Oh, How I Miss You Blogfest

Today is a cornucopia of awesome sauce as all around the blogosphere we celebrate with Captain Ninja Alex, Andrew Leon and Matthew MacNish with their incredibly brilliant and thoughtful Oh, How I Miss You blogfest. We celebrate those bloggers we love who haven't been around a whole lot of late and those we would miss terribly if they were no longer around to inspire us, to make us laugh, to make us think and to cheer us when the chips are down. For all the magnificent participants please click here.

Life happens and for whatever reason, these wonderful people have had to step back from posting as often. I miss their posts terribly. This blogosphere is indeed a dimmer place without their voices each week.

Matt Vanacore at FilmMattic Matt is truly one of the most gifted cinephiles out there. His knowledge of the film world is breathtaking. Each post is an in-depth look at directors, actors, film styles, movements and cinema history. He encourages discussion and debate in a professional, friendly manner. Flamers and ignorant folk need not apply.  He's not posting so much of late and I do miss his insights.

The second person I miss is someone I see every day, my sister Karyn. Doing It MY Way is her blog. She is one person I admire most in the world. A single mom who's been dealt some blows, but she handles it all with grace and humor. She doesn't post very often, months go by sometimes, but what she says is always thoughtful and inspiring. Karyn's not a blogger by nature, she started this as a way to help her deal with the stress, but I encourage her to keep writing. even though her uber busy schedule doesn't allow for much time to devote to writing. Karyn will probably kill me for shoving her into the spotlight, but I am so proud of her. I really hope that she continues to write because I know that there are people out there whom she does help, even if she doesn't realize it.

I love, love all my blog friends out there and honestly wouldn't know what to do without you all. It was very hard for me to narrow this incredible list so I chose three people I've grown closest to recently. These three bloggers are people I count on each week for laughs, for inspiration, for fun and just plain good company. They are pillars of this blogging community and this place would be a much colder place without their bright posts each week.

Ella at Ella's Edge. This woman brings so much sunshine and so many smiles into this world, it would indeed be a sad, gray time if she were to ever stop blogging. Her art, poetry and thoughtful words make her blog a must for me. I hope you all are following her because she is wonderful.

Robyn at Life By Chocolate Robyn's humor strikes me deep in the funny bone. I laugh at her trials and tribulations of being single and dating. It is a brutal world out there and Robyn skewers it with  sharp wit and a fantastic outlook.She also does fantastic posts about her city with great pictures and not to mention her love of al things chocolate. Follow her for sure if you're not already.

Michael De Gesu at In Time has become one of my dearest friends and go to support people. his warmth just radiates out to the rest of the community. he always offers smiles and encouragement. He also posts regularly about health and fitness, cheering us all on as we face the battle of staying an d getting shape.

There you have it, some of the exceptional bloggers I miss and would miss. How about you? Know these awesome peeps? Want to know them?

Have a great weekend. Go Bears and Go Notre Dame!