Blog Advertising in Today's World

In today's world of growing technology through the internet, with more and more people searching from the comfort of home, and the growing interest in blogging, it's only natural that blog advertising is becoming more popular throughout the world.

Today you can reach out to millions in a way that only a few short years ago was unheard of. This makes quite an exciting opportunity for both bloggers and advertisers, as you can put real people together in such an easy and quick manner. It's a great asset to you as a blogger because, let's face it, a very big part of why you're here to begin with is that you love to write. It is equally advantageous to the advertiser since you can literally reach out to millions for a fraction of the costs that was seen in the not so distant past. All in all it's a win-win situation for both the blogger and the advertiser.

For the blogger it's a wonderful way to not only get recognition for your blog, but to earn money while doing it. You can choose a company such as Paying Post, who has an easy to navigate website to get opportunities, where you can show your skill as a writer while earning extra income from your home. As an advertiser it's a unique way to promote your business and, as stated earlier, at a fraction of the costs you might think for such a service.

If you have been thinking of monetizing your blog, this is a great opportunity to get started. Think of it not as work as much as a labor of love, doing what you enjoy. And if you're an advertiser looking for a way to gain an audience of real people just like you and me, you're definitely in a no lose situation. You owe it to yourself to research more about blog advertising and not let the technology of today's world pass you by. Try it today and gain so much more for so much less.

It's Another Banjo Day Here

Waking up this morning with a day off, no work, nothing to do but relax....looking outside the kitchen window as I go to make coffee, and there's a blanket of snow out there. It's very pretty to look at, but the cold....at my age now it makes the joints stand up and shout.

Tanner decided he simply had to go out right this minute, of course I know he did since he's waited all night for this moment. No, I'm not talking about just playing in the snow! So here we go doing our walk from tree to tree, bush to bush, him wanting to play and splash in the snow between his nature visits, me just wanting to keep it out of my shoes. But it's nice to be out there watching him enjoy the snow.

Right now the sun is out, so I've put off placing some logs in the back of my pickup. Although it's 4WD, it's light in the rear so in this weather I like to put some extra weight in the bed. We didn't really get a lot of snow during the night, just a heavy dusting really, but there's a chance for the next couple of days to continue.

So this is why I call it a banjo day. I'll spend the time playing the banjo, learning some new licks I hope, and simply doing what a woods-raised country boy does. Might walk back down to the creek later to look for deer tracks and watch the animals, definately have to put out some food for my furry friends. And of course I'll look at some pictures from my other home in the Philippines, and miss the warm weather there today.

Well.... time for the banjo, and another cup of coffee!

Coffee Filters?

My neighbor sent an email this morning that I wanted to share, tips on uses for those inexpensive coffee filters that you can buy at the grocery store, dollar store, or almost anywhere. I drink a lot of coffee here, but I never thought of anything other than what I always do with them....filter my coffee!

* Cover bowls and dishes when cooking in the microwave, excellent to prevent splashes and splatters

* Protect china: you can place these between your good plates to prevent scratching while they are stored

* If you're a wine person, you can use these to filter out those broken pieces of cork if you happen to break off some while opening the wine

* Protect a cast iron skillet: lay these in your skillet to absorb moisture and prevent rust on the cast iron

* Apply shoe polish, since they are lint free you can ball up a filter to use for a nice shine

* Clean windows: these lint free filters will give you a streak free shine to all your glass cleaning

* Weigh chopped foods on a kitchen scale

* Hold tacos or other messy foods, makes a neat wrapper, also poke a hole in the filter to use with a popsicle to prevent messy drippings

* Plant pot liner: line the inside of your pots with these to prevent the soil from going through the drainage holes

* Absorb grease: use these on plates to absorb the grease from french fries, fried chicken, bacon, etc. they will soak up all the grease

* Men and ladies: makes great fixers for those razor nicks, and inexpensive way to use strips of filters to apply eyebrow wax

My Neighbors, the Critters

That's right, the critters. No, I'm not talking about the neighbors up the road, but the ones who visit from the woods behind my house. I have a pretty big yard, and in the back it adjoins several hundred acres of woods. Now to someone like me, who enjoys sitting out there playing the banjo on a warm summer evening, that's a good thing. And the wildlife, those are the critters I'm talking about.
I do love the animals, so I try to take care of them in my own way. I have a lot of bird feeders, so especially in the wintertime they will have food. And of course there are squirrels, rabbits, raccoons, deer, and a special opossum that comes around at night. Every once in a while I'm even treated to 5 or 6 wild turkeys coming through the yard together.
Sometimes when I'm up early for an opening shift at work, it's just getting daylight, and from the kitchen window I can see the deer in the yard eating before they go to bed down. The squirrels are everywhere, and it seems they take a special kind of fondness to the bird feeders, but that's ok too.
I like to put out small bales of alfalfa for the rabbits in the back yard, they come up and enjoy that from what I can see, and if I drive home at night my lights will pass over them often. There's also a raccoon that comes up close to the back porch, especially around the area where I keep the grill, and I try to always have something out there for him.
But the opossum, well, one night I was in here on the computer and heard a scratching at the back door. Tanner went and put his head down to listen, and I got up and went there also, because I thought it was probably a cat that belongs to a neighbor through the woods. But when I opened the back door, here was the opossum sitting there. He didn't run away, just looked up as if to say "I'm hungry." So here I go to the fridge to see what I can find.
It's really an enjoyable thing for me to watch these animals that I call my neighbors. It gives me a great pleasure to be able to look out and see them enjoying what I leave for them, and I'm happy to see that they feel as much at home in my back yard as I do.

