The HomeSpun Life

Ten Reasons Why I Might Follow or UnFollow You on Twitter

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa) — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 08:00:00 +0000

Everyone seems to have their own pet peeves about Twitter and it's nearly impossible to live up to everyone else's standard of twitterville etiquette. I thought it would be interesting to see how you feel about the Twitterverse.

1. I'll be sure to follow your tweets faithfully if you're sharing quotes and content that inspires.

2. I'll follow closer if you help promote other bloggers without an agenda to butter them up to get something in return. Some tweeps are too obvious in their sucking up. I'll actually unfollow suck ups.

3. I add relational bloggers to a list that gets promoted via the Paper Li. I'm picky about who I put on this list. If you find it in my Twitter stream and you happen to be on it, then you score high in my Twitter stream.

4. I will pretty much follow anyone if they ask me to, but if they end up violating my personal boundaries for my Twitterville, I'll unfollow. My time is precious and I don't want to waste my time sifting through time or emotional vampires.

5. If you think you have the corner market on the divine order of the universe, I unfollow. I don't want to get into heated bashing replies from people who think they have the whole world's truth 100% and neatly packed into their tweets as if they are God himself.

6. I enjoy thought provoking articles that are open minded. I love to follow people who are mature and can handle diversity.

7. I'm not a bigot against gender, religions, etc. So please don't expect me to be. I value a person's human rights and freedom. As long as they respect the Constitutional and spiritual freedom of others. Abusive people can abstain from following me. I stand up for the oppressed, so if you're a bully you may want to stay out of my way.

8. I allow others to voice their opinions if they can allow me to voice mine too. Just be respectful about it. Just because someone disagrees with you (or me) doesn't make them "wrong" or "awful" people.

9. I like seeing my friends tweet their latest articles, just don't over do it. Too much self promotion is overkill.

10. Don't spam hashtag streams. If you're not sure what a hashtag stream's intended use is. ask them For ex: "What is the hashtags #savvyblogging for specifically?" Ask if they have a post explaining the do's and don'ts of it.

What are some of your Twitter pet peeves?
What do you LIKE to see in Twitterville?

Link up Get Related to The HomeSpun Life
My Royalty Free Shared Photos

5 Reasons Why Your Blog Might be Superficial

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa) — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 08:00:00 +0000

Have you ever thought your blog might be superficial? Why do bloggers want an audience? The rat race for followers, subscribers, and hit count can drag you down to blog hell trying to create something out of nothing. Blogging doesn't have to be that hard. If we treat our blogs like the hierarchy number chasers in religion, we'll quickly end up just like them. Tired, over worked, and of no substance at all. No one can survive in a superficial community.

1. Why do you want an audience? Are you looking for a limelight for yourself? If you are, you will be creating a superficial audience that you'll have to keep performing for or you'll lose readers. Do you really want that kind of an audience?

2. A good blog audience is built on genuine relationships. Therefore you need to be yourself. Don't try to knock yourself out trying to be Martha Stewart or The Pioneer Woman. It doesn't work. Everyone will know you're a copycat. It's best to just be yourself. If you're working hard to be like 'mega stepford blogger' you'll never be number one, you'll only be a short changed second place.

3. Conquer your fears. If you're always afraid to blog how you really feel, what you really believe, or what your real opinions are, then you are held captive by peer pressure. I'm not suggesting you start using foul language or to be rude, we certainly can tame our tongues and season our words with salt, but you certainly don't have to fake being a sugar cookie if you're really a red velvet cake with buttery cream cheese frosting.

4. You don't know your identity. Some bloggers don't know who they are. This is why so many are trying to copy everyone else. What is unique about YOU. If you don't know, ask the people you know in real life. Go to Wordle and add the URL of your blog in there. Find out what you blog about most often. The word cloud will show what your passions are. Your passions come from the heart. When we copy what others are doing we're just trying to recreate their hearts on on our blogs. Be you. Be original. This is my word cloud for The HomeSpun Life. The largest words are the things I blogged about most this week. You can enter the category URL you write most about too. For example, if your most filled category is "daily life" then get that category URL and put it in the Wordle tool.

5. Be friendly. I can't say this enough. Reply to people you like on Twitter. Participate in your blog comment section. Be genuine. Don't try to butter people up with an agenda to piggy back their audience. Find your own 'place' in the blogosphere and own your place. You'll want readers who really like you for you. To have friends, one must first show friendliness.

Any additional thoughts to share?

Related articles:

Button Swap

Get Related to The HomeSpun Life

How to get the most out of a meme at Pix-O-Sphere Blog

Link up Get Related to The HomeSpun Life
My Royalty Free Shared Photos

Finding My Peaceful Moments

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa) — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 20:11:00 +0000

With all the busyness in life it's sometimes difficult to find that peaceful moment to breathe. Daily life of doing dishes, homeschooling, laundry, and cooking has wonderful aspects to them, but finding time to just be me is so needed. I can't allow my housework to define me. My housework is not my identity. If I allowed my daily grind at home to define me I eventually feel like a slave and I need to break out of the routine and get refreshment.

I enjoy my time getting out of the house with my camera and capturing beautiful moments in this place we endearingly call Earth. I see colorful poppies and slow down to notice the color scheme the Lord created around it. The shade of orange is the perfect match for the shades of green surrounding it. I contemplate the artwork of our Creator and thank him for the display of perfection.

Some days I turn up the music in my car and listen to the lyrics of the singers of faith, but sometimes I need silence and He gives me the lyrics to my own heart's song. When I went to Carmel, my husband and I watched the sunset. Listening to the crashing waves then the gentle soothing of the sea foaming fizzing on the sandy shore, that was worship music to me. In my heart I soaked in the rhythm of the waves being pulled by the attraction between Earth and Luna. I listen with my ears ,with eyes closed gently, then I open them to see the painting on the horizon.

These are my peaceful moments with Him, my Creator, Father, and Protector. The One I love so deeply. I silently whisper to Him in my heart that His creation is so heavenly to my senses and he whispers back, "You are fearfully and wonderfully made" The communing between my Creator and I, a two way street. I wouldn't have it any other way. I can't allow my dining with Him in the Spirit to become routine. I won't allow it to become ritual. I cringe at the thought of our time together becoming mundane. In this loud and busy world, I want to slow down and have genuine moments with Him. Moments that are so defined by authenticity, the authenticity only He can provide. If only I'll listen. Prayer most certainly can be different.

