TypePad Featured Blogs

The Brenda Blog

Here are “Snippets of Me”, from Brenda Kula, author of The Brenda Blog, a site filled with pictures, posts, family and pets, favorite books, sites, and hobbies, and just about anything that completes her life. There are the trials and eventual rewards of doing a home remodel, a relaxing moment (complete with beautiful photos), home décor projects, even an online cup of coffee. A live traffic feed shows you where Brenda’s readers are hailing from (and they make up a diverse audience). That's an important feature, as Brenda has taken the "connectiveness" of personal blogging one step further: as she says, “women write to me often about how my blog has somehow ‘spoken to something’ occurring in their lives. Whether it be an entry about grief or longing or happiness they write to introduce themselves…(and) if it’s something I can’t identify with, I hook them up with another blogger who is going through (the same thing). And they can help one another.” And surprise! Brenda is currently writing a book about the way blogging has transformed her own life; titled “Blogging My Way Back Home”, it’s tentatively scheduled to be finished at the end of the year.

Enjoy Life

One of the wonderful aspects of blogs is their ability to communicate – and by doing so, connect people across interests, ages, and distance. Case in point: Enjoy Life, the site of Lauren Gick, a 26-year-old product developer living in Orange County, CA (south of Los Angeles). In the pages of her blog, you’ll get to know Lauren’s fiancé, family, and environs through her posts and pictures; in addition to work and friends, Lauren plays tennis, makes jewelry, decorates, crochets, paints, and more. In short, she enjoys life! These daily details paint a portrait of a young American woman making her way through life, and you can follow her work day, look at her art projects, and meet her friends and fiance. She also gives you a peek at what she’s listening to and reading at the moment, making her blog a vibrant slice of life - and demonstrating why it’s also titled “love, trust, listen.”

Dave Tutin

Dave Tutin is a site where dreams come true. Specifically, it’s the blog of Dave Tutin, an advertising man who was able to return to his childhood dream of being a singer/songwriter and make it happen. As Dave says, “not many people put out their first album at age 54. I did. And I’m proud of it.” His double CD set, Raised in Vain and Afterthought, contain “the songs I wanted to write when I was 16,” and indeed, through video and audio posts, you can hear Dave’s songs for yourself (and buy them). But Dave uses his blog to go deeper and provide insight and viewpoints on a variety of topics, from the international, to the political, to personal reflections on both. Perhaps these thoughts could serve as a source of future inspiration for Dave; as he says, "words are only words but we turn them into gifts...then we seem confused as their meaning slowly shifts." But for now, readers can look to his site as an example of realizing goals and making their own dreams come true.

Tigerprint

Designers of unique cards, gifts, stationery, toys and more, the folks at Tigerprint take you behind the scenes of their U.K.-based business to give you a look at the people, products, and process that make up their enterprise. Purveyors to Marks and Spencer, one of the U.K.’s biggest and most famous department stores, Tigerprint’s employees use their site to communicate and to connect people and places. Readers can shop for products, see sources of inspiration, take part in fun contests, see what’s new in the world of design, and sample exhibitions featuring innovative designers. And for those of you that would like to see Tigerprint’s array of products, just click here. The world of retail and design is a fascinating mix of inspiration, psychology, and timing, and this site provides a fascinating peek at the people who meld all three and create the products that we encounter (and buy) every day.

Sandoval Family

Sandoval Family is an “electronic scrapbook” documenting “the journey of Steve, Amy, and Olivia…covering family, hobbies and the blog-worthy life moments.” So says author, wife, and photographer Amy; her words and pictures do indeed freeze time and capture the all-too fleeting moments of summer, holidays, childhood, and life. There are trips to take, photo sessions to do, and precious moments that will resonate with mothers everywhere. (Hubby Steve gets covered too, don’t worry.) Links to sites, books, and music lets us see Amy’s favorite “to see/hear/read” list, and the rest of the Categories allow us to check in on the Sandoval family, home, and hearth. This is a wonderful example of a blog’s ability to mark family moments, both big and small, and to capture them in a way that other media cannot.

