Source |
And it is the night before Christmas as I type this out :-). You see Santa
in that pic with his smartphone and his reindeer, working hard to deliver the
gifts that his elves have helped to pack into the sack? Well, that’s pretty
much what we’re doing within the Indiblogeshwari FB group too!!!!
Everyone knows about Secret Santa,
right? We put our names on little pieces of paper into a
bowl and then pick one out and get that person a gift. Since we’re all
connected virtually and getting gifts across would be a bit complicated, we’ve
planned to gift each other their very own blog reviews – organized by the
awesome Vinita Bahl!! Since we’re not just getting the gift across, but are
actually working on them too, we’re all Secret Blogger Elves!!
Isn’t this way better than gifting
‘things’?? Just the way the Grinch ponders:
Source |
So guess whose blog I got to review?
Chatty Wren a.k.a. Vibha’s ‘Daily Dose of Chaos’ at http://www.wrenwarbles.blogspot.be!!
This wasn’t the first time I was
hearing this name. I’d heard and read Chatty Wren’s warbles on Parentous. The name ‘Chatty Wren’
caught my attention then, and to be honest that was the name I remembered, not
Vibha :-).
This was the first time that I was
properly exploring her blog, and I was super excited :-). Whenever I need to
get a feel of the blog and the blogger’s personality, I always check out the
blog’s first post. This gives a good idea of where it all started :-). After
that I start stalking them ;-P.
Chatty Wren is a busy Mom of two
adorable little girls (one when she started the blog) and lives in Belgium with
her husband and kids. Right from the first post onward, I was surprised at how
much we had in common; both of us started blogging as a means to cure
some of the loneliness of being a first time Mom, we lived in nuclear families
and were a little lost in the early days of motherhood, we were both seeking
out a purpose in life above the mundane everyday stuff, both of us had working
Moms with no role model for a stay at home Mom and we both share a mild fear of
driving (which Chatty Wren has begun to overcome :-)).
The blog was born in July 2007 which
makes her quite an experienced blogger :-). Vibha explains that she started
blogging as a way to get in touch with herself and others, feeling lonely in a new city with a new baby
and hardly any friends. She describes the name of the blog to be one with ‘no
disclosure’ and ‘without references to ethnicity, race or religion’. The name
‘Chatty Wren’ is a misnomer, she says, as she herself is more of a shy person
who doesn’t chat all that much :-). The blog layout is also representative of
that – it’s a neat and clean layout, not cluttered with too many images or
graphics.
Like she’s said, the initial blog posts
are mainly about the concerns of being a new Mom in a new country. Her writing
is beautiful; thoughts and emotions are worded very clearly and described so
well, you can feel them yourself, especially if you have been through the same
situations.
Probably due to the pressures of
handling two little children, the posts are a bit sporadic during most of 2007 to
2009. But during this period, the sense of isolation dies down and the tone of
the posts becomes much more cheerful as Chatty Wren gets into the groove :-).
2012 is when the blog takes on a more
regular frequency, now that the kids are a little older. Apart from occasional
recipes, crafts and book reviews, the new Mom concerns make way for parenting
issues and Vibha begins to blog about more generic topics.
The most striking thing about Chatty
Wren’s writing is the feeling of a close friend pouring out her heart to you. The
writing is honest, to the point and non-judgmental. I found I could relate to
many of her posts, simply because they provide an uncensored view of a Mom’s
life. I really wanted to comment on some of the older posts, but thought it
might give the secret away :-). Now, she is quite the established blogger and also writes for Parentous and Indian Moms Connect.
If you’ve read Wren’s blog, you’ll most
probably agree with whatever I’ve said. If you haven’t do go and check it out, it’s a nice honest read
and makes you feel like you’ve just met a friend; I know that’s how I felt! I’m
so thankful to Vinita for making this happen and giving us the chance to
explore blogs more in depth.
Wish you, Chatty Wren, and all the
other Blogeshwaris a very Merry Christmas!!!
Here's a little wren on a wreath (Source) |
P.S. - Here’s a little Christmas Trivia –
Wren Day is celebrated in Ireland and
other countries on the day after Christmas, where they also sing wren songs
:-).
Source |
18 comments
I think this is a fabulous idea and I read a review of another blog (in this series) as well! Lovely Secret Santa Gift :) And I am going to check out this blog right now :) Thanks for the lovely review!
ReplyDeleteGlad you liked the review!! Do check out the blog too, she's a very good writer!
Deletethe name first and then your review has intrigues me to read it more :)
ReplyDeleteDo check out the blog, it makes for a good read!!
DeleteI read her blog just now. Her 201th post really connected with me. How sincerely she writes!
ReplyDeleteLoved your review. Good going secret elf! Merry Christmas!
Dagny
Thank you!! Yes, that is the perfect way to describe her writing - 'sincere'!!! Merry Christmas to you too!
DeleteI too read her post and felt...aren't we all are same? Good review Fabida.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Janaki!! Yes, that's what struck me the most too - how similar our struggles are!
DeleteFabida, I'd read your post the first day itself and commented too, but I don't think it went through! Thank you for such a flattering review! And am glad you could relate to the posts on my blog. And I do think you write very well - I was almost in awe of my own blog, such a surreal feeling :) I loved the wreath and especially the trivia on Wren's Day. I don't have a page on FB for my blog yet.
ReplyDeleteYou should feel great about your blog - you deserve it!! Glad you liked the little 'wren' bits :-). I'll update the part about the FB page right away, thanks for letting me know!!
DeleteBeautifull review. loved reading it.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Savitha!
DeleteVery nice review - your review makes me want to explore her blog. Job well done.
ReplyDeleteThank you!!! Do check it out, you're sure to be impressed :-)
Deletehey you are a good good goood elf :)
ReplyDeleteHa ha, thank you!!!
DeleteNice review, Fab! I have read her off and on and have always connected with her writing!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Rachna!! Yes, that is exactly what one'll feel after reading her blog!
Delete