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photo credit: SEPBLOG

Little Random Acts of Kindness

You've Been 'RAK'ed!

This week is National Random Acts of Kindess Week!

And TODAY is #RAK day!

On Twitter, or Facebook, Text a friend...Comment on a blog...use #RAK to leave your random kindness mark all day long.


What? RAK = huh?

You can do this!

Heck... pay for the person's lunch behind you.. and write on the top of the receipt:

"you've been RAKed!"

I have a few RAK stories.
Not stories where I was the giver of kindness..
instead either I was the recipient or the observer...

My pal Tiffany from SITSgirls.com heard me Twitter-whining a few weeks back... and she totally surprised me with a gift certificate from Amazon.com to purchase these two books! She did NOT have to do it, and when I protested and apologized for whining so publicly.. she insisted. I loved the books and now when I think about these stories.. I'll be able to think of her random act of kindness!
(And Guess what...? I totally am passing these books on... ! A sort of 'BookItForward' over at her place this week!... Go leave a comment if you'd like to win these books!)

What's better than a Sister Teaching her little Brother to Read?

And Last:
Look what I made for you mom!!
You have got to love kid's artwork when they have worked this hard... can you see the miniature hammock on the palm trees... yeah I wish I were THERE!
And.. the Lincoln Log architecture, does that look like a proud face or what?

Want some more RAK goodness?
RAK posts I've seen this week.. I'll add more as I see them.. holler if you have one!

Robyn's World #RAK list
Julie's Free Birthday Treat's #RAK article
People Finder

To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children...to leave the world a better place...to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.”

—Ralph Waldo Emerson

True Love

From My Two Lips To Yours...

From my husband.
Does he KNOW me or what?
VivaciousTulips... And a Mountain Dew....
True Love. Right there.

Dancing Daughter

'Happiness is...'







NOTE: I used the PSE action "Honey Daze" from Marcel Walker: MyPhotographica
In the Whole Action Group. Oh how I love this action. Sublime huh?

It's Time For a Wordpress Change

A Preview
SHHHH....

I AM SO EXCITED!

Wordpress is on the way.
I love blogger don't get me wrong and I'll still be thrilled to help anyone out with their blogspot issues.

But.
I'm dying to try out something new... see if I'm missing anything on the wordpress side of the fence. SEO plugins, A NORMAL comment section, A WHOLE new blog look....

Reminds me of my camera. I pushed my little point and shoot TO THE LIMIT. I was SO ready for a Digital SLR.

It's time for a NIKON kind of blog I tell ya.
And since this month is my 2 year Bloggavurshury..... !

MY blogspot-switch-to-wordpress is brought to you with the help of some friends of mine..

@dotatdabbled
{All the artwork and the coding and adjustments of my free theme: Vigilance}

@telling_dad
{Helped me upload the database and the Wordpress.org files}

@scrappinmichele
{Helped me upload the theme initially}

@theworkingmom
{Jen does amazing work, and has answered a lot of questions and says she will help me on my Wordpress journey... I intend to keep picking the Wordpress knowledge out of her brain in fact...}

Are you looking to make the Wordpress switch...?

It's not impossible. But sheesh, it's taken me a long time WITH all this help.

Really quick... What you are going to need to do get your own Wordpress Switch.

• Step 1: Purchase your own URL. (I used GoDaddy.com about $10/year)
  
• Step 2: Find hosting. Cost is usually from $5-10/month (Note: make sure it comes with database support. You will need MYSQL to upload the Wordpress files.)
• Step 3: Upload the Wordpress Database to your server. (Here's where I needed help... huh??) But when I asked around several ppl were willing to jump in on this process.
• Step 4: Find a Theme you like... Free or otherwise... What's a Wordpress Theme you ask? Just Google it and go find one you like. I wanted a really clean layout. And a lot of people go with Thesis, but you pay for it. I found Vigilance, and part of what I liked besides it was clean, was that it's free initially and then when you need to you can upgrade for a whopping $40.(So Far Vigilance is working great, and the upgrade is more about getting support in the forums.)
  
• Step 5: Upload Your Theme into the Wordpress files. (Again, I have no idea.. that part magically happened when Michele Stepped in...)
• Step 6: If you need new artwork now is the time to get it, please people DO NOT keep going to iStock and purchase the same dang cartoon mom face EVERY other mom blogger already has.
  
  Here are 2 artists THRILLED to take your money and make a better (even semi-custom) header for you... @dotatdabbled @napwarden, or ask around, believe me there are graphic artists out there!!
  
• Step 7: Figure out how to FTP files. Filezilla.com for a free software program. (You could do this step at the beginning if you think you'll be uploading any of the files initially.)
• Step 8: Here's where I broke down and paid someone to tweak the theme I liked into the website I was going to LOVE. I found prices from $300 to $1200. So prepare yourself a budget. You can only ask your friends to do so much for you for free right?
• Step 9: DO a ton of research on wordpress plugins, once your wordpress site is up teach yourself how to use the backend: posts, categories, media content control etc. Get help again to migrate your old posts and content over to the new site, new server. If you have paid someone to help with the coding, they likely will help with the migration.
  
• Step 10: Attempt not to loose all of your feedreaders and followers. Ask them to please follow your current feed in case they were following your Blogger feed. Leave the old blog up with links where they can find your current schtuff. And redirect your feedburner account to your new URL.
  

I kept thinking all of this could be done for under $200. And no matter what I did or who I asked. It just wasn't possible.

I'm dreaming that the handful of coders I know will get together with the fun graphic artists I know and make mommy blogger wordpress babies... ones that are birthed with-IN a mom blogger's budget.

Either that or maybe we need bloggy insurance for upgrades?

Creamy Peppers And Onions With Kielbasa

NOTE: GoodNCrazy is moving to the world of self hosted Wordpress! If you haven't please subscribe to the GoodnCrazy.com RSS feed you'll still be able to find me! Cheers!

Super easy, Super simple, Alfredo sauce

Serve over any pasta.
We most often use a whole grain penne.
And sometimes we serve it over rice.

And just because.
Asparagus was on sale today.
And that meant.. it was for DINNER!







RECIPE

INGREDIENTS

• Meat Options: Turkey Kielbasa sliced in rounds, cooked chicken-bite sized, or ham chunks
  {Or skip the meat and call this a vegetarian dish!}
• 1 Green Pepper: sliced in thin strips
• 1 Red Pepper: sliced in thin strips
• 1 Red Onion: halved and sliced in thin strips
• 1-2 Garlic Cloves: crushed
• pinch of Red Pepper Flakes
• 1-2 Teaspoons Basil Leaves: crushed in your hand
• 1 Can Chicken Broth or Veggie Broth
• 1 Cup Cream or Half & Half
• Parmesan Cheese

and

Pasta or Rice of choice

DIRECTIONS

Cook your meat option in a large skillet til mostly done. Drain on paper towel lined plate. Set aside. (For Kielbasa I do not use any oil in pan, and just cook til all sides are browned a bit.)

In same skillet on medium heat saute peppers and onions til they just lose their crispness, 3-4 minutes. Use additional canola oil if needed.

Add garlic, red pepper flakes, and basil and cook one minute longer.

Add chicken broth and cream and let simmer on medium low for 8-10 minutes. When the sauce begins to thicken, add meat option to the skillet and warm through. Then add cooked pasta to the skillet.

Serve with Parmesan.

YUMMY.