Old Fashioned Banana Pudding

If there's one more thing that Tanner and I have in common, it's that we like to eat! When I'm off from work I enjoy cooking, especially grilling outside, but with the weather this week as it is I'll have to settle for indoors. One of the things I love is banana pudding from scratch, and I use an old recipe that my mother used when I was young, so I though I would share it here and if there's anybody who might like to try it, then I hope you will enjoy it as much as I do. Anyway, enough talk, here are the ingredients.....

*4 eggs
*1 1/2 cups sugar
*4 to 6 tbsp flour
*2 cans evaporated milk
*2 tsp vanilla flavoring (after cooking)
*bananas (good and ripe)
*vanilla wafers or graham crackers, whichever you prefer

In a baking dish layer with vanilla wafers or graham crackers, whichever you prefer, then a layer of bananas, then another of wafers, etc.

Separate the egg yolks, putting the whites together in a seperate bowl for later making the meringue topping.
Put the egg yolks and sugar in a pot and moisten with a small amount of evaporated milk and stir in the flour. Then slowly add the remainder of the milk while stirring.
Cook over low heat, stirring constantly to keep from sticking until it starts to thicken; when desired thickness is reached remove from heat and add vanilla flavoring, stir, and pour over bananas and vanilla wafers (or graham crackers).
Add the meringue topping and place in a 3oo degree oven until golden brown.

Then you place in the refrigerator to get cold, but honestly, I always have a warm bowl too.
I hope that if you try this, it will turn out to be something you enjoy.

For the meringue topping: In a mixing bowl beat the egg whites you seperated earlier while adding 4 tbsp of sugar until stiff peaks form (this will take a few minutes) then spread over the top of the pudding before baking.

Tanner the Jealous Boy

After coming home from work, I'm usually very tired, but it's nice that Tanner meets me every night at the door to get his hug first thing. Or maybe he's just happy because he knows what I always bring home?! Since I manage a restaurant he always has 3 or 4 grilled chicken breasts for supper, so perhaps that's a big part of it...

But he really is jealous! We have our nightly ritual of taking our walk, then he has his chicken, and if he's still hungry he helps himself to his kibbles while I'm checking email or what have you. Then after the shower he lays under the computer desk while I do my thing, very patiently waiting for bedtime which he knows brings our snack. As soon as I lay down, he's there to get his 3 butter cookies and rawhide chew stick while I get on the phone to Katherine.

Now while we talk on the phone, he's busy finishing his rawhide, so it's a quiet time for us to talk. But when he's finished, that's it. He thinks it's supposed to be his time now. So on the bed, rooting with his head against me and making all sorts of grunts and puffs to get my attention. Then he starts to use that big nose like a shovel, trying to pry my arm over to scratch him, and if that doesn't work right away, he starts the talking and barking. You have to understand that this little fella weighs 120 pounds, so it's not like there's a kitten trying for my attention. This usually goes on until I lay my hand on him, and as long as he's being touched he's fine. But he has actually learned when we're finishing our conversation on the phone, because no matter how impatient he is, when he hears us starting to say out good-byes, he turns around and lays down, and as soon as I'm off the phone, it's just him laying there minding his own business as if there hasn't been a bother in the world.

Mornings aren't so bad usually. He has learned to let me sleep when I'm working on the night shift, but I know he lays wherever he chooses just waiting, because as soon as I start to move or make a sound, here he comes, ready to start the day. Up beside me, getting his good morning wishes, then when I start to sit up he goes to the side and hangs his legs over just like me. On those mornings when I'm not up and about at the usual times, he decides to help by getting one of his squeaky toys to use as an alarm clock. It really does work. When you're sound asleep and the quiet is broken with the sounds of a stuffed monkey going squeak squeak squeak...usually close beside my head... it works quite well indeed.

But then, how can you get mad at something like that. After so much time together I think we sort of know each other's mannerisms, and it's almost like a child that just wants some attention. For as much as he might do to aggravate me, he also is the definition of "man's best friend", and keeps me from being too stressed when I come home from work. No, I don't think I'd change a thing about him.

Do you have a special someone like Tanner in your life also? If you do, I'd love to hear from you.