New Facebook Page for Blog

At the encouragement of some of my super blogger friends, I have created a Facebook page for this blog.  If you happen to be reading today, would you please hop over to THIS LINK and LIKE my page?  I would greatly appreciate it.  Thank you!

Note:  If you don't want my daily posts to show up in your FB news feed, simply HIDE the feed.

Blogging Milestone

Thank you to all of you who have been reading this blog. There aren't that many "followers" but most seem to do what I do and read blogs via Google Reader.   I noticed today that I am now at 30,000+ page views which is pretty exciting for me.  I have some super blogger friends who get that and more each DAY.  But, it's a milestone in this relatively new world of blogging to me.  So, for you all, here's a big...

glittergraphics.org

Technology Tip: Reducing the Size of 14 Mega Pixel Photos for Web Use

I have to learn by doing often and what I learned last week I truly stumbled upon.  Many of the photos on this blog are taken with my camera, a 14.1 mega pixel Sony.

I have been uploading the full size photos on to Blogger which takes awhile since they are so large.  The little blue arrows keep spinning and spinning...

I discovered with our Macintosh that there is a MUCH easier way to upload the photos to the Web.  Of course, if you have an iPod Touch with a camera, or a SmartPhone with one you can do it that way.  I prefer the quality of the photos to be pretty good so I generally take them with my REAL camera.    Windows probably has its own simplified method as well but I'm not familiar with that one.  So, for you Mac users...

1. Take your photos with your good camera
2. Upload from your camera to your computer's iPhoto program
3. With the photos you want to use on your screen, go to FILE --> EXPORT
4. Leave the default settings in place (unless you have need to change them)
5. Choose where you want the photos to go.  I prefer DESKTOP.
6. Make sure you have highlighted the photos you want, and click EXPORT tab.
7. What appears on your desktop (or wherever) will be a "photo" of all of the photos in web size.
8. Open up the "photo" and drag the individual photos that you need to your desktop individually.
9. Now you can place them wherever you need them in your blog SO easily and it takes a minimal amount of time to do so.

If you forget how to do this, go to the SEARCH window in iPhoto and search PREPARING PHOTOS TO DISPLAY ON THE WEB.

You can be sure I'll be doing this every time I take photos and want to use them in this blog!

New Look to My Blog / Fall & Winter

How do you like the new look to my blog?

Introducing A New Blog: Gabriel's Good Tidings

Several of my friends have started new blogs over the last few months.   You may remember my introducing Esther,  Liz and Patty to you recently.   

I'd like you to meet my friend Amy. She is  married, works part-time and is a mother of two children.   We've become friends through our Titus 2 Moms group at church.  The more we talk, the more we find that we have much in common.   As you can see, we are about a generation apart, but it's so nice to have a young friend.  :)

I recently put an ad in our church newsletter (which I publish each week) that I wanted to trade this pretty fall 60" round  tablecloth for another fall decoration of some type.  We gave away our only round table and could no longer use it.  

Amy offered an even better barter of converting the tablecloth into 8 napkins for me.  I love them!  We switched from paper napkins to cloth a few years ago.  I enjoy having a variety of cloth napkins for the various dinnerware patterns that I have and for the change of seasons.  

I'll be using them this fall with three different plate patterns.

Amy has an AMAZING sewing / craft room in her new house and sews all kinds of unique gifts.  I think she has made something for every baby shower I've attended this past year.  Her choices of fabrics and colors are lovely and the items are always useful as well as being decorative.   If you would like to contact her to make a specific item, here is her business card:

And here are links to her Facebook page AND to her blog which I read regularly.  Hope you enjoy "meeting" her!

UPDATE Nov. 4:  She has a free giveaway at THIS LINK.

Stat Counter Reaches 5600

Just wanted to say thank you to everyone who has been reading this blog.   I began this blog in the  middle of Summer  2009.  Every now and then I check the graphs on the StatCounter.  Some topics are noticeably more well-read than others. :)   I know many of you prefer to read it via Google reader or bookmark it (as I do all the blogs I  read) rather than "follow".   Some readers are friends, some family, some total strangers.  Anyway, I'm now up to 5600 page views, not including myself, which is amazing to me.  

This blog is a creative outlet for me, photography-wise,  and I enjoy writing as well.  Thanks for checking in with me periodically!  I'm noticing more comments lately, so join into the conversation!  :)

Two New Blogs for Women: Submission, Frugal Living

Here I am again introducing two new blogs written by friends of mine.

1.  Submission is Not Silence: how women should respond to what the Bible says about submission by Elizabeth Pent Julin.    Liz was part of a large Christian family whose father was a traveling evangelist.  The family was one of the original homeschooling families which was almost unheard of at that time.  They traveled often with their father and sang in his ministry.  Her eldest brother wrote a book when he was a teenager about their experiences  titled Ten Peas in a Pod.  I have been blessed in knowing  several members of her  extended family over the last three decades.  Liz has written a book (the same name as her blog)  which has now been released [3.4.11].  To view the trailer for this book, go to THIS LINK.  My friend, Virginia, has written an excellent review of Liz's book on her blog at THIS LINK.