The Starry Eye

Charlene Lichtenstein, known as Madam Lichtenstein, is the author of The Starry Eye, a site filled with “New Age News and Opinion.” Perhaps not surprisingly, since she “is descended from a long line of persons with extraordinary perceptive powers.” And with those talents, Madam posts fascinating insights into the world and the people who live in it. Weekly Horoscopes are here, of course (with separate readings for each of the presidential candidates), along with an eerie post on “hearing" a ghost, musings on Numerology (read why August 8 is an important date), and the Tarot. They're just a few of the intriguing subjects covered. More fun: a Pet Horoscope designed for the furry ones among us. Fascinating reading, and perhaps a little eye opening, Madam’s posts are augmented with links to an Astrology Gift Guide (and one to Better Relationships), and several Categories as well. Have a question? Ask Madam (just email her from her blog)!

Parent Talk Today

“At Parent Talk Today, we chat about everything that’s on our mind as a parent. Grab that Frappuccino and join us for book and movie reviews, YouTube videos, tips, a little whining, and a lot of fun. We’re the next-door neighbor you wish you had!” We couldn’t have said it better ourselves. Kathy Sena, the site’s author, offers an online coffee klatch for moms and dads and everyone involved in raising kids and who is moving through that sometimes tumultuous, always exciting time of life called parenthood (and it doesn’t necessarily stop when the kids leave for college!) Posts cover the gamut of parental experience, from tips on preventing summer brain drain, sobering comments on Innocence Lost (of particular interest to those folks who don’t know what their children are seeing or listening to), teens, and giving "the talk" to kids. More – much more – to read and absorb from the robust Category section – after all, it’s as much work being a parent as being a kid, and this site gives you a chance to talk about it!

Raindog Blue

Proof that blogging is a family pastime comes from today’s site, Raindog Blue. Raindog is the name of the site’s author, and his writings cover his life as a police officer; he is also the husband of yesterday’s Featured TypePad blog author, Heather of Marsbarn. This is a revealing site, for every time an officer dons his or her badge, they are faced with moments of high tension, life-and-death decisions, periods of routine - and you'll encounter them all in these pages. Raindog's posts on fights, patrol, calls, and life off duty capture life in and out of the squad car, the station, and the streets. The posts under 1234 will keep you riveted, too. This is an in-depth look into the work, experiences, and lives of those pledged to protect and serve, and it’s written in the sparse, terse style of someone who has seen much and puts his life on the line every day. This is one “police (b)log” that gives us a taste of the immediate decisions that must be made, the constant vigilance that must be maintained, and indeed, what life is like for those who wear a badge.

Marsbarn Designs

“Once upon a time there lived a woman in a big red barn in the Pacific Northwest (with) two girls and a mighty, model painting guy.” So says Heather of Marsbarn Designs, her blog that covers her days, life, and creative impulses. Why create? As Heather puts it, “creating things is my therapy for the ups and downs of the daily life of a stay at home mom. I try to make things that will make people smile…life is better when you surround yourself with accessories made by hand!” And that’s your cue to explore her handcrafted designs, shop her creations (and buy them!), take a trip with the family, sample an unusual taste treat, and play in the garden. Her life is comprised of full days and sometimes frantic scheduling, but all done with style, fancy, and love; Heather’s bag designs add a splash of color to any closet, and her recommended blog and book links complete this wonderful slice of life. (And be sure to read tomorrow's Featured TypePad post for a closer connection to Heather's life.)

A Full Time Life

Bill and Sallie Rainville are retired Oregonians and are currently spending their leisure years in Wyoming…Utah…South Dakota…and now, back in Oregon. Confused? Not when you consider their motto is “Home is where we park it” – an apt choice of words, since Bill and Sallie spend their time discovering the country in their RV and writing about it in the pages of A Full Time Life. The adventures, pictures, thoughts, and opinions of “The Traveling Rainvilles” make for entertaining reading, and those nearing retirement (or just dreaming about it) can enjoy the trip to places such as Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, and Colorado. Of course, there all those miles in between, as well as animal watching and cooking too, and Sallie’s descriptions of changing landscapes, meeting people, and life on the road make for wonderfully escapist reading. Find out where they are now (and where they’ve been) by clicking on the appropriate links – and check out the wonderful photo albums of animals and adventures that enliven the site.