PLEASE NOTE: The PINcentive Blog Hop week 6 will resume on October 15th! Mark your calendar; you don’t want to miss out! We’ll be choosing 4 winners, one of which will receive a special surprise in addition to being featured, having their content pinned a minimum of 31 times, co-hosting our next hop, and priority seating!
Monday, September 30, 2013
Sunday, September 29, 2013
How to Get Over 400 New Followers on Pinterest!
Make sure to take a look at My Weight Loss Blog Directory!
How to Get Over 400 New Followers on
Pinterest
Update on Pinterest Followers
Each month I have been giving updates on my growth of social media sites. This update is for Pinterest. My previous posts are I gained 375 Pinterest Followers in the Last Six Weeks and
600 New Pinterest Followers in 2 Months.
My post I Gained 375 Pinterest Followers in the Last Six Weeks has been very popular. It has been read more than any other post on my blog. It gave many pointers and included a video by some great bloggers who have been doing a series of Hangouts to teach new bloggers to increase their pageviews. I have learned so much from them. I am going to post the video again in this post so if you have time you will really learn so much if you watch it.
I started keeping track of my Pinterest followers on July 1.
July 1 - approximately 1600
August 11 - 1979
August 31 - 2193
September 30 - 2610
So, in 3 months I have increased by 1010. I am increasing at a faster pace as I go along.
They great thing about this is as my Pinterest followers increase, my blog pageviews increase. Pinterest is my number 2 source for pageviews.
If you are interested in increasing your pageviews you will want to work on increasing your Pinterest followers.
If you read my earlier post I Gained 375 Pinterest Followers in the Last Six Weeks it will tell you how I started gaining and the strategies I used.
I really don't want to spend time repeating all those because I have new information I want to give you. If you missed the previous information go take a look.
Here are my top 10 tips
1. Make your photos pop! You can do this by taking great pictures and by editing your photos with sites like PicMonkey and iPiccy. I posted a couple of posts with tutorials on using PicMonkey. How to use PicMonkey and PicMonkey What Can I Do? There are several great videos on YouTube if you need to know more.
2. Use Hashtags! You need to use hashtags to make your pins searchable. Your hashtags should be what someone would search for to find your pin. If you are pinning something on Weight Loss, your hashtags might be #WeightLoss #LosingWeight #Diet , you get the idea.
3. Go back to previous pictures and make them look better and repin with the improved picture. I have done this with a few of my old posts and I have started getting pins from them.
4. Make your boards inspiring. It's important to work on your boards and make sure the cover picture is compelling.
5. Join group boards that have lots of followers that are in your niche. When you post to the boards lots of people will see them and maybe come to visit your blog or follow you.
6. Join Pinterest Linkys. There are several good linkys to follow. I have increased my following by doing this. I mentioned some in the previous posts. These linkys come and go so you may have to look around for them.
7. Many of the new blog hop/linkys are now pinning your posts. If you link up with them you will have your posts pinned. Some only pin the featured blogs of the week and some pin all the blogs. You may also be pinned by fellow hoppers. I have been a featured pinner in The PINcentive Blog Hop this month. I was able to submit 2 pins to be pinned by 30 other pinners.
8. Follow other pinners and repin some of their stuff. This may encourage them to follow you back. Find pinners that are in your niche and have pins that are recent. You also may want to follow some of the people that followed them recently.
9. Pin throughout the day. You can pin 3 or 4 pins every 2-3 hours. It takes only a minute to do this and you are seen throughout the day. Chances are people will repin your posts and follow your boards.
10. Pin your posts to multiple boards. If you have a board for weight loss, another for fitness, a group board for sharing posts you can pin to all of them. You may want to pin to them at different times of the day, not all at once. I also will wait for someone to repin my initial post and then repin their post to another board. Apparently, it's better for you to repin someone else's pin.
Here is the video. If you want to learn about increasing your Pinterest followers you really should take the time to watch it. It is a little long, but the information they give you is worth the time invested.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q78JOsK4A8c
Are you ready to Get 400 New Pinterest Followers?
How to Get Over 400 New Followers on
Update on Pinterest Followers
Each month I have been giving updates on my growth of social media sites. This update is for Pinterest. My previous posts are I gained 375 Pinterest Followers in the Last Six Weeks and
600 New Pinterest Followers in 2 Months.
My post I Gained 375 Pinterest Followers in the Last Six Weeks has been very popular. It has been read more than any other post on my blog. It gave many pointers and included a video by some great bloggers who have been doing a series of Hangouts to teach new bloggers to increase their pageviews. I have learned so much from them. I am going to post the video again in this post so if you have time you will really learn so much if you watch it.
I started keeping track of my Pinterest followers on July 1.
July 1 - approximately 1600
August 11 - 1979
August 31 - 2193
September 30 - 2610
So, in 3 months I have increased by 1010. I am increasing at a faster pace as I go along.
They great thing about this is as my Pinterest followers increase, my blog pageviews increase. Pinterest is my number 2 source for pageviews.
If you are interested in increasing your pageviews you will want to work on increasing your Pinterest followers.
If you read my earlier post I Gained 375 Pinterest Followers in the Last Six Weeks it will tell you how I started gaining and the strategies I used.
I really don't want to spend time repeating all those because I have new information I want to give you. If you missed the previous information go take a look.
Here are my top 10 tips
1. Make your photos pop! You can do this by taking great pictures and by editing your photos with sites like PicMonkey and iPiccy. I posted a couple of posts with tutorials on using PicMonkey. How to use PicMonkey and PicMonkey What Can I Do? There are several great videos on YouTube if you need to know more.
