Hi Marti!  Funny I was just thinking about you and decided to check if you'd made a post this week........and the second I clicked online to the blogs, there was your new post just registering!  I'm curious how many hours you spend on this weekly review /resource/instruction manual........there is sooo much information here.........Another wow and another thank you!  Thanks for mentioning my Christmas in July post......!  :-)  Now its either back to housework or reading the other mentioned posts.......hmmmmmm......?......:-)

Hey Chunkster - so I guess I don't need to be sending you that birthday cake, huh?  Another amazing week in review!  LOVE IT!

Marti, What the heck is Bertha doing out of her room!!! Bertha has always been kept in the "members only" closet until now. BUT...since it's you and I like you......have it. She's already met my sellers anyway. I guess if folks don't want to work with  6'2' 260 lb man in drag I'm in trouble :)

Liz... hi and thx for another excellent contribution. You're creative, on topic and original. To answer your question...

 I work on the week in review a bit at a time as the week goes on, bookmarking and adding the best posts I can find. Lately a lot of my time has been wasted by off topic stuff and spam but I now have 2 other moderators helping out so that will free up my time a bit (I hope).

Hi marti....wow your Caffeine Buzz treats look good :) :)  Happy Birthday to you.....Happy Birthday to you......and so it goes....one more year down, and the next one beginning.  There is so much in this Blog I have to bookmark it :)  Thanks again....and I loved your new Chunky Blog Artist.......... LOL :)  This is a great review, and again I appreciate everything....including putting my tech post in your review......OK off to read Bertha she's been on vacation or something for quite a while.    Maybe she's back cuz TLW was on a sabbatical............... LOL .......

Leesa... hold on a minute, I'm not chunky yet (5'11", 175 lbs) but next month could be a very different story! I'm reading your new post as we "speak", geeks/geekettes rock!

marti....I just read Leesa's comment...so are we now calling you Chunkster :) :) Oh my my......

Bryant... sorry but a few days ago I promised Blogging Bertha some link love and publicity if she shared her video again so... now she's out on the web. God help us all. Tell TLW I'm thinking about her and I hope she's doing really well.

Thanks, You just gave me everything I needed to know when I didn't know what to ask. Too cool! Keep up the great work.

Kathy... your tech problems are what most people go thru, that's what keeps people like me so busy. But also thx to friends like you I'll be fully caffeinated for the next few months so I'll be wide awake to handle tech issues.

 And yes, the treats & gourmet goodies are good, actually amazing. That's probably the reason I don't smoke, drink or use drugs, great coffee, cookies and chocolate are a much better vice!

marti - I love the videos everyone is doing! Some of them are downright hilarious and I like Lisa's idea of a photo MeMe.

I'm glad your birthday is looking like a great big celebration (which you deserve...), but, it's probably a good thing it only happens once a year! Being all wired on caffeine and being too chunky to move would not be a good thing! LOL   Have a wonderful week, my friend marti!

Mark... you're very welcome and it's nice to have you here in our group!

Kathy... re Chunkster, not a problem, if I gain more than 5 pounds next month the cookies get locked away. :-(

Linda... I think the videos so many people are tyring out are one of the coolest Rain features, it brings such a nice, human touch to the post. And so many people use the comedy approach to break the ice so they're usually entertaining as well.

 As for chunky and too wired, well if that happens guess who is to blame? ;-)

Marti, thanks I missed a bunch this week being at the conference. That's why I love your weekly updates, honestly I don't know how you do it all. Also the information on log on's is very helpful.

I love all you all who take the time to put together the cliffs notes version of all the great posts....thank you...

Missy... hi and thx, I just do this in bits and pieces throughout the week and finish it up on the weekend. Have a great week!

Konnie... thx, glad you find it helpful, most of us are time challenged these days so this makes it easier for a lot of people.

Marti:  GREAT week in review--it looks as though I have ALOT of reading to do!  Love Lisa's idea of the Photo MeMe!  I've got something that I'll have to add this week to that!

Hey Marti as usual another nice week in review. Off to catch up and take in some great info.

