Mama Blah Blah

"I was born yearning to become a mother."

So says the author of Mama Blah Blah, who is expecting her fourth child to arrive in September.

This is one insightful mom. She blogs about her "observations and thoughts" eloquently and intelligently, on universal topics like breastfeeding in public, to simple pleasures like gardening with her children.

Mama Blah Blah is skillfully and beautifully written. There's much more than mundane "blah blah" at ma-ma-bla-bla.blogspot.com.

Susiej

This is "the story of a former-PR guru Mom who had her last child at age 41, as she tries to stay sane while raising 4 boys, and keeping up with her IronMan Husband." She tells her readers, "Here, you’ll find at-home spa recipes, kissing tips, and the hilarity of the 'things the kids say.'"

Reading Susiej is like catching up with an old friend. We all know someone like Susiej, someone "from formica counter tops, Sunrise Easter Services, brown cinnamon swirls made from leftover dough, and ice cream socials in the spring."

The author writes candidly, with wit and a wink: "I think I was the only kindergarten Mom there who couldn’t read the registration form — because she needed bifocals." She advises readers to consider a Mother's Day gift that "Soothes PMS."

Get to know this memorable mom at susiej.com.

Andrea Can Cook

Andrea loves to cook.

"I’ve always loved to experiment with food and be inventive to make things simple. I love sharing my recipes which is why I made this video blog cookbook for you."

I don't remember how I got here. Here's what I do know. From the moment I hit the play button on the first video, I was hooked.

Andrea Can Cook is just getting started. The blog was launched in January, and, as of this writing, there's a scant handful of recipe videos posted. Pigs In A Blanket. Cinnamon Rolls From A Can. There's Andrea's own Hot Pizza Dip Appetizer. All are as simple as can be... and therein lies the utter charm of this blog. Planning an elegant dinner party? Turn on Food Network. Want to cook up some munchies for a dorm party or midnight snack? Eyes too bleary from cramming for finals to focus on a written recipe? Surf over to Andrea's kitchen.

Start cooking at andreacancook.com.

Life Is Just Around The Corner...

"I couldn't possibly last a day without hugging and kissing the two princesses in my life - Pia and Zoe. And my ever loving husband who still manages to make my heart skip a beat when I set eyes on him."

So says Sophiagurl, who lives with her husband and daughters "in busy streets of Manila." In her profile, she greets readers with, "I love weaving dreams and magical things. Welcome to my life."

Stepping into this blog does feel like stepping into the blogger's life. You might be thinking, Why, that goes for all personal blogs. Not true. A hotel room, no matter the quality, never gives off the sense of personality that a lived-in bedroom does.

It's not perfect grammar and spelling that make a personal blog feel authentic. It's the point of view.

Through Sophiagurl's point of view, visitors get a glimpse of her life at home and work, as well as her extended world. "En route to work I pass by the slums, a shortcut from my place to get to Makati, the place I work," she writes. "Everyday as I pass by my heart seems to capture the pitiful faces of poverty. The children are running in the streets without proper clothes on, barefoot. The place where they sleep is even smaller than the small bathroom I have in my bedroom. The babies looked dirty and unkempt. Haunting images, haunting faces...."

Life Is Just Around The Corner shows the blogger's heart. Step into her world at mumshavelivestoo.blogspot.com.

Very Short Novels

"When she brought me eggs and didn’t make me dress, when she didn’t make me ask about the toast, when she took the rest of the whole young day for granted, I knew what a terrible hurry she’d been in to be in love."

This is an excerpt from David Hodges' (a.k.a. David B Dale) Politics of Beauty, one of the dozens of literary gems featured in Very Short Novels, an outstanding blog collection.

The other day, I commented in my review of In Cinq, "It's astonishing, what the authors manage to convey with a mere 9 words." I'm equally impressed with the provocative writing in Very Short Novels. Each miniature novel is comprised of 299 words (I'll admit, I was skeptical, so confirmed this with word count in Word).

Amazingly, the stories don't feel rushed or manipulated. The author is a master with the literary zoom lens. In the breadth of a single typed page, he manages to do something extraordinary: he satisfies the discriminating reader.

Very Short Novels is proof that great things can come in tiny packages.

Read for yourself at davidbdale.wordpress.com.

How Can I Do That?

There are a lot of generous bloggers out there, ready to lend a helping hand to other bloggers. How Can I Do That? is a relative newcomer on the scene, but it's a welcome one. The author has a genuine knack for delivering tips and instructions in a conversational tone.

New bloggers who find themselves intimidated by blogging templates and widgets will find a useful compass here.

While the atmospheres of other how-to blogs feel like a classroom, How Can I Do That? has the comfortable feel of Mom helping with homework across the kitchen table.

Learn what you can do at howcanidothat.blogspot.com.

In Cinq

This community art project blog presents a growing collection of two-layered anonymous self-portraits.

One layer is a photograph or illustration representing the contributor. You won't find any standard head shots here. The images are not intended to identify their subjects. Yet, they are remarkably vivid and engaging.

The second layer is a 9-word self-revealing cinquain (poem with 5 lines). It's astonishing, what the authors manage to convey with a mere 9 words. Writing doesn't get more focused than this.

The two layers add up to a captivating self-portrait called the cinqpic. Contributors are identified only by gender, age, and location (which ranges from real cities and countries, to the abstract: e.g., "Wonderland," "in father's shadow," "in your heart").

Peek into the cinq drawer at incinq.blogspot.com.

Limenade And Watermelon

This blog exudes so many qualities: strength, humor, tenderness, frustration, tenacity, vulnerability, and hope, to name just a few.

The author is a self-described "yo-yo dieter." She chronicles her fitness journey with refreshing honesty ("I didn’t workout last night… instead… I played God and ate Burger King"), and inspires readers with a timeline of photographs tracking her progress.

There's a lot more to Limenade And Watermelon than the workout aspect. The author, who's raising two teenagers, learned recently that her husband's deployment in Iraq has been extended ("I will do my best to make Lemonade out of the Lemons that the Army has given me").

Limenade And Watermelon (iggybaby.wordpress.com) is raw, real, and, at times, riveting.

Prettily Addicted

"A blog dedicated to fashion and beauty trends," Prettily Addicted offers up a colorful array of stylish tips.

What shade of blush should freckled faces avoid? What kind of bangs are not flattering to round faces? What will a recipe of 1/4 cup brown sugar and 3 tablespoons milk do for your skin? How can tea bags remove the bags under your eyes?

You'll find the answers at prettilyaddicted.blogspot.com.

Space Ants

Space Ants brings an ant colony to life in a surreal presentation.

Meet the ants (all named Armstrong). Scratch your head at the mesmerizing photographs.

Fascinating and unique.

Begin your exploration at spaceants.blogspot.com.

Curt's Bloody Sock

The subtitle for this blog is "Obsessive & Possessive Analysis of Our Beloved Sox," and it fits the ankle well.

Curt's Bloody Sock is a cozy virtual backyard in Red Sox Nation. Boston fans will feel right at home here. Fans of "the sinking ship known as the New York Stankees" won't find a welcome mat, but even they'll be tempted to crash the picnic. The food's that good.

You'll find Curt's Bloody Sock at curtsbloodysock.blogspot.com.