WOW. I honestly can’t believe I’ve had this blog for 5 years.
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FIVE YEARS. Of blogging, 3-5 times a week. Roughly 636 posts.
3,000 comments.
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More recipes than I can count.
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That equals a lot of words. A lot of recipes, yes. But a LOT of words.
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But I often have a lot to say. And not always just about baking. To quote Bobby Brown, (who, admittedly, frequents a very different kind of rehab than my site) that’s my prerogative. Which, speaking of, brings me to something I’ve thought about a few times since becoming a blogger (again) back in 2007.
I consider myself to be a pretty good blogger. I’m not one of the most popular bloggers EVER, I don’t get rich off of this by any means. But that isn’t why I’m here. I’m here because it’s fun & I enjoy it. I try to post often, I make sure the recipes are workable to the best of my ability, I bust my ass to come up with creative stuff & good content, I don’t do a lot of needless “paid posts”,Ā I’m not uber controversial (well not usually), etc. However I do rule with an iron fist around here.
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If you’ll indulge me a quick tangent, most bloggers at some point or another, incur the wrath of a crazy internet troll and end up with a mean rant or two, or at the very worst- an entire horrendous thread of vile comments ( to those not in the blogosphere: a “thread” is also known as not just one, but a continuous slew of comments). It’s occurred to me a few times that I’ve never incurred such wrath; save for one time when a psycho bitch went racist on me because the United States of America elected a half-black president in 2008. Because apparently, that was all my fault (?). I love a good debate, and I love people to give their opinions and ideas here. Just as long as it’s respectful. If you want to act crazy and let the world wide web read it- go ahead. Start your own blog, they’re free. I bet there’s tons of trolls that would love to read it. Just don’t bring it here and we’re cool. And recently a blog I’m a big fan of, Hot Pink Apron, had a similar situation featuring a mindless idiot & an offensive comment. Why do people feel the need to do that? I don’t know. I just know I’m lucky I haven’t had to deal with a lot of it.
So yes, I’m incredibly lucky: I have not only excellent spam filters, but more importantly, excellent readers. So on today, the FIFTH birthday of Cupcake Rehab, as I eat these beautiful vanilla blogiversary cupcakes (this recipe)… topped off with a delicious dark chocolate/sour cream frosting made with Supreme Dark Lindt chocolate (this recipe)… and pink sprinkles, of course…
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But anyway, I’m getting distracted. Where I was going with this was that as I eat these I want to say…
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Thanks to you all.
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You’ve been awesome, you’ve been great, you’ve been the best readers anyone could ask for. Back in 2007, when I started a little blog on WordPress.com, I never thought it be anything more than a fun little diversion that my friends would read. I had no idea it would become what it has. I’m both grateful and awed. You’ve all grown with me, from my silly first posts and my awful pictures, to what the blog is now, which is (I hope) a far better version of that. And I hope it continues to grow and evolve as I do. I also hope you’ll all still be following me, reading my posts, and traveling the strange journey of life with me. I love that people have embraced the fact that I gave my mixers little monikers; Lola & He Who Must Not Be Named. I love that other people started naming theirs, too! I love seeing my photos pinned & re-pinned on Pinterest. I love seeing people pin my blog logo & say “My favorite blog!” I love that so much, you have no idea. I love that people e-mail me and ask me questions about cookies.I love that I get Facebook comments like, “Hi, I’m obsessed with your blog!” I love that you guys buy t-shirts & mugs that say Cupcake Rehab!
It makes me so incredibly happy. Happy to know you’re enjoying all the work I put in.
I know, this is starting to sound like a cheesy speech at the Oscars, but really, I mean it.
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People think blogging is easy. They think it’s a way to make a quick fortune, that they’ll get tons of hits & comments right away, that everyone will LOVE what they write because their friends tell them they’re funny, etc. It’s not like that at all. It’s a lot of work to make a blog not only beautiful but worth reading. It takes time, patience, knowledge of HTML/CSS, the ability to take good photos (and edit them). It takes a sense of humor and most of all the ability to draw people in. But it is anything but easy. Is it worth it? Sure. But I didn’t get into this for money or internet fame or anything. My stars aligned in such a way that I somehow became pretty popular & had a few awesome opportunities given to me because of that. But can I retire at 31 with all the dough I’ve made? No. And that isn’t the point. Anyone who’s in it for that is a fool. I’d do this no matter what the result, because I enjoy it. I genuinely enjoy every single aspect; from the creation, to the photos, to the readers, the PHP and CSS coding, even the battles with database connection errors & MySQL. I enjoy it all.
Especially the food.
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And that won’t stop. As long as I’m able to, I’ll still be here blogging. So I really hope you’ll still be here reading. From me & from Lola… thanks for hangin’ in there with us for five years, or five minutes, whatever! However long it is you’ve been a reader- thank you, thank you, thank you.
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Here’s to another 5 years!
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I'm Marilla. A 30-something artist, hobby baker, home canning enthusiast, gardener, DIY-er, wife, mommy of a baby boy and dog mom (to another baby boy) from New York. 
When I see a new blog post….I get excited to read it…I look forward to it….like getting your favorite magazine in the mail…kinda like the same feeling….I wish for you,cuppie….years more…with a zillion more fans….I know I will be there. XXX
Happy 5th year birthday/blogiversary!! You have a fantastic blog!! Everyday I check it to see what great recipe you are posting.
Congrats M!
I know the work you speak of and I’m so thrilled for your anniversary – it’s great to celebrate your talent, passion, hard work and dedication to this project and the community you’ve created. Congratulations to you – giant high 5! š
Hooray for blogiversary! It’s true: no one realizes how much work goes into a blog…until they start one. š CUPCAKES FOR ALL.
Congrats on your 5 years! My one year is coming up. I hope to be as long running and as popular as you one day! I would like to reflect on how we “met” on the internet. You might not know how I found you, but… I was making buttercream frosting for the first time, and it wouldn’t get to the consistency I wanted it. I googled for help, and it led me to your page. Your instructions helped. I was so excited, I wanted to thank you personally, so I tweeted about how awesome you were, and you responded back. I added you, you added me, we became twitter pals. We both had a loss of strong women in our lives, a month a part. And I found solace in talking to someone who just went through the same loss and understood that sometimes I didn’t wanna talk to someone at home because they just had too many opinions of how I should grieve.
Thank you and your blog. Please stay forever.
<3 Miemo
Aww you guys! These comments are going to make me tear up. I’m going to have to go stub my toe so I don’t look silly crying over a blog ;o)
I wasn’t kidding when I said thank you in the post. I’m really grateful. Not just that I’m not sitting here typing to myself, haha… but that people seem to actually ENJOY what I’m saying.
Mara- thank you for being awesome & such a big supporter! ā¤
Judy- THANK YOU! That means so much to me, really.
Joel- You DEFINITELY know what I mean when I say work. You two work your butts off for Well Preserved and it’s fantastic. Thank you for being so cool and educating so many people on not just food but where where it comes from. Your blog is equivalent to the brains & science of food, whereas mine is… I don’t know, more like the hair & makeup, haha ;o)
Eileen- Right? Everyone thinks “I’m gonna start a blog and be famous like Pioneer Woman!” HA! Try again. Thank you for being a reader!
Miemo- ā¤ā¤ā¤ā¤ You’re amazing. I remember that tweet. And I’m so glad you tweeted me! You’re now one of my favorite people. Thank you for being there as not only a reader but a FRIEND.
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