Trees On the Ground

If you are constantly taking pictures, chances are that you would forget where you've stored them or what you've taken. That is my case! Well, as you know I'm a Michigan dweller and the winter is here. We go for days with just gray sky and no sun.

I found these pictures in my archives from the fall.


Tracy at Hey Harriet, the hostess of Shadow Shot Sunday knew that she would get many people hooked in this very rewarding theme.

I feel like a chipmunk sometimes, trying to stock up on shadow pictures just in case the weather turns bad, and I am glad I did when the opportunity presence.


I love the dark color of the tree shadow on the ground full of leaves. Now, a year or so I would have missed seeing this as a beautiful view. Looking for shadows keep me aware of light and shade, colors and directions.


If you have a camera, grab it, and take some pictures! What our human eyes see some time is different than what the camera sees, and vice versa.

Visit Hey Harriet to see more entries!

Receive Free Books to Read

If you are a book lover, and love to read, you are in for a sweet treat today. I've been checking out this website for the last three days, and wondering if I could just squeeze in one more thing in my already crazy routine.

Well, I finally give in, and sign up at BookSneeze, a website for blogger to get free books, in exchange for a 200 words book review on its site, and on a consumer site such as Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Borders, Christian Books, or Books a Million.

Requirements

• You must have a blog
• You must sign up at BookSneeze for an account. It's free!
• You must read the first two chapters online while they mail out the hard copy to you
• You must post a review of the book on your blog, and on one of the consumer websites mentioned above
  

I thought this is a great way to get my hands on the books that I would like to read. After all, the books are mine to keep, pass them on, or donate them to my library. For writers, this is also a great idea to brush up on writing, reviewing, and reading other people's work.

How To Put a Re-Tweet Button on Your Blog

Twitter and Facebook have become the giant social networking websites for many of us. From celebrities to businesses we all see buttons like these: Find Us/Me on Facebook, or Follow Us/Me on Twitter.

I can't help but join the buzz as an online writer/blogger. I actually have these accounts for two years now since I started writing on Triond, Associated Content, and eHow. These accounts used to serve as the places to share my articles.

Lately, I have read many articles about getting a "Re-Tweet" button for article or post. With a re-tweet button available, your reader might do just that, and that is "re-tweet" your post.


Where to Get the Re-Tweet Button

You can get the HTML code for the Re-Tweet button on this website TweetMeme Button. You will find many different type of codes, and depend on what suited your blog you will pick one of these HTML code to use.

I decide on the first code for simplicity.

How to Put the HTML Code on Your Blog

Decide where you would like to put the Re-Tweet button in your blog. You could either put the code in each post or you could put it in your post template. If you decide on the post template, then you don't have to do it every time you post new content. It will appear automatically after each post. I prefer the post template option.

• Sign into your blogger account
• Copy the code TweetMeMe Button
• In your dashboard, select "Settings"
• Select "Formatting"
• Scroll down until you see "Post Template"
• Paste the code in this area, and click Save Settings

Congratulation! Now you have a retweet button on your post! If you see it on other blogs, be kind and retweet it, and hopefully they will do the same.

Here is an article on How to Get a Twitter Button for Your Blog, you know the one that say "Follow Me on Twitter".

Monster and Things

Here are my shadows for this week! I am not quite sure what were the shadows in the first two photos, but they just look interesting to me. I know the white rectangular spots are my windows, and the others are probably from the Christmas displays.


These are my recycling groceries shopping bags, which I hang on the back door as a reminder when I have to get to the store. The green color was just beautiful under a bit of sun.



I am constantly looking for shadows, and these last few weeks I was lucky to find them inside our house, at the oddest places.



Here is the monster my nephew tried to pose for me. He is the little guy that you saw pretending to sleep on the bench two weeks ago.

Visit Hey Harriet to see more entries!

Use Dual Flush Kit to Save Money and the Earth

A couple months ago, I had my final run in with our downstairs bathroom facility. It had been giving me trouble all along, and keep getting worst every time. I always worried that one of those days it would end up in a disaster, and it did.

When the emergency arose, I had to enlist the help of my brother-in-law! Yes, I went to Home Depot to pick out the toilette I like, and tried as I might to get some services, I didn't! So I left it up to my brother-in-law to pick and choose for me. He mentioned that one of those Dual Flush Toilets was the best choice.

He bought it home, and replaced the old one with the new dual flush toilet. With this system, it would save me money since it takes less water to flush, thus it also is greener for the earth. Saving money on the water bill is always a plus for me, and using less of the earth resource is even better.

It is now about three months later, I have seen a decrease in my water usage with the new dual flush toilet. I haven't figure out how much money I have saved yet because our city has just raised the price on water. I just know that the water usage was considerably less than before.

Gray Sky

The sky has been gray for many days, and I am craving for some warm sun. Although the sun peeked out here and there yesterday, it's still not warm enough to melt the thick ice patches on my driveway.


The weather reports a warmer week, and we should be in the low 30, but it didn't feel like we are in the 30 degree weather.


It was freezing when the wind kicked up. We still have at least another 2 to 3 months to go. We've been lucky this year, and the snow is not piling up so much yet.

Happy Friday!

Potty Trained In a Week

Upon seeing this book, The Potty Boot Camp by Dr. Suzanne Riffel, I thought of my two little sisters who are currently going through this stage with their little ones. I can tell you, I don't envy them at all. It is not an easy task, and it takes time to go through the process with each child, differently.

Image Courtesy of thepottybootcamp.com

I know my little nephew developed some type of a fear when he has to use his toilette. He either holds it or demands for a diaper to be put on. This is where trials and errors begin. It is also when a mother's patient is being tested to the fullest.

