There has been a lot of controversy in the blogging community as to whether girl bloggers can be power bloggers. Of course, I am solidly on the side of YES, girl bloggers rock. Women bring a depth of perspective to blogging that can never be duplicated. As time goes on, I see more girls powering along with fantastic content and unique points of view.

Today, Roberta started a brand new designation: Rockin’ Girl Bloggers

I’m going to tag 5 awesome girl bloggers who I love reading. If you’ve been tagged, just grab the Rockin’ Girl Bloggers badge and tag five more powerful woman bloggers you know. Pay it forward and the phenomenon will keep on going and going.

• The Buzz Queen
• Manilla Mom
• Vegan Momma
• Jenny Up the Hill
• Karen, at the The Pond
• The Sassy Southerner

If you’re either a guy or your name isn’t on this list, it doesn’t mean you can’t participate. Just grab the badge and tell a girl blogger out there that she rocks!!

Up until recently I had two dogs. I ended up giving my greyhound, Angel, to a local Elderly Greyhound rescue group. With the divorce, being back in school full time and my daughter, it was very difficult to care for two older dogs. Angel is now living on a farm with another Greyhound and happy as a clam. I still have my Maltese, Echo, living with me.

Having an older dog is expensive, though. Echo has been sick a lot lately. She has a tumor on her spleen and is anemic. She had extensive dental work a few months back and needs special supplements. Since she is not in pain and actually still active enough to interact with us, I will not put her down. Actually, I have a problem putting her down in any situation. I just cannot bring myself to be the one deciding to end a pet’s life.

I’ve been thinking a lot recently about how humans have health insurance, or at least many of us do. But when it comes to pets, we end up paying for treatments that can be just as expensive as treating a human, out of our own pockets. I have paid for X-rays and blood work lately that would shock you for its dollar value. Taking care of Echo in her old age is one of my major expenses. You don’t think of how much it can cost to keep a pet healthy in their old age when they are cute balls of puppy fluff. You thin about the actual cost of the dog and the food you feed them. Your first sticker shock is usually annual shots. But, that is only the tip of the proverbial iceberg.

There is a growing trend toward pet health insurance. When I think back to the three times we had Angel in for emergency care in the middle of the night, or the cancer that Echo has right now, I see the need in my own life for pet insurance. Health expenses tend to come out of the blue and I am not always prepared to pay right away. The weeks I’ve had Echo to the veterinarian have been the tightest for me financially. PetCare Pet Insurance has pet insurance programs in both the United States and Canada. I’m looking at the list of services covered and I’m impressed. Getting insurance for your pet “just in case” is worth it in the long run. My advice is, look into it while your pets are still young and healthy.

Hosting can be a headache. I am not talking about my blog. I have this puppy on a very reliable host and in as much as I have been able to determine, there has not been any significant downtime. My static sites, on the other hand, are hosted for free on my ex-husband’s cousin’s business servers. I don’t want to go rocking any boats, because free is free and technically I am not even family anymore. But, the sites have all been down since late Friday night. I thought for sure it was a business issue that resolve this morning, but so far they are all still down. I sent in a support ticket. Now comes the wait.

I’ve lost a good bit of advertising revenue for these static sites. And, I can only imagine the e-mail that is waiting for me. I am going to give this a day or so, but I have all the gears ready to roll to switch everything over to my paid hosting account. It is probably the wise thing overall, but I have been nervous about making the switch. Otherwise I suppose I would have done all of this a long time ago.