“Courage is grace under pressure…”

~ Ernest Hemingway

I had heard this quote before but had never really given it much thought.

It was not until I actually witnessed courage and  grace first hand that I knew what courage really was.

I can honestly say that I didn’t have a clue what courage really was. One can never realize what they are capable until until they are put under fire.

My middle daughter, Danielle,  has always been a girly girl.  When she was growing up, that was her personality.

~  She didn’t like to get dirty

~ She would run like a girl

~ She made sure her hair was perfect while she was playing basketball

Nothing wrong with being a girly girl.  I, myself, have girly girl moments.  Not very often as I don’t have that many opportunities.

My definition of being a girly girl also encompasses being a little whiny, a little fragile, a little dependent.  You know, the kind of person that doesn’t like to even go shopping by herself.  The kind of  “girl” that conveniently doesn’t know how to do the things she doesn’t want to do.

All of that is a memory of someone else.  Not my Danielle.  She is no girly girl.

Humans!  They are amazing.

It is fascinating to me the strength and courage that people have under the most adverse situations.

I Don”t Know Where To Begin.  I can only say that any and every parent’s worst nightmare happened to Danielle.  Her baby, 10 months old at the time, had become seriously ill.

The courage and grace with which Danielle exhibited during this ordeal is beyond words.  For a young mom who had never experienced any real difficulties, she somehow found what she needed to keep everything together.  She was luckier than some, she didn’t have to do it alone.  She has a great husband and a devoted extended family.

She definitely has courage.

Do you know of people who have impressed you or even surprised you with their hidden courage?

Toodles - Blog Happy!

“Question of the Week? Vote in our Poll!”

EntreCard - Yes, No or Maybe?

I am not sure yet.  I have been a member probably long enough that I should know but I just haven’t made up my mind yet.  There are so many different social networks that I haven’t really had enough time to give EntreCard a fair evaluation.

So what is EntreCard?  EntreCard is an advertising network.  The more popular your blog, the more it costs to advertise on your blog.  You earn EntreCard credits every time you go to a blog that participates in the EntreCard network and you “drop” your card.  Hopefully, you drop your card, then you click on the ad to go to the next blog that participates in EntreCard.

Some people say that EntreCard inflates your visitor numbers.  That most EntreCard members just run around “dropping” cards to increase their credits to advertise on other blogs.  These visitors just go to your blog to drop their card then they in turn, get advertising credits.  They aren’t interested in your blog and don’t have any intention on staying or looking around.

While others say that EntreCard gets the visitor to your blog and it is up to the blogger to keep them there or get them back.  I guess there is a point in this philosophy.

From what I have seen (again, without spending enough time to fairly evaluate) EntreCard does encourage mass visits.  If most bloggers are like me, and I believe they are, they do not have excess time to spare for browsing on blogs out of our niche.?  Some bloggers will click from one ad to another to get a few EC credits.  Some blogs just aren’t in your interest range so no matter how great they are, they are not going to stay very long on a blog that is out of their interest range.

Check out  EntreCard and visit BloggerNewbie and let me know what you think.

EntreCard- yes, no or maybe?

What do you think?  What has been your experience?

Toodles - Blog Happy!

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“No question is so difficult to answer as that to which the answer is obvious…”

~ George Bernard Shaw

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Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

“Monday Motivation!”

The longer I live, the more beautiful life becomes.

~ Frank Lloyd Wright

Isn’t that the truth? I guess you just appreciate the little things when you get older.  I don’t know.  Seems to be that way for me.

I like to concentrate on the little things.  The little things is what life is all about.

“They say” - the  older you get, the more money you make, the more stuff you want?

I am actually the opposite. Downsize the “stuff”.

Instead of getting the big house, we decided to downsize. We don’t need the 3000 square foot home.  We actually downsized to about a 1000 square foot home.  A little too small.  We are building a new home and my husband originally wanted small, around 1200 square foot but we have decided on about 1500.  Storage room is a must.  No, not for stuff.  We need storage room for seasonal items, pantry type items, etc.

The big SUV?  Nope, don’t need that either.  Little Ford Taurus gets me back and forth to work the whole 2 miles.

We prefer to concentrate on family, friends, the warm sun, the green grass.  We would rather not have to stress over the big stuff and have to worry about how we are going to pay for all that stuff.

I like to concentrate on the little things.  The little things is what life is all about.

• Those pretty flowers,  that nice apple tree, fresh cut grass…

• And right now, even the fresh new fallen snow.

• A baby giggling, Kenny G’s saxophone, a little guy calling you Granny.

The older you become the more calm you become.   That is so true. You get to a point when you know it’s not worth it to sweat the small stuff.

Have you found that the longer you live the more beautiful life becomes?  What wisdom has life given you?

Toodles - Blog Happy!

“Question of the Week? Vote in our Poll!”

Do you believe in Santa Claus?  Well today is supposedly the day.  The day Santa Claus brings you all the joy of the season.

I believe in Santa Claus.

