I started this blog in August 2007, when Amy was almost 1. I was lonely, living in the middle of nowhere, with no adult conversation.
I am positive that blogging saved my sanity, more than once.
This little space, it’s been my safe haven. My place to hide, a dumping ground, somewhere to write out my thoughts and stresses, deal with them and move on.
When I started, I had no readers, except my mother. For months, no one was reading here, until I participated in NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month). I picked up a few readers over the course of that month (Hi Marylin!) and slowly, my readership grew.
Blogging is fluid. I’ve gained readers and I’ve lost readers and 2 years later, aside from my regular commenters, I have no idea who reads here anymore. I’ve got less time to comment now, although I’ve probably got more blogs in my reader. Nowadays I tweet as much as I blog and I enjoy every second of it, even if the social media moguls are sure that I’m ‘doing it wrong.’
It’s funny, I still check my Feedburner numbers most nights to see how many subscribers I have (in the scheme of things, not very many) and I will check my stats and referrals to see where people are coming from, at least once a day. Some things never change, and my obsession with stats is one of them.
I think, after all this time that things are starting to fall into place for me.
I’m a little late I know, but today is Delurk Your Lurkers day and I would LOVE to know who is reading here and a little more about them.
Who is your favourite blogger (while I’ll be thrilled if you say me, I know that it’s not true across the board, so be honest) and who was your first blog read?
My first reads were Lotus when she was still on Myspace (Gasp! I know!). Once I’d moved away from Myspace and convinced her to come too (aren’t you glad I did?) I found MiscMum and promptly lurked all over her blog roll.
And 2 years later, here we are.
Hello. I live in Sydney. My first read was Darnonymous at Three Little Birds. Too many favourites to count – but apart from Dar – maybe pink patent mary janes and everyone wants this
Hi! I live in Graz, Austria. The first blog I read was dooce I guess. I also have too many favourite blogs to choose just one, but (aside from your blog of course) I very much love SouleMama.
Greetings from far far away, Dett
I’m a semi regular commenter.. Not really a lurker anymore.. And you were my first ever blog.. I didn’t even know what a blog was before you.. You started following me on twitter.. And I followed you back (I’m not even on twitter anymore).. I am a 26 year old Mum of two little boys and I live on the outskirts of Melbourne.. You really are still my favorite but I love Kelley over at Magneto Bold Too too!!
You know I read!
I started a “blog” (that term didn’t exist them) on Diaryland in 2000 – shit, 10 years ago. I cannot remember the first one I started reading though.
xx
Hi!
I used to read a little while back, then I had a break from blogging, and hence also a break from reading other people’s blogs. But I am back blogging and reading, so ‘hi’! 🙂
Lil x
I’ve been reading since before you were pregnant with Isaac I think. I’m pretty sure I found you through Lotus, and wound up reading all your back posts shortly after. I really can’t remember what was the first blog I read, but the one that feels like I’ve been reading it for forever is the Smart Bitches, Trashy Books one. Lurking (and following blogs in general) is such a strange feeling, because since my husband and I moved in May, I haven’t really made any new friends to hang out with, so I’ll be talking to my mom or something and mention “this blogger I read who lives in Tasmania” or “that blogger who lives in LA” or such, and man this is sounding way more pathetic than intended. So in summation, it’s wonderful to read about so many people’s lives, but it’s a very strange one-sided thing when you’re a lurker at all of them.
Hi, I’ve been lurking around here since you gave birth to Issac… not sure how I got here, but am glad I found your blog! I’ve got a 1.1 year old little man (Xander) and we live on the beautiful Gold Coast!
I have many favourite blogs, too hard to choose just one! My first read was lyptonvillage (now mockingbird) back in 2003 when I was living in London…
Bec x
I’m here, but then you know that!
Can’t remember, but you were definitely one of my first blogs that I started following
Hi! You know me 🙂
I cant remember when I started reading your blog, either late 2007, early 2008? You have moved twice since then. I think you might have been on blogger?
I found your blog through myspace, then found lotuses, marilyns and your mums. Then Xbox. Then I started my own, got sick of it and didnt go back to it until I was pregnant. Now I write nearly every day, mainly to myself.
