Basic Introduction to Raspberry Pi

For those who are unfamiliar with this little tiny computer. This is a Raspberry Pi:

To be specific this is a Raspberry Pi Model B. It has 512 MB of Ram. The SD card is the harddrive. It operates on a Linux based operating system (I use Raspbian, which is built on the Linux Operating System Debian Wheezy, most of the time) loaded on that little card. It connects to a monitor or TV via HDMI. There are 2 USB ports that you can use to connect a wifi adapter, keyboard, powered USB Hub, etc. Whatever you might need to operate this tiny computer.

There are several different styles of Raspberry Pi out there these days too. Here's a very BRIEF list of the differences in the boards:

• Model A - Basic unit with 1 USB port and 256 MB Ram
• Model B - 2 USB port and majority has 512 MB of Ram but some original boards only have the 256 MB Ram
• Model A+ - has an increase in the GPIO pins from 26 to 40
• Model B+ - increased GPIO pins from 26 to 40 and 4 USB ports
• Raspberry Pi 2 - 1 GB of Ram (huge increase!) and 40 GPIO pins

You can read all about the little differences between each board on the Raspberry Pi Foundation - Models and Revisions page. My little list is more of a way for you to identify the difference between the boards by sight. Except the Model A and Model A+ or the Model B+ and Pi 2... They basically look the same.

What can someone do with this little thing? Well... you can make a private Minecraft Server (done that), a media center (done), webserver (want to do), retro game system (want to do) or any other number of things. Just do a search for Raspberry Pi projects to see the options. Be prepared to muttle through more than one tutorial to get your end result. Currently I am working on attaching my Pi to an old RC car and controlling it from my phone!! Amazing!!

Here are some of my favorite Raspberry Pi resources:

• Raspberry Pi Foundation
• MagPi Magazine
• Adafruit Tutorials
• Element 14 Community
  (I won a Raspberry Pi 2 in one of their twitter competitions! LOVE IT!)

Notice: I am NOT affiliated or receiving any compensation from any
of the websites I have listed in this post as resources.

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Change of Direction

I have written about so many topics on this blog, why not add another one. Right? Lately I have been toying with the idea of teaching a few techie home school classes from my home. I recently taught one in a co-op we are part of. I had a lot of fun with it! I was so impressed at how many of the kids picked up on the information and really ran with it. But I really want to teach a class on the Raspberry Pi. I don't feel I am NOT an expert in this area at all. Actually most of the time I am seriously frustrated because I cannot find the exact information I am looking for.

So my blog... I am going to start compiling my notes and information here. Techie stuff... not just for me to organize my thoughts but so other people can learn too. Maybe. And someday I can have students reference here for their project details too. Maybe...

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S is for Spreadsheet

Spreadsheets. Love ‘em, hate ‘em but always use ‘em. I have my homeschool lesson planner in a spreadsheet, I tally up coupons using a spreadsheet and right now I am working on an awesome menu planner in a spreadsheet. There are times that I love creating monstrosity formulas just to see them do something. I know that a huge formula isn’t the answer to getting everything done though. They are just fun! The only way I have learned algebra and higher math are with spreadsheets.

I love ‘em! Do you?
What is your favorite spreadsheet project that you have ever created?

Find all my April Blogging from A to Z Challenge Posts Here

This is Letter S for my #atozchallenge
If you want to see more of the A to Z Blog Hop Challenge, click here!

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Tame Your Passwords!

I have more Internet accounts than you can shake a stick at. Are you familiar with this? I blog, tweet, facebook, email (times 5), I coupon, MyPoints, Swagbucks and more. How in the world does one person keep track of all of these passwords PLUS I keep track of some of my kids passwords and some of my clients. EEP! Password overload!

I used to keep a journal book that I could just write on the next page. There was no order. Did you get that? 500 million passwords, site addresses and user names in no specific order. I  hated it when my brain would not recall the password I needed. Usually added another 10 min to any project I was working on. ARGH! Just thinking about it makes me want to stop what I am doing and work on something else. (That's usually what I did too!)
 
I do not like keeping passwords on my computer, phone, browsers, etc. I've seen how people can be hacked. It's NOT pretty. Your underwear drawer is safer than your computer. Well.. at least mine is safer. No, I don't keep my computer passwords there, it was just a statement.
At any rate! I picked up this little beauty of a book called "The Personal Internet Address & Password Log Book" and I am a happy camper! You can get it from Amazon! Mailed to you! Can you remember your Amazon password?

