Where to Find Around Roanoke:
Blog URL: http://monroega.blogspot.com/
Category: Photoblog

Around Roanoke – A Daily Photo

We’ve had photos from France and photos from England, and today we are treated to the daily photos of the Roanoke, Virginia, USA area.

Around Roanoke – A Daily Photo - Why You Should Go

Around Roanoke is the photographical hobby of Tanya Breese, a mother of four who has slowly progressed from one U.S. coast to another, starting out in Southern California and landing in Roanoke, Virginia and the apparent dream life in the home of her dreams. As Virginia is her now home-base, it is the base for her daily photo-blog.

On it, she shares unique and interesting visions of the local area and life in general, tinged with an historical air. In addition to the photos Tanya lends a little story and often a piece of Virginia’s history to go along with appropriate pics. It would appear that history is another of Tanya’s loves, as she also maintains a family genealogy blog based on the Breese family name, along with a multitude of others that intersect with it (could it be that one of them is yours?)

Summing Up Around Roanoke – A Daily Photo

Around Roanoke is another blog that lends the opportunity to see a place through a local’s eyes. Come and enjoy the sites, and sit down for a story and a bit of history. Who knows what you might see or learn?

Go here to check out Around Roanoke.

Mary Ward
Do You Digg It!
Blog Review Team
Do You Digg It! © 2008

Where to Find Thyme For Cooking:
Blog URL: http://thyme2.typepad.com/
Category: Food, Cooking, Personal Blog

Thyme For Cooking

It’s been a while since we’ve reviewed a food and cooking blog, which is primarily what drew me to Thyme For Cooking when first I came across it. What drew me in, well, that was something different.

Thyme For Cooking - Why You Should Go

From the name, you might expect Thyme for Cooking to be an online recipe book of sorts; and if that is what you go looking for you will not be disappointed in the least. Not only does the blog offer up a new mouth-watering recipe by the day—complete with pictures—but it also comes complete with a parent website of the same name dedicated to healthy, delicious, easy daily menu planning.

However, the real surprise of the blog is the one-two punch that it packs. It is written by Katherine Lerum Zeller, an expat who has spent the last 10 years abroad in Ireland, Andorra, and now France, collecting as many stories as she has recipes—possibly more. Each post is preceded by an amusing and entertaining story, which ends, quite naturally, with the dish of the day.

Summing Up Thyme For Cooking

Katherine’s blog delivers everything you’d expect to find and so much more. Come share your love of food, cooking, and good story-telling with Katherine as she moves around the world and collects more food for thought.

Go here to check out Thyme for Cooking.

Mary Ward
Do You Digg It!
Blog Review Team
Do You Digg It! © 2008

Where to Find The Personal Genome:
Blog URL: http://thepersonalgenome.com/
Category: Science, Personal Interests

The Personal Genome

Just like Dr. Hsien-Hsien Lei’s Eye on DNA blog, the Personal Genome is a blog with striking promise for the present and future. It is the place where Jason Bobe, blog developer and Director of Community for the Personal Genome Project out of Harvard’s George Church’s lab, brings attention to the issue and the promise it potentially delivers.

The Personal Genome - Why You Should Go

For people like Bobe, the Personal Genome Project is an exciting adventure with potentially great implications. For others of us, the project is a bit of a mystery, a mention on the morning news, and something we are not quite sure applies to or affects us. This is the perception that Jason Bobe is trying to change. He aims to clarify the gray matters and help people see that the project does touch each and every one of us, even as he helps us answer the questions like:

“…are you going to take the personal genomics plunge? How are you going to decide? What are the issues? How are other people making this decision? Who is doing interesting work relevant to these choices? By the way, what is relevant?”

These are the very questions Bobe and his blog addresses in the interest of furthering the project and people’s understanding of it.

Summing Up The Personal Genome

Jason Bobe clearly has his own ideas about the Genome Project, but does not presume to preach or pressure. He offers education and understanding, and a way to personalize what the project might mean to you, as he works to help you make the important decisions in regards to it.

Go here to check out The Personal Genome.

Mary Ward
Do You Digg It!
Blog Review Team
Do You Digg It! © 2008

Where to Find Ideas for Women:
Blog URL: http://www.ideasforwomen.com/news/page/2/
Category: Women’s Issues, Inspiration

Ideas For Women

At least superficially, it’s not hard to figure out what Trish’s Ideas for Women blog is about. The name pretty much sums it up. Ideas for Women is a blog which is actually part of a larger site of the same name, and all of dedicated to inspiring, educating, and motivating women to thought, action, and living well.

