If you don't already have a Google Reader account to read blogs like this one, you are missing out! I too used to check out the two or three blogs that I read on a regular basis whenever I remembered by clicking on my favorites. Some of my friends blogged daily. Most didn't blog for days or even weeks (sometimes longer). I'd get tired of clicking on each account and would forget until their posts were so ancient they were no longer relevant, or I'd miss posts because I didn't know they'd posted more than one.Then the hilarious blogger at Because I Said So, wrote a post about the Google Reader. As soon as I tried it I was hooked! Now I have to admit I've become addicted to reading blog posts. I want to share this with you. (You don't have to read as many blogs as I do of course!!) Google Reader also works for news feeds and other stuff, but I only read blogs!
The Reader puts all posts on one website so you don't have to go to a lot of websites. It tells you if there are new posts you haven't read and marks them as read when you do read them (or you tell it to).
So here's what you do!
Sign up for a Google Reader account by going to http://www.google.com/reader/. If you already have a Google account, you can use your same username and password. If you don't have one yet, choose "create an account".
Once you have a Google Reader account save it to your favorites (you want to do this before you start adding subscriptions, but you don't have to). Now you can start adding subscriptions to your Google Reader by clicking on the "+Add a Subscription" button at the top of the page on the left side.
Open a new tab or window and go to your favorite blogs (like mine). On the tool bar at the top of your page is an orange button (looks like the one the little girl in the picture at the top of this post is holding). Push the button and it gives you the feed link for the blog (or news feed or whatever) on the place where you enter websites at the top of your page (on my computer anyway). This means your reader gets the updates/feeds. Here's mine http://marythemom-mayhem.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default Copy this link.Now push that "+ Add a Subscription button" on your new reader and paste the link. Click the "Add" button. Your new subscription will show under subscriptions with the name of the blog and in parentheses after it the number of posts you have not read yet (it starts with 10). So it looks like this. "Muddling through Mayhem (10)".
As you scroll down the posts, reading/skimming the posts, they will be marked as read which reduces the number in parentheses - so you know exactly how many posts you have left to read. Each time the blogger posts the number will be added to. If you want to you can mark all posts as read (there a button above the post area). I do this when I add a subscription (cause I've really already read those posts) or when I'm so behind that I have to give up and mark them as all read (right now I have 215 unread posts on my reader *sigh*).
Play with the buttons to get it to look like you want. (the picture here is not my reader, but it looks a lot like my set up).
You can find new blogs or feeds to subscibe to by clicking "View all Recommendations" under "Explore." At the top of the opened section click the tab for "Search." Under "Search by Keyword" you can enter search terms to find feeds you'd like to subscribe to (like RAD parent, teen adoption, knitting...). This list will tell you the name of the website or blog, a very brief description and the number of other people that subscribe to the site. You can use the number of subscribers to determine how popular the site is. The larger the number of people that subscribe to that site is, the more popular the site is considered to be.
Once you have all your subscriptions entered you can choose to read all posts in the Google Reader (rather than going to each blog), or you can click on the website name to go to the website or the post title to go to that particular post on its website. To comment you have to go to the website.
This is why I have 215 unread posts - I have something like 85 blogs I read!
