Karen's Quilts, Crows and Cardinals: Celebrate Wool Applique love "Spring Basket" on An...

Karen's Quilts, Crows and Cardinals: Celebrate Wool Applique love "Spring Basket" on An...: Greetings blogging friends and welcome to the next celebration and giveaway in A Month of Monday Giveaways!! but first... "Thank You&...

Happy New Year

So I suck at blogging.  I have already planned to take my blog back to recording my sewing projects. I have not started any quilts or dresses in SOO long. Last October I took some sewing to my LQS, and I took my cutting mat. I left it in the car and it warped. I tried to set really heavy things on my pool table in the garage to kinda warp it back into shape, but that failed. I asked for one for Christmas, and thought I was getting it, so I didn't rush out to get one. Well, I did not get one for Christmas and it has been snowing for 3 days with a wind chill. So of course I haven't ventured outside to go get one. I plan on doing that today hopefully.

I had a great Christmas. It's always hard when you lose a family member, especially if they are in your immediate fam. My sister passed in 2010, and this is the first Christmas that I have felt ok about celebrating. It's really hard to enjoy a holiday when a major piece is missing. It's not like that are coming later, or live too far away. She's gone and won't be coming back. I think about her every day and I miss her a lot. I'm sure we would have been best friends later on in life.

So I asked for a dress form and an extension table for my basic sewing machine. I ended up getting both! Plus that cute mint cart from Ikea that everyone has (or wants). I built the dress form and sewing cart myself! My kid has been sick for most of her vacation with this horrible cough. I have quarantined myself into my bedroom so I don't get it. I've been realllllly lazy and have spent most of my vacation reading in bed. I have to clean my room tomorrow and reorganize everything. I was planning to do it AFTER I bought the mat, so I would get some inspiration (or major caffeine from Starbucks) to move some stuff around.  There is a Starbucks across the street from Joann's. I also got some gift certificates to Pink Castle Fabrics, and I want to get some Rapture by Pat Bravo. It is SO pretty! I also got the Washi Dress pattern by Made By Rae, and I'm hoping that I can buy a FQ bundle and have some left over for a dress!

I checked out a bunch of books on making patterns, other dress making books (Colette!!!) and a TON of novels. I have been using my Goodreads app to find books I would want to read, so I don't have to go through the aisles looking for something interesting. I could easily spend like 5 hours in the library looking for books. After this bunch of books, I plan on sewing. I haven't done any free-motion quilting, but I plan on learning that this week. I just have a bunch of stuff to do to make that happen and that's what I plan on doing this weekend!

getting better

I'm feeling a bit better this week.  I actually have kept a log of what I have eaten/drank. I just need to exercise, drink more water, stop drinking Coke, and I'm well on my way. I've lost 3 pounds from my doctor office weight. I feel a lot of this is extra water weight, while my meds are being adjusted.

I have been keeping a tiny notepad on my nightstand, so I can keep notes. It's been helping me focus a bit better.

I've read 3 fiction books this past week, so I feel like I'm actually doing something, instead of watching tv. I also have dressmaking and pattern making books checked out. I'm learning SO much. I'm still bummed that I'm STILL not better since I got sick last weekend. I missed a skirt making class that I've been obsessing about for MONTHS. I also have a book out on making bags. I never had an interest, until I had the idea that I can make bags to match my dress!

I have over 3K email. I've erased the entire thing TWICE. The first time I used my iPhone, and thought I reversed something to make all the email magically reappear, like the hour I just spend deleting all that email didn't exist.  So it took about another week to get over that, and I tried it again. I pressed trash, exited out, and saw I had 300 emails to read. Pretty good from over 3000. Then I noticed about 15 minutes later all the email came back again!! So I'm going to have to do this manually on my laptop. The bad thing, is I get really distracted and start 5 different side projects while I'm doing it.  I find that I need to reorganize my pinboards, and transfer all my bookmarks to pins, that way I have more memory (or whatever it's called. I don't care, i just want my computer to run faster). Then I find that I need to blog about 5 different things, while entering giveaways and checking Instagram on my phone.  It's been a difficult task. That's what I get for abandoning my laptop for a month.

I KNOW that I'm going to be unsubscribing to a lot of crap emails I get, and try to figure out a better way to read my blogs.  Some blogs I haven't even seen since Google Reader died. On my iPhone, i can only load a few pages of blogs. So 10 blogs at a time. I subscribe to like 8000 or something, because I have a lot of different interests.