I'm linking this to Ann's Walk with Him Wednesday. Much to my surprise her article and mine are so similar. He works among the online community so beautifully. Soli Deo Gloria

Link up Get Related to The HomeSpun Life
My Royalty Free Shared Photos

Making a Blog Button in 5 Easy Steps

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa) — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 18:12:00 +0000

It's simple to create a blog button now that we have a free service like Picnik to use. The developers will be adding an API to Pix-O-Sphere so you can edit your photos with a quick connection to your account over there. Picnik already has API's for several othe rphoto services so if you have photos in your Flickr, Photobucket, or Picasa Web albums, you can get the photos you want to edit right through Picnik then save them right back to their albums in your accounts.

I highly recommend you only edit COPIES of your photos. I never tamper with my originals.

Here are 5 Steps to making a blog button on your own.

Go to Picnik.com and click "Get Started Now"
You can then "Upload photo" or scroll down to open a photo from one of your photo hosts.
For this tutorial I am uploading a photo from my computer.

Step 1: After I upload my photo it takes me to the 'canvas' if you will. I'm first going to CROP my photo to get the main portion of my photo to a workable size.

Step 2: I'm cropping this photo to the size of 375x375 because I am going to resize it later to 125x125 (standard size for a button) You can click and drag the crop lines and move the box around to position it where you want it. You can also type in the size you want to make it easier. Then click OK

Step 3: Next I resize my image to 125x125 and click OK

Step 4: Next I'm going to add the text "HomeSpun Life" on the top left. Just below that is the style of font I want. To the right of the screen you can select the color and size then up on the top right hit "Save & Share"

Step 5: Now I have the option to upload it directly to a photo host of my choosing or save to my computer.

Here's what I created:

Related Content:
Blog Refresher Series
Blog Ethics Series

Link up Get Related to The HomeSpun Life
My Royalty Free Shared Photos

Button Swap

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa) — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 18:54:00 +0000

I have a very long side bar to the left and it has plenty of room to add more buttons. I extended my blog to show more articles on the main page which gives me more room to help network with friends.

Would you like to swap buttons with me? It needs to be 125x125 and I'd like to ask you to display mine on your main page, as I am displaying yours on mine. I have room for about 10 more buttons..

Here's mine:

Once you've added mine, link me to your blog in the comment section below.

Link up Get Related to The HomeSpun Life
My Royalty Free Shared Photos

About Blogging

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa) — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 08:00:00 +0000

I have been writing about the things I have learned about blogging for a few years here at The HomeSpun Life. I learned most of it by trial and error. I have made many mistakes and learned along the way while continuing to read other blogs that teach about social media, blog ethics, and conflict resolution. I have studied several aspects of social dynamics since 1994 within families, community, churches, business, and the blogosphere. I'm also a certified counselor for addictions recovery and PTSD with several years experience counseling folks who come out of abusive relationships.

I don't consider myself an expert in the blogosphere, however I do share the things I have done that has hurt myself as a blogger and things that others have been hurt by as well. I don't name intricate details or names out of respect for those who have repented of their deeds. My daughter says, "You live, learn, and blog." Every bit of blog advice out there is due to someone living through an experience then writing to tell what to do and what not to do. If you're a person of faith, you may see that throughout the Bible as prophets wrote about their encounters with the enemies of God.

Everyone deserves the chance to reconcile and move on peacefully without their name being spewed out all over the Internet. Even Jonah, David, and Saul(Paul) were able to repent and move on to do great things for God and their nations. Be cautious of spreading names around and of those who try to suck you in. Not only does it hurt them and the people they tell, but they're really hurting themselves in the long run. Even if someone blogs about you and deletes it, it remains in the Google cache and that's no good for anyone.

I have been in some intense dialogue on blog comment sections that I have learned a lot from and some that made me look ridiculous when the author refused to publish my comments that actually clarified what I had meant. That was left on the blog with a notice that she had no further discussion with me, which was not true. I have the screen shots to prove that I did indeed comment and they left it in moderation. Was it going to do anyone any bit of good to blog that screen shot? Probably not, so I walked away. My partial comment is probably still lingering in their archives, but it wasn't worth it for me to pursue it any further.

Everyone ends up getting burned at one time or another and it's always best to handle things discreetly to the best of your ability before going to the mom blogger newswire for help. Even when you feel it's time to do that, you must tread cautiously. Seek wise counsel from seasoned bloggers who you can trust. In my opinion, it should only be used as a LAST RESORT.

We all enjoy the online community for different reasons, but we're all a part of this human population on earth with a desire to be happy and pursue our dreams. Think twice before you use your audience to smear other bloggers.

Some visitors who were new to my blog this week had assumed I posted my article yesterday about something specific. However, that was not a one time article for me on this topic. I have written about blogging dynamics numerous times.

The Warning

Blog Pyramid Schemes

Hard Core Blog Advice

Inspiration vs. Stealing

Reaping in the Blogosphere

Blogging My Me Time

Mom Blogger Newswire

Are Giveaways a 3 Ring Circus?

PMS Blogging Syndrome

Ruin Your Blog in 5 Easy Steps

Are We on the Same Team?

I know you're probably wondering when I'm going to get around to launching The Family Blog Network, I'm working on it! It's going to be a network of bloggers who are interested in building relationships. The focus is not going to be for monetary gain, although that will come in time. The reason it will come in time is because it takes time to build solid relationships for a blog to become a business. Get your blog started with a good foundation of friendship, integrity, and go through some trials together as a community to come forth as gold. Every trial you go through will show what you're made of. Use every difficult thing in the blogosphere to refine you and rise above it.

Link up Get Related to The HomeSpun Life
My Royalty Free Shared Photos

The Warning

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa) — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 18:07:00 +0000

If I took a photo from your blog it's like taking a painting off your living room wall. It's called theft. I'm publishing a series this week at Pix-O-Sphere on some of the most common content and photo thefts that take place in the blogosphere. I know there are several other articles out there, but sometimes new fresh articles are needed as a refresher for newbie bloggers. Especially when we notice it's been happening within our own circles over the last several months. It's time to stop!