2. Use Hashtags! You need to use hashtags to make your pins searchable. Your hashtags should be what someone would search for to find your pin. If you are pinning something on Weight Loss, your hashtags might be #WeightLoss #LosingWeight #Diet , you get the idea.
3. Go back to previous pictures and make them look better and repin with the improved picture. I have done this with a few of my old posts and I have started getting pins from them.
4. Make your boards inspiring. It's important to work on your boards and make sure the cover picture is compelling.
5. Join group boards that have lots of followers that are in your niche. When you post to the boards lots of people will see them and maybe come to visit your blog or follow you.
6. Join Pinterest Linkys. There are several good linkys to follow. I have increased my following by doing this. I mentioned some in the previous posts. These linkys come and go so you may have to look around for them.
7. Many of the new blog hop/linkys are now pinning your posts. If you link up with them you will have your posts pinned. Some only pin the featured blogs of the week and some pin all the blogs. You may also be pinned by fellow hoppers. I have been a featured pinner in The PINcentive Blog Hop this month. I was able to submit 2 pins to be pinned by 30 other pinners.
8. Follow other pinners and repin some of their stuff. This may encourage them to follow you back. Find pinners that are in your niche and have pins that are recent. You also may want to follow some of the people that followed them recently.
9. Pin throughout the day. You can pin 3 or 4 pins every 2-3 hours. It takes only a minute to do this and you are seen throughout the day. Chances are people will repin your posts and follow your boards.
10. Pin your posts to multiple boards. If you have a board for weight loss, another for fitness, a group board for sharing posts you can pin to all of them. You may want to pin to them at different times of the day, not all at once. I also will wait for someone to repin my initial post and then repin their post to another board. Apparently, it's better for you to repin someone else's pin.
Here is the video. If you want to learn about increasing your Pinterest followers you really should take the time to watch it. It is a little long, but the information they give you is worth the time invested.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q78JOsK4A8c
Are you ready to Get 400 New Pinterest Followers?
Saturday, September 28, 2013
Atlanta New Earth Festival
Make sure to take a look at My Weight Loss Blog Directory!!!
Atlanta New Earth Festival
I spent the day at the Atlanta New Earth Festival. It is in the small town of Atlanta, Indiana. It is a huge festival and the day was beautiful. The place was so crowded. There are booths throughout the town.
I found this repurposed headboard made into a coat rack. The hooks are made from vintage forks. I thought this was great looking. I probably would not buy one in that color, but I loved the overall look of it.
The second thing that I found that I really liked was called Fire Rocks. They are beautiful natural flaming stones. They can be used indoors or outdoors. You fill them will an oil and they will burn for about 3 hours. They provide a little funnel to refill the oil.
I would love one for my deck. I have to get my husband's okay on it. He is picky about what we use on the deck. He is worried about keeping us safe. Here is one of the fire rocks burning. It is hard to see the 3 flames in the photograph.
I went to the festival with a friend and her teenage daughter. It was a fun day and I got a few ideas of things to create. The Atlanta Earth Festival is held 2 days each September.
Atlanta New Earth Festival
I spent the day at the Atlanta New Earth Festival. It is in the small town of Atlanta, Indiana. It is a huge festival and the day was beautiful. The place was so crowded. There are booths throughout the town.
I found this repurposed headboard made into a coat rack. The hooks are made from vintage forks. I thought this was great looking. I probably would not buy one in that color, but I loved the overall look of it.
The second thing that I found that I really liked was called Fire Rocks. They are beautiful natural flaming stones. They can be used indoors or outdoors. You fill them will an oil and they will burn for about 3 hours. They provide a little funnel to refill the oil.
I would love one for my deck. I have to get my husband's okay on it. He is picky about what we use on the deck. He is worried about keeping us safe. Here is one of the fire rocks burning. It is hard to see the 3 flames in the photograph.
I went to the festival with a friend and her teenage daughter. It was a fun day and I got a few ideas of things to create. The Atlanta Earth Festival is held 2 days each September.
Blog Hop Blitz Week 4
Make sure to take a look at My Weight Loss Blog Directory!!!
Week #4 is here!
As we head into week #4, if you live in the following states, you may want to be concerned about your NFL team:
Washington
Wisconsin
Georgia (umm...that's me (Tiffany))
New York
Pennsylvania (Pittsburgh, to be exact)
Texas (no, not the Cowboys but the Texans)
California (the 49ers)
All 7 teams are off to a rocky start, a few of them were marked as contenders at the beginning of the season, a mere 3 weeks ago! They all have time to turn things around.
There's your football blurb for this week.
Not a football fan? No problem, link up your best post of the week.
Let's get this hop going!
Say hello to our wonderful team:
Halloween comes early, here are your treats, our MVBs from Week #3:
Mom Paper Scissors showed us how to dress up our front doors with a Fall wreath.
Megin from VMG 206 showcased her skills with a DIY team scarf, upcycling at it's best!
The Painted Apron got us in the Halloween mood with her Wine Bottle Burlap Witch.
My Little Shop of Treasures gave us valuable back to school information on backpack safety.
Our Most Valuable Bloggers (MVBs) are proof that our hop is versatile, spotlighting different blogging voices, linking together to connect and share ideas. All four MVBs will be pinned to our Football Blog Hop Blitz Pinterest board.
Oh, almost forgot, the Blog Hop Blitz will now keep the game going in recognition of Monday night football! Bloggers can continue to link up, right on through Monday night.
As we ease on into October, let's see what this week's hop has to offer. In other words, let's link up!
