Why the right hand?

Okay, this is an odd topic today. But I don't know how many of you notice that items are fluid on the right-hand side of this blog. Let's start with the top:

1. Here we have a link for nominations to the World's Best Husband Contest. Once clicking on the link, you are then able to read about the contest and then email a brief essay about why your husband is the best along with a picture. This contest came into being because of Anne Bradshaw's Remarkable Youth of the World contest. I wanted to celebrate good men, for I know they are out there.

2. Coming along next is a link to the Charity Auction being conducted for the "Save the Sluyter Family Farm" fund. You may read more about why this auction is being conducted here.

3. Then there's my picture. That doesn't matter.

4. Now we have the forming of the Utah Chapter of the Beautiful Babbling Boisterous Blogging Babes and our first meeting (lunch/dinner and lots of visiting) which is turning into a monthly gathering of the blogginest babes in Utah. JustaBeachKat is where I found this. It tickled my funny bone and launched our own chapter. Too Much Fun! If you're in driving distance, please join us!

5. Moving on down we have a picture of a porch with the light on. As with many other families, my mother always kept the light on until the last child was home. I would pull up late at night, usually from some church activity, and there would be that warm yellow light brightening my path to the door. Bob, our old dog, would always be there right at the car door. He'd nudge my knee and then walk me to the front door before hobbling off to his bed. I put this picture on my blog to welcome you all home.

6. Next we have a couple of webrings. I got tired of hitting the Next from Blogspot and ending up on a porn page. I puzzled what to do about it before posting the warning at the top of my blog and creating a webring. There were a couple of rings that seemed to be innocuous enough but I pulled those because of sites they accessed. The first ring I created, the second was created by Dave Wardell. In other words, these rings are safe passage through Blogland.

7. Now we have my political stance. Articles will come and go here as different aspects of politics catch my attention. The daughter of a Dutch immigrant and seventh generation American, we were raised with a fierce love of the United States of America and all the freedoms which abound here. Staunch defenders of the faith, country and God . . . you will find a Sluyter (my maiden name) at the forefront of everything that stands for good.

8. As requested, these are the links to the summaries of the 2008 Political Candidates. Those will remain until the completion of the election at which point, they will be removed. I may be mourning or celebrating, but the day after election those will be gone.

9. Subscribe Me. This is where you can subscribe to receive my blogs by email. Very cool little function that I found on other bloggers sites and really liked.

10. Amazon.com is the place where I buy 95% of all my books. This is an easy search box that will take you straight there.

11. A lot of people kept asking what books I'd written. This is the graphic of those books and explanation of where they may be purchased, as requested.

12. I've joined Tristi Pinkston's "Book in 30 Days" project. This is where I keep track of how I'm doing. That better be updated on a daily basis or there will be some serious mud on my face.

13. Benjamin Franklin said: Let's face it, the man was loaded with incredible one-liners. Every day there will be a different quote. Good place to check for some very sage advice.

14. Next we have the Blogs I recommend. I check everyone of these blogs several times a week. Why? Because if there is anything inappropriate (language, pictures, etc.) then I remove them from my recommendations. Every link on this page is safe. These links lead to authors, homemakers, crafters, artists, musicians, comedians, ranchers . . . every aspect of life from across the word.

15. And along comes humor. This is where I post a different cartoon every single day. As you may have noticed, I'm particularly fond of Maxine. But others do pop in once in awhile.

16. Business is the life's blood of every economy. This section is where I recommend businesses I work with and trust.

17. I'm an author, what can I say? The next two items are books and encouragement to read and the announcement of The Whitney Awards. I am on the awards committee and am so excited to be celebrating excellence in fiction by LDS Writers. Be sure to nominate your favorite books published in 2007 by going to www.whitneyawards.com.

18. I love doing family history and genealogy. I am writing our personal histories as well as the history of our marriage. Genealogy is so exciting, I mean how else did I find out that I was descended from William the Conqueror, or that St. Arnold, the patron saint of beer was an ancestor? Come on, there's so much to learn about what comprises your DNA. I have two lines completely back to Adam and working on others. These sites are the ones I've found most helpful.

19. As mentioned above, I am a fierce defender of this nation with all rights, privileges and responsibilities we enjoy. The amount of love and gratitude I have for our soldiers and their sacrifices is immense. This picture changes off and on and reminds you to Never Forget.

20. Next we have websites I recommend. These are sites I frequent often for a variety of reasons.

21. I'm always one that gets a little excited about earning money without ever leaving my computer in my home office/library. This survey company actually pays. They don't just say they do, they do. So I thought I'd put that here for anyone who'd like to earn a little cash. That one's a keeper.

22. I'm a proud aunty -- I'll admit it. This little section celebrates the BYU Cougars, but is centered around my nephews on the football team. There will be different articles on a weekly basis through football season, then this section will have occasional articles throughout the year regarding the BYU team. But right now? It's all about my nephews.

23. In the News . . . Everyday I search the headlines for a few interesting articles and post them here. It's important to keep up with what's going on in the world. How do we defend against it at home without knowing what's going on? How do we effect change if we're ignorant?

24. This part's fun. Every single Sunday I highlight a particular post during the week that touched me, made me laugh or motivated me to do something. Check this out at the beginning of every week, you'll enjoy the Blog Spotlight of the Week. This week's spotlighted blog is Great Family. My heart was touched and the poetry was beautiful.

25. I'm a writer. Of course you're going to get a different writer's tip every day. It's what I do!

26. These are ads by Google related directly to my site. Kind of cool, nothing inappropriate. I guess you have caught on to my theme. Safe, safe, safe . . .

27. Blog Archive - needs no explanation. It gains an entry on a daily basis.

28. Next is the FYI section which is kind of fun. Every day there is a new word, new "this day in history" and an "in the news" section, a story that I will not cover in my In the News section.

29. My dad. This will stay here until my heart has healed.

30. My cool husband and me, this will stay here always at the head of blogs I have written for other sites.

31. Then comes the road less traveled. This will always remain to remind everyone to choose the path which leads to the Lord.

32. Now we come upon the awards this little blog has been given. They're cool, they'll always remain.

33. Statistics. What more can I say? I like tracking visitors by country, it's kind of cool.

At the bottom of the blog I am tracking the presidential election, which will be removed the day after. Fun YouTube videos which will always remain unless I get tired of them. Below that are the live links to purchase my books. And last, but most certainly not least, is a brief summary of six firesides/presentations I do across the nation.

And THAT my friends, is what goes into the righthand column of my blog. Please enjoy!