So as everyone whose probably tired of these posts by now already know, I am showing love to all my viewers who I see stop through to peek at this blog who are from other countries outside the U.S. It is something I don’t think is done very often, and not too long ago I saw a view come in from Russia! Welcome Russia! Do come Again.
#InternationalViewerAppreciation #IVA
Special Thanks to Lisa Tetting (again!) for nominating me for The Liebster Blog Award. This is now my 5th Award and I would like to take the time to first say that I accept the nomination. I am always excited to take advantage of the opportunity to reach as many people as I can. My hope is always that I can deliver someone with my words, to impart upon someone something of substance; something that they could use and expand on and to be a part of. While I do not strive to please everyone, I do hope that everyone who has found interest in this blog has been enjoying themselves so far. If not, well…now is not the time to be negative lol.
Here are the Rules:
1. Link the person who nominated you to your blog post and let them know you answered their questions.
2. Answer the 11 questions given to you by the nominator.
3. Nominate other bloggers for the award.
4. Create 11 questions for your nominees to answer.
5. Let the nominees know that they have been nominated by going to their blog and notifying them.
Questions:
1. What is your favorite color?
My favorite color is brown and anything else earth tone in nature, green, beige, orange, tan.
2. Why did you start your blog?
Well I’ve had a couple blogs in the past because I’ve always enjoyed sharing my poetry. But this blog was initially started because I had recently published a book and I thought starting another blog would be a great way to engage people with my writing. I also thought it would be a great way to measure the continual improvement of the skill. To have people to comment and to share their thoughts with me, their perspectives, and to engage in challenges and blog awards is for me such an excellent way to gauge where my writing is going and the kind of messages that truly speaks to the people.
3. What is your favorite place to write?
My favorite place to write is at my kitchen table in the dining room at home next to the window.
4. Name your favorite person in the world and why?
Great question. My favorite person in the world is my husband. The reason I say my husband and not my mother or other close relatives is not to downplay their most excellent influence. I choose my husband because of the close bond that I have with him. He is a man filled with much understanding, much compassion, and much faith. I cannot say for sure if I would have been where I am had I not had him standing here to share in the trials that got me here. He is the other part of my strength.
5. Do you have a pet and if so what?
I do not have a pet but I am currently nagging my husband for a German Shepherd. We used to have a Rottweiler (Hubby’s Fav) but I fell in love with Shepherds because of my neighbor at the workplace. She works in a pool and spa place next door to our community center and recently acquired a puppy I have literally watched grow before my eyes. Extremely adorable, no joke.
6. Who is your favorite writer?
Funny I was just thinking about this. I love Terry McMillan and Toni Morrison’s books because they are such visual writers. I love the use of the poetic language and symbolism usually incorporated into their novels.
7. Who is your favorite singer?
My favorite singer is…I’m not sure that I have a favorite exactly. My taste in music kinda wanders over a large range of folks, some of which whose names I don’t know off hand but whose music I love. But I do enjoy some Stephanie Mills, some Whitney Houston, lil bit of Stevie Wonder, Anthony Hamilton, Toni Braxton, Sade, Bob Marley.
8. What is your favorite ice cream flavor?
Chocolate
9. If you could be anything in the world what would you be?
If I could be anything in the world I would probably be a butterfly if given the chance to turn into anything any second. A butterfly so that I can travel the world quickly and deliver words to as many people as is possible in my lifetime. I would just say a bird but if I’m a butterfly I can be beautiful too, yesss.
10. What is your super power?
My Super-Power is probably Endurance. I’ve been through a lot in the short time that I have lived but I have not lost hope of everything good.
11. Where is your favorite place to vacation?
Jamaica. Though I’ve only been there once I had an amazing time and my husband and I are dying to go again.
I now nominate the following blogs for The Liebster Blog Award:
Here are Your Questions:
1. Why did you start your blog?
2. What is your favorite city to visit?
3. If there is one post you think best defines your blog, which is it? Post the link too!
4. What’s your favorite color?
5. If there is one thing you’ve learned about blogging that has helped your writing or career, what is it?
6. Other than Writing/Blogging, how best do you like to spend your time?
7. How would you define happiness?
8. Coffee or Tea?
9. What is the one thing that keeps you motivated?
10. What’s your favorite movie and why?
11. If you follow The PBS Blog, what do you like most about it or would like to see more of? 🙂
As an added bonus, since this is my first Liebster award, I just wanted to share a cool definition I looked up that contributed to my choosing of these great blogs:
“It has German origins – the word “liebster” has several definitions: dearest, sweetest, kindest, nicest, beloved, lovely, kind, pleasant, valued, endearing, welcome, and sweetheart.”