Time to get your game on and link up!
get the InLinkz code
As we head into week #4, if you live in the following states, you may want to be concerned about your NFL team:
Washington
Wisconsin
Georgia (umm...that's me (Tiffany))
New York
Pennsylvania (Pittsburgh, to be exact)
Texas (no, not the Cowboys but the Texans)
California (the 49ers)
All 7 teams are off to a rocky start, a few of them were marked as contenders at the beginning of the season, a mere 3 weeks ago! They all have time to turn things around.
There's your football blurb for this week.
Not a football fan? No problem, link up your best post of the week.
Let's get this hop going!
Say hello to our wonderful team:
Terri & Shawna
Easy Life Meal and Party Planning
Betty
A Gut and a Butt
Halloween comes early, here are your treats, our MVBs from Week #3:
Mom Paper Scissors showed us how to dress up our front doors with a Fall wreath.
Megin from VMG 206 showcased her skills with a DIY team scarf, upcycling at it's best!
The Painted Apron got us in the Halloween mood with her Wine Bottle Burlap Witch.
My Little Shop of Treasures gave us valuable back to school information on backpack safety.
Our Most Valuable Bloggers (MVBs) are proof that our hop is versatile, spotlighting different blogging voices, linking together to connect and share ideas. All four MVBs will be pinned to our Football Blog Hop Blitz Pinterest board.
Oh, almost forgot, the Blog Hop Blitz will now keep the game going in recognition of Monday night football! Bloggers can continue to link up, right on through Monday night.
As we ease on into October, let's see what this week's hop has to offer. In other words, let's link up!
get the InLinkz code
Friday, September 27, 2013
Monday Night Football Chili
Make sure to take a look at My Weight Loss Blog Directory!!!
Monday Night Football Chili
Are you ready for some chili? It's chili season! The weather is getting cooler. Football is back in season.
What better way to watch Monday Night Football than to sat back with a hot bowl of chili and maybe a cold beer.
Everyone has their own favorite style of chili. This chili is our family favorite.
Chili Recipe
1 pound Ground Beef (more if you like your chili really meaty!)
1 large Onion, chopped
1 pkg. McCormick's Hot Chili Seasoning ( if you don't like it as spicy you can use regular chili seasoning, or just use part of the package.)
2 16 ounce cans Dark Red Chili Beans
1 14.5 ounce can of Diced Tomatoes
1 46 ounce can Tomato Juice (If you like your chili a little thicker use 2 regular sized cans Tomato Sauce.)
1 tsp. Salt ( I limit my salt so I don't add this anymore!)
If you like pasta in your chili you can cook some macaroni or spaghetti and add to the chili.
Directions
Brown your hamburger in a pan. Drain the fat from the hamburger. Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer for 30 minutes.
Serve your chili with shredded cheese and Townhouse crackers (or your favorite cracker.)
If you want to make into more of a meal how about adding a Grilled Cheese Sandwich.
So, are you ready for some football, and some Monday Night Football Chili?
Monday Night Football Chili
Are you ready for some chili? It's chili season! The weather is getting cooler. Football is back in season.
What better way to watch Monday Night Football than to sat back with a hot bowl of chili and maybe a cold beer.
Everyone has their own favorite style of chili. This chili is our family favorite.
Chili Recipe
1 pound Ground Beef (more if you like your chili really meaty!)
1 large Onion, chopped
1 pkg. McCormick's Hot Chili Seasoning ( if you don't like it as spicy you can use regular chili seasoning, or just use part of the package.)
2 16 ounce cans Dark Red Chili Beans
1 14.5 ounce can of Diced Tomatoes
1 46 ounce can Tomato Juice (If you like your chili a little thicker use 2 regular sized cans Tomato Sauce.)
1 tsp. Salt ( I limit my salt so I don't add this anymore!)
If you like pasta in your chili you can cook some macaroni or spaghetti and add to the chili.
Directions
Brown your hamburger in a pan. Drain the fat from the hamburger. Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer for 30 minutes.
Serve your chili with shredded cheese and Townhouse crackers (or your favorite cracker.)
If you want to make into more of a meal how about adding a Grilled Cheese Sandwich.
So, are you ready for some football, and some Monday Night Football Chili?
Thursday, September 26, 2013
Bravery = Facing your fears and anxieties!
Make sure to take a look at My Weight Loss Blog Directory!!!
Bravery
Facing Your Biggest Fears
Bravery
Facing Your Biggest Fears
Finish the Sentence Friday
I am linking up with Janine at Janine's Confession of a Mommyaholic. She has a great prompt each Friday. This week's Finish the Sentence Friday is .....
The bravest thing I've ever done is......
I believe bravery is specific to the person. I have done things in my life that others may have thought to be brave. Things that I just considered a part my life. When I was 24, I raised my three older children after my husband died. I chose to stay where we lived instead of going back to family. I had to stand up many times as the head of the household.
I took my children and drove across the country when they were young to take them on vacations. Many people would think that took courage.
What took courage for me was something that some people would consider nothing. When I turned 50 my second husband took our son and I on a cruise for my birthday. My son was 10 years old at the time.
We had a wonderful time on the cruise and one of the stops was in Jamaica. Jamaica is a beautiful country. One of our excursions was to Dunn's River Falls. It is such a beautiful place. People climb Dunn's River Falls.
Well, here is where the courage comes in, I have a fear of water. I never learned to swim as a child. My older brother almost drowned when we were young and my mom kept me and my younger sister away from water from then on. So, when I got to high school age I still had a tremendous fear of water.
As an adult I had taken some swim lessons so that I wasn't terrified anymore. I could get into a pool where I could see the bottom and know where I was. In any other water I wouldn't go past my knees.
