As is usual for a Sunday morning, I was sitting here watching "Meet the Press". This is one of the few news shows I watch to keep me updated on what's happening in the political world. Some of you may disagree, but I find their coverage of the information to be the most unbiased. Anyway, today they were discussing the recession and I realized this may be a good time to offer some advice about money.

     I think we can all learn a thing or two to carry into the new year with us. Whether you've been directly affected by the events or not, it's time to take a look at the way we all view and use money. As a Christian, we can stand firm in our belief that God will help us through any situation, including providing us with money, but we also need to realize he wants us to be wise stewarts of what he provides. Wisdom not only includes how we use what we already have, it also means we have to wisely manage the future. Some people are going to tell me we shouldn't worry about tomorrow, which is very true. In the same light, we can't be living our lives today on something promised to us at some future date.

     While it's true some people are now facing the loss of their homes or jobs through no fault of their own, even more people are facing problems because they weren't wise stewarts. The main cause of the problem is not living within their budgets (or having no established budget at all) or living with the thought that something can be paid for when they receive their next paycheck. There are many good reasons for doing this ... unexpected illness, replacing a furnace, or having to quickly relocate for a job. Unfortunately, the only reason a lot of people are living on credit is so they can possess a new car, a large screen tv, or brand name clothes. People in today's culture confuse "keeping up with the Jones' " with necessity. The rule to follow is this ... Unless something is a true necessity, don't buy anything if you don't have enough money to either pay cash  or write a check for your purchase. Most people wouldn't be experiencing any problems during the current financial crises if they weren't living on credit.

     Establishing a budget is easy and you must create a budget before you know what you need to cut out of your life and begin living "within your means". But before you begin, you have to know the difference between a necessity and other items. We all need food, what we don't need on our grocery bills are things like prime rib and crab legs. We all need a dependable used car to get us to work, we don't need a brand new BMW or Hummer. We all need clothes, but we don't have to shop at brand name stores. Regardless of what you think, cartons of cigarettes and having beer in the refrigerator (or alcohol in your home bar) are not necessities. With that in mind, we can begin creating a budget.

     Now figure out your average pay without including any bonuses. Bonuses and overtime pay are NOT a guaranteed income and should always be placed into a savings account to be used for unexpected expenses, not included is your monthly budget. Once you know the average, deduct the amount you plan to give to the church, along with known expenses such as groceries, house payments or rent, utility bills, and insurance payments. Some people may also have to deduct expenses such as money needed for work uniforms and such. Now set aside at least a tenth of what's left to put into a savings account which you don't use for anything other than unexpected expenses, especially if you don't work overtime or receive no bonuses.

     How much do you have left? What you have left is what you can afford to spend on things like the new big screen tv you've had your eye on for years. If you don't have anything left over and are still finding yourself depending on your next paycheck to cover the necessities, you have to to cut things out of your life. Change your grocery list by buying store brands and eliminating snacks and sodas. Trade in your brand new car on a dependable used one. Move out of the house with the big mortgage and into something smaller, which also decreases your utility bills. Eat meals at home instead of eating out. This last includes taking a lunch to work with you instead of buying things from the vending machines. And, as hard it will be to do, you may also have to disconnect your tv from the cable or eliminate all of your extra movie, sports, and "pay per view" channels. If you still have little or no money left, rid your life of more things.

     The current financial crises would've never happened if individuals and companies had learned to live and operate within thier budgets instead of depending on bank loans and credit cards. On the positive side, we can all learn from the past and present.

     Lately, I've heard a lot of comments being made about how the government and non-Christians are trying to undermine the Christian religion. The main gist of the conversations tend to be about how people are trying to eliminate all mention of Christianity from public places. The fear is, eventually this will lead to Christians not being able to practice their religion even in private. I won't try to sugar-coat the facts. Sooner or later, Christianity will become "illegal", but there's nothing we can do to stop prophecy.

     Last night, I was watching "The History of Christmas" on tv. One thing a woman mentioned toward the end of the show really caught my attention. My first thought was "I should've blogged about this sooner". This blog would've probably had more impact if people could've read it before now. However, the lesson can be apllied to other Christian holidays, not just Christmas. So while my blog is about the Christmas season, it has a lesson for the entire calendar year.

