Boost My Blog Friday at Design it Chic!

Check out this great linky party! No rules!





Also check out her blog tips! Some great tips in there. I have used some of them!

Wordless Wednesday- Hmmm... what's in here? A dinosaur bone!

Back Up Your Blog

So last week Blogger was down for what 24 hours or so? And they lost some posts that they are trying to restore. Will they ever get them all back?

There's a very easy way to back up your blog so when this happens again you haven't lost everything. You'll want to back up 2 things, the template and the posts.

To back up the template go to your Dashboard, then 'Design', 'Edit HTML'.

Hit the 'download full template' link and save the file. Make a folder so you can backup weekly, monthly, whatever you think depending on how often you post. This saves your design.

Next go to 'Settings', 'Basic'.

Choose 'Export blog'.

Click the big orange button, save the file and voila! You have your whole blog backed up in case there are ever issues again. 

Again, depending on how often you post, decide how often you want to backup your blog.

groOrganic Garden Planner!

In April I posted that 'I Can Garden!' now since we have moved from the hot dry desert to the farm country of Wisconsin.

I

Since I haven't lived near fertile land in over 15 years, I needed some help to get my garden started. groOrganic was kind enough to give me a 30 day trial of their Garden Planner to try out. Visit their site at www.groOrganic.com, by clicking the photo above or call them at 888-947-6674.

It is great!! It is so easy to log in and get right to your 'plan'. I decided I wanted to try planting radishes, green onions, artichokes, some kind of melon, beans and soy beans. Also a little lettuce mix and we had asparagus last year from plants already here.

A bit optimistic for me! LOL! So I put it all into my plan which was fun!

It is larger than my spot is, but that's because I decided to make it look like the whole yard and put the deck in. I also decided to plant some flowers in pots on the deck. This is what it looked like when I was done.

Now the hard part... I have no idea when to plant these so that they don't die right off the bat! We get frost here and that's not good for plants right? This was the best part about groOrganic's garden planner:

It tells you when to plant, type of soil, sun or shade, spacing, everything you need to know! And it knows all this because when you do your setup you tell it where you live so it is specific to your area! How great is that!

There's also a graph that shows what months you should plant everything and harvest it.

So since I did all this, I've changed my plan some, but it is so easy to do in the garden planner. It's too late for me to plant an artichoke from seed so I'm trying to find an established plant and having no luck. Our asparagus didn't come back up this year, I don't know what's up with that. The rhubarb is back but I have no clue what to do with rhubarb! I went to the farmer's market and bought the cutest brussel sprout plant so decided to plant that in a container on the deck. My flowers haven't popped up yet and I'm not sure if I should plant the onions because of my dog ,and it's too early to plant the radishes.

groOrganic also sends you an email every 2 weeks to remind you what can be planted that week. And the emails have great recipes in them.

All in all, this is a great program! I wouldn't have known any of this without it. I would have planted the radishes already and they would have died since we've had frost since I got the seeds. groOrganic also sells raised bed packages in some states, bee hive equipment, emergency packs and more. Check them out! www.groOrganic.com

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com created by WebBizIdeas a Minneapolis SEO and Web Design firm. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commissions 16 CFR, Part 255 Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising. Tomoson Product review & giveaway Disclosure.

Cool Widget for Showing Related Stories Under Posts!

I've always wondered how people do this! It is Soooo easy! Click on this:

Enter in your email address, your bloglink, etc, hit get widget and voila! Another window will open up giving you very easy to follow instructions on how to add this to your blog!

Easy! See?

BrytonPick Floss Review

I just received these cool BrytonPick floss picks to review! I don't know about you, but I have this one spot that I am always getting something stuck between my teeth. I've used toothpicks (too big), floss (pain to use after every meal) and little folded up pieces of paper (very unsanitary) to try and get these nefarious little food bits out.


Flossing is such a pain I am always trying to find an easier way to do it. These BrytonPicks are great to carry with you and use after meals when you don't really have access to regular floss. They come with a great little carrying case that will fit in your wallet along side your credit cards.


They do look rather ominous to use. Kinda like a little bitty knife. Not something you normally want to put between your teeth. I left them on the bathroom sink and when hubby got home he asked what these were. I explained to him and he went on his merry way. I opened one and used it. (They sent 2).  A few days later I notice the other one is missing. Looks like hubby is now carrying it in his wallet instead of that ratty, plastic, 5 year old toothpick he's used forever!

BrytonPicks do take a little getting used to, but there are quick video's on their usage here.  The first couple of uses should probably be done in front of a mirror so you can see what you are doing. Once you get the hang of it, they are very easy to use. Keep one in your wallet and you never have to go looking for paper bits again!

 
And they are reusable! Just wipe with a napkin, or rinse with water, pop it back in the case and it's good to go for the next time.

They won't replace regular flosssing, but they are great to carry with you for easy use after meals. And we all know the dentist says we should brush after every meal! They are also 100% USA made. I like to buy USA made products!


 Get a 3 pack trial at the BrytonPick Store for a very reasonable price. Right now they are offering free shipping Once you try them, I think you'll like them!

Disclosure – The product featured in this review was provided to me  free of charge by the manufacturer through the representing PR agency Tomoson.com. Opinions expressed are my own and are NOT influenced by monetary compensation.