Simply Carolina Dreamz » Archive
Update on my Egyptian Friends – Egypt in my Heart
I have, now, been in communication with my friends in Egypt. I must admit that with the traveling, I’ve been disconnected from the news and I had no idea things were going on in Egypt, until someone asked me how my friends were.. I, quickly, reached one friend who was fragile with his words. He told me he cared about Americans but he didn’t trust the American Government. This was after he said, to me, “Why does America care?” I did explain that I cared and I was asking and that I hadn’t heard from anyone in Egypt. (This particular Egyptian friend is not in Egypt.) Within a day or two, internet was returned and I was able to get a few messages back and forth on Facebook. Most were simply, “Pray.” I … Read entire article »
Filed under: family and friends, Gardening, Unexpectations
Florida Travel Check in.. ALS Walk Jax is April 2nd
Hello from Jacksonville. I made it to Florida Drupal Camp, Saturday, in Winter Park. Other than that, we’ve had some very uneventful weeks out of town. I’ve been healing well from the fall. Just have a few problems with my left arm. The bruises on my knee have almost all gone away. My hand and wrist seem to cramp when I drive. It reminds me I’m doing too much with it and I slow down use of it. I didn’t get a chance, this trip to see my friends in Jacksonville. I’ll be back for the ALS Walk, in April. I’ll send them invites to join the walk with me. Maybe that will get me to see them. The walk, here, is only two miles and starts at Tinsel Town. I had hoped to … Read entire article »
Filed under: ALS, family and friends, politics and religion
We were Featured in the #HomeChat Daily
// Two WoodenSpoonz recipes, associated with With a Z Media, were featured in the #HomeChat Daily. This week’s #HomeChat featured Seasonal Eating – Winter Vegetables. We shared Butter Basil Green Beans and Delicata Squash with a twist of Lime. Join in the fun, with #HomeChat, on Twitter, every Tuesday night at 9pm Eastern Standard Time. (Amy Gahran has some tips for following hashtags on twitter, here.) … Read entire article »
Filed under: Creative Domestication
My opinion about recent school gun shootings.
First, let’s establish that people kill people. For whatever their reason. We’ve been seeing a huge increase in school shootings and bank robberies lately. I think the laws needs to be changed so people can protect themselves better. I think if more trained concealed weapons were in our schools, more people’s lives would be spared. Not just more security or school police, but school officials with the ability to stop a massacre before it begins. When the gun law was changed about the National Forests, I read all these lines about people worried that people would start being killed. My opinion, then, was bad people get guns and take them there anyway. But, lately, I’ve read how having a gun saved a couple from a bear while on … Read entire article »
Filed under: politics and religion, Stand For Something
My return visit to San Diego – all work and little play
Last year, I wrote a blog post about things I desperately missed about San Diego. Sadly, I only ate the food. El Pollo Loco didn’t impress me much, either. I didn’t get shaved ice, but around the corner, the day Gabe and I were able to get out. I didn’t remember the seaweed smell of Mission Beach (the only place we found a parking place.) Ick. haha I was so happy to see my Aunt Joy and Selena. Selena Rausch (in case she googles herself : ) ), is my youngest cousin that lives in Utah. She’s brought much joy and silliness to my Facebook. Thanks for making me enjoy Facebook, again, my cousins! , also,I did get to meet Dennis, Syndee, and Jesse. That … Read entire article »
Filed under: family and friends, Feeding the Needz, travel
Blog Education Learning Overload – Ebooks I need to read (and so do you)
There are some fantastic bloggers out there that can teach you so much about “blogging better” for SEO traffic. Many are really good at interlinking their own materials and setting a standard that all bloggers should follow. Even the big foot steps can be walked in to learn styles and improve your own posts and writing. I’m interstested in reading the all, as you should, too. I wanted to bring three ebooks to your attention: The first one is Kelby Carr’s Mom Blog SEO: Mom Blog SEO includes: How to find the best keyword phrases to drive the right readers for your blog Tactics that take a couple minutes before each post and can dramatically increase your traffic How to target the right readers and stop attracting the wrong ones How to boost your … Read entire article »
Filed under: Creative Chaos, family and friends, Feeding the Needz, Inspiration, Linky Love
CDC Health Questionnaire or Identity Theft?