Well, when we got to Dunn's River Falls my husband decided that he was staying with our valuables and I was going up the Falls with our son. I wasn't excited about that! I tried to talk him into it and he said, no, that we just wouldn't go then. My son wanted to go. So I decided to do it! I was climbing the Falls.
When you start you line up and hold hands with people to keep from falling. The Falls are pretty slippery and with the water rushing down it makes it a little hard in places to climb. The water came well up past my waist in places. After we got a little ways up people started letting go and going on. I had to lift my son up in a few places because he couldn't make it up.
We made our way up the Falls. I was exhausted when we got to the top. The thing that I wasn't expecting was that I was also ecstatic. I had challenged my fears and won. I was 50 years old and I had done something I never thought I would do.
When I got home a friend told me that her nephew fell and was hurt climbing the Falls and had to be airlifted to Mexico and spent several week in the hospital. I'm certainly glad I didn't know that before I went.
After braving the Falls, when something scared me a little, I remembered climbing the Falls. If I could do that, I could do many things. My husband had chosen to stay down that day because he wanted me to climb the Falls. The pictures that we purchased that day shows me glowing with happiness. I will dig them out and post them someday.
My brave thing may not be brave to you, but it was to me!
Favorite Things
1. What book do you never tire of reading? Gone With The Wind. Most books I will read once or twice, but Gone With The Wind I could read many times.
2 What song do you never tire of hearing? I don't have just one. My mother sang hymns as she worked around the house when I was growing up. Those songs take me back to the days when my mom was alive and those are such great memories.
3. What movie do you never tire of watching? This is a newer movie and I have watched it several times and I don't think I will ever tire of it. Midnight in Paris. I love the French scenery in the movie. The movie also goes back into earlier times in Paris, which I just love.
Tell me about your favorite things
Have you shown bravery? Have you ever faced your biggest fear?
Tell me about it.
Wednesday, September 25, 2013
Four Seasons Blog Hop Party #19
Welcome to the Four Seasons Blog Hop Party
We are so happy to introduce +Betty Taylor from Losing my Gut While Gaining my Insanity as Co-Host. 
So Let's Get This Party Started!!
FEATURES
Keep Marriage Exciting by My Snippets of InspirationSalsa Bread by the Painted Apron8 More Real Food Mini-Projects for Busy Women by Calm Healthy Sexy
Happy linking! By +Terri Henkels and +Shawna Williams
You are invited to join us on Sundays for the Blog Hop Blitz - 2013 football Season. We are co-hosting with Tiffany Ben from the Gladiators in Heels blog. You can share posts on football party food, tablescapes, decorations, team gear, and health, motivation and inspiration articles! 
Tuesday, September 24, 2013
Making life changes: The Secret To Permanent Weight Loss
Make sure to take a look at My Weight Loss Blog Directory!!!
Making Life Changes
The Secret to Permanent Weight Loss
I have found the secret to losing weight! Making real changes. I believe everyone knows that. I think most people like to kid themselves that they can change a little bit, for a while.
I was talking to a friend who had been losing weight in the spring. She lost a decent amount of weight, but as soon as summer came along she couldn't stay on the diet. She said over the summer she has gained back about 5 pounds, which really isn't too bad.
She told me that she can't get back to things because she has several things coming up. You know, like weddings, birthdays, showers and things like that. If you are going to make real life changes you can start today. That just means you will start eating the way you plan to eat even when you are attending special events.
I have made changes that I hope will last me for life. I know if I continue to eat the way I am eating today I won't have to worry about weight gain in the future. If I gradually allow myself to return to my previous eating habits, I will gain the weight back and probably much more.
I admit I have added a few things into my diet that I wasn't eating a few months ago. I am continuing to watch the scale to see if those foods are affecting me. I am at the top of my healthy BMI now. I think I want to lose about 10 more pounds. I am not ever going back to eating processed sugar. I can't handle sugar! Sugar is a poison to my body. It's like crack. I eat some, I crave more. I can eat the sugars that are in fruits and do fine. I have added some apples to my diet and I am still losing weight.
I plan to stay away from wheat and most processed foods. I might have something with a little breading on it occasionally. That is not something I really need to eat and I feel better when I don't eat that stuff.
Here is my weekly weigh-in!
Loss 35.5 pounds total
Starting weight - 184.5
Week one - 180.0
Week two - 179.5
Week three - 179.0
Week four - 178.5
Week five - 177.0
Week six - 176.0
Week seven - skipped, was on vacation
Week eight - 181.5
Week nine - 174.0
Week ten - 172.5
Week eleven - 172.0
Week twelve - 171.5
Week thirteen - 170.5
Week Fourteen - 172.0
Week Fifteen - 167.5
Week Sixteen - 169.5
Week Seventeen - 168.5
Week Eighteen - 168.0
Week Nineteen - 167.5
Week Twenty - 161.50
Week Twenty-One 161.0
Week Twenty-Two 159.5
Week Twenty-Three 160.0
Week Twenty-Four 159.0
Week Twenty-Five 157.5
Week Twenty-Six 156.5
Week Twenty-Seven 154.5
Week Twenty-Eight 153.5
Week Twenty-Nine 152.5
Week Thirty 152.0
Week Thirty-One 150.5
Week Thirty-Two 149.0
My scale is 2 pounds light!
Making Life Changes
The Secret to Permanent Weight Loss
I have found the secret to losing weight! Making real changes. I believe everyone knows that. I think most people like to kid themselves that they can change a little bit, for a while.
I was talking to a friend who had been losing weight in the spring. She lost a decent amount of weight, but as soon as summer came along she couldn't stay on the diet. She said over the summer she has gained back about 5 pounds, which really isn't too bad.
