The Top Ten Blogs I'm Reading... as of this minute

At the Arkansas Women Bloggers Unplugged conference, we all pinky swore to post our top ten list of favorite blogs we read, as well as the reasons they captivate us.  Without further ado (and definitely in no particular order):

1.  Catherine et les fées (Catherine & the Fairies) Yes, I am a confessed francophile and it is in French, but stick with me!  This is my all-time favorite.  It's visually stunning, each paragraph is translated into English (plus, surely you know where to find a page translator) and drips with the rural French countryside home-schooling experience-based lifestyle that I have with my kids... in my head.  Just peek once - it's a treat.



2.  Penelope Trunk: Brazen Careerist You'll laugh.  You'll snort.  You'll relate.  This gal is some kinda funny with large doses of life lessons and irreverence.  It's like the Pioneer Woman, sort of - big city gal falls for cute farmer.  I suppose technically she is kind of a life/career coach, but whatever.  Just read it.



3.  Seth's Blog If you were at the Arkansas Women Bloggers conference (if you weren't, shame on you!), you heard me mention Seth Godin.  He's a marketing genius with searing wit.  This is one of just a few blogs that I highly recommend subscribing to via email or text message.  His daily missives are short, digestable and thought-altering.  If you want someone to occasionally (or daily) slap you upside the head with a dose of reality, this is your blog.  He's also the source of one of my all-time favorite directives on marketing and social media: earn the right to whisper.  The idea is that in marketing you can shout through a megaphone all day long, but you'll only succeed when you develop relationships and earn the right to whisper in someone's ear - that trust means they are listening.  This guy is a complete anomaly.  He's the author of Tribes, Linchpin and many other amazing books, but also just gives his books like Spreading the Ideavirus away... yeah, free.  He'll even summarize the entire book if you don't have time to read it.  Wowza.




4. Simple Mom Tsh Oxenreider has created an amazing online resource mecca - Simple Living Media.  I'm kind of cheating on this entry because I'm really sending you to all of their other blogs: Simple Bites, Simple Kids, Simple Organic, Simple Bites, Simple Marriage and Simple Homeschool.  You'll find them all on that main page.  However, Simple Mom is my very favorite, and Tsh remains the primary writer/editor.  Check out all the sites and subscribe to one or several.  From inspiration to great projects, tips and ideas - they're all fantastic.  As an example, I don't homeschool but have picked up more great activity ideas from that blog than you can imagine.  They are all written with simple (obviously), soulful tones.  Plus, the giveaways are handpicked and amazing.  Not just stuff, by any means!


5.  The Park Wife I would clearly be remiss if I didn't mention one of my favorite women on the planet.  I adopted her fast and furiously, and she has allowed me into her home without fear.  She is everything that she appears to be to each of you - honest, sincere, funny, a devoted wife who reminds us all how to simply love the one you're with, an amazing mom and a gal who is thoughtfully and effectively changing the world around her every day.  I know I'm not the only one on the edge of my seat for her debut book!  I especially love her take on "raising warriors."  She inspires me every day, even when I'm not reading her blog posts. 


 6. NWA Foodie Again - a friend but also a must-read.  Lyndi explores food with a zest that is hard to describe, and whether you're in her neck of the woods and can visit the places she mentions or reading from afar and following her cooking antics, you won't be sorry.  Gluten-free or not, here's a gal you'll want to connect with if you care about food.  In addition, she is simply a rock star human being in her own right.

7.  Mommy Wants Vodka Ok, this blog is not for the faint of heart, but there's a lot to gain if you are not turned off by the occasional (ok, frequent) foul word.  And when I say foul, I mean really foul.  Do not visit if that makes you uncomfortable.  I don't want anyone to be unwarned and offended.  "Your Aunt Becky" delivers frequent doses of belly laughs with her impudence, but if you dig deep beyond her scathing bio you'll find a touching March of Dimes mom of an autistic child and a child with a neural tube defect who has brought me to tears with laughter as much as with reality.  She also founded Mushroom Printing, a site where people with the lowest of luck and saddest of fates have an outlet to tell people to take a hike.  Again, Aunt Becky is R rated - but she is also genuine and amazing.  I don't suppose her blog could be any more polar opposite from the sweetness that is Catherine et les fées!