Over a month ago, I received a screening call, on my cell phone from the “center for disease control.” They were surveying 8,000 random people, to ask them personal questions, to improve the future of health care. After answering questions like “Is this your cell phone?” “Are you driving right now?” “Is this cell phone the only one you own?” and “Do you own any other telephone numbers?” (Notice they didn’t ask about a land line or other phones.. creative, I thought. After telling me that everything was confidential, I was told I could have a $10 check for my compliance, in the survey. They would put my personal information into a different computer. At first, I wasn’t feel too comfortable that the call was legitimate. Then I wasn’t feeling … Read entire article »
Filed under: family and friends, Stand For Something
Have you met Heather Solos and Angela England?
Many of my friends are up and coming in the blogging world. Two got recent recognition and I wanted to bring it to your attention. First, my good friend, Heather Solos was mentioned, on Problogger with 39 other bloggers to watch in 2011: Her profile has grown organically over the course of five years. She co-founded Home-Ec101.com, “a site designed to teach real people, real skills, as they apply to real lives.” In addition to this, she has gotten a book deal, leveraged in-person meetings to get great results, and has achieved multiple writing spots in newspapers. You can learn more about how she did this in her interview on BlogcastFM. Angela England, founder of Untrained Housewife, whom I was fortunate to meet, in person, at Type-a-mom, was recognized in an About.com … Read entire article »
Filed under: family and friends, Stand For Something, Uncategorized
5,600 miles later.. I’m home
I bet you just thought I disappeared after all that pumpkin posting. Actually, I did. My mother, who lives in San Diego, California, (my home town) had surgery, several weeks ago. She was given a 1 in 5 chance of recovery. I, quickly, went into action, and drove to Florida to pick up my brother-I-was-raised-with and we drove to California in four days. We just walked right into her hospital room and surprised her. She was supposed to be there 6-8 weeks and we took her home on the day of week two. Many other things have happened between there and here and I will get to those, for you, shortly.. but right now, I have to say goodbye to my 13 year old friend and feline companion. While I was gone, he had to have … Read entire article »
Filed under: family and friends, Feeding the Needz
12 Days of Pumpkin ~ Pumpkin Pancakes
Pumpkin Pancakes. Please visit Ashlee, from I’m Topsy Turvy for the recipe. I’m Topsy Turvy » Pumpkin Pancakes- This week for dinner via kwout … Read entire article »
Filed under: Foodie Frenzy, Linky Love
12 Days of Pumpkin ~ Pumpkin Pie French Toast
Pumpkin Pie French Toast. Please visit Cooking with my kid for the recipe. Pumpkin Pie French Toast | Cooking with My Kid via kwout … Read entire article »
Filed under: Foodie Frenzy, Linky Love
12 Days of Pumpkin ~ Pumpkin Pie Milk Shakes
Pumpkin Pie Milk Shakes, from my Delicious archives. Please visit Sara, at Our Best Bites, for the recipe. Our Best Bites: Pumpkin Pie Milkshake via kwout … Read entire article »
Filed under: Foodie Frenzy, Linky Love
12 Days of Pumpkin ~ Pumpkin Butter Gooey Cakes
Pumpkin Butter Gooey Cakes. Please visit Paula Deen for the recipe. Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cakes Recipe : Paula Deen : Food Network via kwout … Read entire article »
Filed under: Foodie Frenzy, Linky Love
12 Days of Pumpkin ~ Perfect Pumpkin Roll
Perfect Pumpkin Roll. Please visit Mel, of My Kitchen Cafe, for the recipe. Perfect Pumpkin Roll via kwout … Read entire article »
Filed under: Foodie Frenzy, Linky Love
12 Days of Pumpkin – Pumpkin Spice Truffles
Pumpkin Spice Truffles. Visit Annie Eats for the Recipe. Pumpkin Spice Truffles « Annie’s Eats via kwout … Read entire article »
Filed under: Foodie Frenzy, Linky Love
12 Days of Pumpkin ~ Better than Pumpkin Pie Cake
