Embracing Beauty

Who Am I?

So, I’ve decided to publish an “About Me” page on my blog. Problem: I don’t know what to write about myself that will inform people of the information they want to know without boring them. So, I turn to you, my dear readers. Will you help me create my page?

What do you think should be elemental to a page about me on this blog?

What are the features about me and my blog that people want to know right away when they visit here?

What do new readers want to know?

What do long-time readers want to know?

What do YOU want to know about me that I have yet kept under my hat?

Ask away, and I shall tell. Maybe. :) Rule: For every question you ask about me, you have to answer one of mine above. Fair? Good. Glad we had this talk.

Community, Mentoring, and Networking

Listening to Jeff Myers’ sessions at this years NYS Homeschool convention really got me thinking and inspired to cultivate mentoring relationships. I’m really grateful for the mentors in my life, which motivates me to want to step more fully into the role of a mentor to those who look to me for advice and inspiration. Specifically I feel inspired to make my blog more than a one-way conversation of self-expression. I want it to be a place where people connect and are inspired and we can discuss what we’re passionate about. I want my blog to be a place that calls people up, and gives them practical advice and coaching. One of Jeff’s main points was that a good coach, or mentor, asks questions and listens well. I really desire to have that kind of interaction with my readers so this blog can be a real community with active discussions happening daily. In an effort to cultivate that, I’ve added a new widget, just below my blog’s theme verse – it’s called blogfrog, and this widget allows you to comment on topics we mention here on the blog in a forum setting, which I hope will help foster the networking and conversations. Please check it out and join blogfrog – it’s a great way to network and connect with other bloggers!

A Surprise…

…coming tomorrow. Yes, I’ve been on the computer all day, it seems, yet hardly a blog post to show for it! What am I up to? Well, I’m makin’ somethin’ special for my dear readers – and preparing to enter my first carnival! Come back here bright and early tomorrow to see what I made for you…

We the People – that means YOU!

Introducing a new blog…

The Patriot’s Gazette

Click on over and enter the discussion. Become a follower – show your support to these men who are seeking God for answers as to what we can do to rescue our country from lawlessness.

One of the blog authors is my awesome father-in-law, Mark Holden. Nah, I’m not prejudice. Not one bit. ☺

Claire’s in the Cupboard

Thank you for your kind comments on my bonnet – if you want to see more pictures of that day’s outfit, you can revisit this post from the archives. I went back there myself and realized that some of my readers had requested a tutorial of how I turned that old straw hat into a lovely regency bonnet. I have posted notes on how I did it on the Sense and Sensibility Message Board. If you sign in, you can see the post here. You could make one in time for Easter!

I am receiving those yucky spam comments on my more recent posts, now – ackk! I am trying to erase them as fast as they come, but will probably move my comment moderation deadline to within two days of a post. Hate to do it! I really like my posts and comments to be as fresh as possible – but, I’m on here so many times a day – I will be able to moderate the comments nearly as quickly as they come, I should hope. Again, I ask that you disregard the comments if you see them, and do not click on any of the links – I don’t know where they will take you.

 
 

I’m wondering if any of my readers out there have any information on blog sponsors. Many popular blogs have monthly sponsors, adds in there sidebars,  and companies that give them things to give away on their blogs. I would love to get some insider’s info on how that all works (especially that last part about free stuff for my readers!) I am also interested in increasing the readership of my blog – any ideas or suggestions would be welcome.


Read more about why I let the kids play in this cupboard here.

Comment Moderation

To my faithful readers –
I have had to enable comment moderation on archived posts this weekend because of an avalanche of spam comments on archived posts that are offensive. I have intermittent internet connection, but am doing my best to delete them as they appear. If you come across one of these comments (which are a series of links, mostly in foreign characters), please disregard them! And bear with me as your comments will appear after I have sifted out the spam. Thanks for your patience! Oh, and if anyone has had experience blocking or dealing with a similar problem, I’d appreciate input!

Of Pages and Patience

I was so excited to read in Blogger Buzz today that they’ve released a new feature – Pages within your blog! Now you can find all my recipes by clicking on the tab below my header. I love it when they make cool features like this accessible to non-nerds like myself! ☺ I also gathered up all my posts from the studio that could be considered tutorials and put them on another page. I’ve been wanting to do this for a while so my dear readers could have ready access to some of the best of the archives – I hope you enjoy!

