Well, “haus” has a nice European flair to it, and because I was born in Idaho and raised in backwoods Alaska with no running water, I need all the sophistication I can get. Plus my dad is German, and I myself have a German name (note the umlaut in “Hänni”), and therefore, by virtue of my father’s nationality and my dotted “a”, I feel it is only fitting that I euro-spell “haus.”

Like HAW-knee house… it’s not HAW-knee hoss or Hanny HA-us. It’s just my name + house. Easy right? Just remember this: HAW-knee house – it rhymes with skank a$$ blouse.

Back in 2002 I had to make a Web site for a class. It was called “International House of Hanni”, or the IHOH for short. The splash had a picture of a 1950’s modern-style sofa and it said “Welcome to my House.” People started telling me that was cute, you know because Hänni and house, that’s like alliteration. Well, one day SORM IM’d me something about my “haus”, and then the rest is history.

You will never read the f-word totally spelled out at the haus, except I think its in one post where I was directly quoting beat poetry, and oh there was the time guest writer, Smug Ellie dropped the f-bomb regarding a family feud. It’s not that I’m against eff, I just don’t use it IRL, so why start here?

Yes. In its inception in 2001, when it was hosted at blogspot, I called my site the 10cent Sparkler. I thought it had a nice ring to it, and was (I’d hoped) quite witty, like it was the online equivalent of those Nickel Saver papers you get the grocery store. It wasn’t News Week, the Daily Press, or even the Enquirer. It was just a little freebie read that might make you laugh…or cry…or pee your pants. After you had a good read, you’d go on with your day and maybe tell some friends about that funny blog you stumbled upon.

That being said, even though we’re hannihaus now, the sentiment is the same. We’re still dedicated to making you rofl on a daily basis.

In answer to the first half of this question, I can’t stop talking about SORM because:
1. He is probably hannihaus’s biggest fan (besides maaa and cg who are obligated to love me, and by extension my haus, because they gave birth/raised me).
2. SORM looks exactly like an illegitimate love child of 80’s pop icon, Richard Marx. When I first met him and told him that, he did not recoil in horror. He thought it was cool. That’s why we are friends
3. He started me on blogging – he kvetched and kvetched until I set up the 10Cent Sparkler in 2001.
4. He is my admin and therefore kicks major a$$. I could not run this site without him.

In answer to the second half the question… Yes, I do have friends. Their names are Bitsy and Bubsy and they live in my imagination. Just kidding, folks. Seriously, my friends are the best, and sometimes I find myself having a Sally-Fields-wins-the-Oscar-type moment and I’m like “You like me! You really like me!”

I love you too! And that answer to your question would be a resounding “yes!”

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Do you have a question about Hänni or the haus? E-mail it to hanni at hannihaus dot com. Domo arigatou mr. roboto.