Happy New Year!

Things to look forward to on the blog in 2011. . .

New Things

1. A Monthly Scripture Memorization Challenge
2. Book Club - Reading Challenge
3. Recipes from the upcoming cookbook (please don't ask me about the cookbook - it's coming)
4. Monthly Updated Prayer Requests Tab
5. Tutorial on the "Musts" for each post (Title & Labels)
6. Ticker Counter for upcoming babies and weddings
7. Updated Birthdays and Important Dates
8. New Winter Header & a New Look

Old Things

1. Pictures
2. Wordless Wednesdays
3. More Pictures

I Love Picasa - It's How I Make My Collages!

Joy & Carol asked how I make my collages.  Good Question!!  I use Picasa which is a free picture management system from google.  It has so many great features:

1. Picture Management:  sorting, cataloging, etc.
2. Face Recognition:  You can identify a face and Picasa will search your photos for other instances of these faces.  So far, Alaina has won the "most pictures" award in my stash of photos.  Impressive for only being 2 years old!! 
3. Collaborative Albums:  We can share albums, embed albums, e-mail albums, etc.
4. Geotagging:  You can map out where your photos were taken.
5. Photo Album Synchronization:  Always keep on online back up of your photos.  I do pay for extra space every year for our blog and for my mountain of photos.
6. Tags:  You can tag, sort, and search your photos
7. Photo Editing:  Enhance all of your photos.
8. Photo Collaging:  Make several different type of photo collages (picture pile, mosaic, blocked, etc.)

Here is a quick tutorial I found on YouTube on how the collages are made!

Cool :)

I was able to talk with my dad over the web last night (I had a bit of insomnia from the medicine I am taking (Dad it is your favorite medicine:)).  That was fun since our time zones are off by a 1/2 of a day.  Dad was getting ready to start the day and I should have been fast asleep.  Anyhow, his click on the blog showed up from Japan!!  I think it's pretty cool!!!  (We should see it in the clustermap tomorrow.)

Changes . . .

Hi Everyone,
The blog will be undergoing some aesthetic changes as I am experimenting with the new draft of blogger.  It is not in full form yet so don't be surprised if things often look different over the next couple of weeks.  I'd love your feedback on what you like and what you don't like!

Tracy

Tracy, I love the new look on the blog. You sure do a beautiful job. Thank you for your efforts. I enjoy reading the blog every day.

We're On a Roll

I was just looking at the totals for this past month and we had over 1 post a day.  That's great.  It has really been fun having so many folks contribute.  I wonder if we'll ever get the guys blogging!  In all we are far outpacing previous years.  We will eventually be able to have the blog published in hard copy.  Won't that be fun?

Our cluster map will reset this week as well.  Here's a little picture of the past year:

Each year there are always a few dots that are near and dear to my heart.  This year's favorites are:
5.  my friend Jodi's dot from Brussels
4.  my friend Sarah's dot from London
3.  Pioneer Woman's dot from Oklahoma (I know it probably isn't but I can dream!)
2.  Dad's dot from Japan
1.  my dot from Haiti (i was able to check in just once - but it made the dot!)

Of course, each dot is important to us - the fact that the dot's are getting wider and wider is so exciting too!
I actually use google analytics with our blog and am able to better analyze the readership through its tools - but it probably would bore you all to tears.

Good job family - I love that you are becoming bloggers.
Love, Tracy

Odds and Ends

Hi Everyone,
Thanks for continuing to keep us all "posted" on what is going on in your life.  As you might have seen - I've started to get caught up on some past due posts myself.  Here are just a few other odds and ends . . .

1. This weekend I have the privilege of leading worship with my friend Jonathan at the Genesis Women's Retreat.  It is called the Chickfest.  I love the name.  The focus is going to be on building relationships - all kinds.  The scripture focus will be on the book of Ruth.  Isn't the logo darling?  One of our church members (btw, we call church members volunteer staff), Janice, drew this for the event.  Anyhow, we are going to be introducing two of the new songs that we have written (Jonathan writes the music, I write the lyrics).  I'm really excited about that.
2. We went to Christ Church's Sunrise service in Fort Lauderdale.  It was great as usual.  The pastor that gave the message was Clay Shiver from Rocketown Florida.  He had a short stint at a professional football career but found his calling as a pastor.  He now is the executive director of Rocketown which is an entertainment facility for young folks.  I love their ABCD's
• Attraction – In the beginning, there is an attraction. Young people come to Rocketown for it’s great music venue, skatepark, coffee bar and programs.
• Building Relationships – once they are here, attendees find people who accept them as they are. Staff, volunteers and peers have created an inviting community.
• Connection – Participants find ways to connect through discussion groups, Bible studies, service projects and shared interests.
• Discovering Purpose – through creative programs in arts, music and extreme sports, participants discover new interests and develop their talents. They learn skills that help develop a sense of purpose. They find affirmation through one-on-one mentoring.
3. Demolition will unofficially start next week in my kitchen.  More details will follow as I learn exactly what they are! 
4. It's time to start creating the spring/summer theme for our blog.  I would love to hear your ideas!  Come on . . .

