What kind of blogger are you, and what kind would you like to be?

This is a question I have been pondering about myself lately. I never set out to write a blog - I'd tried many times in my childhood to write a diary and because of my excessively detailed descriptions my hand began to ache so much I'd get fed up and quit!!

You see, I had quite happily become an internet addict - surfing the web for information, stories, ways to amuse myself, new friends etc - in fact for a long while I spent more time talking to my online friends than I did my real friends because my uni work meant I was on the computer so often it was just too easy to log onto the forum I was a member of. Yet I never really discovered the world of blogging until my final year at uni.

I was looking for information on possible child-related careers and stumbled upon a blog following a link about Hypnobirthing - from then on I followed blogroll after blogroll and I was hooked. At first I was a lurker - then with de-lurking week (or whatever it's called!) I came out and began commenting on a regular basis. Eventually, I decided to start my own blog - why? Well let's see...

First of all I thought it'd be cool that the people whose blogs I commented on knew who I was - hey if they are sharing their world with me, why shouldn't I share mine? I find nothing more frustrating than reading interesting or amusing comments on someone's blog and having no link to follow to find out who this person is and how I can find more witty and useful writings from them!!

Secondly - I love writing. Period. I always have and always will.

Thirdly - and perhaps most importantly AND most dangerously - I love making new friends, I love receiving mail/comments and I love to feel like my life and ponderings are interesting enough for people to drop by, read and leave me a comment.

Why is this so dangerous? Well because it can become a bit obsessive - am I writing things people will want to read? Is anybody actually reading this or am I talking to myself ? Even more worrying is asking myself, "what kind of blogger am I and what kind of blogger do I want to be?

To answer this I cannot help but look at the blogs I return to again and again - why do I do this and only frequent other blogs every now and then? And do I have these qualities myself or am I completely different? Do I wish I were more like them or do I like my own style? Let's see:

Most frequented blogs:

ReDinkyDink - one of the first blogs I ever found and I cannot tell you why I like it so much I just do

Sugar and Ice - I just love Chas and her posts - so honest and open and down-to-earth - and who could not love the updates about LG?

Cherry Menlove's Blog - well what can I say? I just love Cherry's blog (like so many of her readers - you only have to look at her comments lis to see how popular she is!) I cannot help but feel nostalgic and at the same time dream of the future I hope I'll have when I read about Cherry's homemaking

Hola Isabel - this was another one of the first blogs I found but I didn't read much until this year because Isabel just seemed way too cool for the likes of me! But I just love her sass, humour and style so much that I am now hooked!

I have been a regular reader of other blogs at different times as my life has changed but these 4 have remained regular ones so much so that I know the addresses well enough to just type into my web browser without relying on my favourites list!

Am I anything like them? Well, not really - I am not really very sassy and although I have a good sense of humour it doesn't quite translate onto the page. I would love to post about homemaking bits and pieces I have spent my day doing but I just never have the time (to do them in the first place, I mean). And I do not have a family - so no posts about gorgeous children. Yet I just love these blogs...

So what kind of blogger am I? I guess I'm honest - too honest sometimes - I think sometimes it'd be better to write to you about some of the beautiful walks T and I have been on and the cakes I baked, and the day we spent with T's niece and the collage we are currently making from old Country Living magazines. But I always seem to end up writing about what is running round my head, what is stressing me etc. Don't get me wrong - I am happy to share these with you all - but is it really what you want to read?!

I suddenly realised this weekend that I hadn't written a Sacred Sunday posting in such a long time, I hadn't visited some of my favourite blogs in ages, I hadn't posted any pictures from our wanderings... and I want to do this. Since being ill and having time to sit and be I realised I needed to change the whole perspective of my life - which started off this whole train of thought... I guess it's not just what kind of blogger I am but who I am and who I want to be.

So tell me, as I continue to ponder this, what kind of blogger are you and what kind of blogger did you set out to be or want to be? And does this equate to who you are in real life?