Big Eco Friendly Giveaway at Green Leaf Reviewer

Eco-Friendly Giveaway...at Green Leaf Reviewer

Photo above...natural Florida vegetation, lush and thick.

As Bloggers we all become aware that we have "friends" in our cyberworld that we have never met and yet we feel a closeness, a bond with. Jenn of Green Leaf Reviewer is such a friend, I became acquainted with her through her witty blog Random Lunacy. (To view Jenn's Green Leaf Reviewer blog just click on any highlighted hyperlink that I've put in my blog.)

Green Leaf Reviewer is having a fantastic giveaway that I wish to highlight for you and hope that you take a moment to check it out. But first of all I want to quickly answer the question; "What is Green Leaf Reviewer?" . Green Leaf Reviewer is a blog on helping us all go green, Jenn tests and reviews many green products, from household cleansers to facial cleansers. She gives her own candid reviews and scores these "green" productions according to how well they perform and their impact on the environment. She also gives reviews about companies and corporations that do their share to leave a smaller footprint on the ecology of this ever shrinking planet we call home.

Photos above...native Florida flora...Beauty Berry is on bottom...on top I don't know what it is but it is pretty.

Green Leaf Reviewer's giveaway prizes involves several different companies and products of which I have listed below:

Soda Stream ... turns water into a carbonated beverage with just a push of a button, then add condensed flavoring options to make a healthier version of your favorite soda right at home.

Filter for Good ... say goodbye to wasteful plastic bottles of store bought water. Pure, filtered tap water.

DuckSkinz ... SPF 100 protection, lightweight, moisture resistant, shirts and jackets.

Nahui Ollin Handbags ... cases or handbags made from gum and/or bottle wrappers. Totally green !

Garden Bon Bons ... bon bon like pellets made from seeds, compost and clay, just plant in garden or pot and add water to grow.

Sylvania Light Products ... Dot It Solar (solar powered LEDs), PalPodzzz (portable nightlight) , and LED Color Changing Coasters.

So please visit Green Leaf Reviewer, check out the giveaway, enter if you find it interests you ... also, if you wish, become a follower the Green Leaf Reviewer blog : http://green-reviewer.blogspot.com/

5 OF THE BEST SMALL BUSINESS/SMALL BUDGET MARKETING IDEAS!

Image above is a photo of a photo taken from Overnight Prints.com ,therefore the poor quality. This was in their article on Small Business Marketing Ideas. In case you're wondering, yes those are post it notes all over that little car.

When I opened my email folder this morning I was greeted by a title that we can all relate to; "Small Budget? Read Our 5 Creative Marketing Ideas " ! Well how could I NOT ? The article is fresh and highly imaginative and I am passing it on to you...

5 OF THE BEST SMALL BUSINESS/SMALL BUDGET MARKETING IDEAS!

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Does What We Eat Affect Us ?

Can the foods we eat affect how we feel ? Interesting concept, yet so fundamental, simplistic and an intricate part of our lives, that we probably never give it much thought.
One must eat to live however what we eat may well be relative to how we feel; impacting the very quality of our lives.

Photo above taken inside of one of my favorite grocery stores. The Fresh Market's tempting garden of Eden, its lush produce section.

Recently I ran across an interesting blog by Cheryl Grace regarding how certain foods can effect our body chemistry, Grace's blog also features informative highlights of how Feng Shui affects the energy of spaces around us and ultimately affects us personally. Anything from lethargy, to hot flashes may well be the effects from foods that we've consumed.

Cheryl Grace is a professional Feng Shui consultant, a nationally certified Interior Refiner and also a very talented watercolor artist whose Feng Shui designs appear in artwork, accessories and jewelry under the trademark Living Art® Feng Shui. I strongly encourage you to check out Grace's blog, it is both insightful and well written. Her helpful advice and suggestions could well make us feel better, look better and create balance and positive energies in our environment that could well make our lives more healthy, happy, and prosperous.

Photo below was taken in my local Fresh Market... my favorite specialty grocery store.

With Accolades to Each of You

Recently I was chosen for 2 Blog awards. The first was from Caryln of Chile Cats a delightful and truly insightful blog centering, not just on her life, family and crafts but on her rescue of feral cats. Caryln so graciously and generously bestowed me with the Lemonade Stand award given to bloggers who show great attitude and gratitude.

The next coveted medal of honor was presented to me by T @PoppyPlace of PoppyPlacePDX whose fabulous blog ranks high among many blog reader's list...including my own. Sweet T has bestowed upon me the lovely award of Kreative Blogger and for this I hug her. T, you have my sincerest gratitude.