And that’s it.
Wow, this post is way longer than I expected lol.
Oh my goodness!
Ok, just had to get that out. I found an awesome website called Practically Functional. Here, Jessi gives neat DIY tips on various projects, such as how to better clean stuff. So anyway, I’m doing my usual scroll through the online community and was excited to find something that could help clean microwaves. For those of you who live under a rock, microwaves contain many crevices that require back bending work and are extremely boring to clean. I really hate to have to get down into it but it is a price I am willing to pay for clean. Microwaves to me are like unofficial clean house detectives. You can really tell how clean or unclean someone is just by how the microwave looks (on the inside people) because its one of those attention to detail thingys. If everything sparkles but the microwave looks like a bad science experiment then the person’s not as clean (or thorough) as it appears. That don’t mean yall can go around checking people’s microwaves now that you know the secret. ; )
I would have re-blogged Jessi but I couldn’t find the re-blog button and I’m not sure if there is a re-blog button. So I’ll just post the link here for you to check out. Below is the basic recipe. Yea, you’ve gotta visit the website for the extra stuff:
“Have you ever exploded pizza sauce in the microwave? Today’s post will show you how to clean a microwave using only water, vinegar, and steam! It’s easy to do, only takes about five minutes, and it works great! I was able to clean off dirt and grime I didn’t even realize was there! Mostly what I saw when I looked at the microwave were the big red pizza sauce spills, but after I was done cleaning I realized the entire thing had gone five shades whiter! Don’t just assume your microwave is yellow. It’s not; microwaves are white.
How To Clean A Microwave With Vinegar
Here’s what you need:
vinegar
water
one drop of Young Living lemon essential oil (optional)
a bowl
a toothpick (optional)
Fill a microwaveable bowl with 1-2 cups of water and add 1-2 tablespoons of vinegar. Add a drop of essential oil if you don’t want your microwave to smell like vinegar.
CAUTION: Liquids can get superheated in a microwave and explode. It isn’t common, but it can happen if you microwave liquids in a perfectly smooth container. Bubbles can’t form on a smooth surface, so the liquid won’t boil until it is jostled. This can cause it to “explode” into boiling when you open the microwave or try to remove the bowl. But don’t freak out! Most consumer bowls and cups are not perfectly smooth, and a microwave with a turntable jostles the liquid enough to allow it to boil. But, if you are worried about it, float a toothpick in your bowl. Bubbles will be able to form on the wood, causing the water to boil without exploding.
Put the bowl in the microwave and shut the door. Microwave the water and vinegar for 5 minutes. If your microwave is REALLY dirty, don’t open the microwave right away when the timer goes off. Leave the door shut for about two more minutes to let the steam continue to work. The steam will help loosen up caked on bits of food, and the vinegar will help eliminate any odors. When you open the door, be careful pulling the bowl out; it will be very hot! Remove the turntable tray (carefully, it will be hot as well) and wash it in the sink. Now just take a cloth or sponge and wipe down the inside of the microwave. The dirt and food will come right off!
If you don’t want to microwave a bowl of water and vinegar, you can also get a sponge soaking wet, pour about a teaspoon of vinegar on it, and then microwave the sponge. This doesn’t create as much steam though, so if your microwave is really dirty like mine was, use the bowl instead.
Read more here: How To Clean A Microwave With Vinegar And Steam! http://www.practicallyfunctional.com/how-to-clean-your-microwave-in-2/
This week I am showing appreciation for my International Viewers. And being that I have residence in the U.S. that means any country outside America. It may seem small, but if you appreciate the little things you can be trusted with greater things. I by no means under appreciate any level of support.
