Cynthia just dropped off this gigantic photo of my two boys! It's about 5' x 3', and it's so awesome I can hardly stand it!!! It's going in the family room once the reno work is complete! Can't wait.
Fabulousness
Cynthia just dropped off this gigantic photo of my two boys! It's about 5' x 3', and it's so awesome I can hardly stand it!!! It's going in the family room once the reno work is complete! Can't wait.
CSN Stores Giveaway Winner!
The winner of the $40 CSN Stores gift certificate is Debbie!
Debbie's blog is Suburb Sanity... check out this post, "If Thriftiness is So Good, Why Do I Feel So Dirty?"... it's super funny!!!
Congratulations Debbie! I'll be emailing you the details.
Blogging Quick Tip: Getting Started With Disqus
Oh yes, the glasses are back on... (see Saturday's post!)
I decided to try using disqus to manage my blog comments. Thought I'd share what I know so far:
What you need to know to get started:
I decided to try using disqus to manage my blog comments. Thought I'd share what I know so far:
Why you might want to try disqus:
- It will turn your blog comments into a real conversation! You can reply directly to each comment, and the reply shows up embedded right below the original comment. So much more natural than replying 10 comments later with @whatevername!
- Replying to comments is super easy. You have three choices:
- hit the reply button on the actual comment
- use the disqus dashboard (good because you can see all of the comments in one place)
- reply directly by email (you get an email notification for each comment, and when you reply to the email, it places your reply below the original comment on your blog! Isn't that awesome???)
- it also works for commenters... they get an email when someone replies to their comment... if they reply to the email, it inserts it into the comment section under the reply! Super cool.
- You can link it with facebook, twitter, etc... commenters can log in from any of these accounts, or openID (which blogger uses), or simply with their name and email.
What you need to know to get started:
- Setting up disqus was super easy! Impressively easy, actually.
- You just register on the disqus site, and the rest of the set-up is like adding a widget to your blogger layout... disqus does most of the work automatically
- You do need to import your comments:
- Go to the Admin section (in the blue bar at the top of the screen)
- Go to the Tools tab
- Click Import/Export. Note: it took some time for all of the comments to import, but don't worry, it worked just fine! (I've read that it can take a couple days if you have loads of comments!!!)
- For some reason... when I imported the comments, my email inbox filled up with a notification for every single comment I've ever gotten... ???????
Quirky things that I'm not sure about yet:
- There is a big delay from the time someone comments to when I get notification in my gmail inbox.
- There is an even bigger delay (like 12 hours or more) to successfuly reply to comments through email.
- Commenters are supposed to receive emails when they get a reply to their comment (which would totally facilitate the 'conversation')... so far, I don't think this is working... but let me know if you did get an email when I replied to your comment.
- Comments received via iPhone are not showing up. I know they are there, because they are in my blogger comment moderation page. But disqus isn't showing them. hmmmm... I emailed support and I expect to hear back soon.
What do you think of the disqus comment form?
Like it?
Hate it?
Indifferent?
Blogging Quick Tip: Replying to Comments
I'm laughing at myself right now for deciding that I'm qualified enough to offer 'tips' on blogging... but I do love nerdy tech stuff, so here we go!
The topic for today is Comments. I love the little conversations that result from comments on posts. It's one of the best parts of blogging. It's how you get to 'know' other bloggers, and it's super fun to have little conversations through the comments section. However... there seem to be two schools of thought on how to do it:
I put on my glasses so that I'd look smarter! (hahaha!)
The topic for today is Comments. I love the little conversations that result from comments on posts. It's one of the best parts of blogging. It's how you get to 'know' other bloggers, and it's super fun to have little conversations through the comments section. However... there seem to be two schools of thought on how to do it:
- Reply by commenting back on your own post. This works well if the commenter checks back to see if you replied or 'subscribes to comments.'
- Reply by email. I have my blogger account set to send comments to my gmail account, and I always thought that if I replied to the email, the commenter would receive my reply. Apparently, that isn't always true!!! Thanks to Anna's post today at Lona de Anna, for pointing this out! It only works if the commenter 'shows' their email address on their own blogger account!
Here are the tips:
- To find out whether the commenter will receive your email reply, check to see what their reply email address is (in gmail you can hover over their name)... if it says 'noreply-comment@blogger.com' your reply is going nowhere!!!
- If you want to be able to engage in comment conversations through email, simply follow these steps to allow other bloggers to reply to you directly:
- Go to your Blogger dashboard
- Click on 'Edit Profile'... it's on the top left corner under your photo
- Check the 'Show my email address' box under the Privacy settings
Note: I use blogger, so I'm not sure how wordpress or any of the other platforms handle this issue!
Another Note: I've noticed that quite a few of the bloggers that I follow have started using disqus to handle comments. I'm going to look into it right now, and I'll share what I find on my next Blogging Quick Tip post!
Project in the works...
I've been obsessing over these round globe-type chandeliers. Don't really know what they're officially called, but I like them.
I think I can make it happen... we'll see how the weekend goes!
ps... Don't forget to enter the giveaway for $40 to spend at CSN Stores!
My plan is to transform this:
Into this:
I think I can make it happen... we'll see how the weekend goes!
ps... Don't forget to enter the giveaway for $40 to spend at CSN Stores!
The "Looking Forward To Spring" Giveaway
So... I've been a little slack with the blog posts this week. My excuse is that my home has been completely taken over by boys. It's the week-long February break from school, so I'm looking after my own 2 boys, my sisters 2 boys, and my friend's baby boy! I'm outnumbered. It was kind of ironically fitting when CSN Stores offered up a giveaway featuring outdoor playsets today!
My first thought was, "OMG... if ONLY I could send the boys outside right now!!!" Is anyone else feeling this way right now? The weather networks says that it 'feels like -30 degrees' outside. ICK. I am so ready for spring. This is how happy I'm going to be when the snow finally melts:
Jumpking Trampoline $349.99
So here's the deal. CSN stores will give the winner a $40 Gift Certificate to use on an item of the winner's choice. CSN Stores has over 200 online stores where you can find anything you need whether it be outdoor playsets, fabulous home decor items, or even cute cookware! Here are some warm-weather items that caught my eye today:
How about this super cute sandbox? Hours of fun for the little ones... and it comes with a cover so that the neighbor's cat can't crap in the sand. (Don't even get me started on that situation...)
Step2 Crabbie Sandbox $69.99
I know that my boys are super excited to get their bikes out. I would highly recommend a training bike like this one. My boys both have something similar, and it is AMAZING how quickly they find their balance... no need for training wheels!
Smart Gear Classic Wooden Training Bike $74.99
But then again, maybe you have a little girl in your house, and you want her to have a more stylish looking ride. You should totally go for this one:
Schwinn Roadster Tricycle in Pink $69.99
- To enter the giveaway, sipmply be a follower and leave a comment on this post
- Tweet or facebook it for an extra entry (and leave an additional comment)
- I'll make the draw on Monday Feb. 28th (to celebrate the fact that the kids are back in school... hahaha... just kidding of course...)
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