CHLOGGING (Chat+Blogging)

[ShirleyKnot]

Hello All.

I keep finding myself wanting to have a general chin wag with the bloggers on here and instead of doing that I find myself barging onto threads, hi-jacking them and being generally a pain in the tubes.

So, if you want a chat about blogging, maybe some tips and helpful stuff about plug-ins, themes or maybe a chat about what your next blog could be about, or even something else then maybe we could use this thread? (I found myself getting engrossed about the sexiness of Stringer Bell on one blog thread this week - I'm so sorry )

I meant that it was the wine that made it all over the show! Not that I'm drinking wine now. Oh God, that would be horrible...a glass of wine and a muller light yoghurt for brekkie.

Ah Tee, treasure it - DS2 went to look round his new secondary school yesterday it goes so quickly.

I'm on the network home page! I'm very excited!

Is this thread dead?

We are on holiday and I want to blog. Desperately. I keep thinking "oh that would make an interesting blog post".

May have to hide on my room with the iPad

Can you blog on the iPad? I find it unutterably hard work!

I've been burbling on other threads as I thought this one had spluttered and croaked. Shall we resurrect?

Yes, let's keep this thead.

I can blog on iPad, have an app for that :o

Hello all

I'm joining the blogger's network (the general internet one I mean, haven't applied to the MN one yet). Am I allowed to link my blog?. I'm new to this section of the board (name changer though). Looking forward to getting tips from you. I've been honing my blog for a week before finally publishing it.

So do we, like, just chat about our blogs and stuff?

I like your stuff!

Also... I'm a featured bloggerererer. So excited!

OI! DM!

Over here for cakey talky

Here I am

I never saw the last few posts on here - didn't know you were featured, hurrah! Not surprising, of course.

CAKE ME

FWIW: I am a reasonably good baker, but not in any way experienced at decorating cakes or cupcakes.

We do have a decent cake decorating supply shop in Edinburgh and I could theoretically go there on the bus but it would take most of a day. But possibly worth it.

And I am not really expecting you to plan DS's actual cake or party, btw! But if any obvious ideas spring to mind ...

I did actually look at this with something approaching intent. Ocotnauts always go down well and it looked achievable. But I kept hearing the madwoman from Youtube in my ears, about how kids don't really like fondant, which I suspect is true in many cases.

Hmmm.

OK so if you're putting Dino crayons in the cakebags you could, conceivably, do a dino cake - would the lad go for that?

Let me go for a quick google and I'll be back with some ideas. (BTW I am not an "experienced" cake make by any stretch - I just have a go, do a trial run and cross my fingers. If it doesn't work - like my pirate boat cake - I just make it up as I go along. They're only little kids, they don't care that much )

Yes, I do think he'd like a dino cake - I think he will like anything if it's interesting and fun. He is a jolly soul.

I hope more people come back to this thread.

I do have an actual general blogging issue for discussion, namely: when do you think are the best times to post?

I tend to aim for Tuesday and Fridays, but often miss one or the other. Twice a week is my goal, once a week if work is busy.

As for actual times, I often end up posting late at night and I'm not sure that is a good idea. Mid-morning seems a little better.

Does it make a difference in terms of how many hits come from the MN network page, I wonder? I have noticed there are busy periods and if you post in one of them, you don't stay on page 1 for very long.

OMG It's Netmums

Great idea on this thread about baking the cake in a pyrex bowl to get the rounded back and just icing around to get the dinosaur shape.

Love this for themeing If you CBA

I'm just chucking ideas out here - looking for some stuff you can stick into a normal cake, but coming up blank - give me a little longer

As to posting times? I have NO CLUE. I'd guess that catching people at work (those sneaky ones who look while they should be working) and then after work is a good idea.

I usually tweet my stuff a couple of times too.

Ah you see, the place where the party is is a ceramic painting place and they provide all the plates and stuff, so I am not really contributing much beyond actual cake and party bags. Theoretically this frees me to focus on making them awesome

The Netmums link doesn't work! But thank you, and I didn't mean to make this take up loads of your time, so don't feel obliged to find me stuff ... I am imagining you muttering curses as you google, wishing you could get back to threads that are less demanding

Was <a class="break-all" href="http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=static.flickr.com/66/212766520_2ba6d8e9b0.jpg&imgrefurl=www.netmums.com/coffeehouse/lifestyle-8/birthdays-parties-celebrations-180/89712-dinosaur-cake.html&h=333&w=500&sz=199&tbnid=eM3ff62324PQhM:&tbnh=73&tbnw=109&prev=/search%3Fq%3Ddinosaur%2Bcake%26tbm%3Disch%26tbo%3Du&zoom=1&q=dinosaur+cake&docid=Je9T-WJ9Lss7oM&hl=en&sa=X&ei=AA87Tq-GF8ixhAfxlay0Ag&sqi=2&ved=0CC4Q9QEwBA&dur=166" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">this the netmums one? It is amazing.

It would be hilarious to see people's faces if I made one that looked like that. DS would love it, but would grow up feeling like every subsequent birthday was obscurely disappointing and would end up in therapy wondering why, and it would all be because I set the bar too high early in his young life.

Are you mental? This is the kind of shit I LOVE to do...OK wait then.

This

Is rather awesome. I don't know what a "runt" is TBH, but I'm thinking you could leave it off. I did post a link to an american to UK conversion link in my blog about Man vs Food.

THIS is freaking AMAZEBALLS. God I love these american infomercials

That woman is SO like a mumsy version of Danii Minogue. It's like they are twins. Or is it just me?

I MUST make that one from the video. Simple but effective.

I am a complete sucker for clear instructions delivered by people who look organized and calm but are in fact the rejected, bitter twin of Danii Minogue

I am getting excited. I think I can get hold of Hershey Kisses for the spikes along the back.

It looks hard to fuck up, right?

Runts = tiny hard powdery-tasting fruit-shaped candies, IIRC. Those ones are the banana ones. Taking me right back to elementary school days, that is.

I LOVE those runt things (if we're talking about the same thing) and I bought them when I did the willy wonka party...

hang on

FOUND THEM

I digress. If you're making that one off the video it's a piece of piss. Giant cadbury buttons and normal ones for the spots...Um not too sure about the spikes - I think they are the boaktastic hershey kisses so I'd fuse the two ideas and use jelly lemon slices for the ridges.

See? Told you I loved doing this!

yes Hershey kisses smell like vomit, don't they? Weirdly, I never noticed this when I lived in America. And now, when I say that to Americans, they look at me like I am nuts.

It must be a hypnotism thing they do in the schools to make everyone not notice. During the pledge of allegiance to the flag each morning, the Hershey corporation beams subliminal messages to kids via classroom intercoms. In return for this marketing opportunity, they fund textbooks or something. That's the way things work in America - a bit like The Manchurian Candidate.

It would be simpler, though, if they just made chocolate that didn't smell of sick.

And btw: THANK YOU