Featured Blogger Friday: "When Pigs Fly"

For those of you who are fed up with Fraulein Frivolous here, you are in for a treat today - I present you with a new Featured Blogger of actual substance, "Snowbound" of When Pigs Fly!  As such, I have absolutely no idea why she's been reading my drivel, but I'm so happy she is.  Through her witty comments here, I discovered her candid posts on a variety of media and pop culture topics dear to my heart such as the cougar phenomenon.

In addition to her funny, frank writing, she shares one of my favorite hobbies - horseback riding.  Yes, pets, it really is as simple as a pony photo sometimes.  (Not that I'm simple.) (Although I probably am.) (Quiet, you!) And before I once again drive home my simpleton status, let's get to the Featured Blogger business of the day:

Why She Got into Blogging:  I have always been interested in writing.  About a year ago, I was reading a "New York Times" article about bloggers and those who have started making a living at it.  I found it fascinating that strangers followed the minutiae of other people's everyday lives, and even more intriguing that individuals were making a living out of it. 

I decided to give it a go on a whim and see what kind of response I got.  So far, it has been almost entirely positive.

Her Blogging Inspirations:   I look for inspiration in the news.  The truth is stranger than fiction, and some really good material surfaces from everyday life.  I've become a regular reader of various online dailies such as Slate, Salon, and the Huffington Post.  You would also be amazed what great material "The Today Show" generates.

I also frequent my favorite individual blogs (Pretty Note:  Pinky swear, I didn't insert this line) such as yours, of course, along with some others that continually make me laugh:  Blunt Delivery, Bernthis, and Zelzee.  

Her one minute description of her blog:  My blog attempts to find humor in the absurdities of everyday life.  I perpetually find the media entertaining.  I have written about such things as the Octomom and Perez Hilton - i.e., the media creating a story and milking the life out of it.  

I always hope to generate some amount of commentary from my posts, no matter the subject. However, I do retain a certain degree of anonymity.  No one needs to know the gritty, personal details of my life.

Her hobbies outside of blogging:  (Pretty Note:  Ponies!!!) I'm an avid horse owner and rider.  I have two mares with which I compete in dressage.  For those of you who don't know equine sports, dressage is a sport in which horse and rider compete, riding various movements around on the ground (versus over a jump).  It is kind of like the ballet of the horse world.

While riding, I keep myself outfitted in monogrammed everything, along with matching breeches and vests.  As Billy Crystal once said, "It is better to look good than to feel good." (Pretty Note:  Somebody, please, stitch this on a pillow for me!)  In my world, it is better to look good than to ride well.  Not all of us can be Olympians.

(Pretty Note:  This is an incredibly difficult style of riding, and an elegant one to watch)

I also enjoy cooking and spent some time at Le Cordon Bleu while living in London.  I have taken to trolling a few culinary sites these days in lieu of actually baking.  Like for most of us, the recipes keep piling up, but the dishes never seem to get made.

Her goals for her blog over the next five years:  I would love to see my blog gain some traction & enable me to get published in some form.  The blog began on a lark, but it has become more than just a creative outlet.  I realize that there are millions of blogs out there and breaking into the mainstream is difficult, if not impossible.  I'm going to just keep plugging along & see what happens.

What she would want a new reader to know before clicking over to her blog:   There is a certain degree of honesty with my posts.  Basically, I tell it like I see it.

This got me into a bit of trouble recently when I wrote about my dismay over a post written by a certain famous mommy blogger (Pretty Note:  Identifying mommy blogger details retracted here by me & with Snowbound's OK.  I don't need the fringe Mommy Mafia warriors coming after me.  Moreover, I'm a chicken. Thank you for your understanding).  My post got picked up by a popular blogging website and generated an amazing amount of hate comments.  

I've since found that there are just some topics not worth touching.  I continue to be honest and humorous, but just a little more discerning about my subject matter.  In the end, I just want people to think, smile, and be entertained.

You can find a few of my favorite posts here, here and there.  

Darlings, please rush over immediately to When Pigs Fly and say hello!

Note:  If you are interested in being a Feature Friday blogger, please look over my wildly entertaining guidelines here, and leave me a comment on that post (including your email address).  Forgive me if it takes me a bit to get back to you; I have a number of stupendously talented bloggers already signed up, but I will be in touch.