Happy Blogday to Me

I recall one birthday party I had when I was about 5. The table was lined with little girls in their frilly dresses and I was at the head of the table, the seat of honor. My mother came in the door from the kitchen bearing the birthday cake with lighted candles. Everyone began to sing the birthday song. Including me. I probably sang the loudest - Happy Birthday to MEEEEEEEE. Well, it was my birthday, right?

My sister pulled me aside after the party and gave me a manners lesson. It wasn't polite for the birthday girl to sing, she said. The birthday girl should just smile politely while others wished her a happy birthday.

I'm a big girl now and I should know better, but I just don't care. I'm singing really loudly because today is my blog's first birthday. A year ago my family talked me into this and it's been so much fun, it's hard to believe a whole year has passed!

I was thinking of some of the ways having this blog has changed my life and here are some of them, in no particular order.

1- I no longer keep margarine in my house. Reading lots of cookbooks and other peoples food blogs has made me much more aware of what we eat. If I'm going to go to the trouble of making it from scratch, why not use the best ingredients possible? And if we're going to splurge the calories on something decadent, it had better be worth it!

2 - I know wonderful people from around the globe. I get to peek in the kitchens and the lives of kind, funny, extravagantly talented people from across the United States and around the world. What a network of baking buddies!

3- I've had an excuse to try new and challenging recipes. My first post, marshmallows, was something I'd wanted to make for years. The blog finally gave me a reason to try. Now I make marshmallows whenever my family wants. My food repertoire has grown so that what once seemed daunting is now no big deal.

4- My cookbook collection has expanded beyond reasonable boundaries. Time to enlarge the boundaries!

5- I'm learning (very slowly) a bit about photography. My daughter is patiently trying to help me take lovely pictures. She's so good at what she does that I feel entirely inadequate behind a camera, but she's a great encourager.

6- I seem to spend a lot of time and money hunting for ingredients. Demera sugar, Durum flour, and sea salt are thing you definitely would not have found in my kitchen pre-blogging days.

7- My husband spends a lot more time moaning about his weight.

Thanks for visiting and leaving comments. That's one of the best parts of the blog!