Ask And Ye Shall Receive

Quote of the Week:

A good blog is one where you have to pause for a second (or more) before giving the address to someone you already know, because there's stuff in there
you're not sure you want to share.
- Sci-Fi Dad

Home >>

<< Previous Posts

Tuesday, October 07, 2008

Miss Missives, guest reviewer extraordinaire here.

You know those blogs where the writer makes even the most mundane things interesting? Where you nod your head and silently mouth the words, "I know, me too" while reading it? The blogs that are so witty and thought provoking that you find yourself wishing you were having coffee across a table with the person rather than at separate screens somewhere in the world?

This blog is not one of those blogs. Tiffany is a New Jersey transplant writing mostly about her daughter and a few other random things. By and large, the site amounts to a web time capsule of pictures and snippets detailing Tiffany's day's with her young daughter.

I'm always flummoxed when these kind of blogs are submitted here. Tiffany, I'm speaking to you dear, are you a masochist or just blissfully unaware of the group you've voluntarily laid your blog naked before? If you're writing simply to keep friends and family in the loop on your New Jersey goings-on, I suggest you stop reading now. Call up your mom, ask her if she likes your blog. When she says yes, hang up the phone and smile satisfied with the firm knowledge that you are keeping your target audience happy.

Still here? Okay. I'm not your mom, your grandma or your college roommate who has a kid the same age. I'm like that teacher who smacked you with a ruler on your palms for not following the rules. You've taken what could have been a Garden State soliloquy and come up with something that belongs in the Secaucus Potter's Field*.

Tiffany used to be a special ed teacher so I don't doubt she'd know how to handle the gang around here. There's definitely some material there. Now, she's a stay at home mom and she sounds like a bored housewife. Tiffany makes apple picking and harvest festivals sound about as exciting as watching paint dry, really off-white, slow-drying, suck-all-the-oxygen-out-of-the-room paint. There is not a lick of vim or vigor in this, one folks.

Tiffany halfheartedly resigns herself to mommyblogdom, lamenting that mommyblogs lack uniqueness and after attempts at branching out writing about organization and American Idol, she's yielded to her fate.

In a recent post Tiffany says,

Trust me, I could write about all sorts of things. I could do more posts on living in New Jersey, adjusting to life away from my family, whether or not I want to still be a teacher, and the ups and downs of marriage.

Yes please? These are the kind of things good mommybloggers write about because good mommyblogging is about relating to each other and having a forum for some honest quid pro quo about the trials and tribulations of motherhood and balancing the varying roles we all juggle.

Not everything she writes is catatonia inducing, her preggo/birth story is filled with bits of things that give me some inkling of the woman before the baby. Then there's this, which is funny if you're a terrible twos mom.

As for the template, boring but easy to read and uncluttered. Give your 'Recently Written', 'Archives', 'Find It' and 'Blogroll' their own tabs on your header bar. Watch the spelling and knock off the 'this is what I think about Tyra Banks/American Idol/So You Think You Can Dance' posts. Seriously, stop it, no one likes these, not even your mom.

Tiffany moved from Colorado to New Jersey a few years ago and either she's always been a little meh, or the move from family and friends has done a number on her. Her daughter is cute and she's clearly invested a great deal of time into shaping and molding her, but she sounds like a woman who is killing time.

What did you do two years ago before you had a kid? Go do that or find some new interests, get a part-time job or volunteer a few hours a week. You need to go do something without your kid besides Target and you need to get some local girlfriends, not just playdate mommy sorta friends.

Rating:

and maybe a little Meh-dication.

*A cemetery for the friendless, unknown or indigent.

Labels: Die in a flaming finger inferno, guest reviewer, meh-diocre

# Posted by Love Bites.

69 Comments:

At 10/07/2008 12:02 PM,

Calamity said...

If I had a mini-me, I might enjoy this. Wait. No I wouldn't. It's definitely boring as hell, aside from those few kernels you dug out. The G rating itself kinda precludes my interest. I need at least a PG-13.

The coupon post falls under the "why the fuck would anyone post about this?" heading.

I do like the design. And the pictures are nice. But I feel like Tiffany needs to harness her individualism. I mean, the blog is named after her daughter.

Great review, Miss!

At 10/07/2008 12:12 PM,

Ask And Ye Shall Receive

Quote of the Week:

Tuesday, October 07, 2008

69 Comments:

Submit Your Blog

Show Your Love

How to Blog

Best Comment Thread Ever