Tour

If you have never visited a blog before, or are unfamiliar with how they work, it can be easy to get lost.  I am going to walk you through everything you need to know to get the most out of this website.

On the Home page, you will find my blog. The word blog is short for weblog, which is a website that is regularly updated with entries (called posts) that can consist from anything to commentaries and opinions, the sharing of videos, personal stories, descriptions of news or events, and whatever else the author of that blog wants to write about.

Posts appear in reverse chronological order – the latest entry always appears at the top, with subsequent entries appearing below it.  You can differentiate one post from another by the title of the post.   If you click on the title of a particular post, you will get the permanent link (also called a permalink) of that post.  This is useful if you want to bookmark it (bookmark means to save the page in your browser so that you always have that link available) or email it. If you see words in the post that are the same color as the title (baby blue), this means that you can click on them for more information regarding that post.

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Underneath  the title of the post is information telling you the name of the person who wrote the post and the date that the post was written.  This line also shows you the name of the category that this post was assigned to (more on categories later).  At the end of each post are the share icons, giving you the option to share the post on popular social networking sites.  Here they are (from left to right):  Delicious, Digg, Facebook, Stumble Upon, Twitter, .  The last three buttons give you the option to print the post, email it, or “Like” it on Facebook.

Underneath the share icons is information telling you how the post was tagged.  Tags are simply keywords that are assigned to a piece of information (in this case, a post).  Here is how to make use of the tags:  Using this example, the post had a tag called “low calorie snacks.”  If you click on that tag, you will be able to see all of the other posts that have that same tag as well.  This article gives an in-depth explanation to help you understand what tags are, how they are used, etc.

Underneath the tags is the Comments option. This interactive feature allows you to  read what others have said about that post, and / or leave a comment yourself.  The number next to the Comments link is the number of comments that the post has.

Want to have your picture or logo appear next to your comment?  Then you’ll need an avatar.  An avatar is a graphic icon that visually represents you.  You can get one for free at  www.gravatar.com.  You’ll want to make sure that whatever email address you register is the same one you will be leaving comments with, as your avatar is associated directly with your email address.

In each sidebar, you will see some features that allow you to maximize your experience at this blog. In the left sidebar is the form that allows you to subscribe by email or RSS.  Doing so will result in  all of the posts that are published on this site to be delivered to your inbox. That way you don’t miss a thing! It is also convenient if you would rather have this information delivered to you rather than having to go directly to the website.

Under the subscription options you’ll see links to different posts on this blog.  I have them arranged by category: Popular Posts, My Series, Consumer Information, Diet, Exercise, Feed Your Spirit, and Success Stories.

At the bottom of that is the Grab a Button feature, which means that you can copy and paste the code in the box and insert it into the HTML of your website so that the Dream Body Mom button appears on your website.  It’s a stylish and classy button, so there’s no doubt it would look cool on your website!

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In the right sidebar,  you will see the icons for the social media networks I am on.  You can follow me on Twitter here and join me on Facebook here.

Under that is a button that will take you to the Dream Body Mom store.

Underneath that is a Search feature where you can type in things that you are looking for to see if they are on this website.

Under that you will see a BMI (body mass index) Calculator.  Enter in your information and click on the “Calculate” button to see what your BMI is, and what your normal weight range is.

The button following that will give you information on how you can advertise on this website.

Here is a synopsis of the rest of the pages on my website:

• About -  information about who I am and the purpose of this blog.

• Categories – a list of the topics I write about with a description of each one.

• Resources -  links to websites that I recommend, categorized by topic.

• FAQ – answers to questions regarding how I dropped seven sizes.

• Subscribe – information on how to receive my weight loss tips for free.

• Archives – browse through all previous posts. You can search by date or by category. You’ll see the list of categories.  These are all topics that I cover here. When I write a post, I select a category to put it in.  The name of the category that the post is in appears underneath the title of that post.  Clicking on that will take you to other posts in that category.

• Contact – information on how to contact me.

• Shop -  features Dream Body Mom shirts, mugs, bags, and other unique gifts.

Other pages on here that you may have missed:  The links to these appear in the lower right hand corner of the website.

• Privacy Policy – policy regarding how your personal information is protected at Dream Body Mom.

• Disclaimer – information regarding medical, physical, legal, and other aspects that involve your use of Dream Body Mom.  Your use of this website constitutes an agreement to these terms.

• Disclosure – information on the forms of compensation that may be accepted at Dream Body Mom.