M.F.T. #14: Suburbs of Utopia, 600 times over.

I'm really excited to announce that this is my six hundredth blog post + that to me is monumental!!! I'm not even really sure what sparked me to start a blog 3.5 years ago but I'm sooo happy that I did! It's been such a huge source of happiness having one place I can go at any time with a simple click of a mouse to see all my favorite people, places and things! Being able to scribe about the "little things" has helped remind me of many little memories and milestones I've made and reached along the way... and my exact feelings at the time, too. I think I started Suburbs of Utopia at the utmost perfect time in my life. A time when I was really coming in to my own, surviving nursing school and graduating college. I think a good percent of my posts are written under the pretense of having no idea where my life is headed (like this one, for instance!) but its fun having an e-documentary of the journey of getting to where I'm going ... where is that, again?... deep breaths... I. know. I. will. find. my. way.  

Not only has 'Burbs been an awesome outlet for me to relish/vent/relieve/celebrate but recently, I have received a lot of positive feedback from friends/friends of friends/frienemies/total strangers telling me how much my blog inspires them and that means the world to me! Seriously, the world. Mostly, I write my blog for myself, and my Grandma, and the majority of the time I'm quite certain no one else is even reading what I post but once in a while, someone out-of-the-blue surprises me with a heartfelt thanks for letting them in to my insight of my life... and its pretty super special! It always brings tears to my eyes and a warm, fuzzy tingling in my fingertips and ironically, words can't express how much it means to me to know that my writing could make someone feel better/happy/not alone. Hopefully one day HarperCollins will also recognize my love for writing and they will grant me that advance on a book deal I've been wishing on shooting stars for!

When I scroll back through my life thus far, I know I am so incredibly blessed that this was the hand I created with the cards I was dealt! The people in my life, the career I have chosen, the places I have been, the culture I've consumed equates to a royal flush. Just thinking about what's to come in the next five years sets a fiery to my imagination. While I can't actually visualize any of it, something in my heart tells me it's going to be unbelievable!!

My fourteenth favorite thing isn't just my blog, 600 times over, but blogs in general. There are so many that I read on a daily basis and I'd like to share just a couple with you that are consistently awesome:

1. Tosh.O - Carly and her job are pretty phenomenal + I cannot be any more proud/happy for her! She is an amazing writer and has definitely developed a voice in her writing that has captured the frontal lobes of many fans/viewers! I think I rival her Dad for her #1 fan but if you're not following her on the Tosh.O blog, you need to be.

2. Rockstar Diaries - I don't know Taza and her husband, personally, but the way I talk about them you would think that I did. I found their blog when I came across their short film on another blog I always read ... CurlyGirlDesign... but I seriously love them + she always has giveaways from her awesome sponsors (Suburbs needs sponsors... how do I get sponsors?) so start following her and you could win yourself something awesome... or just revamp your wardrobe because they are the most stylish couple!

3. Lovelife - This is the blog of the incredibly talented artist's online course I took back in September. Kal is awesome and inspiring. Check it out. Order yourself new artwork for that blank wall you've been dying to jazz up. Life will be good.

4. Nienie Dialogues- Oh, mommy blogs. How do I decide which one of you to choose as my favorite as I have been reading so many of you recently and absolutely hate having to pick favorites or make anything that remotely resembles a decision?! I'm not sure where my obsession with mommy blogs came from ... I think probably from reading my good friend (and only close friend who is a mommy, and a fabulous one at that) Katie's blog about her tiny miracle, Kylie for the past two years! Katie follows a lot of really awesome mommy blogs and while I can't relate to any of their woes of potty training, teething, sleepless nights and sick kiddos, I still manage to waste a great majority of every day reading about their entertaining attempts at perfecting parenting! Nienie has such a fascinating story about strength and surviving a plane crash. + like all mommy blogs, has a lot of awesome giveaways and creative ideas for any craft you can think of!

There's six of the ways I spend my endless, unemployment days and I love the inspiration I get from all of them. If you know of any blogs I should be following, leave a comment!

From everyone here at the 'Burb, thanks for following! =)