Dorinda Fox's Blog (lidestyle and culture)

REVIEWED BY: Ms. Cairo

MY RECOMMENDATION: YES

AMAZON SUBSCRIPTION LINK: Dorinda Fox's Blog

WEB ADDRESS: http://open.salon.com/blog/dorinda_fox

BLOG DESCRIPTION: This is the blog for Dr. Dorinda Fox

MY REVIEW: The author says she started this blog because, having cancer, she wanted some proof of her existene, and so started tis blog. The strange thing is, the posts at the blog seem to be wiped every other week or so.

In any event, she's a cancer survivor, who had a masectomy three years ago, who just learned her cancer has recurred.

This is a tough blog to read, from that standpoint, but you might find it interesting.

Sample post:

Of Little Angels and Stripper Boobs

My six-year-old will be repeating Kindergarten so she did not go to school today. Her classmates were to visit the first grade classrooms they will be attending in the Fall. She is a smart girl. She does well in small groups. Basically the deal is that when she is in with the larger group of kids she wants to party all the time and won’t listen to the teacher. I was speaking to an old friend of mine of 30 years who amazingly is also my boss about this. I explained that the hope was she would mature and grow out of this behavior in the next year. His reply was “I have been waiting for you to do that for thirty years. She won’t grow out of it.”

So she was home when I got some of the worst news of my life.

They saw something suspicious on my six-month mammogram, ultrasound, and SRI. The surgeon asked for a core biopsy. It was cancer. The nurse called and told me at two this afternoon

Round Two.

I spent a year of my life three years ago slugging it out to win Round One.

That is why I began this blog in the first place. If am no longer here there is a record somewhere of mom: the good, the bad, and the ugly.

But now on to Round Two with a tenacious opponent.

This summer I get a new body. Mastectomy. Reconstruction. Tummy tuck. I only had 15 pounds to go to a goal weight. Now maybe at 48-years-old I get to be Barbie with a flat tummy and perky boobs. Currently I am thinking 36C will do but have encouragement from some to get the stripper body if I can ;0)

My friends from basically birth to last week are all on facebook and much help has been offered. I am humbled and appreciative.

What was more humbling was my youngest daughter.

Loving someone is scary. That means losing them would hurt. We all get that. I say I love you rarely even to relatives because the likelihood of hurt is high. Loving my children right now is breaking my heart.

She does not know what is wrong. She heard my end of phone calls. She heard the curt tone in my voice as she tried to explain what dinosaurs are meat eaters and what dinosaurs are plant eaters. She did not know what to do.

She has made me a dozen cards today all with “I love you. I love you. I love you.” printed from the top to the bottom of the page. She keeps telling me jokes and trying to make me laugh. She doesn’t know very many so she tells the same ones over and over. She has sung every song she knows how to sing. She has dressed up as a princess, a pirate, and a dinosaur. She insisted we go to through the car wash because that is the most fun in the world.

This is what an angel looks like: [photo not shown, of her kid]

This is why I have to win Round Two.

RECENT POSTS:
--Of Little Angels and Stripper Boobs
--Why Try? I So Suck at Zen
--Fear Makse a Booty Call
--Wisteria Lane Refugee
--Not One of the Special Eight Women

_______________________
Ms. Cairo writes several blogs including:
Seaborn: Oceanography Blog
Star Trek Report: Space Sciences
Topical Murder and Dated Death

Motherhood Uncensored

REVIEWED BY: Ann Currie

MY RECOMMENDATION: Yes

AMAZON SUBSCRIPTION LINK:
Motherhood Uncensored

WEB ADDRESS: http://motherhooduncensored.typepad.com/

BLOG DESCRIPTION: A frank, humorous look at motherhood, authored by Kristen Chase, a Yankee transplant, military wife, and mom of three kids living in the Deep South.

MY REVIEW: This blog is not quite what the description says, but is still a good blog.

The blogger is a mother dealing with life, as we all must do, and giving her take on it. And, it is a humorous, realistic look at the world as it goes by. The posts I read were a hit and miss on different subjects with no theme (and I prefer a blog to have a unifying themse!) She just comments on something in the news, or something a child did, etc. bringing with it humor and a woman's perspective. And most importantly, she posts regularly and frequently!

She has been blogging for years so the blog has some depth to it, which is refreshing. The number of comments and followers is impressive - that speaks volumes in itself. I imagine there are some themes and characters she writes about and one gets to know her family.

I recommend this well done blog. It is nice to see a dedicated blogger who wants to do something other than rant.

RECENT POSTS:
--Hey Jillian Michaels: rescue yourself
--My little runaway
--Cheerleader nation
--The father, the girl, and the snack
--Chicago

______________________
Ann Currie writes two blogs of her own:My Life a Bit South of Normal Silver Pieces: The Strange and Peculiar

Families & Technology (Lifestyles & Culture)

REVIEWED BY: Ann Currie

MY RECOMMENDATION: The blog had no posts from December until March, but now the author seems to have picked it up again.

