Field's End Art

Here's another submission to nepablogs@gmail.com:

Hello, I would like to be added to your blog.  I am contemporary artist, and am collected and exhibit around the world, and reside outside of Lehighton,  PA.  


You can link to me with the link down at the bottom of this message.  Thanks!


Hilary J. England


for new paintings please visit www.hilaryjengland.com

Check out my artist's life blog at: www.fieldsendart.blogspot.com

It's always great to see a blog from another artist here in Northeastern Pennsylvania!  Many people don't realize how many artists, writers, poets, musicians, and performing artists we have in this area. And a blog is a great way for these folks to share their creativity with the world!

If you're an artist, a writer, a poet, a musician, a sculptor, an actor, a burlesque performer, a sword swallower, or - heck, if you're anybody here in NEPA who has a blog, we'd like to hear from you! Drop us a line here at nepablogs@gmail.com !

About the Header Image: Wednesday, April 25, 2012

This week's header is by...me. It's from a photo expedition I took around Nanticoke on March 31, 2005. It looks like it's of a dirt road, but Field Street is (and was) fully paved. Rain in the weeks before had washed mud onto the road and it was now coated with fine orange-brown dirt..

Field Street marks the southern border of habitation for the middle third of Nanticoke. To the left of this image (which was taken facing west) there is a field, a ravine, and then Luzerne County Community College. The church in the distance is at the highest point in Nanticoke, or at least very close to it; the ground on the other side of Field Street is slightly higher. The church was at the time called St. Mary's; while it is one of the two churches that survived parish consolidation a few years ago, it is now called the Alternate Worship Site for the Parish of St. Faustina. (It is again up for consideration for consolidation.)

If you have images that reflect the character of Northeastern Pennsylvania in some way, please send them in to us at nepablogs@gmail.com so we can post them as our header. New headers go up every Wednesday, and we only have a few left before we have to start relying on images by me!

PA Live! Blog of the Week: All the Right Notes

NEPA Blogs will be presenting a "Blog of the Week" on the WBRE's PA Live! every Tuesday. PA Live! airs weekday afternoons on WBRE from 4:00 to 5:00.

Watch this episode on the PA Live! website: http://pahomepage.com/palive-details?nxd_id=243522

Our PA Live! Blog of the Week this week is Brian Fanelli's All the Right Notes (http://brianfanelli.wordpress.com/).

All the Right Notes is a blog by poet/writer Brian Fanelli, who was voted "Best Local Author in Lackawanna County" in the Electric City "Best Of 2011" poll. All the Right Notes is his personal blog. Brian is intensely involved in the large and thriving writing and poetry communities in Northeastern Pennsylvania as a writer, a poet, and an organizer. His blog is loaded with information for aspiring writers, as well as announcements of upcoming writing and poetry events and recaps of events that have passed.

Brian was among the many bloggers who came out to the Spring 2012 edition of BlogFest at the end of March, where he revealed that he is one of the people behind the 570writers.com site, a combination blog and calendar site listing upcoming writing and poetry events - meetings of writers' groups, poetry readings, open mic nights, and visits from renowned writers and poets to Northeastern Pennsylvania. If you're someone who feels you have a story or two in you, or if there's poetry in your heart clawing to get out, or if you'd just like to go out for an evening and hear other people read their poems and prose, check out Brian Fanelli's All the Right Notes!


If you have a blog you would like us to link on NEPA Blogs, or know of a blog you think we should link, please let us know! You can always drop us a line at nepablogs@gmail.com!

Sometimes they come back

If you scroll down along our right-hand sidebar, past the buttons and badges, past the list of NEPA Bloggers RSS Updates, past the other list called NEPA Bloggers RSS Updates 2 that we had to start because Blogger has a still-unaddressed problem with lists becoming uneditable so you can't add to them, past the Blogs With Site Feed Issues list of blogs that don't show up properly (or at all) on RSS feed lists, you'll find a list called "Non-Updating Blogs," which includes the RSS feeds of blogs that have stopped updating.

Now, why would we have an RSS feed for a blog that stopped updating? Well, it's so that if they should ever start updating again, we'll have an easy way of finding out.

And guess what? Two of hem have!

Erin Delaney's poetry blog Living In Sections has come back to life after a hiatus of one and a half years. And Norton the Blogger has brought back One Vote Counts after being away for nearly three years! We'll be getting these blogs back onto the active lists soon! In the meantime, be sure to check them out!

