The opposite of the plague

First, thank you SO MUCH for your sweet comments on my stand up video. I was super nervous about posting it, but the Internets has been so amazingly sweet.

I haven't been posting much this week because I've been sick. I told Facebook I had the plague, thinking that was vague enough not to be an overshare. However, my jerk friends immediately replied "GROSS!" and suggested that I was covered in boils and blains. So I had to clarify that I have a somewhat persistent cold.

This is why I should keep my mouth shut and follow my rules for posting status updates on Facebook: don't post anything unless it's 1.) short, 2.) specific, 3.) something the people on my friends list actually want/need to hear about.

source

Oh well. Other than the disease and pestilence minor cold, things have been going rather well. In fact, I got a blog award from one of the sunshines of my blogging life.

You should check out Aura's list of bloggers she awarded - there are some fantastic writers I've already been reading for a while, and others that I definitely plan to check out.

As for me, I've been meaning to do a series of posts featuring some of my favorite blogs, but I haven't quite gotten my brain back together enough to do it yet. Here are some of my favorites that I definitely recommend you check out:

Aura (obvs.)
Kim - I sort of feel like she's a BFF even though we've never met in real life. Amazing writer.
Rachel - ditto re: BFF status. Also an amazing writer.
Juliet - Amazing writer. Lives in France. What more can you ask?
Katelin - Adorable in so many ways. Love her.
miss petite america - Sweet, bubbly, funny, ambitious. I'd love to meet her someday.
Suzanne - another BFF blogger I've been reading forever. Old 97's fan. Makes me want to visit Cleveland, which is something I never would have expected to say.
Shannon (and Shan&Mike) - wonderful, honest writer (who also gets told she should be a funeral director when she takes career aptitude tests).
SavingDiva - A blog friend who became a real life friend, SD's blog keeps me thinking about my budget.
Georgia - quickly becoming famous. Already fabulous in too many ways to count.
Hillary - Lives in Vancouver with two of the cutest puppies I've ever seen. I want her to be my best friend.
Bekah - Has an adorable new baby. Super sweet.
LosingIt - She's sassy, speaks her mind, and I'm pretty sure I could call her if I ever needed to cut a brake line.
LittleMsBlogger - She's currently being tormented by a mockingbird. I love her Rants & Raves.
LiLu - She's kind of a big deal. Her TMI Thursdays (now retired) bravely share where no one has shared before.
TudorCity Girl - An honest, wonderful writer. I'm actually kind of glad I don't know her in real life, though, because she likes to play April Fools jokes, and I am super gullible.
My sister - She writes mostly about my niece and nephew, who are adorable. (Yes, I realize I'm biased.)
Sleepy Jane - Another old bloggy BFF who I'm dying to meet in real life. She has two adorable dachshunds and lives in South Africa.
Mermanda - Keeps me entertained on Twitter. Has an adorable retired greyhound.
Ashley - A wonderful, honest writer. I feel so lucky that the Internets allows me to connect with people like her.
Polly - Apparently I have a weakness for Francophiles. I love reading her posts about her life in France and her return to the U.S.
the texpat - I secretly want the texpat to move back to Texas so that we can be best friends. However, I love reading about her life in Germany, so I guess it's OK if she stays there. :)
Her - A wonderful blog and real life friend. She's a wonderful writer. Has two dachshunds. She's anonymous, so I won't say too much, but I adore her.
ANG* - Awesome. Recently lost 15 lbs, which is amazing. Has one of the cutest dachshund puppies ever.
Isabel - Another fellow Old 97's fan. Isabel lives in Seattle and just found out she's expecting a baby boy. Congratulations!
Vanessa and Kyle - Fellow Texans Vanessa and Kyle have a fascinating blog discussing their experiences teaching English in Korea.
Lemon Gloria - Hilarious, honest... Sometimes when I'm bored I just start reading her archives.
Ben - Adorable, hilarious, fabulous. Has two dachshunds. He lives in Nova Scotia (which is gorgeous, and also where DistractibleGrandfather was from).
The Culebra blog - We visited this tiny island when we went to Puerto Rico. I loved it.
MrsNoTouching - Her blog would be awesome enough if it was only pictures of her adorable daughter. However, she's also one of the funniest writers on the whole Internets.
C - Has been a little quiet lately, but I love her blog. She makes all sorts of crafty and delicious-sounding things.
BCSmithereens - BC is a new reader. I've really enjoyed reading her archives.
Captain Pork Chops - a wonderful photographer. Reading her posts is sort of like reading little love letters.
angelasw - She's in one of those in-between/waiting periods of life that can be so frustrating to live through, but she's handling everything with patience.
Katie - I love the title of her blog, La Petite Chic. (I am definitely not petitely chic myself.) She and her husband take an annual trip to the Caribbean, which makes me insanely jealous.
eemusings - She's a personal finance blogger (in Kiwi!), but she's recently started blogging more and more about her life. I love her blog - it's fascinating and informative.
kimberly michelle - She blogs about all sorts of things, but I particularly love her posts about the things she makes.
Rachel Not Rebecca - She's also in one of those frustrating in-between times in life. I love her blog.
Nicole - Not always safe for work, but hilarious.
Rassles - She is awesome. Someone recently stole her bike. Clearly, people who steal bikes from awesome people are NOT awesome themselves.
LR - She's from Toronto and is always posting hilarious videos. She has great book recommendations.
your wishcake - Very honest, very artistic.
The Dainty Squid - Love her awesome hair, her tattoos, her thrift store and flea market finds.
Kyla Roma - Somehow, I only recently found her blog. She's super honest and awesome and has adorable hair.
Dustin - Dustin is my friend in real life. We even live in the same neighborhood. He recently started a project in which he gets rid of one thing every day. Reading the archives is sort of like a less creepy version of peeking through someone's Goodwill donation pile.
Melanie - Wedding photographer extraordinaire!! Melanie is one of the nicest people you will ever meet. If you need a photographer, I can't recommend her enough.
Crystal - I'm currently reading her archives. She's fantastic - she has a cute dog, she's Canadian, she lives in France...
Deidre - Anyone who orders black beans by the case is awesome in my book.

Wow. This was exhausting. Also, interesting. Apparently, I gravitate toward bloggers who are 1.) dachshund owners, 2.) Texans, 3.) Canadians, 4.) Francophones/Francophiles, 5.) Old 97's fans, 6.) people with ridiculously adorable kids, 7.) easily distracted, 8.) into making pretty or delicious things, or 9.) several of the above. Yes, I probably read too many blogs. I can't help it - I really love the Internets.

I probably missed a lot of people (not even including the ones that haven't been updating lately and the giant bloggers that are too big to know I exist and who won't notice that they weren't listed here anyway). I'm sorry about that. I will try to include anyone I forgot in a future post.