     After discussing the various traditions of Christmas, a woman stated her opinion that all of the bright lights and shopping are diluting the meaning of the holiday and that "our kids don't know the real reason" for the holiday. I've heard other people say basically the same thing. This seems to be one of the standard arguments used for "fighting for our rights" to have Nativity scenes displayed in front of government buildings. As the argument seems to go, we need to have these symbols displayed everywhere so we don't forget that Christmas is about the birth of Christ.

     My questions to these people are ... Even if your kids see a Nativity scene on every street corner, are they really going to learn the true meaning of Christmas? Who's responsible for teaching our children the real meaning of Christmas? You want those reminders sprinkled around town so your kids are reminded of Jesus' birth, but do you take them to church so they can learn the whole story? Do you even take the time at home to teach them about Christ?

     I do agree that the secularization of Christmas is pulling people away from their faith. The thing is, I'm not going to blame the secular government or the non-Christians in our country. If either your children or yourself are slipping away from the faith and the true meaning of Christmas it's entirely the fault of the parents and the church. Someone isn't doing their job if Christians can't repeat the Biblical story of the birth of Christ and know why that birth was so special. You don't need to be able to quote the story word for word, but you should know the story enough to tell others the important details. It's time Christians wake up to the fact that it's OUR responsibility to raise our children to know God's truth.

     I can hear some of you saying, "We can teach our children everything we know, but when they go out into the world, that world is having a bad influence on their lives. It's the world that's destroying their faith." Is it? How many of you were born a Christian? I don't mean "born again" or born to Christian parents, I'm asking who among you were a Christian the day you were born? No one was. Our parents or someone within our community taught us about Christ and, later, we accepted or rejected those teachings. What you need to realize is no one can force anyone else to become a Christian, not even your own children. On the other hand, if you can't voice the "hope that is within you" or take the time to teach your own children, it doesn't matter how many religious symbols surround them in public, they're never going to grow up to accept Christ and the whole truth of God.

     It's up to us and the members of the Body of Christ to teach our children (and ourselves) the true meaning of Christmas. Even if every symbol of Christmas, religious and secular, were removed from public places, would Christmas cease to exist as a holiday? Would you, as an adult, forget we celebrate the birth of Christ? Would the church you attend remove all mention of Christmas from the sermons? We need to learn a lesson from our brothers and sisters around the world who live in places in which displaying a Nativity scene or owning a Bible can lead to death. Even without all the religious symbols, they still celebrate the true meaning of Christmas. Their children, surrounded by non-Christian religions and governments who imprison people for becoming Christians or where anyone becoming a Christian is automatically stripped of all their rights, still accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

     In the United States, we've forgotten the passage about raising up "YOUR children in the way they should go" or change the meaning. It doesn't say "the culture should raise your children in the way", neither does it say the goverment is responsible for ensuring Christian symbols are allowed on public property so our children are reminded about the Way. If we want our children and new Christians to know the real meaning of Christmas and hold that meaning deep in their hearts where it can't be yanked away by unbelievers, it's up to us and our religious leaders to re-enforce the meaning every chance we get.

     As for me and my household, we will serve the LORD. That's not just a quote, that's a phrase I live by. I intend to stand on my beliefs even if every Christian symbol is removed from the public sphere, every church building is burned to the ground, and I must face death for teaching God's truth. All Christians need to take the same stance. It's not about what the goverment or the culture says we can and can't do, it's about what God commands. No matter what happens in the world around us, the real meaning of Christmas should be so imbedded in our hearts, we celebrate the birth of Christ regardless of what we see around us. Teach your children and they WILL hold firm to the faith.

    

     Yes, I'm back with another blog about my boys. For those of you who haven't noticed, this means my cats.

     Have you heard the Christmas song in which the little kid sings he's "gettin' nuttin' for Christmas because" he's been "nuttin' but bad"? Well, I think Santa may have scratched (funny wording for a story about cats) Hoggle from the good list. Every year, on the Saturday before Christmas, our local volunteer fire department carries Santa around the area on the small fire truck. You know he's coming when you hear the siren and can tell the truck isn't in a hurry to get anywhere. I was watching tv when I heard the siren, so I got up to look out the window. Yep ... there he was ... Santa Claus. They drive slowly down my road, which is the main road from the township into town and, later, make their way back to the station. I'm not sure, but I think they go down over the hill into town and drive around for the kids there.

     About a half hour later, I heard the siren returning toward the station. Hoggle was sitting on the sink counter in the bathroom ... growling. I told him to behave, but he kept growling low in his throat. All I could do was shake my head. I told him he wasn't getting anything for Christmas because he growled at Santa. As strange as it sounds, I think it worked because he stopped growling.

