Below is a group of links that you will find on the sidebar of my blog. Most of them have been there from very early days. They are all current and I visit most of them nearly every day that I am online.
I thought it might make a good post to explain why these blogs continue to be my usual reads. If you come here often and do not see your blog listed it doesn't mean that I don't visit your site on a regular basis. I just made a determination some time ago to limit the number of links I displayed as I know my reaction to seeing a list of links a mile long.
There may come a day when I replace one or more of these links but I tend to be a pretty loyal reader. If you will note, there are other links on my sidebar but these are the personal blogs I return to time and again. The others pertain to interests or hobbies but these are the ones that touch me personally for one reason or another.
Not Quite What I Had Planned -- this is Kristie's blog. I've followed Kristie since the old Caringbridge days when I followed several young children with cancer on a regular basis. Her daughter, Kendrie, had cancer and is now, thankfully, in remission. Her husband Blaine, who is in the military and sounds like a candidate for husband of the year to me, has also stared down cancer and is still undergoing reconstructive surgery to repair damage caused by the treatment. Besides cancer, their lives have been filled with infertility issues, adoption, natural parenthood, surrogacy, and multiple moves that go along with being an Air Force family. Kristie is hilarious, straight forward and just downright lovable.
Don't Get Me Started -- this is Linda Sharp's blog. My daughter Dee turned me onto this site. Linda is down to earth, plain speaking and you will never leave her blog without knowing exactly where she stands. She rales against injustice, particularly on behalf of children and her blog is filled with satire, politics, social commentary and just plain fun. Linda and her husband seem devoted to one another, which is good as they struggle with a marriage that requires them to live in separate locations. There is no doubt as to Linda's devotion to her own three girls. I don't always agree with her but I daggone love to read her blog, which she often updates several times a day.
Confessions of a Pioneer Woman -- ohmigosh, who doesn't know Ree? I see links to her blog everywhere I go. I love this read. Daily life on a cattle ranch, homeschooling, a full blown section for cooking and recipes, another section for photography and photoshop and continuing sagas about her romance with her husband, Marlboro Man. Think calf nuts and go enjoy this one. Besides, she has great giveaways with fantastic prizes just out of the blue. You won't be sorry! Humor abounds on Ree's site and as she says, she likes to keep things real.
Miz Booshay -- Donna Boucher's blog. I'm not sure exactly where, when or how I first came across Miz Booshay's blog. I was reading her long before she started doing tutorials in the photography section of the Pioneer Woman's blog and boy is she ever talented. She is another deeply family oriented blogger. Y'all seeing a theme here so far?
Pensieve -- Robin is the Pensieve one. Her blog led me into a brief spell of poetry writing and such and I would like to get back into that. Robin has a large readership, as do each of the blogs I've previously listed. Robin is another blogger with a great sense of humor and never hesitates to let you know that her family comes first.
Life Is Like A Lunchbox -- Nan is one of my younger reads. I found her probably though Friday's Feast or something like that. She is a preacher's wife and together they are raising their four small sons. Nan is into photography and photoshop too.
2nd Cup Of Coffee --this is 'Lidna' (actually Linda but she has a post about being Lidna). I found Linda through Friday's Feast and realized that she was born and raised and still lives in my hometown of Muncie, Indiana. She writes an inspirational column for the local paper there and is involved in with the youth group at her church. Linda is another blogger who writes with wit and humor and yes, you guessed it, her family is her number one priority.
Faith In Community -- this is Diane. She is a Lutheran minister somewhere around the twin city area in Minnesota. We connected when we discovered that we both collected bookmarks. Diane is very intelligent and is devoted to her church, her husband and step-sons and her dog, Scout. She often posts copies of her sermons online and is an avid reader. Like many ministers, she is a fantastic communicator. What I like most about Diane is that she is able to keep God out of the box and looks at life and speaks of life with the understanding and intelligence that God gave her. She has a lot of great reading suggestions!
Faithful Froggers -- this is Heather's site. Heather's family is another hold over from Caringbridge. She and Donny lost their son Jacob, who was one of a set of triplets, a little over two years ago. They have since adopted a beautiful little girl from South America who has the most beautiful smile ever. Along with their older son, the two remaining triplets, this family is just a real blessing to read about. She seldom updates on a daily basis, as you can imagine, but what a powerful message she leaves you with. Family important here? Oh yeah!
Gill's Jottings -- I really enjoy Gill's site. Gill is from South Africa and was my first international read. I'm sure we met through Friday's Feast as well and something about her connected. I'm pretty sure that it has to do with her strong sense of family. Am I boring or what?
Linda at This and That -- another Linda here. This Linda is in West Virginia and I felt a connection to her because I know we are both divorced. She has remarried but I know we've experienced similar situations and that even in the midst of family problems, we both care deeply about our families.
Mercedes' World -- Mercedes is another younger read for me. She intrigued me with a comment she left on a post and we connected through a request she made about my doing some tags for Memes she hosts in Paint Shop Pro. I had never done that and was pleased that I was able to make a few that she uses for her Memes. It didn't hurt that she is a dog lover, and even though she hasn't started a family yet, you can tell from the love she had for her beloved Patches, (who passed away a few months ago) that she has the caring and devoted nature of a family oriented person. She also moved up this year from teaching kindergarten to fifth grade so 'teach' got a promotion.
So these are my normal daily reads, even if I don't always comment when I stop by. This was a good exercise for me as truthfully, I wasn't sure what it is about all of them that drew me in and now I know. They are all intelligent, funny, talented and most are as family oriented as I am.
I happened to realize while doing this that the majority of them are around my daughter's ages, late 30s - early 40s. I'm not surprised by that. I guess I can relate to what they are saying as I hear so much of the same things from my own girls and of course, I've been where these gals are at. A couple of them are much younger than I am and two or three are around my age. I am surprised to realize that I have no male bloggers listed here as I generally enjoy men's point of view.
Thank you ladies, one and all for entertaining me each and every day!
Oh, I'm wondering if you know what drew you to the blogs you read each day and what keeps you going back. Have you thought about it or do you just read?
As Miz Booshay would say --
'Encourage one another'! (my favorite thing about her blog... that and her photography)
Labels: Blog Stuff
