Category Archives: blogging about blogging

The Book Blog

Okay guys and gals (mostly gals), I told you quite a while ago that I was thinking of separating the personal blog from the book reviews. Especially now that I’m getting farther in my Library Media degree, I’d like to be able to refer people to my reviews without them being able to see the personal junk.

So, I’ve been thinking and thinking and thinking about a name and I finally came up with one yesterday that I think is fun and most importantly, available:

Madame bookworm

What do you think? I’m just now working on the template, uploading book posts from here to there, etc. I hav the actual URL purchased, but for now if you want to go ahead and become a follower, the temporary URL is:

http://madamebookworm.blogspot.com/

Go follow and I’ll keep you updated on the progress. After I get this all set up, you won’t be seeing any book reviews here. This will be my personal blog of randomness (which you should still follow).

Anyway, what do you think of the name?

Forgive me…

Forgive me, for I have been absent as of late. I guess that’s what happens when you try to be a full time teacher and a full time grad student as well as a part time photographer. Gah!

A few things:

  • Grades are due next week and conferences are then also. It doesn’t look like I’ll be blogging much in the next few weeks. Maybe I’ll try to schedule some posts on Sunday if I get the chance. Hang tight.
  • I haven’t been reading nearly as much as last year. I honestly can’t even tell you how many books I’ve read. 9 maybe? I’m still lacking 4 reviews for you. I promise I’ll post them as soon as I can. A few of them were filled with awesome!
  • It’s official… In about a month I’ll be going to the LA Times Festival of Books to meet up with Becca, Jessica, Tameka, and Crystal. I cannot wait! It should be fun times with book nerds galore.
  • I just started (like this week) doing a yoga DVD with Bob Harper from the biggest loser. How cute is he? Though I’m fairly certain he’s gay (all the good ones are). Can anyone confirm this? Oh well. He’s still pretty….

 

As of right now, I’m convinced it’s his sole duty in life to make my legs feel like jelly. It always feels good later, but geez. The man is evil. At least he’s not Jillian. This fat girl’s not ready for Jillian. I can currently only make it through 15 minutes of his Yoga for the Warrior or 7 minutes of his Yoga Abs. Slowly but surely, I’ll get better.

  • My sister moves away in a month. I’m sad. That’s all I feel like saying about that right now.
  • One year ago I was at the darkest place I’ve ever been in my life. It’s amazing what the difference a year can make. Hopefully, I’ll get to write more about that later, but until then, I’ll just leave it at this: I’m working on it.
  • I got a new story idea while blowing bubbles with my husband and the dogs. It’s just a sentence or two long spark of imagination, but I have it filed away for later.
  • I still don’t have the 900+ photos edited from the wedding I shot nearly 2 weeks ago. “File that under things I still have to do.” That list is a pretty big one, let me tell ya.
  • Wish the hubs good work vibes, please. I can’t say much more than that right now, but they would be appreciated.

Okay, blabbering over. I leave you with this:

True story.

My favorite blogs-part 2

Yesterday, I shared 10 of my most read blogs with you. Today, I’ll share another 10. Remember, these are in no specific order. Oh, and this time, why don’t you share one of your most read blogs? Go ahead, comment. You know you want to.

1. Oddee- A quirky, fun blog/website that has crazy ads, inventions, and the like. It’s a great place to kill time if you’re bored or suffering from insomnia.

2. Forever YA Lit- I’m a HUGE fan of YA literature, and Jessica helps indulge that need for me. She has great reviews, author visits and book signings, and giveaways. My favorite feature of hers? Her Saturday Link Party. She shares great links from around the web about reading and writing, as well as contests.

3. The Pioneer Woman- I’ve raved about the PW on here many a time, and I’ll do it again. I got the chance to meet Ree this past spring, and she is SO nice and cute. She’s hilarious, and has a ton of great recipes on her site. I live my life vicariously through her, and you should too. I have this slight delusion where she invites me up to her lodge for a weekend and teaches me all of her secrets. In my delusion, all of her recipes are calorie-free. I told you I’m delusional.

4. Three Cheers for Babies- I came across this site about a year ago, right after the triplets were born. Sadly, little Annaleigh didn’t make it. Her brother and sister are doing great though, and are possibly two of the cutest babies in the universe. If you have some time, I HIGHLY suggest starting at the beginning of this family’s story. It’s heartbreaking and heartwarming all in the same moment.

5. Wan Life to Live- I’m not sure how I stumbled across Wan, exactly, but I’ve been stalking  reading her blog for quite a while now. She’s funny and down to earth, and has a super-cute little girl. Wan is the real-life friend of Weezermonkey. What a pair those two must be!

6. What the blog- Oh Jenny. She’s a member of my online book club, and a hilarious one at that. Jenny’s shared her trips through infertility, pink hair, the scarf with pockets, and now her journey into motherhood with triplets. Yes, you read that right: TRIPLETS. Little P, B, & J (as she is affectionately calling them) are going to have one rockin’ mama.

7. Book Hooked- This isn’t just another book blog to me. Julie is the kindest, sweetest Southern Belle and she truly loves to read. She and her hubby just got an adorable little puppy that makes his way onto the blog occasionally. Julie is a librarian at a technical college and she is forever amusing me on Twitter with her student stories. We laugh, but she truly does care for them and goes WAY above and beyond her duties in the library.