She told me that she can't get back to things because she has several things coming up. You know, like weddings, birthdays, showers and things like that. If you are going to make real life changes you can start today. That just means you will start eating the way you plan to eat even when you are attending special events.
I have made changes that I hope will last me for life. I know if I continue to eat the way I am eating today I won't have to worry about weight gain in the future. If I gradually allow myself to return to my previous eating habits, I will gain the weight back and probably much more.
I admit I have added a few things into my diet that I wasn't eating a few months ago. I am continuing to watch the scale to see if those foods are affecting me. I am at the top of my healthy BMI now. I think I want to lose about 10 more pounds. I am not ever going back to eating processed sugar. I can't handle sugar! Sugar is a poison to my body. It's like crack. I eat some, I crave more. I can eat the sugars that are in fruits and do fine. I have added some apples to my diet and I am still losing weight.
I plan to stay away from wheat and most processed foods. I might have something with a little breading on it occasionally. That is not something I really need to eat and I feel better when I don't eat that stuff.
Here is my weekly weigh-in!
Loss 35.5 pounds total
Starting weight - 184.5
Week one - 180.0
Week two - 179.5
Week three - 179.0
Week four - 178.5
Week six - 176.0
Week seven - skipped, was on vacation
Week eight - 181.5
Week nine - 174.0
Week ten - 172.5
Week eleven - 172.0
Week twelve - 171.5
Week thirteen - 170.5
Week Fourteen - 172.0
Week Fifteen - 167.5
Week Sixteen - 169.5
Week Seventeen - 168.5
Week Eighteen - 168.0
Week Nineteen - 167.5
Week Twenty - 161.50
Week Twenty-One 161.0
Week Twenty-Two 159.5
Week Twenty-Three 160.0
Week Twenty-Four 159.0
Week Twenty-Five 157.5
Week Twenty-Six 156.5
Week Twenty-Seven 154.5
Week Twenty-Eight 153.5
Week Twenty-Nine 152.5
Week Thirty 152.0
Week Thirty-One 150.5
Week Thirty-Two 149.0
My scale is 2 pounds light!
My Tray For Fall
Make sure to take a look at My Weight Loss Blog Directory!!!
Ready for Fall!
What are you making for fall? Do you like to decorate your home with fall colors and designs?
Ready for Fall!
I bought this tray last year or the year before. I liked it, but I thought it was a little plain. I decided to use my Cricut die-cutting machine to decorate it.
I found a design I liked and sized it. I then got some black vinyl and cut it out.
I cut the design out and used transfer tape to move it to the tray. I smoothed out the air bubbles and my tray was finished. I think I paid about $4.00 for the tray and about $.75 for the vinyl.
I checked for more trays at Walmart recently and they have a new design this year. They sell for $7.95 for this year's design.
I bet you could do lots of things with these trays.
Monday, September 23, 2013
PicMonkey What can I do?
Make sure to take a look at My Weight Loss Blog Directory!!!
PicMonkey What can I do with it?
I have taken two pictures and shown what you can do with them to make them pop to use on your blog. If you want to get your pictures noticed on sites that are based on pictures, such as Pinterest, you need to accentuate them.
The first picture is untouched! Of course this picture is already sharp and colorful.
These are just some pictures I am playing with. You can just play around with PicMonkey and come up will all kinds of things.
You can make headers for your Facebook page!
Seriously, there are just so many possibilities! If you have any questions leave them in the comments and I will try to answer them.
PicMonkey What can I do with it?
I have taken two pictures and shown what you can do with them to make them pop to use on your blog. If you want to get your pictures noticed on sites that are based on pictures, such as Pinterest, you need to accentuate them.
The first picture is untouched! Of course this picture is already sharp and colorful.
On the second picture I used the following:
Auto Adjust
Colors
Dark Edges
Labels
Text
Two Different Craft Scissor Frames
The next picture is done on the collage function of PicMonkey. The collage function is a free function.
On this picture I used the following:
Collage
Pinter-etsy
Corner rounding
Banner
Emily's Candy Text
All of the flowers, except the mums, are flowers from my garden.
These are just some pictures I am playing with. You can just play around with PicMonkey and come up will all kinds of things.
You can make headers for your Facebook page!
Seriously, there are just so many possibilities! If you have any questions leave them in the comments and I will try to answer them.
Sunday, September 22, 2013
LA Fitness - My Ticket to Fitness
Make sure to take a look at My Weight Loss Blog Directory!!!
La Fitness - My Ticket To Fitness
My NSV
It has finally happened! I have finally made the plans for going back to the gym. I cancelled my membership with the old gym, which was well over a half hour drive, to my new gym. I haven't been to the old one for about 6 months. I have just been giving them my money!
My new gym isn't build yet, it won't be ready for about 60 days. I joined yesterday and got my key card and towel. I conned a friend into joining with me. It will good for her health, so I guess I am a good friend. I mean, I didn't force her, I just told her told her I was in a size 6 and I was going to tone up my body. I guess she didn't want to hang out with skinny me unless she was working on her own body.
The new gym will only be about 10 minutes from home and very close to the grocery store I go to. Many of the other places I shop at are right there too! Sadly though, so are all the restaurants I love! I am going to work out on Monday!!
Don't worry I am not planning on exercising in their parking lot while the construction crew works on the new building.The gym bought out another location to use temporarily. It is an older gym without all the amenities, but we are going to start there on Monday. I is a little further away, but we are excited about getting started. We are ready to work it, work it!
My LA Fitness will be opening in early November. It will have all the newest equipment and will be huge. They even have the Boot Camp classes and all kinds of torturous classes. I am ready to start!