     I can only guess that Santa knew Hoggle was growling at the siren and not him. There's already a couple bags of treats in the stocking with "The Boys" written on the front and there's no note telling me Hoggle can't have any of them. Now all I have to do is figure out where those treats came from [said with a wink] and why the boys got an early visit from Santa.

     I just finished reading the newest blogs which were listed on my updates list. It seems some people are still having problems navigating the new system. Hopefully, we'll all get used to things soon and everything will be back closer to normal. From what I see, people are blogging less and not leaving as many comments to blogs. Whether this has to do with people still getting used to the new system, being busy at this time of year, or just not having much to share is not my concern. I'm here to stay. I'll keep blogging and leaving comments. I never know when what I have to share can help someone else in some small way.

     Most of the time, I don't feel the need to explain why I do certain things. Because of a blog I read this morning, I will explain why you don't see my name appear in the various comment sections for every blog posted here at Spaces. I only say something when I feel I have something worth saying. Lately, most of the time I've been leaving comments under blogs which are very light and don't require much thought in leaving a comment. This doesn't mean I won't respond to deeper topics. If you blog about an experience in your life about which I know very little or nothing at all, I'm probably not going to leave a comment ... unless I can do so by discussing my Christian perspective on that topic. When it comes to leaving advice about something which you're discussing, I'm not going to leave advice that might come out sounding stupid or as if I don't care. This often seems like something which will always happen (advice sounding like I don't care) because, honestly, I'm not going to say things just to make anyone feel better about their actions or words. Advice often comes off sounding mean or rude when people hear something which opposes their viewpoints.

     Now I come to the main topic ... blogging about your life experiences. If you're going to blog about the things going on in your life, you're going to hear many different viewpoints about any given belief or situation. Just because you've had bad experiences in certain situations, doesn't mean everyone else has had that same experience. The worst thing you can do, the thing which will alienate a lot of people (whether here at Spaces or in your real life), is to lump everyone from a specific group (race, religion, gender) together and form the opinion they're all the same only by basing that opinion on the actions of a few people from that group.

     The same thing happens here within the Spaces community. I've heard it time and again ... "no one is leaving comments so I guess nobody cares". While that might be true for some people who don't leave comments, it's not true of everyone. We all have to face the fact that not everyone is going to get involved with every life experience posted as blogs. Some people avoid political or religious topics, while others are more likely to avoid discussing personal relationships. When people don't respond to your personal experiences, it's not always a matter of they don't care or they don't like you. Instead, it might be as simple as they haven't experienced the same thing or they prefer not to get involved with certain issues.

     I can only speak for myself. Keep blogging about whatever moves you to blog. I'll keep reading about what's going on in your life, I just may not always have something I feel is worth saying about those experiences.

     Ok, some people won't find this funny. I'm sorry if you don't. This isn't meant as a slam against anyone.

     Every year our local newspaper prints a small article about the gifts mentioned in the song "The 12 Days of Christmas". The reporter breaks down the list, researchers the current prices for each item based on the market, and posts the total for how much it would cost you to buy those presents. Every year, the costs goes up. A hint for you guys out there, women don't want any of those things except for the golden rings.

     This year, I've decided to write my own article.

 

GIFTS NO LONGER AVAILABLE

by Sheila aka COG1999 / WS writer

 

     I regret to inform our readers that the gifts that were once available for purchase are longer available. Many Christmas shoppers were shocked and dismayed to find the gifts listed in the popular song "The 12 Days of Christmas" are no longer for sell at any store, local or international. They looked through every local store before resorting to searching the internet, all to no avail. Store managers I interviewed could only say they weren't sure why their supplier were no longer able to ship the merchandise. They showed me the empty shelves where the gifts were displayed in previous years. I called many of the suppliers and the only repsonse I received was what appeared to be a pre-arranged statment being used by the suppliers, "We signed an agreement stating we would not reveal the information". After some digging into the story, I've uncovered the shocking truth. Because of the crumbling economy, the gifts are not available for the following reasons:

 

1. Partridges have had to relocate from their lavish homes in the pear trees, scaling back to a modest pine trees in the city park.

2. All turtle doves, french hens, and calling birds have been impressed into service by the postal service as carrier "pidgeons" to save on fuel costs.

3. Jewelers and gold dealers are hoarding the precious metal to use as a safety net in the event they lose everything due to bad investments in the stock market.

