Category Archives: blogging

Five on Friday: A few blogs I love (Pt. 1)

I am always amazed by how bloggers successfully keep their blogs updated daily, but also have time to read other people’s blogs. I have to actively set time aside to do that, even though I use Feedly on my phone AND laptop to try to make it easier. I fail as a blog reader… sometimes even as a blogger. I admit it. But of the 35+ blogs I have loaded into Feedly, I have a few that I ALWAYS read… even as I stink at leaving comments. Here is just a sampling of the blogs I love. (Part 1 of what will probably be a series over time.)

1. 1012640_277850552358999_1869392345_nRoad Widows. Of COURSE this will be the first one listed… I’m a contributor to this blog. Though, the other two ladies who are fellow contributors do a much better job than I do at keeping this blog alive and kickin’.

Road Widows is a labor or love for Chris, Lindsy and myself. It’s a place for the wives everywhere of musicians, roadies, crew guys, artists, bus drivers, etc. to come and vent, lean on each other, etc. We aren’t claiming to be perfect. We aren’t claiming to “have it harder than” others (ie military wives, etc.) but we are saying we live a very different life from most people and sometimes it helps to know you’re not alone.

THIS blog is what I had originally intended my blog to be… only I found myself unable to fill the content comprehensively enough alone. SO thankful this came into my life to be a part of, and into all the lives of ladies in our shoes.

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2. livinginthemoment Living in the Moment. I don’t know when I started following Brittany’s blog. I truly can’t remember if I just stumbled upon her on Twitter or if, perhaps, we were in the same “group” with BlogHer (and her posts would be linked into the “more on BlogHer” on the right side of my blog.) I don’t remember. But I do know that I love her writing style and her honest openness.

She is a “Navy Wife” and is a stay-at-home mom today. When I started reading her blog she was pregnant with her oldest daughter and working as a personal fitness trainer.  She’s also a Florida Gators fan, but I don’t hold that against her. ;) LOL

I admit, I drift from reading her blog for long periods, and then when I come back… she sucks me in and I’ll sit for hours catching up on her life. She’s engaging. She’s honest. She’s without a doubt one of my favorite bloggers.

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3.LMRphotosLMRPhotos. Lindsy is 1/3rd of our Road Widows family of bloggers… but even if that wasn’t the case, I’d love her and her blog.

She’s married to a musician. She’s currently living in the Pacific Northwest. She’s an amazing photographer. And she’s an awesome Mom to their little boy. Her adventures make me smile, and… well… c’mon. Her pictures are worth a thousand words. Seriously.

But at the end of the day, what I love is that we have so much in common, and yet we are both so different. She’s had life experiences I’d have never dreamed of having, and her point of view on just about everything makes me think and go, “Hey… I like that!”

I really admire Lindsy and hope you’ll check out her blog and find the same beautiful soul I’ve found.

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4. 942775_571234139577756_448092921_nInterpret As You May. Amy is an Aggie. So that right there should tell you how I found her and why I started following her on Twitter and, by extension, her blog.

Amy is an Aggie with some really cool health and fitness goals and approaches. For example, she walked a mile every day the month of June. Rock on, sister! She’s done Whole30… TWICE. (Yeah, I didn’t know what was, either, until I started reading her blog. Now I kinda want to try it myself.)

She rocks the social media thing better than I could ever hope to rock it. And you know what I love? She takes random blog breaks on purpose to give her mind a break… instead of just not posting for a few days like I tend to do. She’s organized, fun to read, and really inspiring. That’s why I highly recommend checking out Amy.

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5. 69375_163795010316549_5253120_nDrinking in America. I think a bartender I follow on Twitter linked to Drinking in America one day, and I was sucked into it.

As a bartender, this site has become my go-to site for news about liquors coming to a store near you… it’s become my place to learn about bottle changes, recipe ideas, and the opinion of the writers has helped me avoid trying some not-so-good libations.

If you’re a bartender or just a fan of adult beverages, you might want to check this blog out! Friday’s they always make a fun list of reasons to drink the coming weekend, and their taste tests are completely honest. (No saying they like it just to make the people who gave them the samples happy!)

I guess you could say this is MY “professional” blog to follow… but to me, its just fun to be in the know… call it a fun bar trick. ;)

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Making it happen Monday: Blog planning

The last week, I focused on trying to come up with a blog plan that will help me stay motivated and organized. I have noticed many of the most successful blogs have a plan and stick to it… readers know what to expect day -to-day. I’m finding it helps the writer to know what to expect day-to-day, too!

Mondays are “Making it happen Monday.” I blogged on this last week.

Tuesdays are one of my open days. A day to write about absolutely anything I might be in the mood to talk about. It’ll be a place to review things, rant, share a funny story… anything!

Wednesdays, I’m off. Taking the day off… if I blog on Wednesday, there must be a very good reason!

Thursdays are the #DrinkUpLinkUp fun with the Purple Giraffe!

Friday is my random day with “Five on Friday.”

Saturday is another open topic day. This is the one day I’ll probably struggle the most to write… time-wise as well as motivation-wise. But I’m going to do my best!

Sunday is my Photo Share.

I’m actually enjoying already mapping out the weeks to come, using this schedule. It’s taken a lot of stress away and instead started to make it more fun. It’s all about making it happen!

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