AMAZON SUBSCRIPTION LINK: Families and Technology

WEB ADDRESS: http://www.softwaretime.com/wp/

BLOG DESCRIPTION: Have you ever screamed "Enough!" after becoming overwhelmed with information overload or the constant buzzing of devices? Are you a parent who is tired of trying to pry the kids off of their screens to go play outside for a rare change? Or have you found that all of the connectivity that we have improves your family's life, whether it be video conferencing the grandparents in or helping run the family smoothly.

We like to explore the trends in where technology, as it affects people of all ages and especially from the family angle. How do you manage technology? How do you use it to do things that pull your family together, or open avenues for doing things that can't be done without technology?

MY REVIEW: This is a good topic, however the most recent post was December 9, 2009 and the one prior to that November 15, 2009. Not only is it an inactive blog – it was never updated frequently. Possibly a good topic but we'll never really know from this author.

______________________
Ann Currie publishes
My Life a Bit South of Normalwww.abitsouthofnormal.com/
and also, Silver Pieces: The Strange and Peculiarstrangeandpeculiarsilver.blogspot.com/

This Is Momma's House (humor, women's interest)

REVIEWED BY: Ms. Cairo

MY RECOMMENDATION: YES

AMAZON SUBSCRIPTION PAGE: This Is Momma's House

WEB ADDRESS: http://thisismamashouse.blogspot.com

BLOG DESCRIPTION: If mama ain't happy ain't nobody happy. Someone wanna run that by my crew?? This blog is a record of my life with 4 boys...3 being my children, the 4th being my husband.

MY REVIEW: Women with kids will probably love this blog.

It is well written, and the tales told are humorous. I don't enjoy these types of blogs as much as those written by dads, because of course mom's are supposed to be like this, where very few people think dad's do anything...or worse, should do anything. (I'm thinking to myself - what is this - your husband can't help you do the laundry? Your kids aren't old enough to help you out?)

Sample Paragraphs

I always let my kids have the best of everything. Whether it's the last piece of pizza, the last scoop of ice cream, the last glass of milk....I always give up what I want for them. Always.

(My mom used to do this when we were kids, and still does this, and drives me crazy! It's the last scoop of icecream, you have it! And in any event my brother, the eldest kid in the family, had and has no respect for her, just because she's so willing to cast herself as unworthy of having the final piece of pie, et al. When your mom doesn't hold herself in high esteem, how can you as a kid respect her? I had those feelings to as a kid, also, I expected her to give me everything I wanted because of how she treated us - and yes, I got it, but she got no respect for it - now as a grown woman of 48 it still infuriates me when she does this - she still does this. But she sees herself as a mom who sacrifices for her kids first, last and always, instead of a an individual with just as much right to exist as her kids, and maybe even more because she is the parent.

Okay, sorry about that rant.

Here's a better example of her writing.

It's no secret that I can't cook. I try, really I do. I want my kids to have delicious, balanced meals that they can turn their noses up at. But it seems that no matter how hard I try, I always fall flat.

Well, not always. There are occasions where I actually produce a great meal. Last night was not one of those.

I had planned to cook chili. My chili recipe consists of browning hamburger meat before adding it to several cans of different type beans and stirring. That's it. Simple enough, huh? Yeah, you would think.

I had fended off several thigh attacks from my younger two while standing in front of the stove when I realized there was an awful lot of smoke coming from the pan. I was browning the meat, so I expected it to smoke, but what I saw was excessive, even for me. I ushered the kids out of the kitchen, because in my head I already knew what was about to happen. I was right.

I slid the pan off the eye, and the sudden introduction of oxygen caused a hot orange flame to burst forth and threaten to melt my mounted microwave.

A sight like that should cause panic. After all, most people aren't accustomed to seeing flames erupting from their stovetop. Most people aren't me.

This is the sixth, yes I said sixth, time I've set my stove on fire. I'm so used to seeing flames by now that there is no panic at all. I remember the first time it happened. I freaked out and covered the kitchen in fire extinguisher foam. Not anymore. I laughed to myself and said, "Well, damn. The kitchen's on fire again," as I opened the cabinet below me and reached for a pot lid.

RECENT ARTICLES:
-Passion vs Payday (an interesting post on her writing ambitions)
-Life's Moments (young son flunks a social studies test)
-Man am I HOT (Mom can't cook!)
-Mama's My Name, Laundry's My Game
-One Day With Chuck E. (Cheese - at the restaurant)
-You're Gonna Miss This (a song with foolish lyrics about raising kids)

Wander Mom: Resources for Independent Family Travel

REVIEWED BY: Ms. Cairo

MY RECOMMENDATION: YES.

