Bored Olives

"An email love story"

'An email love story' - that so aptly describes the blog that I think anything else would not have done perfect justice.

Bored Olives is written by the warm personality of Stephen Davis, who claims he was constructing a computer from secondhand parts when he realized the hard drive had not been erased. He says he began to peek through the contents of the previous owner, finding saved e-mails that unfurled a bumpy romance between the nihilistic Stacey Marchenkova and the witty Dom Borax.

Stephen Davis posts one to several of the e-mails every Sunday and Wednesday, depending on the size of the e-mails involved. What's even more surprising than the luck Stephen had when he stumbled upon a complete record of the quirky e-mail romance is the conversation that happens below the post.

Readers comment by the dozens, leaving their own opinion on what they think about the particular e-mail, and how the relationship has played out so far. They speculate where it will go, and even form 'teams' - Team Stacey, Team Dom, Team S&D (Stacey and Dom), etc. Even I must confess that I have a tendency to relate myself to Team Dom, but that may be because I'm a guy and I get where he's coming from much of the time.

There was a slight controversy over how real this whole thing might be; understandable, considering it makes the reader quite emotional to go through all of these e-mails at once. However, this blog is more than just whether or not Bored Olives is a facts-based account or a clever tale. It's a story about just what romance can do to people, such as the way Stacey's outlook on the world is distorted by her feelings, and Dom is consumed with winning over Stacey with his intellect, his wit, and his subtle hints.

Get on reading at Bored Olives, and witness the e-mail love story for yourself.

Tips for Saving

"Please join me for a journey to learn unique ways to save money, maintain your health, help the environment, and get things for free! Subscribe, follow, and enjoy the journey."

Who doesn't like to get free stuff?

Certainly you've seen your fair share of blogs about thrifty mothers -- I know I have. Most of the time we shrug them off as just another nitpicky blog that will provide more waste of time than we'll actually be saving.

That couldn't be farther from the truth with Tips for Saving, though.

The author of the blog, Rose, is indeed a thrifty mother blogger. There's no denying that. It's the concise style of her posts that makes the blog so worthwhile when it comes to this category, and you can see it for yourself when you visit the blog.

That doesn't mean that she's always making short posts -- she has her fair share of lengthy, but detailed, posts on products, such as her review on the Boon, Inc. Flo. Rose's powerful skills lay in her ability to post about useful products in a useful fashion. Mothers don't have time to be on the computer all day, after all.

The blog does have a few drawbacks, however. On a slower computer, the sheer size of the blog becomes a lag-inducing nuisance. The post limit seems to be six full posts; coupled with all of the images and links in each post, less-than-optimal computers will be in for a difficult time scrolling through. In addition, there are quite a few ads on the sidebar of the blog, and this contributes to the slowing power of the blog, and the clutter.

The layout, despite the key difficulties created by the front-page post count and sidebar ads, is simple and pink, which matches her post style and general theme. Rose has repeatedly improved upon her layout over time, and hopefully she will continue to do so as her blog expands its readership, and its quality.

Go on and visit Tips for Saving today, and put a few extra dollars in your pocket.

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