Reel Speak

Here's a blog I found in a comment on one of David DeCosmo's Facebook posts!

Reel Speak
http://www.reelspeak.blogspot.com/

Movies. Opinions. Education.

What I look for in good film: You can thrill me, amuse me, and entertain me. You can even depress me, devastate me and educate me. Just don't bore me. 

Reel Speak is written by NEPA native Alan Brocovich, who now lives in a far-off place with the exotic-sounding name of "Philadelphia." It comes with a scary-looking Content Warning, which I assumed was the consequence of someone seeing their favorite movie get slagged, but in fact is there at the request of the blogger himself. As he put it, "I keep the content warning activated as a way to protect myself, as I often use colorful metaphors to get my point across. Better safe than sorry."

For thoughtful, in-depth reviews of and opinions about the latest movies, be sure to check out Reel Speak!

From the Mailbag: Gabrielle Bisset: A Writer's Blog

Gabrielle Bisset (gabriellebisset@gmail.com) writes to us with the following request –

Hi,

I found your blog about NEPA blogs, and I'd love to be listed. I'm an Amazon

bestselling romance author and a proud NEPA resident. You can visit my blog from
the link in my signature line. Thank you for the opportunity to reach some of my
fellow Northeastern Pennsylvanians. I look forward to hearing from you.

Romance...from sensual to decadent...whatever your desires

Website: Gabrielle Bisset (http://www.gabriellebisset.com/)

Blog: Gabrielle Bisset: A Writer's Blog (http://gbisset.blogspot.com/)

[Facebook][Twitter][Amazon Author Page]

My books:

• Blood Avenged-Available now
• Blood Betrayed-Coming May 24, 2012!
• The Victorian Erotic Romance Trilogy
• Destiny Redeemed

Enjoy!!

~Michelle

Vote for Semper Fi Parents!

We have some exciting news to report from Carl Andrews of SemperFiParents.com!




My blog, http://www.semperfiparents.com/, has been chosen as a Finalist for a 2012 Milbloggie Award. Voting starts on Tuesday, and I'm hoping I can count on the support of all of you.

You can vote for Carl's blog by clicking right here: http://milblogconference.milblogging.com/2012-milbloggies/vote-now/
(Under the "Best U.S. Military Parent Blog Nominations" category)

Carl shared the news with us on our Facebook NEPA Blogger group, which several bloggers have joined and use it to get out quick updates about interesting posts, contests, and many other exciting topics.


Have you joined our group yet? If not, you are missing out on some stimulating conversations!


~Michelle

About the Header Image: Wednesday, April 18, 2012

This week's header image is another of the images Patrick Gensel designed and sized specifically to serve as Facebook cover photos. We used another of his images a few weeks back. This one was taken at the Steamtown National Historic Site in Scranton.

Patrick's images give us a striking perspective on aspects of Northeastern Pennsylvania we might otherwise take for granted. If you have images that reflect the character of NEPA, send them to us at nepablogs@gmail.com and some week we'll feature them as our header image!


You can see all of our past weekly headers in this post. Click on each one to see it full-size!

PA Live! Blog of the Week: Crafternoon Tea

NEPA Blogs will be presenting a "Blog of the Week" on the WBRE's PA Live! every Tuesday. PA Live! airs weekday afternoons on WBRE from 4:00 to 5:00.

Watch this episode on the PA Live! page: http://pahomepage.com/palive-details?nxd_id=241672

Our PA Live! Blog of the Week this week is “Crafternoon Tea” (http://varouna.wordpress.com/) the blog of Chantal Rich! Chantal is a married mother of two adorable adopted toddlers from Congo (and no, they are not twins). She and her husband recently moved to Northeast PA from Tennessee as they felt it would be an excellent area to raise the children. I had the opportunity to meet both Chantal and her husband in person at BlogFest a few weeks ago and they are wonderfully friendly people. We hope that by stopping by, that they were able to make some new friends and connections in the area. Moving to a new area can be a difficult transition.


Chantal’s blog “Crafternoon Tea” is mostly about crafting, but sometimes about other things. These other things can include vegan recipes, movies, photography, and mommyhood. I tracked down “Crafternoon Tea” by doing a search on all of the followers of the @nepablogs Twitter account. I passed along the blog to Harold who was happy to add it back to our blog roll back in January. After revisiting the blog again to take a few notes for this post, I noticed that she started a spin-off blog called “Dos Veganos” where she delves deeper into the vegan lifestyle with the help of her friend Ronn who is from Connecticut.