8.  Practically Green I love this website (amazing, outside the norm tips for green living beyond "you should recycle and use CFLs"), and the blog is a great resource.  It's all approachable and... well, practical.  Take the quiz on the main site and keep up with the blog for tips from people all over.  You may even see a post from yours truly in the not so distant future!

9.  Cool Mom Tech A smattering of apps, tips, habits and products, but never forced on you in a "hurry and buy this right this minute!" way - i.e. with a megaphone, #AWBU ladies.  It's a treat to skim and keeps me hopping and thinking!


10.  Mashable There are several blogs available on the news and social media site Mashable, and I recommend either the main one or the Social Good blog, which is full of companies maximizing social media to influence positive change.  It's full of trendy tips and news snippets.  Good reading.


I think this is the first list I've compiled that does not include predominantly foodie, locavore and gardening references, but it's today's top ten list, not my all time list - that would be impossible!  And, apologies in advance - these recommendations run the gamut from inspiring to appalling, yummy to green and techy and naughty.  C'est la vie! 


AWBU attendees, I'm looking forward to your lists as well!  What are your top ten blogs?

Current Obsessions

It's been an official two month hiatus today.  My.  That's a rarity.  My husband would certainly argue that I've not had a dearth of things to say in that time period, but my bloggy muse needed a break.

Would you humor me for a diatribe regarding things I'm excited about currently?  Because in general, I find that my life is a series of things I'm excited about.  Nonetheless:

 Arkansas Women Bloggers Unplugged Conference (#AWBU) at the Ozark Natural Science Center on June 10 - 12.  If you've been around me for even a minute, you know I'm fired up about this.  It's a treat to be focusing on women's events at ONSC (such as our upcoming Women's Yoga Retreat on June 3 - 5), but there is a particularly fun energy surrounding this small but mighty group of female voices in Arkansas.  Join us, or tell a bloggy friend if you like.  We're delighted by the addition of our presenting sponsor, Collective Bias, and their proprietary Social Fabric community - do read more about them.  Event details on our website or the Arkansas Women Bloggers site, which you should check out anyway (and list your blog)!  I realize this is sort of work-related, but it's that lovely intersection where work meets passion, so I hope you'll forgive.

The Chez Stephens Kitchen is capturing my energy and attention.  So far, we've removed about seven layers of wallpaper and various other debris.  After living under a wallpaper border featuring adorable bunnies, flowers and watering parts lo these many years since we moved into our 1905 house in 2004 (and yes, of course we had a centennial party - please!), it was time to break free.  The Handyman and I discovered early in our marriage that we were not fond of wallpaper and carpet, and we've been extracting them ever since enthusiastically.  Soon, soon I'll be able to share photos of our calm, mocha kitchen with popping red accents.  I can see it now.  I've just got to escape a few more bad judgment calls.  Sigh.

My new book club is a source of delight - and I say "my" rather loosely since I simply attend.  The lovely Jennifer Pratt of J. Pratt Books is our fearless leader, and I can honestly say I never previously thought a book club would be my bag.   I judged them by their covers, I suppose.  It turns out to be a great delight, and is certainly pushing me to pick up things that are outside of my normal genre.  Define that genre, you ask?  Ugh.  I think it sways toward travel or place-based (by this I mean Love in the Time of Cholera, not Under the Tuscan Sun), rather epic and overly-descriptive (i.e. Hemingway and Steinbeck) with a few oddly uncategorized greening and organizing books thrown in for good measure.  It's a sickness.  I enthusiastically recommend finding a book club, preferably one that centers around wine, as well as checking out Goodreads.

