This month is my blog’s eight year old birthday.
I don’t usually even think about my blogging anniversary, let alone mention it, because it happens every year. So what.
But this year I’ve been pondering it more – I think possibly because this past year is the first time I’ve ever seriously thought about quitting – and more than once, too.
(I’m not quitting. At least right now. But I’ve never even considered it as an option until this past summer. But all the whys and why nots of why I’ve thought about quitting are another post in and of itself, if the meanderings of my mind hold anyone’s interest.)
Anyway. I’ve been thinking about it in terms of “What exactly have I been doing for the last eight years?And why? And what have been the highlights? And the lowlights? And why should I continue for another eight years? Or why should I quit now before my show has gone on for three seasons too long?”
I thought some of you might like a peek into what this thought process looks like.
But first, a giant, huge, crucial disclaimer: I am going to share some of my stats and stuff – stuff I never normally share. I share this only because I’ve had lots of readers that were very curious. I am not sharing it for comparison’s sake or any other weird awkward purpose. Only because I think some of you may find it interesting. For those who may find it obnoxious, please feel free to skip – I intend absolutely zero obnox with this post and would be sad to hear that obnox was taken from it.
So there. I feel better.
Let’s talk some blogging by the numbers.
In eight years, I have…
– Published 2,092 posts.
– Deleted 2 of those published posts. (One of them I deleted years after it was published, and the other hours after it was published.)
– Met at least 6 out-of-state blog readers, and dozens of local blog readers.
– Driven out of state to meet 2 out-of-state blog readers.
– Had one international blog reader come stay at my house for 4 days.
– Filed 2 police reports regarding sketchy internet behavior (one I blogged about, the other I cannot blog about. Which is really too bad because it’d be a good post.)
– Wondered how I offended at least 20 former readers who disappeared suddenly and mysteriously.
– Have embarrassed my mother with my inappropriateness at least 38 times.
– Have had 6 readers go back and read all 2,092 posts. Those are my favorite readers of all time. And they’re a little crazy.
– Have been visited by 228 countries. I am most popular here:
And least popular here:
(I don’t blame you for not liking me, Niue. I’ve never even heard of you. Are you sure you’re a real place?)
(Okay I just Wikipedia’ed Niue and it is an island country 1,500 miles from New Zealand with a population of 1,190. So one visit from Niue is an honor! Welcome, Queen of Niue!)
In eight years, these were my blog’s visitors…
So yeah. 2012 was the year my butt went viral, and it increased my traffic by ten times. That was also the year that I tearfully had to give up reading all of my reader’s blogs (something I had been loyally committed to for four years) because I starting having to use that time to answer butt comments, butt texts, butt emails, and butt Facebook messages.
(I’ve since quit answering butt questions, for the most part, but oddly enough, that time never came back.)
Of my 2,092 posts, here were the most popular by the numbers:
1. An Inconvenient Gap of Truth, July 2012 – 4,824,746 hits. That’s right – 48% of all the visits my blog has ever seen were to one post. And oddly enough it still accounts for 44% of my hits – even though the information in the post is, as many people have kindly (or not so kindly) pointed out, quite outdated.
2. On the Proper Fitting of Jeans, February 2012 – 593,712 hits.
3. Mom Jeans and the Dreaded “Long Butt”, March 2009 – 490,447 hits. This was the original jeans post – the mother from which all the others were birthed. And I was wearing some seriously awful shoes and socks in that post.
4. Jeans for Most of America, October 2012 – 404,862 hits.
5. Geography, Pre-K Style, July 2009 – 253,822 hits. FINALLY A POST WITHOUT BUTTS. This video still makes me smile to watch. (And for the record, Noah did not follow in his sister’s Geography Prodigy footsteps.)
6. Downton Abbey MBTI Chart, November 2013 – 225,607 hits. Of all the Downton Abbey Graphics I did, this other one was my favorite. But apparently not the people’s favorite.
7. New Studies Prove that Replacing Mom Jeans Can Result in Surgery-Free Liposuction, March 2009 – 130,228 hits. (Winning the longest blog post title in the history of the world…) My Mom was my beloved model for this post, and it freaks her out that her butt has been pinned 900 times. It did not help at all when I told her that my butt had been pinned 380,000 times. I’m pretty sure she’ll never join Pinterest for fear of unexpectedly coming across her own butt.
8. Yes Virginia, There is a Miniature Giraffe, March 2011 – 122,170 hits. This post is interesting because it’s not a post that people have shared, it’s a post that people have found via Google searches. Every now and then I’ll blog about something that many people are searching for and no one else is writing about, and because of that, it will be a popular post. Other examples of this are sippy cup mold, tonsillectomy recovery, the Dilemna Dilemma, and whether or not Harry Connick Jr. has had plastic surgery.
