Good Blogger And A Bad Blogger: What Are The Signs?

Good Blogger And A Bad Blogger: What Are The Signs?

A great “checklist” post for bloggers – from Abhi Balani of OddBlogger.com. Please read the post – then add your two cents in the comments. If you enjoyed the post, show it – just click “Like,” or +1, give it a vote on Blog Engage, or even write your own post and give it a backlink – it’s a great discussion topic for bloggers, and a nice springboard for your own thoughts on the topic, if you’re stuck for something to blog about.

 

Good Blogger And A Bad Blogger: What Are The Signs?

Good Blogger And A Bad Blogger: What Are The Signs?

A great “checklist” post for bloggers – from Abhi Balani of OddBlogger.com. Please read the post – then add your two cents in the comments. If you enjoyed the post, show it – just click “Like,” or +1, give it a vote on Blog Engage, or even write your own post and give it a backlink – it’s a great discussion topic for bloggers, and a nice springboard for your own thoughts on the topic, if you’re stuck for something to blog about.

 

Lunch

I didn’t mean to skip lunch, yesterday. I suppose it made last night’s dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings extra good (you really should try their Thai Chili Curry wings, while they still offer that “limited edition” flavor if you haven’t – it’s excellent). I learned you can ask for the wings “extra crispy,” too – I got half Mango Habanero, half Thai Chili Curry, all extra crispy, and didn’t have to agonize over the guilt.

Anyway, lunch today was Sandella’s Turkey Mozzarella Panini with sundried tomatoes and fresh basil. It’s better when you don’t have it every day for a week, as I was starting to do before the holidays. Definitely need to get back to planning and packing a lunch on weekdays. But this was excellent, really. And really HOT. I snapped the photo while waiting for it to cool!

 

Fencing Lessons

Not me, my son…

 

Married

 

Still a Little Too New

But I'm workin' on it!

Sent from my Windows Phone

 

The 365 Project | Picablog

Clipped from: blog.picaboo.com (share this clip)

via s.tt

Come on, join the fun! Misery loves miserable company.

 

Goodbye, Holiday! (Day one of Project 365)

Some might call it “blurry.” I prefer to think of it as…artistic.

Okay. It’s blurry.

This one’s kind of cool – a tiny Christmas light masquerading as a champagne bottle as seen through an inebriated haze. Are those police lights on the other side of my champagne bottle? Hic…

Not really sure WHAT happened here.

Regular old close-up of a gilt Holly leaf on my tree.

Playing around (artificially and after the fact) with depth of field.

I think I almost achieved a bokeh effect with this one. Not sure how – could not duplicate that to save my life. In fact, I’m pretty sure I didn’t even look as I was shooting that. Total accident.

Just a normal picture of my Christmas tree, before I take it down. Isn’t it pretty?

Anyway, here are a few of the results of my experimentation. And in having at least tried it, let’s call it an “objective met.”

 

 

New Year’s Day 2012

Since I cannot make up my mind whether to follow my northern and Germanic roots or my southern roots, I try to cover all the bases to ensure a happy, prosperous, healthy New Year. I don’t even know where these superstitions originate – I only know that you’re “supposed to have” pork, black-eyed peas, and sauerkraut for luck.

How did the pig become associated with the idea of good luck? In Europe hundreds of years ago, wild boars were caught in the forests and killed on the first day of the year. Also, a pig uses its snout to dig in the ground in a forward direction. Maybe people liked the idea of moving forward as the new year began, especially since pigs are also associated with plumpness and getting plenty to eat.

From www.foodtimeline.org (share this quote)

And so, I roast a pork tenderloin, flavored with fresh garlic, parsley, just a tiny hint of rosemary, a sprinkle of sage, a liberal pinch of thyme (a great source of iron, by the way), a splash of olive oil and red wine vinegar…

But what about black-eyed peas? Sauerkraut? Cabbage – lucky??

The Italians eat lentils, or lenticchie, which since Roman times have represented coins… parsley decorates the dish because it was thought to ward off evil spirits. In the American South, greens are added to black-eyed peas or hoppin’ John (black-eyed peas with rice). The symbolism is straightforward: the greens represented dollars and the black-eyed peas coins.

From www.foodtimeline.org (share this quote)

Still not getting the cabbage, but apparently the Chinese also consider cabbage a lucky vegetable. Hmm…need to do some more Google-digging:

The history of cabbage is …long and varied[.] When Caesar invaded Britain, he purchased cabbages as food for the troops. The Greeks used it as a digestive remedy, as a joint tonic, for skin problems and fever. Egyptians raised altars to it. According to “The Food Encyclopedia,” Aristotle and others ate cabbage before banquets “in the belief that it would keep the wine from fuddling his prudent academic head.”

By the Middle Ages, cabbage was an important food, and the French, Germans and English took cabbage seeds to America. In New England, a tradition evolved of boiling cabbage with corned beef. And 22 varieties of cabbage were grown at Monticello, the Charlottesville, Va., home of Thomas Jefferson, who championed cabbage all his life.

And look how lucky he was.

From blog.nola.com (share this quote)

I heat up some black-eyed peas and snaps, a little sauerkraut (I’m the only one who actually likes the stuff, though my husband’s not opposed to a forkful for luck), some pork gravy, and stuffing topped with Granny Smith apples – and another side dish of baked apples and cranberries, which could double as dessert. Thank you, Stove Top and Stouffers.

What, you thought I made all this from scratch? Sorry to disappoint you! In the end, it’s probably better this way…

Mmmmm. It’ll definitely do very well.

 

You Call It

Last time I asked this question on the Internet, I ended up eating raw tripe on a dare. I make no promises, this time, but here’s your chance to have a say in what kind of posts you’d like to see on this blog.