Thinking Blogger Award

Wow! My friend Karen nominated me for the "Thinking Blogger Award". Pretty cool. Her words honored me more than the award:

Julie of So Much to Say, So Little Time is my best cyber friend and I have been privileged to meet her in real life. The time I spent at Julie’s house was awesome and from the moment we stepped in, I felt as if we had been friends for a very long time. Julie blogs about a great variety of things from crock-pot recipes to the sin nature of man. Julie and I have a lot in common, especially since we have children approximately the same ages. I’m sure if we lived close by, we’d spend a lot of time together.

You can read her entire post and nominations here.

Thank you Karen - those thoughts are definitely reciprocated! Some of my posts are thoughtful, and others are the lighthearted fodder that you can take or leave. But I enjoy blogging - and I have made some super friends along the way!

The rough part is passing the nominations on. One thing that makes it easier is that so many of my favorite blogs have already been nominated. Here are the five blogs that I choose for the Thinking Blogger Award:

• My friend Kate at In a Shoe is the mom to like 100 kids. She is a birth mother, foster mother, adoptive mother and a grandmother! I wish she would adopt me, but she's too darn young! She blogs about saying goodbye when kids leave her nest whether they spread their wings or transfer to a different one, and teaching her children that God loves the prostitute and Sunday school teacher alike.
  
• Kate's husband, James at Small Green River has a writing style that reflects the way his side of a conversation might go in real life. He is a straight shooter, who has a knack for irony. His posts make me think and laugh at the same time. I had to read his post about mowing to my husband. He also has this little blog that I can't get to come up on my Google Reader. He is one of THE most intelligent guys I know but he can't seem to enable his RSS feed! Hmm? Or maybe he just doesn't want me to read it!
  
• My friend Joanne used to have a blog that was called Cheaper than Therapy. Boy isn't that the truth? I used to be so envious of that witty name. Now she blogs at Only Wanted to Comment. I love the way she puts things. It is just so clever - like her blog names. She posts about things from the smoke detector being the dinner bell to forgiveness. There are also some really deep posts about things such as plumber's crack as well, so don't miss those when you visit!
  

The first three bloggers I know in person. They are friends of mine from West Virginia. Let me just say, I would read those blogs whether I knew them or not! They have drawn me in. These are two bloggers I have never met in person but would like to:

• My friend and accountability partner, Leslie a/k/a Boltbabe from Raise the Cup and Journey to Simplicity. We have been blogging buddies for a while. She blogs about a myriad of subjects - from frugal living to current events and politics to book reviews at her two blogs. There's always something to learn when you visit. One of my favorite posts ever was the one about the day she spotted a wild cat in her yard and took pictures for her blog! (I'm sure it wasn't just for her blog - but I like to tease. Ya gotta love a blogger who will risk life and limb to keep their blog stimulating!)
  
• Fatty at Life on the Rocks is a relatively new blogger. I found her blog one day when she left a comment to one of my posts. We found out quickly that we had a lot in common, and she inspired my quote contest. She writes about all kinds of things - but this quote I read at her blog recently seems to sum it up: in the midst of all the chaos there's laughter, there's love, there are tears, there are frustrations...but there is life. a full and vibrant life...if we just take the time to live it. She's living her life to the fullest - and taking us along for the ride. She's also an amazing artist and shares a lot of her artwork at her blog.
  

I get excited when my Google Reader shows that there are new posts at the homes of these five bloggers. Pass it on people - pass it on! Here's how:
1. If, and only if, you get tagged, write a post with links to 5 blogs that make you think,
2. Link to this post so that people can easily find the exact origin of the meme,
3. Optional: Proudly display the 'Thinking Blogger Award' with a link to the post that you wrote.