a pleasure it has been.

As for the word 'panties', well mostly I don't wear them, so I don't bother with the word much. Wink, wink. Was that an overshare?

It's the word GONCH that my son uses that creeps me out. Lisse had it right. It just sounds dirty.

1/31/07, 12:18 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Happy birthday, Mom101 blog! Cocktails on me next time I see you.

1/31/07, 12:22 PM  
Blogger Christina said...

Happy blog anniversary! I'm glad to have met you here and in real life.

Just think, we'll both have new babies to show off at BlogHer 07 this year! Come to think of it, they'd better have a pretty large lactation room for all of the new moms in the blog world!

1/31/07, 12:43 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I think it's blogoriffic that you've been posting for an entire year! And I see you've masted posting pictures...way to go!

Now about those delicious, mouth-watering pudding packs...mmmmmm

On an unrelated note, it appears Blogger wants me to correctly spell the president of Iran's name before my comment will post. What is this, Al-Jazeera?

1/31/07, 12:47 PM  
Blogger Chris said...

Happy Anniversary!

1/31/07, 1:43 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

hey! it's my birthday next week too. weird.

also hate the word panties, and pants for that matter. i like knicker and trousers.

i like the word prezzies a lot.

1/31/07, 1:50 PM  
Blogger pixie sticks said...

I hate the word "hoodie" but in fact, love actual hoddies. Such a dilemma. It's hard to be me. So happy that you started this whole thing. Love Mom 101 and Cool Mom Picks. Congratulations!

1/31/07, 2:03 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Happy one year since you started this thing that some call a blog!

I've already paid my respect to FreethoughtGuy per your wishes.

I also want to say that I'm very glad you decided to blog, and to join up with your business partner to make CMP happen. I love working with you both.

Thanks for writing!

1/31/07, 2:11 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Doh, that was obviously me. :-)

1/31/07, 2:14 PM  
Blogger Binky said...

Panties is my least favortie word, too. What a co! And Mrs. Chicken on her blog today was just talking about how she hates the word "moist"...which brings us to moist panties, and that is most definitely porny.

Congratulations on your blogiv...I mean, your first blog birthday. This is probably a good time to mention that I truly appreciate the support you've shown me over the past year. The award, links and comments mean a lot coming from someone as talented as you. Here's to another year even richer than the last.

1/31/07, 2:26 PM  
Blogger Jenn said...

This coming from someone who created the word SigOth. =op

Happy 1st Anniversary of Blogging!

1/31/07, 2:27 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Happy anniversary. I think you are a tremendous writer. You're usually the first blog I check in with everyday.

When I hit my 1 yr, I think I owe a big shout out to you b/c you were one of the first to comment on my blog. So, you are endeared to me forever!

What are prezzies?

How about the word "spendy"? I learned recently from my east coast friends that I'm the first one they've heard say that "word" - some kind of a regional thing, I guess.

I'm guilty of the hubby thing. Husband just sounds so formal sometimes.

1/31/07, 2:31 PM  
Blogger freethoughtguy said...

.
"Next Blog" button magic

Who knows what can be found

Sometimes you hit jackpot.

1/31/07, 2:58 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Happy Blog Anniversary! (I, too, am not so fond of blogiversary. It just sounds...silly) but I've used hubz before even though I'm not wild about it. There just aren't any short, easy nicknames for "husband."

But what's up with panties? Almost every woman I know recoils at the word. It's not on my list but these are:

mani-pedi
hella
nourish
wound


Blech!!!!

1/31/07, 3:08 PM  
Blogger Lara said...

many happy returns to you, liz, on this day(ish) we celebrate the first day of your blog. (did i successfully avoid using words that annoy you?)

much love to you, from a great admirer who has been infinitely inspired and supported by your work. :)

1/31/07, 3:20 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Well then, happy whateverthehellyouwanttocallit.

1/31/07, 3:48 PM  
Blogger Jess Riley said...

I just commented over there three times by accident. Me = Dork

Anyway, hey, I met you around this time last year, too! And I knew you were something special. I said to myself, "This girl's got spunk, a great sense of humor, and she knows her way around a sentence. She's going places." And look at you now! :)

1/31/07, 5:14 PM  
Blogger PunditMom said...

How about Happy Schmog-iversary? Sorry, I know that's not very Safire-like!

I have really enjoyed reading your blog, your writing is great and your sense of humor (and sense of the absurd) is even better!

Here's to year number 2!

1/31/07, 5:22 PM  
Blogger MrsFortune said...

GOD! I hate, hate hate the word panties. Seriously. I knew me and you was soul sistahz. It is such a creepy word. And especially if you say it and really ennunciate the "t". Can you say child porn?

Happy pantiversary, buddy. :0) My days wouldn't be the same without Mom-101. And you were one of MY first commenters. See, I get to say I knew you when ...

1/31/07, 5:25 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I hate panties too. Wearing them and the actual word.

Happy anniversary of your online journal. So glad to know you.

1/31/07, 5:30 PM  
Blogger Tanya Espanya said...

I don't even know how I ended up at this site, but it's now bookmarked and I have to read all past posts...thanks, like I have nothing better to do with my time? :p

Anyway, I agree with most commenters about the words they don't like, and would like to add: Snack. I am okay with it now, but really hated it when I was in my late teens.

1/31/07, 5:46 PM  
Blogger MamaChristy said...

Happy, um, blog-i-whatisit. Glad you are popular because I like you lots. You're fun. And probably pretty, too. ;)

1/31/07, 6:54 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Your blogiversary makes me so Porny.

1/31/07, 7:00 PM  
Blogger B said...

