Archives for 2007

Keep track of your page rank with Smart Page Rank

February 14, 2007 by Tricia

I just visited Smart PageRank.com and I’m quite impressed with all of the data that it gave me for my site when I typed in this sites URL.

It gave me my page rank with and without the WWW before the domain name, my current Alexa rank, backlinks, and DMOZ links all for free. You can even include a mini button that shows your current page rank.

I don’t know if all of my readers understand what page rank is or if you keep up with the changes made to your page rank by Google, but it is an important rank. The higher your Page rank, it usually means the more popular your site is since Google determines page rank by how many other sites link to your pages.

Page rank and all of my other ratings are very important to me since I use advertising on this site. The higher my ranks are in the various categories the better I do with advertising – both in paid posts and any advertising that I use in my sidebars.

If you would like to discover what the stats and page rank for your site is, simply go to SmartPageRank.com and type in your url. The results were almost instant. You can even register with the site and get an email from them whenever your Page Rank is updated.

Snow Storm

February 14, 2007 by Tricia

Well it looks like we’re finally going to get a substantial amount of snow! For a year that’s been very strange with most of December and January warm and snow less we’ve sure been making up for it this month.

It’s been freezing cold. Most of the day today it was -17 Celsius! That’s 1.4 degrees Fahrenheit for my non metric American friends. Cold eh?

How it can even manage to snow when it’s this cold I don’t know but it is. It’s supposed to snow quite a bit overnight but so far it’s just been a dusting of snow. It will be warmer tomorrow -11 Celsius (12.2 F) and it’s supposed to snow even more.

The weathermen say that some areas near here will get 70 CM (27 inches) of snow, but I think we’re only set to get 20 to 30 cm (7 to 11 inches). I know compared to some places in the US this isn’t all that much snow, but it’s enough, especially when combined with our severely cold temperatures.

I guess I’ll just have to see what it looks like when I get up in the morning.

I hope everyone is having a happy Valentines day. Chris has to work until 8 pm so we didn’t make any special plans but I might cook us a nice dinner.

How we save money

February 14, 2007 by Tricia

I’m always looking for ways to save money since I really don’t have much of an income coming in while I’m sick at home.

One way that I’ve found to save a bit of money is to take a good look at our home insurance to see if we have anything on the policy that we don’t need to be covered for, and I’ve combined our home insurance with our car insurance as that has provided us a discount from our insurance company.

We don’t really have any outstanding personal loans, and have no plans to take one out unless our car breaks down or something. We’ve applied for 0% balance transfers credit cards and expect to save quite a bit of money when we use our new credit cards.

Another way that we’ve attempted to save money was by adjusting our mortgage from monthly payments to bi-weekly payments. Now for those with mortgages that might not really seem like much of a savings since we are paying pretty much the same every two weeks combined as we did when we paid monthly, but the bank only charges interest at the beginning of the month and by paying twice a month we’ve actually lowered the amount of interest on our mortgage and this will result in our paying off our mortgage several years earlier than originally calculated.

The final way that we’ve attempted to save money is by earning higher interest on our current accounts. We’ve set up accounts at a bank that offers good interest rates even on low bank balances. I suppose this isn’t a savings, but earning interest on a balance that we couldn’t earn interest on in our regular bank accounts does give us a small gain doesn’t it?

How do you save money or cut costs? I’m always looking for tips!

My friend Jordan

February 13, 2007 by Tricia

I seem to have made a new friend last week.

Jordan and his boat I was checking my email and I read a note from Jordan that said he’d found my blog interesting and inspiring. Wow. That was interesting to hear so I kept reading. Then he said “living on the end of the world ” he’d noticed my existence and would be pleased if I’d notice his.

He had included a beautiful photograph of, I assume, himself sitting near a kayak I believe, on an outcrop above what appears to be the ocean. Jordan had included two links to his sites, MJL Photography and a site that I’ll simply call happiness, both being photography related so I naturally assumed that he’d discovered my photoblog. He was hoping that we might exchange links.

I wrote back thanking him for his note, and complimented him on his gorgeous photos that I’d discovered on his two sites. You really must visit his websites, his photography skills are amazing and the photos within are jaw droppingly lovely.

This man needs to be promoted and should be earning some money with his photography. That’s truly how talented I think he is.

Much to my surprise I soon discovered that it was this blog that he’d enjoyed and found inspiring. We’ve been corresponding ever since and I believe he’s sent me at least two photo’s each day.

I’ve enjoyed each and everyone of his photos. I love landscape photography, and almost anything natural and the majority of the photos that he’s sent have fallen into those categories.

I believe that many of his photos are from his home Country of Poland. I never would have imagined that Poland was so lovely but it most obviously is quite a pretty place.

Jordan has been very kind and has given me permission to share some of his photography with you. All of the photos that I’ve included in this post were taken by Jordan and of course are his property. Please do not copy them for your own use without asking his permission first – please visit his website if you wish to speak with him. Actually I think anyone who enjoys photography or looking at beautiful photos should visit his site. Please do tell him that Tricia sent you if you visit.

From time to time I may include one of Jordan’s photos in my posts. They are just so beautiful. I want to show them off for him.

I hope that you’ve enjoyed Jordan’s Photos.

Big changes in Mens fashions this year!

February 13, 2007 by Tricia

I was just reading an article about some interesting news in men’s fashions at Belisi Blog: Menâ€™s fashion heads in a new direction. I think that all men who are trying to make a name for themselves in business or otherwise develop their fashion sense in order succeed should read this article.

It highlights the up and coming fashion trends for 07. Mens fashions are going to have sleeker styling, narrow lines and even geometric patterns. The colors will be bolder and a smattering of prints will be included in the new designs as well.

You must see the photos of some of the up and coming styles to get an idea of what I’m talking about here.

It sounds like it will be a fun year for mens fashions, as the new styles will either be form of retro look from the 60’s to the 80’s, or a futuristic modern look. There’s even talk that leggings are coming back, but this time for men! Now that I can’t imagine, but I suppose some men might find that news interesting.

I really like the long jacket featured at the end of the article. It’s very retro looking, but sleek in design. I can see that style catching on easily.

The blog itself, “Sharp by Design” was created by Belisi Fashions. The blog was created for the progressive urban male who has a desire to learn about fashion staples, and to stay in tune with emerging fashion trends in casual and business attire.

Now If I could only get my husband to read the Belisi Sharp by Design blog I’d be all set. I mean, Chris is a fantastic husband, but he could turn his fashion sense up a notch.

Keep track of your page rank with Smart Page Rank

Snow Storm

How we save money

My friend Jordan

Big changes in Mens fashions this year!

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