I think my favorite part about “Crafternoon Tea” is the photography. Each post has a photo associated with it, which she posts to her Flickr account as well. As of late, Chantal has been blogging about her sewing machine getting fixed, a craft project that she completed with her son, what she did on spring break, and a quilt project that is finally finished – and very lovely, I might add.

Go check out Chantal’s blog and relax with a piping hot cup of Crafternoon Tea!



If you have a blog you would like us to link on NEPA Blogs, or know of a blog you think we should link, please let us know! You can always drop us a line at nepablogs@gmail.com!

Press Release - Reading the Leaves: Tea, Text and Tarot

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: UPDATED INFORMATION
Jim Thorpe Arts in Motion
434 Center St.
Jim Thorpe, PA 18229
http://www.jtartsinmotion.com/

Friday, April 20th Doors open at 7:30, Reading at 8:00 p.m.

ADDITIONS TO OUR LINE UP: We are proud to announce Philadelphia poet and spoken word artist Alllisss will be joining the Friday night lineup!

Alllisss was born and raised in Philadelphia and Willow Grove, PA. She has performed at different venues. Alllisss is also a musician/singer and has performed at The Arts Bank, Kimmel Center and Liacouras Center. She has opened for nationally known singer Jaguar Wright and Levi Little of Blackstreet. Alllisss is a member of the women's collective Wings of Worth. A mother of two, Christian, scholar, composer and writer, Alllisss continues to reach many that hear her works. She continues to let God use her as a vessel so that others willse e Christ through her. She is currently featured on an upcoming CD alongside Will Downing and Eric Roberson
Also local musician and songwriter John David Abrose will give us an acoustic set of his music and talk about the new music he is releasing this Friday, April 20th!

This is the ONLY event of it's kind in the Jim Thorpe area!

Reading the Leaves: Tea, Text and Tarot. April is Poetry Month! Come celebrate with a night of readings by area artists, tarot readings, open mic, specialty teas and light refreshments! After a very successful March event, Jim Thorpe Arts in Motion will continue with this monthly event aimed at bringing experienced poets and authors together with those who write or perform as a hobby to share their work! Poetry, prose, musicians, playwrights, etc. welcomed! 18 years of age or older. $10 online or $12 at the door includes all readings, open mic and refreshments. Limited Seating.

--
Rachel DeMicco
Jim Thorpe Arts in Motion
434 Center St.
Jim Thorpe, PA 18229
(570)483-8640
http://www.jtartsinmotion.com/

From the Mailbag: Well Said Cabot

From the Mailbag --

Good morning! I’m writing to you for consideration of our blog, Well Said, to
be added to the NEPA blogs site.

While the site was created by us here at Cabot, the real goal is to leave
behind corporate news and to dedicate the blog to happenings in the NEPA (and
specifically the Susquehanna County) area including community events,
fundraisers and general news. We also partner with several non-profits so it is
our intent to feature their activities throughout the year as well.

I encourage you to visit http://www.wellsaidcabot.com/ and have
a look around. We’re just in the beginning stages, but we are excited to be
putting content out there!

Thank you!

Brittany Thomas
Coordinator, External Affairs - Cabot Oil & Gas Corporation

You can also follow Cabot Oil & Gas updates through the following social media platforms:

YouTube: CabotSusquehanna
Twitter: @CabotOG
Flickr: CabotOG
Home Page: www.cabotog.com

~Michelle

The Return

Another blog found during a location-based blog search for all blogs in "NEPA, Pennsylvania." Here's a blog from a blogger known as "G" who left the world of blogging for a while and then returned.

The Return
http://g-thereturn.blogspot.com/

From the first post:


After a long hiatus I've decided to return to blogging. Whether anyone reads this or not isn't the issue for me any longer. I'm doing this for myself. Why? Why not?! I have opinions and ideas. Like what is the deal with a freighter that goes missing with a load of lumber on board. Lumber? You really believe that? I'm not sure that do.


Or am I the only one on the planet that doesn't care who the judges are on AI? Seems like there ought to be more pressing issues to occupy my mind with lately. But what could possibly supplant AI? Typhoons? The price of gas? Healthcare run by the government? Can I "win" NaNoWriMo again this year? What's for dinner?

