To save the day…

Stacey has finally gotten her new blog up and running. Why don’t you all head on over there and give her a little lovin’! You won’t regret it, promise!

Who wouldn’t want a chance at winning $50? Especially when the requirements to make you eligible are easy as pie. You see, this super cool, artist chic I know is running a 50 for $50 contest. What does this mean? Well as explained here, basically you write an entry containing at least 50 words and linking to 1) her domain/blog and 2) the contest entry. Participants can choose their own anchor text. The deadline is August 31st, with the winner being announced on September 2nd after she gathers the referrals and draws one randomly.

Why in the heck are you still here? Head on over to DearCrissy.com and join in. Fifty bucks is fifty bucks.

For the record, I’m not participating. I’m merely helping to spread the word!

Over the years I’ve met some pretty awesome people through various communities online. Many of these people have become good friends, a couple have become really close friends and one even lived with me (Stacey doesn’t currently have a website up and running yet).

I thought it’d be nice to send a little love their way in this, my newest linky love post.

I remember meeting Crissy of Dearcrissy.com several years ago through Livejournal. One of the first entries I read (or I should say heard) was a voice post about the power going out in her dorm. I guess it’s a little strange that I can remember those things but hey, I guess I’m a strange one because I remember almost everything! One of the things I really enjoyed (and still enjoy) is Crissy’s artwork. She takes amazing photographs - self portraits, florals and as a cat lover, she has a wonderful way of capturing her cat Mewson. She’s very creative and that shows in her unique paintings, which she even sells. One day I will own a Crissy original, lol!

A couple of years into my blogging journey, I met Henny (Helen to you) of Rhythm. She’s another wonderful artist (be sure you check out her photography and artwork on Mindmirror.net). Our meeting was different than most, we had a mutual nuisance that brought us together but that’s another story. Over the years Henny and I have become really good friends. She recently got married and though I was unable to attend, I would love to meet her someday soon. Henny is a very inspiring person. She works as a family and children’s therapist, which I really admire (if you know me personally, you’ll know why). I feel lucky to have a friend like Henny!

Then we have Manda of Toxid-lotus.net. I remember our initial meeting was a little “stressed” (lol). Thankfully we managed to overcome all of that because I was able to make another awesome friend. Manda is expecting her second child (she has a son, Sascha). In fact, she’s hoping to find out if it’s a boy or a girl today! Manda is also artist and as you’ll see in her photography and vector work, she’s amazing. One of the things I love most about her vector work is the colors she uses. They’re always vibrant and fit the piece perfectly. Oh and speaking of which - Manda, I think you need to get your vector galleries back online!

I hope you enjoy these ladies as much as I do!

I have spent the last week or so doing a lot of blog hopping. In doing so, I’ve found quite a few fabulous blogs that I’ve decided to not only give a little linky love to, but also add to my blogroll!

First, there’s Neptunebaby.com. I absolutely love the layout this site is sporting. It’s one of the cutest I’ve seen in a long, long time! The second the page loaded, I knew it was going straight to my blogroll and that it’d surely become a daily favorite! In a recent entry, Toni writes about starting a new job after 3 months of training! When she mentioned that it was pretty fast paced, it reminded me of when I used to work in the ER - like I commented, it made me think of the nights where I seriously thought I was in two places at once because it would be so dern busy! I think she’ll be able to keep up! Be sure to stop by because this is a great read!

Next we have Krississippi.com. When I read the domain name the first time, I thought “K - i - crooked letter - crooked letter…”, I thought it was such a cute domain name! She recently wrote about the passing of not one, but 3 of the family’s pet fish. It reminded me of when I thought the idea of owning “Beta fish” was a good idea. Sadly, they last about as long as a houseplant does for me (roughly a week). This another great read! Krissi also has a couple of other blogs - mykidney.com.blog where she documents life with kidney disease, dialysis and organ transplant, worldadopt.org where she blogs about the adoption of her son Alek from the Ukraine (I think Ranee is going to love this blog). Adoption is something my husband and I will eventually look to, since we’re unable to have our own children, so this is a fun and inspiring blog for me to read!

Next is Blue-bus. Like me, Stephanie enjoys photography and it shows. I was browsing through her flickr gallery earlier and all I have to say is WOW. She has some of the coolest self portraits. Jealousy is an understatement! She’s definitely got skills. She’s currently involved with the 365days group on flickr, which I really, really miss. She wrote an entry about Summer almost being gone, where she’s talking about sleeping trouble. I feel her pain. I’ve been struggling with the same thing for a few weeks.

Finally, blogsweluv.com, which is a project by my good friend Mike and his good friend Tish. It’s a fabulous project because they share unique blogs with their readers. Maybe you’ll even find your own blog has been “luved”! They’re participating in the 2007 Blogathon!

These are just a few of the recent blogs (there are quite a few more I will blog about tomorrow) I’ve stumbled on and felt I just had to share them with all of you! Be sure to check them all out. They’re all fun, interesting reads.

Why are you still here? Start blog-hopping!

I love it when I find new blogs to read! I am excited to share a new find with you, My thoughts, Ideas and Ramblings! Lisa is a work at home mother of two, to a sweet little girl and a newborn baby boy (adorable pictures available in her birth story entry)! I think you’ll all enjoy her blog, especially all of you mommy-bloggers!

Another great find is Life in General! I just got a really good chuckle over one of the photos of Kim’s son filling his baseball cap with sand! And what better thing for him to do with that sand-filled cap, than to turn it upside down on his head! Kim is a mother, who enjoys crafty things like sewing, knitting, scrap-booking, crocheting and quilting!

These two ladies have great blogs for you to read, so go pay them both a visit!!