Image by Ask America via Flickr
Seems everyone has a year in review article on their blog or newsite this time of year. And why not? Ain’t nothing happening on the web or in the world so what better time to look back at the end of the year than at the end of the year?
Of course we aren’t going to look back at world events because Time Magazine has done that already and why reinvent the wheel? I’m all about working smarter and not harder, though the smarter part still eludes me just a little but as soon as that last kid goes off to college in 10 years I might figure it out, or be dead, either one works for me.
Nope, we are going to look back at my year because it’s my blog and I know you are all really interested in what I did this year. Of course, most of you know since you read the blog but that’s unimportant right now. I have space to fill and dammit I am going to fill it.
In February I helped the blogosphere out by explaining exactly how not to leave a comment. I still haven’t gotten this one right myself and I created all kinds of anxiety in my readers. Hat Tip to Margaret from Nannygoatsinpanties for writing a post I could seemingly relate to.
I threw my hat in the ring and decided it was time to start a relationship even if the other attempts hadn’t gone so well. I even announced it on my blog and met a guy who later disappeared but not before giving me some great blog fodder.
I had a thing for Canada. I don’t know why but for some reason Canada just makes me giggle. I wrote three posts about Canada and to this day I still don’t know anything about Canada except that some great bloggers live there like Nicky, Mike and Dufus but clearly my geography skills are still lacking when it comes to Canada.
I told everyone about the blogs I hate and struck a nerve with a lot of people. I then went on to explain why I hate blog awards and have gotten no more than three since writing that post.
My son broke his right arm which freed him up to do all kinds of other things and I saw a celebrity, two of the highlights of my year.
I made it official and wrote down the rules of lawn mowing. During the summer I saw a spike in traffic every Saturday morning from this post. You’re welcome.
I had a smack down or two and I explained why I drink.
My son applied to college, Just ten more years and I’m free!
We had a death in the family which really cemented the whole blogger thing for me, not that it needed cementing but it really drove home to me how I will go to any length for my readers.
And finally I met some great friends. Truth be told I knew these people before this year but the relationships grew. I still haven’t actually met any of these people but one day I will, probably in ten years.
Kathy, one of the nicest bloggers in the world even if she eats dinner at 4pm and is in bed by 8pm.
Margaret, if she didn’t have a blog I couldn’t have written most of my best articles.
Tracy, Chicken in a can says it all and I will never look at food the same way.
Jayne, she’s got a size 4 ass and I don’t, but I love her anyway.
Babs, because she never goes to sleep and her laugh is infectious.
Boom Boom, I don’t know any strippers in real life and for having one of the longest blog names ever.
There are so many more, and some of them I already linked to in the post so don’t go getting all in my face, that there isn’t enough room to mention everyone here. There is, but I have to take a kid to a friend’s house so I just don’t have time. Maybe in ten years.
I forgot Linda! Will you forgive me Linda? http://thegoodthebadtheworse.blogspot.com/ and yes I could go and edit the page but damn if that isn’t work. Think of this as your spotlight.
And, I’m still waiting on that iPad.
I think this might be a case of too little, too late. Better move to Canada for safety.
I’m already almost there, remember I can see it from my backyard. Canada Canada that is not More Canada or Even More Canada and I certainly can’t see OMG Still More Canada. I bet it’s really cold up there.
Some day I want to take a road trip, with you, to OMG Still More Canada. I bet they have really fun accents up there.
Meh … I’ve lived with racial profiling all me life. It’s only effective on white people.
Well, I know you’ve had an interesting especially with the launch of Tribal Blogs.
Babs beating Kathy to staying up late. Clearly, one of them stopped ageing at 25 🙂
And I totally forgot to link to you in the Canada series! See, I suck at
this.
I think they both stopped aging but Babs can stay up way later than Kathy.
However, Kathy did shut down the slumber party not too long ago, and I think
it was past 10pm so she can do it if she really wants to.
“I think it was past 10pm so she can do it if she really wants to. ” Total fluke. It’ll never happen again.
It will if there is chocolate involved. Anything is possible with chocolate and don’t try to deny it, I saw the cake.
Hey yang! I’m so glad I didn’t have to get all up in your face. You’re the coolest redhead I’ve ever met.
And because of you, I laughed every time I worked on the 500-piece map of the US we got for Christmas. All across the top is More Canada, Canada, Even More Canada and OMG Even More Canada.
I seriously had no idea Saskatchewan straddled More Canada and Canada. Keep on rockin’ the casbah in 2011!
