Blog Exercises: How to Publish Code

I blog about the technical side of blogging, about WordPress, WordPress Plugins, WordPress Themes, HTML, CSS, web design – code. I often blog about code. And people ask me code questions. I’ve become an expert in writing code so it looks like code on web pages. The time may come, or you may have already […]

Blog Exercises: Weather Reports

February is a month of dramatic weather for many parts of the world. Sometimes January is fierce, and February slows the season down or speeds it up with floods, snows, rains, and sudden bursts of warm temperatures, creating a false Spring, fooling trees and flowers. Sometimes January was the lamb and February brings devastation from […]

Blog Exercises: Gravatars

This Blog Exercise will help you update your global recognition on WordPress and all Gravatar-enabled sites. I’m going to let TimeThief of one cool site, a site dedicated to all things WordPress blogging, tips, tools, and tutorials, explain Gravatars in her post, “Gravatars for Global Recognition.” Whether you blog under your real name or under […]

Happy Anniversary WordPress: The Beginnings

On August 16, 2005, Lorelle on WordPress became blog ID number 72 on the brand new WordPress.com. The first post was appropriately titled “Lorelle on WordPress” to introduce the site. Looking back, it’s amazing how true to form that I’ve kept the mission of this site all these years later as proposed in the first […]

Blog Exercises: Define Your Target Audience

The phrase “target audience” is an advertising and marketing phrase designed to help you aim your content at a specific group of people. Do you know your target audience? As a crafter, you may offer a wide range of craft ideas and projects, so your audience might be all crafters and do-it-yourself folks. If you […]

Blog Exercises: Blogging with the Seasons

Gardeners are ruled by the seasons, changing crops and growing methods so food and flowers are grown year around in some areas. Chefs love to use the freshest foods, thus are ruled by the results of gardeners and influenced by the seasons. Outdoor enthusiasts are often ruled by the season, shifting from running in summer […]

Blog Exercises: Check Your Dates

It’s 2013. Time to update your calendars and your blog dates. Sara Tetreault of Go Gingham asked me to cover updating copyright dates on your blog, so this Blog Exercise is dedicated to that and all the dates that need changing on your site now that we are into a new year. Most WordPress Themes […]

Blog Exercises: New Year’s Resolution

Every year, Matt Mullenweg publishes his New Year’s resolutions. They’ve actually become quite famous as the founder of WordPress often announces goals associated with the free publishing platform, giving fans and developers a highlight of what’s coming. We’re waiting on his resolutions for 2013 as he usually publishes them on January 11, his birthday, but […]

Blog Exercises: What is the Name of Your Site?

What is the name of your site? In WordPress, every site has a title and a tagline or subtitle. What is yours? Choosing a name for your site can be a challenge and your next Blog Exercise in this year-long series of exercises to help you improve your blog. Sometimes choosing a name for your […]

Happy Holidays and Onward!

We survived the Mayan Calendar. We’ve survived planets lining up. We’ve survived attacks on our person, our community, our faith, and our country. Just another year. As we charge forward this coming year, here are some things to look forward to here on Lorelle on WordPress and on my other sites, and many things to […]

Blog Exercise: Category Brainstorming

In the first of my new Blog Exercises, you will begin work on clarifying the purpose and mission of your site. Take a minimum of 25 minutes to list all the words and phrases that describe what you blog about. If you are new to blogging, list all of the words describing what you wish […]

Welcome to the New Blog Exercises

Your doctor tells you to exercise. You tell yourself you need some exercise. You play Sudoku and other mind games to flex the brain. We all need exercise, even bloggers. In the past, my Blog Challenges have been well received but its time to update them. I used to call them challenges, then prompts, but […]

WordPress College Course: Register Now for PCC Rock Creek

I’m expanding my WordPress college courses to now include Portland Community College at Rock Creek. Give yourself a holiday gift to learn WordPress next year! Beginning January 9, 2013 and running through March 20, I will be teaching CMS Website Creation: WordPress. This is a part of their new series on Content Management System instruction. […]

A Day of Healing and Suffering at the Clackamas Mall

“I feel greedy.” We stood in the cold outside the Clackamas Mall, arms wrapped around each other, watching the crowd expand to release individuals and couples to step forward and place their candles on the memorial stage. The faces of the two deceased smiled over the mournful group gathered before them. The photographs were snapshots […]

Peace on Earth: Help Me Fight Terrorism in My Community

Update: This story is starting to go viral. Thank you to everyone for your support for the Portland and Clackamas, Oregon, Community in their time of need. I hope we fill the Clackamas Mall, and every mall, with as many people as possible to let all terrorists, domestic and international, know that we will not […]