I don’t really need to tell you how awesomely cool the Bloggess is. If you don’t know of whom I speak then go, check out her site while I wait here.

(update:For, cough, technical reasons the links have been spread a little further into the post. This may change at a future time, that is all.)

You’re not coming back are you? (Note to self: in the future place links to awesomeness at the end of your post.) I’ve mentioned my fondness for all things bloggess before, on my post about pioneer woman. But I never went on very long there, and that’s because I felt that she deserved her own post. I had writing this in the back of my head for a while now.

I’ll admit that I know my blog is a blimp in world of blogmania- I’m fairly invisible at the moment, so a tribute to the Bloggess when so many tributes have probably been written by other better known bloggers or individuals, it’s not a huge deal. So why bother? Because I know what I like and I gush when I like, be warned. (Also, the husband has asked that I stop waiving my Ipod under his nose after I’ve read a Bloggess post. “Read this, read this now! It’s lovely and wonderful and it has zombies in it!” I scream

“Lyd, I’ll have a look later- um, can you get out of the restroom now? Thanks.” he answers (And he never looks! He has no idea what he’s missing out on.)

1. The Bloggess knew that unicorns and zombies were cool before anyone else did. I don’t have the facts to back this up- but I feel it in my gut. Any “proof” that you have to state otherwise will be disregarded. I said it will be disregarded!

2. The Bloggess has very useful information about surviving the zombie apocalypse. Very useful, take notes.

3. The Bloggess isn’t afraid to talk about when her heart has shattered. Her collecting bird cages post struck a huge chord with me. She has the unique ability to both bring you to tears with laughter and also to tears in shared pain. And sometimes? She does both those things in one post!

4. The Bloggess has the best name for a blogger Ever. You can tell how much I like her name by the number of times I’ve used it in this post. Sorry about that- but you  find it soothing and lyrical, no?

5. The red dress post. Go, read it. It will inspire you as it has inspired so many people. People who never dared to dare because of the little voice inside of their head that said,” this isn’t done, what will people say? What will people think? ” The red dress post is magic for so many because it says find your red dress, the thing that will make you most happy,help you live up to the awesomeness inside yourself.

And lastly, but without a number- The Christmas Gift Card Miracle of 2010. This stands or could stand alone on it’s own merit. I was going to write about this on my What made it finally feel like Christmas post, but I felt it deserved it’s own space, along with the other things that make not only the Bloggess remarkable but those who read her as well. It started when the Bloggess offered 20 thirty dollar giftcards to the first twenty people to comment on how they didn’t know how they would be able to celebrate Christmas this year. And then a funny thing happened, people began to offer to take care of the 21st person, and then the 22nd…what happened from that point was like a made for TV Christmas special but a hundred times better.

I know I’ve said this before but if you want to know my true turning point this year, the thing that made me realize that this is in fact Christmas, and that for all the darkness out in the world there is still more light, this was it. And I really mean that. I know people go crazy this time of year. It’s buy, buy, buy with little substance- I know you may think that that has ruined Christmas. It’s made it commercial, it’s all about the stuff- but this showed me that people still care about each other. And you may think a giftcrad for presents or Christmas dinner is not the most important thing but it is in fact important. It’s more then just a gift or a special meal. It’s someone, a virtual stranger saying to someone else, you matter. And you may have struggled this year and felt like the world was against you, you may have felt unimportant but, you are important. You are important enough to have a present for your child or the little things that we sometimes take for granted, but that make life worth living. A special time for the family to come together and find solace in a world that’s sometimes less then comforting. People still care about one another. In times when they are needed they still band together. And that, that not only makes we appreciate this Christmas, it makes me appreciate this world and the chance we’ve all been given. So, God bless us everybody-a Merry Christmas to all.