Tell me about it, I giggle every time I see a map of Canada or someone asks
where something in Canada is because “Even More Canada” doesn’t cut it in
the real world.
I ask people all the time if they’ve ever been to More Canada. They never know what I’m talking about. But it makes me bust a gut laughing.
I’m still waiting to meet someone from OMG More Canada, I’m not sure anyone really lives there but I bet they are hardy folk and hopefully with a good sense of humor.
You said straddled.
Yes I did Beavis. Or is that Butthead?
(heh, heh)
Aww damn! I didn’t make the cut either. I thought for sure I’d get in for TMI. Oh well, blog pally, we’ll still be meeting up sometimes, probably in the new year.
Haha! Lola http://lolasdiner.blogspot.com/ I seriously thought about the TMI
thing and then some kid of mine started screaming and the thought was lost.
Yes, we will most definitely get together in the new year. And, I think I
have known you longer than all the others if memory serves me. I think you
were one of the first blogs I started reading. Can that be? Have you been
blogging that long?
I’ve been blogging since October 2008.
Ooh! I made your list! I just worked out that Kathy goes to bed UK time, and I go US time.
I was far too polite to ask what happened to the ‘New relationship’ guy, but what happened?
Yes and since it’s probably almost 6 in Kathy’s world and nearly 11 your
time she’s probably asleep while you’ll be up for a few more hours.
Honestly I don’t really know what happened to him. He had his reasons at the
time but now that I think back on it I think that might have been him being
polite, or else he died.
I am laughing my ASS off here! Yes, Babs. We have swapped time zones and I don’t know what that says about either of us. I guess that I’m the dud of the party and you are the LIFE!
Jen — Thanks for mentioning me, except for the part about outing me as an 80 year old woman.
Here’s to a brilliant and hilarious 2011! You’re gonna be famous. Not for any goodwill efforts. I’m certain it’ll be because you piss off just the right celebrity and you get 10,000,000 hits to your site because of it. Hey, I had a hand in taking down Frito-Lay for their stupid Sun Chips bags. You can do better than that!
I would never call you a dud Kathy. I’d have the whole blogging world on my case! I don’t have to get up for work, and that makes a whole lot of difference. I was in bed by 11pm every night back when.
I don’t think Kathy has ever stayed up to 11 even when she didn’t have to go to work. And I think it’s funny that you think 11 is early. Oh my, now I sound like Kathy.
OK, but you say 11PM like that’s early. Jen’s dead on when she says I’m in bed by 8PM. It’s really sad and I know it. I fell asleep at 7:30 Monday night and this is a week when I’m on vacation. Explain that.
I can’t explain that!
I didn’t have to get up until 6:30 the earliest. That gave me more than 7 hours. That’s enough sleep isn’t it?
It’s the way me muvva put me ‘at on!
*It’s the way me muvva put me ‘at on! *Is that cockney or did you have your
hands on the wrong part of the keyboard. What the heck does that mean?
And no, 7 hours is not enough sleep.
I don’t know what Babs is talking about! Make her stop! Muvva? What the hell?
Oh, and Babs, I get up at 4AM, so is that something? Is that good? Yes, I deem that good.
“That’s the way me mother put me hat on”
Why would the way a hat was put on would that have anything to do with going
to bed at a decent time?
If I was going to out you as an old person I would have mentioned the doilies or the driving issues, I didn’t mention those.
I never thought of trying to piss off a celebrity, which one do you think I should try to piss off? Mel Gibson would be way too easy but there has to be one that’s annoying and popular at the same time.
You’re killing me. You’re lucky I like you.
Hmmm, I think you should piss off Betty White. Everybody likes her. She’s untouchable. Go forth and get famous, girl.
But I like Betty White and don’t want to piss her off because she can deck
me any time she wants to. Plus if I piss her off I piss off the whole
internet and while that might make for some good traffic for a day I might
get wikileaked and that would suck.
Oh Jen, this review rocks! Especially the comments section with me in the spotlight! “Rebel Rebel, you tore your dress!”
What? You tore your dress? Are you going to make me google that. Oh wait, is
that a song? It’s on the tip of my tongue, don’t tell me.
See, this is what happens when you have kids. David Bowie (that’s right I
actually had to ask the google) gets displaced by iCarly and
Hannah Montana theme songs. It’s really very sad.
I still don’t understand the reference.
As a relative newcomer I have a lot of reading to do on your blog to catch up.
Exes provide tons of fodder for blog posts. Being an ex I have provided tons of potential fodder. So far I haven’t fallen on any ex-girlfriends’ who have decided to reveal the truth.
