Victims Of Sept 11, 2009. God Bless You. Our Prayers Are With You Today.

I go through life day by day not paying much attention to what I ate, my activities or my thoughts. I couldn't tell you what I did last week on a given day, much less a day eight years ago. September, 11th-2009 is a day that I can recall every detail of my life, the horrid thoughts that ran through my brain, where I went, each person I saw, and how I felt. I felt so insecure, so apprehensive and my sense of safety was rattled (for lack of a better term that's actually an understatement). My heart ached for the victims of 9-11, their families and their friends affected. At the same time, I was so grateful the attacks did not hit my hometown, that my family, my friends and my loved ones here were safe. Then I felt so guilty, "How awful to think that!" The entire day ran in slow-motion. In fact, anytime a tragedy strikes my life, the world stops turning. Alan Jackson's song, "Where were you when the world stopped turning" says it all. There are several songs written in tribute to the World Trade Center attack on September 11th, 2001. They all tell a story that spans from how I felt then to how I feel now and everything in between. I've added my favorite videos below to share with you. Most importantly, lets keep the victims of September 11th, their families and loved ones in prayer today. Let's be thankful for our loved ones and our lives. We are not guaranteed a tomorrow so let's live life! Continue...

Learning To Blog Article #1: Step-By-Step Guide To Backup Your Blogger Template. Backup Your Blogger Post And Comments. Backup Your Blogger Widgets

As a new Blogger I was overwhelmed and frustrated with the process of setting up my Blog. I had no clue what I was doing and I had so many questions. How do I setup the RSS feeds, How do I change templates, add widgets, and create banners? Through trial and error, searching instructional articles and totally crashing my own Blog, I was able to learn. I plan to write a series of articles for the new Blogger out there facing the same hurdles. Hopefully, the articles I write will be of use, easy to follow, and clear some of the confusion you are facing. To Begin: I am going to assume that you have created a Blogger account, chosen your title, template, and familiarized yourself with the dashboard. *Note: Blogger has no limit on the number of blogs you create. I highly urge you to create a second blog and name it “Temp” to avoid making the same mistakes I did. Creating a 2nd blog allows you to make changes and see how they appear prior to implementing them on your original. I totally crashed my blog and lost all data, widgets and posts simply because I was bored with my template and wanted a new one! 1. Creating the 2nd template is easy. Sign in to your blogger account. From the main dashboard (same place you view your profile), there is a link to create a new blog. Follow this and create your 2nd blog the same way you did the 1st one. 2. Backup your template. From within the dashboard, choose the blog you wish to backup and select "Layout", then "Edit HTML", then "Download Full Template". The "Save File" menu will then open and simply save your template to your computer. NOTE: Backing up your template does not back up the posts you have written, nor does it backup your widgets.         3. Export And Import Your Blog Posts And Comments: This step is vital and why I totally crashed my blog, lost my posts, comments and widgets. I backed up my template thinking all was good and was not aware as a new blogger that I had to also backup my comments/post and my widgets. From the dashboard of your blog, click on the "Settings" tab, then the "Export Blog" link. The "Save" dialog box will open, then simply save the export file to your hard-drive. (Be sure to name it post / comments backup or something in that line so that it won't be confused with your template backup. They are both XML files. This step will backup your post and comments. It does not backup your widgets.   4.Backup Your Blogger Widgets: From within your dashboard, choose the “Layout” tab (this defaults you to your “page elements” “widgets” or “Gadgets”). Backing up your “widgets” is a little more difficult because each will need to be backed up individually. Select “Edit” to open each widget, then copy and paste the HTML code from each one into “Notepad”. Be sure to save the document as a “.txt” file. I am here to help, please feel free to comment and ask any questions you may have. Continue...

Dropdown Menu's Or No Dropdown Menus.

I've always wondered. I myself prefer a drop down menu rather then a category listing of my links. From what I've read and hear on other sites. It's not a good idea to use them but I find they help a great deal. They provide me the advantage to neatly organization my links and provides a faster page load. However, The category type link-list gives us the advantage of sharing the exchange of links with our peers and index back-links with all the major search engines. Not able to decide, I am hoping to get input and advise from my readers. For the time being, I created and neatly organized drop-down menu's at the end of this blog. This way my readers are able to quickly jump content from my homepage. For my sub-pages, the category listing remains the same and offer me a way to exchange links with my peers that best fit their category. I would love to know your opinions, thoughts, and criticism on this topic. Continue...

Autographed Copy of The Second Virgin Birth By Tommy Taylor Ends 09/20

Thanks everyone for entering my contest! Congratulations "Marianna" You are the winner of my Autographed Copy of The Second Virgin Birth by Tommy Taylor! I've sent you an email. Please contact me within 72 hours :) Enter to win a new autographed copy of "The Second Virgin Birth" by Tommy Taylor. I won this book in a contest but simply have no time to read it. Editorial Description and author comments are taken from Amazon.com HERE. Description: "Do we have the technology enabling Christ to be born again of a second virgin mother? A six year old little girl in Alabama knows we do. The Pope is afraid we do. The world asks "should we if we can?" The book follows the life of a little girl in Alabama who goes completely insane at the age of six and is confined to a state mental hospital. In a strange twist of fate, she is chosen, "by God," to become the mother of his son, the next Madonna in the second coming of Christ. Explore her life as there are those who adore and worship her and there are those who loathe her and will do anything to end her life before her son is born. This story is a true "can't put it down" book." From the Author "As the author of the book "The Second Virgin Birth," I thought you might be interested in why I wrote the book in the first place. I truly believe that each one of us has inside our very souls, something that we need to accomplish before we pass from this world to the next. Mine was to write a book. One that was not just entertaining but inspired thought among its readers. One that could cause heated debates among friends about its not so simple and clear-cut meanings. I feel that I have accomplished my goal with a book written on a subject that could touch us all and with characters that are so lifelike that they could become your true friends or your worse enemies. My idea for this book began after a personal tragedy in my life. I began to wonder what if we could truly bring a loved one back. Do we have the technology to cause them to be able to walk among us again? But I did not stop there, if we could bring back a loved one; why not bring back the most unimaginable loved one of all. After reading this book, it is my wish that you question all the possibilities and let your imagination ascend to a new elevation while contemplating our future. To question is the first step in understanding." Contest is open to US Residents Only, Ages 13+ And ends 11:59 MCT 09/20. Extra entries available: Favorite me: Follow Me On Twitter HERE Grab My Button (Right Column) Continue...