Take It and Blog is a feature of SGFblogs.com that invites bloggers to write posts on our assigned topic on their own blogs and share them with the rest of us here, on Facebook, or on Twitter. It’s our way of sharing links with our fellow bloggers and providing bloggers with a topic (because sometimes it’s hard to come up with a writing topic).

1. What is your name? Angela Frizell
2. What is your blog’s title? Heligonix and Being Me
3. What is your blog about? In the Heligonix blog, I write about social media, using social media in the marketing atmosphere and using your website as a marketing tool. Being Me is random thoughts showcasing my struggles with living a happy, healthy life.
4. Why did you start blogging? Personally, I started blogging as an alternate option to writing for publications. I used it at first to keep friends posted on MySpace and release some negative energy. I enjoyed it so much that I started posting to blogs on WordPress and through social media sites like WritersCafe.org.
5. What’s your favorite Springfield restaurant? That question is unfair. I like food in general, so asking me to name my favorite restaurant is like asking me who my favorite child is. It’s not going to happen. Feelings get hurt. On a lighter note, did you know Springfield is used as a test market for many restaurants throughout the nation? Food Good. Yum.
6. What’s your full-time job? I work as a social media strategist for Heligonix, an online marketing and integration company specializing in inbound marketing and discovery.
7. What else do you do for fun? I have kids, so every day is a new adventure. When I can break away from work and family, I enjoy attending concerts, canoeing with friends and generally letting loose and having a good time.
8. What words of blogging wisdom would you like to share with your fellow bloggers? Schedule blogging on your calendar as a regular appointment. Sometimes seeing that alert pop up on your phone or Outlook calendar is just what you need to stop and do it. Other times, the alert will get dismissed with just a tinge of guilt. Either way, you’re making yourself aware that it’s something that needs to happen. Eventually you will heed the reminder and type up some fabulous, groundbreaking content.
9. What’s been your biggest blogging success? I used one blog as an online portfolio. It showcased my talent and capabilities and spoke on my behalf. The blog positioned me as a strong candidate for my current position.
10. What’s your favorite local blog? Why? I love faircitynews.com and halfpastawesome.com ‘cause I’m a sucker for sick humor that rides the line of political correctness. Professionally, my favorites are Jeff Bullas blog and the Social Media Examiner. Both sites offer some amazing content and are up-to-date on the most current social media trends.

1. What is your name? Nigel Holderby – aka The Girl Nigel
2. What is your blog’s title and URL? Eclectic Me: eclectic-me.com
3. What is your blog about? The things that make me go hmmmm and random other ramblings about being a mother of 5 and a wife and a business owner in our hectic world.
4. Why did you start blogging? I think my husband was tired of being the only set of ears that got to listen to my ramblings. (aka – Nigel Stupid Stories)…He suggested I blog, and then proceeded to create an online voice for me. His encouragement is why I started, my addiction is why I continue.
5. What’s your favorite Springfield restaurant? Hong Kong Inn
6. What’s your full-time job? I own a small business, Virtual Day Planners. We are Virtual Assistants and work remotely for traveling salespersons across the country, scheduling appointments and handling their calendars. I run the business and work with 2 calendars as well.
7. What else do you do for fun? I enjoy long walks on the beach, hanging out backstage at various rock venues, and eating squid in Madagascar. Oh… wait, you mean in reality. I like Cake.
8. What words of blogging wisdom would you like to share with your fellow bloggers? Blog for the sake of blogging. Everything that you do should ultimately be for you…If you love to talk, love to write and love to share, just do it. Success comes from the passion that others see in your work. Be it art, music, blogging…when you share it with passion people will follow. And if they don’t? Well their loss I say.
9. What’s been your biggest blogging success? I got a compliment from my mom. She said, “You are so profound” when she read my post titled “Losing my Religion.” I was expecting to be excommunicated from our very Baptist family, so this was a complete shock!
10. What’s your favorite local blog? Why? The Geek Source. Because I am madly in love with the writer and I want to have his children. Have you seen him? He is hot! He has an uncanny way of throwing humor into tech that makes me laugh, and want to buy useless to me geek things. Oh…and we have the same name.

If you’d like your blog to be featured in I’m a Blogger, check out this post, answer the questions provided in a blank document or email, and send your answers to sgfblogs@gmail.com.

