Blog, Blog, Blogging Along

I joined a SwapBot swap to publicize our blogs.  The requirement is that I visit the blogs of five different people and write a review of at least 100 words about each blog.  So this is that review.

The first blog I visited is Frayed Around the Edges, by a woman named Ingrid, which appears to be more of a commercial blog than a personal blog.  Its subtitle is "Buy Handmade, Buy Local" and is apparently written by "two women who are slightly Frayed Around The Edges who decided to open a storefront."  The labels are things like eco-conscious, jewelry, stitching, clothing, classes, charity, etc.  The blog is filled with very nice photos and all of the items they are selling seem unique and attractive (I was tempted to buy a jacket for Brianna!).  

While this is not the sort of blog I would visit regularly, it is very well done and for those who like to shop, it would be a fun place to visit regularly to see what new stuff was available.  I kind of liked the toys available in their "stuffy" section.

Next, I visited Viviana's La Ranita.  Viviana offers this description of herself:  I enjoy drawing, sketching, reading, Manga, Anime, Comic books, and having fun with my little girl. I am married to a wonderful man who gives me freedom to express my self.  And express herself, she does.  The look is nice and clean, her original drawings make me jealous that I can't draw like that (the blog includes a gallery of her drawings). 

Her daughter Luz is adorable.  Her entries are shorter than I like, but they are well written and say a lot in a short paragraph.

Beth from the U.K. writes a blog called "Incoherent Ramblings of a Distracted Artist."   The first entry I read was her review of the blogs she has been assigned.   I found it a little frustrating because she didn't make the links to the blogs active.  But that was a minor thing. I could cut and paste to check out those blogs.   Beth's blog is hosted by Blogspot, but it was a different sort of format that I have not encountered before.  A little awkward to navigate and she doesn't update often, but her entries are fun.  The ones I read were about sketches she makes when she is out and about.  Again, like Viviana's entries, these made me jealous of someone who has that ability to capture such good likenesses.  Not my forte.  I really liked her "men on the train"

The next blog is  In the Mind of LilCountryBelle, by Joni from Georgia, who describes herself as a SAHM and full time college student with the symptoms of a slight swapaholic."  I really enjoyed reading about her Day Zero Project, which helps people make lists of things they want to do and follow through on them.  Joni seems to be a person who is determined to follow through on a lot of ideas, using her blog to help her.  I really admire that!  In the first entry I read, she talks about doing a lot of "crying, praying and asking for guidance," which resulted in her decision to return to college, as the first step in "taking her life back."  She is a full time student taking four classes, two on campus, and two on line.  I look forward to following her steps as she gets more deeply into this new life for her.

The final blog is by Singapore author Shu Yan Hia, a blog called "Avarielle is Love."  The first entry I read was a visit to a maritime museum.  She explained that her "brain was mush" so it was a photo entry...and very nice photos indeed.

The second entry was written on the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic and is a report of a Titanic Exhibit in Singapore.  This is a very good writer and I loved her description of the exhibit and learned some things I didn't know about the Titanic.

The third entry was one about letter writing.  She offers some good tips for how to establish a pen pal relationship, some of which I agree with, some of which I don't (I used to think compatible ages was important, but I have lots of new friends who are younger than I, and I learn things from them all the time and enjoy corresponding with them).

I have now learned about five new blogs.  Some I will continue to check out, some I won't, but the exchange of reviews was interesting.