So with the The Potty Boot Camp you will find a successful potty training program, and easy ways to get your children out of diaper in a week. I remembered my children took much longer than that, and I had to watch their every move like a hawk. In my time, I relied on mother's instinct to deal with this kind of responsibility.

If you are a young mother, and have children that going through this stage, The Potty Boot Camp is available for download at $5.95 and is also on sale in paperback. Get all the help that you can get. It will save your sanity, and avoid many tearful events.

Wild Black Grapes

I saw this branch of wild grapes by the back fence of our yard, in the fall! I don't usually go back there since nothing seemed to grow under a pine tree and other big trees. However, there were always a crowd of birds and squirrels around this area!


Due to my curiosity, I went back there one day, and saw these wild black grapes! I understood completely while there were always birds and squirrels around these trees in the back. I didn't taste these grapes just yet.


This summer I plan on going to the back of my yard to compete with the birds and squirrels. I will have to have one of these delicious looking black grapes.

Three Memes For Writers and Poets

You've probably noticed that there are many memes/themes out there that connect bloggers together. It is a great way to exchange traffic to the blogs, especially for photo bloggers. I, myself, have joined a few of these memes for all my three blogs.

However, there are other people who love to write to keep the creative juice moving. Once in a while, I have this urge to just write something that is out of this world or something that pertains to no money aspect of the writing side.

My mind is stuck in the mud sometimes, and life demands push me away from this kind of luxury to indulge in. I thought of writing prompts for something short and different or to get back into the writing groove.

I found three memes that I thought very interesting.

Microfiction Monday


This site is hosted by Susan at Stony River in Ireland. Every Sunday she will post a picture or an illustration, and follows up with her own story that was inspired by the picture/illustration. You can write whatever you want, but is has to be within 140 characters. This is geared toward the new Twitter craze!

Join the fun if it is enticed you!

The One Minute Writer


This site is hosted by C. Beth at One Minute Writer. You can find a prompt everyday to inspire your writing. What makes this fun? You have exactly one minute to write your story using the prompt. There is a timer on C. Beth's blog that you must hit "Play" when you are ready to write.

Try it, and see how many words you can come up in one minute.

One Single Impression


If you are a poet, you must check out this site! You can find a prompt every Sunday and have the whole week to work on your poem. After you've published your post, you can put your URL in to Mister Linky.

This week prompt is Chaos! Sounds like fun isn't it?

These sites are great for all writers and poets to take that creativeness up a level.

Bamboo on My Cupboard

This is my 10 posts on Shadow Shot Sunday! I like this meme because it gives me the push to look for shadow around me. If I am desperate enough, I will create shadow myself. Why desperate? Well, living in Michigan, we can go for days without the sun at times.

I like to take pictures outside more than indoor. Natural lighting and objects seem to suit me better. I hardly notice shadow inside my home until I see these below.



This shadow hits me one day when I walk into my kitchen. The sun was gorgeous and bright that day, and sipped in through my window. It is the shadow of my bamboo trees sitting on the window sill in a vase.



In the first picture, I just zoomed in for the shadow on the cupboard. In the second on, I include a portion of the bamboo trees and their shadow. The red thing you see is a candle my son made for me from his Greenfield Village field trip.

Yes, I had a collection of kids' art stuffs, plants, shells, marble, and everything else under the rainbow on this window sill sometimes.

Visit Hey Harriett to see more Shadow Shot.

Time For a Guessing Game

I am rushing it; the summer that is! Just a few week of winter, and I am already exhausted with the cold weather. I know there are many people who love the snow, and have plenty of activities line up, but for me, it is just dreading.

Anyway, let just cheer up with a guessing game! I found these two photos below. These were from my garden in the summer. Although we didn't get to eat them, they were fun to grow.


So do you know what they were? Have you watched your vegetables growing after you planted them? We bought a bag of seeds, and sowed them just to test out the soil we had. We found that certain vegetables such as green bean, pea pod, tomato, and pepper grew best in this area.


These vegetable grew very healthy and fast. In no time at all, they shot up to about four to five feet tall, and started to produce. As I mentioned earlier, we didn't get to eat them, but the squirrels sure had their fill.

Do you have any idea yet? This is one of summer popular vegetables! It is just a fun game. No prizes or anything! Go ahead, and guess!

Shopping Perks Me Up

The Holidays rush is over, and I feel it is time to go shopping for some new things. Usually, at this time of the year I am restless. My wardrobe seems too dark, and ragged! I have too many black, brown, navy blue, and white clothing.

Image Courtesy of become.com

I need to have some colors. Maybe I should get a pink Patagonia fleece or a cute cropped denim jacket. Just something to jazz up the winter blues. I know why many people are suffering from Seasonal Affective Disorder, and that is because they are deprived of sunlight. I also know why many others turn to shopping for a little "pick me up".

I am one of these people. I have a mild case of SAD, and I like to shop when I feel drained. Sometimes, I don't buy anything, and sometimes I do. Usually an actual shopping trip to the mall, or a virtual one would perk me up. My favorite thing is to look at leather backpack purse.

Image Courtesy of become.com

I like backpack type purses because they free my hands from holding, and distribute equal weight on both shoulders.

When you are under the weather, what do you do? Do you shop, or eat or do something else?

Like Diamonds on Cactus

This beautiful red cactus flowers are just stunning at my local Home Depot! It is hard to walk by and not thinking about taking pictures. The little white dot with thorns look like diamonds from afar.


I brought home a couple of small pots to put on my kitchen window sill, but they don't receive as much sun as I was hoping.


The red color on this cactus is absolutely cheering up my day, as it is continued to snow. I haven't have much time to spend online, as I am busy clearing the driveway and sidewalk. My mail box receives two notices from the Post Office about hazardous walkway for the mail carrier.

To see more entries, please visit Mary!