Professional Blogger

Why do people start blogging? There are many reasons out there. Some of them are good reasons. Others are a little bit silly.

When I first started blogging we had gone from a 2 person 2 income family to a 3 person 1 income family.  I thought maybe I could make a little money blogging. I can be entertaining. I am a decent writer. Braden was a great subject. Surely he would provide me all kinds of material. So I decided to give it a whirl and see if I could develop some kind of following.

It didn't take very long for me to realize that my reason for blogging was a silly one. It is very difficult to make any money at this. It takes much more work and time than I can put into it.

Of course I found the same benefits from blogging that everyone else finds.  It's a great way to meet new people, share ideas, and have a good time. There is something to this social networking craze.

Now it has all changed.

In the past month I have actually made some money blogging.  I now consider myself a professional blogger, but please don't tell the IRS.

I don't want any of my blog friends and readers to be intimidated by my new professional status. I am still the same bewildered dad that I was over 15 months ago when I started this thing.  I promise to still be approachable and down to earth because it is still all about my fans.  Thank you all for your support in helping make this possible. I hope to continue seeing you all here every day.

Please check with my personal assistant or my agent to make an appointment.

One Year and 200 Posts

One year ago today I wrote this and my adventure into blogging began.  I never considered myself a social networker, and I am still not much of one.  Blogging, Facebook, and all the other things that were so popular were not for me.

I thought I was from the old school. I liked my friends within arms reach when talking. I preferred regular old email if they were far away.  Writing on different peoples wall and commenting on their daily activities was for other, mostly younger people.

I started this blog as a curious experiment. I only wanted to see if I could get enough people to read what I had to say to make a little extra cash.  I learned that was not possible in about 2 seconds.  In order to make any money at this whole internet thing you have to be a lot more talented and dedicated than myself. Still I found it enjoyable to have this new outlet for my thoughts. It allowed me to spew my individuality without offending everyone I know.

Then I finally got a comment on a post.  Then I got two comments.  Then I found Dad Blogs. That is when I did finally do some social networking and started meeting people. Now I am proud to say that I have literally dozens of imaginary friends out there in cyberspace. Amazingly many of them have stuck with me and listened to all I have to say for months on end. I get a crazy impression that some of them even enjoy my little web page.

To all of you who visit my site I want to say thank you for making this 200th post possible.  Without some feed back I would have been discouraged and quit writing long ago.  With Braden turning one and becoming more active by the minute I don't think there is any chance of me running out of material any time soon. So if you are willing to go with me I plan on shooting for 200 more posts and beyond.

Happy Birthday Life of a New Dad.

The Bad Blogger

I want to tell the story of the bad blogger. Let's call him Otter. Otter led a simple life. He went to the office five days a week and did his engineering chores. Often times he didn't have too many assignments for the day. One of those boring days he began thinking of new ways to spend his time. His son had just been born, and all Otter's thoughts revolved around the wee lad.

Perusing the Internet for all types of activities Otter continually kept coming across the topic of blogging. Of course this topic has been mainstream for some time, but it never seemed to appeal to the bored engineer. This time, armed with the newness of fatherhood, it made more sense.

With that our new blogger set out to start a running commentary on the Life of a New Dad. Ideas were never hard for this blogger. His mind is a raging torrent of thoughts every day. He had plenty of time to pound out a post or two on most work days. With posts usually on stand by Otter never had to miss a day. What's better he was able to read all his favorite blogs and comment every day. He made new friends and his blog grew by leaps and bounds.

Then business picked up at the the engineering office. Being the entire engineering office on his own this meant much work for our up and coming blogger. He soon became swamped with orders, drawings, phone calls, emails, and banging his head on the desk. The latter of those tasks is only undertaken to help with ones tolerance of the others.

This is when the bad blogger appeared. No longer did Otter have time to type a post a day. Some days he barely had time to drink his coffee. Otter hates nothing more than to work so long that when he gets back to his coffee it is cold, inducing the spit this crap out reflex. Spitting coffee on anything is a bad idea.

So here we are in our hero's journey. Blogging has taken a back seat. Work is work. Home is caring for little Braden. Blogging is lost in a forest of real responsibility. Hopefully all you readers out there in internetland will bear with me. Hopefully things will slow down a bit soon. Then I can return to posting more regularly. Also I can return to reading all your blogs. I have not quit on any of you. I just haven't been able to find the time.

For now I am the bad blogger, but some day soon I will return triumphantly to my throne as king of this space. My hits will again grow. The content of this blog will thrive and flourish like the flies in my back yard.

Now I have to go. My phone is ringing again.

100th Post

Today is my 100th post. I can't believe that I have written about 100 different things. You can certainly chalk that up to the trials of fatherhood. Before Braden came on the scene I didn't have 100 different things happen to me in a year. I could have posted a daily schedule and left it up for 12 months. Now every day is a new adventure that I can share in this space.


I started blogging as a creative outlet. I enjoy writing, but have nowhere to do that, save for a few long winded emails. Add that to the fact that I was about to embark on the biggest life changing event of my being, and it seemed like a good time to try this whole blogging thing out.


I selfishly wrote only in hopes that others would read what I had to say. I desperately wanted people to read my blog and enjoy it. I wanted people to think I was funny and intelligent. What never occurred to me is that I would find people that I enjoy reading every day. It never occurred to me that I might learn something. It never occurred to me that I might actually get some type of social experience from this endeavor. It turns out a lot of things never occur to me, but that doesn't keep me from noticing those things now.


I have had a great time through these first 100 posts. I am amazed that I am actually gaining readers at this point rather than losing them. So today on this monumental occasion I want to thank everyone who has ever stopped by this site even one time. Thanks to those of you who read and comment regularly. Thanks to those of you who have linked to this site and have given me good reviews. This blogging is a lot of fun and I hope to keep it up for a long while.


Most of all thanks to Braden and Arica for letting me share our lives via the magic of the Internet. Braden, in case you read this years from now, I got your permission. You just don't remember.