To visit Liz's blog, go to THIS LINK.   

2.  Healthy Frugal Happy by Patty Morman, wife, mother of two and missionary.  We live near each other and attend the same church together where our husbands are both elders.   Patty enjoys ministering to other families, especially young moms.  To visit her two blogs, go to THIS LINK for her blog about living frugally and THIS ONE about hope...

My Blog

Just wanted to say thank you to everyone who has been reading this blog.    It's been about a year since I began it (last summer about this time).  Every now and then I check the graphs on the StatCounter.  Some topics are noticeably more well-read than others. :)  Although there are only seven followers, I know many of you prefer to read it via Google reader or bookmark it (as I do all the blogs I  read).  Anyway, I'm now up to 4824 page views, not including myself, which is amazing to me.  

This blog is a creative outlet for me, photography-wise,  and I enjoy writing as well.  Thanks for checking in with me periodically!

Organizing Facing Clothes on Shelves / What's Coming in May

From my windowsill:

This is the last windowsill thought.   How fitting that it is a scripture verse that really applies to every day of the week.  There is another message on the flip side of each but I'll save those for another time.  To my surprise, there are 31 days of these cards.  I never really counted them before doing this blog series.   I hope you enjoyed reading and thinking about them.

For the month of May, beginning tomorrow, I'll be sharing Mothers Day photos and thoughts, and prayers for our children and families. I'll also be reading through a book by Elisabeth Elliot titled Let Me Be A Woman and posting comments on that each day as well as my usual recipes and tips.    If you'd like to read the book with me, I'll be covering two sections (about 4 pages each day).

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SIMPLE TIP

When organizing your closet as I'm sure all of us do frequently, one "little" thing that really makes a visual difference in how everything looks is the facing of garments.  For example, if you have shelving in your closet as we do for some of your clothes, if they look like this, it looks a bit messy and unkempt.

However, if you fold and face them the same way, it looks like this.  MUCH tidier and pleasing to look at when you open the closet door.   This holds true for towels and linens, too, which really look nice with the various colors.

It makes it easier to see what's on your shelves without rummaging through all the clothes.  I can glance at the edges and know exactly which blouse I'm looking at.  Such a small thing, but it makes your shelves look much neater.  I see I wear a lot of reds and pinks this spring but then I'm a Winter  so that's what looks best.  I'll have to write a blog on colors sometime soon.   :)   


MY BLOG LABELS
Also, my friend Virginia explained to me how to do the Labels which will help since I can't find anything on this blog that was written prior to the name change in April.  I've correctly labeled blogs for this month and will gradually be going back and relabeling the others as I have time.

Miracles C.S. Lewis / Blog Stats Statistics / What's For Dinner?

Instead of a quote from my windowsill, I  wanted to share this one that was in our church bulletin yesterday.  Our pastor's sermon was about the miracle of the blind man at the Pool of  Siloam.

Miracles are a retelling in small letters of the very same story 

which is written across the whole world in letters 

too large for some of us to see.  

(C. S. Lewis, from his book Miracles, 1947))
Miracles,2001 publication

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Stat Counters on Blogs:

I currently use Stat Counter on this blog to see how many (if any) are actually visiting this site and reading it.  I don't have that many people registered as "followers" so I had considered  ending the blog  a few months ago.  I did so and the next day received several comments that people were indeed reading it and to please continue.    I added the Stat Counter suggested by a friend (thanks, Virginia), beginning at the number 0 and today I see that I have 2900 visits to my blog.  

Who would have thought?  I should have realized that many, like me, do not generally register to follow a blog nor do I  generally sign up for RSS feeds..  I bookmark several that I enjoy and visit each occasionally with one or two being visited just about every day.  

The Stat Counter also includes a recent visitor map.  I see that people have visited my blog from Australia, several countries in Europe, the Middle East, North and South America. The  internet is amazing!  Who are these people? If I really want to check, I can determine which city and URL was used, but I'm really not so interested in finding out these details.  I know who a  few might be based on their location, but most of these are total strangers.  I just find this all very interesting. 

Thank you, whoever you are, for reading my blog. I am enjoying writing/ journaling with you.  :)

Have a great day.
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• Clam chowder (Progresso, which my family LOVES)
• Homemade bread
• Fruit salad
• Celery sticks with peanut butter

I'm Back

Proverbs 31:17

She girds herself with strength and makes her arms strong.

Well, after seeing a friend yesterday at the YMCA who encouraged me to continue my blog and actually getting three comments (I don't usually have anyone leaving comments) from people asking why I stopped blogging, I have decided to continue. Maybe not every single day, but as often as I can.

Thanks to those who are reading and wanting me to continue. :)

I signed up for the YMCA's Get Fit Club yesterday. My trainer weighed me (ugh!) and calculated body mass index, calories needed to lose one pound per day, and gave me a very realistic nutrition summary. My husband signed up for this, too, and gets his first session on Sunday afternoon. Since August 1, I have lost 7 lbs. and he has lost 9 lbs.

Here I am 7 lbs. lighter. :) We're cooking out tonight and having the whole family plus some relatives over so it's portion control, portion control, portion control. :)