G's blog focuses on Christianity and has lots of reviews of books about Christianity. Like every other blog linked by NEPA Blogs, it provides a look at another facet of the complex, diverse collection of people who live in Northeastern Pennsylvania!

Cashmere & Cowboy Boots

Another one of the many blogs that have been submitted since the wonderful article about BlogFest in The Weekender!

My name is Morgan Harding and I and am the blogger behind Cashmere & Cowboy Boots. My blog began as a NEPA focused fashion blog but has grown to cover many aspects of fashion from what to wear, a shopable page, mens trends, the NYC perspective and our fashion fixations as well as my many posts on great webstores and local spots where anyone can make a killing. We were even invited to attend a Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week show!

Cashmere & Cowboy Boots
http://cashmereandcowboyboots.blogspot.com/

Morgan has a whole team of bloggers working on this blog, and all but one of them are from NEPA!

Cashmere & Cowboy Boots started out as a chronicle of my adventures in shop-land as I searched The Valley and the internet over to find the fashion trends of today and tomorrow. Now with our contributors NYU sophomore Lauren Stash and Misericordia University freshman Mary Bove, we are gradually making our mark on the interwebs and becoming more and more stylish by the minute. We now tell you all about our favorite store, sites and brands, interpret tricky trends, give you an easy way to shop a chic look all from one webpage, forecast fashion, entertain your eyes with amazing fashion photography and tell you about international styles while, of course, remaining true to our founding principals of individualism and style.

Nicole Polanichka's Studio

Here's another blogger from Northeastern Pennsylvania who is also an artist! From her "About Me:"

Nicole Polanichka was born in Dalton, Pennsylvania and formally trained in the visual arts at Princeton University. Her work has been shown in galleries throughout Northeastern Pennsylvania, Princeton New Jersey, and in the Triangle area of North Carolina. Polanichka is currently based out of Danville, PA where she has an artist’s studio.

Nicole Polanichka's Studio
http://nicolepolanichka.blogspot.com/

Welcome to my studio! Here you will find selections of previous art work, postings of new pieces as they are finished, announcements of upcoming shows, and random musings from the artist herself (me)! Feel free to look around, comment on what you see, and send friends and acquaintances my way. Most work is available for purchase (I will say when it is not) and all is available for viewing. Have fun!

The Contemporary Eye

Another submission via email. We've received many of them since the publication of the excellent article in The Weekender about BlogFest!

Good morning:

Allow me to briefly introduce myself. My name is Matthew Philistine. I really enjoyed the write-up that was published in the 'Weekender' regarding NEPA Blogs. The article caught my attention because I love to read and write. I believe there is plenty of writing talent in northeastern PA.

I recently developed a 'blogspot.' The name of my 'Blogspot' is entitled: 'The Contemporary Eye.' I started this blog around Christmas 2011. The idea of my blog is to write about contemporary issues. Plus, I was also thinking about centering my writing around the culture of northeastern PA. I may possibly be able to carry out this activity through the eyes of the citizen residing in the region.

I am relatively new to blogging. My blog is in the infancy stage of creation. The goal is to create quality literature for my audience in a respectful manner. I also desire to post pictures, and, have a more appealing background to catch the interest of my audience. Here is my link: http://thecontemporaryeye.blogspot.com.

Matthew is just starting out in the world of blogging. Be sure to check his blog, The Contemporary Eye, frequently for updates!

About the Header Image: Wednesday, April 11, 2012

This week's header image is from journalist Andy Palumbo of WNEP. It's of the Scranton Lace Factory, once a thriving part of the industrial economy of Scranton, now just another abandoned building decaying as a reminder of our region's past.

The Scranton Lace Factory is a favorite focus of urban archaeologists, and has been featured on national shows. For Andy Palumbo's take on it, see this post.

PA Live! Blog of the Week: Panic About Anxiety

NEPA Blogs will be presenting a "Blog of the Week" on the WBRE's PA Live! every Tuesday. PA Live! airs weekday afternoons on WBRE from 4:00 to 5:00.

Watch this episode on the PA Live! website: http://pahomepage.com/palive-details?nxd_id=239852

Our PA Live! Blog of the Week this week is Summer Beretsky's Panic About Anxiety (http://blogs.psychcentral.com/panic/).