9. The Read-Aloud Challenge, May 2012 – 99,023 hits.
10. 35 Things to Do in Birmingham, June 2014 – 91,023 hits.
There’s definitely a trend in the top 10 posts – all of them (with the possible exclusion of the Downton Abbey post) contained somewhat helpful information, which is the type of thing that people like to share on the internet. 99% of my posts are not in the least bit helpful, but they’re significantly more fun for me to write than the helpful ones. As such, my favorite posts are none of the above. They’re the ones where I was able to write creatively about an experience or thought, or was able to turn my own personal crisis into a moment for laughter.
Fifteen of my favorite posts, not in any order, are:
(I put their hit numbers on, too, so you could experience the stark contrast of the unpopularity of unhelpful creative writing on the internet.)
– How a Turd in the Tub Saved my Saturday Night, November 2012 – 2,933 hits
– Social Media Policy for Labor and Birth, November 2010 – 1,566 hits
– Parenthood 2.0, May 2012 – 968 hits
– Have a Happy Vasectomy, September 2011 – 11,475 hits
– Dr. Pepper TEN: An Investigative Report, October 2011 – 4,527 hits
– How it Feels to Be Hated By a Celebrity, June 2012 – 3,844 hits
– The Chuck, November 2011 – 883 hits
– Innerspace: The Story of my Colonoscopy, January 2014 – 1,822 hits
– How to Use Essential Oils: A Step-By-Step Guide, July 2014 – 12,130 hits (and its horribly inappropriate sequel, One Oil to Rule Them All, February 2015 – 1,253 hits)
– Pinterexia Nervosa: A Diagnostic Guide, June 2013 – 1,993 hits
– On My Whirlwind Relationship with a Spammer, September 2014 – 968 hits
– When My Friends Told Their Marriage to Take a Hike, April 2013 – 1,196 hits
– Diary of a Tired Mom, February 2015 – 569 hits
– Can’t Buy Me Love, September 2011 – 1,082 hits
In other post round-ups…
Very, very rarely, I’m inspired to write about something serious. These are my three favorite serious posts from the past eight years:
– Coexist, January 2012
– Ambassadors for Honesty about Parenthood, August 2011
– Love Well, May 2013
I personally refuse to vlog, but I loved having Noah do these two posts:
– Noah’s Fashion Pointers, Volume One, August 2013
– Fashion Statements of Fact, September 2013
(And really, I enjoyed all of Noah’s guest posts. That was an especially fun stage of writing. I should have another baby. Or not.)
Most awkward moments that came about from blogging:
– I had a guy I didn’t know that well come up to me in the sanctuary at church one Sunday and say “I absolutely LOVED your post about your Colonoscopy!!!”
– One of the pastors at our church came up to me at a birthday party and said “Rachel. OH MY GOSH. Your post about Chris’ Vasectomy.”
I gulped and said, “Uh oh. I really pushed the envelope with that one. Am I facing church discipline?”
He said, “It was amazing. PLEASE push the envelope more often.”
(Okay that moment wasn’t awkward. It was awesome. But I sure thought it was about to get awkward.)
– Having to apologize to people for writing about them in what I thought was a humorous way but…they didn’t take it that way. That happened twice. As such, I now have a policy of always asking my friends before I blog about them.
Biggest Blogging Angsts:
Seriously. I angst about everything. Ev-er-y-thing. Here is a sampling of my most common internal angsts.
What if no one thinks this is funny? Why has no one commented? Oh my gosh no one has even liked it on Facebook I’m the worst writer ever. I’m totally losing my ability to put thoughts together – stupid dysautonomia! What if someone thinks I’m talking about them and I’m totally not? Oh I bet she’s going to be offended (causing awkward feelings next time I see person I’m paranoid about.) Oh no I just realized that person reads my blog there’s no way they aren’t offended or find me highly inappropriate because I am actually highly inappropriate. Why am I so inappropriate? I should be more ladylike – I bet that’s what my mother says to herself all the time. Why has no one still commented on this post? Oh no I really am the worst. Why have people quit commenting? Why do people have to read on their iPhones so it’s so hard to comment? What am I saying – I do everything on my iPhone. Oh man I’m so behind on answering comments I hope no one thinks I’m snobby! I love my readers and want to talk to them why don’t I have time? What if everyone takes that blog post wrong and reads it in the complete wrong voice? I HAVE NO BLOG IDEAS THIS WEEK WHAT AM I GOING TO WRITE ABOUT. Seriously oh no! I’m never going to have another writing idea again surely I’ve run out of ideas! NO ONE HAS COMMENTED ON THAT POST STILL!! I’m really the worst. Why am I so the worst?
