I'm totally not looking forward to...

Google reader shutting down on Monday... all I can say is WHYYYY???? Whyyyy Google??? Whyyy???

I've signed up to feedly... and I've tried to use it and get used to it... but... I keep resorting back to gReader... gahhh...

*fist shaking*

That is all. Good night.

A note about Google Reader...

Now for those of you not aware of my love of Google Reader... I wrote an ode to him a while ago...

But while I have been on my Summer Vacay/Blogging Hiatus... I have noticed a small flaw... well I consider it a flaw... some might consider it a blessing...

I was surprised after almost 2 months off, that I only had about (700) unread posts... Then I thought I was doing really well with my catch up reading as the number seemed to quickly dwindle.... but thennnn I realised something.... a blog that previously had (5) next to it... dropped down to (4).. and I hadn't read any entries...

After some investigation, I realised the particular blog had probably over 10 posts I hadn't read... but they were no longer marked as unread and I could also not manually mark then as unread... I can only assume that after a certain amount of time (I think a month), Google Reader automatically kicks it off the list and marks it off as "read".... which could be a small blessing in disguise, as I'm sure if I opened my gReader and saw (1000+) unread, I'd probably just get overwhelmed and shut it down again... but on the other hand... I'm a bit annoyed as I didn't know that was its default, and therefore I don't know if I can turn this option on and off or not??

Also, now I feel like I don't know if I've missed some of your fantastic posts while I've been gone! If yours was a blog I "caught up on" before I realised, I hope I haven't missed out on any major announcements.. I'm now reading all blogs on the "all posts" option rather than the "new posts" option... which is probably a slow and gruesome process.. but I'm back from vacay and jobless, so I will have lots of time to fill in the coming weeks!!

So, I guess... if someone knows how I can change the settings in gReader, I would be interested to find out! What do you use to keep up with the blogs you read?? Any recommendations??

Hope you're having a great weekend!!

We just got back from a 2.30am run to the supermarket because I was craving Cheerios and Cinnamon Toast Crunch (Curiously Cinnamon)... hehehehe...  all I can say is you see some strange people at the supermarket at 2.30am!! There was a very well dressed couple (ie. black tie) and some very scruffy looking boys and another few in trackies... the staff were rather entertaining with one guy singing loudly to Valerie... and just general disarray as they restocked the shelves!  Gotta love midnight supermarket runs!!

Blogger Guilt...

So.. last week I briefly touched on "blogger guilt" in the beginning of my Ikea Meatball Spag post...

I guess as the weather is getting warmer for most of us in the Northern Hemisphere, we're spending more time outdoors and less time inside and in front of the computer.. my number of unread posts in google reader each morning has definitely seen a decline.. but upon each blogger's return from being AWOL invariably comes a post of.. "I have been a slack blogger"... "Apologies for being MIA".. "I've been away because a, b, c"... and although it's nice to know what people have been up to while they've been away, and of course we miss these people when we don't get to hear from them and sometimes we wonder and sometimes we worry.. but why do we all feel the need to justify our absence??

Most of us, well, most of the blogs I read anyways, blog for the fun of it..

I don't know about the rest of you, but I blog to document my life and to share them with friends far away, I blog to share ideas, inspiration and things that make me smile, in the hopes of passing that sentiment along... I blog to sometimes ask opinions, because often it is those who aren't super close to us that are best at remaining objective.. and let's be honest, who doesn't love a bit of validation that our outfit looked good today, or that new pair of shoes are provoking a little bit of envy??...

I digress... if the majority of us blog for fun (as opposed to for a business or for work).. why is it that we each feel this "guilt" if we've been away for a few days??

Surely we are free to post as often as we like, be it daily, weekly, monthly, or just whenever something happens that we feel like blogging about??!!

Why are we a "slack blogger" because we haven't posted in a week? Who said we need to post daily!?! So far as I'm aware, there are no rules governing the frequency of our posts...!!

I'm sure I'll still feel bad if I don't post for a few days... as I'm sure you probably will too... but... why do you think that is??

Where does the obligation come from?? And when did it all stop being just a bit of fun?? (Not that it's not, mind.. but you know what I mean... ya??)

Em-Jae over at the button hole has similar thoughts.. she's just a lot more succinct with her sentiments!

Do you save the best for last??

So, as it's quiet at work today, I eagerly opened up my Google Reader (once I had cleared all my work emails of course!) to see what bloggy nomminess awaited me... I was delighted to see All items (38) sitting at the top..  Hoorah!! 38 posts to help me get thru a sluggish work day!! I had a quick scroll down to see which lovely ladies (I have yet start following a "man blog", I haven't come across too many in fact... if you have any good suggestions, I'd love to know!) had left tasty morsels for me to indulge in!

And now is when it gets technical, and I absolutely play favourites and I'm not afraid to admit it! A large number of the blogs I follow are food related.. I usually read these first.. blogs that tend to be a bit technical I will read first.. usually saving ones that are slightly more "personal" and whimsical until the end.. things like Smitten Kitchen (trying to sneak a peak of any photos of her adorable kid!) and Pioneer Woman (waiting to read about things that make her skirt fly up!) fall into the latter category.. I will tag any recipes I would like to try, and star any that really take my fancy.. and forward anything on to Ms K if I think she would be interested and if I don't think she follows that blog already...

Then I make my way through the fashiony/style blogs to sneak a peak at what people far more stylish than me are wearing! Inspiring! Each and every one!!

Last, but most certainly not least.. I get to the life/lifestyle/general blogs, which are by far my favourite.. maybe because it is what I want my blog to be... maybe because there is a slight voyeur in all of us and I love catching someone else's "slice of life".... but most of all, these are the blogs that usually make me laugh or smile and just generally brighten my day!

And I'm always super excited to see new posts by some certain someone's... you can't ask me who, coz that would be telling....  :D

I wish I could say I love all blogs equally but that would be a big fat lie!!

Is there an order you like to read blogs in?? Are there some you savour for last?? Are there certain blogs that delight you to see they have new posts?? I'm always open to recommendations!!

Mister Google Reader...

What would I do without you???

You make blog reading so easy...

But I must stop adding blogs to you... I have enough trouble keeping up with the 18 blogs I have on there already... tho yesterday I discovered I can put tags on my starred blog posts and you will keep them organised into little categories for me... I 'heart' you...

How else would I wile away the many hours at work avoiding filing...???

I would never bother with blog reading if I had to bookmark each blog and then load each bookmark.. but you keep everything so nicely organised and.. did I mention... EASY?? already...

Thank You Ms. Sok for showing me the way of the Google Reader... even if you use it on your fancy schmancy iPad.... 

{I have an aversion to all iThings... tho I have a gen1 iPoo'd nano... which I 'heart'.. but it was before the 'iAmASleekWhiteiThing' phase, and before iPhones took over the World.. so he doesen't count... he's retro so he's cool...}