A year in the blogosphere

January marks my one-year anniversary of being a blogger. I’m not exactly sure what that means, but I feel like there should be cake. When I first started I wondered if I could possibly have enough to say to keep this site interesting. I suppose when one has opinions ranging from park running etiquette to green beans to the issues that are bound to come up in our children's therapy later, I should have known I might write regularly. As for the "interesting" part, well, that's not for me to judge.

If you are thinking of starting a blog yourself, allow me to share a few things I have learned over the last 12 months. First and foremost, asterisks are more powerful here. No longer the step-child of punctuation, the asterisk in the blogging world is used in a fuller capacity to illustrate *laughing* or the *sigh* or more serious bodily functions such as *wetting my pants*. I couldn't believe its effectiveness the first time I read something that way, and now I celebrate my friend the asterisk.

Secondly, italics and bold have largely been trumped by the ALL CAPS feature. Gone are the days of making your letters darker to let people know that you mean it, NOW WE HAVE ALL CAPS.

Third, periods are overused for emphasis. It’s. Quite. Effective.

You should probably also know that commenting in your own comment section is not looked down upon. I still struggle with this. Nevertheless, I am warming up to the idea that in the blogosphere, subscribing to the "everybody's doing it" philosophy won't necessarily land you in jail or encourage underage drinking, but it will make you appear more popular as you beef up your comment numbers.

Going into my second year, I'm hoping to make my site look cooler and figure out someday how to finally get my widgets on. In the meantime, thanks for coming along for the ride. And a word for those who comment, you have no idea the power you hold over me. If comments were crack, I'd have to attend weekly meetings.

Now, about that cake....