Ideas For Women - Why You Should Go

Trish has built her site and her blog over several years. She says she has a hard time remembering precisely what her original intention was, but likes the direction that her site and her blog have grown in. The blog, much like the site, discusses topics of interest to women, women’s issues, politics and the implications specifically for women, as well as issues like health and wellness. Her categories are a good indication of what you’ll find at the blog:

• Inspire
• Health
• Change
• Money
• Family
• Friday Favorites

Within the categories she strives to motivate women toward better health in all matters—money and finance, world change, physical health, psychological, and motivational.
Summing Up This Blog

Ideas for Women has plenty of just what it promises. Visit Trish to explore the ways that she can inspire you to make the most of your life by learning about the many factors of influence upon it.

Go here to check out Ideas for Women.

Mary Ward
Do You Digg It!
Blog Review Team
Do You Digg It! © 2008

Where to Find Eye On DNA:
Blog URL: http://www.eyeondna.com/
Category: Science, Personal Interests

Eye On DNA

Ever since the DNA code was unraveled the building block of life has been on the forefront of news and discoveries. It seems every day there is more to know and new applications and implications that stem from our new-found knowledge of DNA. It’s all very exciting, but also confusing for the average person.

Enter Dr. Hsien-Hsien Lei. Her blog, Eye on DNA, is dedicated to decoding this exciting field and walking you through just how all the applications—large and small—may come to bear on your life.

Eye On DNA - Why You Should Go

The subject is a passion of Dr. Lei, who is backed with all the credentials and credits to be a true authority on it. She brings this authority to her blog, where it has been married with another passion of hers—blogging and social media (you can read about her extensive social media credits on her About page, too). She describes her passions and her blog in this way:

“I’m passionate about social media and the potential it has to empower people to take charge of their personal health. The Internet and genome technology combined are going to change our lives in ways we can’t even begin to imagine. Medicine in the genome era will touch all of our lives and I’m here to document its progress.
DNA is our past, present, and future. We need to seize it, examine it, and know its power to make it work for us. How will it change your life?”

Summing Up Eye On DNA

DNA discoveries and knowledge will change your life in many ways, ways in which you’ve previously not even been aware. Learn more about the forms those changes may take, and learn how you can use them to take more control over your future and health, courtesy of Dr. Hsien-Hsien Lei.

Go here to check out Eye on DNA.

Mary Ward
Do You Digg It!
Blog Review Team
Do You Digg It! © 2008

Where to Find The Boomer Chronicles:
Blog URL: http://www.thegeminiweb.com/babyboomer/
Category: Lifestyles

The Boomer Chronicles

Rhea is a middle-aged blogger who uses lots of adjectives and identities to describe herself. When one of those identities was called into question (namely the one that formerly did NOT have a driving interest in RV’s), she began her research into “Youthiness Studies”…”otherwise known as The Boomer Chronicles, a blog for baby boomers and others.”

The Boomer Chronicles - Why You Should Go

The Boomer Chronicles takes up the many quandaries surrounding middle age and mid-life crises, as well as the general sense of “ennui” affecting Americans today (presumably not limited to middle aged Americans); wearing her politics proudly on her sleeve, Rhea offers up posts on a wide array of subjects, some practical, some poignant, and some contemplative and observational.

Summing Up Boomer Chronicles

Rhea admits to an interest in wide-ranging topics, most of which seem to end up on her blog. It’s hard to know what Rhea will be discussing on any given day, but you won’t be disappointed to stop in and consider her posts and her views as Rhea proves that boomers have blogging voices, too.

Go here to check out The Boomer Chronicles.

Mary Ward
Do You Digg It!
Blog Review Team
Do You Digg It! © 2008

Where to Find Layers Upon Layers:
Blog URL: http://www.layersuponlayers.com/
Category: The Arts, Personal Interests

Layers Upon Layers

Layers Upon Layers is the place where artist Cyndi Lavin proves once and for all that all things are worth keeping—and can be put to higher use with a little imagination and an artistic eye. This is her mixed-media art blog where she shares her passion and her projects, running strong now since 2006.

Layers Upon Layers - Why You Should Go

Cyndi’s battle cry—”Don’t throw ANYTHING out!” is one that has been with her since childhood. It’s one that has served her well in her artistic medium, and served her readers well as they explore the new possibilities that the most unlikely of objects can bring.

In her original introductory post, Cyndi describes her blog as “a mixed media wonderland, where no materials are considered too strange to use in making something!” The projects and pieces she displays on her blog are living proof of that.

In addition to showcasing her own artistic works, Cyndi offers in-depth interviews with artists and creative professionals, instructional posts, reviews, and much, much more.