Exes do provide great blog fodder which is why I am so willing to get married again, it’s all for the blog.
Wow, that was a year! And I was oblivious to it all! Damn!
Well, one of my 2011 things will be to get more involved with this Tribal group. Kathy made me join, but I haven’t really settled in yet.
Maybe I’ll make next year’s review. I’ll just hope it’s not in the “blogs I hate” division. 🙂
Happy New Year, Jen!
Kathy MADE you join!?! I’m not sure what to make of that. I know she can get all uppity when she wants to but usually we don’t see that side of her. Did she swear at you and scare you into joining?
I tied him to a chair and subjected him to episodes of Brady Bunch for 36 hours. He finally cracked when I ran the Oliver episodes on loop.
OMG I just spewed Diet Coke all over my keyboard!!!!
The Oliver episodes were the worst, why didn’t you just play those first to save some time?
Except it seems to me Oliver was in the old west episode where Bobby idolized Billy the Kid, that was a pretty good episode.
Hey, thanks for the shoutout, Jen!!! I gave you one of my own today!!! Why am I using so many exclamation points?! OMFG, I hope I haven’t developed a positivity addiction!!!
Wow!!!
I don’t know but Thanks!!!!!! Don’t worry it will pass!! Too bad there isn’t a thingy for being sad and depressed. An upside down exclamation point would work but that might be confused with the Spanish version. Using emoticons just doesn’t work. Even with a frowning face it still looks a little happy.
Anyway, thanks!!!!!!!
Nice recap, Jen! I think this is a good year for me to do the same. Don’t usually get all cozy with that kind of shit, but this past year just might make for some good ‘read’.
It was really a lot of fun to go back and look at what I did throughout the year. I didn’t write as much as I would have liked to but some of it wasn’t half bad, especially the Canadian posts.
What a fantastic recap!!! I know I’ve been MIA for the past like 3 months–and I’m coming back around–but just want to say that you, your blog, Tribal Blogs and many of the great bloggers you mentioned in this post were definitely a highlight for me as well in my Internet life….
Giving a virtual toast to you (alcohol NOT bread) (ha) for a wicked and fabulous 2011!
xo — Ki
Cheers to you too! I can’t wait for the new year either and I am glad you are back!
What an awesome year you’ve had! Now, really, there isn’t very much more you need to know about Canada except that we live here. And only moose live in OMG More Canada. Just a bunch of moose with huge feet and no sense of humour. At all.
And I’m sorry to hear you and what’s-his-name are no longer an item. I didn’t want to ask for fear of discovering that I would have to share a room with a new blog sibling. In the end, the important thing is that I’m still your favourite. 🙂
I hope 2011 is all that and more! And I’m looking forward to receiving my invitation to the first annual Tribal Blogs conference in Minnesota this summer…
Well then, let’s pick a date! What works for you? Because really it is only
your schedule that matters right? And I’m pretty flexible.
I was going to suggest a date, but then I detected a note of sarcasm. It was well hidden, but I spotted it.
No sarcasm at all, let’s get this ball rolling and pick a date. I’m open so
it all depends on your schedule.
Well, in that case, the weekend of June 25th would be ideal.
That works for me too! We’ll have to start planning! This is going to be
great!
Please don’t tease me woman!
This totally needs to happen!
And Happy New Year, Jen!
Wait a second. Boom Boom’s a stripper?
Thank you for your lovely compliments, dearie! With Tribal Blogs, you’ve brought together a great bunch of people and enhanced all our lives because of it.
MWAH!!
XOXOXOXO
Actually Linda was a stripper or she rode the pole, something like that anyway. Boom Boom just goes so well with Larew that she should be a stripper. We should all be strippers!
You forgot to say that I’m also a bleeding-heart liberal that you love anyway. And I love you right back, however misinformed and delusional your beliefs. 😉
Wishing you a rockin’ great 2011, my friend and baker of the best bourbon balls ever!
I think everyone knows you are a bleeding heart liberal so it seemed
redundant and besides I don’t like to publicize that I hang with those kinds
of folk.
Thank you, I am so glad you like the balls, I can certainly roll those
balls!
Sounds like a great year – Tribal blogs was a great move, brought together a lot of awesome bloggers. Here’s to a great 2011!!
Awww! It’s been a pretty good year. And I am so happy we *met*. You have totally been adopted into my family. There is an OPEN invitation for you to come visit ANY time. Love you Jennifer. Happy New Year, my friend.
Boy one busy year for you, and a good one at that. A very Happy New Years to you and your family and all your wonderful blog readers.