Folks, I had a week. Let me tell you, it was not a good one. And now that it’s behind me and I feel like I can breathe again, I can see that it was not a particularly bad one either. It was just a week where a lot of little things piled up, each one of them chipping away at my ability to cope. I’ve been a little bit sick, a lot exhausted, and dealing with that soul crushing kind of tiredness that makes your whole body feel unbearably heavy and you know you have a million things you should be doing but all you want to do is lie down. You know what I mean?
And really, I’m fine. I’m in pretty good health, other than the tail end of a pesky cold, and so are the people who I love. The little setbacks and frustrations I’ve been dealing with are life lessons and learning experiences. I can easily get past them and move on. Of course, there will be other weeks. And when they happen, weeks where I’m clinging with my finger nails to the rock face of final projects and other silly things, weeks where I just can’t get it together to be here, there are other places I think you should be.
My friend Leanne and I were having a conversation about the blogging world (and by having a conversation I mean that she sent me an email (okay, three emails) and I have had a draft response sitting in my mail box since the middle of January) the result of which was that I whittled my readers down to blogs written by bloggers who I consider to be a part of my digital posse. Bloggers who, although many of them I have yet to meet in the flesh, I consider to be my people. Who, if and when I do get to meet them in the real world, I know I’d greet with a great big hug, a grin, and then settle down over a glass of wine and talk the night away (oh geeze, am I a candidate to be on Catfish?).
Obviously Leanne is my home girl. You should visit her space. She doesn’t post all that often these days, because she’s busy being an outstanding mom to her little bear. But when she does pop up in my reader, it’s always a thrill.
I found Jess’s beautiful blog, Inquiring Chef, while we were planning our trip to Thailand last year. She’s an American expat living in Bangkok, sharing the adventure and some really beautiful food on her blog.
Kathryn, from London Bakes, is one of the bloggers I was lucky enough to meet in the real world last autumn at FBC12. She’s gaining quite the following, and justifiably so. Having sat beside her at a conference making sarcastic comments (me, not her, she’s just lovely) I enjoy her writing all the more because I can hear her voice in my head.
Kellie is another blogger I met at FBC, and I’m so thrilled I did. She’s vibrant and wonderful, and like me, a nutrition focused blogger. Kellie teaches cancer nutrition, and writes her blog, Food to Glow. A variation on her date sweetened carrot almond porridge has become a staple winter breakfast in my routine.
I met Jacinthe when I was back in Vancouver over the holidays, and spent a lovely afternoon talking about food and yoga and life over soy chai lattes. She’s working on a holistic nutrition program, and posts really interesting recipes on her blog, Food With Presence.
Kiersten from Oh My Veggies posts a lot of really great content. And she responds to each and every comment she gets, which is commendable, because she gets a lot. She also posts great roundups of vegetarian recipes from around the web. Definitely spend some time poking around her site, you won’t regret it.
Lindsay and her husband Bjork work together on Pinch of Yum, and they’re a pretty big deal. I like their site because they seem like such awesome people. Not only are they living in the Philippines and cranking out amazing content, but they donate all of the money they make from their blog to the orphanage that Lindsay teaches at. What I think is especially cool is the monthly income report they post on their blog, showing other bloggers exactly how they make their money, and offering tips and tricks. They really foster a sense of community, which is amazing.
Joy the Baker is major. I don’t know her, but I wish I did. If you don’t visit her site, you should. If you don’t listen to her podcast, you should. And if you already do, you just *know* that Joy would give you the best hug ever if you met her in the real world. Do you know how I came into possession of an autographed to me Joy the Baker cookbook? My friend Leanne bought the cookbook, emailed Joy and explained that I was a megafan living far away. Leanne then mailed the cookbook to Joy, who wrote lovely words to me with a Sharpie, mailed it back to Leanne, who then mailed it me all the way in Sweden. Bonkers, right?!
This list is by no means complete. I’ll update it over time and let you know where I’m hanging out on the web. So, who is in your digital posse? Let me know! I hope you’re all having marvellous weeks. I’ll be back with a recipe in a couple of days, I promise.
All text and photos © The Muffin Myth 2013
