Before we begin, let me just say that that was the most spectacular and jaw-dropping Olympic opening ceremony I have ever seen. I was totally geeking out at the LED floor. The amount of fireworks shot off at the Bird’s Nest Stadium is just staggering. What an awesome production!

When I started this blog almost two years ago,it was just a place where I could store some pictures and brief descriptions of the food we were eating. I didn’t really understand how powerful and beneficial the food blogging community could be. Then in February of this year, we heard about the FoodBuzz community. In exchange for putting an ad banner on our site, FoodBuzz would pay us a small amount per 1,000 pageviews.

FoodBuzz also had a traffic challenge, starting in March and ending in July, to see which blog could build its traffic the most. I signed up with FoodBuzz then, but kept blogging as before, which was not very seriously. I even stopped blogging for almost the whole month of May!

Then in early June, Annie kicked me in the butt and told me to get serious. I started studying other successful blogs and seeing how I could make House of Annie better. I started submitting pics to TasteSpotting and FoodGawker and actually managed to get a few of them accepted!

FoodBuzz treated us to a dinner with other Featured Publishers (like Lando of SpotsforDates.com and Michael of CookingforEngineers.com) at Gochi Japanese Fusion Tapas in Cupertino. They even sent us a box of Moo Cards, plus a nifty FoodBuzz canvas bag:

Sungold Girl with her fashionable FoodBuzz bag

Then in late June, we were “Blogspotted” by the Malay Mail and that really got us excited.

July was a seriously busy month for us, with an average of 5 posts per week. But it was paying off, as we started to see the site get more and more attention. The March traffic challenge hadn’t even entered my mind, as I thought I had started too late to make any significant growth. I was more focused on building the site and building relationships with other bloggers. We even ran a small giveaway of Lupicia tea to see if we could get more interest.

July ended, and we kept blogging and kept seeing growth. Then, just this week, FoodBuzz announced the winners of the March traffic challenge — and we were declared the winners! The prize?

$1,000!

Daniel the Spam Musubi Maker with a Message

So I have a lot of people to thank for this honor:

1. First, God. His love endures forever.
2. Next, Annie. Without her, none of this would even be possible.
3. Next, blogger mentors like Bee and Jaden. Their willingness to share epitomizes the food blogging community.
4. FoodBuzz, of course, for giving me the incentive to get better.
5. Sara and Chuck, for the traffic spikes 😉 .
6. And finally, YOU, our loyal readers! Thank you for letting us share a part of our world with you.

We are more energized, more excited, and more passionate than ever about food blogging. It’s not just the virtual interaction we have with you, but moreso the face-to-face meetings with fellow foodies that makes blogging so much fun.

Tomorrow, we go to the 2008 NORCATT in Solano County. We hope to meet some foodies there. I don’t know who exactly is coming, but hopefully Chef John from Foodwishes will be there.

Then, next week we fly to Hawaii to visit my family. We won’t be posting as many recipes as usual, but we will be posting dispatches of some of the great places we went to eat (of course!). One thing on the agenda is a dinner with other FoodBuzz Featured Publishers in Hawaii. I’m really looking forward to that.

When we get back, Annie and I will be going to an event that we are both really excited about. I’d love to tell you about it but I think I’ll leave you in suspense for now. heheheheh!

Well, this post has turned out longer than I expected. I’m going to sign off now, but I would like your opinion on something:

How would YOU spend $1,000?
A. Buy a new camera
B. Buy a new computer
C. Blow it all on a dinner at the French Laundry
D. Save it for a rainy day

Leave us a comment below!

Aloha, Nate