It's more difficult to deal with when you know the person who is taking your content and photos. They've been super nice to you, they have huge projects, they seem to be popular. However, when you go to their blog and discover your recipe, a huge amount of your content re-worded, and photos from all over the Internet that don't belong to them, you begin to wonder how they ever got so "popular" so fast while having that many violations. Maybe because everyone is so busy building their own blogs the ethical way (which is hard work, diligence, and honesty) that we don't have time to scrutinize everyone else's blogs to make sure we're not being stolen from. Ang wrote a great article about how to use Google Alerts to track your content. Be sure to swing over there to get some tips on protecting your blog.

So now what? You know your stuff is swiped, even more difficult, it's someone who is intricately woven into your niche of the blogosphere and any amount of confrontation could cause a domino effect of blog drama that none of us want to spend the time dealing with. No one wants a headache, but more bloggers keep getting taken for a ride and stabbed in the back.

Women who take their blogs seriously are working hard to build their relationships with integrity while others come in on the sly and manipulate, gain control, then bully everyone to stay silent. Any amount of confrontation puts this kind of thief on the hunt to discredit you by calling you names and telling any amount of secrets she happened to get out of you while she was "playing your friend".

I really cringe at the idea that people do these things on purpose. I sometimes wonder if it's so ingrained in people that they don't even realize they are doing it. Afterall, many preachers say we're born in sin. Maybe these people are born Internet thieves. Which would mean they can't help it, until the Lord changes them. Then there's the magical word that thieves don't like, "repent".

These sharp tongued bloggers who want to take your ideas, your plans, your photos, and content at the slightest bit of correction will call everyone else a bully and slander them with hate speech garbage to try and take you down. But here's a little bit of encouragement for ya.. that person is a bully themselves. And if they do this and people believe them so easily, then you DON'T want those people as your readers nor do you want to partner with someone who believes tall tales from a scorners lips.

Proverbs 19:25 Punish the insolent - make an example of them. Who knows? Somebody might learn a good lesson. The Message

Well, the big girls in the blogosphere have had enough of this thieving and bullying. When something is going on, speak up! Calling the person out on the carpet will draw the attention of everyone else the person has 'raped, pillaged, and plundered' and you'll have the blogosphere to help you get your content removed from their blog. Sometimes a public spanking does wonders for change.

Ask yourself this.. is the alleged copying THAT obvious?
Ask a blogger your TRUST to check it out and ask for advice.

Know this: The Big Girls in the blogosphere have been around long enough that they see what's going on, they know who to keep an eye on. The underground mom blogger news-wire KNOWS. So don't be afraid to get help.

No one wants to be a tattle tale, but when your stuff is stolen, you have the RIGHT to speak up. If you don't speak up, you're letting a thief get away with their crime.

If you after you seek help you discover that others are in agreement that it's much too fishy to be a coincidence then go to Copyscape and check for plagiarism. If the big girls tell you this person has been doing this to several others for quite some time, has been corrected before, but continues to do it, it's time we all rally together to speak up.

Let me say something else... if you're a theif and you think "No one will do anything, they can't afford a lawyer anyway" That's ok, because Twitter is a great way to get the word out about inappropriate behavior, just as Amazon about the mom blogger news-wire. Words spreads quick.

So don't steal!

On a more gracious note, if the thief repents and apologizes publicly, then let her have the chance to clean up her act. Then hold her accountable.

If you're one who has made mistakes with pulling content from others, hotlinking photos, etc etc, you can get help. The blogosphere wants to be supportive of others who want to blog smart and ethically. Don't be afraid to get help to stop what you're doing. If you've left a path of destruction behind you, burning ever bridge along the way, it's time to make a public apology on your own blog and ask for help to get your blog whipped into shape. It's called character. For more information on character building try Alyssa Avant's Christian Charm School curriculum. It's not just for teens. ;)

(*disclaimer, that is not an affiliate link, but I happened to read it and it's GOOD!)

"Confront them privately once. If they don't repent take two with you. If they STILL don't repent, take it to the blogosphere." ~bloggy epistles of Sisterlisa

Link up Get Related to The HomeSpun Life
My Royalty Free Shared Photos

Creativity and Inspiration

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa) — Sun, 20 Feb 2011 08:00:00 +0000

My fabulous In-Loves send us interesting emails from time to time and this one is probably one of the best so far. Do we really cultivate imagination and creativity in our children? Some of the best inventors had wild imaginations and tons of creativity.

How do you encourage creativity in your child's homeschool?

Other Homeschool Articles:
Trusting the Master Teacher
Teaching With an Open Mind
Homeschool Cults

Link up Get Related to The HomeSpun Life
My Royalty Free Shared Photos

Blog Pyramid Schemes

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa) — Sat, 19 Feb 2011 08:00:00 +0000

There's a way to build a blog that seems right to a person, but in the end you could get bit in the butt.

Ever see blog projects go up so fast that it makes your head spin? Where did these bloggers get such a mass amount of followers and link ups so quickly? Does it seem like their hierarchy is somewhat of a cult following? What gives?

If you've ever been a part of a pyramid marketing scheme you'll know what I'm talking about.

There's something about these "get followers fast" schemes that you need to be aware of.

When the storm comes, their tower of power will falter. Why? Because real solid blogs are built on solid relationships that took time to grow. You need a solid foundation to build anything of value that can weather a storm.

Giveaways: Giveaways can be a great way to get people to come see your blog, but some will unsubscribe, unGoogle Connect you, and stop following you as soon as the giveaway is over. Be sure your giveaway includes a "Recent Articles" listing with your most popular posts so they'll know you're worth sticking around for. Know if you're entering a contest, giveaway, or sweepstakes.

Blog Hops: Blog hopping can help you find people of like passions, but not all bloggers contain the kind of character you want to be associated with.

Blog Networks: There have been some good solid blog networks and some that got themselves in a lot of trouble and had companies like Twitter going after them for trademark violations. Use discretion when getting involved in them. Find out how long they have been around. Google the founders and team of their network.

Broaden Your Horizon: Don't rely on only one blogger for blog advice. If they have been blogging for just a few months, chances are they haven't been able to really navigate the blogosphere enough to offer sound advice. Get subscribed to highly successful bloggers for blog advice such as Chris Brogen, Type A Parent, MomBlogMagazine. In my personal experience, I have seen some bloggers write up advice that wasn't very good. The only way you'll know is if you're reading material from bloggers who have paved their way to success already.

Develop Real Relationships: This takes time. Be leery of people who want to strike up instant friendships over night. A solid trustworthy friendship takes time and needs to weather some storms together to be proven as gold.

Do you have any additional thoughts?

