Today is my blog's first birthday. It has been exactly one year since my very first post. Thank you to those of you who have been around from the beginning. I started it as an exercise in writing discipline when Bean's Blog was going dark. At the time, he had mentioned how difficult it was to do it every day, just to make the commitment to post something interesting every single day. Bean's Blog was FAR more informative and entertaining than mine, so I know he did much more work than I do, and I am here a year later to confirm that it is definitely a pain in the ass to post sometimes. Especially on days when nothing interested has happened and I feel like I have nothing to say. Yet somehow, except for the 30 days I was out of the country, I posted every single day, culminating in this 351st post. For the handful of you who come back day after day, I hope it has been worth it.

It's also Wally Wednesday here at Da Blog, which means a photo of my adorable labrador, Wally. We went on a small hike behind the Rose Bowl this afternoon with Madeline and her Great Dane, Mobay. There's a small stream at the back which has accumulated some depth. Wally knows right where the water is and always runs to it when we get close. We encountered two adorable labs already there - one chocolate and one black. Labs are absolutely the best dogs to play with in the water.

Guitar Hero notes for the day: Easiest Band - Weezer / Hardest Band - Santana

The song of the day is "Take a Look Around" by Limp Bizkit off their 2000 album Chocolate Starfish and the Hotdog Flavored Water. (Eew...seriously?) However, you probably know it best as the theme song for Mission Impossible II. Don't ask me why I like this song. There are so many reasons for me NOT to like it, starting with my general dislike for both Limp Bizkit (including the oh-so-hip alternative spelling) and everything Fred Durst, compounded with my complete hatred of Tom Cruise who stars in the film. And yet somehow, I find this song particularly catchy, including the integration of the old Mission Impossible theme music as a guitar riff. If you've never heard it, check it out here: