Etiquette

What is the proper way to respond to a blog for the first time? Should you identify yourself? Let the writer know who you are so they know a bit about you...or just start into what you want to say?
Also, how do you let someone know that you've been thinking about them, but it has been years since the last contact? Here lately I've been dreaming about people I went to high school with and with the ease of the internet, have been able to look them up. Some that I was pretty good friends with, I e-mailed just to say hi, but some...I didn't really know if it would be weird or not. I mean, can you really just say hi to someone that you 'dated' in 10th grade, then were friends with afterward?
I guess this boils down to the can you be friends with anyone you dated in the past category of life. I have several friends that I dated in the past, but the breakup was mutual and the transition from friend to boyfriend to friend again was not that hard. Then I have some that we were friends then dated then we broke up from distance--going off to college, moving, going home for the summer, etc. The last thing in our relationship history was a breakup. It's not like I haven't moved on, and I'm sure they have too, but can I just pop up into their blog or inbox and say hi without looking like a stalker?
One funny that has come of this has been finding out that a friend of mine from high school named his daughter after me. He didn't tell me this, but was telling me about his wife and kids and just happened to write "...and Genniver just turned 9..." So maybe I have nothing to worry about.

my birthday-ish

Yes, I am awake at 5:30 a.m. again...with the other little guy. I hate this waking up at 3 and not going back to bed until he can tag out his brother.
Anyway, I was going through old cards trying to get rid of some of the enormous amounts of paper that we have in the house. I came across a birthday card from my granny--my dad's mom. We've never been close, I haven't seen her since I graduated high school and haven't heard from her since 1995. So I found this birthday card from when I was turning 16 I think. She had underlined stuff in the card, which is corny, but fine, then she wrote "You are so pretty and sweet and I'm sure you will go far in life." It creeped me out. This is my grandmother writing this. I had pulled it out to throw away, but decided to keep it to show Chris when he got home. Then she called. Yes, it was my birthday, but like I stated earlier, I haven't heard from her since 1995. Not when I graduated college, graduated grad school, got married, and not when I had either of my two boys, but my 31st birthday she calls. She's been in the hospital with cancer again (this will be her 3rd or 4th bout) and from what I can tell, she is worried that she's going to die. It was a stilted call to say the least. But I promised to send her a picture of the boys, so I guess I will send her a card too.

dryer woes

I was trying to be good and empty my dryer lint holder, when an errant baby sock ran down the lint trap. How in the world do you get it out?! I have tried a skewer and my hand, but have gotten nothing. Now I am stuck waiting to see if the sock will melt and catch something on fire, or just catch on fire itself. It's hard enough to get something into the dryer, but now I have to babysit it too. Woo-hoo. I mean, I knew the dryer ate socks, but this is ridiculous.