Summer Beretsky grew up in Kingston, and while she now calls the Williamsport area home, she still finds her way back to Northeastern Pennsylvania about once a month. Her blog is about a subject near and dear to her heart: Panic and Anxiety Disorders. As she says on her "About" page:

I had my first panic attack in college and, roughly estimating, I've added over 400 more to my resume to date... I've been contributing to the World of Psychology blog here on PsychCentral since 2008. Now officially diagnosed with panic disorder, I’m still trying to tame my panic attacks, my perfectionism, and my over-analytical tendencies.

Most people experience panic and anxiety in response to certain stresses, but some of them may suffer from full-fledged panic attacks resulting from an anxiety disorder without realizing it. Such a thing can only be diagnosed by a trained professional. But Summer's Panic About Anxiety blog can give all of us insight into what life is like living with such a disorder, from dealing with the stress of a pet who is having a medical emergency, to the sense of relief that comes from accepting that sometimes failure is an option - maybe the best option. And if some reader decides to seek treatment after reading Summer's accounts of dealing with anxiety disorder, she will have helped make someone's life a whole lot better.


If you have a blog you would like us to link on NEPA Blogs, or know of a blog you think we should link, please let us know! You can always drop us a line at nepablogs@gmail.com!

From the Mailbag: An Organized Mess (My Life)

After our piece in the Weekender newspaper 2 weeks ago, we've been inundated with new mailbag requests from bloggers to give their blogs a mention here. It's either feast or famine around here, so we are enjoying keeping busy and all of the attention we are receiving. Our latest mailbag offering is from Stephanie Force, a Dallas High School Student, who blogs about poetry.

Hi!

My name is Stephanie Force and I'm author of An Organized Mess (My Life). I had been out to dinner when I was looking over the Weekender and I saw the article for NEPA Blogfest. I'm always looking for more readers to get more feedback from, and so I'd love to be added to the list of NEPA Bloggers. I reside in the Back Mountain, just outside Wilkes-Barre. My blog contains poetry, thoughts, and just small tales from a life of local HS senior. Hope you enjoy! Thank you!

--Stephanie Force

"An Organized Mess (My Life)"
http://itsanorganizedmess.blogspot.com

Enjoy these thoughts and remember that even when your life is at it's end, the words you leave behind will still live on.

If you have a blog or know of a blogger who should be added to our blog roll, please drop us a line at nepablogs@gmail.com.

~Michelle

It's Personal

Little did I know that Karla Porter started a personal blog in addition to her business and human capital blog. I learned about it after she posted a link to a conversation that some fridge magnets were having with each other in her office on the comments section of my personal blog.

"It's Personal"
http://personal.karlaporter.com
My blog karlaporter.com is the professional me. This is the personal me.

Karla uses this Tumblr platform blog to talk about events in her personal life, techie stuff, crafting, recipes and etc. Most people do not realize that Karla is heavily into arts and crafts and often blogs about some of the projects that she does.

Stop on over and check out Karla's latest venture, I recommend you start with the first post.

~Michelle

From the Mailbag: NYC, Style and a little Cannoli

Rosemary Nardone sent us an email last Saturday after the media frenzy that occurred with Blog Fest.

Hello,

I run a blog about NYC and am from the Pittston area. It has been strong for over 2 years and I attend events in the city as press for the blog. Would love to be added to your site.

Thank you in advance,
Rosemary Nardone

The name of the blog is:

NYC, Style and a little Cannoli

http://www.nycstylelittlecannoli.com/

From the About Page:

This blog was started December of 2010 due to my love of photography, New York City and cannoli. I actually live in Pennsylvania, about a 2 hour drive from New York City, but I have been visiting since I was very little. I wanted to write a blog to show people what NYC has to offer and that you can see something different with each visit. I come from an Italian family, and great food was always a big part of our lives. I enjoy trying many different afternoon teas in the city and reporting my experiences with my followers. I like to show many desserts, hence the cannoli in the title, fancy restaurants as well as inexpensive ones. I feel my blog is great for those who wish to learn something about NYC and it’s many culinary offerings. It is also for those who cannot visit, have the chance to see it via my camera lens. I am honest in my thoughts about places and give you a real insight to visiting them. I never get tired of seeing that skyline when I first enter the city as it is just one special place.

This blog has a little of something for everyone....recipes, style types, places to visit, art, events...all with a NYC flair. If you enjoy the blog, you can also connect with Rosemary on Twitter and Facebook (noted below).

