I love bloggers who aren’t part of a niche (I have one of those blogs myself).  You really get a good glimpse into their lives and who they really are.  Ruminations of a Small Town Mountain Boy is one of those general blogs that once you read one post you are hooked. You’re not going to read about acne treatments or anything like that here. Instead, you find a greathodge podge of information regarding blogs the author likes to why he misses the mountains.  I love that his sister even pokes fun at him in some of the comments.  I absolutely love this them.  It looks like a blue jean pocket and leg.  It is the most unique thing I think I have ever seen on a blog.  Definitely check this out if you are looking for a great read!

I am always on the lookout for other cooking blogs and they are much easier to find than say a bus for sale. I am always on the lookout for a great recipe for my family to try. Select Visions does not disappoint.  I found recipes for Spinach Mushroom burgers and a link to Pepsi Chicken that I know we are going to try!  If you want a place to check out for recipes for your family, Select Vision is your stop.

We allow my four year old daughter on the internet.  Yes, we are right there and monitor what she is doing.  She is only playing games on Noggin or Disney Playhouse.  However, I do worry about when she gets a bit older  Did you know that:

• 41% of unwanted sexual solicitations, 29% of unwanted exposure to sexual materials, and 31% of harassment occurred when children were online with their friends. (I can believe this due to the IMs I get.  I have it listed in my profile that I married, and I still get IMs from men wants who knows what).
• Law enforcement officials estimate that more than 50,000 sexual predators are online at any given moment.
• 1 in 5 youth ages 10 to 17 received a sexual solicitation or were approached online.

These are just a few of the scary statistics out there.  I like to think that I am always going to know what my kids are doing online.  However, I know that isn’t always going to possible.  That is where GuardChild comes in.  It does exactly what you think it does.  Its all about protection, education, and community.  You are able to protect your family by blocking pornography, stopping online predators, and monitoring instant messages, blogs, chat rooms (AOL, MSN, and Yahoo) email, and even what your child is doing on MySpace.   You also are able to join the members community which will give you hundreds of articles, parent resources, educational sites, and family-friendly entertainment sites.  Lastly, there is community. Guard Child has a blog that allows you to share concerns and successes, learn from online safety experts, and contribute articles, advice, and questions.

The saying that it takes a village to raise a child is still true. Things have changed so much since I was little. I can only imagine what it will be like in a few years when Madison will be trying to hide what she is doing online from me. However, I do believe in being proactive and software like this is exactly what you need.

I recently came across a blog that I have to pass on.  It’s called the Mom2Mom Lounge.  The first thing that grabbed my eye was the clean design.  It is so organized that you can easily find what you are looking for.  The design is also pleasing to the eye (I can’t stand the ones that make me want to take forks and stick them into my eyes).  This blog shows that less is better.  Navigating the blog is super easy too. I love the Discover New Sites section.  You never know what other great finds you will find using that.

The style of writing on Mom2Mom Lounge is awesome.  You feel as if you are having a conversation with the blog author rather than being talked to.  She does employ some advertising (don’t we all?), but she blends it in so it does not distract from the content.  She uses the Comment Luv plugin, so if you do comment you will get some linky love juice (and who doesn’t want a backlink?)

All in all, Mom2Mom Lounge is a blog you should go check out.  She is going everything right — good design, engaging her readers, etc.  These are things you want to see with all blogs and don’t. Head over there and tell me what you think!

I am not sure if I have talked about Vistaprint on here before or not. However, I love this company. You can order pretty much anything you need from them for both your home and business needs. You can get get stationary, return address labels, thank you cards, magnets, business cards, checks, stampers, etc. (and I think I have ordered almost everything off that list).  You can get everything personalized to your needs. Their prices are awesome, and their sales are even better. I love that you can pick your shipping. It costs more to get your order quicker. If you are willing to wait, you will not find a better deal anywhere else. I am currently in the process of designing a new set of business cards from them. My old ones only have 2 of my 4 blogs. They have so many designs to choose from, it makes it really difficult to decide which one to get! They also keep a record of the past items you have ordered which makes reorders really easy. I have been using them for about 2 years, and I have yet to have a problem. I really can’t say that about most companies. I highly recommend VistaPrint for all your stationary and business needs.

I very rarely come across a blog that makes me click. However, Cultured Views does it for me. Her reviews are so interesting and entertaining that you can’t help but click the link in her posts. I love her style. Like me, she also includes interesting tidbits about her family and why she likes something. Her reviews are definitely personal. I also enjoy that she has one or more pictures in her posts also. You have to make sure that you check her post out about the Baby Bottom Butter (I don’t think I would want that stuff in my baby cribs). When you read her Wendy’s fact page, I couldn’t help but nod and laugh when I came across this line: “I have five kids and they will tell you I worry too much; nag just as much and never buy them what they really want for Xmas each year.” I luck out that Madison doesn’t know what she wants yet. However, when she does I’m probably not going to buy what she really wants either. LOL

If you are looking for new blogs to read, this is one that should make your list. You have everything you could ever need — humor, personality, and great posts!

If not, what are you waiting for???? Seriously, Entrecard is one of the best ways to get traffic if you are a small to medium size blog. All you need to do is put the widget (which you can see in the sidebar) on your blog and the traffic will come. Ok, it’s almost that simple. Entrecard actually is a huge network of blogs that you can check out. People advertise on each others widgets. Plus, you can drop cards everyday (up to 300 per account). If you look in your inbox, you can actually see who drops cards on your site. There are tons of people (including myself) that go through in their inboxes and drop on everyone who is in there (way 1 to get traffic). Another thing you can do is advertise on other people’s widgets. When your ad appears on their blog, people can click your picture and be directed to your blog (way 2 to get traffic). The third way to get traffic is to be an active community member. They have a forums that you can talk on and I have gotten a ton of traffic from people clicking on me from there. After you find yourself there for a while, you will feel like you need addiction treatment. Actually, you’ll need EntreCard rehab. It is highly addictive, but well worth your time.

Let me know if you try it out!