I walked with another friend for about 45 minutes today. I am going to be an exercise super star soon!
I am not being paid by LA Fitness. I have no connection with them! I am just giving them my money so I can have a place to work out!
La Fitness - My Ticket To Fitness
My NSV
It has finally happened! I have finally made the plans for going back to the gym. I cancelled my membership with the old gym, which was well over a half hour drive, to my new gym. I haven't been to the old one for about 6 months. I have just been giving them my money!
My new gym isn't build yet, it won't be ready for about 60 days. I joined yesterday and got my key card and towel. I conned a friend into joining with me. It will good for her health, so I guess I am a good friend. I mean, I didn't force her, I just told her told her I was in a size 6 and I was going to tone up my body. I guess she didn't want to hang out with skinny me unless she was working on her own body.
The new gym will only be about 10 minutes from home and very close to the grocery store I go to. Many of the other places I shop at are right there too! Sadly though, so are all the restaurants I love! I am going to work out on Monday!!
Don't worry I am not planning on exercising in their parking lot while the construction crew works on the new building.The gym bought out another location to use temporarily. It is an older gym without all the amenities, but we are going to start there on Monday. I is a little further away, but we are excited about getting started. We are ready to work it, work it!
My LA Fitness will be opening in early November. It will have all the newest equipment and will be huge. They even have the Boot Camp classes and all kinds of torturous classes. I am ready to start!
I walked with another friend for about 45 minutes today. I am going to be an exercise super star soon!
I am not being paid by LA Fitness. I have no connection with them! I am just giving them my money so I can have a place to work out!
Saturday, September 21, 2013
Blog Hop Blitz Is Ready To Go Again!
Make sure to take a look at My Weight Loss Blog Directory!!!
The air is a bit more crisp.
The official start of fall starts on Sunday.
We are well underway with the football season.
We are forever banning the existence of the football widow, unless of course, she's a bigger fan than he is! She has her head in the game because she's joining our team and linking up her tailgate recipes, game day decor/rituals, inspirational posts, funny posts, her best post of the week. She's sharing all of this here at our Blog Hop Blitz!
Now, give a big shout to the team:
Terri and Shawna from Easy Life Meal and Party Planning are two amazing sisters who team up to produce amazing foods. They've kicked off the fall season with their Four Seasons Blog Hop.
Check out co-host Betty's amazing weight loss, let her show you how to maintain your new body over at A Gut and a Butt.
Stay in shout mode, cause here are our MVBs from last week, Week #2:
Lydia's Flexitarian Kitchen cooked up some awesome meatballs, perfect for game day. They look delicious!
Here on our hop, we enjoy any link that you link up with. The old saying goes "laughter does the heart good", Starting Over...Again provided us with a bit of humor. Keep the laughs coming!
What would game day be without some salsa? Turnips 2 Tangerines gave us not one, but 2. Who's gonna be brave enough to try the Fire Roasted Tomato Salsa or the Salsa Verde? Both look yummy, bring on the tortilla chips!
Congrats to the Week #2 MVBs! All three will pinned to our Football Blog Hop Blitz Pinterest board.
Alright, let's do this! But before you link up, be sure to grab our button, letting everyone know where your linking up this football season.
Bloggers start your engines (ok, I know that's car racing talk, you know what I mean)!
get the InLinkz code
The air is a bit more crisp.
The official start of fall starts on Sunday.
We are well underway with the football season.
We are forever banning the existence of the football widow, unless of course, she's a bigger fan than he is! She has her head in the game because she's joining our team and linking up her tailgate recipes, game day decor/rituals, inspirational posts, funny posts, her best post of the week. She's sharing all of this here at our Blog Hop Blitz!
Now, give a big shout to the team:
Terri and Shawna from Easy Life Meal and Party Planning are two amazing sisters who team up to produce amazing foods. They've kicked off the fall season with their Four Seasons Blog Hop.
Check out co-host Betty's amazing weight loss, let her show you how to maintain your new body over at A Gut and a Butt.
Stay in shout mode, cause here are our MVBs from last week, Week #2:
Lydia's Flexitarian Kitchen cooked up some awesome meatballs, perfect for game day. They look delicious!
Here on our hop, we enjoy any link that you link up with. The old saying goes "laughter does the heart good", Starting Over...Again provided us with a bit of humor. Keep the laughs coming!
What would game day be without some salsa? Turnips 2 Tangerines gave us not one, but 2. Who's gonna be brave enough to try the Fire Roasted Tomato Salsa or the Salsa Verde? Both look yummy, bring on the tortilla chips!
Congrats to the Week #2 MVBs! All three will pinned to our Football Blog Hop Blitz Pinterest board.
Alright, let's do this! But before you link up, be sure to grab our button, letting everyone know where your linking up this football season.
get the InLinkz code
Twice Baked Potatoes
Make sure to take a look at My Weight Loss Blog Directory!!!
Twice Baked Potatoes
I was fixing dinner for my husband and tried to come up with something different for him. I haven't made Twice Baked Potatoes for a long time so I went to Pinterest to find a recipe. I found this recipe from allrecipes.com. I have been eating a Paleo/Primal/Low Carb diet so I haven't made too many of the things he wants. Now that I have gotten used to what I eat I have made more of the foods that he would like to have. So here is the recipe for the Twice Baked Potatoes I made for him.
Ultimate Twice Baked Potatoes
4 large Baking Potatoes
8 slices Bacon
1 cup Sour Cream
1/2 cup Milk
4 Tablespoons Butter
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 cup, shredded Cheddar Cheese, divided
8 greeen onions, divided
The directions are on the allrecipes.com site.
What happens when you don't have the ingredients on hand!