Now I am reading about 15 of them 🙂
Thanks to you
Hi,
I am from Perth and I found your blog on the list of 2009 bloggie awards. I actually stumbled upon that site from dlisted.com which is all about celebrities so two very different subjects! I guess dlisted was the first blog I ever read and still one of my favourites, along with laineygossip.com, but yours is one of the only ones I read which is a personal one! I also read Tanya’s blog but I have made an effort to make at least 1 comment there so I have already been delurked! I am expecting my first baby in 5 weeks so I find a lot of your past posts very informative i guess. Just read both of your birth stories the other day which i thought were great! So thanks for all your entertainment over the last year and kep on at it!
You guys have got no idea how much I am loving this delurking thing. I had no idea most of you were even reading! I’ll be checking out the lurkers who have blogs tomorrow morning and hello to everyone else.
Hi Veronica, it must feel kind of weird that all these people know about you and your life and you don’t even know we are lurking! I have been reading your blog since before you were pregnant with Isaac. I have two sons and they are pretty much the same ages as Amy and Isaac so I LOVE to hear what your two are up to. The first blog I read was Tertia’s in South Africa, “So Close”. But you are now one of the blogs I check EVERY day so that must make you one of my favourites!! I live in WA and also ride horses so I also enjoyed hearing about your journey with the two mares. Thanks for blogging and sharing what is going on in your life!
Hi from Chicago IL USA! I read every post as it comes nicely wrapped in an email to my inbox. So posting comments usually comes in the form of a return email 🙂
The first blog I read was GetUpGrrl – I found her when I googled “Miscarriage”. That was almost 6 years ago. I started blogging shortly after that – but keep changing homes and taking long breaks. But I’m back 🙂
My favorite blog (I do like yours – the pictures are just yummy) – is Julia of Here Be Hippogriffs – julia.typepad.com . She just seems to get life with kids here in the US. Her trials of getting pregnant…amazing and inspiring.
Anyways – have a great day!
Hi! I live in Somerset West, South Africa and found your blog through Lotus after she mentioned the troubles you were having while pregnant with Isaac. I’m not very good at commenting, but I love reading your blog and it is one of the favourites in my reader. The first blog I read was Jeanette’s when she still had her old photo blog. Since I make a living out of taking photos, I’m very into photography blogs, but apart from those my favourites are yours and also Peas on Toast.
Hi…I live in Tulsa, Oklahoma. I have to say the first blog I ever read was My Mommy’s Place. I love your blog and hers as well. I also love The Sphors Are Multiplying.
I don’t have a blog of my own, but I’m a stay at home mom and the blogs help me not feel so lonely. I have an 11 month old son. He usually sits in my lap while I read them!
Hey Babe! As you know, I’m in Denver, CO. My favorite blog? Kelly’s Ordinary Art. She’s an amazing writer!!
I think I must’ve found you somehow through Lou. Yes. He’s an extraordinary networker. 🙂
Ahhh I love Delurker Day! Thankies for the reminder!
Can you believe how far we’ve come since we met in NaBloMaHo 07?? I thought you were soooo cool and such an awesome big blogger! Hehe 🙂
Here’s to the next 2 years… and 5 years after that, and 10 years after that. I hope! *hugs* xx
I guess I started reading your blog somewhere around a year ago, shortly after I found out I was pregnant. You commented on one of my posts, and then I came over to you and read one of you posts about schwacking mice and I was hooked. You found out you were pregnant w/Issac shortly after that, so we were on a similar timeline for our second pregnancies & were both chasing a toddler at home. I always felt like you could understand my crazy.
My first read was http://www.susanica.blogspot.com, a friend of mine. Then, I started reading others, Stimeyland was one of my first; Xboxfornappyrash; you were pretty early on too.
I don’t think I can pick one favorite. You rank among them for sure; Stimey is a favorite blogger; and I also love Swistle; and the Un Mom is one of my blogging heroes.
Hi Veronica. I’m from South Africa and just turned 30. Married, no kids. I think I may have found you through Lotus. Or it could have been Tertia, not sure. Anyway, been reading you since waaay before Isaac. Before you were even pregnant with him. Before you were even trying for him, so that takes us quite far back 🙂 You are one of maybe 7 or 8 blogs that I follow. (I have loads more on my google reader, but their posts just heap up and eventually become too mountainous to approach.)I have MS, so it’s interesting for me to read your account on living with a chronic condition, even though it’s not the same as mine. And I have tried out at least one of your recipes. I think I may even have been moved to comment on the cuteness that was the echidna, if I remember correctly. But now I’m delurking to say: keep up the great work. You write so well and I love following your life,
Greetings from Colorado Springs, CO. My first blog was damomma.com, and somehow made my way to your blog quite a while back. Not sure I could pick a favorite. I do enjoy reading your blog (and your mum’s).
