Ah fresh air - Perfect weather for chili

I moved South from Ohio quite a few years ago and sure do enjoy not having to shovel snow. Because the weather is warm in Northeastern Florida until the end of October, it makes us hunger for my award-winning chili recipe. This is one recipe that my grandma really didn't teach me. Racking my childhood memories, I really don't remember grandma making spicy chili ... Stuffed cabbage rolls, yes; chili, no.

Traffic to my award-winning chili recipe started increasing in mid-September and has steadily been rising through the end of October. Recently, one day's traffic nearly hit 400 unique visitors and has been averaging well over 325 visitors daily. Surprisingly, the up-tick in visitors hasn't translated to rising lensrank as the lens has been declining for some mysterious reason. The highest lensrank achieved was #28 overall with a reported 26 days in the overall top 100. What's the reason for the high traffic? It is thanks to Google! This lens has been ranking as the #1 position in the Google search with a number of keyword phrases.

So, what makes my award-winning chili recipe so special? I give away the secret ingredient on my page. I also spell out in black and white how to make this tasty chili recipe. It is a meatier consistency. We like to use a special kind of chili beans too and usually opt for the spicy ones. I also give you an idea of the cost to make this chili. My last recipe was geared up to feed the office staff of a dozen. The good thing about chili is that it won't go to waste. Simply freeze a portion of your chili batch for a quick fixer upper meal.

Why not drop by and participate in the award-winning chili debate about secret ingredients. Register your vote for how hot you like your chili. And, be sure to drop me a comment in the chili guestbook. Check out my recipe and let me know how you like it.

Angels on earth can be heavenly indeed

Did you know that there are angels amongst us? Angels on earth? And that angels on earth can be quite heavenly indeed.

If you are a Squidoo lensmaster like JaguarJulie, you get to interact online with some wonderful lensmasters. It's really a great perk that you first of all are able to write about your passions and interests on the platform of Squidoo. Once you have become established with over 50 quality lenses, you have the opportunity to qualify to be a Giant Squid. Make over 100 quality lenses, and you may join the Giant Squid 100 Club. Giant Squids earn a number of perks for the honor of this role on Squidoo, and you will see gold stars on their lenses to designate that status. Take that a step further, and a Giant Squid might earn a purple star for their quality lenses. Purple stars are awarded weekly by the Giant Squid Organizers.

There is an additional honor that comes along a couple times a year on Squidoo, and that is the role of Squid Angel. JaguarJulie has been distinctly honored to regain her Squid Angel wings on October 13, 2009. Squid Angels have a code of ethics and honor in how they conduct their daily roles on Squidoo. They are entrusted with the ability to "bless" worthy lenses; to provide a little of their angel dust to deserving lensmasters' lenses. That is the glass is full scenario. Squid Angels can also serve in their roles to give a proverbial "thumbs down" to spam.

JaguarJulie grew up in Cleveland, Ohio and attended a number of Catholic schools. This 'rewarding' childhood presented her with the opportunity to attend daily masses, interact with priests and nuns and to learn more about heavenly angels. This childhood experience contributed to a deep appreciation for all things spiritual. So, JaguarJulie is quite the spiritual individual who is distinctly honored to be a bit spiritual in her role as Squid Angel. Thanks to those that made this possible! Blessings to YOU my dear!!!

A beautiful journey to Hollywood with the Traveling Squid!

To celebrate my three year anniversary with Squidoo on March 21, 2009, I launched The Journal of the Traveling Squid, Volume I. By now those of my friends who have followed this journey know that Gordon Hamilton in the U.K. was the first participant in this journey. And, you probably know the story behind my selecting Gordon? We had previously emailed each other to talk about my leaving a package for him at a Southern Spanish hotel. After deciding that might be a risky venture, I opted to mail the traveling squid directly to Gordon. However, I decided to leave a test package for Gordon with Juan, a receptionist at The Hotel Bali, Benalmadena.

In my package to Gordon, I include five brand new dollar bills -- USD currency. I wanted to send a little help with postage costs. It was from the five dollar bills that Gordon created a remarkable project, The Five Dollar Vacation - A Worldwide Charity Project with a Difference. This is a remarkable lens and an equally remarkable charity journey with a big difference. At Squidoo, a lensmaster can earn a bit of recognition for their remarkable work. It is called the purple star and it is a star that is purple-colored and appears on your work. Well, if you visit Gordon's lens, you will see a beautiful purple star there!