On Twitter: @nycstylecannoli

On Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/NYC-Style-and-a-little-Cannoli/204786566205484?ref=tn_tnmn

~Michelle

Housekeeping: A Girl's Gotta Spa!

Good news spa lovers! Shannon Nelson's blog - "A Girl's Gotta Spa!" is back. http://www.agirlsgottaspa.com/

You may recall the Blog Roll Maintenance we had to perform back in February due to one of our bloggers being hacked. As a result of the hack, our site was flagged as being harmful with Google. Poor Shannon was the blogger who was hacked. Being hacked is not fun and not an easy clean-up, speaking from experience.

But now, she is back and better than ever, so we will be adding her back to our blog roll as well as fixing the links we broke from older posts (BOTW) and etc. Head on over and check her brand new design! It's very slick.

~Michelle

The Dish Ran Away with the Spoon

Happy Good Friday, NEPA!

We haven't blogged for a few days because we have been trying to regroup from March Blog Madness and BlogFest both of which were wildly successful. Here we are again, with a new blog to add to the blog roll!

"The Dish Ran Away with the Spoon"
http://dishranawaywiththespoon.com/

Believe it or not, this is the blog of Trish "the Dish" Hartman of WNEP-TV. Trish does the 7, 10, and 11pm news on WNEP and WNEP2 on weekdays. Besides that, she's also a bride-to-be, a marathon runner, and an ice cream enthusiast. Don't take my word for it, you can read all about it on the "About Me" page of her blog, right here.

Trish blogs about books, fitness and running, food, wedding planning, and many other life events. The blog is only 1 month old, but we look forward to many more updates from "the Dish".

You can also follow Trish on Twitter (@TrishHartman) and on Facebook.

Do you have a blog that you'd like to mention on NEPA Blogs? Send us an email with the details to nepablogs@gmail.com.

~Michelle

New blogs, coming up!

We've received information about several new blogs in the past few days as a result of the wonderful article about Blog Fest that appeared in last week's issue of The Weekender. We've got posts drafted and ready to roll on these blogs. As soon as we get a few behind-the-scenes things buttoned up (and fully recover from Blog Fest and the blog-a-day pace of March Madness) we'll get these posted!

About the Header Image: Wednesday, April 4, 2012

This week's header image is one of several provided to us by Northeastern Pennsylvania's first (and so far, only) three legged dog blogger. Ada Mae Compton was our featured Blog of the Week some time ago. This photo is of Cypripedium acaule, the Pink Lady's Slipper, a delicate and environmentally sensitive wild orchid. These two were photographed in Tioga State Park.

If you have a picture you've taken that you'd like to submit to be our weekly header photo, please send them to us at nepablogs@gmail.com!

PA Live! Blog of the Week: mhryvnak.net/blog

NEPA Blogs will be presenting a "Blog of the Week" on the WBRE's PA Live! every Tuesday. PA Live! airs weekday afternoons on WBRE from 4:00 to 5:00.

Watch this episode on the PA Live! site: http://pahomepage.com/palive-details?nxd_id=238202

Our PA Live! Blog of the Week this week is Michelle Hryvnak Davies' mhryvnak.net/blog (http://www.mhryvnak.net/blog/).

Six years ago when I started NEPA Blogs I was on the prowl for blogs to add and bloggers to bring onboard as co-administrators. I had already brought in Gort, with his extensive collection of links to political blogs throughout Northeastern Pennsylvania and beyond. Another blogger who caught my eye was Michelle Hryvnak Davies (two l's in the first name, silent H in the second, and an e in the last.) Not for her blog connections - which were extensive - but for the quality of her writing. She wrote about this area, her life, work, everyday things - but she did it with such a wry, intense, almost caustic sense of humor, you couldn't turn away. It wasn't just that she was writing what you were thinking, she was writing things that you didn't dare let yourself think. And you were doubled over in laughter reading her posts.

Michelle eventually noticed the traffic coming to her site from NEPA Blogs, saw what we were doing, and started offering suggestions for blogs to add, blogs neither Gort nor I would have found on our own. I realized that Michelle would round out our group nicely, and asked her to join us as co-administrator.