8. Crystal’s Chronicles- Crystal and I have been online friends for a while now. She’s a fellow reader, writer, and cupcake lover who now serves as my critique partner. We’re both plowing our way, rather ungracefully I might say, through our first novels and helping each other along the way. She’s way cooler than she gives herself credit for. Oh yeah, and she reviews books. That shouldn’t surprise you. After all, she is an online friend of mine. Most of us are book nerds. :-)

9. Joelen’s Culinary Adventures- I’ve been following Joelen since way back on blogspot. She’s a big part of the culinary community in Chicago, as well as online. She has fantastic recipes that real people could actually make. I would love to sit down and have dinner with this lady sometime, because she and her foodie friends throw fabulous potluck dinner parties!

10. See Heather Write- I was introduced to Heather and her blog through some of my Twitter friends. As I mentioned, I play at being a writer, and I can always use good advice. Heather is (I’m sure) a much more skilled writer than me, so I take her word for it. She often shares great writing links from around the web, and she’s funny to boot. Can’t beat that!

Okay folks, that about wraps up this post. These aren’t by any stretch of the imagination ALL the blogs I read, but they are a good start. What are your top 10?

Favorite blogs

For Jacki, who kindly posted what she’d like to read on my Blogging Free for All post:

I read a TON of blogs on a regular basis. My Google Reader and I are total BFFs. What, you don’t use Reader? For shame! Get thee to Google! It’s life changing people, life changing. Anyway, I will have to make this a multiple-part post, because there are simply too many to share in one post. So, without further ado, here goes (in no certain order and definitely not categorized):

1. Imperfection is the New Pink: Tameka is one cool chick. She’s hilarious, empathetic, and a wise-ass all at the same time. Wait, did I just describe myself? Anyhow, she has to be one of the BEST single moms out there (to the beautiful Princess), and I totally dig her views on things. Plus, she gets props for having a wicked crush on my hubs (which totally makes him blush every time I mention it).

2. Blog Giveaways: Each day, Maria lists quite a few giveaways that are being offered around the blogosphere. This humble little blog of mine has been listed there several times, in fact. Why do I read this? Why, I love free shit, of course.

3. Cake Wrecks: Complete and utter hilarity. Jen and her husband have compiled a blog filled with the worst cakes out there. Some are terribly decorated. Some have comical misspellings. All are funny. *You should start at the first blog entry WAY back when. It makes more sense that way.* Oh, and on Sundays, she posts cakes that are actually really well made and generally on the amazing side.

4. Zonagirlie’s Livejournal: This is more of a personal blog of a dear friend of mine. She chronicles, vents, and generally celebrates random events in her life. She’s a former teacher turned Real Estate Tech Trainer, and she’s a writer/beta reader.

5. CasuALLY Musing: You guys know how I love photography, right? What, you didn’t get that? Anyway, Ally is participating in Project365 and I love seeing how she is chronicling her daily happenings. She is WAY more dedicated than me, because she’s stuck with it. For me, it would be more like Project22. That’s the way I roll.

6. Cleared for Takeoff: Katie is a super-cute mom to a super-cute 11 month old little girl named Ellie Kate. She’s a mommy blogger, but she’s not all “oh, look at my kid’s poop!” I appreciate that about her. Plus, she shares fashion tips and is just generally a cool chick to be around (on the interwebs, anway). I follow her on Twitter, and you should, too.

7. The Heir to Blair: Blair is hands down THE funniest girl I “know” online. She is so raw, yet she’s still such a southern belle. She says the shit we all think and wish we could. And, she gets to go to BlogHer because of it. WOOHOO! Team Blair, for the win! Plus, she has a ridiculously handsome little man. If Harrison had babies to Ellie Kate, the world would have to watch out. We couldn’t handle all of that cuteness.

8. Hot Guys Reading Books: This one’s sort of a guilty pleasure for me. After all, I like hot guys. I like books. What could be better than the two put together? Genius.

9: Weezermonkey: Weezer lives the life I only dream about. Well, except for that whole being a lawyer thing. I’ll pass on that. She eats at swanky restaurants and takes beautiful pictures of the food, only to blog about them later for the grand enjoyment of me. Okay, well, I pretend it’s just for me. I’m sure she has a much bigger audience than that. She also eats at hole in the wall strip mall restaurants and blogs about those, too. She’s diverse like that.

10. Lovely Little Shelf: And last but not least on this list, I had to give a shout-out to my girl, Jacki! After all, this post was for her. I love Jacki’s blog. She does great (and really honest) book reviews about all different genres. She’s really talented, and she’s expecting a little bundle of booknerd joy any time now. In case you didn’t know it, she’s the one that supplied the super cute logo for my 75 in 2010 page. Thanks again, Jacki!

This might have to become a series. I have SO many more to share. Look for them in the future!

Blogging Free for All

Okay friends, let’s face it: I am really not exciting enough to sustain a blog which has a scheduled post every single day. My wee little brain simply cannot come up with enough creative ideas to amuse you, dear readers.

So, I’ve decided something monumental. Okay, not really. I’ve decided to let YOU (yes, you!) pick the topics of some upcoming blogs. Anything goes. Want to know my favorite toenail polish? Ok. Do I have any super-human powers (I don’t)? Ok. Sex life? Nothing interesting there, but ok.

In the comments, simply leave your ideas and requests for blog posts. I will attempt to make a post about EVERY SINGLE ONE, right down to the ridiculous.

And just for funsies:

Rusty took this pic with his cell phone about a year ago. He walked in and Zeus and I were sleeping like this. We really are a matched pair, I tell you.