Month: March 2011

Delivery for Me?

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The mail-room guy comes by every day, and usually he just passes by. But yesterday afternoon, he stopped at my desk with these!  My boyfriend sent me this bouquet of 100 gorgeous flowers!  What a lovely way to start my day this morning. I am so lucky to have him.  He is a keeper!  ðŸ™‚

Love, Caryn

A Simple Way to Add The Reply Option for Downloaded Blogger Templates

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Thank you to everyone who reads my blog and those who have left comments.  I cannot express how much it means to me.   It is you, my readers, that motivates me to keep writing and inspires me to continue to share my posts. Otherwise, it would just be like an online diary.  I am sorry up until now I haven’t been able to reply to your thoughtful comments.  But that just changed!



One of the downfalls to Blogger is that it lacks a reply feature, as I am sure you have noticed. This is a serious issue because it is important for blog authors to be able to communicate with their readers.  So, for the longest time, I was really frustrated because I wanted to be able to respond to your notes but didn’t know how.  Yes, I could put a single comment up below your comment but that did not facilitate continuing the conversation.  I Googled the issue and found some blogs that showed a hack around the issue. I thought, Yes! A Fix!  They all cited the same source code: ““ in order for this to work.  The process made sense to me, but the problem was that the code did not exist for me.  The catch – my template is not a Blogger template but one by Theme Craft. This means my HTML comment code was different.  I knew I had to find another way to add this reply feature if I wanted to be able to communicate with you.  I had responded to one of the blogs that explained the process for Blogger to see if they could help me too, but I never got a response.  I contemplated emailing Markandey over at Markandey.com for his help, again.  His blog post on How to Add Tabs to Your Blog was by far the easiest and most helpful How To guide I came across on the topic. (Thanks again, Markandey!) He was beyond insightful and knowledgeable. We emailed back and forth and he took a lot of time to help make sure my blog was exactly how I wanted it to be. If you need blog help, I highly recommend you seek him out. Anyways, I didn’t want to bother him again.  I wanted to try to fix this on my own.

Finally, a light bulb clicked this morning and I decided to check out Disqus. It is so simple! I set up an account, and TA-DA! It merged and transferred all my comments with ease and now I am able to reply to comments as well as be notified if someone responds to one of my comments. 

If you are having a similar issue, consider using an alternate commenting forum like Disqus.  It is Blogger compatible and easy to use.  All you have to do is sign up, link your blog to your profile, select preferences for your blog, and you are ready to rock and roll! 



Happy replying!


Love, Caryn





Bring On The Warm Springtime Sunshine!

 

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It is still chilly outside in Chicago. This week will hopefully be in the 40’s. Doesn’t sound like spring, does it? I can’t quite retire my winter-gear, or take out the flip-flops and t-shirts yet, but I am excited for the temperatures to warm up.

When I think of Spring, there is always one image that comes to mind- like a still snapshot in my head. In college, there was this large open grassy field on campus where students would go to read, sleep, listen to music on their iPod, or tan in the grass. The field would fill with people playing Frisbee with friends or with their dogs between classes.  Just walking by this field in the Springtime made me want to smile and skip home. It wasn’t until college and seeing this field each year, did I realize just how much I love Spring. 

I love this time of year. I love when people come out of the woodworks, when restaurants put patio furniture out, and people are out and about going for walks.  Dog parks are loaded with puppies playing, animals come out of hibernation, birds chirp, tulip buds begin to sprout and trees begin to blossom.  I can walk to work and the days are longer. There is optimism that the end of the dreary days is near and that Winter is almost over.  The sun shines out from behind cloudless blue skies. People seem to have an extra spring in their step.  

You can feel love in the air.

When Spring is in the air, you can smell the crisp scent of freshly cut grass and possibilities. Springtime rain smells different than any other time of year. Now is the time, we plant our vegetable gardens and flowers.  You can smell neighbors barbecuing.  I love going to the park and having picnics. Colors, just like our attitudes (thanks Seasonal Affective Disorder), go from dark hues (like my favorite Russian Navy by OPI) to bright, cheery, pastels and florals. 
2011 OPI Texas Spring Collection colors {via}

We clean out our closets and homes, remove unwanted clothes and bad habits. It is our time to start fresh and remind us what we have been missing while cooped up for the Winter. Spring cleaning brings fresh starts. 


I love summer weather, going to the beach and soaking in the hot sun rays. But there is something special about Spring that makes me happy and gives me the feeling that anything is possible. 


Bring on the warm springtime sunshine!

So What If I Can Be Easily Amused?

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I sometimes find pleasure is the silliest things. Yes, I admit I can be easily amused. Here is a website I came across that kept me entertained for a bit.  Sometimes it is fun to forget all that is going on in the world and be like a five year old for just a few minutes.


My name as an anagram is “NERVY CLAY” or with middle names: “VERY LYNCH BEAT”

My boyfriend Jason’s is awesome: “JOVIALNESS AND IDOL”
My mom Laurie: “REALLY, I’VE UREA”
My sister Stacy: “ENVY CLEAN STAY”
My dad Edward: “VELVETY NEW DREADS”
(The anagrams include their middle name, but for their privacy and safety I am not publicising that information.)


Yes it is pretty mindless and they make no sense, but amusing? Yes!  Please comment and share what you get from your name! Anagram your name here. 


ENJOY!!


Love, Caryn

Help Japan Now!

I just wrote an entire post and lost it! I’ll try again.

It is hard to enjoy this beautiful day in Chicago when so many people have been struck with tragedy. My heart, thoughts and prayers go out to everyone affected by the earthquake and tsunami. The greatest concern now is that the nuclear reactor in Fukushima will explode- I PRAY this does not happen. That would be detrimental and beyond dangerous for all. The effects of this is global and Mother Nature is not finished yet.  There are always aftershocks after earthquakes like this. I hope you are all safe.

This video of the Tsunami gave me chills. Fox News- Tsunami Video and click here for UNREAL VIDEOS of footage.

Are you worried about a friend or loved one? Google launched this fantastic site to help:

If you can donate, here are some great options. If not, please spread the word so we can all do our part to help in this disaster.

Text REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation

GlobalGiving.orgPraying is good, donating is better.

It is in time like this that we must be thankful for those in our life and those that we love.