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Casual Friday Giveaway - WordPress for Dummies

UPDATE!! Congratulations Lorna of  - eMoms at Home Freelance Parent - you are the winner of the WordPress for Dummies book!! 

It’s been a very busy week, project-wise, and if it weren’t for WordPress - my absolute favorite platform for blogging and CMS, I’d probably be in the nut house by now. From updating themes and ad campaigns to building a full website for a client that doesn’t act like a blog, WordPress has been there for me this week. And it just so happens, that WordPress is the reason behind today’s Friday Giveaway.

WordPress for DummiesLisa Sabin-Wilson is not only the talented designer behind eWebscapes.com, she is also the author of a great new book called WordPress For Dummies. Her new book delivers just what would-be bloggers need to get up and running with WordPress and start communicating with the world. Includes help on every aspect of installing and using WordPress, illustrations from real-world WP blogs, step-by-step tutorials on key topics, and insights from bloggers who use WordPress.

But it is not just for people thinking about blogging. WordPress For Dummies is an essential reference for bloggers who are new to WordPress and even the intermediate/advanced user. For example, discover how to:

  • Personalize WordPress Settings
  • Understand common template tags
  • Manage and moderate comments
  • Deal with comment and trackback spam
  • Troubleshoot common problems
  • Sign up for, set up and use a hosted blog at WordPress.com
  • Download, install, set up and use WordPress on your own web hosting account
  • Find, download, install and manage WordPress plugins
  • Learn and understand the “Loop”
  • Learn the ins and outs of simple template tags and theme creation
  • Download, install, configure, set up and use the WordPress MU software to create your own blog community/network
  • ….and MORE

Lisa has offered to giveaway a SIGNED copy of her book to one lucky Casual Keystrokes reader.

Entering to win is EASY - we are going to be talking about WordPress today. Leave a comment on which blogging platform you use and why, or ask a WordPress question, or tell us why you love WordPress, or anything else you want to talk about. ;-) Each relevant comment you leave (no spamming please) will garner you one entry. Blog about Lisa’s book or this contest and you get another 2 entries.

You have until midnight EST on Sunday, November 25 to join in the conversation.

You can read more about the book at Lisa’s personal blog, Just a Girl in the World and if you just can’t wait for the contest to be over, you can order the book through Amazon or pick it up at your local bookstore.

Casual Friday and Personalized Ornament Giveaway

Casual FridayLast night when we went into town for gymnastics and ice hockey practice, the first thing my kids noticed is that about half of the shopping centers had already started decorating for the holidays. I guess it is time to starting getting my brain around the whole holiday thing - although in light of all the recent recalls I am just not really excited about the shopping part. The decorating part is one of my favorite things though, and I love ornaments.

Today’s Casual Friday giveaway is cool in two ways. First it will give you something special for your Christmas tree, window, or to give as a gift. Second, the sponsor of today’s giveaway, FeeFiFoto, was the winner of last week’s giveaway.

Snowflake Ornament This week’s sponsor, FeeFiFoto, is giving away a gorgeous Personalized Photo Snowflake Ornament to one lucky winner! The delicate white snowflake ornament is made of excellent quality porcelain. Ornament is approximately 4″ wide.

It’s simple to create your own one of a kind ornament with FeeFiFoto. Simply upload your favorite photo to FeeFiFoto and see your design in progress as you crop or move you photo. You can even add a caption.

The lucky winner of today’s giveaway will get to create a one of a kind Personalized Photo Snowflake Ornament.

Entering to win is easy. Leave a comment on this post no later than midnight Sunday, November 11 and a winner will be randomly selected on Monday.

Everyone is welcome to join the conversation this morning. Have you noticed the holiday decorations going up around your town? When do you decorate - before Thanksgiving, right afterwards or at the last possible moment? And of course, we always seem to end up talking about our weekend plans, movies, kids and whatever else is on your mind! Let’s get talking!

UPDATE!! We are happy to announce that Dee at comment #168 is the winner! Enjoy!! Be sure to stop back in next Friday for another giveaway.

Friday’s Pink Ribbon Giveaway Winner Announcement

Breast Cancer Pink Ribbon Gift SetGilden Tree Natural Healing Body Care sponsored our Casual Friday Giveaway this past week. The giveaway was truly a success based on the more than 200 comments left on the post. I had fun reading about everyone’s weekend plans, things we do to pamper ourselves, and the touching comments from breast cancer survivors and supporters.

Lucky number 52 was Kelli at the Zen of Motherhood. Kelli won the Breast Cancer Pink Ribbon Gift Set.

There are still a limited number of Gilden Tree samples to be given away, so if you didn’t win the gift basket you can still get a freebie if you act quickly - just email your mailing address to fridaygiveaway@gmail.com. (As always, we aren’t sharing this with anyone.)

As the holidays get closer, Gilden Tree is a great source for Natural Healthy Gifts for teachers, family and friends (or yourself anytime!) like their Natural Organic Spa Products, Deep Moisturizing Natural Hand & Body Care, and Luxurious Natural Robes, Towels & Accessories.

Casual Friday - Pink Ribbon Gift Set Giveaway

Casual FridaysFridays at Casual Keystrokes are all about taking a well deserved break at the end of the week to chat with friends, laugh a bit, and have fun. I have wanted to come up with a way to make it even more fun for everyone and during a recent brainstorming session the idea of incorporating giveaways with Casual Friday came up (thanks Gayla). Some great sponsors have offerered to provide me with giveaways, so you now have another reason to stop in on Fridays! (If you want to sponsor an upcoming Friday, just let me know)

Things have been pretty pink at Casual Keystrokes lately - from turning the site pink to the Designher Gals giveaway and the Gal to Gal Walk. With October on its way out, it is appropriate that start the Casual Friday Giveaways with one that honors the cause behind the pink - Breast Cancer Awareness and Research.

Breast Cancer Pink Ribbon Gift SetGilden Tree Natural Healing Body Care is sponsoring our giveaway today. By leaving a comment on this post between now and midnight EST Sunday, October 28, 2007, you can win a Breast Cancer Pink Ribbon Gift Set.

This special gift set features the extraordinary Kiran Forest Soothing Hand & Body Lotion and Kiran Forest Spa Soak, packaged in a lovely heart-shaped box with lid. They’ve also included a pretty little pink ribbon pin that you can wear to show your support for breast cancer research.

Not only will one lucky commenter win the gift basket, but 100 of my readers can also get a free Gilden Tree product sample. To get your free sample, all you have to do is email your mailing address to fridaygiveaway@gmail.com. Don’t worry, we aren’t sharing that info with anyone else - its just the easiest way to get your free sample to you quickly.

So back to Casual Friday - what do you think of giveaways on Fridays? What will you do for yourself this weekend? How do you unwind after a busy week? Join the conversation below and you could be a lucky winner!

Shop Gilden Tree Today

I’ve Got Something Brewing

BlogtoberfestMost of you know that I also write for b5media at their blog on parenting teens and tweens, Weary Parent. This month the b5media Family and Relationships Channel is celebrating Blogtoberfest with tons of giveaways EVERY day for two weeks.

Come check out what I have brewing at Weary Parent today and enter to win.

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