(bangs head on desk)

All my sites, user names (most in code because I can remember a code... wait... can't I?!) and passwords in alphabetical order and I keep it handy for when I need it. I try not to take it out of the house with me. After you take off the front cover of the journal it's a very unassuming little book though. My kids still can't figure out what they are looking at... "You need me to bring you what? I don't see any red book (insert exact location). Where do I look again?" Nevermind... I'll just get it myself... First I tell the kid who is hunting to stay put though and then I walk in to pick it up from right in front of them.
See... no one would ever find it! I have proof. Leave it in plain sight.
Sigh!

This post contains an affiliate link that may give me a small commission. Woowho! Love those!

This is also linked up to the Welcome Home Wednesdays Linkup from Raising Arrows, Works for Me Wednseday from We Are That Family and it’s my Letter P for my #AtoZChallenge in the A to Z Blog Challenge.


Find all my April Blogging from A to Z Challenge Posts Here

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Google Reader Alternative

Alright! Who's idea was it to break the blog world yet again? First it was Google Friends Connect and now it is Google Reader. They set something up, lure us all in, hook and take it away. That's like fishing with fake bait. Not only do the fish get caught, they don't even get a last meal! Cruel I tell ya... I'm never really concerned about the worm, am I? Poor things.

Anywho! Off topic... Google Reader. Who uses it? Some people hate it... if you are one who hates it, give us the ideas that you use to keep up with your favorite blogs! I'd love to see more options. For those of you who do use it and are getting the rug pulled out from under you, here are some other options:

Feedly!
This is totally awesome! Feedly will pull all your Google Reader feeds (STARRED items and all) in to their account and keep it even after Reader dumps us. Yay! I have moved over to it already and I have to say it is a pretty cool reader. I think it’s a very clean reader and there are a lot of features to get used to but I like features. The extra bonus is that you can use this reader on computer, tablet or phone!

Twitter
Yes, I know... Twitter is a social media not a RSS feed. But think outside the box a bit. Follow all of your current RSS feed favorites on Twitter and put them in one list all together. Generally those with a blog tweet their posts so you will have a somewhat haphazard feed with fun commentary too. You could use Facebook and Google+ in a similiar way. You would have to create lists and circles there to separate everything out.

Blogger Reading List
For those of us with a Blogger blog (still) we might be able to continue using our feeds from the main page of Blogger. I believe that list will stay there even though Google Reader is exiting the scene. Maybe not? If anyone knows otherwise, please inform me and I will cross this out as an alternative. Blogger Reading List isn't the easiest thing in the world to move through, but it's at least there.

Feeddler App
I have a reader on my IPad called Feeddler. I think it’s available in the Android market too. I have not checked yet to see if it will KEEP my feeds after Google Reader dies or if it’s just syncing with Google Reader yet though. It is a nifty little app though… for now…

Disclaimer: I do not own nor was I contacted by any of the sites listed/linked above. This is just my opinion. I am trying to help others with resources.

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Store Digital Photos

How many pictures do you have on your computer RIGHT NOW? What would happen if your entire computer fried. Like the hard-drive went ka-poof! What would be the first thing you would be upset about?

For me, it’s all the pictures. I am so crazy about my pictures I have them stored almost too many different times to really keep track of them. Here’s where my pictures are:

1. SD card in camera or “retired” (meaning it’s full but still has photos)
2. Computer (even my phone photos are backed up on the computer)
3. External hard drive
4. CD OFF SITE
5. Online storage

As I have learned more I have found that leaving pictures on the SD card isn't the best route. Sooo... I am working on eliminating that. Use up the camera card, move pictures off and format the card to give it a clean start.

Computers are volatile. You never know when they will give out so I like the backup of an external hard drive. They are so inexpensive these days! You can get a whole terabyte for $80 or less sometimes! That's just nuts! But again, they can have corruption errors too. Another step of photo protection is a CD off site. I have a pile of CD's with out images on them all ordered neatly stored at my parents in a closet. I'd even recommend online storage for your photos. A lot of places offer free storage and great printing service too.

Where do you keep all of your images? In one place or more?

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Create a Facebook Fan Page List

Pretty soon Facebook will require page owners to pay to promote their updates. I know that there are certain pages that will not be able to afford to pay an advertisement payment like that (ahem… ME!… cough cough). If I don’t pay (or if any of us don’t pay) to promote our posts, only about 10% of the fans will receive the updates on their newsfeed.

