Billy Likes Me

You may have noticed a new addition to my blogroll (actually, there are a few), but near the top is one called "Billy Mac Critiques Blogs". I found out about him through Vancouver Mermaid and was intrigued. I don't know if he does this for fun or renumeration (I didn't pay him), but I submitted my blog name to him and he critiqued me.

This is what Billy said:
Here's a cool blog that comes to us from Florida by Sayer...her blog revolves around her family and life. It's a very simple blog with nothing but posts placed on it which gives it a calming effect. I love both kinds of blogs. Busy blogs like Skittles are fantastic and exciting...and simple blogs like Sayer's blog offers a blog where you can get to know the blogger and do what blogs are meant for...read them. Nice job and keep up the good work. Enjoyed it alot.

Nope. I don't do "buttons" or ads. My most sophisticated feature is my blogroll! In fact, I am so hopeless at the computer stuff that I still haven't figured out how to do that linky thing where you can click on a word and it takes you to a referenced website or post. I really must buy a book that tells me how to do all that HTML stuff because I seriously don't have a clue.

Along those lines, I recently visited my friend Jeff at Psychosomatic Wit (see the blogroll, friends!) who had a post about blogs that make him think. He listed the blog and gave his reasons for going there. And going back there. He limited his to five. I think I will too, simply because I could be here ALL DAY and probably TOMORROW if I wrote about every blog I visit and why. And I've got packing to do on this rare afternoon home alone.

So I, too, will limit my list to five blogs. To be perfectly honest, EVERYONE on my blogroll gets at least one visit from me a day. Sometimes it's a flyby and sometimes I have the time to linger, but they are all interesting enough to keep me coming back for more. That's how you get on my list in the first place...

1) Oh the Joys http://othejoys.blogspot.com is one of my favorites. She makes me laugh until tears are streaming down my face and I am clutching my sides because they ache so. She also has a knack for causing lumps in the throat and hearts feeling like they're about to explode from feeling too much. Apparently, I was among the first of her stranger visitors, but didn't scare her like Kevin and Mel did (at first - she loves Kevin and Mel NOW). She's married to K and has two adorable children - the Mayor and Rooster Girl. And a thing for park rangers. You're gonna be so jealous, OTJ - there was a park ranger at the Festival yesterday and I immediately thought of YOU!

2) MamaDrama http://blogs.chron.com/mamadrama/ is a relatively new discovery. This blog is a collection of 5 mothers who live in Houston, Texas - at various stages of motherhood. The children in question range from under a year to almost-out-of-the-house teens. They don't just blog about motherhood, although that's a big part of who they are. Kate has a husband who doesn't want to take down the Christmas decorations. Jenny is about to move, but hopefully not to the amusement park. Min's teenagers are so funny that I wish they were mine - or that Z-boy grows up to be just like them. She also offers bizarro tours of Houston via digital camera. Heather finds joy in all kinds of things like clean carpets and her son's fascination with beer bottles. Stephanie is a homegirl raising her baby in the Land-o-Football (her post on Saturday mornings in Texas was a scream). Visit the Mamas for a virtual smorgasbord of funny stories!

3) The World According to Liane http://theworldaccordingtoliane.blogspot.com is a shameless plug for my cousin. We grew up together-and apart-and together. We've always been friends and though I call her cousin, we aren't even related... really. My grandmother married her grandfather. But she's the closest thing I've had to a sister and we have reconnected in the last year. The whole time we were growing up, Liane was an artist. She could DRAW. She entered pictures in the contests at the fair and brought home ribbons. I, being artisitcally-impaired, was always so darned jealous. But I could write. Turns out, so can she. When she first started her blog, I was pleasantly surprised at how well. Now when there's a lag in her blog-writing, I call her up and harass her until she does another post. She's that entertaining.

4) Nikki is wondering "What the Hell Do I Do Now?" at http://www.emich.net/~nikki/blog/ as she tackles motherhood for the first time. Will there be a next? Inquiring minds want to know! I met Nikki through the Operation Lose That Ass challenge last year (I still have mine. sigh.) and discovered a funny, down-to-earth woman with a penchant for all things Elvis. Last month she held a photo contest featuring Elvis in various, uh, situations and I won! I still have a slew of Elvis pictures to post here and there thanks to her. She's always got something going on, even if it's just a runny nose - and still makes it funny and interesting.

5) Kevin Charnas http://www.kevincharnas.com must be on this list. He and his partner Will live in sunny CA with their furry children Wednesday and Gomez. That's the g-rated version. What that sentence doesn't tell you is that Kevin has a WICKED sense of humor, occasionally a rude one (for those of you who are faint-of-heart), and puts up posts that have me simultaneously spitting coffee all over my screen, clutching my sides, and throwing my head back to howl. I think my husband is a little bit jealous of Kevin. Could it be the Halloween costumes? or the waterfall picture? Or the "stepping stool" video? No one makes me laugh the way Kevin does.

So there you have it. My list of 5 blogs that... make me think? well, sometimes. Mostly they make me laugh - which is something I really need these days. And they make me cry. Which I apparently also need. And yes, they do make me think. Sometimes about things I've never thought about. These and all the other ones on my blogroll are like that. And I love every one of them. Thanks for being out there and thanks for sharing yourself with me and the rest of the world!