five fabulous bloggers: my personal faves

Thanks to Trop 50 for sponsoring my writing about fabulous bloggers. This year Trop50 is granting 50 fabulous wishes. Click here to enter for a chance to win $1,000 to help grant a friend’s wish!

Amazing.  Inspiring. Articulate. Beautiful.

Talented. Kind, crazy-smart, and generous.

Aware, alert, in tune with their families and the people around them, and gracefully sharing their worlds so that others can breathe a little easier.

And so defines–for me, fabulous. I’m grateful to share here five fabulous blogger friends of mine.   These women are teachers, mothers, artists, advocates–friends whom I am continually inspired by and whom I admire in so many ways.

Writing this post has made me realize that this is something I don’t do enough and that I am truly blessed to call so many fabulous bloggers my most dear friends.  For today, though, here are five of my personal faves:

• Susan, of Toddler Planet: Fabulous Susan has taught me so many things in the two years, and I can honestly say that having this sweet friend in my life has made me a better person. I want to embrace life because of how strongly Susan holds onto her every day. I admire how easily she spends time with her fab boys and husband, how quick she is to smile, lend a hand, or drop an email to check on a pal.  I am amazed at how warrior-like she is in battling her 4th round of cancer.  I am in awe at how gracefully Susan handles the tough times, and how eloquently she shares her tumultuous journey on Toddler Planet and Mothers With Cancer.  Not only is Susan my only planetary scientist friend ever, but she is one of the few people for whom I really want to step up my own game.  Thank you, Susan.

• Valerie, of Frugal Family Fun Blog: Fabulous Valerie is incredibly fabulous frugally, but this fab mom of two chiquitas is fab for so many more reasons as well.  Not only is her fun and frugal family rockin’ it in the Keystone state (my old stompin’ ground), but her ideas far surpass anything I’ve ever seen.  Valerie is insanely creative, she is kind to Mother Earth, and she has mad crafting skills. And she takes the time to share everything she knows with the world–she’s that cool.  She wants everyone to have as much fun as she does, no matter how much dinero they have.  Valerie, you are so awesome.

• Jean, of Stimeyland: Fabulous Jean is fabulous with a capital ‘F’, but she doesn’t even realize the half of how fab she is.  One of the best writers I know, Jean’s honest posts about raising her three boys, one of whom has autism, have opened my eyes to the reality of raising a kiddo with special needs and living in a house full of boys on top of it. Jean’s fabulosity rests in the fact that she’s seriously one of my mom-idols and is incredibly creative, intelligent, and giving. She even designed AutMont, a website and forum packed with resources, articles, and information relating to autism, to help others who are looking for support.  She could have just found the resources and used them herself, but Jean took it a step further and put it in a nice little package for everyone. You are amazing, Jean.

Five of them are here, and I’m proud to call them my friends.

• MaryLea, of Pink and Green Mama: Fabulous MaryLea is a former elementary school art teacher, mother of two sweet girls, and my bloggy idol forever.   She has one of the most amazingly gorgeous blogs in all of the blogosphere–one that emanates rainbows, warmth, and magic. She is craftier than crafty, she is crazy creative, and her blog posts are like poetry.  She does things with her kiddos that I could only dream of doing, and her love story brings tears to my eyes every. time. I. read. it. (And admittedly, I’ve read it quite often–how can you not?!).  MaryLea you are so rad.

• Katie and Katie of ABC and 123, A Learning Cooperative: I have so much admiration for the two fabulous Katies of ABC and 123, that I had to write about both of my dear friends.  The time, effort, and energy these two talented teachers put into everything they do is unfathomable.  Not only have they created one of the strongest cooperative teaching sites on the web, they also write their own blogs, do some seriously awesome crafting, and are totally amazing moms. They are  professional, creative, and kind and they do it with serious grace and class.  I am so thankful to call you my friends, Katie and Katie.

These five fabulous bloggers are indeed top-notch, 100%, A+++, muy excellente, and super-incredible, so feel free to stop by and say hello if you have a minute or two.  Pour yourself a cuppa, sit back, and do some catching up on their blogs.  Add these gals to your list of ‘must reads’, and thank them for the wealth of resources they share every day.

Thank you, my friends.

Don’t forget to enter the 50 Fabulous Wishes contest for a chance to win $1,000 to support a friend’s wish. I was selected for this Tropicana Trop50 sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity, as I do. I received compensation to use and facilitate my post.