Sooo… to keep receiving ALL posts from your favorite pages that you like, here’s some directions for you:

Open the page that you like. Hover your mouse pointer over the like button.
Select Add to Interest Lists…
You can see here that I have already created a list called “My Likes” but you will most likely have to create a New List. So if you do not have a list created, select New List.

Here you will see the Fan Page you are adding to a list… but wait! Do an extra step to save you a ton of time later:

In the upper left corner select Pages. Suddenly ALL of the pages you have liked will pop up and you can select all the ones you want to keep a closer eye on. Wooowho! After scrolling through all the fun pages and selecting them click Next.

Here’s where you NAME your list and either make it available for the public, friends or your eyes only. Now… how do you find this handy list?

Open your regular Facebook page where you read all the posts from everyone. Right now it’s called the Newsfeed (I’m sure that will change). Look over on the left and you should see headings like Favorites, Groups, etc. Scroll waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay down to the bottom where you will see Interests. Ta-Da! There’s your new little list. Now you can click on that to see all your top pages updates. You can make new lists like this with your friends too. Like… maybe one for your kids? That’s a good one to be able to see all in one place. You can list your kids and their friends there.
Many small bloggers will be LEFT IN THE DUST with this little “you have to pay to promote your page” from Facebook. I hope this will help you keep up with them still and help some of them keep in touch with their favorite fans.

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Photo Editor Instead of Picnik

I have seen in the twitter streams that Picnik, a favorite online photo editor, will be moving/closing very soon. It looks like this was a really neat service too! Personally, I never got into using it much because I like to be mobile with all my blogging, editing, photo, software tools. Meaning, I might not always have an internet connection but want to work on something. All my stuff needs to be loaded on my computer so that I can work whenever and wherever I would like.

So, are you finding yourself in need of a handy little photo editing tool? Maybe something that doesn't cost too much? Yes, it's something that would need to be installed on your computer but it's REALLY handy, fast and pretty small for all that it can do. It's called PhotoScape! And it's FREE!

You can download it here:
PhotoScape

Be warned! The download does try to install Google Chrome. I am not a fan of that so just look for the checkbox and uncheck it to not install the Google Chrome add on.

Enjoy editing your photos again!

Oh and no, I am not affiliated with them. I am not getting anything for this post. I just really like this little software package and wanted to share it with you.

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Blog Redesign

This is what my blog USED to look like.

I guess I needed to do something creative? I didn't really change all that much. However, I did make my new social media buttons myself! What do you think?? Is the whole blog too blue? Ah well, I like it for now. I still have a few more tweeks to do. I also hope to make a new blog button sometime this weekend.

Anyone else need a fun redesign? I really enjoyed this little moment of creativity. So seriously, do you need a blog facelift? I work mostly (yes, I have helped others) in Blogger but social buttons can be used on any platform. I can make some custom ones, fix code with what you have or install some premade ones. Just let me know.

Have fun with your blogs!!!

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Ultimate Blog Party 2011

There's an ULTIMATE Blog Party going on over at 5 Minutes for Mom and I am joining in the fun this year! Bloghops are a blast and a great way to meet new people. I was part of 2010 Ultimate Blog Party and I also love to join in the Blizzard Bloghop and have been in that for 2011 and 2010.

So now how about a little introduction about me? I have this lovely About Me Page to check out but aren’t pictures so much more fun?

I love gardening and right now it’s at the forefront of my mind because of my fantastic tomato seedlings PLANTS I see everyday! They are about 6 inches tall now. I can get neglectful of the garden around harvest time but my kiddos pick up the slack. The only problem I have with that is only 1/2 of the produce actually makes it into the house. Hehe…

My kiddos are in school at home. It makes for crazy days and often my home is neglected but we all enjoy homeschooling! I am so thankful to have this opportunity to witness my children growing up. Of course you should go “meet” the kids yourself and check out some of their antics. They keep me on my toes! Oh and these books here that’s not all of them. I really need more room!

I rarely finish a craft I have started. It’s a frustrating habit… and I blame my mother! Hehe… Ok, that’s a bit of a reach. I am just always half-baked on my projects. Someday. Right? Just let me hold on to my dream that someday I’ll get crafts done…

I am a coupon fanatic! There are those out there who are better at coupons than I am and keep up on all the latest deals… I try… but I don’t need it all. I pass on a lot of my freebies to those who might though. I also enjoy teaching coupon classes every now and again. Keeps my brain working. Hehe!