Link up Get Related to The HomeSpun Life
My Royalty Free Shared Photos

Get Relational with The HomeSpunLife

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa) — Sat, 19 Feb 2011 08:00:00 +0000

Out there in the blogosphere are groups of people who go by 'tribes' or 'clans' they are groups of people who group up together for support and connection to help further their blogs. I think a good support group is awesome. One thing that concerns me though, is if they become cliques, face inward, and exclude others from growing with them. Growth requires the ability to expand and you can't expand far without being open to others coming alongside you.

What is the blogsophere doing?

A community grows together. In my community in town, we see this same scenario all over. Some groups become so elite that you can't possibly measure up to be included, while there are others that thrive in community by allowing newcomers to grow and flourish with them.

{I believe in community}

I avoid elitism.

Do you want to grow with me?

If you would like to be committed to being relational with me, grow with me, and develop a friendship with me and some other bloggers, let me know.

Are you willing to:

Add yourself to my Google Friend Connect? (bottom of my blog) I follow back everyone connects with me.
Follow me on Twitter? The HomeSpun Life
Connect with me on Facebook?
Subscribe to my blog?
Comment a few times a month on articles that spark your interest?

But not out of obligation. I'm not looking for obligated 'followers', just friends who would like to grow with one another.

Here are a few posts that will let you know what kind of person I am.
My thoughts on blogging
My faith
Photography
I'm a homeschooling mom
And you can click through the navigation bar up top for more.

Simply link up here, comment below that you are connecting with me in the above places and I'll come around and follow you back in all your places.

Link up your

Blog
Twitter
Facebook page

Hard Core Blog Advice

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa) — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 17:25:00 +0000

You live and learn. When your trust is broken, it's time to make some smart blog choices. I have a few tips I feel are very beneficial and I speak from first hand experience. It's happened to me a few times now and perhaps I'm the one who is to give the hard core advice..since I have lived through it more than enough. There are bound to be flare ups on the net. We see them all the time. A few things you may want to know about me before I continue.

I don't just read blogs. I study the blogosphere. I watch who interacts with each other on Twitter, Facebook, and comment sections. I can see who is teaming up on projects, who departs from one another, and I just happen to have some weird knack for sensing when people are not themselves. Yes, just by a few little things they say on Twitter. I don't know..maybe it's some kind of strange blog superpower. So why haven't I been able to harness it into avoiding partnerships with people who betray me? Sigh** We live and learn. It's called Failing Forward, John C Maxwell wrote about it. My husband raves about his book. So we fail, but don't fail and plummet into an abyss of defeat. Fail forward and grow from it.

Google Them. Dealing with people online is a bit different than dealing with them in person. In the blogosphere you can quickly find out who a person has been affiliated with before by using Google. I don't think it's wrong to Google someone who wants to partner with you. I actually highly recommend it. A blogger who is honest won't mind you asking about their former affiliations.

Ask for references. Ask who they have partnered with in the past and let them know you'd like to contact those people about their partnership. Don't just take their word for it when it comes to a reference.

I saw a woman comment one day that she has written reviews for brands before. I went right over to her blog where she had in plain view on her blog that she has written reviews for Disney Films, and a slew of other huge brands. (She even use their logos on her posts) I used her search bar to find the reviews and what I found was astonishing. She had not REALLY "worked" with those brands. She simply wrote her own reviews of their products, and not very good ones I might add. There would be no way I would ever pay her for such low quality work. Why would Disney? She had about 500 Google Friends on her Connect widget so I Googled her. She had participated in some "get followers quick" project and then proceeded to use that count along with her so-called 'brand" portfolio to demand inflated prices for the simplest things right down to tweeting for companies.

And bloggers wonder why companies don't fork out more dough to buy advertising with them.

Butter. Yes, I said butter. These are the people who butter you up. They lather on the "I worship you" mentality. Too much praise is overkill. If you are approached by someone who begins to butter you up, offer to do tons of things for you, practically begs for you to trust them, use caution. In my counseling experience I can tell you that one of the first things you'll notice about a cult is their over kill on praise and instant friendships. The person doesn't know you! Why are they acting like your best friend? Hold back. Don't be quick to be "so happy to have them help".

Use a Contract. I never thought I'd suggest this for just a simple team effort between bloggers, but I really do think it's a must. If you want to run your blog like a business, you need contracts. Even if it's a volunteer effort to build a group blog, I'd ask for your team members to agree to a contract. Did you know there are laws protecting volunteers now? Those laws aren't just to protect the volunteers, but also the organization coordinating their efforts. A contract can be simple, no need to be formal, just a clean cut agreement to not share the group's plans or ideas with anyone. Save it as a pdf, send it and get it back with a date and signature.

Passwords. Keep passwords confidential. If you need to give a password to someone for admin purposes be sure their access to the behind the scenes is limited. If the partnership is broken, change your passwords immediately. Why would someone you barely know be asking for passwords?

Trust doesn't come easy. Don't be so quick to trust someone. Don't allow yourself to be quicker to trust someone of your own religious affiliation either. For some reason when you do that, it makes the heartbreak so much worse for you. Just because someone shares the same religion as you doesn't mean you give up your trust so easily. Be cautious of new connections telling you that you CAN trust them. A few identifiers I have seen in common online and in counseling people who come from abusive situations are the "poor me" stories. If they can get you to feel sorry for them, they share something in "confidence" with you, ask you not to tell others, then something is most likely up. Start sharing secrets and they have a weapon to use on their behalf later to keep you quiet once they betray you. Yes, this happens!

Openly admit your mistakes. When you know you have betrayed someone, it's best to make amends immediately. Learn from your mistakes and make it public. Otherwise it might be made public for you when you're caught. Go to the person you betrayed and apologize. Apologize to your readers and begin anew. But do NOT attempt to cover up your tracks. Let your own fall help someone else. Then begin anew. If in the future, someone wants to Google you, be honest right away. Direct them to your public apology and let them know how long and hard you've been working to rebuild. Everyone can get a second chance, as long as you've been honest about it. Sweep it under the rug and your rug will get lifted eventually. It won't be a pretty sight.

Discretion. It is always best to try and handle things with discretion, but sometimes people work on the sly and try to get away with what they're doing. If there is public record of some of their comments that incriminate them and prove your case then save all links, screenshot all conversations, and protect yourself. If you see this person beginning to betray more people, you may want to offer the other victims some insight and help, just be sure to use discretion.