1. What is your name? Nigel Holderby
2. What is your blog’s title and URL? The Geek Source: www.thegeeksource.com
3. What is your blog about? Technology, movies, books, comics, video games, strategy board games, chess and anything else that happens to pique the interest of geeks like myself.
4. Why did you start blogging? Because, for the first time, I was allowed to say whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted to say it without anyone else being able to moderate the content.
5. What’s your favorite Springfield restaurant? Currently, HuHot.
6. What’s your full-time job? At the moment, photographer.
7. What else do you do for fun? My wife and I blog, play World of Warcraft together, hang out with our kids and we love to go out in nice weather and go on adventures and take photos.
8. What words of blogging wisdom would you like to share with your fellow bloggers? Just blog. It’s that simple. If you aren’t comfortable enough to seek full-time employment as a writer or journalist, then blog. It’s hellacious fun, and you can push your creativity to the limits!
9. What’s been your biggest blogging success? My current blog, so far, has had the most impact on friends, family and even those I don’t know. It hasn’t been around long, but I think the content is fresh and relevant to those likeminded individuals.
10. What’s your favorite local blog? Why? I’m a fan of Half Past Awesome (Uli is a good friend of mine, too) because he relates personal experiences in a roaringly-funny way. He’s got great satire, great stories and he is not afraid to make fun of himself. My kind of blog.

If you’d like your blog to be featured in I’m a Blogger, check out this post, answer the questions provided in a blank document or email, and send your answers to sgfblogs@gmail.com.

1. What is your name? Chad Watson
2. What is your blog’s title and URL? chadwatson – photographer.musician.blogger (www.chadwatsonblog.com)
3. What is your blog about? Photography, instructional, personal work, music, my life
4. Why did you start blogging? To be transparent. In the photography industry we are all so focused on showing only the good frames that we take, and there is little honesty and even less sharing of techniques and ideas. So I wanted to break down some of those walls.
5. What’s your favorite Springfield restaurant? Maria’s
6. What’s your full-time job? No full-time job. I am a worship leader at High Street Baptist Church part of the week, and the rest of my time is spent on photography.
7. What else do you do for fun? Write music, play soccer, go to flea markets with my wife, drive my car recklessly on icy roads.
8. What words of blogging wisdom would you like to share with your fellow bloggers? Be honest.
9. What’s been your biggest blogging success? I posted a photo a day for 100 days straight.
10. What’s your favorite local blog? Why? Practically Perfect (http://shestricky.blogspot.com). It’s my wife!

If you’d like your blog to be featured in I’m a Blogger, check out this post, answer the questions provided in a blank document or email, and send your answers to sgfblogs@gmail.com.

1. What is your name? Matthew James Gallion
2. What is your blog’s title and URL? Heady (Ir)reverence (http://matthewgallion.wordpress.com)
3. What is your blog about? Dealing with my own developing philosophies and theologies, with the books I’m reading, and with the Church and the world as I see them.
4. Why did you start blogging? To force myself to write more regularly and to flesh out the random, incoherent thoughts in my head.
5. What’s your favorite Springfield restaurant? Peking House. Hands down.
6. What’s your full-time job? I’m a graduate student and a GA in the Religious Studies department at Missouri State University.
7. What else do you do for fun? I love to read, drink coffee in obscenely large quantities, watch movies, play board/card games (especially Bananagrams!), and having wonderful conversations with my lovely wife and our friends.
8. What words of blogging wisdom would you like to share with your fellow bloggers? Fill your life with things that move or inspire you. Then write about them as often as possible.
9. What’s been your biggest blogging success? One time, I got a post retweeted by Emergent Village. What? You’ve never heard of Emergent Village? Well, trust me. It was awesome.
10. What’s your favorite local blog? Why? I love the stuff that Ian Scott Paterson is doing with his “Year of Betterment.” Also, we accidentally use the same WordPress theme. That’s what I get for not taking the time to do my own design work. I also really like Will Vastine’s photography. Like a lot.

If you’d like your blog to be featured in I’m a Blogger, check out this post, answer the questions provided in a blank document or email, and send your answers to sgfblogs@gmail.com.

1. What is your name? Yelena Bosovik
2. What is your blog’s title and URL? LenkaLovee Designs http://stylemyhappiness.blogspot.com
3. What is your blog about? Fashion, style, my life, beauty, etc.
4. Why did you start blogging? When I first discovered blogs, I was fascinated. I met so many talented people and amazing blogs! Most of these bloggers had positive stories about how blogging helped them and affected their life, so I decided to give it a try. Ever since then, I’ve been hooked, and have met even more talented and amazing people from all over the world!
5. What’s your favorite Springfield restaurant? I’m not big on eating out, I prefer home cooked meals!
6. What’s your full-time job? full-time college student, part-time receptionist
7. What else do you do for fun? I love to read, shop and spend time with friends and family.
8. What words of blogging wisdom would you like to share with your fellow bloggers? Don’t be shy to shoot an e-mail to a fellow blogger or leave a comment, you will make amazing relationships that way. Also, have original content, because it gets old reading the same things the news cover every day!
9. What’s been your biggest blogging success? Getting my designs and my work to a larger audience and making great connections and friendships.
10. What’s your favorite local blog? Why? A Beautiful Mess This lady is an amazing person and artist!

If you’d like your blog to be featured in I’m a Blogger, check out this post, answer the questions provided in a blank document or email, and send your answers to sgfblogs@gmail.com.