Summing Up Layers Upon Layers

Layers Upon Layers offers layers upon layers of good reading for the artistically minded. Come for new ideas, inspiration, kids’ crafts, or just to indulge in daily art appreciation.

Go here to check out Layers Upon Layers.

Mary Ward
Do You Digg It!
Blog Review Team
Do You Digg It! © 2008

Where to Find Intrepid Ideas:
Blog URL: http://curageousideas.blogspot.com/
Category: Personal Development

Intrepid Ideas

Intrepid Ideas is a blog that promises to take you where your thoughts dare not let you go. It breathes life to the secret thoughts you wish would live with an energy and courage that few have. This blog is anonymously authored so that the focus can be on the thoughts, and less on the person thinking them; because the author truly feels that the blog and the process is not about him, but you, or at the very least, “us.”

Intrepid Ideas - Why You Should Go

Intrepid Ideas is a blog with a mission. That mission is, in part, to “…spread some fresh courageous ideas through this blog as well as create a somewhat cryptic archive of my travels and thoughts. Through music, media, and prose, I hope to stimulate thought - exercise my creative side - and solicit feedback from the human race. Most importantly, I hope to realize some sort of growth from this experience.” To this end it has been a great success. The blog offers a diversity of posts from the philosophical to the political, all offered as insightful rather than inciteful. That is to say, the blog is not an effort to sway politically, but rather to induce thoughtful consideration of all subjects broached.

Summing Up Intrepid Ideas

Intrepid Ideas is a blog about thought and ultimately action, as stimulating thought really has no point without the latter. It is a blog charged with energy, sure to get you more fired up about the impact of your own mindset and the courage to give life to thoughts otherwise left unsaid.

Go here to check out Intrepid Ideas.

Mary Ward
Do You Digg It!
Blog Review Team
Do You Digg It! © 2008

Where to Find The Fearless Blog:
Blog URL: http://thefearlessblog.blogspot.com/
Category: Personal Blog, Life

The Fearless Blog

The Fearless Blog is the work of M. Cueto, a teacher, writer, and editor who is a professor of developmental writing by day, and a fearless blogger by night. Her posts span many related and relatable subjects, and are primarily an analysis of life and living, a meditation on where the writer has been and where she is going.

The Fearless Blog - Why You Should Go

M. Cueto has a strong sense of where she is really from, and this has a clear impact on how she lives her life and her level of appreciation of it. She sums this up best with an inspiring quote from Georgia O’Keeffe, who said, “Where I was born and where and how I have lived is unimportant. It is what I have done with where I have been that should be of interest.”

To demonstrate the what and the where of where she has been, we are treated to stories, lessons really, from life learned, accompanied by insightful poetry, books, film, videos, success stories, and a “Think About It” series to further expand our own boundaries and experiences.

Summing Up The Fearless Blog

The Fearless Blog is inspiring for its ability to gently push you into thought about life and your current state of mind. Leading by example, M. Cueto gives us plenty of food for thought, exploring life from all depths and angles.

Go here to check out The Fearless Blog.

Mary Ward
Do You Digg It!
Blog Review Team
Do You Digg It! © 2008

Where to Find Project 365:
Blog URL: http://www.mhmmslide.blogspot.com/
Category: Personal Interests, Personal Blogs

Project 365

Project 365 was recommended for review on our earlier post, Who Do You Digg? It was described by Lydia as a blog by a 16-year-old whom she found “remarkable” and that description alone was enough to pique interest.

Upon further exploration it was readily apparent what Lydia found so worthwhile. Project 365 is a running photo-blog and commentary described by writer and photographer Rachael as “One picture a day, for 365 days. A year of pictures; a year in my life.”

Project 365 - Why You Should Go

Quite simply, Lydia was right. Rachael is a remarkable person, a very talented young girl who is also very well-spoken, and obviously dedicated to her education, her work, and her future. A bit of a warning, though, it’s exhausting reading her blog and keeping up with all that she’s keeping up with, a characteristic that makes her all the more remarkable still. Rachael has an obvious flair for art, photography, and design, and an uncharacteristic teenage focus on the future, and dedication to reaching her goals. You’ll enjoy her artwork, her website and design work, and her refreshingly mature attitude as she shares her life, talents, and trials with you.

Summing Up Project 365

A year-long project is more than most adults twice her age or more could commit to, but Rachael has shown that she is up to the challenge, and then some. Come along with Rachael and share her youthful enthusiasm, and take confidence in the faith that the future is still promising indeed!

Go here to check out Project 365.

Mary Ward
Do You Digg It!
Blog Review Team
Do You Digg It! © 2008