Blog Ethics. The blogosphere is a whole different type of social situation. Bad news and rumors spread like wild fire and it must be nipped in the bud immediately. People can disagree all they want about breast feeding, religion, or immunizations. Those kinds of discussions can get rather heated, but when it comes to violating trust in an effort to build up your blogs, it becomes a business situation. If the blogger is clearly showing no effort at all to use ethics, dignity, or integrity at all, it's time to get proactive to protect your blog. Watch this great video about Blog With Integrity and take the pledge today.

Trust your gut! You have that inner voice that says, "watch out for this one, something doesn't seem right" Listen to that voice!

Do you have any additional thoughts to share?

Link up Get Related to The HomeSpun Life
My Royalty Free Shared Photos

Blog Networks and a Conference

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa) — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 06:10:00 +0000

Do you ever have those nights when you just can't seem to sleep? Do you lay awake wondering, "Why in the world am I doing all this?" I think it's so easy to fall into human grooves that get us sidetracked so easily. Maybe you are well above and beyond that, but me? Last I checked, I'm still human. (deep breath)

I get anxiety about BIG PLANS, my husband on the other hand.. he THRIVES on big plans. Oh I am excited about big plans, but then my mind races at light speed with all the ideas that come flooding into my mind. Brainstorming keeps me awake at night. And now I'm going to the Type A Conference...another 8 hour flight. But I know it's going to be so totally worth it.

In addition to this, I am almost ready to launch the Family Blog Network at Pix-O-Sphere. I first introduced it on the blog and then a fun update about this networking opportunity.

On top of this I have been experimenting with the photo contest using the linky tools. Did you know they require a yearly fee now? If you didn't know that and you didn't upgrade all your linky posts will no longer show the linky..until you upgrade. So if you use them, go log in and get the details. Your links will still be in your account and after you upgrade they will open your links back up.

Blogging is hard work, unless you allow yourself to have fun as well. I have learned quite a bit about blogging over the last few years. I look forward to launching the Family Blog Network (FBN) and sharing all the uplifting and inspiring things that have transformed my philosophy in blogging. There's a large audience of people who aren't "in it for the money". Usually a get quick rich scheme follows the blogosphere with a 'get millions of hits quick scheme' too. Sometimes there are huge fails, but we can all learn from them.

There are some who'd like to make money on their blog, but have found it difficult to build relationships. Raising a hit count through a giveaway is not the same as establishing relationships with your readers (friends). It takes time to build relationships. Bloggers need to build up those relationships in order to keep a long lasting audience that would attract vendors who would want to advertise with you.

But we don't want to build up a hit count, JUST so we can "make money" off our readers hitting on our blogs. The tide is changing in the blogosphere. Lets get back to basics, building relationships. I'll be tweeting some hints about the #FBN11 under the @pixosphere Twitter stream, so be sure to follow me there and "Like" our Friends page on Facebook.

Does brainstorming ever keep you awake at night?

Link up Get Related to The HomeSpun Life
My Royalty Free Shared Photos

Encouragement for Goal Setting

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa) — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 03:00:00 +0000

The third Friday of each month of 3 in 30 is for encouraging words. What encouraging words helped me with my goals over the last week? The most encouraging thing said to me was from my husband when he said, "Surprise! I'm taking you on a trip to Carmel, Ca for our 19th anniversary." Literally..a surprise with less than 5 minutes to pack.

My desk was cleaned off before we left, but I hadn't gotten out for a walk last week due to my injured hip, but in Carmel, we did a lot of walking and even some hiking. Good thing we brought the Tylenol along. So now I'm back home trying to catch up, but I'm allowing myself some grace in getting back to my routines.

I read several chapters of Ann Voskamp's book on this trip, out loud..to my husband. We loved it! We loved reading about Ann's revelation of Christ in her life. It resembled so much of what God had been revealing to us this past year as well. Something she says often..her Farmer reminds her of..'allow yourself some grace'. Perfection isn't the goal, living life wide awake and enjoying this life Christ gave us is the goal. I'll never forget the advice an old friend said once, "I don't think God cares if my underwear drawer is super organized or not." For me..I think He is looking for us to enjoy life, enjoy our families, and love others.

Having a tidy home alleviates added frustrations, but if we become too legalistic about it we could miss out on life.

"Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it." Ferris Bueller

Here are some of my favorite photos from my trip. I'll be blogging more about the places we visited while we were there..but over at the Pix-O-Sphere Blog in the upcoming weeks in the Travel-Sphere series.

I'm sharing many of my photos from Carmel in my Pix-O-Sphere Gallery so you can use them on your blogs. See you there. {it's FREE to join}

So how are you doing in your goal setting this week? Be sure to hop over to Ashley or Meghan's blogs to get linked up!

Link up Get Related to The HomeSpun Life
My Royalty Free Shared Photos

Thank You

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa) — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 03:38:00 +0000

My daughter, Lady Jess, inspired me by what she posted on her blog today. I am following in her footsteps with this post to thank YOU. My readers, my friends. Thank YOU for not only reading my blog, but for contributing to my online community whether it's right here in the comment section, on Twitter, or through Facebook. Thank you.

I realize that some of the posts I have shared about our personal lives might be difficult to read. I have been through a lot over the last few years and I thank you for being supportive and encouraging to me. It's not always easy to bare my emotions, open wide, and transparent out here in the World Wide Web. Especially when I know I have some 'followers' who are out to spy out my liberty.

Galatians 2: 4 Yet because of false brothers secretly brought in—who slipped in to spy out our freedom that we have in Christ Jesus, so that they might bring us into slavery— 5 to them we did not yield in submission even for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you.

Online stalking is such a pain when they live in the same town as you. It doesn't bother me when people are curious because they care, but when it's for the purpose of causing problems in my life, that's where I draw the line. And I thank you for the encouragement so many of you have given me.

How do you deal with locals reading your blog?
Have you ever had trouble with those kinds of 'followers'?

Link up Get Related to The HomeSpun Life
My Royalty Free Shared Photos

Goal Check Up

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa) — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 04:02:00 +0000

Since blogging and social media has become a full time job for me I needed a good kick in the rear to stay focused on some of the simplest things that tend to go undone.

Like, keeping my desk clean: I made a goal for February to keep it cleaned up daily. I've done a pretty good job. I keep it tidy every day and then a couple times a week I dust. Here's the after photo..there's no way I'm showing a before photo.

