07 May 2013 1 Comment
This is the classic Fried Rice recipe and it’s wonderful. My husband made a huge batch of it the other night and sautéd small shrimp in garlic butter to go with it. We’ll have yummy leftovers tonight with the chicken you’ll find posted below. We eat like kings in this country — grateful beyond words!
07 May 2013 4 Comments
in Daily Prompt, My Thoughts Tags: advice, be real, blogging, learning, life, reading, writing
Give your newer sisters and brothers-in-WordPress one piece of advice based on your experiences blogging.
My advice can be distilled into one sentence: Make your blog a priority.
Write something every day, whether or not you decide to publish it. Hang around the Community Pool (http://dailypost.wordpress.com/2013/05/05/community-pool-12/) in order to pick up new ideas and benefit from the experience of others. Exercise your curiosity. Ask questions. Stretch your wings creatively and always be willing to learn something new, add a new element to your blog site, change it up, keep it fresh. Make friends in the WordPress community — there are thousands of people here and you will surely connect with at least a percentage of them. If your early attempts at blogging do not meet with success, either in your own estimation or as reflected by a lack of following, don’t give up easily. Try changing your focus, seek input from friends and fellow bloggers, gain knowledge and understanding through reading the selections on Freshly Pressed and elsewhere around the site. Blogging is a highly satisfying endeavor and it’s worth staying with until things start to click!
The first step in blogging is not writing them but reading them. ~Jeff Jarvis
A quick P.S. … Your phone is an excellent resource for note-taking on the run. Jot down every idea that pops into your head because I can pretty much guarantee it won’t be there later when you try to recall what it was. I use the Voice Memo feature on my iPhone when I’m walking — works really well.
http://dailypost.wordpress.com/2013/05/07/daily-prompt-key-takeaway/
06 May 2013 4 Comments
in Daily Prompt, My Thoughts Tags: be real, celebrations, happiness, happy stuff, life, living, plans
What’s the most significant secret you’ve ever kept? Did the truth ever come out?
A fabulous secret has been mine to keep for the past several years, and the truth will finally be known to all concerned very soon. If you’re ever just bursting to share something, but don’t want it to be public knowledge yet — or ever — feel free to tell me — I can most definitely keep a secret. I like good news secrets best, but I’ve also been the holder of sad secrets, scary secrets, slightly dangerous secrets, and run-of-the-mill secrets. The real secret to a secret is that whatever it entails it’s the sole property of its owner and, therefore, sacred. And one special perk of being a secret-holder is that when its owner says “Go,” you have the privilege of spilling the beans to everyone … or to a hand-picked few. Watch this space …
http://dailypost.wordpress.com/2013/05/06/daily-prompt-secrets/
05 May 2013 Leave a comment
in Miscellaneous, Re-blogging Tags: be real, happy stuff, life, living, Photos
This is such a fun site — check them out!
05 May 2013 2 Comments
in Daily Prompt, My Thoughts Tags: be real, brave, challenge, inspiration, life, living
Is the glass half full or half empty?
My glass is nearly always half full, at the very least. And if it’s half empty, that can only mean that I at some point gleefully helped myself to the top half. Life is very clearly there to be lived! Why else would it go on and on for most of us? I talk with cautious people every day who are afraid to risk anything, and their lives make me feel sad and frustrated. There are things I’m physically unable to take on, but the world inside my head is full of excitement and challenge and change! Balls to the wall, boys and girls — make a difference!
http://dailypost.wordpress.com/2013/05/05/daily-prompt-the-glass/
03 May 2013 4 Comments
― Criss Jami,
In Every Inch In Every Mile
03 May 2013 Leave a comment
Photos taken by Kim Smith
Garden rocks, patio table, rug designed by my son, lid to chiminea, door mat.
All below eye level every day and often taken for granted!
http://dailypost.wordpress.com/2013/05/03/weekly-photo-challenge-from-above/#more-23669
03 May 2013 2 Comments
in Daily Prompt, My Thoughts Tags: beauty, coffee, family, happiness, life, living, love, loving, marriage, music, relationships
Daily Prompt: Describe a little thing — one of the things you love that defines your world but is often overlooked.
The freshly-ground coffee my husband makes every morning before my eyes are open.
That oversize steaming mug, delivered with a kiss.
Hot showers, satisfying work, the quiet rhythm of my house.
Music, music, music, under over around all of life.
Joy because this: My husband. My son.
The little things are the big things and there could never be just one.
http://dailypost.wordpress.com/2013/05/03/daily-prompt-little-things/
02 May 2013 2 Comments
in Daily Prompt, My Thoughts Tags: be real, blogging, Facebook, family, learning, life, plans, time, writing
To what extent is your blog a place for your own self-expression and creativity vs. a site designed to attract readers? How do you balance that? If sticking to certain topics and types of posts meant your readership would triple, would you do it?
Well, to be honest … which is a good approach under most circumstances … my blog is for me. Whatever load of creativity the DNA genie bestowed on me goes into my blog, my Facebook page, my house, and my erratically churning thought processes.
I love it when people come to my blog and comment on what they see there. It’s lovely, it’s gratifying, it gives me warm gooshy feelings all over. I even get off on seeing how many people have been here, whether they say anything or not.
But would I write for a select audience in opposition to, or to the exclusion of, what I really believe and feel? I’d like to think I wouldn’t. Attention is a jealous mistress who gets her hooks into us when we see ourselves as immune … but I’d hate to think I’d throw away the hodge-podge of experience I’ve accumulated and become a sell-out.
Or maybe that isn’t what it’s about at all. Maybe it’s about finding and connecting with varied personality types and saying things they enjoy hearing.
If my readership tripled, I’m sure I’d be looking at what made that happen. Meanwhile, I’m just trying to keep all the plates spinning … wife, mom, Facebook maven, blogger. I swear to myself every week (don’t listen, please) to be better about keeping up with the other bloggers I follow, get right in there and rub elbows, talk about what is and what isn’t, leave thoughtful comments on their posts, build community …
But look at me. I’m over a day late with this “daily” prompt. I started it yesterday morning right after getting the message … and then the blog posts stacked up and the emails poured in and my Facebook peeps were having fun without me and my husband needed to talk, and an industry blog wanted a commitment, and the coffee was running out and I was running behind anditallgotkindacrazy and …
No, clearly my blog is for me. I need it. My immediate world needs it. There couldn’t be any cheaper therapy. I’ll stick with what I love, and people are welcome – invited – to stop by and love it or leave it.
http://dailypost.wordpress.com/2013/05/01/daily-prompt-personal-space/
01 May 2013 Leave a comment
Whatever the weather where you are, I’m wishing you a pretty First of May …
30 Apr 2013 4 Comments
breezes blowing soft
heat to follow on their heels
freezes coming next
29 Apr 2013 2 Comments
It isn’t summer yet, but it is warm out — 82 degrees at the moment — and these look good.
"How did it get so late so soon?" ~Dr. Seuss
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