Gray old day, gray old blog

I've spent the past week worried about Faye, who is now finally circulating over my house, dropping rain like we should all be climbing into an ark soon.

Today's blog review is for Chica:



Chica's blog reminds me of Faye. It moves kinda slow and is awfully gray. And, I find it oddly depressing. But, I do like a tropical storm, for all of that, just like I find Chica likeable. And, she's taken at least some of our advice, by putting her archives neatly in one location, creating an "about me" page, and posting regularly. But, she still needs to work.

First off, for someone who runs a design blog, I find it odd as hell that your blog design lacks a header image (in IE). WTF? Next, you don't need a chatbox when you have a comment function. Stop it. Too much shit in the sidebar, for me. I'm not wild about the color combinations on this blog. The two shades of purple purple with beige/gray is okay, i guess, but what's with the blue and bright blue links? I'm going to assume you are trying to match the blue background. If that's the case, you might want to make your sidebar and main column just slightly thinner so that your background design actually shows. And, brought to you by Chica in orange, and comments in pink, after the blue, beige, two shades of purple, and gray? Are you color blind? C'mon, Chica. Pick some colors, some simple colors, and stick with them. If you're going to go with a blue background, maybe use shades of blue. That would be decent.

I love a blog titled, "I'm just a blogger?" Meh. Seriously? You're a blogger with a blog? That's new. Never seen that one before. You're really setting the stage for awesomeness with that.

The content is meh for me, too. When the best thing I read on your blog over a 3 week period is someone else's shopping list...that's a bad sign. And, spelling and grammar are important. It's funny when you alter word formations for humor, but when you spell swear as sware, and dominant as dominate, it isn't good.

I like this blogger, Chica seems like a cool chick, she's someone I probably would be friends with in real life, but I am not feeling the content. It's more the kind of thing I would expect to see on a livejournal and/or myspace. I don't think much thought goes into the posts, and 90% of them belong in a pink barbie diary, versus on a blog to share with others, IMO.

I get the sense that Chica is reaching out and seeking companionship online, and I can't blame her for that. It must be hard being home all day with 3 kids, I can't even imagine it myself. But, Chica, from reading the last 3 months of your blog, it appears that you don't have much to write about because it seems like you aren't doing much to stretch yourself. I really want to encourage you to get out there and do some activities that force you to use your brain. Join a book club. Read some good writing. Meet some new people in your real life. Do some volunteer work, and take your kids along.

Your blog, at this point, is dull. I wonder if it's a reflection of your life. For instance, consider your TMI Tuesday here. Your sex life must suck, because you've managed to make sex and romance boring. Either rev things up by a visit to a local sex shop, or start sharing more of yourself.

I would like to encourage you to keep writing, but you also need to focus in on your topics and think about what there is in your world to write about. For instance, check out two of my favorite mom-blogs:

The Drunken Housewife
Here in Idaho

I want you to start reading them. I want you to pay attention to the way they capture dialogue with their significant others, their eye to detail, the way they describe how they are feeling, and the vivid descriptions they paint of brief little interactions with their family members. If you are going to blog, Chica, this is how you do it.

For now, I give you a .

I don't hate you, but right now, there isn't much to love. Your writing is like your blog design: beigey gray. I'll be waiting to see if you improve.