i’m not only a blog writer…oh, no…i’m also a reader. i read many, many blogs. mommy blogs, daddy blogs, entertainment blogs, snarky blogs, what have you, i’m reading it. i have almost 200 blogs in my bloglines (and yes, i decided to stay with bloglines. sure, we’ve had our differences, but at the end of the day, it was a relationship i didn’t want to lose, so i stuck with her and hope that she will smooth out her wrinkles one of these days…).

I take great pride when i get that number at the top - that pesky one that tells me how many new posts i haven’t read yet - gets down to zero. great pride. i used to be so good. it didn’t take me very long to get through the list. but, nowadays, i’m discovering new blogs every day. and with one swift click of the the mouse, bada bing, it’s added to my bloglines. and as of this morning, that number at the top is reading 268. i’m way, way behind. shit, make that 269. Going away for Christmas didn’t help matters.

One of these new blogs that i’ve started reading, Anna Banana, tagged me for…what else…a meme about blogging. how fitting. um. yeah. don’t tell anyone. but i asked her to tag me.

1. Do you like the look and the contents of your blog?
i love the look of my blog. love it. sure, there are some things i would change if i knew how…but overall, i think it’s perfect for me. and fyi…the two girls at the top are NOT supposed to be my friend Tova and me. i’ve been asked umpteen times and no, it’s just an image i found fishing around on istock and fell in love with.

2-Does your family know about your blog?
they all know that i have one. i’m not sure who reads it and who doesn’t. my inlaws don’t like that i have one. and my mom probably isn’t computer friendly enough to get on it. but i do know of some family members who are reading.

3-Can you tell your friends about your blog?
my friends know about it. some read it. some don’t. sometimes it makes me censor what i have to say since obviously i can’t come on and rant about someone if he or she is going to read it.

4-Do you just read the blogs of those who comment on your blog?

yeah…no…i think i made this one clear at the top of this post when i said i had almost 200 blogs in my bloglines. there are certainly NOT 200 bloggers leaving comments on here. who do you think i am…Rockstar Mommy?!

5-Does your blog positively affect your mind?

100%. It’s my therapy.

6-What does the number of visitors to your blog mean?

what does it mean? do i need to explain this one? it’s the numbers of people who are reading my blog. relax. i kid. what does it mean? i guess that there are a lot of people reading. but commenting? not so much. but just you wait until tomorrow’s post. this is National Delurking Week, folks.

7-Do you imagine what other bloggers look like?

always. some blogs have photos or flickr sites so i can kind of get a sense of what they look like…but the ones without pictures??? i try to imagine…but i’m usually WAY off. it’s just like when you read a book and then watch the movie. the people are never quite as you imagined.

8-Do you think blogging has any real benefit?

real benefit? for me…definitely. because i have this blog, i was introduced to Jen at Urbanmoms.ca,, who took a chance on me to write about my fabulous life. i’m both proud and incredibly lucky to be able to be a part of something so amazing for Canadian women. so, yes, i’d definitely say real benefit. at least for me.

9-Do you think that the blogosphere is a stand alone community separated from the real world?
not exactly sure where this question is going. the blogosphere is definitely a community. or lots of little communities. but can it stand alone? how can it? it’s millions of people sitting in front of their computers.

10-Do some political blogs scare you? Do you avoid them?
scare me? nope. bore the crap out of me? yes ma’am.

11-Do you think that criticizing your blog is useful?

not really. i’ve been told many times that people don’t like my non-capitalization. whatever. i don’t cap. i think i tried once to write with caps. and it wasn’t for me. if something about my site bothers you, stop reading. it’s as simple as that.

12-Have you ever thought about what would happen to your blog in case you died?

um, no, not until now, so, thanks for that…Haley, if i die, please let my readers know. There we go, all taken care of.

13-Which blogger had the greatest impression on you?

this is an unfair question. really unfair. i love so many blogs. and for so many different reasons. can i plead the fifth? okay…fine…you win…i’ll give you a little somethin’ somethin’. there are the ones who have been around since i started reading over 2 years ago. there are those lovely and wonderful Canadian mamas. and now…i’m totally spent from all that linky love. but there.are.so.many.more. this is why i didn’t want to do this….grrr…

14-Which blogger do you think is the most similar to you?

another unfair one. there are so many. so many times that i’ll be reading something and i’ll say, “damnit…if only i lived XXXX”, because we’d TOTALLY be friends in real life. like her. and her. and her. and her. and her. and her. okay…i really need to stop. i could go one forever.

15-Name a song you want to listen to?
that i WANT to listen to? or that i am currently listening to? I’m listening to the song Fix You by Coldplay right now, as we speak. does that count?

Anne, Mandi, and Jana. you’ve been tagged you’re it!

(and now, i’ll proudly declare…that i’ve gotten the number down to 196. not bad….not bad…ooh, make that 194…)