Pinterest has captured my heart.  Megan at Sorta Crunchy (whose blog you should visit regardless!) did a wonderful overview for the novice pinner, and I found myself immediately intrigued.  I'm still exploring it myself, but let me know if you'd like to connect.  The bottom line is that it is a lovely "catalog" site that creates visual display boards, with a social tie.  Sounds overly-basic, I know.  But it's so fun to see things I love from Remodelista or moments in time captured in one of my favorite blogs, Catherine et les fées, which speaks to the mommy, organic, green and francophile portions of my heart on a visually delightful pinboard.  That's all.  You must give it a whirl when you need some inspiration. 

What's your latest obsession?

Arkansas Women Bloggers Unplugged mini-conference!

By the way, if you're a blogger, check out the Arkansas Women Bloggers Unplugged mini-conference, to be held June 10 - 12, 2011 at the Ozark Natural Science Center.  Join us, and be sure to tell others about it! #AWBU


Details & registration: http://bit.ly/cNMkoV

More blogging resources!

Last month, I rambled a bit in a post about blogging in general based on conversations with several friends and family members who were starting and/or struggling with blogs.

I stand by the statements that it is about self-expression, and worrying about who is reading (and how many readers you have) will get you all worked up over nothing.  However, an ample amount of self-promotion is necessary, and I saw a great article via PRSA on Why Self-Promotion is Important for Blogging that was worth sharing as well.

In addition, I've since discovered The Blog Guidebook - it is fantastic!  Mark it as a must-read for any blogger.  I'm smitten by the design (and have an admitted bee bias), and the content and links are exceptionally inspiring.  These gals are doing great work.  I've extolled other groups such as Arkansas Women Bloggers in the aforementioned post from September, but I definitely recommend spending a little time on this site.

As an unrelated aside, the gals at The Blog Guidebook just released this adorable poster as an added benefit:

I already loved the traditional red Keep Calm & Carry On image from the British government released in 1939 to encourage a "chin up" wartime attitude (quick, interesting history here), so I was particularly elated to learn of this version!  Get it and other cool gear and resource links at www.blogguidebook.com. 

For added inspiration, explore the blogs of their listed bloggers as well as all the other resources on the site, and subscribe while you're there.  Good stuff - as the editors say - "for all things bloggy."  Love it.

One of my favorite blogs, Simple Mom, recently posted some blogging tips that are well worth your time.

And of course, just keep blogging!  I'm certainly not an expert, but I'm an enthusiast - and that's all you need to be to have an effective blog as well.

A Small Stint on the Soapbox re: Blogging

Thought I would share links to the other blogs I maintain, since often one is getting more attention than the others (for example, our arriving-any-day-baby blog is getting the most action these days):

-  Ainsley Belle, our baby blog (will transtion to our family blog at some point)

- The Word on Walnut, an ode to historic downtown Rogers

-  The Ozark Natural Science Center blog

And with all this, a note on blogging since I've had this conversation with several folks lately who are starting up or struggling with blogs.  Here are a few tips, or at least my personal approach:

1.  First, do it for yourself.  It matters not to me whether a single person follows any of these blogs, although they each serve a distinct purpose.

2.  Stop worrying about consistency.  Blogging is just like writing and life: sometimes you're inspired, and many times you are not.  Write when the inspiration strikes, and don't stress about whether your posts are ten minutes or ten weeks apart (with the possible exception of a business or organization blog).

3.  Make your use of social media circular.  If you use Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn and/or have an active, up to date website, don't forget to send readers there as well!

4.  By all means, watch your grammar and spelling.  If you know those aren't your forte, get someone to proof before you post.  Grammar Girl is one of my favorite resources.

5.  Finally, keep it conversational and informal.  For example, at ONSC we publish a monthly e-newsletter and two print newsletters a year.  Those, along with newspaper and other articles, are our chance to be proper and formal.  The blog is about quick, fun updates that are newsy and more "between us chickens" in tone.  That's what makes it fun to read and fun to write.

Here's are a few more resources:

-  How To Blog (Better): Getting Started

-  BlogHer | Life Well Said
 
-  Arkansas Women Bloggers

If you're thinking about it, just do it!  There are lots of folks who will give you tips and support.  Check out my list of favorite blogs on the right - maybe some will inspire you as well.  Now get to it!