Who, ME???

There's this.... thing going around (I don't think of this as a meme), where you pick 5 blogs that make you think and then you award them the "Thinking Blogger Award".

Strangely enough, I've been awarded this twice this week! First by my friend Jeff, then by my other friend, Michelle! I am honored by their regard and will do my best to come up with only five blogs that make me think. Of course, most of my blogroll makes me think (that's why they're there) but the limit is 5. Sigh.

So, in no particular order:

Cordelia Naismith - We are actually related, but to be honest, I don't know if I've ever even laid eyes on the girl. Her parents came to visit mine and the subject of blogs came up. My mother called me all excited because I wasn't the only one in the family blogging - and encouraged me to go visit some of the other "family" blogs. So I did. And Cordelia's caught my attention. She had a very natural style of writing and I feel almost as if I'm sitting on her shoulder during whatever event she's writing about. She and her father just returned from a month-long trip to Vietnam and her accounts of the people, the lifestyle and what happened to her while she was there was absolutely riveting. I hope I can actually meet her one day!

Dribbling Witt - She doesn't post often, but when she does, it sticks with you a good while after. Her stories are so vivid and almost always have an odd twist at the end. Like the time she sat at a bar and talked books with some guy named Robert. Robert excused himself from their conversation, went up on stage and started singing. Turns out that Robert was actually Bob. Bob Dylan. That's just ONE example of how her stories spin...

Melanie in Orygon - Mel is one of a kind. She's wife, mother, daughter, sister struggling to get by in a big world without letting it get her down too much. Mel is the one who introduced me to "Talking Cats" and now my whole family walks around saying nonsensical things like "Oh, Don Piano" and "Why I eyes ya!" She recently reposted about her "Big Fear", which resonated with me so, so much. Mel is also trying to gather votes to be paid to blog for a year. I vote for her twice a day (at home and at work!) but there's another blogger giving her a run for the money. You've seen the orange badge on my website. Click on it, Vote for Mel, and do it daily! If anyone deserves this, she does.

FatDaddy - Also known as S William Shaw on my blogroll. S William is a newly published writer. I had the honor of being a beta reader for him and let me tell you - the man can write. As a would-be writer myself, I love keeping in touch with people who are "living the dream" - though there are times when the dream seems a bit nightmarish when the rejection slips start arriving in the mail. But as avidly as I've been following his writing career, I've been also keenly interested in his weightloss journey. Like so many of us, life grabbed hold and kept him busy with his writing, with his job, with his family and the pounds crept on one at a time until one day he realized that he had to do something (sound familiar???). His confession that he'd been spending time at his OTHER blog inspired me to start my own weight-loss journey blog as well. Because I just know how much you want to hear about it all the time...

The Prime of My Life - another "family" blog... this time my youngest brother. Prime is one busy guy. He lived in New York City for years, then moved South to regain his financial footing and reassess his life and his goals. Currently, he manages a gym, is recovering from a severely broken arm, and painting his home in shades with interesting names. We keep trying to get him to come home for a visit and have actually managed to do that a couple of times in the past year.

And that is my list of "Thinking Bloggers". If you're on this list, you're supposed to do the same, but trust me, I understand if you are short on time. I was tagged with this a few days ago and only just got around to doing it. If you're not on the list, it doesn't mean that I don't like you or that you dont' make me think. It just means I was limited to five...