Recently, Do I Look Sick? was featured on the awesome blog Health Demystified with other RISING STARS IN THE HEALTH AND FITNESS BLOGOSPHERE: 9 health and fitness bloggers who will entertain, inform, and inspire the world in 2012. Health Demystified is a really awesome, frank, candid blog about being healthy. It declares itself to be a “no bullshit” blog, and it lives up to it. It offers great advice with a few laughs thrown in, and is always an interesting read.
I wanted to do a similar post, but hesitated at first. If you can’t tell, I’m very, VERY new to the blogging world, and I didn’t feel I had the authority to declare anyone a rising star, since right now it feels like everyone’s a star compared to me. But I DID want to highlight some of my favorite blogs, so I changed up the title a little bit. So without futher ado,
PRESENTING:
Rising Stars on Rachel’s Radar: 9 bloggers who entertain, inform, and inspire *me!*
Tosha – bottledtime.wordpress.com
Why it’s awesome:
1. Tosha is the nicest person on the entire Internet. She’s a very personal blogger – she responds to every comment, she’ll friend you on facebook, she’ll answer emails, she is the WONDER WOMAN of correspondence. I honestly feel like she’s my best friend. She checks in on me if she hasn’t heard from me in a while, and I go to her for health advice all the time. And she always answers. She even taught me how to use Twitter! Just ask my little sister – she wrote me off as hopeless a long time ago. But now I’m twittering (tweeting?) like a champ! All thanks to Tosha.
2. I mentioned that I go to her for health advice? Yeah. Check out Tosha’s “About” tab – this girl has seen it all. Which is awful, really. But also kind of amazing.
Tosha can relate to almost anyone, I mean that’s amazing! She is extremely well informed, and gives great advice on just the day to day grind of living with chronic illness. Pain, depression, lack of spoons – she’s been there. And she can not only talk you through it, but she can offer great tips on diet, medicating, side effects, sleeping, everything. She’s not a doctor, but she’s a very experienced patient.
3. One word: support. Tosha’s blog focuses a LOT on support, everything from advice to dressing up and contests. I always know what color to wear when thanks to her blog. She has quite the calendar – I really don’t know how she keeps track of it all, but I’m glad she does. It’s a small, easy way to raise awareness and comfort people dealing with invisible illness. It’s an event that there’s never an excuse not to participate in, and making awareness easy is the most powerful tool against ignorance.
Emily – HopeForRowan.wordpress.com
Why it’s awesome:
1. It’s right there in the title: Hope. This site is so very uplifting. It chronicles the everyday struggles and triumphs of a very, very sick little boy. This is just one of those blogs that’ll make you laugh and make you cry. Sometimes the stories are sad, but never hopeless.
2. Rowan is a real hero! I know I look up to him. He’s laughing and fighting invisible illness every day, and if he can, I can. Rowan is my hero, and I bet after checking out this blog he’ll be your hero too.
3. JUST LOOK AT THAT FACE. I could look at his cute wittle face all day long! I just want to kiss him all over his widdle bitty cheeks! Yes I do! ….okay, I’m done. But not really. But I’ll stop typing it out.
Red Nelly – nhsbaby.wordpress.com
Why it’s awesome:
1. This is another blog that’s just totally frank and candid – “no bullshit,” to borrow Health Demystified’s terms. It gives some very real insight on being a woman with invisible illness and trying to conceive. She’s so transparent about her story without being overly emotional or gushy about it, and that’s refreshing.
2. This blog just plain makes me smile. Can a blog about endometriosis, pregnancy, and other “female things” be funny? Answer: yes.
3. This blog has a voice. Reading it really feels like a real person is on the other end talking to you, and that’s hard to find.
Slim Paley – slimpaley.com
Why it’s awesome:
1. This blog is my happy place. Every time I read a post, I am instantly de-stressed. This blog is like a warm cup of chamomile tea, I can’t describe it any other way. It’s happy and calm and….just lovely.
2. Don’t get to thinking this is just some photography blog. There are LOTS of pictures, but it’s not just pictures thrown together and then posted. These are some of the most fascinating posts I’ve ever read – especially the one about tea. I’ve actually gone back and reread that post more than once because I found it so fascinating!
3. Not only does this blog have some stunning original photography, but they also share photos and pictures that they just like – and they have great taste. There’s always a lovely theme (I believe the latest one was ‘clouds’) and reading this blog is like… guided daydreaming. It’s wonderful.
