Follow-Up Friday - Now with photos

I'm still trying to work out a method of including you, my dear readers, as a more integral part of this here blog. See, I love the comments you all leave me with, but feel that if I reply in the "comments" section, my replies may go unnoticed, and I want to be sure that I respond to questions, comments, and all the witty things you all have to say.

Since my Thursday Thirteen last week, the one where I replied to comments, was so well received, I've decided to dedicate my Friday post to following up on that week's comments. This is not to say I won't reply individual within the comments section on any given day, because I will still try to do that...but on Fridays check back here, and I'll have pulled out some of the comments that required lengthier responses, and have at it.

Let's make Friday a conversation day, shall we?

So, without further ado, we'll start with last Friday and work our way forward:

Friday's post - "The Curse of the Hot Friend".

The comments to this post made me realize that I'm not alone in being the "hot girl's friend", and that yes, you all understood and felt my pain. If you don't know what I'm talking about, then know that it probably means YOU are the hot friend. I have to agree with Frigga's comment that it is better to know a guy is a jerk right off the bat too, saves you a whole lot of trouble later on. And I'm glad you all enjoyed/enjoy my story telling. I enjoy telling stories, so it works out well. More stories to come, I promise.

Saturday and Sunday I took a break. Although I did post a Sunday Scribblings at my other blog on Sunday. And am very appreciative of the comments I receive on there as well. It is tough to actually post my creative efforts, as I am HIGHLY critical of my own writing, so any feedback is always appreciated.

Monday was Fun Monday and was all about doing good deeds.

Frigga said: "The best part about doing these sorts of things is how good I end up feeling!" - I totally agree! This carries over to everything in life. Whenever I do something that benefits someone else, I wind up winning. With being a Big Sister, for example, people tell me how wonderful I am for giving of myself to my little, and all I can think of is how much she's done for me simply by being in my life. And the feeling I get when I see her do well, and know I had something to do with it? There's nothing quite like it.

Beckie and Joy both said they wanted to be my friends on Facebook, and I thought I'd elaborate a bit on this whole facebook thing. See, anything techie-ish I'm into, and although both myspace and facebook CAN be kind of childish, they are also fantastic networking tools. I've reconnected with people I never thought I'd hear from again through both of these sites. I mean, my best friend from 8th grade, a girl I hadn't spoken to in about 13 years, found me on myspace, and now we've reconnected. That's pretty amazing. So, all the "creepy" or "imature" stuff aside, I'm a fan of both sites. I don't spend nearly as much time on those as I do in the blog world, but it's nice to know I can find folks there. That said, if you're on either and want to be "friends", drop me a line. (There's a link to my email on my profile).

On Monday I also had a bit to say about MTV's Video Music Awards. And apparently, so did you.

Karmyn R said: "Thinking of Britney - I wonder how much of her career is actually her decision - or her Manager and Record Contract Screaming, "WE NEED YOU NOW".Obviously, that girl is not getting good advice from her "people" - You are probably quite right in this Karmyn. She's obviously making some pretty bad choices, and you would think "her people" would tell her "girl, you are just not ready for this" . However, as has been evidenced by her writing off her family, she's not exactly one to listen to good advice anyway, so how much can you blame them?

The Ex has this to say: "Timbaland is smokin'" - Amen sister. He trully is. who knew?

Susannah S commented on how a channel that barely plays music videos can have an award show. So true! And yes, I also feel that Sarah Silverman crosses a line and goes from not funny (because she just is NOT funny) to rude way too often for my tastes.

JennieBoo said: "I know I'm probably the only one, but Britney's horrible performance almost makes me sad, you know?" - You are not the only one Jennie, I was sad for her too. As much as a trainwreck can be fascinating to watch, it is a sad sad thing.

On Tuesday the blogosphere was filled with Tributes to the 9/11 victims and survivors, and I shared a poem written only weeks after the attacks. Thank you to all of you for your heartfelt comments, both about the tribute and about the poem itself.

On Wordless Wednesday I introduced everyone to Rocky, my brother's new pitbull pup. Glad to see that most could see his sunny disposition, as pitbulls really have gotten a bad rep.

But now we come to the fun part, because in yesterday's Thursday Thirteen I offered up some eye candy. I appreciate that we all have different tastes, as was obvious by some of the comments, but I also asked for your input on who you think should be on that list. I knew I'd get requests for some country guys, and you all did not disappoint. There were also some others you thought I missed. And because I aim to please...

Frigga, Rob Thomas doesn't really do it for me (although I do think he's a good looking guy), BUT, just for you:

Also, you mentioned Josh Turner and Blake Shelton. I believe you said they had sexy voices, but they are good looking guys in their own right. Personally, I'm not much for long hair on guys:

And Julia, how could I have forgotten Jim Morrison?

And your strange attraction to 50 cent? I actually get that. I'm not really sure what it is about him, but, yeah, I see it...

And someone else I missed on my list, and only realized it because he was on the "Early Show" this morning...Chris Daughtry...yummy.

I did say this was in no way an all inclusive list...I'm sure there are plenty more I missed. But any excuse for eye candy is good enough for me.

Anyway, it was fun trapesing through the comments this week. I think I'll make this a regular feature. And if I didn't address your comment directly, it is not because I didn't read it and it didn't matter, I read them all, and they all make me smile.

Come on back later, I've sent out some interviews, and will have links to the responses in a bit.