Exclusive with "The incoherent ramblings of a single parent"

The Incoherent ramblings of a single a parent

→ Visit Blog
→ Gallery EntryPresenting our first "Exclusive" post, where we've had the honor to have a little Q. and A session with the blogger behind the gallery featured blog, 'The incoherent rambling's of a single parent.'

What is your name?/Introduce yourself
Lily Jo

Tell us about your blog.
The incoherent ramblings of a single parent, Initially started out as a serious blog examiming the hardships faced by being a single parent. But in all honesty, writing about loneliness and alienation proved to be a depressing experience in itself. The thing was, that I didn't want it to turn into just another 'mommy' blog either or, a diary about the wonderful joys of motherhood. (somebody let me know when the joyous part kicks in) Instead I chose to take real-life situations and events and to add a few twists,  albeit with the help of a little bit of exaggeration and a whole lot of  embellishments. Hence posts on the fact that my EVIL child is trying to kill me (which he is), an argument between the Devil and God or which one DOESN'T get my soul when I die and a lovely heartwarming tale that goes by the title of, 'The tale of the little boy and the very big poo'.

I can already hear my name being called out for the Pulitzer Prize Award.

Describe a popular feature/post or a favorite feature/post of your blog.
I wouldn't really class it as a popular feature but I do enjoy the conversational pieces that I write, especially between myself and my little man.

These are actual based on real conversations that we have, though many people tend to think othewise.

Do you have any blogging tips you'd like to share, or have any advice for fellow bloggers or would be bloggers?

Write for yourself . If you try to cater to what you think people want to read, then you start to lose some of the essence that made your work original to begin with.

In other words, Stay true to what you do. (Oooh, I made a rhyme)

Tell us about your personal favorite blog or blogs, or share one that you would recommend to others.
There are many blogs that I love reading but the ones that I read religiously are

'Diary of a crap wife'
'left alone with a full moon'
'I'd like cheese on my entire family.'

♥ This concludes our very first Exclusive entry. We'd like to thank Lily Jo from The incoherent ramblings of a single parent for taking the time to participate. I hope you enjoy her blog as much as I have. Stay tuned for the next installment of the Exclusive, where we'll share our Q and A session with another gallery featured blogger.

One new Gallery Entry...

Hello, it's been a busy week and I haven't been able to post as many new entries to the gallery that I had hoped to, but I glad that I was able to get one new blog featured. So if you have a moment, take a look at the latest entry to the gallery.

• Fashion Photography

Enjoy! The next update shall be coming shortly, with a full helping of new entries,  so stay tuned! Also, I have the first feature in "The Exclusive,"in store for the very near future as well.

Six New Entries to the Showcase Gallery

Right on schedule, six new blogs have been featured in the GlitterBurned Gallery. Just because I might always say that I really enjoyed visiting submissions to the gallery, doesn't make it any less sincere. But wouldn't you know, just like my timing being right on, I truly enjoyed my visits to the six newest additions to the gallery as well.

Do yourself a favor and take a gander at these fine blogs, if you would  ;).

• The world through my eyes! 
• life is a science experiment
• FAQ and answers
• Qui feci - Finding Inspiration
• BestBloggerTemplates.Net
• Spice Up Your Blog

Handy CSS Resources

In that never ending quest spawned by an addiction to blogging, I have come across a few really handy tools for the trade. Some of these tools I employ in a fashion fundamental to my blogging pursuits. Some I even consider essential in my blogging endeavors. Must haves.

Perhaps, a fellow blog addict would also appreciate these resources. Recently, CSS examples and tutorials have proven most handy. Here are the some sweet CSS treats I am loving right now.

All CSS "Tool-tip" With Click-able Links

The "tool-tip" with click-able link effect on the "Recently Featured..." thumbnails is modified from a CSS Play demo. With a few adjustments, I was able to create just the effect I was after.

All CSS Calendar With Click-able Link Tool-tip

After much time scouring the web for a CSS calendar tutorial for the gallery's archive page, discovering CSS Newbies was quite a site for sore eyes. It's just what I wanted, simple, and all CSS. The tool-tips were just an added bonus. Just a few adjustments and this CSS calendar fit the Gallery Archive page like a glove. It displays best in Google Chrome, but it is worth it. (It is also possible, that any display issues are the result of my own changes to the code, not existing in the original version.) I do recommend this for any such calendar needs on your blog.

