it was sometime in 2004 when i first heard the word "blog", which i learned later on, way later, was short for web log, which, in essence, was an online diary. At the time, i was heavily into "Gawker" and "Defamer" which were blogs, of course, but not personal ones. I didn’t know anyone who actually had a blog of his or her own.
and then i stumbled on a site called This Fish Needs a Bicycle, and i was hooked. (please disregard pun. was not intended). i was in love with this whole blogging concept. me. writing. free. free publishing? who could say no to that. so, in June of 2004, i found blogger, and my new site, "I Write Therefore I Blog" was born. I had a simple pink blogger template back then. and about three people who commented (and one was my husband….the other was a true and loyal friend, Obabe, who commented, even when everyone else was too chicken!)
it was a slow beginning. but then i started discovering other people’s blogs. dasbecca, rockstarmommy, amalah, rude cactus, so the fish said, zoot…. and then i found Outwit, Outblog, Outsnark, a blogger after my own heart. I was while reading her blog that i gathered the courage to start commenting. she liked the same things i liked, talked about the same things i talked about, only she was hilarious!
then i began commenting, and people commented back! when i became pregnant with Isabella, my blog took a turn from me recapping tv shows and snarking about celebrities to be recapping my ever-growing belly and snarking on my pregnancy. and then my delivery. and then life as a stay-at-home mom. and then i found other moms online. other moms who had blogs. moms who dealt with diapers and rashes and breast infections and pacis and bottles and sleepless nights. and suddenly i realized, I am a mommy blogger. and i love that title. it fits me and i fit it.
i introduced my urbanmom partner-in-crime, Miss Haley-O, to the blog world. and ironically, it was through her that i discovered the baddest mommy blogger of ’em all, Her Bad Mother. and through her i discovered a whole world of Canadian bloggers! i didn’t even know they were out there! they are…and they are awesome! and then i doscovered Urbanmoms. Hey! it’s like Babycenter! but it’s Canadian! (there’s really no need for the shameless plug here…if you are reading this…you know how amazing Jen and the urbanmoms family is)
I feel like i’ve finally found my place in this huge blogosphere. I’m a mommy blogger.
so, here’s my question to all of you….how did you find me? did you meander on over here from my Cheaper Than Therapy site? Were you a member of urbanmoms before the blogs? did you click over from Kath, or Catherine or Haley?
i guess also i want to know who’s reading. if you are a regular commenter, a lurker, an occasionaly visitor, even if it’s your first time, leave a comment (and don’t forget the word verification!) and tell me how you got here! i’d love to know.
(and i must give a special thanks to Beth at so the fish said for giving me this idea. well, the idea was planted…but her post today got it going. go over and say hello to her. tell her i sent you!)
song of the day: When You Were Young by the Killers.
ever sat on a wet toilet seat? come on over and commiserate!
I’ve been a member of urbanmoms.ca since the beginning. I was very happy to see the introduction of the blogs, especially Kath’s and Haley-Os. The blogging about blogging bores me a bit. I’m not out in the blogosphere and don’t intend to be. I come to urbanmoms.ca each day for a quick break from the kids and a place to read what other moms are thinking and see the product reviews.
That’s right…we go way back, don’t we? 🙂
Hey there! I never would’ve guessed that Blog was short for web log! Although, I guess never is a really,really long time and I’m sure I could’ve come up with ‘web log’ at least by the 100th guess 🙂 But I love learning new things, which I always do when I read your blogs, so keep on bloggin’ 🙂 Oh yeah – and one last thing, I got to ‘Fabulous’ through ‘Cheaper than Therapy’ & I LLOVVEE ’em both!
I came here from your CTT blog, I got there through a meandering path of other blogs…..I commented on CTT about the wet arse syndrome…….*S*
I, too, am a Canadian Mommy and a Blogger…..only difference is that I am not in an Urban center anymore, I am an ex-urbanite stuck in rural Alberta… can we all say R E D N E C K????? I enjoy your blog and have CTT blogrolled, and am definitely blogrolling this too!
I *think* that I found you through Haley-O, who I discovered when she left a comment at HBM, but now that I think about it, I might have followed you home after a comment, too, and only made the connection after I read Cheaty Monkey.
So confusing. In any case, glad that I did find you!
I think I found you through your comments on Troll Baby…but I can’t be sure – and I found UrbanMoms because Catherine has talked about me a couple of times. I loves me some Catherine! 😀
I don’t even remember…I think it was through babycenter to your “I write therefore I blog” right before you had Isabella. I never commented over there – too shy or something – ha – but followed you over here. Oh and thanks for the CD – it’s awesome!