4. It was discovered that the maids who were doing the milking were illegal aliens and deported.

5. Because people have been cutting back on entertainment expenses, the dancing ladies found more steady work as nannies for the rich and famous.

6. The government became suspicious of the leaping lords and they're now being detained in Cuba as possible terrorists.

7. The pipes used by the pipers were manufactured in China by children. So far they haven't yet found a domestic manufacturer who can supply pipes of the highest quality.

8. All of the drummers are members of their state's military reserves and National Guard. They've been activated for an undetermined period of time and have been sent to war zones around the world.

 

     It is hoped that by this time next year, conditions will improve and people can once again purchase these popular gifts for their true loves.

     Did you ever find something broken at your house, know one of your kids had to have broken it, and then when you ask who did it you just know the guilty party by their actions?

     My cats are getting better at leaving the Christmas tree alone, but every couple of days, I come home to something being messed up. When I got home today, part of the tinsel was hanging off the bottom of the tree and little pieces of it laying around the base of the tree. As it was pulled from the tree, a couple of the ornaments were knocked on the floor. Don't worry, like some of you with small children, the only decorations I hang at the bottom are unbreakable. I saw the mess before I got completely into my living room. I calmly and casually put away my lunchbox before taking care of the offender.

     It wasn't hard to figure out which of the two cats played in the tree. Hoggle sat calmly, looking at a decoration on the floor as if to say "Look what little brother did." Pippen, on the other hand, had already taken off so he could find a hiding place. He may be dumb enough to think he can hide, but I think he forgets "momma" is not beyond getting down on her belly and reaching under her bed to grab a cat. As soon as I grabbed a hold of his back leg, he knew he was in trouble. Then, as I carried him out toward the tree, he wiggled and squirmed, trying to get free from "the judge". I knelt down by the tree and put his face right into the tinsel. He cried and wiggled and squirmed some more. He knew he did it and knew he was in trouble from the moment I got home, but he sure didn't want to face the consequences. I yelled at him ... cats hate to be yelled at ... and smacked his little butt (no, not hard). He'll leave the tree alone for a couple of days.

     So how do I know I was right in deciding which one was the bad cat? If Hoggle would've done it, when I picked him up, he would've torn my arm off trying to get away. Today, after scolding Pippen, I figured I'd give Hoggle a gentle reminder to stay out of the tree and he just let me hold him and gave me a look like "I didn't do it, but I'm sorry".

     I think cats are some of the smartest animals in the world. Pippen knew exactly what he did wrong. Some of you are going to tell me cats are dumb because you can't train them like a dog. See ... that's smart. They do what they want, when they want. Dogs are stupid for letting people tell them what to do all the time. My cats aren't stupid for doing something they know they'll get into trouble for doing, they just think all people are stupid and we'll forget we told them before they weren't allowed to do something. Cats aren't stupid, they just have attitudes.

     One thing I've learned from the changes being made here at Windows Spaces is that I'm pretty good at making changes as things roll along. Not just here, but in my life in general. A good example would be my job. For the past couple of years, I get to work and start doing the job I usually do everyday. But things have changed over the past month. Because of the products our comany manufactures, various types of cards, our busy quarter is the last quarter of the year when many stores are having gift cards printed. I've been trained to set up and run most of the machines we have for the various stages of the process, so I can step in and run most of the machines that might sit idle most of the time and for which there is no assigned operator. Especially last week, I was doing a different job almost every day of the week. I actually like when this happens because it keeps me from getting bored. Some people can't do this and, if asked to do something different, they get angry or frustrated.

     Last night, I was watching some television and not doing much of anything except thinking about my life. I realize there are some things I need to change and other things which can remain the same. So now all I have to do is put my mind to changing things for the better. I won't change just because other people want me to, I want to make the changes for myself. I need to get back to exercising more, eating better, and setting my priorities in the correct order. Maybe I'm having what some people would call a mid-life crises, but I see it as something more. I've lived what is probably more than half my life and often wonder what I have to show for the 42 years I've been alive. I don't need fame and fortune, or even recognition, but I do want to at least feel like I've done something important ... that my life had some meaning other than what I've done up to this point.

     So what can I do? I think the answer is making changes as life rolls along. It's not just a matter of waiting for something to happen and then chaging to fit the situation. It's a matter of changing my attitude and my outlook on life now and then applying those to any situation which arises later. Me and my friend Gracey have this song we'd like to make our little motto for life and start taking the chances we were always afraid to take before. I'm not going to start doing anything crazy, just follow my dreams without fear of failure or ridicule. The only chance I have of making my own dreams come true is to chase after them with all my heart.