Michelle is an intensely involved person. A working mother of two who is constantly seeking new ways to challenge herself, whether through participation in various local runs or seeking more and more computer skills certifications, her energy and enthusiasm have been incredibly valuable to both NEPA Blogs and Northeastern Pennsylvania in general.  About a year ago, when I was letting NEPA Blogs slide into oblivion, Michelle pumped new life into the site and expanded it out onto every major social media platform, creating presences on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and (most recently) Pinterest. She secured media coverage for NEPA Blogs, including an interview in Happenings Magazine, an appearance on Blue Ridge Cable's ComputerWise TV, a half-hour program on local progressive radio station WFTE, and a regular spot on PA Live!  She also took the lead in publicizing Blog Fest, ensuring that what could have been a cocktail party featuring a handful of political bloggers being chatted up by political candidates instead became  one of Northeastern Pennsylvania's best networking events for bloggers.

Her blog, mhrynak.net/blog, has been through some changes over the years, but it's back and as good as it ever was, with Michelle's special brand of observational humor. Michelle continues to be active in Northeastern Pennsylvania through her volunteer work - even setting up NEPA Blogs as an information center during the Flood of 2011 - and in the local online community with her work with NEPA Blogs and beyond. Her blog will continue to tell her story, and her work with NEPA Blogs will help to ensure that other people's stories will be heard, too.

Viewers will be seeing a lot more of Michelle starting next week, when she takes over the weekly presentation of the NEPA Blogs Blog of the Week right here on PA Live!


If you have a blog you would like us to link on NEPA Blogs, or know of a blog you think we should link, please let us know! You can always drop us a line at nepablogs@gmail.com!

NEPA BlogCon Announcement & Survey

And now for something completely different....

I'm very excited to announce that I, along with 3 other local talented women, are in the beginning stages of planning an event of epic proportions. And if the title of the blog post didn't tip you off, let me share it with you. NEPA BLOGCON.

We are planning a convention geared toward the blogging community of Northeastern PA to talk about...you guessed it....all things blogging.

The vision for NEPA Blog­Con is to be a day long blog­ger con­fer­ence with begin­ner and advanced blog­ger tracks — some­thing for every­one, novice or expe­ri­enced in blog­ging for busi­ness or just for fun. The event is not a profit mak­ing ven­ture, it’s an organic com­mu­nity col­lab­o­ra­tion! ALL pro­ceeds will be donated to a local char­i­ta­ble orga­ni­za­tion that par­tic­i­pants will vote on.

From Karla Porter's Blog Post:

We are ask­ing NEPA (north­east­ern PA) blog­gers take a few min­utes to weigh in and answer the sur­vey by April 15. For help­ing us out you’ll receive VIP advanced notice of the event with an extra spe­cial early­bird discount!
Click here to take the sur­vey.

Repost and send to the NEPA blog­ger com­mu­nity for max­i­mum impact!
NEPA Blog­Con is a ‘green’ event by the Fear­some Four­some because we ♥ NEPA.

We are:
Leslie Stewart of DarlingStewie.com Twitter: @darlingstewie,

Karla Porter of KarlaPorter.com Twitter: @karla_porter,

Mandy Boyle of MandyBoyle.com Twitter: @mandy­boyle &

Michelle Davies of MHryvnak.net and NEPABlogs.org Twitter: @mhryvnak.

From the Mailbag: Go Play Project

Catherine Shefski took some time out of her busy schedule this weekend to send an email informing us of her new blog. You may recall that we added her other blog "All Piano" - http://allpiano.wordpress.com - sometime over the summer.

From the email message:

Hi!

If you have a minute take a peek at my new blog at http://goplayproject.wordpress.com/ .

Thank you!!
Catherine Shefski
(Clarks Summit Resident)

Catherine also wanted to let us know that she will most likely not be posting at the All Piano blog any more, but as long as she doesn't delete the blog, we will keep it intact on the blog roll.

Enjoy both blogs by clicking on the links from our Blog Roll!

~Michelle

Confidential report to Lord High Commander Gryzlfryx

SECRET PLAN "NEPA BLOGS" UNFOLDING SATISFACTORILY.

OPERATION "BLOG FEST" WILDLY SUCCESSFUL. MADE CONTACT WITH NUMEROUS EARTH BLOGGERS AND POLITICIANS. RECEIVED INSTRUCTIONS FROM AGENT PIGNELOPE. 

OPERATION "MARCH MADNESS" COMPLETED. MORE THAN 31 BLOGS ADDED IN 31 DAYS.

WILL CONTINUE TO EXPAND PLANS FOR GLOBAL DOMINATION.

THE HUMANS REMAIN UNAWARE OF OUR TRUE PURPOSE.