Blog Report: The Secrets of Mommyblogging and the Return of Spartanburg Parody Paper Press News!

Do you want to know the secret to having a popular mommyblog? Whatever happens in the world around you, find a way to get a photo of your kids in it. OK, that only works with stuff like a rare South Carolina snowfall, and not so good with something like the national health care debate, but it’s still a good rule of thumb. And Jess over at Keep It Together knows that rule without me having to tell her.

I almost forgot it snowed! That’s how long our snow on Tuesday afternoon/evening lasted. It actually started snowing at 11:00 AM, freaking out all the parents who had children stuck at public school. 30 minutes later, they decide to cancel school for the rest of the day. Although the snow flurries weren’t sticking, the forecast was unclear about sudden temperature drops, so everyone hurried to pick up their kids before the roads got bad.

I was already over the snow by the time it started (look how jaded I am now about something that used to be a novelty!), but the kids still wanted to go out in it.

Of course, while plenty of people do like to read about happy children in playing in the snow, there’s an equally large — maybe even larger — percentage of readers who enjoy reading blogs where people gripe about things. And even bloggers that are generally upbeat can sometimes get themselves worked up into a nice, long rant if given the right topic. Like, say, how Julie over at One Day At A Time dealt with a recent stomach bug.

We have had what we think was the Norovirus come through our house this week. It has been AWFUL.

It all started Monday night. I was getting ready to go to bed and I told Jason, I feel awfully nauseous tonight. We both thought it was just the pregnancy (although I haven’t had much nausea), so I decided to go ahead and lay down, hoping to sleep it off. Well, if you’ve ever had any kind of stomach bug and have had the urge to throw up, you know what I mean by saying, the longer I laid there fighting the urge, the stronger it became. Eventually, I did get sick.

… If you come down with the norovirus…expect to feel like death for about 24 hours. It will go about as quickly as it came…but you’ll have no energy for about 2 days.

Now, I am hoping that we have gotten all the sickness out of our systems…I am about tired of it!!

If there is one secret to being a widely read mommyblogger, it’s to occasionally cross-genres with another popular online topic. There are mommybloggers who love pop culture, mommybloggers who love fashion, even mommybloggers who love microbrew beer, but what they all have in common is a sort of crossover readership that keeps their regular content from seeming too stilted and predictable. And the more niches you can work in, the better. With that in mind, I think mommyblogger/photographer Vanessa Garcia might just have hit the jackpot of ideas this week: A photography post about making a dairy-free, homemade pizza any foodie blogger would drool over, toppped with photos of her kids eating it. Niche count? Photos, kids, dairy-free, homemade food, mommyblog. That’s five! A new local record, perhaps?

I made homemade pizza tonight! Dairy free of course (Liam is allergic), but it was super easy and very tasty! My chef husband (Shaun) started the dough for me Tuesday night, and let it proof for 2 days. All I had to do was stretch it out, top it, and bake it on a pizza stone! We topped ours with tomato sauce, pureed garlic in olive oil, black olives, and pepperoni. Mmmmmm. I just wish there were leftovers!

And we’ll close this week’s blog roundup with the triumphant return of the Spartanburg Parody Paper Press News, a blog I’d mistaken for dead. After all, until earlier this week, the site hadn’t had a post since September of 2009. But with three new posts this week alone, things are looking up for the SPPPN! But which post to profile? The one about a zombie-creating rabies outbreak in East Spartanburg? The one about the panic over bread and milk shortages caused by a fleeting snow shower? Or maybe the one about the local man who is filing his taxes as a professional hipster?

For Chuck “Grainy Train” Cheney being hip has always been an obsession, but now he’s claiming it as his profession, and as consequence he’s filing his taxes accordingly. We caught up with him the other day to get the inside scoop after one of his live internet radio web vlog podcasts he does from his second story loft in downtown Spartanburg to see what all the hype is about.

PPP News Staff: Good afternoon Chuck, I’m sure our readers are wondering just how this all works, filing as a pro hipster and all. It’s not a typical occupation, and I thought maybe you could elaborate on it.

Chuck Cheney: Sure, no prob coolio. I’ve been hip forever, like, since the prenatal scene, ya dig? It just comes natural to me my man, and it ain’t no thing.

PPPN Staff: So how do you make money at being a hipster?

Chuck: Ways and means my friend. Throwing house parties for the peeps, my ultra hip web radio live vlog cast. Hell, people just throw money at me, ya know? I’m that kinda guy.

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