Technology is my Achilles heel! I cannot get enough of software, computers, coding, etc in one day. I am hugely distracted by it all and I blame my Hubbie! Hehe… okay, that’s getting old. He is my enabler though because he spoils me with all my techno toys. He has to be stopped! Well… maybe not… I really love all these great toys. Hmmm… I am stuck! I think being able to work through web design code, an issue with my phone or computer problems helps keep me sane sometimes though. Weird? Ah well!

And that’s me in a nutshell! I might have to use this for my About Me page now. Kinda cool… Hehe… I can tell you a few more things like I love researching things and Swagbucks is my way to research while making money. I am an avid reader and will devour a book in a day! I also stay up way too late but don’t like coffee (GASP!) at all so am usually in zombie mode. Hehehe…

You are welcome to follow me here or on Twitter, but definitely be sure to head back to the Ultimate Blog Party and check out more fun people too!

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Twitter Party

I am hoping to join in on this little Twitter event. Are any of you interested in this too? Do you have any other twitter parties happening? I miss twitter parties and want to join in some.

Tuesday, October 26th at 8pm CST

I intend to use TweetDeck for this party (if I can remember to attend) and use my Twitter Party Method to keep up.

It should be FUN!

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Tweetdeck Parties!

I have attended quite a few twitter chats/parties recently and I’m always frustrated that I cannot keep up. I had to find a way to make what I knew how to work WORK for me. I can now say that Tweetdeck is my answer to ALL twitter chats/parties and I want you to see how you can use it too.

First of all, you will need a few things:
1. Twitter Account (yah, I’m serious… I am not insinuating anything here, just covering the bases. Hehe…)
2. Tweetdeck (a fantastic FREE way to access your twitter account)

Once you have those here is how you setup for a twitter event. I LOVE this!

Log in to your twitter account and find the administrators of the twitter party you want to attend. Add these twitter peeps to a list that you make. (I call mine ‘’TwitterParty’. (Added tip: You do NOT have to follow someone to add them to a list.)


Make sure you have you hashtag figured out for the party as well. (A hashtag is a word that is proceeded by a # symbol. So #whatever is a twitter hashtag.)

Next, open Tweetdeck and click on the Add Column button in the upper left corner. (Added Tip: You can see a list of all the hashtags you’ve used on twitter in Tweetdeck right under where you type in your tweets! Love this list! Makes it easy to add your hashtags fast.)

Using the Search feature for your party hashtag, type in the exact hashtag you want to follow. This will bring up a new column on your Tweetdeck screen.

You will also need to add another column from the Groups/Lists settings; your 'TwitterParty’ list.

Once you have those columns added to your deck you can move them to be the first columns on your list so you can see them easily by clicking the arrows at the bottom of their columns.

Are you still following me here? You should now have 2 new columns (at least) on your Tweetdeck screen and you can have them all the way to the left where you can see them easily or wherever you need them. I also like to be sure my Mention me screen is up so that I can see who is talking to me during a chat/party easily too.

Now you are all set to follow a Twitter chat/party! You can go in and adjust your update times if you’d like or let Twitter do that for you. With this setup though you can be sure to catch the questions from the admin’s of the party, people talking to you and join in on some of the general chatter too.

There are other programs out there that does all this too, this just Works for Me and I just like to get ALL my tweets in one place. What do you use to join in on Twitter chats/parties? Does it work well for you?

Feel free to ask questions in the comment and I will respond there. :)




Notice: I am NOT associated with Tweetdeck. I love using Tweetdeck though.

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Make Money Online in 5 Steps!

I am interested in making some extra money these days, aren’t you? Every little bit helps and something I love is seeing my Gift Cards and other rewards stack up. Can you believe it can happen? I’m here to tell you that it can! And ANYONE can do this!

Have you heard of Swagbucks.com? LOVE them. I am a Swag Bucks-aholic. Swag Bucks is an online program that rewards you with “bucks” that you can use to exchange for gift cards or other rewards of your choosing! I use this program to rack up Amazon gift cards. It’s so nice to use those when getting special treats for myself and family or to buy gifts.

Here’s how YOU can get started:

Step 1:
Visit Swagbucks.com and signup for a FREE account. You can use me as a referral if you like, but it’s not required. I am Wishfulme (just like on twitter).

Step 2:
Be sure to download the Swag Bucks toolbar for the browser that you use the most. This little toolbar will let you accumulate bucks when you search, send you email announcements with bucks (Swag Codes) in there and show you what you have earned. 
 

Step 3:
Check out the Special Offers page with Swag Bucks to gather MORE bucks in your account. Basically you will be signing up for something (newsletters, toolbars, mail, etc) either for free or at a cost to you and with the completed offer you receive Swag Bucks! Yippeee!