Yes. No matter how many posts you write or how many years you do it, blogging is still a highly angsty undertaking.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this behind the scenes look at my blog. Feel free to ask any follow-up questions about blogging – I don’t talk about it often, so now’s your chance! I’ll be waiting over here in my puddle of angst.
Ok I’m making the effort to comment using my phone. I for one am so glad you’ve blogged for 8 years. I think I’ve been reading for 7 of those! And you have provided so much entertainment and laughter and most importantly camaraderie in this journey of motherhood! So thank you! And I hope you keep blogging for many years to come!
You are definitely one of my longest-hanging-around, favorite blog friends!!! Thanks for hanging with me even though I don’t do nearly as good of a job with keeping up with you. But I love watching your family grow!!
The #6 popular post – the Downton Abbey Chart, was how I found your blog! Yay, DA, and yay for you and your voice and pictures that never fail to make me smile. I enjoy your realness and awesome sense of humor! Keep up the great work, Rachel!!! And Happy Blog Anniversary!!
Thank you so much!! That’s funny that you found me through Downton Abbey. I assume all local people found me via local channels.
I have a confession. I have been reading for years (probably since 2012 when I first saw your butt pinned on Pinterest!), but I don’t believe I have every left a comment.
I would like to apologize for any extra angst I may have caused by not commenting. I had something weird happen the other day – I saw someone at church and thought, “They look like Rachel!” Then I realized I don’t know you and you definitely don’t know me, so it’s strange to be saying people (that I have actually met in real life) look like you.
Anyway, I’m Jennifer. I live near Kansas City. No children but lots of dogs, cats, and horses. I work for a farm as the CFO and have a spreadsheet for everything. And I think you may be my personality twin, which is partially the reason I ALWAYS click on your new posts. :)
Aw thanks! Nice to meet you!
And working on a farm as a CFO sounds fascinating. I’d like to keep up with all those animals on a spreadsheet….
I think I found you through one of your Butt posts and you quickly became a favorite of mine. I do hope you continue on with blogging for a while longer as you make me laugh and we all need a good laugh every now and then! Happy blog anniversary!
Please do not stop. I know I do not comment often but that is because I am a terrible writer. Your blogs have always interested me and given me many happy moments. Also I have learned many things.
Thank you! I will certainly try not to stop. :-)
I found your blog via your butt posts, but I stuck around (since 2012) because your archives got me through the sleepless nights of my miserable first pregnancy. The Chuck is one of my all time favorite posts ever from any blog, and I have thought about it on several of my own crawling-through-playspaces-to-rescue-my-child situations. My husband thinks it’s creepy that I know so many things about your family (and reference them on occasion), but he for sure appreciated your Downton Abbey infographics, so there’s that. I would dramatically mourn if you decided to stop blogging, so my family sincerely begs that you not! If you’re ever in the Durham, NC area, I’d love to be a real-life blog reader meet-up statistic! We’ve got awesome food and tons of fodder for your hipster musings. :)
Ha! I don’t find you creepy at all, so you can tell your husband that next time he tells you you’re a creep. :-)
And thanks so much! I’ll definitely let you know if we ever make it that far into NC.
Please don’t ever stop blogging. Pleeeeeease. A part of my soul would wither up and die if you ever stopped blogging. For reals.
Who else on the internet has Sloppy the Squirrel???? Nobody, I tell you! NOBODY! And nobody else would have had a mug with Sloppy’s picture on it made for a friend! I got about a year’s worth of laughter out of Sloppy.
Plus I totally blame you for my Downton Abbey obsession. I would not have that if it were not for you.
And who else is as brutally and hilariously honest about parenthood as you are??? Dude, I post funny stuff like that on Facebook and there are people who take me seriously. It scares me. I need your sarcasm to survive the parenting world.
And now I kind of sound like a creepy stalker. Which I’m not. I promise. I just love you. Oops, creepy territory again…
HA!! I really should put that cup up for sale on my blog. Or do a giveaway for a set of them. Or something. Sloppy needs more recognition.
I think I might be one of those six who have read all your posts. I did that to a few blogs when Quinn was little because she insisted being on me at all times and I had an iPad at the time so it was one of these few things I could do while she slept. I love your blog and hope that if you do ever quit that you’ll at least stay on Twitter. And if not, then I insist on having your email address.
Wow! There are a lot more people that did that than I realized – Everyone just didn’t admit to it! Thanks for reading!!
Now, I’m curious if I got to read the two posts you deleted? I don’t know if I have read all 2,092 of your posts, but I have read probably most of them. Always love hearing what’s been going on in you and your families lives!
Um, the most recent one was the Creep and Crack post. Did you get to read it before I deleted it? The other one wasn’t anything special. It’s just that the world has changed in 8 years and the words didn’t sound right anymore.