1. What is your name? Ian Scott Paterson
2. What is your blog’s title and URL? Ian Scott Paterson – The Year of Betterment: http://www.ianscottpaterson.wordpress.com
3. What is your blog about? Currently I’m blogging my way through my year long experiment of using 2010 to better myself by doing (or not doing) things that I have personal discomfort from due to past life experiences or general personal biases.
4. Why did you start blogging? 2007
5. What’s your favorite Springfield restaurant? Riad’s
6. What’s your full-time job? Starbucks Barista
7. What else do you do for fun? Geocaching, Beer Drinking, Watching Movies, Reading, etc.
8. What words of blogging wisdom would you like to share with your fellow bloggers? If you want your blog to go anywhere at all, start by getting a twitter account and publishing updates through there. Social Media is the most necessary evil we writers face today.
9. What’s been your biggest blogging success? The Year of Betterment is generating the most traffic I’ve had to date. And it keeps going up.
10. What’s your favorite local blog? Why? Heady (Ir)Reverence by Matt Gallion is one of the most though-provoking blogs I read period. It’s just an added special bonus that he’s also a blogger from right here in Springfield.

If you’d like your blog to be featured in I’m a Blogger, check out this post, answer the questions provided in a blank document or email, and send your answers to sgfblogs@gmail.com.

1. What is your name? Harry Styron
2. What is your blog’s title and URL? Ozarks Law & Economy, http://styronblog.com
3. What is your blog about? How businesses, people and nature collide in the Ozarks.
4. Why did you start blogging? I started blogging because I have a compulsion to write that is not satisfied by the immense amount of writing that I do in my work as a lawyer.
5. What’s your favorite Springfield restaurant? Di Giacinto.
6. What’s your full-time job? My full-time job is being a lawyer, with most of my work involving businesses and real estate in a dozen counties in Southwest Missouri. I’m also city attorney for Branson West. For several years I have been in charge of a seminar called the Annual Real Estate Institute, which is sponsored by the Missouri Bar Association.
7. What else do you do for fun? For fun, I play piano and guitar, dine with friends, hike, and boat (row or paddle). I also like to travel and build stuff.
8. What words of blogging wisdom would you like to share with your fellow bloggers? After a year of blogging, I don’t feel that I have any special wisdom other than to be sincere, proofread, and provide links to reliable sources for information that others may wish to rely on.
9. What’s been your biggest blogging success? My blogging successes are rare and small things, like links to my blog and unexpected mentions in other blogs. I have had a few new clients mention that my blog posts made them feel confident about choosing me to assist them with a real estate transaction.
10. What’s your favorite local blog? Why? My favorite local blog is hard to designate. Half Past Awesome and Our Crooked Tree make me laugh. Rhetorica and Changing Journalism make me think. I usually learn something from Blog Noble, though new posts are not frequent.

If you’d like your blog to be featured in I’m a Blogger, check out this post, answer the questions provided in a blank document or email, and send your answers to sgfblogs@gmail.com.

1. What is your name? Uli Gulje
2. What is your blog’s title and URL? Half Past Awesome. www.halfpastawesome.com
3. What is your blog about? Random musings on getting older, being a parent, being a fireman and uninformed social commentary
4. Why did you start blogging? I just started writing again for the first time in 18 years and thought it might be a way to force my thoughts on an unsuspecting public. I really enjoy the interactive part of blogging and hope that it can one day translate into a full time endeavor
5. What’s your favorite Springfield restaurant? Hmmmmm……a toss up between Patton Alley Pub and The Grotto. One for the Guinness, one for the food. Bijans if we’re gonna get all fancy-like.
6. What’s your full-time job? I’m a firefighter here in Springfield. I drive Ladder Truck 2, up on Commercial Street; Let’s just say there is no shortage of material from which to draw.
7. What else do you do for fun? I play on the fire department ice hockey team, I wage war against the battle of the bulging waist and I’m an extreme amateur woodworker.
8. What words of blogging wisdom would you like to share with your fellow bloggers? It turns out there’s no easy formula for drawing people into your writing; let your perspective determine your audience. If folks find you funny, informative or helpful, AND THEY ACTUALLY COMMENT, then that’s just the icing, right?
9. What’s been your biggest blogging success? I have an offer to collaborate with an author on a blog/book project, which will hopefully lead into writing my own book
10. What’s your favorite local blog? Why? I’d have to say Fair City News, since it contains the kind of humor that demands constant wit and attention to subtle deviance that keeps me laughing. But that question is like asking who your favorite child is – as I meet more and more of the local bloggers, I find myself following all of them, and appreciating all that they are contributing to the local writing scene. I really am grateful for the feedback from the local bloggers association – thanks Sarah Jo Austin for all your hard work!!

If you’d like your blog to be featured in I’m a Blogger, check out this post, answer the questions provided in a blank document or email, and send your answers to sgfblogs@gmail.com.