There’s 4 “Walls” to choose from. Pick a Wall, select a category (FREE, popular, easiest, etc) and than find an offer that you would be interested in and complete it. Earn Swag Bucks!

Step 4:
Complete the Daily Poll and earn a Swag Buck for just answering the question. Love how easy that is!

Step 5:
Invite friends and family to join you in earning Swag Bucks too! With referrals you will earn MORE Swag Bucks. It’s like sharing the love.

I know there are MORE ways to earn Swag Bucks than the ones listed here, but these are the ones that I felt like focusing on in this post. I was NOT asked by Swagbucks.com to promote them, I just love ‘em that much that I decided to make this post. Plus, I’m asking you to share the love, join with me in earning some extra cash online. It’s safe, fun and easy!

Feel free to see what others might be in love with this week on The Diaper Diaries and "The Things I Love" carnival.

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Change is Good...

I just redid my blog design again. What do you think? I thought it used to look a bit drab.... I wanted something bright and a bit more spring like. I do feel like this might look like someone else's blog out there, but I've looked and cannot find it. Let me know the link if you see one though and I'll switcharoo mine up again. :)

It used to look like this:

I am going to start setting up prices and things to help others change the way their blogs look soon too. Would you be interested in my help?

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Let the Party Begin!

There's an ULTIMATE Blog Party going on over at 5 Minutes for Mom and I am continuing the fun over here! You can too!! This is my first time joining in on a Blog Hop party of this size and I am excited to meet lots of new people. I hope I will have the time to keep up.

This is also the first time I will be holding a GIVEAWAY on my blog!!!

Read more on that in a bit...

Before I get all distracted (yes, that happens a lot) how about a little about this blog. Of course, I have a lovely About Page to check out but it is in need of updating.

• I am a stay-at-home mom trying to hang on to my sanity.
• Our kiddos are in school, at home.
• Gardening is a passion, but I can get neglectful of it around harvest time.
• I'm an aspiring photographer who needs a lot more time to practice.
• Coupons are a TON of fun to me and I teach coupon classes.
• I find my kids hysterically funny. :)
• I have always loved computers and techie things.
• Coding on a blog is fun to me!
• I LOVE to read and research things like crazy.
• Sometimes I stay up too late but I don't like coffee. Hehe...

Obviously, since I love all of these things they all tend to find their way to my blog. If you'd like to hear more, than please follow me on this Blog or Twitter! I can promise you that I will get carried away at some point in time. :)

Reasons to revisit next week:
Besides the Give Away? Sure! There's more!

• Update to my Online Coupon Class
• Walk through recipe post... Yummmm!
• Funny kid story from my crazy kiddos
• And MORE

Now about that mentioned Give Away:
I know Mother's Day is coming up and it's always fun to get lovely, little trinkets to give to mom... or keep for yourself? Well, I made a pretty, pink bracelet to Give Away for you to give away! (Or keep! Hehe... I won't tell, if you won't.) This bracelet is made from glass beads and has a threaded heart clasp. I used steel wire to make this to keep it strong, yet flexible.

This Give Away is OVER:
You can see who won in the last comment of this post.

1. Leave me a (nice... please?) comment! I love comments...
2. Follow me on Twitter and let me know by leaving another comment.
3. Follow my little Blog and let me know by leaving a comment.

Stuff to pay attention to:

- Each way to enter gets you one entry to win.

 - Please make each comment separate so that I can count easier.

- PLEASE make sure that I have a way to contact you from the comment.

(If I can get to your blog and you have contact info, I can find ya.

I just need to be able to let you know YOU WON! :) )

I (or one of my kiddos actually) will draw a number from a hat to choose the winner! Our little drawing ceremony will commence at the END of the Ultimate Blogging Party (April 16 around 12pm Eastern Time) to make sure everyone hopping over here has a chance to enter.

I really appreciate you stopping by my little part of the party! I hope you come back and visit again!

As a side note, if I am chosen to win something from the Ultimate Blog Party prize list, I would love one of these:

Of course, the GRAND PRIZE would be fabulous! :)
#16 – A custom-made tutu for a baby or little girl.
#17 – One of 3 prizes for aspiring photographers and creative women… a copy of photo book Camera Creative, a copy of Found Art, and the big whopper of a Real Women Scrap pack including a Real Women Scrap TV DVD, Real Women Scrap (the book), a Real Women Scrap t-shirt, and a special notebook
#33 – A custom tutu

Or any gift cards to Amazon, Kroger, VISA Debit or ToysRUs available. :)

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Printing from BED!

