There's a blog for that!~

I've spent a ridiculous amount of time contemplating the validity of blogging.  When first introduced to 'blogs' I thought they were a vanity thing. ... that perhaps a person created a blog so that they could 'show off' aspects of their life or knowledge they had.  Several friends encouraged me to create a blog, they'd say something like "you like to write"...but, I didn't quite buy what they were selling.  then, my sister T created a blog and I began to see it's potential.  You see, I'd tried for years to create a more intimate link between my sister's and I.  At that point T lived in Canada, Memms lived in Virginia and I live here in Oregon.  I had at one point instigated a 'sister's letter' that we wrote and added onto.  One sister would write an e-mail letter and forward it to the next sister, who would add to it and then send to the third sister who would add to it and forward it back to the first sister.  It was a fun way to talk about what was going on in our lives, our worries, our successes...share photos, but it was also limited.  Invariably, one sister would forget to respond for a while leaving all of us hanging, additionally we liked to share photos but the more photos we attached to the e-mails the more 'cumbersome' they became.  T's blog introduced to me the concept of immediate feedback, unlimited photos and more satisfying contact.  I became hooked and started my own blog.  Granted, no one really reads me blog.  It's just me and my ruminations on various things, pictures of family events and silly little tidbits of life.  The lure I have found for blogging have extended beyond just family connections.  I have discovered  myself to be slightly addicted to following the links on other people's blogs to find more and more information.  I have found that I am a lot like the character Johnny 5 from the old 'Short Circuit' movies, I am always searching for 'more input'.  I like learning new things.  I like learning new skills, new crafts.  I like learning new things about friends or even people I barely know.  I like finding that there is a blog for "THAT".  Do you want to be inspired to read your scriptures?  check out my friend Dawn's blog Prayers and Thoughts, do you want to change your life and be more inspired to run or loose weight?  My friend Brenda has a blog that's actually provoking me enough to keep running check out Soled Out, are you interested in everything crafty...my FAV site is Ucreate, do you like scrapbooking and are always looking for layouts check out Pencillines, do you need Family Home Evening Ideas...family-home-evenings.com,  do you love the look of designer based furniture but hate the price?  check out knock off wood, what about housekeeping tips.... TidyMom has some fabulous ideas, desire to add a little creativity to your love life?  the dating diva's are addictive.  I could go on and on.  I've honestly had to set an 'allowance' for myself.  I allow 30 minutes a day of browsing my favorite blogs and then 'time's up!' otherwise I could spend all day here.

Do you have cool blogs to share with me?  More input please!!!!