There was a time, not so long ago, that if you had shown me the box of chocolates above I would have been drooling all over myself. If there is one thing I love more than bacon (well, almost) it’s chocolate. I was addicted. To get over that, I started playing computer mahjongg. I played solitaire Nanjing for hours! I thought I could get over that by starting to blog, and it worked. But, now I have a “blogging addiction.” If you think you, or someone you know may have a problem with “blog abuse,” remember it is not humorous. These are the problems for which you should be watching:

THIRTEEN SYMPTOMS OF BLOG ADDICTION

1. The two of you are “home alone;” the children are at Grandmommy’s house and the cats are asleep. Your significant other has surprised you with candlelight, wine, flowers and takeout from your favorite Thai restaurant. He is feeling frisky and starts making eyes at you. “Not now, honey,”" you reply. “I have to answer my comments.”
2. You wake up at 2:00 a.m., not from hot flashes, but to check your stats.
3. When you do sleep, you have fitful dreams of speaking in html and writing a kick butt post. It’s all gone from your mind when you awaken.
4. You’ve spent weeks trying to arrange for the plumber to come repair the leak in your home’s slab. At last you have a date with him, and when he shows up you forgot he was coming. Although you have been up and at the computer since 4:30, you have never gotten dressed. You don’t even care that you are wearing your funky “Sunday sweatpants” (the “holey” ones) and a t-shirt that says, “Congratulate Me, I Used to Be Anorexic.”
5. You have waited for three weeks while sporting events pre-empted your “Ugly Betty.” At last the new episode is scheduled, and you are so caught up in an internet conversation with people you don’t know that you totally forget to watch it. After that, you just say, “Ah, forget it” and blog instead.
6. The family comes home from their day out in the world, and you are surprised, because you didn’t realize that nine hours had passed. You have totally forgotten to cook, so you slap a can of Spaghettios on the table…for the third time this week.
7. Not only that, you forget to eat lunch…which might make blogging a good substitute for dieting, except that you are ravenous when your husband brings home Happy Meals from McDonalds.
8. Not only that, you forget to partake of all of your other vices.
9. Your family is taking a vacation at last. As your spouse drives along a treacherous stretch of highway, with hazardous traffic on all sides, you scream, “STOP!!” at the top of your lungs. He screeches to a halt at the side of the road, almost colliding with three cars in his path. You jump out of the car to take a picture of the billboard that says, “Beaver Builders, Damn Fine Homes” so you can post it for Wordless Wednesday.
10. You and your spouse go out with your favorite friends. Their eyes glaze over as you relate the hilarious posts that your on-line friends Flibber T. Bibbet and Rabble Fraggit have posted over the last month and a half. Their smiles freeze on their faces as you regale them with the latest news about your Technorati ranking and the memes in which you have chosen to participate. Suddenly, they remember another engagement. After that, when you try to call all you get is the answering machine.
11. Your child is telling you about a triumph at school, and all you can think about is, “Should I turn this into a funny post or make it poignant?”
12. On your anniversary dinner, at the most prestigious restaurant in town, you take out your notebook so you can scribble notes for your next post.
13. You get so caught up in blogging that you forget to return a client’s call in a timely manner. When you do, they have hired someone else. You lost the job. You got “Dooced.” That does not make you into an uberblogger—it makes you a putz.

If you or any of your loved ones are experiencing “blog addiction,” get help on-line immediately.

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Technorati Tags: humorous, THIRTEEN SYMPTOMS OF BLOG ADDICTION, Thursday Thirteen

“I’m tryin’ ta think, I’m tryin’ ta think
…and nothin’s happenin’!”

If you are looking for Wordless Wednesday, skip down a post. I had something I had to say today:
Teamouse (or as I call her, Sweet Tea) at Tea Time Ramblings passed an award to me several weeks ago. I was honored and overwhelmed. It was The Thinking Blogger Award.

I’d received it twice, though I don’t feel like I deserve it, because this blog is not “deep water.” I’ve been trying to decide to whom I should pass it along. Just as I got close to having a post ready, Rose DesRochers passed back to me the one I had given her. I’m deeply grateful to both of them, but can only do one at a time. It takes a lot of thought to pull these together! Right now I’m behind in the work that makes me money…and all I want to do is blog! So, I’m naming five people, and they have to promise not to give it back to me! I’m pulling a Scarlett O’Hara on the second one: “I’ll think about that tomorrow, for tomorrow’s another day.” In no particular order:

Simon, The Freelance Cynic, causes me to think and to laugh. His twisted sense of humor makes for funny posts, but he can write rather poignantly as well. His site is not G-rated, but I enjoy it.

Alissa at I Wish makes me wish I knew how to use a camera. Her photography is superb, and her essays are delightful.

Ingrid at Through My Eyes gets on a rant, and makes me want to jump up and say “Hallelujah.”

Robyn at Pistols, Passions, and Potions describes herself as “an aspiring writer.” When she does her meticulous research for her works, she shares interesting historical facts. She also posts about her travels and about words (two of my favorite interests).

Lisa, AKA Mama Milton is a blogger I have just found. She entered my This Blog Blows My Dress Up Contest, and I’m enjoying reading more of her posts. I love her sense of humor.

Here are the rules:

1. If, and only if, you get tagged, write a post with links to 5 blogs that make you think,
2. Link to this post so that people can easily find the exact origin of the meme,
3. Optional: Proudly display the ‘Thinking Blogger Award’ with a link to the post that you wrote.

If the rest of you folks haven’t seen these sites, check them out and see if you enjoy them.

Technorati Tags: The Thinking Blogger Award.

Y’all have never known me to quiet for Wordless Wednesday. This begs explanation. It is a closeup image of a weaving called “Fireworks” that I did (before I started blogging). A friend said I couldn’t weave something that cost nothing. I showed her. This is in a frame made from limbs. The raffia was easter grass. The yarns and feather boa were leftovers from other projects. The colored un-spun wool has been in my basket for years, and the bulk of this is woven with strips of plastic grocery bags. The purple beads were my Aunt LaVerta’s.

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Visit the contest page to read the entries or see the rules. All you have to do is send the permalinks to three funny articles you have written and then link to the contest on a post to be entered. There are thirteen entries so far.
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Technorati Tags: Wordless Wednesday, This Eclectic Life’s This Blog Blows My Dress Up Contest.