Jess – lawandsugar.wordpress.com
(This is an eclectic group, I know!)
Why it’s awesome:
1. This is so much more than a cooking blog. Like a photography blog that just posts photos, I’m not a big fan of cooking blogs that just post recipes. Jess’s posts are so much fun to read. Each post has so much personality that sometimes it’s kind of surprising when you get to the recipe. It’s like, “oh yeah, this is a cooking blog!”
2. This blog is hilarious. I laugh out loud every time I read a post. Plus, it has some really interesting information on not only cooking, but food, and the history of food, and the author’s feelings and experiences with food. There’s just so much here!
3. Lastly, the recipes are pretty dang good. That picture up there? Those are egg-shaped pancakes filled with warm fruity delightfulness. That’s pretty unique, and there’s much more where that came from.
Kayla – lostgenygirl.com
Why it’s awesome:
1. I usually become pretty disinterested when generational terms start getting thrown around. GenY, generation X, baby boomers….zzzzz…..but this blog is actually very interesting no matter what generation you’re a part of, and no matter if you care about generations or not. What this blog is really about is finding yourself and your place in the world, finding a balance with those older and younger than you, and life in “the real world.”
2. Kayla tells it like it is. She’s very no-nonsense, and interacts with her readers a lot. In fact, in almost every post she references general comments or feedback she’s gotten from the last post. She’s a very professional blogger. She’s very good about telling both sides of every story, and not holding any bias.
3. I’m not really a business person, but I’ve taken a few business classes because I firmly believe that business theories and practices can be helpful in almost any situation. I actually started following this blog because I was actually seeing a lot of advice for being invisibly ill. Her stories of being young and somewhat out of place in the professional world have this allegorical air about them. Her tips are applicable in all kinds of situations – being ill, making friends, etc. And even if you have no interest in an office job, you will need professional skills, and you will be young and working on your career in some way at some point. I want to go into the film industry – these business skills apply to my field, and I guarantee they apply to yours, too.
Rachel – racheldianerice.wordpress.com
1. This is a great blog about being poor and using your money wisely. It was about finances in college, but as Rachel graduates it will transition into the world of money and finances for a new graduate. Not only is it very informative, but it’s personal, too.
2. This blog has a LOT of great info that many college students and young adults may not know about. I’m a strong advocate of financial education, and I think it’s painfully stupid that high schoolers and college students are never required to take classes on it. The world NEEDS education on this topic! And Rachel’s risen to the challenge.
3. Unlike other blogs about finances, this one is simple. It’s aimed at young people who don’t have much money to begin with. So not only does it offer very simple, easy to understand lessons on budgeting, saving, mortgages, etc, but it has GREAT tips on how to do things very inexpensively.
Yomi – yomiolufiade.wordpress.com
Why it’s awesome:
1. This is a very uplifting blog. I love that Yomi tends to post in the morning – it’s like a little pep talk for the day.
2. The posts are short! Okay that’s random and not really important, but this kind of blog is very cool. He posts very quick little blurbs, either anecdotes, bible verses, or sometimes even poetry, and it’s just like a little quick bit of happiness that sends you merrily on your way. It’s like, he knows you’re busy and you’ve got other emails to read, but here’s something to think about before you go. I love that.
3. This blog is so positive! I’ve never seen one negative thought anywhere on that site, and Yomi always responds to comments with hearty thanks and encouragement. It’s pretty cool to get a pat on the back from someone on the other side of the world!
Gati – lupiecave.wordpress.com
Why it’s awesome:
1. This is a very “real” blog. It’s often a very sad read, but what’s nice about it is that it’s so easy to relate to. It really makes you feel like you’re not alone.
2. Even though there are a lot of sad stories, there are a LOT of VERY happy stories too! And sad and happy stories alike are full of hope. The backstory to this blog is wonderful and full of hope as well, and I encourage you to check out the “about” tab and read all about it!
3. This is another blogger that is just so transparent about her own story, and again, knowing the backstory, that’s really amazing. I’m so glad she’s come out of her “cave” and started sharing her hope and happy demeanor with all of us in the blogosphere!
Thanks to all of you for informing, inspiring, entertaining me as I discover the wide and wacky world of blogging! Readers – I know a lot of these are off the beaten path of my invisible illness topic, but they are all FANTASTIC blogs and they do really relate to my topic….each in their own way. 
