I get a Mazal Tov!

I'm taking myself out to dinner and buying myself a really expensive present.

After all, I just celebrated the first anniversary of my first blog post.

And they said I couldn't do it.

Actually, no one said that, except me in my own head.

I was introduced to the world of blogging by my friend Carol, who told me to read Orthomom. Through her, I found many other blogs, some of which are no longer published. I spent a good deal of time reading through archives--hours in front of the computer. My television watching plummeted. After about six months of reading, I started wondering if I should start my own blog. But I wasn't sure what I was going to say.

When we decided to make Aliyah, I decided to blog about it. Original, I know. Still, I figured that since I am the only me, no one else would have exactly the same experience as I was having. In that sense it would be original. I was writing it as a way of letting my people back in the states know what I was going through. The blog was never intended to be a diary of my life, but rather a reflection of what I am going through over here. I wanted it to have humor, but also honesty and even sadness where that was appropriate.

I was surprised (and pleased) when I started to get comments from people I didn't know, and then from some of my favorite bloggers. It feels good to have others enjoy what you are writing. It's a bit weird to consider someone you haven't ever met a friend, isn't it? But somehow you do establish a sort of virtual community with fellow bloggers. Through their blogs, and sometimes offline, I feel like I've gotten to know Leora, Jack, Jameel,, Gila, RivkA,, Mom,, Raizy, Bahn-gay,, RR, and of course the brilliant Trep and Robert J. Avrech.

Blogging has become very important to me. My family would say I am addicted to it, but I know I can stop anytime I want to :D. I sometimes regret not being anonymous, because then I could really get to the nitty-gritty of what I'm feeling, or post really personal things about the kids and the (very rare) arguments I have with Isaac. Maybe I will start a blog about My Dark Side. But then you guys would never know it was me...

What's really exciting is that I hopefully will get to actually meet some of my fellow bloggers very soon. Nefesh B'Nefesh actually stole my idea. I've always thought we should have a mass meeting of bloggers, but since I'm not a big organization, I hadn't the foggiest idea of how to put it together. But NBN, of course, figured it out and is sponsoring a Blogger's Convention in Jerusalem on August 20. It's going to be a bit like internet dating, meeting all these people in person.

And they'll be meeting me! I better get back to the pool...

Here's to many more years of blogging, making friends, and new beginnings....