Thanks for reading this rant. I promise I'll be more interesting next time. After cleaning out my computer, I'm going to start on my room. So I can start sewing presents. It's been fun seeing what other people make.

The past month

I haven't opened up my laptop. I just didn't FEEL like it. For the first couple weeks, I was pretty good at going through my email. Then around the 4th week, I had almost 2,000 to go through. I deleted more than 900 during my first sweep through them. It was a bit more than my iphone could handle, and I did something that REVERSED that process and I got back my junky email. Oh, thank you Apple, because of all other things to mess up, email isn't one of them. grumble grumble.

Because I could only delete somewhere between 50 & 100 at a time, I reluctantly decided to open my laptop and get back to business...because that number is driving me insane. I get over 100 email a day. Thank YOU Google (not-anymore-reader).

But you know what? I'm not stressed about this blog. I don't care if I didn't get around to writing something. I have been using it as a : GO DO this already, pathetic girl.

Something happened mid-month that is horrible beyond belief. It's a very private issue that I haven't talked about on my blog, but it's serious. It has nothing to do with rape, so don't get to worried there. The only person it hurts is me...and maybe the people who really care about me, but in the end, it really just effects me. So now that's been almost a month ago, and last week I started getting hives again. That happened way earlier this year when Spring was trying to emerge as winter was clinging on. I guess the temperamental season changes doesn't help this much. I was SO SICK this past weekend. I even missed my skirt class that I have been dying to attend since this past summer. Like I have $50 to waste. I'm so pissed, and I really hope I get to work out something, that I can take another class at a different time. I fell asleep 5pm Friday and woke up around 4pm on Sunday. I slept through Saturday.

I know I'm depressed. I know that it's a situational depression that really is dependent on how this will play out. I see a Dr at least once a month. She's aware of this and has been prescribing me meds for this for over 3 years.

I know that I've gained a bunch of weight and am HATING it.

I know that I have too many mind-numbing activities going on.

What I can do: I have a treadmill on loan. Right now it came possessed, and I have to figure out how to run/fast walk on a few inclines without going from 2 to 8 incline and from 2 to 9 speed. There is no way in Hell, I can attempt something like that any time soon.  I don't have a goal because I have NEVER worked out before. I figure if I can lose 10 pounds and increase my metabolism, it will be a win-win.

Changes have been made so I have fresh veggies, and sometimes fruit on hand so I can eat that instead of cookies.

I am quitting Coke. This is one of the hardest things I've had to do. It's ALWAYS there. There really isn't an option to get this out of the house.  I'm thinking on ways to do it though.  I drink sweetened tea instead. This is the same sweetened tea that I've drank ALL my life (when I wasn't drinking coke) when I've weighted 90 pounds, so I'm not too worried about cutting EVERYthing down to water and carrot sticks. Tea is good for you.

I need to start journaling. Which is different than blogging. I want to buy a new notebook for this. I also want to start a Fitness journal, where I record what I'm eating and drinking and how much I exercise.  Just to keep track of where something might be going wrong.

I need to start SEWING again. Just because I don't have a backing for a quilt, isn't a good excuse not to put together the top.

I need to start making a real effort to be friends with the friends that I have. I tend to isolate and not keep promises....which makes me go back to feel bad about myself...vicious cycle.

I REALLY hope that I can take a different class. I didn't feel right about going in with a super high fever and fever spots/hives. I guess we will see tomorrow. If not, I'll just act like I donated to a good cause. Because I like that spot and I don't want to get bitter over it. It's not worth it.

I have good things going for me, if I work for them. I also need to find something new to read. I love to read about ANYthing I find interesting.  From the non-fiction, biographies, sewing books sections to just about anything from Stephen King to David Sedaris in fiction.

I think anything good to battle the anxiety and depression that I'm having is good for me. The only thing I can do is pray and wait for a (hopefully good) answer.

