To Blog or Not to Blog?

It's my turn to write for the staff blog again - I decided to be meta and blog about blogging and then post it on my blog. So here you go!

Recently, a co-worker of mine asked me about my personal blog. She has been thinking about starting her own blog, and wanted my thoughts. My resounding answer? Go for it!

I’m a huge proponent of blogs, and encourage everyone with even the slightest creative bent to start their own. I’ve been blogging on and off since I was in high school and it has been a great way for me to flex my creative writing muscles. (I’ll spare you the cringing and not share my teenage blog.)

Read the rest at the FrazierHeiby Staff Blog >>

Weird Bacon Recipes

Most people who know me are aware of the fact that I am a bacon fan. As I've mentioned before, my college friends and I would have entire parties revolving around the stuff. I love making all sorts of recipes with bacon in them - cupcakes, cheesecake, ice cream - but even I know that there comes a point where you can take bacon too far (case in point: the bacon milkshake). The other day I was browsing the blog Worst Things for Sale (there is some really horrible stuff out there!) and blogger Drew mentioned a few ridiculous bacon related recipes, so, of course, I had to share.

The first is "Sweet Saltines with Bacon," a recipe from one of Paula Deen's cookbooks, which was mentioned in a post about a 1-quart pan called a "butter warmer" that would hold two pounds of butter. But back to the recipe: it tells you to smear syrup on crackers, wrap them in bacon, and bake them until the bacon is crispy. I was able to preview the page on Amazon and took a screenshot for you (note the sidebar about using cane syrup to make it extra sweet).

I don't know what's worse, the fact that this is actually an appetizer in a printed cookbook, or that I would not be above making it when no one was around to stop me.

THEN, in a post about $20 Garbage Bowls, I was introduced the internet famous recipe known as Rachael Ray's Late Night Bacon. It is as follows:

 

Don't get me wrong, I love a lot of Rachael Ray's products and recipes, but really? Not only is this online at foodnetwork.com, but if you notice under the title it actually appeared on one of her shows. That means that at some point, Ray was paid to tell the world to microwave bacon.

The best part of the recipe is the comment section, full of sarcastic and hilarious anonymous web commenters. Here are a few of my favorites: 

  

Gotta love the Michael Scott humor in that last one!  

Seriously, though, guys -  I love bacon as much as the next guy, but isn't this getting a little ridiculous? 

Top 5: Websites I Love to Waste Time On

There are days and times that rather than being productive, you just want to kick back and look at things without having to make much of a commitment to think. Some people relax by playing video games, reading murder mystery novels, or watching HIMYM marathons,  but I like to let my mind wander by scrolling through some of my favorite websites. My top 5 time-wasting sites are below.

5. Blogger
I host this blog on the Google blog platform, and subscribe to all the blogs I follow through their built-in reader. So every day I can log into my blog, check my stats, and scroll through the updates of all my favorite blogs. Some of the blogs I follow are Design*Sponge, How About Orange, The Sexy Celibate, and My Milk Toof.

4. Etsy
For someone who allows themselves very little spending money, I sure spend an inordinate amount of time on this site. Recently I've been spending a lot of time searching for pieces to add to my vintage 70s Crazy Daisy Corelle Dishes collection but I've also been known to spend hours leafing through the "Geek" category. There are some awesomely geeky things on there! Not to mention lots of wonderful vintage clothing that I wish I owned all of.

3. Laughing Squid
 This is one of the few sites that I visit almost every single day. Technically it's a blog run by a web hosting company, but they find and share the most fascinating stuff, from videos of rubber bands causing a watermelon to explode to pool noodle Light Saber crafts. They stuff they post never ceases to amaze me.

2. Hello Giggles
 Hello Giggles is a site with a positive predisposition predominantly for women that was founded by actress Zooey Deschanel and two of her close friends. There are a number of posts every day, from an Illustrated Tweet of the Day, to live feeds of cute animals, and columns with names like "Lists of Stuff" and "Old Lady Movie Night." A current favorite article is the recently-posted The Badassification of Joseph Gordon-Levitt. The Hello Giggles crew are definitely my kind of people!

1. Pinterest
I don't think I even need to explain this one. Pinterest is a social bookmarking site that categorizes people's favorite places around the web and links to them via a featured photo. You can spend hours (not even exaggerating here) filtering through categories such as Food & Drink, Art, Home Decor, DIY & Crafts, or my favorite, Geek. Chances are you'll find lots of things you didn't know, want to try, and think are awesome. I think I've been a member of the site for almost two years now, and have the 900+ pins to prove it.

My Newest Project: Blessedly Peculiar

Just in case you don't follow my Twitter and Facebook updates, I'd like to introduce you to my newest endeavor: Blessedly Peculiar.

Blessedly Peculiar is a new blog that I've started featuring devotional writings and inspirational quotes aimed towards who I'm referring to as "unconventional Christians": believers who find inspiration in a wide variety of places, from summer blockbusters to classic literature. It's a way for me to get into the habit of reading and writing about my faith as well as a way to share the weird things I find inspirational with others. I'm updating three times a week, with a pop-culture-inspired devotion on Mondays, a short Bible study on Tuesdays, and a quote on Fridays. You can follow the project through Blogger, Tumblr, Twitter and Facebook for updates in whatever way you like best. Please check it out!

Hold Your Horses

Sorry if things are looking a little wonky! I'm in the process of rearranging my blog a little so just bear with me until everything is working smoothly. By tomorrow afternoon everything should be in order again! I'm aiming for a look that is more website and less blog, so you'll have to let me know what you think when it's all said and done.

Ch-ch-changes

You may or may not have noticed, but I've been making some updates to the site! Not visibly big ones, so if you didn't notice, don't feel bad.

There are two new links in the navigation - "book club" and "connect". "Connect" is a new page with links to my profiles on all the major social media sites, if you're interested in getting in contact with me or adding me to a circle or something. "Book club" links you to a hub for the reading group I originally updated through a Facebook group. There was a disconnect between the info I was posting for friends and the blogs on my own site, so I'm combining them into one location. It's technically another blog attached to my main blog, so if you just want book club updates you can visit it directly at smdbookclub.blogspot.com.

Also, with Blogger's updated technology, I now have a favicon! As a friend pointed out, my logo holds up pretty well at a really tiny size, so now the cupcake and scissors should show up next to the web address in your browser.

I'm thinking of starting a new feature inspired by my recent re-read of High Fidelity by Nick Hornby. If you're familiar with the book (or 2000 film with John Cusack and Jack Black) then you've probably already guessed the premise: Top 5 Lists. I've already got some lists started, but will be taking suggestions if you have any!

Unicorns and glitter!

I just finished another post for my office's staff blog! Read "How to Write a Blog Post" here:

FrazierHeiby Staff Blog

And check out some of the other posts! There's some great stuff in our blog archives.