500

It is hard for me to believe that this is my 500th post on this blog. I say this blog, because I originally blogged in xanga. Some of you might be too young in blog years to remember Xanga, but basically it's what got me here. I've been thinking about this post and what I would write, and I felt pressure to make it more special that just a post about my underwear eating dog or a make-up recommendation.

I thought about going back through my entire blog and picking out my favorite posts, but how on earth would I chose? I'm real big on picking favorites, but this blog catalogues my life starting with my oat-sowing days in Austin, to moving to Chicago, to meeting my husband, to making new friends, to losing old friends, to surviving marriage & adapting to in-laws, to moving across the country to the south, so it's too hard to nail down a handful of favorites.

I did go back and read the very first post to this blog, and I thought it would be the best reflection of a blog milestone.

Thursday, September 23, 2004

Ribbon Cutting Ceremony
Welcome to the inaugural post of the new blog! I hope you like what you see. I'm extremely open to criticism and suggestions!!! What's missing? Is there too much of something? Please let me know...We've been working REALLY hard on this for the past week.

I feel I should probably explain why I got a new blog in the first place. I really felt like I had found my niche as a blogger. . . I have figured out what kind of blog writer I want to be and have developed my very own style, so I decided it was time to graduate to blogger. Now, I can have a little more control on the look & feel & order of my posts. I like that. . . (I'm putting those spaces in just for you!)

I also like the fact that only a few of you will know about this, and it can grow from there. I will post a more normal entry later. Thank you for coming, we can now cut the ribbon.

Funny, if you asked me today what kind of blog writer I am I wouldn't have a good answer for you. I do know that blogs have come a long way since then. The Pioneer Woman recently won the award for Best Weblog at SXSW. To me, The Pioneer Woman changed the face of blogging and many of you (and I) have her to thank (in my honest opinion) for the current popular style of blogging where pictures tell most of our story and we fill in the blanks with words. If you go back and skim through the beginning of my blog you might go through months of archives and maybe find one photo. Times they are a changin'!

The more I've thought about that lately, the more I've been thinking about the kind of blog writer I am and the kind of blog writer I want to be. I'm thinking of getting back to the ways of vintage style blog writing where quality was more important than quantity. And now that that pressure is off, I will take cues from the great blog writers of today and remember to always include a picture.

That was me then, and this is me now.