HI WORLD, ITS ME... THIS WEEK'S GUEST EDITOR!

                   

Yep, AOL Journals has finally succumbed to my greatness and talent and selected me to be this week's Guest Editor.  Or maybe they just got tired of me whining and pestering them for the honorary title, but so what, who cares.... I'm it, its ME!  Woo hoo! 

I've been journaling with AOL for close to 2 years now.  I organized the Dust Bunny Club of North America back in March of 2004.  No, its not a real club, I just happen to have a lot of the little critters congregating in the various nooks and crannies throughout my house and who am I to disturb them.  Don't get me wrong, I am not a total slob, I do have my pride and will do a mad dash throughout the house moments before company arrives, but for the most part me and my dust bunnies live in peaceful harmony.

My life is a hodge podge of things, I'm a hunter and yet I love to observe animals during the off season armed with nothing more than a camera.  Photography is my most passionate hobby at the moment.   I have 5 children, or Evil Little Oompa Loompas as I call them.  Actually they are no longer 'little' and in fact only my youngest is shorter than I.  My oldest joined the Army in the fall of 2004 and is currently serving in Iraq.  The other 4 still live at home and drive me crazy (er) every chance they get.  My husband of 22 years is lovingly referred to in this journal as 'Dickidoo' (I'd explain it but I promised Joe the Editor that I would be good this week).  My blogging is for fun.  For a living I work part-time at a retail store for grocery $ to feed my litter of Oompas.  I'd be rich if they didn't need to be fed.

In keeping with my hodge podge lifestyle, I present a hodge podge collection of journals.  I was challenged to find 6 journals that had not been featured before.  A couple of my picks you may already be familiar with.  A couple I visited for the first time yesterday but was so impressed that I wanted to spot light them.  So here they are, in no particular order:

 A penny for my thoughts  (caution, explicit language)  I read cmbtvt's journal for the first time earlier this month after seeing his link on the Journals message board.  His entries are pro-military and pro-common sense.  As a rule I try to steer clear of political type journals, but I'm glad I checked his out. One may agree or disagree with him, but he always gets you to think.  Don't be scared away by my use of the 'p' word.... its not all politics.  He has a great sense of humor as well.

 Dock Lines...  I first became aware of gaboatman by the comments he would leave in other journals.  He had compassion and a sense of humor that I could appreciate.  I would peek into his journal from time to time over the months and have never been disappointed by his stories, whether they be about his family, his job, his online friends or life in general.  This is the journal of a big hearted man.

 Bee's Shutter  This is a journal that I discovered yesterday while going through the Favorites from another journal.  All I can say is.... how did I miss this one before?  The images are out of this world!  Definitely a must-see if you're into nature and photography. 

 Here, There, and Everywhere    I first noticed deslily a couple of months ago when her name appeared in my comments section.  I visited her journal and immediately felt at home.  She is very vivacious and is also a very talented artist.  I never know what I'm going to find when I pull up her page.  On today's menu, a luscious sketch of DeForest Kelly.  (Yes, she's a Trekkie.... Look at my Tribbles deslily!  )

 Lost in my own thoughts  Swmpgrly has been making me laugh for over a year now with her journal and the humorous comments that she leaves in mine and other journals throughout Jland.  She is also quick to lend a shoulder and encouraging word to others. She's had her share of hard knocks and is in fact having to cope with illness in the family as well as other issues and yet she still finds a way to smile.  That's my girl!

 We Support You is my only non-AOL blog pick.  I chose it because it addresses something that is very close to my heart... support for our service members deployed abroad.  This blog doesn't stop there though.  It encompasses ALL of the branches of service, in ALL active theaters, in ALL states and bases, where ever they are in the states or in the world, to include those from past conflicts.  There are letters and photos from soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan, there are letters from World War I and II.  There are articles from newspapers and stories from family members.  When I visit the blog, and I do so regularly, I always come away with a comfortable feeling in the knowledge that patriotism is alive and well in this great country of ours. 

I hope you will enjoy these journals as much as I do.  If I may also suggest,  check out the journals listed on other journals favorites column.  Mine lists a few of my other journals, please feel free to check them out.  Do a topic search in the journals search bar on the Main Journals page, and then click on a link to some of the journals pulled up.  Or check out this really cool, neat-o wow journal of past Editor's Picks Archives (thanks onestrangecat).  Just find a name you aren't familiar with and click it!  You may be pleasantly surprised.

Now, if you will excuse me for a little while, me and the dust bunnies are going to go to the den and do the happy dance!  Woo hoo!

( Holy mackerel!  I just did a spell check on this entry and dang!  I had so many typos that it looked like I had added a yellow background to this entry! )