Congratulations!

The ballots have been cast, the votes have been counted, and the results are in...

The 2008 Best of Blogs are complete.

I was honored to be considered a candidate, and I had a lot of fun watching the contest progress.

Unfortunately, I was not the "Winner". Nor was I the "First Runner Up", or the "Second Runner Up". I did not win, place or even show... (sniff, sniff)

But, worry not dear readers... Because I do consider myself a winner, in a couple of other different ways...

Mantra - I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and doggone it, people like me.

- Stewart Smalley

First... To even be considered a finalist among such a group of great dads / blogs was an honor in of itself...

Second... I discovered a couple of new blogs.. I couple of REALLY GREAT new blogs, that I really enjoy!

Given these observations, how can I not be a "Winner" ?

In true "good sportsman" fashion, I am going to announce, and link to the "Best Daddy Blogs" of 2008! There are some well deserved winners on this list!

------------------------

The winner of this year's Best Daddy Blog is...... Literal Dan!

Literal Dan was one of the new blogs I discovered through the BoB's. Very witty, frequently updated, Literal Dan was a welcome addition to my feed-reader!

This year's First Runner Up...... Daddy's Little Tax Credits!

DLTC is another one of the new blogs I discovered through the BoB's. DLTC has a great sense of humor, and an enjoyable mix of sarcasm, humor, and real life.

And last (but certainly not least) This year's Second Runner Up....... DadStuff!

I am happy to say that DadStuff was one of the blogs I nominated this year. DadStuff is a GREAT "Father-Blogger" who shares many true life stories of raising his family, with his wife LadyDi, and their kids SweetPea & N1S (Number One Son). Through comments shared back and forth, I feel like I have gotten to know DadStuff pretty well. He may not realize this, but I have learned a lot about myself, and about fathering from him. He is truly an inspiration for me! A well deserved "Second Runner Up" goes out to the whole "Stuff" family!

------------------------

BREAKING NEWS - BREAKING NEWS - BREAKING NEWS

This just in... Apparently, there has been a discrepancy in the ballots cast for this years BoB's, and a recount has been demanded. After all the votes were tabulated, many ballots were found with "hanging chads". I think someone better get out the magnifying glass! Break out some coffee folks, this is going to be a long recount!

------------------------

All kidding aside... The above listed Dad Bloggers are truly some well deserving fellas. Be sure to head on over and check them out if you have not already.

I also want to give a quick little "shout out" to the rest of the finalists this year. There are some true gems in this list! Even though they did not make it into the top three, any one of them would have made a great BoB winner!

DIYFather, The Life of a Father of Five, The King of Clubs, AtHomeDaddy, BabyDaddy, FatherDad, and DadsHouseBlog.

And, let's not forget The Adventures of Charlie Blockhead (another one of my regular reads). He coordinated the BoB's.... Let's give him a hand too!

The Best of Blogs!

Well, voting has started. Since I nominated myself, (along with several other awesome Dad-Bloggers), It's now time for me to ask you to drop by The Best of Blogs, and place your vote for the BEST DADDY BLOG.

Don't feel obligated to vote for The Life of a Father of Five... When you look at the other candidates, I'm almost embarrassed to in the same list... There are some really hilarious, and some fantastic Dads out there! I am honored to be among you guys!

But, on the other hand... If you do want to send me some "love", I wont be disappointed...

I'd like to wish my competition the best of luck! Fellas, keep up the great work!

The list of nominations for Best Daddy Blog 2008 are as follows...

DIYFather (I think that is the correct link - if it is wrong, let me know!)
The Life of a Father of Five
The King of Clubs
LBSimba (DadStuff)
AtHomeDaddy
BabyDaddy
FatherDad
LiteralDan
DaddysLittleTaxCredits
DadsHouseBlog

Best of luck to you guys! You all deserve to win in my book!

Shameless Self Promotion

I recently stumbled across a "best of" site for bloggers - aptly named "The Best of Blogs" or BoB's for short. While surfing the site, and checking out last years contest / results, I noticed that this year the BoB's underwent some changes. A new category, and a new rule were added.

#1 - New category - Best Daddy Blog
#2 - New rule - Ability to self nominate.

As I checked out the (new) category of Best Daddy Blog there were only FOUR nominations.... Yup... Only four.

Well, since I maintain a regular diet (or perhaps a diet that keeps me regular) of father bloggers - (of whom you can find in my sidebar!) I was feeling a bit embarrassed (as a father) for the measly turn out for nominations of us father bloggers. I went ahead and committed an act of shameless self promotion, nominating The Life of a Father of Five as a candidate. BUT... I took my nomination(s) a step further.

I also nominated several of the fathers of my "regular haunts". I felt compelled to add these nominations, because... well frankly... because I have established a "blogging" friendship through comments and emails with these fellas. There are some really great guys and great fathers out there - many (if not all of them) who do not get the recognition that they deserve. Fathers and Fatherhood is taken for granted all too much in our society.

So, please do me a favor - check out the BoB's, check out the Father/Daddy Blogs out there too. They all have some interesting things to offer the world (and most of them are much more interesting than FOF too!)