Not the Santa Claus most people believe in.   Not the Santa Claus that comes down your chimney with toys and presents on that one day.

The Santa Claus that is the whole spirit of the season.  That’s the Santa Claus I believe in.

The Santa Claus that makes you want to do something really wonderful and unique for that special someone.  Santa Claus is not a person.  Not an old man in a red suit.

I believe in Santa Claus.  I love Santa Claus.  I miss Santa Claus.  I try to bring him around as much as possible.  It gets harder and harder every year.

The stores pile all the junk up to the ceiling.  They add extra rows.  They start BEFORE Halloween.  What are they thinking?  Ugggh, the commercialism.  Ruins everything.

Santa Claus is not for one day.  Santa Claus is a feeling.  He is excitement and joy and blessings and giving.  Santa Claus is love and sharing with friends and family.  That is the joy of the season.

You have heard the saying ‘ “it is better to give than to receive?”  (Have you ever noticed that all these “sayings” have so much truth?)  Think about it.  How do you feel when you receive?  How do you feel when you give?  So much better.

I love Santa Claus.

Do you believe in Santa Claus?

Toodles - Blog Happy!

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“No question is so difficult to answer as that to which the answer is obvious…”

~ George Bernard Shaw

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Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

We had a lively discussion in the comment section of a previous post - RSS Reader or Website? The previous post pondered whether you read posts in a reader or whether you go directly to the website? Do you prefer to read the post in the reader? Some bloggers make that decision for you. Some offer only the title of their post in the reader while others will give you a little sneak preview with an excerpt. Of course there is always the option of the full post being available in the reader. This choice is set up by the blogger, not by the reader.

I thought we would further the discussion in another article after a little more research.  I decided I would examine all of the blogs in my reader.  I wanted to get a consensus as to which option is more widely used.

I have 100 blogs in my reader.  I know, how do I have time to do all that reading?  Well a majority of the blogs don’t post on a daily basis.  In my Google reader, the posts are sorted by the most recent update.  As you can see from the following graphic, the name of the blog is first, the title of the post, then the date or time.

I view the title and choose the most interesting ones first.  I have a few blogs that I visit whenever they update.   I click on the title and don’t necessarily even read the excerpt or any of the post.  I like to click straight through to the site.  I like to check out everyone’s site, see what they are doing different and join in the conversation.

Often, I make decisions for my blog based on my own preferences.  I prefer to go directly to the blog to read the posts.  Therefore, I list the excerpt for my post in the reader.  I don’t trust my talent that the title will be enough and I don’t want to list the whole post as I want my readers to come to my blog. I reviewed each blog in my reader and I was very surprised with the results of my research.

Title only ~ 1% of the blogs in my reader list the title only.  No surprise there.  You would have to be overly confident with yourself to list just the title.  The title is the only part bringing your reader to your blog.  For the record, I rarely click through to that site.

Excerpt ~ 11% of the blogs in my reader list just the excerpt of their post.  For the blogs that I read on a regular basis, I click through to the site regardless of the excerpt.  In fact, I don’t bother with the excerpt, I just click through to their blog.  I like to see what, if any, changes they are doing with their design or ads.  It is also a sense of community and I like to join in the discussion if possible.

Full Text ~ 88% of the blogs in my reader list the full text of their post.  To my surprise, an overwhelming number of blogs choose this option.  I have all types of blogs in my reader from beginner to the seasoned pro.  Choosing to use the full text went across the board.  Again, this is neither a benefit nor a deterrent to my routine of reading blogs. In the discussion on the original post ~ RSS Reader or Website? Tsunami and I exchanged a few comments  on this topic.

Tsunami and I were both of the same opinion in regards to using the excerpt.  My thinking is that I hope to use a creative title to get readers to click on my post in their reader then my second hope is that the excerpt is interesting enough to get the reader to click through to my site.  I want to encourage readers to go to the site to build community and hopefully create loyal readers.

I have since changed my opinion of how my post will be listed in a reader based on my research for two reasons.

The first reason is the overwhelming number of blogs that offer the full post.  88%?  That speaks volumes.  In my reader, 21% of the blogs I subscribe to are categorized (by me) as the “A” list.  ALL of them offer the full post.  With the combination of their years of experience and their thousands of readers, I try to follow their lead.

The second reason is the choice of clicking through to my blog should be the readers choice not mine.  The majority of the reason we all write is for people to read our brilliant words, right?  So shouldn’t that be a blogger’s main objective?  If the post is compelling enough, the reader will click through to your site. Wouldn’t it be nice if the reader had control over the option?  Give that option to your reader.

One other interesting “factoid” I discovered - only 17% of the blogs in my reader have ads in their posts.  I thought that was low.

Wow, this post was interesting to research and quite an eye opener.  I am glad we had this discussion on RSS Reader or Website?

What do you think?  Has this research changed your mind?  Do you have any thoughts to add?  Any arguments for or against this debate?  Keep the discussion open!

Toodles - Blog Happy!

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“Things should be made as simple as possible, but not any simpler…”

~ Albert Einstein

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