Old things are put away, my desk has become new. :)

My desk has seen it's salvation day!

Is your desk tidy and dusted?

Any tips on KEEPING it this way? ;)

Walking Daily: I also made it a goal to walk daily.. I failed. I walked a little, but I pulled a muscle in my hip trying Zumba and now I don't feel 38, I feel 83. So I have to take this slowly, but I'm not giving up.

Schedule Bills: I did get all my bills scheduled though. That was my other goal. I used the calendar system on my computer and set reminders for one week before the due dates. I also set them for repeat so they'll continue for several more months.

I entered my photo in the 3in30 tag at Pix-O-Sphere. Who knows, someone might want to use that photo some day in an article of their own for another reason. You never know how many times your photo can be used. It's a great way to network with the simplest types of pictures.

Come join the rest of us in the 3 in 30 goal setting. You can get linked up with Ashley and Meghan.

Link up Get Related to The HomeSpun Life
My Royalty Free Shared Photos

A Teen Again

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa) — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 00:13:00 +0000

Sarah Mae is 31, Happy Birthday my dear. She is asking that we share our high school glamor shots. The one I would LOVE to share is at my mom's house in a frame. So I am going to share the one of me on my wedding day, since I was 19 and fresh out of high school.

So now here is a more recent shot of me at age 38 (after having braces)

How do I look after all these years?

Link up Get Related to The HomeSpun Life
My Royalty Free Shared Photos

Dominating the Homeschool Circuit

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa) — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 18:28:00 +0000

In the last few years I have been homeschooling I have noticed something becoming a pattern. Perhaps it's always been this way..others who have homeschooled longer would know more than I do about this. I'm going to be very open in this blog post and it's not meant to offend, although I am sure someone will be offended. C'est la vie. If you know me well, you know I am a very open minded person. I used to be a legalist, and God saved me from that. THANK YOU GOD.

I am thankful that I didn't become so bitter as to deny God, like some have. That makes me sad that so many people have been so burned by Christianity that they have totally rejected Christ. After what I have been through I can understand how they feel.

There are Christians, and then there are 'Christians'. The 'Christians' do more harm to one another than anyone else I have ever known. And yet there ARE Christians who are very loving, grace filled people. I like these kind of Christians.

'Christians' who dominate every aspect of your life annoy the 'gehenna' out of me. All's fair in love and war? I don't think so. Just because a group has tons of money to advertise, sell books, CD's etc does not mean they are 'right'. It is their lifestyle they are introducing to the world. They have their freedom to do so. What gets me is this... why do conferences put these wealthy religious zealots in their 'pulpits' to teach and not allow other, more open minded people, teach as well?

Money

If a homeschool conference allows an open minded (lower income) Christian to teach at the same conference as the 'Christian' who has money backing that conference, the one with the money can manipulate the conference coordinators. And afterall, why would the 'Christian' speakers want the open minded Christians to teach their open minded parenting and education tips among the closed minded narrow way dominating teachings? It would drastically diminish their 'Christian' speaking, book, CD businesses.

So when will the homeschool conferences put a stop to this madness?

Not all homeschoolers are 'patriocentric', 'quiverfull', 'reformers'.

Homeschool companies..please know this.. there ARE other homeschoolers out there that are NOT a part of those movements. Do not let those dominating the homeschool market scare you out of advertising your open minded curriculum, books, teaching materials, and certainly don't let it discourage you about being a homeschool speaker.

So where are those homeschoolers who are wanting something refreshing? Those who aren't buying into the dominating forum that is sweeping the nation. I know you're out there.

What would YOU like to see in a conference not dominated by right-wing fundamentalists?

I'll start the list and you can add to it:
Open to WOMEN speakers (in other words, not dominated by egotistical men or the women who enable that)
Curriculum that is NOT from fundamentalism
Math books that do NOT teach tithe curses. (oiy)
Allow unschool parents to teach
Parenting teaching that isn't necessarily from 'Christianity' (don't ONLY allow 'Christian' teachers)
Offer the FREEDOM to be DIVERSE
A conference that does not support or allow materials that teach whipping children with rubber tubing.

What say you?

*disclaimer: I have the freedom to say what I'm looking for in a homeschool conference and what I don't want in a homeschool conference. So if you're here to try and berate me into removing this post, you're in for an ear full of my rights to exercise MY freedom.

Link up Get Related to The HomeSpun Life
My Royalty Free Shared Photos

Inspiration vs Stealing

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa) — Sun, 06 Feb 2011 02:24:00 +0000

When I watched The Social Network, I couldn't help but feel mixed emotions about Mark's supposed statement in mediation, "You had an idea, I had a better idea." So was it inspiration or stealing that spawned the world's largest social network, Facebook?

Then we discover the Ning Network, where you can get your own social network in their system and customize it to suit your needs. Groups from crafters, homemakers, homeschoolers, to blog networks of all sorts. Then there's Tumblr, Twitter, and Google's Buzz. I wonder if Flickr got upset with Tumblr for the unique use of the lower case 'r'. As it is, Mark goes after anyone who seems to have anything remotely similar to something Facebook offers. (Sorry, Mark, but you don't own the word 'book' in a compound word format) Who's going to try to sue the Butterfly or the quarterback?

{oh brother!}

Do you know how many social networks there are out there? How about we attempt to count how many blogs there are. Last I heard there are approximately 80,000 blogs built DAILY. Do you know how many newspapers there are? Does the very first newspaper own all rights to anyone who wants to begin their own newspaper company?

Then we have the ever so popular concept of the Group Blog, Online Conferences, Widgets, and online photography schools.

Each company does it's best to create innovative ways to reach their target audience. Some bloggers even teach you how to do certain things to build up your blog and network with others. Some offer this information for free, while others charge you money. I think It's rather odd that someone would charge people admission to learn something that's already available for free in millions of places on the Internet. But they do.

Some are quite successful at it, others not so much. It depends on your angle, your motivation, and what your inspiration is. If you are simply COPYING what someone else is already doing, it's called theft. If you're INSPIRED by a collection of many different things that forms something NEW in your mind then you have something unique. Ever see Working Girl with Melanie Griffith? Her boss tries to steal an entire idea from "Tess", but the board of directors asks Tess what her inspiration was. After their private conversation, they asked her boss, "Katharine" what inspired her..she couldn't answer them. Consequently, Katharine was fired and Tess was offered a better position in the company.

