Help Wanted: Blog Ideas

Life became busy, and my blog was pushed to the wayside.  There is something special about connecting with readers on topics that we find important.  Nothing compares to having a network where we can share and gather ideas, provide a support for our day-to-day tasks, have a laugh, or learn something new.  

In the past couple of weeks, I have had an urge to become an avid blogger again.  However, knowing myself, I need a plan.  The best plan for me would be themed days.  I wouldn't necessarily post every day of every week, but it would provide me a guide of ideas to post. 

This is where I need your help.  What would you like to see posted?  What themes would you like?  Here are some of my ideas.  Be sure to add, comment, or question.

Monday: Make-it Monday (Crafts, recipes, instructional tools, etc.)
Tuesday: Tech Tuesday (Favorite technology tools and websites)
Wednesday: No Words Wednesday (Picture of something important)
Thursday:  Throwback Thursday (Influences, ideas, etc. from the past)
Friday: Finally Friday (Free post)
Saturday: Strategy Saturday (Instructional strategies)
Sunday: Simply Sunday (Words of inspiration, rest, and refreshment)

Thank you for your help and continued support!

~Cara

Voting Starts Today

I was recently nominated for  The Most Fascinating Blog in 2012, Category: Elementary Teacher Blogs.  What an honor! Would you take a moment to vote for my blog? Simply, click on the icon below to cast your vote. Voting is anonymous, and it will only take a second. Thank you for your help!

~Cara

Too Much on My Plate

 

Have you ever had a week that you have just way too much on your plate? Between Promethean training in Alpharetta, Georgia, finalizing some professional development opportunities, teaching school and preparing lessons, applying to graduate school, and trying to have some family time, my blog has been neglected. I greatly apologize to you.


But, the good news is that Spring Break is here! Although I have some plans for remodeling my bathroom and working in the yard, I plan to devote some special time to my blog. Is there anything you would like to see a special post about? I'm always open to ideas!

~Cara

Adding Favicons to Your Blog

First, what is a favicon? A favicon is the little picture that shows next to your website name in the address bar, favorites, and bookmarks. If you are like me, you may have multiple tabs open at one time. Favicons make it easier to distinguish tabs.


I am an avid Chrome user. So, you can feel my disappointment when my favicon for my blog did not show in Chrome. I used the Favicon gadget in Design mode of Blogger. My favicon showed in Internet Explorer but not Chrome. Thus, my Google search began. The search brought me to {this site}. I am not sure if these steps will work in other blog platforms, but it does work in Blogger. If you are a Wordpress, Tumblr, etc. user, please let me know if this works for you, too.


To create your favicon to show in all web browsers, follow the following steps:

1)Change the size of your blog button to 16X16 using paint. Save it as a different name, so you don't write over your original blog button. Paint>Open>Resize>OK>File>Save As

2)Upload your button into an image hosting website (i.e. Photobucket, Flickr, etc). I used Photobucket.

3)View your album. 

4)Hover over your album. Copy the code for the Direct Link.

5)You now need to link the icon to your blog.  

6)Go to Dashboard > Design > Edit HTML (do not expand widget template). Use CTRL+F to find this line of code using Fn+F: 

<b:skin><![CDATA[

7)Insert the following code immediately before that line (You must keep the ' before and after the link): 

<link href='PUT DIRECT LINK URL HERE' rel='shortcut icon' type='image/x-icon'/>

My direct link looked like this: http://i1092.photobucket.com/albums/i403/WhiteheadsClass/favicon.jpg 

So, my code was

<link href='http://i1092.photobucket.com/albums/i403/WhiteheadsClass/favicon.jpg' rel='shortcut icon' type='image/x-icon'/>




Change the orange text to the Direct Link you copied from Photobucket.




8)Preview the template to make sure you have no problems with your code. If everything is OK, save your template.

9)You should now see your favicon in Chrome.

~Cara

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Google Reader Keyboard Shortcuts

I love using Google Reader to keep up with all of my favorite blogs! However, it can be overwhelming at time. To help me better explore my feeds, I found this guide to Google Reader Keyboard Shortcuts. I wanted to share it with you. Maybe it will help follow your favorite blogs easier, too!

~Cara

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Thanks Blog Followers!

A special THANKS goes out to all my blog followers. My Facebook page has surpassed 100 followers!  My blog followers and Twitter followers have also greatly increased. I'm super excited!

~Cara

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The Liebster Award

A special thank you goes out to Dianne of Hopelessly Devoted to Teaching for awarding me The Liebster Award. This award is given to a newbie blogger with under 200 followers. What a great way to end the year! 

Here are the rules:

1. Copy and paste the award to your blog.
2. Thank the giver, and link back to them.
3. Reveal your top 5 picks, and let them know by leaving a comment on their blog.

Now, to reveal the five blogs that I am going to award!

http://teachinginroom6.blogspot.com/ 
http://www.craftycommunity.com/ 

Congratulations to each of you! You have contributed so much to the blogging world!

~Cara

Share It Sunday

Sunday is going to be my day to share with you some of the great blogs I follow. Thanks to you all for sharing such great resources that help us all in our daily instruction.

However, today I'm sharing my blog. In fact, I just started it yesterday, but I can't wait for it to grow and build. So, I am joining Lesson Plan Diva's Linky Party. Please take time to view my Facebook page. I can't wait to view all of your blogs!

~Cara