Semper Fudge

Just to make Sunday morning a little more surreal than it normally is, I want all of you non-Jews out there to realize that we're a mere 7 weeks away from Christmas. Ha, I bet half of you just spit out your coffee all over your laptop monitors. Well, see, Fireballs is always helping, because now you can ask Santa for a new laptop. Much like yer old pal Fireballs is doing. The fat bugger better come across too. Other big events forthcoming include the trailer for next year's Harry Potter movie on November 17, the American version of Thanksgiving on the 23rd, and Fireballs' own birthday on December 6.

But, onto today's business. The blog up for review today is Little Turkey, aka Emily's Mommy. Okay, first off, there's one huge star coming your way for the Nello template. Unfortunately, there's also a flaming finger coming your way, because one of my few blog pet peeves is when the name of the blog doesn't match the URL.

Okay, that's out of the way. I love Nello's work, so the template, despite not being a design I would choose, rocks anyway. Let's look at everything else, shall we? First off, she's brave enough to put her picture on the "About Me" section, so thumbs up from me (plus, she's a really cute redhead, so double thumbs up!). Picture of the daughter (most likely the Little Turkey in question), her Marine husband (Semper Fi, brother!), and their cuter than cute dogs. The sidebar is a bit lengthy due to the pics and the insanely long-ass blogroll, but it isn't my biggest complaint. My biggest design complaint is that this blog goes back almost two months in terms of posts on the front page, which is at least 6 weeks too long. The archives are rolled up, so that's a plus. Content-wise, it's a mommy/fem blog, with the occasional comment on the news. The content is what it is, but it's real. It's occasionally very compelling, but oftentimes it's sprinkled with comments on the news or happenings. It's the essence of a personal blog. I don't hate it, but I don't know that I'm adding her, either.

So what are the recommendations here? #1, I would perhaps shorten the amount of posts on the first page, to perhaps two weeks worth of time. The page is too long. #2, Once you do this, it might be worth it to categorize and roll up your blogroll, much like your archives are rolled up. #3, I know the content can be "stream of consciousness" at times, but you have to consider commas, basic grammar and spelling. Also, try to limit the use of ellipses. You definitely have a lot to say, and I understand needing the outlet. It's just jarring to me to read mis-spelled words and poorly constructed sentences.

The grades:
for the template by the awesome Nello, the courage to post real photos, and the dogs, because they are cool.

for the insanely long main page and not having the URL match the title.

for your husband. I hope he's safe when he goes back. Give him a thanks for those of us here. We definitely appreciate his efforts.