Happy blanniversary. In honor of your big day I thought of you today, acted on it, blogged about it, and linked you-twice!

High five back at cha!

1/31/07, 7:03 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I thought html was pronounced "hatemail."

This made me laugh really hard, because it was just a few days ago that I cottoned on to what WYSIWYG stands for. All this time I've been calling it "wuhwhysiwig".

I'm so glad you blog.

1/31/07, 7:25 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I also don't like "prezzies", or "sammy" for sandwich. I can't stand blouse or trousers, but my least favorite word?

Slacks. Gives me the willies. Happy StartingABlogDay! And look, Free Thinker left you a Haiku comment. Very cool.

1/31/07, 7:59 PM  
Blogger Jennifer Kim said...

happy blogiversary, mom-101, and congrats on all your subsequent success -- it's all very well-deserved.

btw, i agree with you on the lameness of the "blogiversary" term... sounds like something that an ad person would come up with.

heh.

(fellow ad person here, i've commented once before)

1/31/07, 9:41 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hello! I came to your site from Two Okapis... this post made me laugh! I share nearly all of your word aversions as well. You're brave to even type them out...

SeaBird

1/31/07, 10:18 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I've got no clue whem my schmogiversary is... I also hate fake words. Happy Day to you, all the same!

1/31/07, 10:54 PM  
Blogger ms blue said...

Oh another celebration!

Cake. Ice Cream. Balloons and haikus...

Congrats!

1/31/07, 11:20 PM  
Blogger ms blue said...

Oh another celebration!

Cake. Ice Cream. Balloons and haikus...

Congrats!

1/31/07, 11:20 PM  
Blogger ms blue said...

That was a two for one comment!

1/31/07, 11:21 PM  
Blogger Lady M said...

Happy One-Year!

I can't believe it's only been one year. You've had a lot of influence in the blog world. Your posts were the first I read that made me say, "I'm thinking that! I'm feeling that!" Thanks!

1/31/07, 11:41 PM  
Blogger GIRL'S GONE CHILD said...

Happy one-year! You're awesome. One of my favorite writers and people and I am so glad you started this blog and continue to inspire me and make me thing. Love to you.

2/1/07, 12:01 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I don't remember the day you started blogging, but I remember the day I started reading you. I laughed my butt off. You also made me think. That's a pretty wicked combination. Happy Blogaversary.

2/1/07, 12:38 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Porny sounds like a small horse in heat.

I hate the word "bleat."

And I am so thankful I "met" you here and in real life. You give so much to the world. Here's to another wonderful year.

2/1/07, 1:46 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Thank you back. Your blog doesn't look a day over 6 months, and I mean that in the good way.

2/1/07, 2:12 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

You've only been at it a year? You've come a long way in a short amount of time.

I've been at it for a year too this month, and I remember how thirlled I was to get a comment from you, a popular blogger.

Thanks for making me think on more than one ocassion. Happy blog day.

2/1/07, 4:02 AM  
Blogger karengreeners said...

Mazel tov on your one-year celebration!

2/1/07, 8:24 AM  
Blogger Her Bad Mother said...

Hey! I said that I DIDN'T like blogiversary - which is why I went for blog birthday!

I also don't like the word crotch.

(Happy blog birthday!)

2/1/07, 9:15 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Word issues? I just cringe when words like "bling" work their way into the office vernacular. Anytime I hear a co-worker or a news anchor or reality show contestant invoke hip colloquialisms, I swear I can hear John Donne rolling in his grave!

I praise the day you started your blog! As the mother of a two-year-old, it's like a big dollop of sanity on my heaping plate of crazy!

Hugs to you!

2/1/07, 9:17 AM  
Blogger Damselfly said...

Yeah, I love William Safire's grammar stuff. (Wouldn't he hate that sentence?!)

The online world is making up new words all the time. Like blog. Congrats on a year of blogging! I'll be there myself in a few weeks.

2/1/07, 12:56 PM  
Blogger Cristina said...

You were the first mom blog I ever read. I have always loved your style and am so glad you started blogging! Congrats!

2/1/07, 4:28 PM  
Blogger j.sterling said...

happy blogaverse hooker! no one does it better than you. lol

2/1/07, 5:19 PM  
Blogger Fairly Odd Mother said...

Happy Anniversary Baby, got you on my mi-----ind.

Only one year? How did I live without you? Congrats on the milestone.

2/1/07, 9:58 PM  
Blogger Fairly Odd Mother said...

Happy Anniversary Baby, got you on my mi-----ind.

Only one year? How did I live without you? Congrats on the milestone.

2/1/07, 9:59 PM  
Blogger Amy Jo said...

Congrats! And just to add to the list, in southwestern Pennsylvania (where I grew up), they call panties 'gutchies.' Even typing that word gives me the creeps!

2/2/07, 11:05 AM  
Blogger Ruth Dynamite said...

I love reading your blog posts - always entertaining, intelligent, and insightful. Happy one-year thingiversary. Many more!

2/2/07, 1:07 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Happy Blogiversary, Liz! (Gawd, I hate the word Hubby, too. And even worse? 'DH')

2/2/07, 2:30 PM  
Blogger PetiteMommy said...

Happy blogiversary...

I started reading your blog last spring...I think...
Anyway, I dont like using the word hubs either but I guess I'll use it for now.

2/4/07, 1:15 PM  
Blogger the mystic said...

Awww... happy (something something)! I have become such a slacker at blog reading/commenting, but you are always at the top of my list to keep up with!

(Sorry for ending a sentence with a preposition, in case you're a grammar snob too! ;))

2/7/07, 1:49 AM  

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