I am in LOVE with my new printer! I still love my old printer (it's over 9 years old now) too but our new printer is the BOMB! It's a wireless printer so I just leave it on and I can print anytime I want. So if someone mentions a hot new coupon I don't MISS it because I can print it!! I can print from my bed, couch, kitchen, stairway, etc. (Okay... so I don't really cruise the internet on the stairs, but it's possible. Hehe...)

My new printer is an Epson NX515. I love Epson (my 9+ yr old printer is an Epson 880) in general but this printer is exceeding my expectations! I researched it before I purchased it and found that it will take refurbished ink cartridges. (Note to self: order some today!) It also does copies and scanning, which I have missed. Every now and again scanning something is necessary.

So, what do I print next? I think it's so cool to hit print and hear it printing from across the house that I just want to PRINT something! Hehe...

Feel free to see what others might be in love with this week on The Diaper Diaries and "The Things I Love" carnival.

PS-I am not in cahoots with Epson at all. This post is entirely my opinion of my own free will. If Epson would like me to be in cahoots with them, feel free to contact me at... hehe... Seriously though, Epson... Call me! :)

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Force Link to Open in New Window

I've seen a lot of people asking about this so here's a QUICK tutorial on having a new window open when someone clicks a link on your blog. This is HTML style... hehe...

I use Blogger so when I am typing a post I use the Edit HTML tab and type my HTML right in my post. If you use Blogger, just type up your post however you do it, check your post in the Edit HTML tab and do this for your links:

<a href="http://www.WEBADDRESSHERE.com" target="_blank">LINK TEXT HERE</a>

Basically the target="_blank" is what makes the link open in a new window.

You will have to edit the two highlighted areas to make your link point at and work with what you want it to.
Change WEBADDRESSHERE to the URL permalink (look up in your browsers location bar).
Change the LINK TEXT HERE to the title that you want the link to be called.

Clear as mud? I know that this Works for Me! :)
Ask questions in the comment and I will respond there. :)

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My HTC Ozone = My Right Hand

I am totally in LOVE with my new cell phone. It's not really that new anymore but I've not had it for too long yet either. And to think, I argued a bit with Hubbie about getting these awesome little phones! Sigh... What was I thinking?! Now that I have it though, I cannot imagine not having it and all it's really nifty little features.

What's my favorite things about this phone?

• MoTweets
  I can TWEET from my PHONE! And trust me... I do. Twitter seems to be what gets me through the long nights of baby feedings. :) I can keep up with searches, mark my favorites to read check out links later, easily check out TwitPic links, follow MORE people if I want to and everything else that I get to do with the only Twitter webpage. Yes, I can cruise the internet on my phone too, but the Twitter webpage isn't as intuitive as MoTweets.
  
  MoTweets can be used on touch screen and non-touch screen phones. My HTC Ozone is Windows Mobile OS but I think MoTweets works on other operating systems too.
  
  There's a FREE version that loads advertisements (one of which I am really not thrilled with seeing on there at all... so be careful because you can accidentally click those ads!) Or you can break the bank and purchase it for $3.99!

• Solitaire!
  Now, granted, with the HTC Ozone being a non-touch screen phone this game is a bit tricky to play.... but I love solitaire! Even if I never ever win. :) It's a nice option to pass the time.

• Google Reader
  The Mobile Reader is a fantastic way for me to keep up on my Blog Subscriptions! I can save posts for later or star them as my favorites even. Very nice... once again... to pass the time in the middle of the night while feeding baby. :)

• Mobile Blogging
  I can read 'em and I can type mine up too! This is nice for when I get a sudden idea for a post but no paper around to write it down! EEP! I can grab my phone, type up a bit of the post and save the draft for later. Now... I just need to get more inspiration for posts. Sigh...

• Email
  This is so cool! I even have it setup so that emails from my phone are called: Emailed from Dee's Phone! Hehe... cheesy, I know. But I like it. :)

• Tetris
  Or should I say Kevtris... or whatever it's called. I scoured the internet for free Tetris, PacMan and other phone apps because they are ones that my Hubbie loves. I find the tetris one very addicting. :)

• Mp3
  Love my music and love that it can go anywhere with me. I seriously need to get a larger SD card in my phone to hold more music. I mean, being limited to a mere 100 songs is just too constricting.

Oh and so much more! Do you have a favorite app on your cell phone you use ALL the time?? Are you in love with your cell phone too? Hehe...