Free Contact Forms by 123Contact Form

I have come to find out that my satisfaction regarding free contact form providers and services provided may increase or decrease with use, but thus far, 123ContactForm has fullfilled my contact form needs and comes out ahead of all the others I have tried.

The "pros" of this service outweigh my few "qualms" or the "cons." A key factor in their winning my vote, is that they allow up to 100 submissions per free form, which they allow five, this is a greater amount than I have been able to find with other similar services. The "qualms" I do have are minor, the interface at 123ContactForms takes a little getting used to and can be somewhat confusing, and some aspects of the forms design can not be customized.  I use this for all form needs in the Blog and Gallery.

All-CSS Speech Bubble

Why use an image when you can use CSS, right? That would be my thoughts on the matter at least. On the gallery, the post comment count links beside each entry are placed within an all CSS/image-less 'speech bubble,' devised with the help of this tutorial. An image could have worked, but it wouldn't have worked quite as well as this.
♥
Well, that wraps up this edition of GlitterBurned's must haves. I hope that they may provide useful to you as well.

Trying New Post Frequency Policy

It was brought to my attention via a dear and trusted fellow blogger and friend of mine, that each entry to the gallery should receive an ample amount of time on the "front-page," or index page as it were, to the gallery. Posting too frequently, either by posting more than nine new entries a day or posting several new entries everyday, would cause a blog to fall into the "next" page of entries, thereby ending it's "shine-time" on the gallery index.

Implementing a "post-frequency policy," with a 48 hour minimum interval between the next installment of new entries, and also limiting the next posting installment to a maximum of nine new entries garantees that each entry into the gallery will receive no less than 48 hours of "shine-time" on the main page.

 By internet standards,  2 days can be an eternity, it may prove to be even too long of an interval for the gallery as well. So as of the most recent gallery update 6/20/11, the policy is in affect, but it has not become part of the gallery's consitution. I do feel that each blog should have it's moment on the main page and this is something I would like to garantee, this 48 hour interval policy is still subject to change.

We'll see! One thing is for certain, I want blogger's and their blogs to have their moment, and hope that it does bring them some new visitors.

If you would like your blog to be featured in the gallery, submit it already!

Latest Entries to the Gallery

I posted the full main page's worth, nine new entries to the gallery during this most recent posting, perhaps this was my feeble attempt to make up for the few days lapse in new entries. While doing so, I pondered some ideas and concepts regarding posting frequency among other things, but that I will detail further in a future (my next) post.

Without further aduei, here are those nine new entries. Its not really my style to ask, but, please do let us (and the blog's author) know you love their blog by commenting on it there in the gallery!  Enjoy!

• My Spin 
• Pearl's Reflection
• My Hideaway
• A.T. Pratt
• Flash Fiction
• My Book Diaries
• Always Abby Noel
• Also Known As... 
• Marz Today

Launching The GlitterBurned Gallery Blog!

Hello, hello blogger friends and friends of Blogger. With this post, the official GlitterBurned has arrived.

If you are not yet familiar with GlitterBurned, let me explain what it it that we are. GlitterBurned is a design gallery, showcasing the best Blogger powered blogs, and only Blogger powered blogs.

While it hasn't been much time since GlitterBurned's humble beginnings in May of 2011, I (Lauren, the creator of the GlitterBurned gallery) felt the need for a traditional written blog, in addition to the gallery blog, where each post consists of an entry to the gallery.

This left no place for traditional blog posts, updates or articles. The GlitterBurned Blog solves this problem. Now the news, updates and other articles I might want to share pertaining to the gallery, have their place, here in this the official blog.

And besides, it also provides another spotlight for blogs in the gallery. On the homepage of this blog, five randomly selected blogs will be featured for an additional week, with a direct link as well.

Another additional moment-in-the-sun I have planned for blogs in the gallery, is an ongoing feature here in the official blog, tentatively titled "The Exlusive!," where Q. and A. with a featured blogger is to be shared

Stay tuned friends, and feel free to comment!