we've hit double digits

Today marks the tenth anniversary of this ol' blog. To commemorate such an auspicious occasion, I set myself no less than 8 phone alarms this week to remind me to write a special post. Alas, here we are, with not a one special post idea in mind.

In 10 years, I've written 1,267 posts and have 92 drafts. My posts took a steep dive south when I had Annabelle. I don't want to assign blame, but she's really cramped my blogging style. I looked at the 92 drafts to see what I didn't publish and I can now say the internet wouldn't have been improved had I published all those drafts. I often type notes of what to blog about at future dates, yet most of the time I didn't give myself enough information to remember my brilliant idea when I actually sit down to the computer. I tell myself that at least I had ideas.

The following is a small sample of the gibberish notes I found:

Orange groomsmen
Homeless children
Water plants before it rains
Ebay anniversary
Driving the car
Iiiooouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu
Blog name

I really wish I knew what I meant by "orange groomsmen." The only one I can speak to is my blog name. The current name has absolutely no special significance. I don't know why I chose it. I don't particularly like it and I'd like to change it. I didn't think I'd stick with blogging for long so it wouldn't matter what I called it. Here we are 10 years later and I'm researching how to change the name and the URL. I remember Daisy Days being an option but, thank God, someone else already had it and I was saved from that trainwreck of a name.

***

I also found an unpublished post where I took several BuzzFeed quizzes.

Quiz: What Kind of Mom will You Be?
Result: Stage mom. 

This makes me laugh as I was just a stage mom for the first time and I was not good at it.  

Quiz: What Percent Diva Are You? 

Result: 80%. You've got more diva in you than not. While you have a little bit of flair for the dramatic, you're also somewhat of a realist. You're used to coming in first, which is why it's hard for you to accept certain failures. You strive for perfection, and people who can't keep up with you can step aside. In short, you're someone people generally admire but would NOT mess with.
If the crown fits...

Quiz: What Period in History do You Really Belong In?
Result: Renaissance Italy.
I couldn't disagree with this more. I'd like to live in a time period with air conditioning and underwear.

Quiz: What Career Should You Have? 

Result: Writer

You have a skill for language, your imagination is vast and you are artistic and creative. Your brain is just overflowing with ideas, and all you have to do is get a piece of paper and share it with the world. You were born to turn words into magical stories.

While the quiz goes above and beyond in describing my overflowing brain, I do have an award-winning blog* and am writing my memoir called "I Have No Idea what I'm Doing, subtitled When Does the Pizza Arrive?"

* I did get a blog award from a friend back in 2012 which is the equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize.

Quiz: Which Fruit Matches Your Personality?
Result: Apple.  Apples are classic, classy, and sophisticated. Apples know what's up. You can't mess with an apple. You try to mess with an apple and you'll regret it. Apples just have it together and know what's up.

Given that I have several pounds I can't lose (a.k.a I'm getting rounder) the shape of this fruit hits a little too close to home. I do try to be klassy but sometimes it doesn't work out well. For example, I didn't realize that I wore the wrong bra under my dress to church today. It was visible from all angles.

***

When I look back on my first years of blogging it makes me want to sink into the floor with embarrassment. I've unpublished some of them because they're so awkward. I must have written 45 posts about Daniel and Erika's wedding and 189 about my babysitting career. It was a snoozefest for a while there. I didn't have any timeline when I started blogging. I started and just haven't stopped. It's crazy to think of all the things that have happened in those 10 years. I went from a 20-year-old student/professional child caregiver to a wife, mother, and owner of cats.

This blog has given me some of my favorite people. I have a daily group chat with three girls I became friends with through blogs- Laura, Michelle, and currently blogless Toi. I call them my focus group and ask their input every time Christopher and I disagree on something. We discuss everything from proper tipping amounts to bad neighbors to moral dilemmas. I'm the only one who has met any of the others in person but I'll keep hoping someday we can all get together to eat chips and dips.

Of course, it gave me a husband. Christopher read my blog while he was deployed and it brought such joy to his life. Not only have I blogged tirelessly for 10 years, but I also improved the morale of the troops. I assume I'll be given the Presidential Medal of Freedom any day now.

I might not love the name and most of the posts might be less than stellar, but it's my little blog and I think I'll keep it around for a while longer.