Crust: 1 box Duncan Hines (don’t read the label ;) ) Yellow Cake Mix (set one cup aside) 1/2 cup (one stick) butter, softened 1 egg Mix and press into greased 9 x 13 pan. Custard: 1 – 29 ounce or 2 – 15 oz cans pumpkin puree 3 eggs 5 ounces evaporated milk 1/4 cup brown sugar (packed) 1/4 cup sugar 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg Mix together and pour over crust. Topping: Extra one cup Cake Mix 1/2 cup sugar 1/2 cup (one stick) butter, softened 1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional) Mix and drop, by teaspoonful, over the top. Bake 350 degrees for 50-55 minutes, until set and lightly browned Serve with fresh whipping cream. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Foodie Frenzy
10 Things we learned driving through Texas
The daytime speed limit< for non commercial vehicles, is 80 mph. Plan your trip accordingly and only drive in the daytime. Free wifi at every rest stop, but there are more parking spots and picnic spots than rest stops on I-10. So don’t need to pee. It takes allll day to drive through Texas. Never go on a road trip with someone with gas. (name held to protect the guilty.) :) There are no radio stations worth listening to, if you don’t speak Spanish or live back in the 60′s. Three Four words: Jack in the Box. Tacos baby. We saw a gasoline price sign that said 7.77 cents. We don’t think they get much business. There are very few gas stations in the 80 mph zone. Make your reservations, on price line, for closer destination, so you … Read entire article »
Filed under: Creative Chaos, Everyday Nothing
12 Days of Pumpkin ~ Cake Like Pumpkin Bread
When Girlie made Pumpkin Bread, the other day, we only had a large can of canned pumpkin. When I saw the left-over pumpkin, in the fridge, this morning, I knew I needed to use it up. I wanted to adapt the pumpkin bread recipe to accommodate yogurt. I had been making my educated guesses, on the bottom of the recipe. I knew I wanted to substitute some of the fat with Fage Greek Yogurt. I didn’t quite have 16 ounces of pumpkin, though. I managed to add apple sauce, for the missing pumpkin, and the yogurt for some of the fat. I’m not really replacing fat because the yogurt is full fat. The result is a cakey like pumpkin bread, that is really moist. It has a … Read entire article »
Filed under: Foodie Frenzy
12 Days of Pumpkin ~ Pumpkin Streusel Muffins
These are Stephanie’s Fabulous Pumpkin Muffins. Girlie has dubbed them “Never Go Back Pumpkin Muffins” meaning to commercialized versions. I’m a sucker for mounding muffin tops.. and these muffins are worth their weight. Absolutely delightful! The only thing I changed was 1/4 tsp nutmeg for the pumpkin pie spice. The camera couldn’t capture what the eye see’s, with marbled orange and beige.. truly an eating experience. This pumpkin muffin recipe is a true keeper. Thanks Stephanie. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Foodie Frenzy, Linky Love
12 Days of Pumpkin ~ Pumpkin Shortbread Custard Parfaits
Mehan’s Pumpkin Custard Parfait. Please visit for the recipe. Mehan’s Kitchen: Pumpkin Custard and Shortbread Parfait via kwout … Read entire article »
Filed under: Foodie Frenzy
Simple Abundance: Joy {6 of 6}
Continuing in our Simple Abundance Series, we come to Joy. What do I keep in my Joy Folder? My Friends GedCom’s (Genealogy files) I’m working on An inspiration Folder, with photos of things I’d like to make or do Friends Websites I’m working on Clients Blogs I work with New Podcasts I’d like to listen to What would you put in your Joy Folder? … Read entire article »
Filed under: Simple Abundance
Simple Abundance: Beauty {5 of 6}
Continuing in our Simple Abundance Series, we come to Beauty. What do I keep in my Beauty Folder? I only keep one type of file in this folder. All photos. Its my way of seeing Beauty differently. Every picture or photo is beautiful, to me, if I think of it in the right perspective. Believe me, when I say there are so very unattractive photos in this file. Especially of myself. My friends are good to post those on Facebook. I keep them. I try to find the Beauty, in them, even when the days are rough. What could you add to your Beauty folder to make you look at things differently than your first impressions or perceptions? … Read entire article »
Filed under: Simple Abundance
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