I started blogging for the same reason you did…I was so lonely and withdrawn from real life that I needed a connection to grown-ups. I didn’t even KNOW there was a world of blogging until one night, early 2007 I googled “on-line support for moms” and found Motherhood Uncensored. I read her and laughed hysterically for months, then branched out to her commenters.
Honestly, I don’t think I have a favorite anymore…but The Bloggess comes close.
Hi Veronica,
I come from Calgary, Canada. I think the first blog I read was Such is Life, by a dear friend of mine and humour columnist up here in the cold north. I still follow him to this day.
I haven’t been blogging consistantly for that long. I started a blog back in 2007 as well but never kept up with it. Not until recently.
My favs would include MummyTime, So F*cking Fabulous I Piss Glitter and Reinventing Sandy B but I follow quite a few.
Hi. Diane here from Johannesburg, South Africa. We’ve chatted via email. I found your blog through a recipe you posted – pastryless quiche (love it btw and make it all the time). I started reading your blog towards the end of your pregnancy with Isaac.
Well hello, it feels odd delurking on one of the few blogs I regularly comment on! The first blog I read was http://angelfeet365.wordpress.com/ and I only read it because I knew her personally and she casually mentioned that she was 365-ing. I got curious and Jobart (formally Barbara’s 365) was born (in 2008). I don’t know if I found you through Marilyn or vice versa, can’t remember but I love you both. I also love your mum and Xbox. Am I allowed 4 favourites? I’ve just counted the list in my reader and I follow 75 blogs – that’s way too many, no wonder my reader keeps overwhelming me!
I can’t say who my fave is because that definitely changes from post to post. I check this one almost every day and love that you post as much as you do! We lead very different lives, but I love hearing about parenthood. At almost 30, it still doesn’t feel like something I’m ready for, but I love reading about the trials and tribulations of it, nonetheless.
The first blog I ever read was dooce.com, several years ago. Heather was still living in CA, I think, when I started reading, and I liked the writing, so I started with the oldest archives and worked my way current (which is common for me when I find a blog I really like; yours kept me busy for weeks). I still read her every day.
This is the blog that inspired me to start one of my own. No one reads it (that I’m aware of), and while I’d like readers, I’d also like to remain completely anonymous so I can talk mad shit all the time. The website I list here is my “professional,” toy company site. My blog site is…drumroll please, as this is the very first time it’s been listed in any sort of public way…budvsblossom.blogspot.com.
Yikes. Hope I didn’t just open a gross can of worms!
I’m not a lurker any more, but hi!
I’m 22, and I live in Calgary, Alberta. I’m married, TTC, and bendy.
The first blog I read, and it’s still my favorite, was Girl, Dislocated. It’s wonderfully written, but seldom updated.
I comment sometimes so you know I read. My first blog to read was yours I came across looking up the working title for my novel making sure it was no already a title of some other novel. AN I would have to say that makes you my favorite blog to read.
p.s. I read all the blogs you got.
I meant “And I” sorry.
Can’t remember how I first heard of you but blogs are like that. The first couple of blogs I discovered were loobylu and dooce. Not sure who my favourite blogger is – as it kinda depends on my mood.
I’ve been reading you for a while and I’m not sure where I discovered you. Sorry. I’m in the USA, New Jersey exactly. I love your stories about your kids, the horses, your grandmother and your life in a part of the world I’ll never get to visit. Thanks for sharing it all.
Always reading.
Always.
ditto what Tiff said.
Argh I should have waited till today to delurk :-p
Blogging is definitely a form of therapy and helped me through some of the hardest times in my life over the last 2 years!!!
I dont know if I have a favourite blog to be honest! Each one provides me with something different!
I’m not a lurker but FWIW, the first blog I read was Diary of an Average Australian (a friend’s boyfriend) and my favourite blogs, in no particular order, are The Not Drowning Mother, Gluten Free Girl, Here in the Bonny Glen, Life & Other Crises, Planning With Kids, PhD in Parenting, and your very good self 😉 I started reading you early in 2009 when we were both exhausted out of our brains with non-sleeping newborns. And have *never* regretted it.