AMAZON SUBSCRIPTION PAGE: Wander Mom

WEB ADDRESS: http://wandermom.com

BLOG DESCRIPTION: Michelle Duffy is the author of 'Traveling With Kids' in the Wanderlust And Lipstick guidebook series. On Wandermom.com she blogs about family travel giving great practical advice on destinations, gear and activities you can enjoy when you travel with your children.

MY REVIEW: This is an excellent blog - she (and her guest posters, currently her sister) travel to interesting places and share lots of good info. It's also well-written, which is a big plus.

If I had any kids, I'd dump 'em on inlaws before doing any travelling. However, that's just me! If you've got kids, you'll enjoy the kid info and the travel info here.

Unfortunately, the blog is only updated once a week or so, on average.

RECENT ARTICLES:
-Villars, Switzerland – A Family Friendly Ski Village
-British Comfort Food in Seattle
-Western China and the Silk Road
-Holiday Decor Florida Style

Fragrant Liar

REVIEWED BY: Ann Currie

OUR RECOMMENDATION: YES

AMAZON SUBSCRIPTION PAGE: Fragrant Liar

WEB ADDRESS:fragrantliar.blogspot.com

BLOG DESCRIPTION: An irreverent woman's witty rants, raves, reflections, and ROFL.

OUR REVIEW: Although I wouldn’t say it exactly like the blog author does, and I am on my first - and hopefully only husband (it’s hard enough to get used to one, why change in mid-stream) - I can relate to much of what she is writing about. She is irreverent and wickedly funny. Most of all, she is a survivor – of a lot.

The author posts several days a week about her kids (grown and gone), her “coupla husbands”, the house, and anything else that pops in her head. What woman wouldn’t be thrilled at the idea of complete control of the remote? This is a good blog, that stays on track and is not only entertaining but is reliable and consistent.

Men may not share the humor, however!

RECENT ARTICLES:
--Wee wisdom
--Sadly, I'm frigid
--Whack-a-mole
--The chicken or the leg
--All by myself


________________________
Ann Currie publishes
My Life a Bit South of Normal
Strange and Peculiar Silver

From Here to Uncertainty

REVIEWED BY: Ann Currie

MY RECOMMENDATION: YES

AMAZON SUBSCRIPTION PAGE: From Here to Uncertainty

WEB ADDRESS: www.fromheretouncertainty.com/blog

BLOG DESCRIPTION: Two parents, two kids and too damn much luggage... Life wasn't working, and the job was going down the drain, so the Redpath Family has sold nearly everything they own and set off for Europe for a year. Watch as they figure out their new lives as digital nomads.

MY REVIEW: Take a family of four and send them on their way. Give them a Kindle, blogging parents, and the adventure of a lifetime and you a get a great blog. Sometimes the father posts, sometimes the mother, sometimes both. Most of the time there are pictures of the family trips and what they are experiencing. The posts are well written and not formualatmatic. They vary depending on what the subject is – a day trip to Stonehenge, a mother-daughter day out, a father pondering life, a discussion with a friend about his new book. The posts are frequent, well written, and long enough to be interesting, but short enough to hold your attention and get you to come back for more. Most of all it is a digital journey their friends can follow and they can treasure for the rest of their lives. I highly recommend this blog for those of us who fear throwing caution to wind and stay in our 9 to 5 lives.

RECENT ARTICLES:
--Golden Reel Awards, I'll be missing the party--Unintended Consequences
--Happy Chinese New Year
--Like Mother, Like Daughter
--We love Paris in the Winter

________________________

Ann Currie publishes
My Life a Bit South of Normal
Strange and Peculiar Silver

The Elmo Wallpaper

REVIEWED BY: Ann Currie

MY RECOMMENDATION: YES

AMAZON SUBSCRIPTION PAGE: The Elmo Wallpaper

WEB ADDRESS: theelmowallpaper.blogspot.com

BLOG DESCRIPTION: An Ivy League-educated, thirtysomething mother of three young boys survives motherhood in suburbia. Just barely.

MY REVIEW: A blog of honest emotion by a mother struggling with daily domestic life with her three young sons. Her posts, unlike those of many mothers, are not cute or coy. She is right up front, not bitter, but truthful. She questions her life and what woman hasn't has some point? How did I get here - I did everything right - I went to the right school, did well, fell in love, married a bright guy. Here I am listening to the Wiggles, spending part of my valetine's evening in Border's, and treating goose eggs. There have been many times when I could have related to this lament. But it is not negative, it is well worth the read and well written. You want to offer her your support, cheer her on, and follow her vicariously. She comes through with strength and humor. She posts several times a week.

RECENT ARTICLES:

• If you are needing catharsis today . . .
• Other peoples pictures
  
  
• Ask me anything
• Why I am wound:
• My graceful friend

________________________
Ann Currie publishes My Life a Bit South of Normalwww.abitsouthofnormal.com/
and also, Silver Pieces: The Strange and Peculiarstrangeandpeculiarsilver.blogspot.com/