We all learn from one another and help build one another up. When someone takes an idea from someone and copy it, run with it, and try to say THEY created it, is a serious matter. I recently offered a Blog Button Swap. I offered this swap to the first 15 people who agreed to the swap. I do NOT 'own' the idea of a blog button swap. So, if others want to offer the same thing to their friends, they are free to do so. But if I was to share with a few people some specific plans that I have, invite them to join in, they agree, and one of them runs with that idea and launches it before I get to launch my idea..well that's just flat out underhanded.

I have no desire to call out anyone specific, I have far too much on my hands right now to deal with more bloggy drama. It just puts me back at the drawing table to make my idea even more unique.

By the way, Mark Zuckerberg lost his best friend. He may be a brilliant young man, but he wasn't honest with his friends. He may be an extremely wealthy person, but where does he store those riches at the end of his life? Does building up your blog community come down to your race to become popular, stepping all over everyone in your path? If that style of blog building gets you a following, then you can have that following. I'm aiming at something far more profound than creating a get quick rich scheme off other blogger's ideas.

So where do you draw the line between what is authentic inspiration and flat out theft?

Chime in..everyone gets the soapbox on this one!

Link up Get Related to The HomeSpun Life
My Royalty Free Shared Photos

Photo Sharing Safety

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa) — Sat, 05 Feb 2011 20:24:00 +0000

There's been concern in the family friendly blogosphere in regards to finding a safe place to host and share photos. Of course, we built Pix-O-Sphere out of that very need. We also chose to allow for stock photos to be sold as well. So you can get all your photo networking needs done in one safe place. You can host, share, and sell photos. In addition to that, the bloggers use your shared photos in their blog articles, furthering your work for you.

Now we see an intense concern about Flickr, since 4,000 photos were deleted, a Flickr group was deleted, and photo bloggers are not happy. They feel as though their photos are not safe. In addition to this, I've noticed the comments on all these sites. People don't just want to show off their photos, they want the networking with other people. Photography brings together people from all over the world. This is exactly what part of our vision for Pix-O-Sphere has been since the very beginning.

Pix-O-Sphere isn't just a place to host your photos, we desire for the community within the network to grow. Bloggers happily promoting your photos for you. When you offer smaller samples of your photos for sharing, the bloggers use them on their blogs. Your photo credit stays with the photos. Their readers click on the photo and brings them back to find YOU and your photos on Pix-O-Sphere. Every photo has a comment section that you can control. You can allow comments from all Pix-O-Sphere Users or just your friends. When they participate in your Pix-O-Sphere Community, they also get to see your selling photos and can buy from you there.

There's so much more going on in the development stages and even though we're still in beta, the site is alive and moving forward. I hope you'll take a few minutes to check it out and sign up for a free account.

I don't want to just promote Pix-O-Sphere in this post, but rather I'd like to offer a few suggestions too.

1. Always keep a copy of all your original photos on an external hard drive.

2. NEVER rely ONLY on an Internet host of any kind, to protect your photography, files, or blog. Back up everything!

3. If you offer your photos for 'sharing' on any site, add your own watermark to one of the corners of your photos. Not everyone gives credit for their photo source.

At Pix-O-Sphere, we generate a watermark for your shared photos, but you can also add an additional watermark with your own photo editing software.

Pix-O-Sphere has disabled the ability to right click so people can't snag your photo. If they try it, they're in for a surprise when they try to open it in their computer. teeheehee

Link up Get Related to The HomeSpun Life
My Royalty Free Shared Photos

3 in 30 Roll Call

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa) — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 23:09:00 +0000

I began participating in the 3 in 30 Goal Setting with Ashley and Meghan last week. My goals were to keep my desk cleaned off, walk daily, and to get all our bills and appointments scheduled. This week they're asking who is participating this month. Me! Me!! I love it. Just 3 goals in 30 days. But since I'm participating here and over at Pix-O-Sphere's blog, I actually have 6 goals.

Also, Pix-O-Sphere is sponsoring 3 in 30 so Meghan and Ashley both are sharing some aspects of the site with their readers each week. I hope you'll join the fun.

And before you go, please enjoy these beautiful photos I get to use from some Pix-O-Sphere members. We connected as friends over there, which means I get to beautify my blog with their photos. So cool!

Join free and be my friend. I've got thousands of photos you can choose from for your blog.

Link up Get Related to The HomeSpun Life
My Royalty Free Shared Photos

7 Parenting Tips to Consider

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa) — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 17:24:00 +0000

My views on child rearing in the faith have grown some in the last couple of years. I have gleaned some insight from some friends, blogs, and online ministries about walking by faith while still teaching our children who we believe and why. While we all may not agree with everything a person teaches about raising children in the faith, there are some things worth taking into consideration.

There are some things that I am more inclined to reject in raising my children for the Lord. While I don't want to stay too focused on what I don't believe in, I do want to share with you a few things I have come to no longer follow and why. Then I will share with you what I have accepted and continue to keep in mind each day as my family continues to grow.

1. I don't use cookie cutters. I don't think it's fair or wise to raise my children with a cookie cutter approach. There's some interesting books out there, but I don't follow their teachings religiously nor do I agree 100% with everything within the pages of those books.

2. I don't use scare tactics. I think kids have enough to worry about with the neighborhood bullies when they go outside to play than to put up with it inside their own home. I teach my children what consequences are and we are 'just' and fair with discipline and correction. I see better results in training than I do with any form of punishment.

Now for the fun stuff. (See I told you I wouldn't focus on the negative for long.)

1. I believe in making disciples. Disciple Like Jesus has some interesting approaches written on the ir site that I think is worthy of reading. You may or may not agree with some of what they present, but if you can handle reading it, gleaning from them, and taking what can work for your family, then I think you'll find some good stuff there. Raising my children to learn to walk this life in love makes all the difference.

2. I believe in teaching tolerance. I feel that Jesus was tolerant, he ate with gluttons and sinners. He is a friend to sinners. Don't misunderstand me. I don't think it's wise for children to hang out with the neighborhood bullies, smoke pot, or sneak into the neighbor's cigarettes. I'm not talking about that! What I am saying is that I feel it's important for my family to know that we need to be careful to not be too quick to judge people. Some of the sweetest adults I know, smoke cigars or chew tobacco. While I don't agree with those poor health choices, they love God and love others.