And a damn good mommy blogger at that. With great hair 🙂
I found you when HBM started blogging at urban moms and I checked out the other gals too. SO glad I did.
I rolled over in bed one morning and *POOF!* there you were.
I don’t think I need to explain how I found you here…but sorry I don’t comment as much these days. Work is cracking down on web usage. The horror!!!
Since I did it for Beth, I’ll do it for you:
Me
| (via “honey, be a good husband and fix my blog please”)
Mommy Diary Tales
| (via blogroll)
Nine Pound Dictator
| (via a comment she left on Nine Pound Dictator)
Cheaty Monkey
| (via a comment you left on Cheaty Monkey)
Cheaper Than Therapy
| (via a link in a post)
Here
and since Beth (and my wife) asked how I remember: I dunno… I just have a good memory.
Honestly – I don’t remember! But I do remember I was hooked immediately. You and I have the same opinions on many things (like TV!). I love learning about your religion and lifestyle – since I live a very sheltered life.
BTW – My answer to Beth was that I found her through you.
Hey, Ali…I found you through Jen just before you joined urbanmoms. I’m not much of a commenter (well, in fits and spurts I am) but I do read religiously, and I head to Cheaper Than Therapy for my snark rations, especially now that Haley-O has given up on Survivor (ahem, ahem).
Ummm…I have NO IDEA how I found you. Yeah, ummm, drawing a blank. Ummmm….Yeah….Nothing. Got nothing.
I actually found you through Babycenter (on the Nov 02 board, where I don’t even post anymore, but read occasionally!) You and I have so much in common that I read your blog(s) daily…5 1/2 year old girl, 4 year old boy (with the exact same birthday!) and the baby girl. Your blogs are addicting! So…babycenter to the i write, therefore i blog…and the rest is history. 🙂 Nice to “meet” you. You probably don’t remember me one bit from babycenter, but here I am. Sorry that was so long!
I found you through….WAIT FOR IT…. a Google search on a well known professinal mommy/writer for a national newspaper based in Toronto.
Long story: My oldest friend is a journo in Ottawa and we talk about writing, books, newspapers regularly on the phone. She mentioned that this writer was this columnist at a Toronto newspaper (won’t mention which one, you all know anyway) and how annoying she is and I did a bit of a Google as L. (my friend) mentioned a particularly annoying and exasperating column she had written about SMUM’s. Somehow I stumbled across your original personal blog as you had done a post about going to see her at a talk or something, and I got “sucked” in ROFL. I found your blog refreshing, entertaining and I liked the fact that we had children almost exactly the same age and…I was a bit envious you were doing the fabulous urban mommy thing in my hometown (sigh…).
I found you shortly before you joined Urban Moms (which I love BTW)…so now I check ya’ll on a daily basis.
Haley – if you are reading this, I found you through Urban Moms via Ali and it goes from there…
Great work all – you both have inspired me to start my own blog (which is lagging of late, sadly) and to get FABULOUS…so thank you so much.
Hi Ali,
I first saw I Write Therefore I Blog attatched to Blogolicious It was only later when I started reading Cheaty Monkey on a regular basis that I got into all the fun and excitement of Cheaper than Therapy and then Fabulous.
You’re kids are super cute and I love your hair. Have a nice day.
You know how I found you, Ali…through your pal Haley. SO GLAD I did too!
I wandered over here from Cheaper than Therapy, and I I found Cheaper than Therapy through Thursday Thirteen. The first post I read of yours was about the 13 greatest tv couples ever, and I immediately knew you and I would get along splendidly.
hi ali,i just accidentally ended up on urbanmoms one day in september.cant remember how.checked it out and loved it.i love catherine because shes serious and has a social concious,i read kath because who hasn’t struggled with weight issues,i love haley because its fun to have a reason to be rude and snarky,especially to the beautiful people,and i love reading you because you always lighten my day and make me laugh.
Wow Ali I didn’t even know what a blog was when you started blogging!
I think I found you through MUBAR or through Hayley.
Hi Ali- I found you back in early 06 I think (it might have been late 05) on your “I Write Therefore I Blog” site. My company was getting heavy into blogging and we were encouraged to link around and see what’s out there. I’m sure they meant communication and PR blogs, of which there are many, but I found Mommy Bloggers. I’m not even a mom, not yet anyways, and some of the Mommy Bloggers didn’t hold my interest, but I loved your snarky style and in terms of TV and celeb gossip, I’m a girl after your own heart. So here I am!