Funny ones:
AwkwardFamilyPhotos.com http://awkwardfamilyphotos.com/feed/
BECAUSE I SAID SO http://feeds.feedburner.com/blogspot/dNXZ
Cake Wrecks http://feeds.feedburner.com/CakeWrecks
Confessions of a Pioneer Woman http://thepioneerwoman.com/feed
FAIL Blog: Pictures and Videos of Owned, Pwnd and Fail Moments http://feedproxy.google.com/failblog
People of Walmart http://peopleofwalmart.com/?feed=rss2
Stephanie Snowe: The Blog! http://www.stephaniesnowe.com/feeds/posts/default
Stories from Apartment Managers http://managingapartments.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default
Mostly Adoption/ Special Needs
"We May Not Have It All Together, But Together We Have It All" http://largefamilymomma.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default
a bipolar daughter and the family who loves her http://stackjourney.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default
Adopted - The Comic http://www.adoptedthecomic.com/?feed=rss2
Ain't That Sherific? http://sherific.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default
Alayna's World http://bug-alaynasworld.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default
An Adoptive Mom http://adoptivemomgoingtobegrandma.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default
beautifully chaotic http://beautifullychaotic2009.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default
Brenda McCreight PH.D. http://theadoptioncounselor.com/Blog/?feed=rss2
Busy Intersection http://busyintersection.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default
Calm, Interrupted http://myoncecalmlife.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default
Crayon: creating a life out of cHaOS http://carminecrayon.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default
Everything About Adoption in One Place http://everythingadoption.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default
Eyes Opened Wider http://eyesopenedwider.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default
Faith Makes Things Possible Not Easy http://allcrazyhere.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default
Finding my Heartsmile http://findingmyheartsong.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default
Finding My Way to Family http://findingourwaytofamily.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default
Finishing Off My Family http://tudusamom.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default
Gold to Refine http://goldtorefine.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default
Hartley's Life With 3 Boys http://www.hartleysboys.com/feeds/posts/default
How Could You Not?! http://howcouldyounott.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default
I Know What We're Gonna Do Today http://iknowwhatweregonnadotoday.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default
Jeannie's Happenings! http://jdavis34.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default
Journey to Being a Normal Little Kid http://lifewithoutrad.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default
Life in the Grateful House http://lisajordanpuddin.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default
Living in a Handbasket http://handbasketddlong.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default
Living With RAD http://reactiveattachmentdisorderlife.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default
Mama Drama - Times Two http://mamadrama-timestwo.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default
Marty's Musings http://waldenbunch.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default
Mom to My AngelBabies http://momtomyangelbabies.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default
My Radical Family! http://myradicalfamily.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default
MY SWEET CHAOS http://mysweetchaos.wordpress.com/feed/
Never a Dull Moment http://fletcherclan.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default
One Future At A Time http://ofaat.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default
One Mother's Day http://onemothersday.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default
P.S. House http://pshouse.wordpress.com/feed/
Peace in Puzzles http://threesmithkids.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default
Perspective RAD http://perspectiverad.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default
Postcards from Insanity http://afostermamaslife.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default
Pulsipher Predilections http://adamandkristinapulsipher.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default
RADical Adventures http://radicaladventures.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default
RadKid.Org Blog http://www.blog.radkid.org/?feed=atom
Raising a Psychopath http://raising-a-psychopath.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default
Raising Alyssa http://raisingalyssa.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default
Rancho Chico http://ranchochico.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default
Random thoughts from the Fuller house http://momrainefamily.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default
Reactive Attachment Disorder Blog http://attachment-disorder.adoptionblogs.com/?tempskin=_atom
Recovering Noah http://recoveringnoah.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default
REJOICING IN HOPE http://rejoicinginhope.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default
Robin's Nest - Homeschool Blogger http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/rss.php?w=Robinsnest
Sometimes God *does* give you more than you can handle http://morethancanhandle.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default
Special Education for Families Blog http://www.specialeducation4families.com/?feed=rss2
Special K's Journey http://specialksjourney.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default
Stellar Parenting 101 http://stellarparenting.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default
Strong In The Broken Places http://strongplaces.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default
The Accidental Advocate http://accidentaladvocate.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default
The Accidental Mommy http://theaccidentalmommy.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default
The Land of The Loo-Loos - it's not confidential, we've got potential! http://loolooland.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default
the missing piece http://nomoremoves.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default
The Pinocchio Syndrome http://ttboot.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default
The Short Bus http://sanitysrchr-shortbus.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default
Things that are happening http://3schools.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default
Third time's the charm? http://mimi4now.wordpress.com/feed/
This Side of the Ditch http://doodlebugditch.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default
This Work Stinks http://thisworkstinks.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default
Thou shalt not whine http://andimeanit.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default
Truth is Powerful and it Prevails http://truthispowerful.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default
Tubaville http://tubaville.wordpress.com/feed/
Under Scarlet Bird's Wing http://underscarletbirdswing.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default
Upside-Down Adoption http://feeds.feedburner.com/atlasien
Watching The Waters http://watchingthewaters.wordpress.com/feed/
welcome to my brain . net http://www.welcometomybrain.net/feeds/posts/default
What Now? http://lafosterblog.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default
With Love from Sumy http://withlovefromsumy.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default
{RAGE against the MINIVAN} http://feeds.feedburner.com/RAGEagainsttheMINIVAN
Odds and Ends:
Because I Said So Reviews http://dawnmeehan.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default
welcome to my reviews http://welcometomyreviews.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default
ID-ONE Insights http://id-one.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default
The Marvelous Meanderings of Miss Molly McPrickles http://mollymcprickles.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default
Edited to add new blogger I Know What We're Gonna Do Today http://iknowwhatweregonnadotoday.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default
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