Blog Updates

Hi Everyone -

I placed a link to the Christmas Exchange List in the Right Side Bar. Keep scrolling down - you'll find it right above the link to The Outlook.

I have added the Special Days Section in the Right Side Bar as well. Would you please check it over? I know that I am missing several people's special dates such as Pete's Birthday and lots of folks' anniversaries. Would you update me in the comment section or send me an e-mail if that is easier?

Lastly, I will be updating the look of the blog for the new year. I would like your input for the tagline. Nadeau Family Blog - "_____________________" The tagline should describe something about us.

For instance:

Nadeau Family Blog - May we all be as marvelous as Marv

Nadeau Family Blog - Tales from Above and Below the Bridge

Nadeau Family Blog - We live in a climate of love (from Grandma's poem)

I think you could all come up with some pretty crafty/witty ideas.

The picture that will be featured until spring will most likely be this one:

Please make some comments and give me your best taglines!
Tracy

Question for Tracy

Tracy, Could you somehow put the Christmas list on the blog so that it is easy to access any month of the year? I know you are some kind of a computer guru. Thanks, Carol

Call me crazy . . .

Well Actually - Please don't call me that.

I would like to break the number of posts that we had last year of 115. Right now we have just a few days left and 102 posts made this year. The next year I would like to increase the number to at least 150. There is so much to share!

Anyhow - Here are a few of the posts that I would like to make before the end of the year:

• Portraits
• Cousin Sara
• This Year's Bread Pudding
• Favorite Gifts
• My Nativity
• Tim's Nutcrackers
• Mackinac Dressed Up For Christmas
• The 12 Days of Christmas Video

That's 8 posts that I would like to make. Now for the rest of you :) What are you going to post? Linda is all set to make some posts and Addy and Sara should be able to too! Someone urge them on - we want to hear from them!!!!

New Look for the Summer!

The blog got an update over night. A few of you may have even seen it in the in-between stages (ewhh~~). Anyhow, the new header is a photograph that I took and I am wondering if you can identify (1) what it is and (2) where it was taken!! Go ahead and leave a comment with what you think!

Adding Labels

Hi Everyone - Did you know that when you write your posts that you can add a label. A label is just a way to categorize our posts and keep them organized. I have already started adding labels to old posts. You can choose a label that already exists or create a new one. All you have to do is type in the label just below the compose box. If you want to see the list of labels that already exists click on show all in the bottom right hand corner. You can select more than one label. I am going to label this blog as "using blogger". Give it a try the next time you write a post. Please let me know if you have any questions.
Tracy

Using Blogger - How To

Thank you all for giving me some insight into how you have been using the blog. Please find some "how to's" on how to get navigate the blog.

How To Create a Post

1. Go to Blogger
2. Sign in to Old Blogger by entering your username and password and then clicking sign in.
3. You are now at the Dashboard. Just like the dashboard on your car it is where you control the blog.
4. Scroll down until you see the Nadeau Family Blog. Click on this link so that you can create a post.
5. Click on the button that says Create Post.
6. Create a Title in the title box.
7. Write your message (called a post) in the large white space.
8. Add pictures and links, change the font or format using the icons above where you are writing.
9. Scroll down and click the orange button that says Publish Post

If you accidentally navigate away from your post, click the back button on your navigator and then click Recover Post.

How To Make a Comment

1. Go to the Nadeau Family Blog
2. Find the post that you would like to comment.
3. Scroll down to the bottom of the post where it says something like, "posted by Joy at 9:35 AM 0 comments"
4. Click on where it says 0 comments to open up the comment box
5. Write your comment in the box that says Leave your comment
6. Scroll down, enter your username and password
7. Scoll down just a bit more and click Preview
8. After your have previewed your comment choose one of two options: (A) edit your comment if you want to make changes or (B) publish this comment

I would like to switch us over to the new and improved blogger which requires a g-mail account (free account from google). It will give us more flexibility, security, and make the process easier for everyone. I am not going to switch over until I know that everyone has had a chance to use the "current" blogger effectively. Here's what the new blogger has to offer: Click Here to See

Blog Updates from Tracy

Hello Dear Family,
I have been working on updating the blog this morning. I am still such a novice!

I am trying a new look for the holidays. The colors and the banner remind me a bit of a christmas tree.

I have also added a way to navigate to the webpages that Tim, Pete, and I have set up!

Here's something new that I have learned. When you want to link one of your ideas to a web page. (For instance when Emily linked us to the Barefoot Contessa's Pumpkin Recipe.) You will want to compose your post as normal BUT instead of just pasting the link into the text you will highlight the words that you are going to associate with the link. So, in Emily's case she would highlight the words Barefoot Contessa and then she would select the link button. The link button's icon is a little globe with two links of a chain. A window will then pop up and she will paste or type in the weblink that she would like to direct us to.

The reason that I bring this up is because when we were pasting the links directly into the text without the "link button" the formatting of the blog was going crazy!!!! I edited all of the posts that had this issue. You might want to go back to Emily's Post about the Barefoot Contessa to see how this looks!!