Government Shut Down Hurts Everyone

I'm going to copy and paste the email I received from the White House. Did you know that House Republicans have voted over 40 times to try to sabotage Obama Care? As a nurse, I'm ashamed that I don't know much about Obama Care yet. I know the goal is for every American to have health insurance at a low cost and affordable. What I think, is that there is a lot of fear of the unknown. We should have put this into place 30 years ago, but that didn't happen. Now that tons of people are getting sicker and have chronic diseases, which costs billions of dollars, it's like stepping into an impossible problem. Obama Care isn't going to be perfect. It's an initial attempt to try to bandage an hemorrhaging problem. It's like putting a bandaid on a gunshot wound. It's going to take years to get all the bugs out. I don't understand why the House Republicans are so against it, but they are seriously effing with innocent people, and that's what makes me angry.  Here is the initial letter I received from the White House a few hours ago:

(insert image of White House that didn't copy)

If the United States government shuts down tonight and our economy takes a hit, it will be because House Republicans let it happen.

Right now, there's a bill sitting in the House that funds the government for a few more weeks. It doesn't demand the repeal or delay of the health care law, or deny women access to birth control, or include any other failed, partisan proposals. It funds the government. That's it. And if Republican leadership allowed a simple yes or no vote on this bill -- like the Senate has -- it would get enough support from members of both parties to pass.

Instead, the government that these Republicans were elected to fund will close down and that will hurt our economy. Americans across the country won't be allowed to show up for work. Paychecks could be delayed, meaning some folks will have to cut back on groceries or maybe even not pay a few bills. Businesses will have fewer customers. Veterans won't get services they rely on -- and it will put benefits for seniors at risk.

Even though they've already voted over 40 times to defund or delay the health care law, this group of Republicans in Congress is so obsessed with the idea of sabotaging Obamacare that they're willing to take the economy hostage to do it.

Take a look at how this shutdown will affect millions of Americans -- and then make sure you share it so other folks know, too. (that's the same link from above)

President Obama has said time and time again that he's willing to work with folks on both sides of the aisle to grow our economy and even improve the health care law. But using the threat of government shutdown or defaulting on the bills our country owes is reckless and irresponsible.

In fact, shutting down the government won't stop Obamacare. The Health Insurance Marketplace will still open for business starting tomorrow, without delay.

Washington needs to stop manufacturing crises and focus on the issues that matter: creating jobs and building a strong middle class. Taking our economy over the cliff just to score political points isn't fair to the millions of Americans who show up every day to work and do their jobs. It’s time for Congress to do its job.

Make sure you know exactly who this shutdown is directly affecting and then pass it on.

Thanks,

David

David Simas
Deputy Senior Advisor
The White House
@Simas44 

P.S. -- You'll still be able to sign up for affordable health insurance onHealthCare.gov starting tomorrow, shutdown or no shutdown.

This email was sent to ksmith8@emich.edu.
Unsubscribe | Privacy Policy
Please do not reply to this email. Contact the White House

The White House • 1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW • Washington, DC 20500 • 202-456-1111

What are your thoughts on this? 

worries

Going through the past week's email filled with the blogs that I love, I've noticed that I'm not the only one that feels down. A lot of women feel stressed this week/end. They are women busy with life and dealing with real BS, they are women busy with their families and raising kids, they are women moving into new places and making it their own, they are women who make beautiful things, and they are women that are just down-bc it doesn't seem like they do much that would make their life stressful...oh my mistake, she broke her makeup.

I like following tons of different kinds of blogs. My IG followings are over 1000. I follow people that make a ton of stuff with fabric, whether its quilts, garments, bags, ect. or maybe they are designers or sell fabric. I love looking at them. I also follow a ton of different clothing stores, and make up stores, and vintage stores.I love women that dress like pin ups from the 50s...I follow a lot of them. I follow anyone I find that has pretty pictures. It's easy to talk to people. It would be weird to comment on a bunch of stranger's facebook....but IG is really anonymous, and I like that. An illusion of being social without really being social.

So hopefully next month looks up. I LOVE fall and Halloween.
My days will be filled with substitute teaching.

Have you seen Forgetting Sarah Marshall? First of all, I love Mila Kunis and Jason Segel. Mila because she's so pretty and she's Meg's voice, and Jason because he's awkwardly tall-and I know how that feels by being so small. My guy friends have urges to pick me up and throw me like a baby. The ending is my favorite part. Insert amusing smile. Before he starts to pick himself up from his depression, there's a scene where he's in bed, looks at the clock-it's 2:something PM, and he pulls the covers back on his head. That is how I feel a lot of the time when I am depressed. I just want to sleep, so I don't have to think. I know that something great is going to happen beyond the horizon-like a super awesome vampire musical-but I have to get that to happen somehow. And I'm clueless, stuck, and kinda lost. Plus I've never been active in my life on purpose. I don't understand why someone would run on purpose, if not in extreme danger from a murderer or a snake. Being sore and sweaty are not fun at all. I hate both.