Again...a wonderful review...your group is astounding with loads of info...your tips and tricks and info and yeah....chunky sounds like you'll be in our club lol! wooHoo!!

Tell me what to do when you CAN supposedly update your site but just don't know how.  I'm into my webmaster until January 2009.  After that....I want a site that I can do on my own.  Are there any sites out there for creating a web-page that is user friendly that computer illiterates can manage.  I don't mean just basic UGLY web-sites but one that is somewhat impressive.

Or how do I go about having someone design it and then I can manage it.

Debe... thx and I liked Lisa's idea as well, I hope it catches on, it sounds like fun!

Bill... thx and as usual you brought us another great find, I really appreciate it!

Sally... thx for another excellent contribution to the group. As for chunky, I'll try hard to keep it under control. Cookies & chocolate are my only vice. I just tried the choco macadamia nut coffee, oh my God!!!!

Debbie... hi, it's smart to be thinking about the next step for your site before Jan 2009 if you want to change it.

 To answer "Are there any sites out there for creating a web-page that is user friendly that computer illiterates can manage... that is somewhat impressive"...

 Absolutely, these days I recommended and design almost exclusively on the Wordpress platform. It's stable, can be customized a zillion different ways so it's looks hot/impressive, the search engines love it and the best part is that you can easily add content yourself so you aren't constantly paying for updates.

 If/when you need more info or have questions, feel free to email me at marti@garaughty.com and I'd be happy to help you out or point you in the right direction. have a great week!

Hi Marti - what a timely post this is about WP.  Thanks for sharing this info, and for the work you do on your reviews.

Ann

Thanks for the great tutorial. I will bookmark it and try soon.

Hi Marti, thanks for linking into my post on forgiveness. It's been really a good day today with all my friends here on AR. I loved the Alfa Romeo Pic! I bought one of those ... a '74 model and kept it 7 years. I used to have to change the plugs before driving it. It was more trouble that any car I have owned but was the most cherished and polished. My website needs that much attention. Thanks or the reminder! LOL

Marti, Thank you so much for the mention and the "link love."  I was on Wordpress but the EASY one--of course!  I see that other people are having some issues with their web guys....at least I'm not alone.  So being the most untechy person you've EVER come across, do I transfer my site or start a new one on Wordpress (actually, that would be have someone start a new one for me :)

Bach to your post, it is wonderful and I've missed SO many of these posts.  Lots of reading to do and thanks for a wonderful roundup and all the hard work you put into everything.

Best wishes to you and thank you for your week in review and all that you do.  You are very generous and I appreciate your taking the time to share your knowledge with those who have a lot more to learn.

Marti, more good stuff....and we certainly hope you never get kidnapped by aliens. ;-) Thanks for sharing all of these posts. ;-)

Marti-great job as usual!  I'm here for a quicky :) before I get a scolding!  Hope all is well!  xoxo

Ann... hi, soooooooooo nice to see you back in the Rain. A lot of my topics come from questions I get asked on a regular basis. It seems if 3 or 4 people are asking, a lot of others are having the same problem. If you have question, I'm always around. Have a great week Ann!

Gita... thx, glad you enjoyed it, have a great week Gita!

Lizatte... I absolutely loved your post and was happy to feature it. We all need to be reminded of what really matters once in awhile. My friend's Alfa Romeo was the same, gorgeous but more trouble than it was worth.

Carole... hi, first thx for the excellent post. Re "I see that other people are having some issues with their web guys... So being the most untechy person you've EVER come across, do I transfer my site or start a new one on Wordpress"...

 See if you can get in touch with the previous "web guy" you had to resolve the problems, otherwise it would probably be easier to start fresh with a new site on Wordpress that you can update yourself. You'll have your new blog headers tomorrow and if you want to talk about starting a Wordpress site, we'll see exactly what you need and take it from there. Nite...

Joan... thx so much, I appreciate that. Have a great week.

Teri... I hope the alien abduction doesn't happen either, my life is crazy enough. Nite...