I've linked this post up to The Diaper Diaries and check out some other "Things I Love" people have posted.


PS-I was not asked to post any of these reviews. I just love all these goodies and my phone. :)

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My Blogger Blog Tip List

Alright... this post is functioning as a DOUBLE post! Wooowho! I'd been working on it for awhile so I hope that it makes sense. I believe that I did have more brain cells when I started this post because it was started BEFORE all my contractions started this week. Hehe... Here's hoping!

I'm listing this post with BOTH:
 - Top Ten Tuesday by Oh Amanda
 - Works for Me Wednesday by We Are That Family

It has become amazingly clear to me that I love to mess with my blog. I am also noticing that more and more people are not using Blogger because it's "not easy to customize" or "doesn't look as professional as WP" or "doesn't have all the features". I am a rebel because I don't accept that. I can accept that a self-hosted blog/website is always a great way to go and allows a LOT (LOT LOT LOT) more customizing. For those of us who cannot afford that plunge, don't feel the need to go that way or whatever other reason I have compiled a list of my FAVORITE Blogger Blog helps, hints and tips. Some of these things may possibly work for Wordpress users too, but I wouldn't know. I'm still with my Blogger blog because it Works for Me with these great tutorials and things below.

I did not write any of the tutorials listed below, but I love them and have found them to work... countless times. I have been editing and playing with this little blog of mine since 2005 and have found these tips below (in no particular order) to be my favorites:


1. Create a TEST Blog
I can't stress this enough. Before I make ANY changes to this blog, I will test them on my "dumby" blog. My "dumby" blog is only visible to authors (me!), cannot be searched and really doesn't have any posts in it. It's there to show me what a template/design might look like and a place for me to test out code. This test blog has saved me lots of headaches because I can stop code mid-stream, save it and not have to worry about the mess I just left. Plus, if anything gives me an error I can just start all over again. Or the more likely thing to happen is that I get so frustrated that it's not working that I can easily pull the plug and delete the whole mess to start over. Hehee...


2. Nice and Neat
I love nice and neat code! I will look all over for a great template, but when it comes down to it, it's all about the code. What does this mean? It's means I will download the template, install it on my test blog and I will look over the code. I am no coding expert by any means, but I can surely look it over and see if it's lined up, has notations or labels (so important to have a template with odd changes labeled) telling me what or where certain settings are, has the incredibly easy to use variable definitions that make text, link and background color changes easy and more! If I do not see these things, I will usually NOT choose that template, no matter how cool it might have been. Without easy to read code it's going to be a VERY difficult template to edit or add to!


3. I Love Pocket!
BlogBulk.com is absolutely FANTASTIC in explaining simple steps of how to customize your Blogger Blog. Not to mention the numerous FREE templates on the site too. I will add that the templates made by Pocket are so super easy to customize because my #1 rule was applied when the templates were created! Yay! So smart of Pocket! If you look under the How To section you will find how to adjust margins, change the background, move things around on your blog and so much more.


4. LinkWithin
This will gather up related posts from your blog and automatically list them at the bottom of the posts! YAY! The pictures are even included! There's a few catches with it to keep in mind though:
- Only pictures directly loaded in the post on your Blogger Blog will show up in the thumbnails. Pictures linked to a post or stored on another site and linked up generally do not show up. (I'm finding this to not be entirely true though. Maybe there's been an upgrade?)
- The LinkWithin Gadget MUST be moved over underneath your posts on the Layout - Page Elements screen or it is bound to mess up your blog layout later. Do not leave this Gadget in a sidebar after it's been installed.


5. Blogger in Draft
It's sorta a new improved, updated version of Blogger. There's no real changes to your templates or anything like that. You aren't required to change anything on your blog if you don't want to. Basically Blogger in Draft offers some newer features or advantages that you didn't have before. The biggest add so far seems to be that you can setup static pages (not a post) to link a menu up to! You can either create the menu on your own with code or use the menu options the new Blogger in Draft offer to use. Go check it out! It won't bite. :)

Note: To find "Blogger in Draft" sign in to your Dashboard and scroll way to the bottom. In the middle column on the footer is a link. You will have the option to KEEP Blogger in Draft as your Dashboard or switch back to the regular one.


6. Tweet Your Own Horn!
Twitter is a major blogging movement and a great thing to add to your blog. Here's a listing from Blogger Busters on 16 Useful Twitter tools for Blogger! I think I am going to have change my way of tweeting on my blog with one of these other cool gadgets.