So tomorrow is a new day. If I can get up and walk around the block, I know I can make it to the vampire show. I have to. There is no other choice, besides waiting longer.


PS: Sarah Marshall: my fave part is the psychiatrist song. When I get mad, I yell the same way.

Kashi Sea Salt & Olive Oil Hummus Crisps

Since I'm a BzzAgent, I was recently sent a bag of Kashi Sea Salt & Olive Oil Hummus Crisps to try out in exchange for my honest opinion. I was skeptical that I would enjoy these. I love fresh hummus, but how can you turn hummus into a crisp that actually tastes good without being weird? Kashi does it!

My initial impression of Kashi=Healthy Food. Besides fresh fruits and veggies, most health food doesn't taste so good to me, especially as a finished product out of a bag or box. Ever had a plain Rice Cake? They ingeniously use the word "cake" for a reason, folks. Otherwise it would be called Rice Coaster. I know that a lot of my friends like and buy Kashi products, so I had a little hope that I would like these.

Basic Info
There are 3 flavors: Sea Salt & Olive Oil (the one I received), Caramelized Onion, and Sundried Tomato, Basil & Feta. Each bag is made from air-popped chickpea crisps made without any partially hydrogenated oils (the bad fats), high fructose corn syrup, or artificial anything. Each serving size (27 crisps) contain 120 calories, 3.5g fat, 3g protein, and 6 g of whole grains. What's awesome is there is no saturated or trans fat so all the fat is the good kind of fat that your body requires. Not sure how much protein you should be taking in daily? Check out Kashi's FB page that will calculate your daily required protein intake based on your weight and activity level! I didn't even know how much I should be eating, so I did this quick quiz. It's recommended that Americans get 25-35 g of fiber each day. I love the fact that these Hummus Crisps are so much better for you compared to regular potato chips, that are only made with fat and salt. I feel way better choosing crisps over chips! Nutrition and ingredients are the first thing I look at when picking out a new food product. I don't want to eat something that is worse than what I'm already currently eating!  I feel for the most part, that Kashi is a good company known to have healthy products, so I was excited to try this product.

The Verdict

When I tried the crisps, I was pleasantly surprised.  They have a good flavor, but not over the top.  I could definitely taste the sea salt and other spices/flavors, but it was just right for my taste. The flavors weren't trying to overcompensate for a bland product. The crisps are a little smaller than the size of a round nacho chip as well as a similar texture once you pop one in your mouth.  It's hard to believe they are made from chickpeas! When I was done eating, I didn't feel super dehydrated or like I ate a bunch of grease, like I do after eating normal potato chips. I didn't feel guilt, because their fat was from the good kind of fat that your body needs! I bet the other 2 flavors are just as good and I can't wait to try them out next. The crisps were so good, that I destroyed that bag in about 2 days, and I'm not even a big salted snack eater!

Next time you see these, you should pick up a bag or two! And feel better that it's a better snack that regular potato chips or something coated in orange dust that sticks to your fingers while you're eating them!

Disclosure statement:I am not an expert in dietary nutrition, although I consider myself to be quite knowledgeable about nutrition, being a nurse. My review does not state that this product is "all natural" or contains only "natural" ingredients, or does it claim not to contain any artificial ingredients, please see Kashi's website for that information. I am only basing my review on the taste of the product, not on the Kashi Company or any claims made against the company concerning GMOs.

I'm a BzzAgent and received this product complimentary as part of a campaign.

Tuesday September 10th, 2013

Snazzy title, huh?

Guess what today's national holiday is?  Well, there's a few. So I'll go over the main ones that overlap on the websites I'm checking out.

1.  TV Dinner Day. It was introduced in 1953 by Swanson & Sons and changed the prepackaged meal industry forever. Wanna know the first meal? The first Swanson TV dinner featured Thanksgiving Dinner. The meal came with turkey (and hopefully some gravy), cornmeal dressing, peas and sweet potatoes.  Not exactly what's on *my* table, but for an easy dinner, it passes inspection by me.  The original tray was made out of aluminum and had separate compartments for each food. You had to bake it for 25 minutes.  Because consumer microwaves didn't exist back then.

