The Johnson Family: Hannah, Matt, Vivian, & Aaron
Hello, we’re the Johnson Family — Matt, Vivian, Hannah, and Aaron, as well as a cat named Zoey, and a guinea pig named Harold. We live in the Omaha area and have been having lots of fun and writing all about it since 2006. That means food, family, friends, and fun. And also some politics.
This humble site first started on blogspot.com in the pre-Facebook era, when friends used “blogs” to share what they were doing with one another, and in the era of social media, I stubbornly keep up this tradition even when others abandoned it. I started this blog shortly after my first date with Vivian and chronicles our entire relationship — from the moment we “made it official” to today.
Along the way, I’ve chronicled fun we’ve had with our friends over the years and had a couple kids. I’ve used it to chronicle the fun, happy times we’ve had together, with a particular emphasis on food we eat, places we go, and even the politicians we get to meet. It consists of the various fun things we do every week or so, including swing dancing, playing at the park, going on trips, attending concerts, and participating in whatever photo-worthy activities are happening nearby.
If you’d like to make the most out of reading this blog, here are a few bullet points to keep in mind:
- Most of my blog entries have hyperlinks leading to additional photos to provide context and information to each post. Click on them! They are presented in a “lightbox” format so you won’t actually leave the page.
- I regularly post photos on Flickr and occasionally post videos on YouTube.
- I am frequently engaged in our political system, meeting and greeting (and getting to photograph) mayors, congressmen, and even Presidential candidates — both Republican and Democrat (among others). That includes nearly everyone who ran for President in 2016 and 2020 (living close to Iowa, an early primary state, makes it easy). I’m a conservative, but I try keep my blog politically neutral and make a point to hear both sides.
- You’ll see lots of pictures of food in this blog. That trend of taking photos of your dinner when eating out? I started that. Omaha’s a great place to eat, and we have plenty of friends who love to cook, including my wife. If you’re into food porn, you’ll appreciate this part of my blog.
- I’ve drawn a web comic off and on for the past decade or two. The latest of these are listed on the right-hand sidebar. My first comic was titled Cortland and appeared on Comic Genesis and the e-zine ATPM. I started drawing Out at Five in 2008 and still update it regularly. Many of the cool people I’ve met via web comics are featured in earlier entries of this blog, and I’ve traveled all over the place to meet up with them in person: St. Louis, Nashville, Toronto, and even London, England.
- I’m a graphic designer working full-time in Omaha and freelancing during my off hours, You can check out my resume and (dated) portfolio at my professional web site, mattaj.com. (Though I don’t usually write about work-related stuff here.)
That’s it. Happy reading! If you want to post a comment, please do. It’s the only way I know for sure anybody reads this thing.