No, no, not dooced as in lower case dooced, which Wikipedia defines as being fired for something written in a personal blog. I doubt anyone would fire me for bragging how high my kids jump on trampolines or how good looking my son is. I can't imagine they'd care that my younger son is a superhero, or that Kayla is taking sewing lessons. I've been Dooced with a capital D and couldn't be happier about it.
My politics are liberal, and maybe my gushing approval of Nancy Pelosi could raise some eyebrows, but otherwise I use this blog to communicate with my family and friends about what a rich, full life we lead in Silicon Valley. About how little time (really) I spend watching DVDs from my comfy bed, or that I let Walter eat waffles for dinner when he won't touch what I've made (with a rare exception, roast beef and mashed potatoes being one that he'll eat but that rarely gets cooked).
But I read the blog of one Heather Armstrong, aka Dooce, every day. I used to read it when she lived in LA and was single and usually in a state of altered reality while periodically reporting about the antics of the, um, lovely souls of the people she worked with. (It wasn't until the lovely souls became aware of it that they summarily fired her for her hilarious characterizations and biting truths.)
In one of those "it's a small world" type things, Heather got married to a man she worships and moved home to Utah to raise their daughter, who appears to be 30-going-on-3. They made the choice for the very good reason that they have family in Utah. It makes me homesick every time she writes about grandmothers and grandfathers and family gatherings.
I grew up in Salt Lake City and lived some of my adult life there in the valley, too. I have lots of family in the Ogden area and my folks live down in Southern Utah's Iron County.
So reading the blog made me spew coffee from my nose even more often when she moved there and started writing about the things I know so well. She has a house in the neighborhood with the two people I stayed close to in Utah, and a life that can be described only as lived to its fullest.
So when I got an email from a friend with a link to the Worst Valentine's Day Gifts Ideas Ever, I naturally clicked over and saw gift ideas such as books called "You: On a Diet" and a tick-removing tool, I naturally thought of Heather. I popped off an email to her, secretly hoping she'd put it in her "featured links" column on the left side of her page.
Yep, I was right. This is Dooce's humor. She linked to the gifts page and included a link back here to Silly Valley.
Katie bar the door! Instead of a dozen or so daily clicks I have enjoyed several thousand since that link went up. I was totally Dooced.
So if you're reading My Silly Valley for the first time as a result of Heather's link, welcome. Go ahead and bookmark the site. I have funny kids and a mixed-up life. If you all read my site as much as you do Dooce.com, maybe I can write a blog for a living, too.
Maybe I could even move home to Utah.
