Jul 9, 2012 |
This week’s theme is in keeping with my aim to add new recipes to the blog.
I absolutely love being in the kitchen. I love creating new flavors and enhancing familiar recipes. It brings me such joy to find inexpensive, flavorful foods that feed my family and guests well.
This week’s theme also inspires me to remain joyful in all situations. As long as there is a roof over my head and food on the table, I’m doing well.
I often say, “Recipes are food for the soul.”
How do you feed your family?
And Frankly, My Dear… that’s all she wrote!
Jul 8, 2012 |
I’m a blogger. At least, I think I am. Blogger is typically defined as a person who maintains or publishes an online diary (web blog). But I’m not writing my private thoughts into the public media. Blogging, to me, is more than just spilling your emotions over a keyboard for all to see.
There are good blogs and bad blogs. Blogs that have one theme (Food or travel blogs, for example), and blogs that are all over the place (blogs written typically by high school girls, perhaps…) The majority of blogs are somewhere in between.
Take mine, for example. I started well over a year ago to document my forays into the social/dating world. But I found that to be too limiting for what I wanted to say. So I spread my wings. And I realized, thanks to my subscribers’ comments, that I have more to say on more subjects than just Who’s Who on Match.com. Thank goodness… have you checked some of those profiles lately? Seriously….
I’m a good writer. But I’m not always a good blogger. I threw myself in the deep end and am teaching myself how to swim. Sometimes I float, sometimes I sink. But I am always able to come up for air and reach the surface.
I don’t know logistics. I don’t know coding and formatting. I know writing. I know creativity and characters and descriptions and recipes. And typing. And a little bit of photography, but not much.
I’m still learning.
This is where you come in. I need help. I have so many questions. I just know that somewhere out there in the great Blogosphere are the answers. So far I’ve been self-sufficient enough to research and google and obtain basic information. But I know there’s a whole world of ways to make my blog better, and I’m just not sure where all that information is.
So here is my Plea: Tell me how to write a better blog.
- Do you have tips on photography?
- What topics do you like to read about?
- How do you attract (and maintain) a large following?
- What types of giveaways get your attention?
- How do you get your Blog to pay for itself (advertising, sponsors, etc.)?
- How do you get contributions for your giveaways?
- What can make Frankly, My Dear… a daily must-read email?
- How do you get people to comment on your blog, without using spam?
- Do you reply to every comment?
- How do you get your readers to interact with each other (reply to other comments)?
- What layouts appeal to you? What makes a blog too “visually busy”?
- When I add my blog hop links every “What’s the Word?” Wednesday, the code box is adjustable instead of formatted to fit under the photo link. How can I change this?
- Is there a way to make a Blog Hop start, without a stop date?
I truly welcome want need any advice or suggestions you may have. Feel free to comment or even link up posts if you have them.
Come by and visit. Get some tips. Share some tips. Don’t forget to place the link on your own posts! I know I’m not the only one on this teeter-totter. Together, we can write Better Blogs, dontcha think?
And Frankly, My Dear… that’s all she wrote!
Jul 7, 2012 |
Remember last week when I made this delicious Chicken Stock & Soup?
And the next day I used the vegetables to make this fantastic Chicken Soup With Rice?
After indulging for four servings on the soup, my freezer now contains four more soup servings, six cups of stock, and four cups of shredded chicken meat. And quite a list of recipes to make.
So I took two cups of the chicken meat and let it thaw in the fridge. Look at this delectable goodness.
I combined it with a family-size box of my favorite easy-to-make Mac-n-Cheese.
And after all the effort it took to boil water for ten minutes, I ended up with this:
And yes. It really is as delicious as it looks.
Six servings. For less than $5.00. Now I call that eating on a budget!
I was going to make garlic toast and a salad to go with it for dinner. But as a stand-alone lunch, it’s definitely hearty and filling!
What’s on your plate?
And Frankly, My Dear… that’s all she wrote!
Jul 6, 2012 |
[NOTE: This blog post is written after viewing only the premiere episode of THE NEWSROOM. All opinions herein are solely based on one episode… so far…]
I have a list of favorite TV Shows. While it’s no secret that FLASHPOINT tops the list, the remaining Top Ten tend to blur together. My order of preference depends on what my mood is. Generally, you can always interest me in watching any of the following:
Frasier reruns
Cheers reruns
Friends reruns
Blue Bloods
NCIS
Once Upon a Time
Touch
The Waltons reruns
The West Wing reruns
Of course there’s many more. Anything on the Food Network. So You Think You Can Dance, Nat Geo programming…
But I’m especially fond of THE WEST WING. In its day, it set high standards for plot, character, directing, writing… it’s now one of the high bars that other shows aspire to reach: “Not since THE WEST WING has there been such a show…”
And now, finally, six years later, there’s a show that just might be on par. And the best part? It too is a creation of Aaron Sorkin.
The commercial caught my eye: dramatic storyline, well-known actors. And then. This:
From Aaron Sorkin,
Creator of The West Wing
I’m a huge fan of Aaron Sorkin. His scripts are well-developed. He treats his audience with intelligence and respect. His characters have real struggles. And not everything is neatly finished.
Needless to say, I had to find a way to watch the show, even though I don’s subscribe to HBO.
Enter the internet. The 72+ minute pilot was available online at HBO.com.
I’m not one to stream shows through the internet. I find it to be tedious and halting.
