Hats Off to Dooce

Image from Deseret News.

This week's Hump Day Hmm is about a blogger inspires you.

This week...it's all about the other guy. One of the greatest things we all say we find in blogging is community. What post, blog or blogger has inspired you? It could have been a comment, a post, something someone did. Perhaps you've become friends. Big or small, if it moved you and caused you to take action in your own life, tell us about it. Tell us what inspired you, and then let us know the story from there---your story.

Everyone blogger knows Heather Armstrong, aka Dooce. She is the star celebrity of mommy bloggers, even the oh-so-proper mommy twins Susan and Janice of 5 Minutes for Mom, who had the honor of meeting her this week. It's a cliche to say that Heather's blog inspires me, as she inspires thousands, with her blunt yet personal posts, deprecating humor and most of all (for me anyway), fantastic photos. People put her down for just about everything, from making gobs of money from her blog, to her profanity and vulgarity. But not enough people speak out that she is a truly ground-breaking phenomena that is at the top of the heap because she really is that good.

There are topics that I would certainly not discuss on this blog when it comes to my family and kids, as I'm way too nice, polite, cutesy, whatever. But I can aspire to take fantastic photos. I've had my latest camera (Canon Digital Rebel XTi) for about a year, but only recently have I decided to invest in lenses that would capture photos at Dooce's quality level. I don't claim to be anything but an amateur photographer, and I would hate to take it beyond the hobby stage where it wouldn't be fun. But I do aim for the "wow factor" and it's thanks to being inspired by Heather.

Heather doesn't know me from any other adoring fan, but I do comment whenever she dares to open a post up to comments. So if you haven't already, go visit Dooce and pay homage.