I just wanted to let all my dear friends who keep up with me here on the blog know: I’m having a wonderful day. Feel like myself for the first time in a long time. Vacuumed the carpets for the first time in a long time. Enjoying the sunshine and my children’s smiles. Having good friends for dinner. Making yummy things in the kitchen, and having an appetite to eat them. Life is good. Thank you for your prayers and patience with me in this season.

Fondly,
Trina

Of Rude Robots and Kind Congratulations

I didn’t want to do it, but I had to – I added word verification to my comment box. I personally hate having to type a gibberish word each time I leave a comment on someone’s blog, and wanted to spare my readers from this annoyance, but I have been getting some very annoying comments (they’re mostly on older posts, so hopefully no one has been bothered but me) full of links and advertising for products I really want nothing to do with. So, be sweet and still leave me comments, even though I’ve had to add an extra step to ward off rude robots…

On another blogger note – did you know there’s a new post editor option in blogger? I just installed it and it’s great! Where to find it?

To enable the new editor, first navigate to your blog’s Settings | Basic tab. Near the bottom of the page you will see a field called Select Post Editor, and from there you simply need to select Updated Editor and save your settings.

Find out more about the new features here. Sounds like it will be real helpful when adding photos (something that always gives me a headache!)

Well, ski season has begun, which means our weekends will be dominated with skiing – or missing the skiing individuals – every Saturday and Sunday for the next two months. Many of you know that my husband works for a program at a ski mountain over an hour away that teaches skiing to individuals with various handicaps. I love what he does – I think it’s so great! But I am not feeling up to joining him (I call it Lodging) very often this season, especially with two little children in tow, so weekends are gonna be a little lonely around here for a while! He usually leaves by 7 am and gets home 10-12 hours later. The season culminates with our yearly trip to White Face Mountain in Lake Placid for the Empire Games for the Physically challenged. I am already gearing up for that – It is a lot of planning and food prep to bring yummy, nourishing food for our growing family for a 3 day trip. I will be sharing my menu plan for the trip in a future post.

And me? I’m in hibernation mode. I have lots of good excuses. It’s cold and snowy outside. It’s warm and cozy inside. I have plenty of lovely things to do in the studio this month (wait till you see the new maternity tunic I made!), plenty of cooking to keep me busy in the kitchen, and two darling children to play with. I try to go out just once a week for groceries and errands – it takes so much energy, something I’m a little low on lately. :) My goals are simple – try to stay on top of the house work, and get enough rest so that we can welcome Daddy with smiles when he gets home from a long day.

For those of you dying for more details on my pregnancy – here you go! I am due the end of July, and am about 11 weeks along (hooray! one more week and I’ll hopefully be over the first trimester queasiness! Who in the world invited the term ‘morning sickness’????) We are so excited about welcoming a third child into our family. The other day Jesse started saying a new word to me – “Tan-lashions, Mom! Tan-lashions!” I had no idea what he meant until he did the sign for baby and pointed to my belly. Incredible. I had know idea he even understood what we had been talking about, and he was saying “Congratulations!” Now he congratulates me at least once a day, which reminds me of the treasure that is at the end of this sometimes trying road called pregnancy. We appreciate your kind comments and prayers!

20-10

Weeks, that is.

Stay Tuned….

Here’s hoping everyone had a wonderful Christmas! It was certainly a memorable one for me – so fun to be both on the receiving end and the giving end of that delicious ‘just what I wanted’ Christmasy delight. Enjoyed keeping up with the traditions we have started in our own little family – it was our 5th year sleeping under the Christmas Tree on Christmas Eve and this year Jesse was old enough to join in the fun! Loved watching Claire’s One-year-old delight in lights and wrapping paper. Savored a scrumptious ham dinner with family, and looking forward to one more family gathering today.

I’m cooking up some great stuff for the blog in the New Year! A couple surprises, a giveaway, and lots of your favorite types of posts (watch for a ‘survey’ soon!) I’m so excited about the upcoming year and can’t wait to share all that’s good from our little home to yours!

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