***I remember when everyone in my family got one around 1985.  I thought we were five minutes from living it up like the Jetson's. Unfortunately, in my opinion, we were closer to flying cars when the amazing microwave came out in the 80s compared to the "electric car" of today.

So each meal cost around 98 cents and they expected to sell around 5,000 their first year.  To their great surprise, they sold over 10 MILLION of them.  If you do your math, that's just short of 10 MILLION DOLLARS in 1953! Of course the TV dinner has evolved since the first year. It has added a dessert compartment, started selling breakfasts in the 60s, the Hungry-Man meals in the 70s, microwavable meals in the 80's (SEE?!!) and in 1986 the original Swanson TV tray was submitted to the by  the Smithsonian Institute into the Museum of American History.  Good stuff.

Thank you Mr Swanson, or I wouldn't be on a consistent diet of Smart Meals & Lean Cuisines!!

2. National Swap Ideas Day.
   This day sounds stupid, was my first thought.  Basically it encourages people to share ideas to help each other out.  It sounds like a painful brainstorming activity in High School that your teacher just randomly decided to do out of the blue, and picked out your group members for you, on the day everyone forgot how to think and communicate. On second thought, this sounds terribly painful to me. This one gets 2 thumbs down.

3. Lace Making Day. I guess this is pretty self explanatory.

4. SEWING MACHINE DAY!!!
   Apparently there are 2 days that this is celebrated on. The other is June 13th. Nobody knows who came up with either day. Makes sense for today, since September is National Sewing Month. I sew on a basic Singer 2932:

5. World Suicide Prevention Day.  Go check out the facebook for today.


Did you know there are actual calendars based on FOOD?! Today is TV Dinner Day, but yesterday Sept 9th was :

Wienerschnitzel Day!!!

Humongous Text is what I get for copying and pasting. This website (AKA my new favorite site) actually goes over each day of the year (and some days have more than one food!) AND THEN links to a recipe of that food! Mmm.

I found out there are also entire months dedicated to specific foods. I bet you're dying to know what's under the September Food List!

National Chicken Month-YUM!
National Honey Month-YUM!
National Mushroom Month-DISGUSTING. BLECH.
National Papaya Month-Yum.
National Potato Month. TRIPLE SUPER YUM.
National Rice Month. yum.
Whole Grains Month. Yum in toast.

So of course after today's September 10th Lesson, I'll leave you with 3 interesting events from This Day In History.

1897. The first drunk driving arrest: On this day in 1897, a 25-year-old London taxi driver named George Smith becomes the first person ever arrested for drunk driving after slamming his cab into a building. Smith later pled guilty and was fined 25 shillings.  In the US the first laws about operating a motor vehicle while impaired with alcohol became legal in New York in 1910.  In 2005, 16,885 people died in alcohol-related crashes and almost 1.4 million people were arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

For some reason, I thought cars were invented much later! And the most meaningful to me:

1991. Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" was released as a single. I have probably spent hours wondering what Kurt's life would be like today. Go ahead, entertain that though. Would there be another bean? a few new wives? a reality show? the coolest guy alive still?  Go buy Bleach. then Unplugged. then Nevermind. But you should have all 3. Then buy In Utero. You will thank me.

Teen Spirit on LP: Nevermind

And the most surprising to me:

1977. The guillotine falls silent. ? The guillotine is what they used in France to cut off peoples heads starting in The French Revolution. The French thought this was more humane than the other execution methods like hanging or a firing squad.  So a French DECAPITATING MACHINE was built based on machines already in practice in England and Ireland, tested on CADAVERS, and on April 25, 1792 a highwayman became the first French to be executed by this machine. It was named "guillotine" after physician and revolutionary Joseph-Ignace Guillotin won passage of a law requiring all death sentences to be carried out by "means of a machine."

More than 10,000 people lost their heads during the revolution including Louis XVI (16th) and Marie Antoinette (former king and queen of France). In 1981, France outlawed Capital Punishment.

I seriously can't believe that lasted so long! I thought this was a 1700 thing. Not a 1970 thing! Don't know what one looks like? It's a big huge razor blade of death. 