Well, the recipe is great, but I didn't have all the ingredients it called for and I didn't want to wait an hour for the potatoes to cook in the oven.
I was only going to make 2 potatoes, the recipe said they would heat up well the next day. I could use on for dinner and save one for later.
First I started by baking the potatoes in the microwave. It takes 3 to four minutes for each potato. Don't forget to poke holes in the potatoes or they will explode. I take a fork and puncture the potatoes in several places. I baked the potatoes and pushed a fork in them to make sure they were soft. While the potatoes were cooling I cooked the bacon. I cooked mine in the microwave, since I only needed four slices. I let the bacon cool and then crumbled it.
I let the potatoes sit for 10 minutes to cool. I still burned my hand on them a little bit, so be careful. I took a spoon and removed the meat of the potato, leaving enough in the potato skin to keep it stable.
I didn't have any sour cream so I used ranch dressing in place of the sour cream. I only had Shredded Colby Jack cheese, so I used that in place of the Cheddar. I didn't have any green onions so I just eliminated them.
I took the meat of the potato and put it into a bowl with the ranch dressing, milk, butter, salt, pepper and 1/4 cup cheese.
I mixed the ingredients with a mixer until they were creamy.
Next, I spooned the mixture into the potato skins.
I topped the potatoes with the rest of the cheese and the crumbled bacon.
I baked them in my toaster oven for 15 minutes at 350 degrees.
My husband said the Twice Baked Potatoes were delicious! They were just as good two days later for lunch!
Twice Baked Potatoes
I was fixing dinner for my husband and tried to come up with something different for him. I haven't made Twice Baked Potatoes for a long time so I went to Pinterest to find a recipe. I found this recipe from allrecipes.com. I have been eating a Paleo/Primal/Low Carb diet so I haven't made too many of the things he wants. Now that I have gotten used to what I eat I have made more of the foods that he would like to have. So here is the recipe for the Twice Baked Potatoes I made for him.
Ultimate Twice Baked Potatoes
4 large Baking Potatoes
8 slices Bacon
1 cup Sour Cream
1/2 cup Milk
4 Tablespoons Butter
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 cup, shredded Cheddar Cheese, divided
8 greeen onions, divided
The directions are on the allrecipes.com site.
What happens when you don't have the ingredients on hand!
Well, the recipe is great, but I didn't have all the ingredients it called for and I didn't want to wait an hour for the potatoes to cook in the oven.
I was only going to make 2 potatoes, the recipe said they would heat up well the next day. I could use on for dinner and save one for later.
First I started by baking the potatoes in the microwave. It takes 3 to four minutes for each potato. Don't forget to poke holes in the potatoes or they will explode. I take a fork and puncture the potatoes in several places. I baked the potatoes and pushed a fork in them to make sure they were soft. While the potatoes were cooling I cooked the bacon. I cooked mine in the microwave, since I only needed four slices. I let the bacon cool and then crumbled it.
I let the potatoes sit for 10 minutes to cool. I still burned my hand on them a little bit, so be careful. I took a spoon and removed the meat of the potato, leaving enough in the potato skin to keep it stable.
I didn't have any sour cream so I used ranch dressing in place of the sour cream. I only had Shredded Colby Jack cheese, so I used that in place of the Cheddar. I didn't have any green onions so I just eliminated them.
I took the meat of the potato and put it into a bowl with the ranch dressing, milk, butter, salt, pepper and 1/4 cup cheese.
I mixed the ingredients with a mixer until they were creamy.
Next, I spooned the mixture into the potato skins.
I topped the potatoes with the rest of the cheese and the crumbled bacon.
I baked them in my toaster oven for 15 minutes at 350 degrees.
My husband said the Twice Baked Potatoes were delicious! They were just as good two days later for lunch!
Friday, September 20, 2013
How to use PicMonkey
Make sure to take a look at My Weight Loss Blog Directory!!!
How to use PicMonkey
This is part 1 in a series showing different functions of PicMonkey.
I have been using PicMonkey and really enjoying the different functions.
You can add text to your picture, which also makes it much better for Pinterest. It is reported that Pinterest is in the top views for many bloggers. It makes sense to get noticed among all the pictures on Pinterest.
How to use PicMonkey
This is part 1 in a series showing different functions of PicMonkey.
I have been using PicMonkey and really enjoying the different functions.
I downloaded this picture from Pixabay. I wanted to show you how to make some simple adjustments with PicMonkey. This picture has had no adjustments.
In Picture No 2, I auto adjusted the picture, then brightened the color. I also put a simple frame around the picture. If you want your picture noticed on Pinterest you need to make it brighter than you would for an ordinary picture. Their are several choices for an outer frame. You can adjust the thickness of the frame.
The frame in picture 3 was made using Craft Scissors. This is a function of the paid Royale program. You can do lots of things with the free version. I kept clicking on things that were paid and finally decided to buy the Royale option. It cost me $33.00 and my subscription is for one year. By the way, I am not being paid to talk about PicMonkey.
Thursday, September 19, 2013
Medal of Honor
Make sure to take a look at My Weight Loss Blog Directory!!!
Finish the Sentence Friday
This week's sentence is I deserve a medal for the time I............
When I got this prompt I thought about earning a medal. I'm just a normal person, I haven't done anything super courageous. As I thought about it, I realized I probably have shown lots of courage in my life, maybe not to the extreme of Medal of Honor winners, but still courage just the same.
When my first husband died, I was 24. I had children 2, 4, and 6. My family wanted me to move back home. I decided to keep my children in their home and not move them. I chose to give them a stable home and teach them that we could make it on our own. I don't know if I would have earned a medal for that, I do know that my children and I are very close. That is better than a medal any day!
