Craftaholics Annonymous 2013 Summer Gift Exhchange

I know I've not posted in forever but if there is anyone that ever reads my blog they know that is nothing new.  I go months, ok maybe a year or so, without posting.  I don't have a lot of followers so I guess there's just no "connection" there that makes me want to correspond.  But since I do still crochet, still live in my RV and still want to participate in this summer's Crafaholics Annonymous Gift Exhange, I have to have a link for the linky party!

So here is the gift I made for my partner:

The scarf does not come with the bling-bling pin (it's actually a barrett) but I thought it was cute so I added it.  The yarn is 100% sugar cane that I found in the bottom of a basket at Tuesday Mornings.  It was so soft that I couldn't help but get it.  Alas it was the only one so I was limited with what I could do with it.  When my partner said she liked jewelry and blue I thought this would work well.  I know it's not "technically" jewelry, but seriously have you seen some of the chunky stuff that is available now?  I think this will pass! :)  I hope she loves it as much as I hate to pass it on.

It's official...now what?

Trainer Julie ROCKED!

Well I did it!  I didn't really give myself much "thinking time" as the class was only about a week out when I began looking into the idea.

So...now what?  Well I do know I will be utilizing this training here at the park.  But that is only about 4, maybe 5, months out of the year.  Luckily I don't have to think about the rest of the year until closer to April.  There is so much "stuff" swimming in my head right now that I've definitely got to take some time to sort through it.  Zumba Fitness provides soooo much more than just a license to teach their classes.  They really have a great network and support system for instructors.

The training was a BLAST!!  Trainer Julie was awesome.  She had the attitude, the style and the humor to make the day just fly by.  Really, I could take a class from her ANY day.  Oh, and did I mention she has SEVEN (7) children!!  Yeah, you should see her abs....

Who's ready??

Seriously, if are not in the Port Isabel, TX area and want some totally exhilarating FUN fitness, check out the Zumba website to find a studio near you!

Fun fact I found out....Running for 12 miles in 4 hours can burn about the same amount of calories in 1 hour of Zumba.  I kid you not.  

NO A/C!!

Well even though the south Texas temperatures have been in the high 90's and we have been without a/c for a little over 24 hours....Ginger is not complaining.  Ginger is an indoor cat and boy is she in HEAVEN!  I feel so blessed to have a well behaved adult cat that will stay when I tell her to (most of the time), come when I call her (with the aid of food) and lounge outside in the chair next to me without fighting to get down (NO bribing required!)


The a/c should be fixed sometime today (fingers, toes crossed and prayers have been said).  I will be sure and snap some photo's of the progress and share it with you!  In the mean time I am thankful for the cloudy, hazy day that helps keep the RV from becoming an aluminum oven!  God is good!

Have been considering getting my Zumba license.  Still weighing the cost vs. benefits.

Costs:
$270 for 1 day course and 1 yr license
$30 mo if I want license to last more than 1 yr

Benefits:
Use the name Zumba
Access to Music & Choreo
Jumping on the fitness wave!

This list is just the beginning and I will probably be adding as I find/learn more things!

Should I do it?  Give me your opinion and don't forget to tell me WHY!

Today's Inspiration

Today's inspiration should make my husband happy.  You see I am a clutterer...not so much a hoarder, I can get rid of things.  But instead of putting things where they belong, they lay where they land.  I know I'm not the only one and I have a very good reason for this.  If I put it away, I will forget to use it, forget I have it...like having my gym bag out is a visual reminder that I need to go to the gym.  Having my Avon books out reminds me that an order deadline is coming up soon and I need to make phone calls, send emails and get my order ready to submit.  I leave a pile of sewing next to the kitchen table, where the machine is, so that once I get "enough" to sew I can spend and afternoon doing it.  Ok so the pile has been there well over a month....!?  I have magazine's I need to finish reading.  Crochet projects half done....because if I put it away I won't have that visual reminder to finish it.  Makes sense right?  But in the mean time....I have piles EVERYWHERE!

So after getting my Zumba shot in the butt this morning this is what I plan to do this afternoon.  Let the pile attack begin!

If you have any tips and techniques PLEASE, yes I am begging, share them with me!

Learning about Blogging

While I slave away, my "co-worker" has bailed on me.

Go figure.





So I've been reading about some SEO (search engine optimization, yes I had to look it up) techniques from The North Carolina Cowgirl.  Professional SEO Consultant and a blogger that I found through one of my favorite blogs Peanut Butter Fingers, who also posted some good tips on her blog.

So I started working with Pic Monkey yesterday. (That's where the little conversation bubbles have come from.)  It is super easy to load a pic and get it just right for posting.  And can be done from ANY computer, which is a plus for me.  If you look at the Peanut Butter Fingers link you can see some of what can be done with this site.  It is free...but the cooler stuff requires membership.  Free is fine for me now.


So then I tried to learn how to add a "Pin It" button on my site.  That took a couple of days to get the hang of it and I'm still wondering a bit....?

I guess after I publish this I'll find out if it worked!

The last thing I've done so far is to add a XML Sitemap.  I definitely had to look that up too and see what it was all about but I did find out how to do it here.  This is one of those things that I still don't know a lot about and I'm not sure how to judge if it is working or not.  It is basically supposed to allow the search engines to bring up more that your last 26 posts. (See I didn't even know that was the case, but I guess it is with blogger.)  So there you go.  I hope this helps!

Today's Inspiration

Yes, it really is a madness!