I thank and bow humbly before these two grand bloggers, whom I feel are like friends to me. Though I relish this prestigious endowment, I with great trepidation must say I am honored, sincerely honored, but in complete honesty find the hardest part of accepting this award is the shear magnitude of trying to find a handful of marvelous blogs to pass the awards on to. All of the blogs I follow are very special to me and to have to bestow just a few and leave the rest would be blasphemous. So to Chile Cats and PoppyPlacePDX I thank you from the very depths of my heart for I can not begin to tell you how touched I am by this enormous compliment, and to all those beautiful bloggers that I follow, I give all my accolations. You are all without a doubt award material. Hip! hip! hurrah!! ... Hip! hip! hurrah!! to each and every one of you.
With love,
Anna

On The Other Side Of The Fence...

Lately the days of winter have been dismal, gray and cold, not shoveling snow cold but cold for us birds that grew up in tropical climates.

Photo above...taken through the window of our house, this snowy egret wades in the water of our neighbor's pond in search of fresh fish.

Photo below...I think he may have spotted something...and then again maybe not as he flew off shortly after the shutter snapped.

A Pencil, Paper and Curiosity...

It has been years and years, too many years, since I've sat down and tried to draw or sketch.

Photo above...My attempt at art...please don't laugh...or at least don't laugh too loudly.

My mother was the artist in the family, she studied and majored art in Italy. Of course having been born and raised in Italy where else would she have studied? She had an opportunity that many budding artist could only dream about.

I wish I had inherited her talent, she was gifted while I, in comparison, am scarcely mediocre. Yet mediocre or just plain bad, I had dabbled in art throughout my life, so I'm not sure why I laid it aside nor do I fully understand what motivated me to pick up my pencils again and push them around on a piece of pristine white paper. Perhaps it was curiosity ?

Faces have always been difficult for me and I would never attempt to do a portrait drawing of a living person and certainly never of anyone I know. The girl in my sketch is of my own imagination and does not exist; thankfully so, as she has a number of facial abnormalities which would be rather unattractive on a living human face and a prime candidate for facial reconstructive surgery.

Photo above...Yep, I really need more practice...lots and lots of practice!

Can You See Me Now ?

Photo above...Can you see me ? Adolescent hawk sits atop fence post taken from about 120 feet away, camera on full zoom. Hmmm full zoom? Ya coulda fooled me !

Photo below...Can you see me now ? At perhaps 100 feet, camera still set at full zoom. You can make out some of the hawk's markings but not his personality.

Though I like my little aim and shoot Cannon PowerShotA70, I really long for something that has a more powerful telephoto lens. For ages I've been attempting to get some fantastic shots of our local hawk family however my photo results have always been a dismal disappointment.

Photo above...Oh shoot ! I've been spotted ! I remain stock still as the young hawk watches me, wondering just what danger I might pose.

Photo below...Well hello there ! I suddenly realized that not only was junior keeping an eye on me, but mom or dad also kept a wary eye open.

Photo below...Parent hawk atop telephone pole and this is just about as close as my mini telephoto zoom will allow me to get. Since this was taken on a very overcast day, the sky was darkly gray and this was as much as I could lighten it through the use of my Picasa Photo editing...without casting a garish glow over everything.

I've read my camera manual and realize I can adjust my settings to allow for closer zoom capacity but at the cost of picture quality, definition and clarity. I'm not sure it would be worth it.

Photo below...Adolescent hawk on fence post. Shot taken from about 30 feet away using all the zoom that my instant zoom is capable of .

Photo below...Slowly, steadily I crept up another 5 feet or more. Notice how junior is keeping an eye on me? No really, that's his face in front...really !

Photo below...and Juniors mom or dad is also keeping me under close surveillance.

Photo below...And stealthily I creep closer.

Photos below...Cautiously, quietly, carefully...hardly breathing I inch closer and closer.

Photos above and below...At this distance, less than 15 feet of the young adolescent hawk, I felt extremely nervous knowing that the slightest thing could startle and send the youngster flying. Isn't it beautiful ?

Photo below...Meanwhile mature parent hawk continues to scrutinize my every move.

After taking this last shot of mom or dad, I turned to watch as junior flew away. Either he was tired of this slow paced game or he got the message from his guardian that it was time to vacate the premises.

I was disappointed at how far away junior appeared in the photos as I was so close I felt I could have almost reached out and touch him or her. And these were with my zoom set at max; junior would have been little more than a pin speck on normal setting.

Countless shots have been discarded because I was not able to zoom in close enough, while many more photo opportunities were missed as I could not get close enough. Well if I can't afford a fancy new camera, perhaps I should check out a telephoto lens for my camera ? But then they're not cheap either and with all the money my etsy shop is raking in I might be able to afford a dime store magnifying glass. LOL