The next big thing in my life that I feel like I deserved a medal for is when I found out I was pregnant for my fourth child. I was nearing 40, and my children were all nearing their even year birthdays. They were almost 18, 20, and 22.
I had to tell my son who was entering his senior year of high school that his mom was pregnant. I was not a popular person that day. Then I had to make trips to two separate colleges and inform my other children. I didn't think it was fair to tell them over the phone. I believe they all thought mom was way past the time to have more children. My daughter, almost 22, was appalled. My middle son was probably the most understanding, he worried about my health.
I went through a rough pregnancy. I had to go and have amniocentesis done. I had bleeding issues up to about 30 weeks. This was an unplanned pregnancy and I was a little uncertain for a few months how this was going to turn out. When the doctor decided that I needed to have the test done, that's when I got very possessive of my baby. I told the doctor that it didn't matter how the tests came out I would go through the pregnancy. This was my child!
Thank goodness that the test came out fine. I was having a healthy baby boy. Then it was just a matter of staying inactive for a while until he got a good hold on things. My little guy was a fighter and he held on for all he was worth.
You know, I didn't get a medal for going through that pregnancy at that time in my life. I got way better than a medal. I got the most wonderful, caring person to raise. He has been such a joy to my life. I can't know now what my life would have been had I not had my son. I just know I would have missed out on some of the most joyful times of my life.
Did you take a look at that picture of my mom. She was 75. She never colored her hair. Do you see how dark it still was? I don't think I am doing as well as she did? She has been gone for 16 years now. She would be 94 in just a couple of weeks if she were still alive.
Friendship Friday
What activities do you most look forward to each fall? I enjoy decorating for Halloween. I look forward to having family gatherings for the Thanksgiving holiday.
As the days grow shorter are you impacted by Seasonal Affective Disorder? How do you cope? I have never been diagnosed with Seasonal Affective Disorder. I do get down when the days shorten. I hate to see Daylight Savings Time go away, because then it will get dark by 5:00 or so. When they change back it really seems like the days shorten so quickly. I spend most of the winter looking forward to spring. I try to plan a vacation for spring. A trip to warm temps and sunshine are what I look forward to in the spring.
Do you have any favorite fall recipes or crafts that you would like to share with us? I shared a recipe for Old Fashioned Homemade Noodles recently that we have for Thanksgiving. I love making fall crafts.
I will be linking up with other blog hops and they are all listed on my Blog Hop page.
Now, tell me what you deserve a medal for?
Leave me a comment, please!!
Finish the Sentence Friday
This week's sentence is I deserve a medal for the time I............
When I got this prompt I thought about earning a medal. I'm just a normal person, I haven't done anything super courageous. As I thought about it, I realized I probably have shown lots of courage in my life, maybe not to the extreme of Medal of Honor winners, but still courage just the same.
When my first husband died, I was 24. I had children 2, 4, and 6. My family wanted me to move back home. I decided to keep my children in their home and not move them. I chose to give them a stable home and teach them that we could make it on our own. I don't know if I would have earned a medal for that, I do know that my children and I are very close. That is better than a medal any day!
The next big thing in my life that I feel like I deserved a medal for is when I found out I was pregnant for my fourth child. I was nearing 40, and my children were all nearing their even year birthdays. They were almost 18, 20, and 22.
I had to tell my son who was entering his senior year of high school that his mom was pregnant. I was not a popular person that day. Then I had to make trips to two separate colleges and inform my other children. I didn't think it was fair to tell them over the phone. I believe they all thought mom was way past the time to have more children. My daughter, almost 22, was appalled. My middle son was probably the most understanding, he worried about my health.
I went through a rough pregnancy. I had to go and have amniocentesis done. I had bleeding issues up to about 30 weeks. This was an unplanned pregnancy and I was a little uncertain for a few months how this was going to turn out. When the doctor decided that I needed to have the test done, that's when I got very possessive of my baby. I told the doctor that it didn't matter how the tests came out I would go through the pregnancy. This was my child!
Thank goodness that the test came out fine. I was having a healthy baby boy. Then it was just a matter of staying inactive for a while until he got a good hold on things. My little guy was a fighter and he held on for all he was worth.
You know, I didn't get a medal for going through that pregnancy at that time in my life. I got way better than a medal. I got the most wonderful, caring person to raise. He has been such a joy to my life. I can't know now what my life would have been had I not had my son. I just know I would have missed out on some of the most joyful times of my life.
Did you take a look at that picture of my mom. She was 75. She never colored her hair. Do you see how dark it still was? I don't think I am doing as well as she did? She has been gone for 16 years now. She would be 94 in just a couple of weeks if she were still alive.
Friendship Friday
What activities do you most look forward to each fall? I enjoy decorating for Halloween. I look forward to having family gatherings for the Thanksgiving holiday.
As the days grow shorter are you impacted by Seasonal Affective Disorder? How do you cope? I have never been diagnosed with Seasonal Affective Disorder. I do get down when the days shorten. I hate to see Daylight Savings Time go away, because then it will get dark by 5:00 or so. When they change back it really seems like the days shorten so quickly. I spend most of the winter looking forward to spring. I try to plan a vacation for spring. A trip to warm temps and sunshine are what I look forward to in the spring.
Do you have any favorite fall recipes or crafts that you would like to share with us? I shared a recipe for Old Fashioned Homemade Noodles recently that we have for Thanksgiving. I love making fall crafts.
I will be linking up with other blog hops and they are all listed on my Blog Hop page.
Now, tell me what you deserve a medal for?
Leave me a comment, please!!
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