     The other thing I'm going to try is to do the unexpected. There are times people expect me to do certain things only because they expect it of me. I have some family members who expect me to do certain things only because it's what the rest of the family would do or because they want me to change more of who I am as a person. Sometimes I do those things just to keep people happy. But that's about to change. I can no longer do things only because everyone else does or because they don't like who I am. I alreay have family members who rarely talk to me and the only reasons are because I won't take their advice or fully agree with them about certain issues. It's always bothered me when I do or say something which alienates certain people, especially family members. I just can't let it bother me any more. If I do something, some people will be happy while others get angry. The saying about not being able to please everyone is true. It's time I start doing what makes me happy and forget about other people's expectations. I've learned that what's right for them isn't always right for me.

     For however long I have left on this earth, I'm going to change as things go along. I'm getting out of the ruts of not taking the good chances, failing to chasing my dreams, and doing whatever people most expect me to do. That's the new me.

     This morning, I woke up a little earlier than usual for a Saturday morning. I turned on the television and watched the news, more to check out the weather forecast than for anything else. As I sat there and listened, there were many of the stories that had me grumbling and complaining. Right about now I could easily go on a tirade about more than one topic. Instead, I'm going to try to keep my peace of mind and my sanity by writing about something else.

     As I sit here at my computer, I can look out my back window and see the little bit of snow in the yard. If I look the other way, I can see the Christmas tree standing in my living room. I have my CD player full of Christmas music and listening to the sweet sounds of the season while I type my blog. Where did the year go? It seems 2008 just started a few days ago, but it's already the first weekend in December. I like different times of the year for different reasons. I think winter is my favorite even if I do hate the cold. I think of this time of the year as a time of renewal. Most of the plants have gone dormant, waiting for spring to come back to full life. Most of the animals are hibernating and the birds have flown south, not to be seen again until the weather warms up. And while many people feel rushed and stressed at this time of year, I feel more relaxed and have more time to spend working on some of my projects. This winter I hope to finish my second novel. The first has yet to get published, but I'm writing for the joy of writing.

     What about Christmas? Each person and family celebrates in their own way. I've had discussions with people who see Christmas as nothing more than a pagan holiday to be avoided. Other people go full tilt and make this the largest celebration of the year. I won't criticize anyone for the way they celebrate. I do put up a Christmas tree and spread some decorations throughout the house. I don't do a lot of decorating outside, I put out a little bit of greenery and poinsettias, tie some pretty ribbons to the greenery, and this year I added a few shiny Christmas balls. The lights people can see as they drive by my house are hung inside the windows and my tree sits in the big picture window. I'll take some pictures later and add them to my albums (if that all still works the way it used to).

     On Christmas Eve, my parents usually come down to my house for a couple of hours. The Christmas after I moved into my own house, my mom asked me if I just wanted to wait until later on Christmas morning and open my presents at their house. Of course I told her no, I wanted to have presents to open in the morning at my house. So they come down on the 24th and play Santa. I open one present from them and I give them their presents from me. On Christmas morning, I open my presents from them and then go up to their house to visit. We wait for the phone calls from my aunts and then we spend the day going from house to house and enjoying being together with each family at their homes.

     But Christmas isn't all about the decorations and the presents. Some people think I'm crazy or even lying when I tell them it would still be Christmas without all of the extras. When I was younger, that wouldn't have been true. Now it is because I've learned the real meaning of the holiday and Christ is the only thing I really need. Jesus wasn't really born in December, yet the church chose this particular time of year to celebrate. The history is on the internet, so I'll just say here that the church wanted to take a pagan holiday and make it into a teaching time and focus the people on Christ. That aside, we celebrate the birth of Christ because, without him ever having come to earth in human form, he wouldn't have died as he did to free us from our sins. I like to take the time at this time of the year to reflect, not only on Christ's birth, but also his earthly ministry and his sacrfice. Everything seems so much clearer and easier to tie together when I'm more fully at peace.

