Moms Who Love to Blog

Photo and Art Courtesy Robin Orewiler

Exchanging Christmas cards with Robin Orewiler is both inspiring and intimidating.  Hers are carefully planned for months in advance, personally designed and handcrafted from the finest papers.  For Valentine's Day, Robin challenged herself to create several handmade cards.  Robin shares her gift for creating beautifully stamped greeting cards on her blog.  Robin says she started the blog, called Plan B, to keep in touch with family, friends and crafting buddies.  She's a proud grandma, a woman of faith, and a knitter.  Her enthusiasm for stamping shows in the multitude of creations that she shares online.  She considers the blog a hobby that complements her stamping and other interests. 

The reality of secret credit card debt motivated Sara Vanderzee to start My Frugal Fun Life  a year ago.  She considered blogging an accountability tool while paying off the debt.  The blog has shown in detail the family's process of getting their finances in shape.  Sara says, "Now it's changed direction and I blog as a way to help others learn how to be thrifty, and to record our transition to a healthier lifestyle, while still being frugal.  I still do periodical budget updates, but that's not the focus anymore."  Sara has tried to be innovative enough to feed her family on a grocery budget of $85 per week, and she frequently shares shopping lists and meal plans.

Kristin Davis loves baking so much that she buys flour in 50-pound bags and experiments with making the perfect cracker from scratch.  She's a mom and a daycare provider.  Her blog notes that she's taking 52 Baby Steps  toward a healthier and greener life for her family.  Kristin says some health concerns for her own child prompted her to look at lifestyle changes and inspired the blog.  She notes the need for a frugal approach to all of this.  "The blog is also quickly becoming my cookbook," she adds.  So, you might want to check out the wealth of tasty ideas that she shares.

Young adults hungry for something more in life are the audience for the brightly colored Daily Bide blog.  Ordained minister Missy Mishoe rotates with a team of writers who pair culturally relevant themes with scripture.  The blog is a publication of Youth for Christ, and Pastor Missy is also Executive Director for the Youth for Christ affiliate in Ogdensburg, New York.  She admits putting in some late nights to meet a weekly deadline, on top of her ED job and motherhood. "When I agreed to write the articles, I didn't realize that I would get compensated.  That was just icing on the cake."