The title sounds familiar, but my memory stinks! You will have to refresh it next time I see you :)
I know I got to read the deleted ones because I subscribe! #winning
I think I’m another that read all of your posts during my initial months of parenthood when I needed comic relief … or maybe it was when I was recovering from surgery. No matter when I found your blog, I always look forward to next your post!
That’s awesome! I really didn’t realize so many people had read it all.
I’ve read every post! I found you because of Inconvenient Gap of Truth and went backwards from there–it took about four months of reading a post or two a day, if I remember correctly. And I’ve read everything since then. Major props to you for sticking with blogging for so long. I did it for about three years, and it can be hard work. On top of, you know, all of the other actual work in your life. Thanks for the entertainment!
That’s so crazy. I can’t believe you’ve also read it all! You probably know more about me than I remember.
OK, I admit it I am a lurker on your blog. I think I have only commented once, but I am a faithful lurker. Checking out your blog is part of my daily routine so please continue to post. I love the way you express the humor in everyday occurrences. Keep ’em coming!
Thank you so much!! I shall try to keep going. :-)
I found you through the jeans butt posts, and I have yet to find jeans I like, because I’m frugal (aka cheap) & I HATE jeans with stretch, even 1%.
Sometimes Google notifies me the day you post, sometimes the day after. And if it forgets you, I always come back and read, & have for a couple of years.
And I love statistics, so thanks for sharing.
And thank you for continuing to blog, after our move a few years ago, it keeps me a bit sane and a welcome respite from taking care of tiny humans all day (I love my tiny humans, but it’s hard to go do anything when they’re little)
Oh, and happy blog anniversary :)
Have you found any jeans without stretch? I would love to know where to find some! And happy blog anniversary, Rachel!
Jeans without stretch ARE hard to find. Really hard. If only you had a time machine to go back to the 80s….
OK – I’m one of those folks that, after I found you, went back and read ALL your post (not all in one sitting though) – at least I think I got them all. You are always a bright spot in life for me – love your take on everything and have totally fallen in love with your little family. I really hope you continue writing because I know I’m not the only one who would grieve and cry and pull my hair out if you went missing.
That’s so crazy! I am shocked by how many have said they have read it all. More than I thought! Thanks so much for reading and I’m certainly going to attempt to keep writing!
I’m so proud to say I started reading you before you were famous – way back in 2009 after my son was born. I don’t know what I’d do if you ever stopped blogging. Maybe move to Birmingham? :)
You should TOTALLY move to Birmingham. :-)
Like many, I found your blog through your butt. You just don’t get to say that very often. My favorite post is when you were staying in a hotel and got up and ran into the wall twice. I think I peed myself a little laughing at that one. Please keep it up. I’ll try to remember to comment…even on my phone.
Ha! Thanks. I almost included that post in my favorites. It was kinda one of my favorites too. Except for the broken nose.
Oh for heaven’s sake. The internet ate my moving, touching and emotional post about how much I love your blog… You’ll have to just imagine it.
Awww! Stupid internet. I shall take five minutes to imagine it in all its floweryness.
I believe your statistics are now off on how many people went back into the archives to read all your old posts. I am another who joined during the butt craze and found I couldn’t get enough of your hilarity and insightfulness. (And I find it funny that my iPhone wanted to change insightfulness to insightful mess, which is almost as accurate!)
I am another one of the statistics to find plenty of time to read your full blog while nursing an infant or holding a sleeping kid. I am another statistic who doesn’t comment often. I am another statistic who enjoys statistics. We love you – keep writing as long as it brings a smile to your face!
They are definitely off! I just had 6 who admitted to it. I guess the rest of you were going to keep it a secret!!
I think I have been reading your blog for maybe 4 or 5 years? It is definitely a consistent part of my week. Every time you mention that quitting is a thing that happens my heart sinks because I would really miss all this! Then I think about Calvin and Hobbes and I realize that you do have a point.
Also, I don’t know if I’m one of those 6, but I read through your archives when I started reading the blog so I’m pretty sure I’ve read every post:)
HI! I don’t think I have ever commented and I read through feedly so I might not help your numbers at all but still. I don’t remember when I started reading you but I do so weekly and have been for as long as I can remember. One of my must reads when I am short on time (I have two kids 3 and 5). Congrats on 8 years and keep going as long as it feels good for you. I know life can appear more rosy on blogs than they are in real life but I love your humorous spin on things that make me get tired just reading about!
How has it been so many years since your Coexist post? Also, I just read a medical article this morning about moldy sippy cups and how hazardous they are to a child’s health. See you were ahead of the curve. :-)
I’m here! I’m reading! Just not in any sort of order or regularity as my children, extra children, tutoring the hubs through his last semester of school, etc. have cramped my morning blog-reading style just a bit! How dare they!? And I still love every post, and need them in my life!!!