     And the Christmas season is a time of peace. No matter what's going on in the world around us, most people feel more peaceful at this time of year. People tend to be nicer and happier. I know there are people who find the season not very peaceful because of the circumstances in their lives and I pray for those people. Elvis Presley sung a song in which the main question is "why can't everyday be more like Christmas". I often wonder that myself. Why do we put away the peace and joy along with all of the decorations? This year, I'm asking all of my friends to keep the peace and joy out in the open the entire year. The Christmas season isn't an island of peace that we only find for a few days while we sail through the sea of turmoil the rest of the year. Jesus wants us to remain on that island. The peace and joy we feel around Christmas is a gift from God, just as he gave us the gift of his only Son. Don't put the gift away in a drawer of your mind, it's a gift to be enjoyed every day.

     May God bless you and your families abundantly this wonderful Christmas season and each day of your lives.

     I've combined these two things because you use the steps to organize your friends in order to further designate who can see what on your profile. This may be a slightly longer blog and I hope I don't forget any steps.

 

ORGANIZING YOUR FRIENDS AND NETWORK

1) On your profile page, click "Network" (above the pictures of your friends).

2) On the new page, click "Manage network".

3) You should now have a page showing the people who appear on your profile.

4) On the left hand side, click on the link to show everyone in your network. This will give you a longer list that includes the people on your profile, anyone listed on your messenger system, and people in your email address book.

5) Along the top of the list is a link "Categories". When you click this, you get a drop down menu. Choose "New category".

6) On the new page, name the category and save ... don't worry about where it ask you about the names for that category.

7) Repeat creating new categories until you have all you want. I have the following: family, friends, Servant Chat, Spaces, Spaces2, and Spaces3.

8) On the list of all your people, click the box next to someone's picture > click on "Categories" at the top > in the drop down menu, choose which category you want that person to be in.

9) Repeat the above until you have everyone assigned to a category.

*When you're finished, any time you go to view your network, you can click on a category to find people. Also, as you accept invitations, you'll get a box asking what category you want them in so you add people to categories as you go.

 

PRIVACY SETTINGS

I've posted a blog on how to change your privacy settings so you can control who sees what information in your profile. I'll repeat the steps here. Go to your profile and click "details" under your picture. Above each area of your profile, there's a thing that says who can view that area. To change the setting, click on who can view it. On the next page, choose the categories (created in the steps above) who you want to be able to see that when they view your profile.

 

     The reason I created so many categories is so I can put people in those categories and limit different people to different levels of information. People in my family category can see my entire profile. My closest chat and spaces friends (those in the Spaces category) can't see the personal details (such as contact info), but can see a lot more of my profile. Until I get to know people better, they're in either Spaces2 or 3 and are very limited to what they can see. Non-personal info can be seen by anyone who views my profile, but they see very little.

     I hope this helps.

     I think I just did what some other people have done! I was going through my contact list and I may have accidently deleted some people from my friends list. If I did, please let me know so I can add you back. One thing I haven't yet figured out is how to invite someone to join my list. If you know, please leave a comment so everyone will know. LOL!

     One of the main concerns seems to be not being able to view someone's Space before you accept their invitation to join their Network. The good news is you CAN. When you receive an invitation in your email, click on the small link to view their profile. Once you get to their profile, click "Space" under their profile picture (or where it should be if they don't have one posted). This will take you to their Windows Space and you can fully check it out before you accept their invitation. Once you make your decision, return to the email and click "View invitation". A box will open where you can choose to accpet, ignore, or block the person.

To send a message to a friend, click on their picture. You do have to click once. After clicking, you'll see a box which has several options. Click on the option of your choice.

 

View profile = Takes you to the person's profile. To view their space, click on "Space" under their profile picture.

 

View photos = Takes you to the persons photo albums.

 

Send message = Opens a new window. This is the same page you always used to send people messages.

 

Now instead of having to log into your space to read a message, you should be able to read it directly from your email account.

     If you haven't yet figured out how to check on the listing of which of your friends have posted new blogs, you may not know I posted this blog. Confusing but true.

 

To find the list of what your friends have added to their Space or to see if anyone has added a comment to one of your blogs, follow these steps:

 

     The most important thing in the new format is to make sure your private information isn't shown to everyone on the internet. My advice is to just not post any information you don't want anyone to know. To set your privacy settings for your profle, follow these steps:

 

     This will be the first of several blogs about the new Windows Spaces format. I'll be posting instructions on how to do things as I figure them out. It may take a while. I really think the people in charge of the Spaces made things more confusing than they had to in order to get something they probably feel is better. Ok, enough of the ranting. I'll post each thing separately so I can file them under my Windows Spaces category and people can find the blog they need by category and title. I hope these little blogs help you. If you have any questions, send me a message.