Your head goes over the bucket and you face down until the blade falls and cuts off yer head

Isn't that crazy?! Oh, the things you learn, when you are googling something else!

Wanna know what else happened on Sept 10th?

Level 306 Savory Shores!!!

Have a wonderful September 10th, wherever you are!!! 

Why does time fly?

I don't know what it is, but time has been going by SO FAST.  I am majorly behind in almost everything I have to do in life.  I have it written down, but I surely haven't done most of it. Some of the things I hope to accomplish this month:

Finish Flutter
Quilt a friend's quilt
Send Allison her gift (I SUCK!)
Get the stuff for said gift. Suckage squared.
Send back my shoes and get the right size
"cash in" all my store credit from the various stores I have credit (and show you)
Finish my staple dress
Take Made by Rae's Learn to make a skirt class at Pink Castle Fabrics next week
Go to the meetup tomorrow and not punk out from anxiety
Finish my requirements
Reminisce my allergy test with you 
Find proper vitamins and actually take them

But the main one I want to concentrate on...is lose some weight.

Add to Goals:
Drink 64 oz water minimum
Exercise-walk everyday, and increase daily.
Calculate calories
Journal: diet/exercise
Look up FitBit

I actually had an allergy test done when I was around 10.  If you want to spend a day in Hell, go get yourself one!!  What they do is make you strip your top (which is super embarrassing when you are 10 years old and sitting with your Mom), then make about 40 numbered circles 1-40 (or however many it is) in Sharpie on your back.  Then the Sadist with every allergan known to man comes in, and drops a miniature drop or two of an allergen numbered 1-40 in the corresponding circle on your back. The allergen has a mystery number so you don't have a psychosomatic reaction to something (just kidding, I made this part up), but you won't know what the mystery is after the test.  Believe me, it sounds intriguing before the test, but that's before you find out that you really ARE allergic to something.

 To make sure this is done without any mistakes and to prevent spillage and cross contamination into other allergens to produce a False Positive (or a Super Allergen if you are allergic to both!), the Dropper Nurse will go slowly as possible.  Most likely you WILL be allergic to the first five on your shoulder, then some on your lower back, a couple spots mid back, then a cluster on the other shoulder.  You are told to "lie still for 15 minutes" to absorb the mystery numbered allergens.  If you are extremely allergic, you will have an anaphylactic reaction, and they have epinephrine shots loaded to go to stick in your arm.  If you are "highly allergic" it will start to burn and itch like a new strand of Super Mosquito just bit you.  You can't scratch or you will cross contaminate the test.  If you "highly" allergic to more than 3 things, the test will make you cry.  I advise getting this as an adult, so your Mom doesn't get to tell you "STOP it. and DON"T you dare touch!" about every 35 seconds, alternating and getting more and more pissed at you as the seconds slowly tick by.  If you DO have your Mom come, you will ask "is it over? it is almost time?" more than ALL the "are we there yet?"s combined.  Once your test starts, you are warped into another dimension where a second of time here is really half a day there.  I cried because I was so pissed.  I didn't have allergies, and if I did I didn't know it at the time.

Finally the stupid test was over.  Guess what I was allergic to? Cat dander, dust, and hayfever things and some kind of plants.  Normal allergens that almost everyone has a reaction to.  No food allergies. Nothing important.

I don't understand, if time is a constant, than why does it change in reality?  Does anyone else find this weird? Oh, and does anyone have a FitBit?? or some other techie band that calculates every movement of your day? I think that would really motivate me.

HELP!!! I never know when I get comments on my blog!

I stupidly switched to the G+ version of BLogger, when it was announced that Google Reader was going to be killed. I thought that was the next logical step in the process. Ever since, I do not receive my comments by my email. I've spent hours in the settings trying to set it up right. I hated Captcha and that is one benefit of changing from Blogger. However, most blogs I read, have not made the move, and still have the old Blogger Captcha comments. I'm frustrated because Real People are leaving nice comments, and I was feeling SO lonely, because I thought I have not received a comment in months. G+ will notify me at the bell at the top, when someone follows, but it doesn't notify me when people leave comments, although it's set up that way. i have G+ app on my iPhone. Besides +checking Blogger multiple times a day, there MUST be a better solution! +Allison Kennedy ?