So anyway, what’s up Nigeria and Pakistan! I saw you this morning. Thanks for scrolling through The PBS Blog. 🙂
#AppreciatingInternationalViewers #Keepitcoming #International
Yes. The flowers are budding. The birds are singing. And everything is in its state of renewal and freshness. As the children prepare for spring break there is something we adults have always looked forward to ourselves. That’s right: Spring Cleaning. It may sound simple enough, but there are lots of people with hectic schedules and little time to dedicate to the home front. But male or female, it is important to keep a clean house, especially in heat. Here are some tips to help get you motivated and to ensure that domestic duty never finds itself being neglected. They are also tips from my personal stash, meaning these are tips I actually use:
Tip #1: Paper Craze
One of my biggest faults is having too much paper and stuff laying around. You know what I’m talking about: Those papers that are too important to throw away but not quite important enough to keep? Yea, those. I always find myself holding on to what looks needed but in reality is just occupying unnecessary space. If you don’t nip the paper craze in the bud though, it can create unnecessary mess. To solve this problem, our first tip is organization. First, set-aside a paper bin. You can even name it “Paper Bin” to add some fun to the mix (it also helps to date it so you know just how long you’ve had it). Every time you find paper you can put it in the Paper Bins. Next, clean the Paper Bin! Every so often your job is to sort through the bin for papers you know you don’t need. Be honest with yourself. Don’t try to hold on to old stuff you really don’t need. Make this a weekly chore. Once every week throw something away. This helps when you need to add more papers to the Paper Bin. The last step is very important because if you don’t start throwing stuff away the paper bin will get crowded and you’ll find yourself in the same position. Consider it taking out the trash or doing laundry. If you don’t cleanse, things can pile up around here!
Tip #2: Laundry Day
This point is mostly for those of you with multiple little ones. If you have lots of children or just more than one (especially if they are small), laundry can be a scare. However, there is hope: Laundry Day. Set aside a day specifically for washing clothes outside of your normal household duties. By doing this, it lessens the load of everything else you already have to do. Why not give yourself room to really focus on cleaning by not worrying about the laundry too? Setting aside a separate day for washing clothes organizes your cleaning in a way that fits your schedule. I do it myself and getting laundry out of the way makes my Special Cleaning Day a breeze.
Tip #3: Special Cleaning Day
This is especially great for those of us who work a lot throughout the week. Set aside a special cleaning day; a day that will be dedicated to scrubbing, washing, and wiping. On this day, you want to clean the house from top to bottom without sugar coating it. This is not the time to scoop things into secret places or leave lingering for too long. On special cleaning days, you clean the house spotless. Why? It will help you throughout the week!
Tip #4: Weekly Tidying
One thing that helps me keep a clean house is to perform little jobs throughout the week. This is not the big cleaning you do on Special Cleaning Day; this is the minor stuff such as vacuuming a few rooms and keeping things out of the way. Doing something new every day helps ease the load on Special Cleaning Days and Special Cleaning Days helps to ease the load throughout the week. See how that works? It goes hand in hand.
Tip #5: Kitchen & Bathroom Taebo
The key to maintaining a fresh look even if things aren’t really as clean as you would like them to be is all in these two places: Kitchen & Bathroom. If you manage to keep dishes out of the sink and rings from around the tub, it tends to give the house a clean feel to it. Even if your dirty clothes basket overflows and there is dust elsewhere, you can still maintain a good grip by combating these two beloved places by keeping them nice and neat. It also helps for uninvited guest. Obviously it’s not a good idea to have a nasty home, but that doesn’t mean things can’t get messy (especially if you have children). Hey, it happens. But if you understand people you know they are apt to keen in on two places: The Bathroom and The Kitchen. Someone almost always enjoys a sit at the kitchen table or need to use the bathroom. Keep these tight and there are no surprises.
And I actually have one more: Life. Don’t just stop at cleaning your home, but take this time to reflect on life. What is it about your personal life that needs a good scrub? Now is the time to do it.
Do you have a Spring Cleaning Tip? Be sure to share it with us!
As I approach a potential 400 subscribers (aka followers of this blog), I can only maintain the excitement that out of 400 people I am at least reaching one of you (it is my hope). I still remember when I got my first 100. It was very exciting and I told myself I would not shout from the rooftops until I reached at least 400. And as I look over the map of the locations of some of you with 3 followers short of my mini goal, I cannot help but notice something even more exciting than that: International Support.
I’ve only been blogging at this address for about 7 months. And as I continue to learn about blogging itself, about you and your interest and about how I can be of service, of friendship, and of inspiration, one of the many exciting things about Blogging is the ability to reach people across the globe. It is one of the many advantages of the internet and increase in technology. While there are many things that excite us about our writing endeavors, I especially enjoy the International views that I get from those of you across the water. I also think it is something we underestimate on a general scale. That is, the world is much bigger than the U.S.
So without further ado I would just like to take the time to thank those of you from:
Germany, Australia, France, and the UK.
Do you live outside the U.S.? Where are you from? I would love to know! Comment below!
“Sometimes the slightest things change the direction of our lives, the merest breath of circumstance, a random moment …lives have swiveled and changed direction on the strength of a chance remark.”
– Bryce Courtney
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