Wednesday, April 05, 2006

Happy Blog Birthday To Me: Daily Gluttony Turns One!



Aww look, it's baby's first birthday, and my how she's grown!

If Daily Gluttony were a baby, people would surely be throwing her a big party with cake, balloons, and party streamers. She'd be sitting in a high chair while someone took photos of her with baby food smeared all over her face, totally clueless to all the festivities around her. But since Daily Gluttony is not a human baby, there will be no people throwing her a party. There will be no balloons and no streamers. So, in order to celebrate, she will throw a party for herself, complete with cake and candle, and maybe even a glass of wine. That is, of course, if wine is OK for a one year old.

You'd be surprised how many similarities there are between our cuddly, diapered friends and this blog, however. First of all, it seems like just yesterday when
Daily Gluttony was conceived out of sheer boredom. (Like that's never happened to anyone before.) And second of all, she has developed quite a bit in just one year. In the beginning, the little tyke was just trying to find her way, and so began her early months with super-random posts about weekend to-do lists, A.D.D. in meetings, mustard whores, grilled cheese sandwiches, and guillotine cars. She couldn't take a decent food photo to save her life. She was also trying to keep up with the pressure of posting daily to live up to her name and at one point even considered changing her name because she thought it was false advertising.

But it wasn't long before Ms. Poopy-Pants started growing up and figuring things out. Her mind matured into a more reasonable one, and her writing during this development stage became a learning process. She learned to take
better pictures of her food. (Oh, you mean I just have to use this flower button???) Her already keen epicurean senses soared to different heights as she began to focus on trying cuisines she'd never tried before. Trips to the grocery store began to take twice as long due to wandering eyes scoping out a wealth of new foods and products. And simple drives down the street opened her eyes to a world of undiscovered eats. She came to the full realization that the true meaning of "daily gluttony" was not that she had to post something daily, but that her actual obsession with all things edible is a never ending story and thus, kept her birthname.

Time flies, but it's amazing how much can happen in just a year. With her fiery personality, she's made some
enemies, but more importantly, she's made some invaluable friends, even if only through cyberspace. She became engaged to the love of her life, a man who just happens to also be a gnome-killer. She's hired quite an adorable (but drunkard) sous-chef. She got a new job around where she's slowly starting to explore restaurant options, but misses her old stomping grounds and epicurean-parnters-in-crime dearly. She is now the big sister to an alien lemon, and as of 7 days ago, an auntie to a beautful human baby girl.

She also felt like the whole world was crumbling around her
when she discovered that her father had cancer, but is learning how to cope with the physical and emotional side effects that are affecting everyone involved. But she has become a stronger person from it--one who has learned that there's nothing more important in life than love.

A year ago, she would have never made a special trip after work just to go buy a slice of cake to photograph for a birthday post. (OK, so it came from Vons for $2.99, so what?) One year and 225 posts later, she would. Happy Birthday, Daily Gluttony...make a wish and blow out your candle!

18 comments:

elmomonster said...

Congrats! How time flies! Very sentimental and funny retrospective.

smokedog said...

Happy one year to my favorite Southern California food blog! Keep up the good work!

Erin S. said...

congrats--love your writing and your sense of humor--nice work.

Passionate Eater said...

What an amazing recap of the wonderful ride that has been named "Daily Gluttony!" I discovered your site by clicking on "food blogs" on my Blogger profile, and I have read your site "daily" every since.

Happy birthday, and here's to many more birthdays to come!

Colleen Cuisine said...

Congrats Pam!
I learned so much more about you just from reading your "birthday recap"

You have a wonderful blog and I love reading it... keep up the great work!

El Bandini said...

happy birthday daily gluttony!!!

If I had an I love daily gluttony shirt I would put it on right now and jump around.

Mr McGuinness said...

I'm sooooo jealous. I'm from the U.K. where prime minister Selma Blair has just made the celebrating of birthdays illegal. If you see someone you suspect may be celebrating a birthday you are now legally allowed to hit them with a brick and confiscate their balloons.

Anonymous said...

Hi Pam - Mucho Congrads! Happy Blog B-day. Needless to say, your posts (starting from the infamous asparagus pee) have always kept a smile on my face! Here's to another 2,225!

susan said...

hi pam and happy birthday daily gluttony! we started around the same time i see. :) if i didn't find the food blogging world and didn't realze i could actually have my own food blog i would be bored to blitherines right now.

daily gluttony is one of the first blogs i started reading and still enjoying it!

BoLA said...

Pam!!! Happy Blog Birthday! =) Can't wait to celebrate it in style at Musha's! ;)

Oishii Eats said...

Happy Birthday Daily Gluttony! You're blog is what got me started in this whole la foodblogging thang! I am forever grateful for your love for food!

Anonymous said...

it's been a year already?!? how time flies! anyhow, happy birthday!

Jhaw, sj said...

happy blog bday Daily Gluttony! I hope we also reach our first blog bday at the Jesuit Gourmet!

anyways, goodluck. I visit your blog from time to time, and I must say reading your entries also inspire me to make my blog entries better.

cheers!

e d b m said...

Pam, congrats and happy blog b-day. Like many of us, we've all started the same time but it was my endless search for good food that brought me to your page. You got me started and I reflect on how much my perspectives on life changed through your words, food in general and the people who write as passionately about it. I remember thinking,

"WTF? People actually WRITE about the food they eat? How interesting could that possibly be? This DG girl cusses a lot! I like it!"

I'm with Bandini. I'd wear the DG shirt and jump around on a trampoline. I'll see you soon. I'm gonna bring you a pinata in the shape of your alien lemon. haha.

Daily Gluttony said...

Aww, thanks for the blog-birthday wishes, everyone!!! I'm tellin' ya, doing this blog wouldn't be half as much fun & meaningful if it weren't for all of you guys! =)

Anonymous said...

happy birthday! it's kinda scary, huh? you're all growed up now. gots to be responsible and stuff. ;)

sylvie1950 said...

Happy Birthday! Time does fly and with that we do grow wiser. Here's to another year.

Eddie Lin said...

i'm a couple of weeks late but happy birthday dg. uncle eddie has a take-out box of pad thai with your name on it. can't wait for you to start walking! i'm so proud.