Blogs that inspire (me. They inspire me. But maybe also you) . . .

Lately, there are two blogs that I am always most excited to see pop up in my Google Reader (do you know about google reader? I think it's God's gift to ME!).  They are my friend Jeffrey's Blog and my friend Mary's Blog. Jeffrey's blog, at happierman.net, really speaks to the part of me that wants to share cool things with my friends.  Jeffrey will post great videos or link to articles about innovative kitchen gadgets or micro frogs (that one obsessed me for days - such tiny frogs!) - the majority of his posts tend to be quick, energized and fun.  Then, every handful of posts he'll throw in a poem he's written, or a personal yet thoughtful response to an e-mail forward he received or something he read.  His blog is the first to make me think about pacing in a blog the way I might think about it in a novel or a play.

Mary's blog, Papergirl, has been around longer and is consistently personal and almost entirely prose.  Mary doesn't use pictures or videos - just words - and she rarely links to other things.  Mary's a writer and her blog is a place for language.  It is also a place of the occasional poem, great story-telling, humor, wisdom and humanity, all of it well-crafted and in Mary's delightful voice, with which I always enjoy visiting.  (I haven't posted links to individual entries to Mary's Blog because what you need to do is just dive in and start reading.)

Thanks, friends, for setting the bar!