Happy New Year! Or, Happy Saturday (if you tend to look at these things like I do and realize that there's not all that much 'new' going on just because two digits in the year have changed)!
Holy canoli, I did it. I posted at least once, every day, for the third year in a row. What is wrong with me? Oh, right, overly opinionated and quite amusing, that's it! I ended 2009 with almost 400posts and that works out to right around 1.13 posts per day. That's a lot. I don't care who you are, that's a lot. If you have almost 400 of something, you have a lot of that thing. And since I'm not one to be a slacker (well, I'm not one to be a slacker so that everyone knows that I'm a slacker. I might be lazy, but I'm crafty!), that is going to have to be the minimum number of posts for me for 2011. And judging from the 2010 debacles that have not yet ironed themselves out, I'm sure that won't seem like such a lofty goal come May or June when I've really got a full head of steam. (And with so many people still wondering if President Barry is a Muslim who was born in Kenya? (He isn't and he wasn't, by the way.) This blog will practically write itself! And on some days, that really wouldn't be such a bad idea.)
Well, this is all starting to sound a little self serving here, so I need to get to the point that I had
meant to hit on to begin with. Pretty much, the only reason that I had for posting every single day for a year was simply just to see if I could. That and to get better at....whatever this is. That's just how I work. If I have an ongoing project, I'd prefer that I continue to improve it and get better at whatever it is that I'm doing. And I really wanted to get better at this...whatever this is. And the first year of doing that was work. The second year, while I thought it would be easier, was more work in some ways (I did not see that coming). And while I think that I have gotten better at it, I know that there's no way I could have done it (nor would there have been a reason for it) almost 400 times if it hadn't been for those of you who read this and have encouraged me along the way to keep it up (lest you actually have to hear me rant about something) via your comments, your readership, your emails or just telling me in person: 
La Belle Canadienne, (My link to Canada, America's Hat); Remi, my biggest fan in Germany (I'm huge in Europe!); Irritated Tulsan (Some days, he's more irritated than I am!); Granny Ann, for her consistent readership and frequent comments (I love the comments!); My dear, dear friend Julie, for sharing this blog with other people, for leaving great comments and for helping me to think about things in different ways (ie, Christine O'Donnell and Glenn Beck); CW (who was probably the first to let me know that I might be on to something here); Gerard, my London link to all that is whores; Ruth, my UK link to everything but the whores (which is perfectly fine!); CA (who reads the posts, well...who reads the comments in bulk and loves the pictures!), Kate, for reassuring me from time to time that I am still at least a little funny; Scott, for being my newfound friend, on the blog and off; King of New York Hacks, for his consistent presence; Terrier, because what's not to like about someone who seems to be around 16 years old and follows a blog like this? And finally, AliceAmplified (who has helped shape my critical thinking skills, been an avid, yet blog-mocking, supporter as well as the best friend one could ever imagine. She also writes extremely well, which has left me wanting to learn how to express things as well and as concisely as she can. I can get wordy if I'm not careful.).
You guys all rule. Thank you. Thanks for reading. Thanks for commenting. Thanks for coming back. Just thanks.
May all of you have an incredibly awesome 2011.
~ Mare
I have the best best friend in the entire world. Not only is she the most excellent friend anyone could ever want, she is a kick ass mother who has raised two beautiful children. One of those children, the boy, is a surfer and is about to turn 21. The other child, the girl, is 23 and is currently in Spain being a nanny. What's that? Oh, right. Excuuuuse me. An au pare. It's soooo European. Call it what you will, she's there. And now she's blogging about her experiences. Do you see where this is going? Of course you do. 
other two being her mother and her dog), that I felt the need to mention it here. I gave it a read and she's pretty funny. Granted, there's only one real entry at this point (if you don't count the part where she recounts accidentally calling "fruit" "bitches" in Spanish, as her mastery of the language has not yet peaked), but I anticipate it turning into quite the continuing saga. Give her a read if you feel like it. http://haleyclanton.tumblr.com/
other two being her mother and her dog), that I felt the need to mention it here. I gave it a read and she's pretty funny. Granted, there's only one real entry at this point (if you don't count the part where she recounts accidentally calling "fruit" "bitches" in Spanish, as her mastery of the language has not yet peaked), but I anticipate it turning into quite the continuing saga. Give her a read if you feel like it. http://haleyclanton.tumblr.com/
