Hi Audra,
This review is part of the package you won in the "Genre Auction and Fundraiser" .

First impressions
I liked your title. It's quirky, it's humourous and it tells the reader something about you and your blog even before they start reading. That's exactly what a title should do.

Your short description suggests that your blog wasn't created simply to participate in a certain (or more than one) blogging activity, nor does it have a set theme. Some people like a blog to have a theme, but personally when I read a blog I want to find out more about the person behind the writing. My blog is similar to yours in that it's not themed, it's just...me. So while your short description might not appeal to everyone, it is descriptive, and it works for me.

As I was reading your introduction, I noticed a typo in the second sentence, well, a letter that was lower case when it should have been a capital. I was just about to point it out when I continued reading to the next sentence which expressly informs me that there will be typos! I disagree with your idealogy here - I believe that if you correct typos, etc in your blog entries, they become more enjoyable to read, especially by other writers who are often pedantic about such things. You explain your reasoning well though, and I can't argue with it - my personal way around it is to write the whole entry first so I get out all the emotion, don't impede the flow of words, etc and only then do I run my eye over it and check for errors. Whether that works for you or not is up to you, but I do admit that typos bother me, even in blog entries. Your intro makes it very clear what the reader should expect though, so I think you've done well there.

I love pictures. It is so neat getting a glimpse of the person behind the handle.

I like that you tell the reader some things about you, concentrating on things that are unlikely to change in a hurry so the intro doesn't date too quickly, and you do it with what I am starting to see is your trademark quirky humour.

The second photo of Reece needs cropping. It doesn't look very appealling at the moment as a small photo in the corner of a bunch of off-white space. It should be a fairly simply matter to crop and upload it again to the same item number.

I love that you sign off with your real name (or at least a name that we can call you instead of going by your handle). Often we read a person's writing and never learn anything about the actual writer - I love to be able to call someone by name and learn a few things about them. So hey, nice to meet you, Audra!

You use what I consider a 'standard' blog layout, where your entries are shown in full, with the most recent at the top. It's just personal opinion of course, but I much prefer this layout to blogs that have a list of contents. Good choice.


Entries
" I Got A LOT Better at Screwing Last Week & I'm not Joking!"  - The title definitely made me smile.
You tell the 'story' in chronological order, which makes it easy to follow, but you have a rambling style that feels relaxed and as if we are just friends chatting in person or on the phone. You have a very informal style that works really well in a blog.

I secretly put a curse on him to have all the pvc pipe fall off the shelf as he walks by it. I'm sorry, but he should be nice. Okay, I'm not sorry - well, sorry that I didn't have time to stick around to see if it came true.
That really made me giggle.

He's a pretty handy guy - well, I mean I think he has tools.


"Holy Mother of Drills and Berries!"
This entry just kept getting funnier and funnier!!

The second part of your entry had me thinking that it was going to be more 'ordinary' but then you went on that ramble about roosters and I was just sitting here getting more and more amused. And I loved the reference to the Joker song.

"I wonder..."  - I have seen (and written) lists like this thanks to various prompts. Sentences that start with the words 'I wonder'. Your list is a curious mix of 'regular' and 'crazy'. I hope you're not offended by that word, I stole it out of your previous entry. It was a quick read, but provided both a small insight into Audra and a smile for the day.

"Connections, Memory Loss, and Things you didn't see coming!"  - Okay, the title bugs me, if only because some words are capitalised and some aren't. But that's probably just me.

This entry is more rambling that the others that I've read so far, and seemed a little more difficult to follow. To be honest, I'm not sure if that's intentional or not!

"Where the Wind Goes Sweeping Down the Plains & other things"  - This was a hilarious attempt to convince your readers how wonderful your part of the country is.

We have hotter than a hog in heat and colder than a witch's tit in a brass brassiere with a 1000 percent humidity every day of the week and twice on Tuesdays.
That is just not something I'd ever hear where I live (New Zealand) and it was both foreign and funny, and yet illustrated exactly what you were talking about.

We have a few real cowboys, but they are on the farm getting shit on their boots and other lovely things.
*snigger*

"And That is The Reason I Hate Whipped Cream"  - Another very entertaining entry, and I learned a little more about you too (like you clean your car about as often as I clean mine!).

Except maybe asparagus. And peas - that would definitely get me out of the mood.
At this point, I don't even know what this entry is about yet, and I'm already giggling.

"Natural Remedy my Ass!"  - Okay, I really really want to put a comma in that title! Without the comma, it sounds like you're telling someone to natural remedy your ass, whatever that might mean.

"MY 100TH BLOG! COME ONE, COME ALL!"  - It felt almost as if you had a check list you were going through as you wrote this, as it jumped from topic to topic without warning, but it was sweet, funny, loopy and irreverent. I can appreciate wanting to do something special for your 100th entry, but in the end, 'classic Audra' is the best I think, and this entry seems to embody a lot of what is typical and great about your blog. You got a touch more serious with this entry, and it was really interesting to see how you dealt with that, but you left on a light hearted note which I liked. Even when you're serious, you maintain that sense of casual, 'chatting with friends' that embodies your blogging style.


Overall, I have to say I loved your blog. You are a highly entertaining blogger, and I found something amusing in every entry. Your style is casual and friendly, rather than formal, and it feels like you've just invited us in for a cup of tea and are chatting. Or more than that, it feels like you just HAD to ring because you had to share this train of thought before you lose it. With every entry, the reader feels like they get a glimpse of the real person, which for me is the very reason blogs exist.

I won't deny, the lack of editing irks me. I think if you corrected punctuation and spelling (actually it was more about capitalisation of letters than spelling for the most part) that it would add to, rather than subtract from, your blog. As I suggested at the beginning, if you do it as a final check after you've finished writing the entry, it shouldn't detract from your train of thought or the rambling, irreverent style of your entries. Seriously though, that was my only niggle and I suspect most people would overlook it. I know I'll be back to read more.

Thanks for sharing!
Elle

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My review has been submitted for consideration in "Good Deeds Get CASH!" .