Well, Volume II of The Journal of the Traveling Squid departed Jacksonville, Florida on July 10, 2009, Seth Godin's birthday you all! The project had already spent 6 months in the U.K. so it seemed right to launch the second edition. As of this writing, the journal has visited Gil, Kimberly, Seth, Corey, Susan and now Kim -- Kim Giancaterino. The journal has traveled from Jacksonville, FL to Colorado, Wisconsin, New York, Virginia, Arkansas, and now California! Something beautiful happened in Hollywood with the traveling squid! We owe it all to our dear Kim who created a beautiful tribute and travel lens, The Journal of the Traveling Squid Goes Hollywood.

Oh, and how wonderful to hear that the Hollywood journey earned a coveted purple star when it was newly published? Congratulations to Kim and a big thank you for her beautiful, beautiful lens and journey. It doesn't get any better than this -- to think that the original lens earned a purple star, followed up by two additional purple stars for its goodwill journey around the world.

You'll want to take time to check out these wonderful lensmasters KimGiancaterino and Gordon_Hamilton as they write some truly amazing articles and lenses. And, they are remarkable people too!

P.S. Please be sure to check out my other writings over at Squidoo while you are at it! I'm known consistently as JaguarJulie there. And, if you are convinced that you are ready to put pedal to the meddle and maybe earn a purple star medal for your work, join me on Squidoo! I've helped many a lensmaster to succeed there; to write better lenses and to even earn giant squid status too. Oh, and be sure to check me out on Twitter -- Yep, I'm known as JaguarJulie there! I like being consistent with my messages. ;)

Thou art lovelier than a Daffodil -- Thou art Narcissus Poeticus!

A fellow Giant Squid asked me the other day what special 'lens' that I might be authoring as the #500 in my lens portfolio on Squidoo. I must tell you that I really had not special topic in mind, you know nothing that really resonated 500th or celebrated that number. After all, I really reached well over #500 a couple of weeks ago when we were celebrating all the absolutely wonderful Brands in Public. I had nine additional lenses to my portfolio that were relinquished. So, as of today, I am back to #500 with a special 'lens' that is not really special!

Thou art lovelier than a Daffodil -- Thou art Narcissus Poeticus! Ah, indeed ... we are talking flowers and the beautiful Daffodil that art known as Narcissus Poeticus. This is an interesting flower in that I remember my grandparents Cleveland, Ohio garden was filled with many a lovely flower, especially the Daffodil. But I did not knoweth thy name of Narcissus Poeticus until today.

I think the reason that I authored this particular topic lens was because I had made a SquidU Forum post about another lens, "Ode to MiMi -- Mi Mi Mi Mi!" There is a new thread for "Squids Gone Wild" where I posted. Although I am quite a proper 'young' lady that was brought up to be polite, courteous, considerate and observing of protocol and etiquette, I did opt to post in "Squids Gone Wild." So, I was venturing on the wild side in an attempt to show some alliteration and a little more humor than I normally do.

Well, one of my dear old buddies, posted in that thread and mentioned that "It's all about me....Me, me, me, me, me, meeeee ... The national anthem for all narcissists...." Ah, so that would be the subtle HINT about narcissus -- a bud of an idea for a lens about one of my favorite flowers!

Personally, I think the name "Narcissus Poeticus" is so poetic for the daffodil -- and to consider that this flower has also the names of Poet's Daffodil, Pheasant's Eye, Pinkster Lily, and Findern Flower. Which one do you prefer? Those are some mighty special names. It's interesting to note that the legend and history of this daffodil mentions Narcissus as in Greek mythology. I love learning more about Greek mythology and am delighted to see so many such lenses on Squidoo.

Photo Credit: Poet's Daffodil by magnio.

So, had you known about Narcissus Poeticus or is a Daffodil a Daffodil to you? Allow me to quote a passage from "Daffodils" (1804) by William Wordsworth:

I WANDER'D lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

P.S. Had you heard that we are 1/3 Daffodil? So, carrying that thought a little further -- would that mean we are 1/3 Narcissus ... waxing poetically? Peace! Go forward and prosper.