7. Background Patterns
The Pattern Cooler is a REALLY neat place to visit and find an awesome background pattern. There are tons to choose from in various styles, colors and sizes. They are very easy to code into your site, if you have a site that you can edit easily and know how to add a tiny bit of code. I highly recommend dropping off a little donation if you download some of these beauties to help out the site too.

PS-The backgrounds available at the Pattern Cooler are also great for your Twitter Pages!


8. Add a Column (Using Minima Template)
The new big thing is having 2 Columns in your sidebar these days. Well, the easiest template to add the column to is Minima. You could be using a free template from another site that was edited from the Minima template too, which can still be edited. Here is a step by step tutorial on how to add a column from Blogging Tutorial, Free Templates and Sites Info!

Notice: There are TONS of tutorials out there covering this topic. This is just one that I've looked at before. Please, please, PLEASE make a backup of your blog before trying something like this to it. I cannot be held responsible for something that goes wrong on your blog because you tried a tutorial.


9. Mobile Blogger Blogging
Blogger wraps mobile blogging right into everything else! It's a lot of fun and a quick way to update your site. Simply follow the directions on Blogger Mobile. After you confirm your phone you can either open a brand new blog or attach your phone to one of your current Blogger blogs.


10. Feed Site to Twitter
I love this handy little feature from Feedburner and because I already use Feedburner with my Blogger blog it's easy to just add this in there. (Now, I don't have any idea what all the Feedburner stats mean just yet but I am still learning. And getting lost. And trying to learn more. Hehe...) After setting up an account with Feedburner and attaching it to your blog though hop over to Google Adsense for Feeds - Tutorial for Socializing your Feed with Twitter and try it out. Good luck with this one though! I'd rather deal with code than try and work around in Feedburner still. HAHHA


Let me know if any of these tips helped you out too. I hope that they do!

(Notice: I was not asked or compensated by ANY of the sites listed below to recommend them. I have used them though.)

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Why I am Not Moving... Blogger vs. Wordpress

I am a list maker so after some debate and a bit of research I have decided to stay where I am with this blog for now. I may regret it later. Only time will tell. Here's *my* Pro/Con list for WHY I am staying with Blogger.com for now. You might come up with other reasons too. Please, share in the comments so I can keep investigating this!! One of your reasons might just push me over the edge of my decision.

Note: I am currently using Blogger.com as my host. I am playing with a site design over at Wordpress.com too. They BOTH take a learning curve to figure out where stuff is but once you get one going it's not too bad to get a work-flow down.

Blogger.com Pro List:

• I am here! :)
• I know how to code.
• I like this design I am working on. (Yes, it's a work in progress still. I'll get there.)
• Option to advertise google ads at least
• FREE Hosting

Blogger.com Con List:

• Not self-hosted
• Tricky to code somethings where I want them to be, but I always have html option
• No site statistics unless I link up to one.
• Adding images is time consuming!
• Stream lining comments isn't happening...

Wordpress.com Pro List:

• FREE Hosting
• Statistics wrapped into the site design! Brilliant!
• Cool features/plug-ins available
• I know how to code! :) Works here too.
• Seems there's a Post Editor that you can create templates with for your posts! Cool....Have not located it yet.
• There are plug-in's available to streamline comments.

Wordpress.com Con List:

• Not self-hosted
• Limited on plugins
• A little limited on customization here - maybe I am missing something though?
• No advertising options

(I'm not sure about adding images to Wordpress.com yet, is that challenging? Time consuming?)


Wordpress.org Pro List:

• Self-Hosted = Lots and LOTS of freedom... and coding... :)
• Unlimited features available!
• Total freedom to advertise
• Cool features/plug-ins available
• I know how to code! :) Works here too.

Wordpress.org Con List:

• Yah... Lots and lots of coding can be... ERGH for some...
• Must find a host - which I cannot afford right now
• Must find a domain - not too tricky, but another money issue

So obviously the biggest things holding me back from switching to WordPress.com or .org can be boiled down to these two things:

1. I do not have the money to self-host, which is the BEST route to go for a long term blog.

2. I am afraid to invest a bunch of money I do not have into something I don't keep up on. HEHEHE... I am being realistic here! I want to make sure I will continue this before I invest. Isn't that what any advertiser would look at too? If I am "advertising" myself on this blog than I want to see my "advertising" for a bit before I invest any more than I have into the blog.

So are you moving from Blogger to Wordpress? If not, here's some tips to make your Blogger blog just what you want. :)

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