But after seeing several previews for THE NEWSROOM, I decided to take a chance. I was fairly skeptical as I had to register at HBO.com, confirming I’m over the age of 18 and legal to watch “MA”-rated shows. MA stands for Mature Audience. I was concerned what the show might include. After all, HBO isn’t often known for their late-night, uh, family friendly films, shall we say…
I was fully prepared to stop the show at any moment. I’m not one to go in for naked bodies and illicit acts just for the sake of a storyline. I held my breath for nearly 73 minutes and found myself gasping again when it was over.
The pilot episode was fairly predictable. In true Aaron Sorkin fashion, he introduces the characters through resolving an event. Some characters come late to the party but boy! are we glad they showed up! Because in Act II, the main crisis arrives. This is where we get to see the troops in action. And in Act III, the pilot episode wraps up but not too neatly. Sorkin leaves us wanting more and waiting with baited breath for the next Big News Story… and the soap opera that goes on behind the scenes.
Jeff Daniels sets the stage as beleaguered news anchor man Will McAvoy who may or may not have had a meltdown which may or may not have resulted in his getting fired or in his staff quitting. Once that storyline is set, we are brought little by little into
THE NEWSROOM
where we meet the other characters. Through banter, conversation, and reports we learn the backstories and current struggles of nearly everyone involved. We see who has drive and who’s just along for the ride. And we see who might step up to the challenge of making Will the best news anchor, again.
The only reason for the MA rating was the occasional use of the F-word. I have to give kudos to Sorkin and the entire creative team here: They didn’t insert obligatory cuss words just to do so. Each blurt was strategically placed in conversation as a punctuation to a dramatic statement. That made it all the more useful and appreciated. I’m not a fan of the F-word in entertainment. But it does occasionally come out in moments of high stress in real life, and that’s how it was portrayed here.
I look forward to being drawn back into a new world created by Aaron Sorkin. His characters are always complex, thorough, and real. His stories are plausible. And even when it’s predictable, it’s always very, very enjoyable.
And Frankly, My Dear… that’s all she wrote!
Jul 5, 2012 |
I’ve written about Pinterest before.
I introduced you to This Thing Called Pinterest. I wrote an open letter about Pinning to Dear Pinners….
I’ve shared with you my own Pinterest account, and updated when I create new boards.
Today I discovered that not all my own Pins were linked accurately. Of course, as a blogger/writer, it’s important that my articles are attached to the Pins I create for them. So I spent about thirty minutes reviewing and correcting. It wasn’t that bad. In fact, it was a little fun seeing Pins from months ago that I’d forgotten about.
I tweeted about today’s revelation, which brought about the conversation “What exactly is Pinterest, and how do you use it?”
The best way to describe it is it’s a digital scrapbook. It’s a spaceless way to store your ideas, suggestions, likes and adventures. If it’s online and you like it, you can Pin it.
It’s easy to get an account. Typically, you need an invitation from a friend or you can request one directly from Pinterest. Once you have an account, you can Pin one of two ways.
You can search Pinterest itself. For example, in their search bar type “coffee” and you’ll be inundated with a mass assortment of flavors, cups, stores, ideas, stories… when you see one you like, move your cursor over it and you’ll see buttons appear: “Repin”, “Like”, “Comment”. You can pick and choose which actions you want. If you choose to “Repin”, a new window will pop up and you can select which of your Boards you want it Pinned to.
The other way to Pin is to download their “Pin It” Button. It’s a small download that you set in your internet toolbar. When you see something online that you like, you click your “Pin It” button, and it asks you which picture to Pin, and to which Board.
Your boards are your categories. Pinterest sets up a few to get you started. You can edit, delete, and add your own. My friend Keri has a board strictly dedicated to all things “Purple”. I have 36 Boards ranging from writing ideas to recipes to people and places and even a bucket list!
There are a few things to remember when Pinning:
- The Pinterest Terms and Privacy are very clear that you cannot Pin any copyright material. Many professional photographers have removed their photos due to this requirement. An alternate option is to include a watermark on your own photos: an unremovable mark that indicates you hold the copyrights.
- I pin my photos to Pinterest because I know they link back to my Blog. And traffic is currency in the Blogosphere. This doesn’t give others the right to claim my work as their own, but it does give you the right to Pin and share and say, “Hey, this is worthwhile stuff.”
- Laura asked if you need to get permission before Pinning. I’ve checked around and the main consensus is, that’s sometimes impossible. In the digital media world in which we live, everything is everywhere. You can’t always track back to the source. You should try, definitely. But if it’s already online, it’s shareable.
- You can’t Pin personal photos from Facebook or your computer. It has to be already online.
- Pinterest has very easy-to-understand Etiquette guidelines. Their Terms are written for every person to understand, not a lot of Legaleeze.
I love the idea of storing ideas online instead of odd-shaped magazine clippings stored in paper boxes. I love that I can put the same Pin on several boards. How often have you had to decide whether a clipping should be placed in “Recipe” or “Holiday”? Is a Dictionary a “Book” or “Writer Wishlist” item? Is a great blog article “inspiring”, “faith-based” or simply “A Good Blog”? With Pinterest, you don’t have to decide. You can Pin the same article to as many Boards as you have.
I also discovered that to get to the main article, you needn’t “backtrack” through other Pinners. Just click on the Pin itself. It will enlarge on your computer screen. Click again on the Pin, and you should be directed to the original posting whether it be from a blog, company, photographer’s page, or wherever it originated. It’s important to make sure that your Pins link back to the source as much as possible. It’s only fair to give credit where credit is due.
So. Are you ready to starting Pinning?
Just click. Pin. And share.
You’ll be glad you did. (And so will I!)
And Frankly, My Dear… that’s all she wrote!