3. I believe I need to allow my children to really learn well. For us, this means that we don't hide certain topics of world history from our children. As they are in their younger years we teach them about different cultures and as they grow older, we begin allowing them to read about other religions. While we will naturally see the differences between those religions and our faith, we focus more on what the similarities are. I'll explain why in the next point.

4. Diplomacy. I believe our next generation needs to understand what being diplomatic is. My husband has an incredible knack for this. He's an evangelist that has been welcomed to preach in churches of various denominations. He knows how to avoid certain topics and knows which topics to keep focused on. He has taken the time to understand what each church believes and in doing so has been asked to come back and preach each year. If we are going to continue to share this beautiful earth with people of different faiths, then I feel it's important for our next generation to be able to communicate with people of various cultures and beliefs.

5. Be a guide. I think that being a guide is different from being a dictator. A dictator doesn't want anyone to think on their own two feet. A guide tells what they know to be true based on their own experience of their path, but allows people the freedom to explore as long as they understand how to explore safely. I think it's wise to let our children know if we chose a path that hurt us and caution them about that path. Our children know that we started off on an unhealthy path. We have never hid that from them. In being honest with them, they know the heartaches our past choices caused in our lives and in the lives of our loved ones. A wise guide teaches in such a way that a child can grow up in this world and be wise themselves and learn to explore this great life with adventure and enjoy their lives.

There's more I'd like to share, but perhaps another time. Enjoy the day with your children.

Explore life!

Link up Get Related to The HomeSpun Life
My Royalty Free Shared Photos

Top Ten Random Week

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa) — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 06:59:00 +0000

Amanda hosts a Top Ten Meme on her blog and I decided to jump in this week. My top ten list will be the things I actually got done this week.

Totally Random Week

1. Uploaded more royalty free photos to my Pix-O-Sphere Gallery to share with my friends. Wanna see a few?

(no, it's not my Harley..but it sure was a good day for a ride.. I bet the guy enjoyed his day)

2. I caught up with commenting on all the blogs of those who commented on my 3 in 30 Goal article.

3. I managed to stir the pot on Facebook with some thought provoking discussions about theology that might get me unfriended. Such is life.

4. I took my daughter to her dental appointment to get her teeth cleaned. Thursday will be the tough day..fillings!

5. I completed some much needed work on Pix-O-Sphere and am waiting to hear from the developers on the new features they'll be rolling out soon.

6. I got caught up with all my email accounts. It's a good thing I use Gmail filters.

7. When I made coffee this morning, I forgot to put the filter cup back in..and stuck the filter and coffee in without it. oiy! But it still brewed my coffee. :P

8. I found some really great memes listed on the Pix-O-Sphere Blog. Now to decide which week I'll be participating in which ones.

9. I voted for some really great faces at the i{heart}faces photo contest..they're letting the readers decide the winner this time.

10. And..the largest project of the week.. I set up the photo contest for photo bloggers at Pix-O-Sphere.. did you know about them yet? They're the newest innovative way to social network in the blogosphere. (8 categories to enter)

Oh Amanda posted about her trip to Blissdom with this Top Ten Meme..and she's sharing pictures!!!

Thanks for stopping by. :)

Link up Get Related to The HomeSpun Life
My Royalty Free Shared Photos

David Bruce

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa) — Sat, 29 Jan 2011 17:11:00 +0000

David Bruce is a friend and a brother in the Lord and has a fantastic CD I want to share with you. When I find good music that lifts my soul, I like to share it with friends. David's music is soothing to the soul.

Last night as I was out taking pictures of the thick fog that covered my town, there was an eerie silence that I couldn't explain. When I got home to view the photos and play around with my Virtual Photographer program, I sensed that these photos needed music, not the eerie silence.

Listening to David's music brought the perfect sound into my soul as I look at the foggy park I captured.

I hope you'll take a few minutes to listen to his music and please consider investing in the download for your home.

Link up Get Related to The HomeSpun Life
My Royalty Free Shared Photos

Goal Setting

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa) — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 21:01:00 +0000

My friends, Ashley and Meghan are hosting a fun goal setting meme called 3 in 30. You can use their hashtag on Twitter (#3in30) to chat with the other participants and help spread the word about this awesome bloggy support. For February I am setting 3 goals for myself in regards to my home.

1. I am scheduling all our bills, due dates, and doctor appointments both on my computer calendar and my Droid (smartphone). This will help me to not forget, yes my life is that busy that I need this kind of reminding.

2. Every day I am purposing myself to have my desk cleaned off and organized. This is something that seems to fall to the wayside. As a homeschooling mom my desk gets cluttered with Legos, school work, pencils, and much more on a daily basis. I'm setting an alarm on my phone to remind me to do this at a specific time each day.

3. To go for a walk each day. Working at a desk takes it's toll on the hips! So now that the weather is getting nicer, we're headed outdoors each day.

I hope you'll link up to the 3 in 30 Goal Setting fun. Be sure to check out Ashley's SMART Goal Setting Tips.

I now leave you with some pretty photos I have uploaded to share with my Pix-O-Sphere friends.

Come join me over at Pix-O-Sphere, the only family friendly photo community where you can host, share, and sell photos.

Link up Get Related to The HomeSpun Life
My Royalty Free Shared Photos

Blizzard Blog Hop

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa) — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 18:01:00 +0000

I wanted to go to Blissdom, but hey there's always next year right? Ann Marie is having a Blizzard Blog Hop and although I'm not snowed in, I'm jumping in on the fun. No snow here, but the fog is dense. It's almsot 10 am here right now in Northern California and it's as thick as pea soup.

I'm Lisa, also known as 'sisterlisa' on the net. I write here on my personal blog as well as some deeper meatier devotions and thought provoking articles of faith over at Soul Liberty Faith. I also happen to be the creator and founder of Pix-O-Sphere.

We're a homeschooling family who lives by faith and enjoy the daily adventures of ministry living.

I enjoy photography, hiking, gathering with family and friends and blogging! I love these meet and greet blog hops. Can't wait to meet you all.

Do you want to join in? The link up is here.

Here's a few photos I'd like to share with you today..

Huntington Beach Summer 2010

Black Eyed Susans

Coffee and Bread with me... hold out your cup and I'll pour you some coffee.

Want photo for your blog articles? I share them here.
You can join free and be added to me as a friend instantly.

Link up Get Related to The HomeSpun Life
My Royalty Free Shared Photos