Mmmmmmmmmmmmidori... thx for stopping by, can't wait to hear about your new venture. I know you'll do well and you know you have a lot of friends here if you need anything. Nite... {xou}

Marti - after I finished going through all this info, actually I am not quite finished, i feel I need some chocolate, coffee biscotti myself.

Great infor and advice on the website, wordpress stuff. I still don't have a website, I know , crazy, but am going to. I almost had a friend built a site for me. That would have been a mistake. Anyway, will be looking for help I am sure in the near future.

Thanks for working so hard and putting together the list of great posts for us just in case we missed any of them.

Have a great week.

Terrie... I think I ate enough biscotti today for the both of us, I have to hit the gym hard this week. :-(

 No website? If/when you need advice don't be shy to ask. I know it can be a maze of confusion. Even people with sites/blogs are having problems so that's why I'm doing this series to try and clear things up in plain English from the geek/techie perspective. Have a great week...

marti.....great synopsis and week in review.  you are the best!

Thanks for the tips, I am going to go check out several of these and see if it makes sense to apply them to my business.

Marti - great stuff as usual!  I've already checked several of the hot tips items, very helpful, and your continuing Web series is full of useful material... Keep it coming!

Hey Marti,

Nice choice of writers for the week. Especially the vids...I'm still thinking of playing around with those videos and making one shortly.

Pam... thx so much and again, Happy Birthday!!!

Linda... cool, we had a lot of excellent posts again this week, enjoy!

Eva... thx for the feedback on the web series, a lot more to come, dishing it out in bits & pieces so I don't lose anyone along the way. Have a great week!

Neal... same here, I love to see how people are testing the waters with video, comedy seems to be a great ice breaker, can't wait to see yours!

Happy Birthday Marti!!

Gary... hi and thx so much, I was just over at Linda's post and saw you there too, I really appreciate it. Later...

Thanks for the most. I have bookamrked this so that I can read the ones I missed.

Gita... thx for stopping by my friend, have a great afternoon.

Marti - I agree that most people don't really think about the maintenance of thier site when they hire someone to build it.  maybe now we need to consider where we go next.

Larry... unfortunately most people only think about it after there's a problem. Have a good nite!

And again Marti Thanks for such a great, comprehensive post...wow!

Michael... thx for stopping by, you're more than welcome!

Marti, thanks for high lighting Anna as the 100,000 member. Great job on the post (once again)

Duane

Duane... hi, I couldn't let that milestone pass without a feature, thx for adding it to the group, have a great week!

Ah Ha...

There she is...I don't recall giving her a passport :)

On a more serious note I figured out what to do with 'The Blog Artist Blog'...I just put you in my reader. Now you should know that coming from me that is a huge compliment in light of the fact that I just booted everyone out of my reader. Congratulations...You made the cut :)

TLW...ROAR!

TLW... sorry but I let her out on the net. Re "just put you in my reader. Now you should know that coming from me that is a huge compliment in light of the fact that I just booted everyone out of my reader"...

 Geeze, now the pressure is on, guess I have to start posting some really good crap, whoops stuff. Thx my friend, I'll try not to let you down.

If ever Blogging Bertha feels like being feature in a wallpaper, let me know. I'm not sure if the world is ready for that but I'm always willing to push the envelope. ;-)

Marti,

Just wanted to drop in and say that you are the greatest! I am so happyithe the new header!

Thanks again! Russell

Russell... hi there, I just saw your email, really glad you like the new blog header as much as I do. As soon as I saw the "sketch" I knew this was it. Later my friend!

Blog Artist...

I just popped in to see what cha doing? :)

Blog updated. Blog updated. Blog updated. Nope. I never (as in ever) uncheck those little boxes.

Well...Maybe on the 400 comment hijacks. Sometimes I do uncheck those :)

TLW...ROAR!

TLW... what I'm doing is a serious juggling act. Blog designing, commenting, Facebook BDay msg to a friend, drinking tea and eating cookies. I'm testing out the new ReBlog feature on a few of my posts but I'm still undecided about the whole idea. Will see what happenes in the next week or two. Say "hi" to Bertha for me. ;-)