Not a lurker but can’t remember how I found you but it was well before you had Isaac successfully on board 😉
Don’t ever stop writing Veronica, I’d miss you dreadfully.
xx
I’ve been reading for about a year now. I think my favorite blog is Barefoot Foodie.
Hi Veronica!
Well, technically I’m not a lurker either because I used to always try to comment, but then again, my internet access is so limited these days that I’m usually lurking on each page I read for approximately 5 seconds and then moving on so I can see what everyone’s up to.
I live in Oklahoma and the first blog I ever read, outside of friends’ blogs on Xanga and LiveJournal, was dooce, and I’m pretty sure that’s when I was pregnant with James, 4 years ago or so. Can’t remember exactly how I found you or if you commented on my (currently, sadly neglected) blog first or what, but it was during one of our hellish no-sleep-at-all phases and it was a HUGE relief to know I was not alone in that department. HUGE. And now that we’re expecting our second boy in April, I’m thinking I might need that again in the near future. But we can’t get decent internet AT ALL at my house…yet….so keep your fingers crossed for the future! Cheers!
I lurk off and on, I don’t have as much time to read or hell, even post on my own blog much, so it’s mostly lurkerdom for me, but I comment when I can, if something resonates with me. I’m not sure how long I’ve been reading you, but a while. My favorite blog is the first one I ever read, Julia at Here Be Hippogriffs, but I read her long before it became hippogriffs. She was at Pregnancy Today or something like that, on her first or second miscarriage after Patrick. Even if I have no time at all, she’s always the first blog I catch up on when I get the chance to come back.
I have commented before but not for awhile but I am still reading!
I am in Chiba, Japan near Tokyo.
The first blog I think I ever read was http://www.floatingworldviews.com- Suzy, the author, was a friend I worked with and she wrote an article for the magazine we worked for on blogging and I decided to start my own. Dooce was another one I started with.
My favourite blog now? Hard to say but http://www.gaijinwife.blogspot.com always cracks me up because I can relate to it as she is another foreign wife in Japan.
Hi Veronica
You caught me – might as well say hi! I found your blog a few days ago via bendy girl (who I also stalk – hi there!) and have really enjoyed reading it. I don’t really have a favourite blog – I tend to mooch around a bit. Not very interesting I’m afraid.
xx
Hi there! You were my first introduction to blogs, and I read yours all the time. I love your writing.
Hi there, Veronica. I started reading your blog probably two years ago when I was trying to conceive. Searching the internet during that time is how I landed on your blog, and I had to read all your previous blogs up to that point, and I’ve been reading since. My son turned one 12/27, so things turned out well for both of us in the baby department. (Congrats, Isaac, you big boy!) Sorry for reading much and commenting little. It never comes out typed the way it is in my head, so I don’t often try. I think my first blog was from Buddha Mama Sans Drama on Myspace, and I still read her at http://ygtbkm.blogspot.com/. I love hearing about what’s going on in your neck of the world, so keep the blogs coming!
I’m a few days late, but whatever right? Hi Veronica, My name is Ashleigh, I’m in Perth and I don’t even really read blogs regularly! I think I read two, yours and http://twitarded.blogspot.com/ (I love twilight but mostly these girls are just fucking hilarious.) And real. Your real too, Which is why I think I read your blog pretty regularly. I’m sure you hear this all the damn time but your also amazingly eloquent and I do often have a giggle at your life observations (mostly the sarcastic ones, and the posts directed at your children/EDS/inanimate objects).
I must admit, I can’t say “oh veronica, I relate to you because of this, this and this” Because in all honesty, I hate writing, I am 18 years old with no EDS, I dont have children and I don’t plan on having children and I’m not married, basically our similarities end with Australia and Vagina.
But nevertheless, I was drawn back too your blog (can’t remember how I even found it but I have been reading for about 6 months and have read most of your archives) and I still read. And read. And read. Anyway, I am here, I am reading and I havent commented before now, I dont think. But that is all 🙂
Ps. Oh and don’t know if I was clear but I love your stuff.
I’ve been reading you since way before you were prego with Isaac too… another one to add to your masses. 🙂 I think I found you somewhere discussing infertility issues … as I was going through the same thing at the same time!
I have commented before, but here I am again! I am in California, and my first blog read was Amalah.
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