Monday, May 20, 2013

Guest Post & Co-Host Opportunities

I have a few great opportunities for you here at Diana Rambles.
First off, I am looking for guest bloggers this summer while I am on vacation and for a weekly feature after that. Vacation dates are 6/6-6/25. Weekly guest features will take place on Tuesdays 7/2-8/27. I am looking for creative posts: DIY, food/recipes, crafts, gardening, or tutorials. It is OK if the post is something you've already posted on your blog that you'd like more exposure to. That is actually easiest for both of us. I would put part of the post & photos on my blog with a link that says 'read the rest here' and it's linked to your post. A brand new post is fine too. You can see past guest posts here. Your blog button and/or photo will be posted as well as links to your social media. Guests during my vacation time will need to have their post to me by May 30th. Weekly guests will need to have their post to me a week before their feature. This is for personal bloggers only and is not a paid opportunity. If your blog promotes a product or shop (such as Etsy) OR you'd like to promote a product or service, then you will have to pay for the guest post. Pricing will be determined on an individual basis. You can apply to be a guest post/blogger here. I will let you know if/when you are going to be featured.

I also am offering the opportunity to be a co-host on my weekly Pin Me Linky Party. The cost to co-host is $5/week. As a co-host, your button or photo will be featured at the top of the party post with a link to your blog & social media. You will also be announced as guest co-host in the party reminder email which goes out to over 500 people. You will get the opportunity to submit your links before the party goes live. This opportunity is also for personal bloggers. You can read all details & requirements and sign up to host here.

I, Diana Hansen of Diana Rambles, reserve the right to pick/approve guest & co-hosts.
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Saturday, May 18, 2013

Free Craft Class Today

Recently I signed up for a crochet class via Craftsy. I am so excited to finally learning how to properly crochet. I've done 3 lessons of Crochet Lab so far and I've learned a lot. I need to do a lot of practice before I am ready to move on. I really like being able to rewind and pause the lesson. On the very important techniques the video is still but the instructor keeps talking. I love the Craftsy App. That is how I've taken my classes so far.
Craftsy
Today (5/18) Craftsy is offering a free class up to $39.99 to new members. Membership is free! The great thing is that once you enroll in a class you have as long as you want to take it. So go ahead, sign up for membership and then pick a free class to take. They have a great selection of classes so there is bound to be something for you. Craftsy has a goal of giving away 10,000 classes and if they reach it,  Craftsy will donate $5,000 to DonorsChoose to fund arts education in public schools across the US. Existing members are not eligible for the free course offer, but will still receive a special treat. I am anxious to see what that is!!

I am a Craftsy Affiliate and get paid a percentage when someone makes a purchase via my link. 
If you'd like to become a paid affiliate too click here.   Image Map

Friday, May 17, 2013

Pin Me Linky Party #33

Happy Friday! I'd like to wish all you mothers out there Happy Mothers Day!! My next Must Follow Party is up and this week it's Facebook. If you'd like more likes on your Facebook Page then check it out here.
I am starting something new this week! I am going to say a little something about each feature!
Click on each featured photo below to link to it's post.
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Thursday, May 16, 2013

Must Follow Facebook Party 1

This week's installment of the Must Follow Party is Facebook Pages. While participants link up their Facebook Page, they are required to like the page from their personal profile.

Must Follow Party Rules
1. Link up the name of your Facebook Page and the link to it. (NOT YOUR BLOG!)
**Please test your link after submission.**
2. Provide a valid email address in the linky.
3. At the end of the party you must return and LIKE all the pages linked from your personal profile. Likes from other pages don't count!! (I'll email a reminder!)
4. Only family friendly pages may be linked.
People who don't follow these rules will be removed and not allowed to participate in the future!
Feel free to grab the party button if you want, but not required!
Must-Follow-Party-Facebook
<div style="text-align: center;"> <a href="http://www.dianarambles.com/search/label/must%20follow" target="_blank"> <img src="http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh91/customblogdesigns/memes/Must-Follow-Party-Facebook.jpg~original" alt="Must-Follow-Party-Facebook"/></a></div></div>
Upcoming: 5/23 Blog Lovin' & 5/30 Google Plus
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Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Busy, Busy Ramble!

It's another one of those busy times of the year. We have so many end of the year activities and other stuff going on that I've not been online as much!

The big thing we are dealing with right now is getting our house repaired from the sewage flood damage. The flood happened 4 weeks ago and we just got the first of the insurance money. The biggest problem was the water mitigation company being so SLOW! They also are trying to charge us for work they didn't do. Oy! I am definitely going to be leaving some poor feedback for them on Angie's List & Yelp. I told my insurance company that they should NOT recommend them for work. Now that we have some money in hand we are in the process of getting bids on the in house repairs. With the warmer weather and many others in the area that flooded, many contractors are backed up. We are patient and will be leaving on vacation in 3 weeks, so we hope to schedule work to begin right when we get back from Colorado. I am glad we are still going on vacation. It's a camping vacation, therefore low costs. If it was big expensive vacation then we might have canceled or cut back, but nearly all our campground fees are already paid. Those range from $15-$25 per night, so not expensive anyway. While we wait to get bids we are starting some of the work. This is what our downstairs background looked like a few days ago.
 
Last night my hubby took the wallpaper down, which was the LAST wallpaper in the house. Yea! It's gone!! He uses Downy mixed with a little water to remove the wallpaper adhesive. Works like a gem!

I've also been gardening. Here is what my garden looks like as of today.
My Summer Garden Plot
I bought small tomato plants, but everything else is from directly sewn seeds. I am staggering the planting of green beans along the back. I will be growing Gherkin & lemon cucumbers up trellises. I will also stagger the planting of the short & sweet carrots. I am happy with how it's going so far. I'll have to leave a watering schedule for my (oldest) son when we are on vacation. He's grown out of going with us so he stays home and takes care of the house & dog. I plan on making 2 rain barrels. One for this garden and the other for the raised bed we are putting in the backyard.
All my photos were blurry! :(
My son's last band concert of middle school was this week. He is a percussionist in both the concert & jazz bands. He's very excited about starting HS marching band soon. They start practicing next week. He's in Fiddler on the Roof this weekend with 2 shows on Saturday. He's getting confirmed on Sunday. Then next Friday is his 8th grade promotion. We are hosting a party for him this Sunday. I am in charge of the 8th grade picnic next week and am hoping for no rain!

We are going on our first camping trip of the year on Memorial Day weekend. We have so much stuff from our cleared out basement in the garage. We are going to need to move the junk over to be able to pull the trailer out. Then it will stay out as we are leaving June 6 for Colorado. It will probably stay out on the driveway until we get the work in the house done and therefore the junk out of the garage.

We have a handful of other upcoming activities that will keep me busy between now & June 6. I am going to slow down my blogging a little more! I'll keep up with my 3 linky parties!!
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