We Need Ink Again

A while back I ordered ink for 2 printers and paid, well too much. Why does printer ink have to cost so much? Anyway, the old cartridges finally died completely - and I'm really going to need to print my Harry Potter movie passes - so I had Cory change them all today.

Then I decided to try printing my electric bill to our old printer. This is my printer of choice because it only prints in black ink, and we got several $5 ink cartridges for it a while back. It doesn't cost so much to print to that printer. (If you're counting, we have 3 printers hooked up in our house)

However, my computer will only print to this printer once in a while. It's really fickle, and I don't know why. So I was pleasantly surprised when it printed without complaint today - until I pulled the printed sheet off the printer and saw that it wasn't at all readable. Yep, another dead ink cartridge. And I think we're finally out of the $5 cartridges - I found one, but it's empty, too.

So, it looks like I will be looking for printer ink again. I'm going to check out Inkgrabber.com because I can get free shipping by entering the code FREEBIE <-- you can too. Click the INKGRABBER button, search for your printer ink, and then don't forget to enter the code to get free shipping. Just so you know - I get paid when you click, not when you buy. So if your printers go through ink like ours do, go ahead and click to see if Inkgrabber.com can save you money. They say you can save up to 92% off retail prices. Combine that with the free shipping and you've got a deal.

Now I'm off to see if they've got ink for my 20-year-old printer. (maybe it's only 17 years old? - ancient in printer years either way)

Deck Progress

I uploaded all the pictures I've taken of the deck building project Jeffrey and Cory are working on this summer - the project I mentioned in last week's Heads or Tails post. I thought some of you would enjoy seeing how things are going.

It's really coming along nicely! We enjoyed our coffee and read the paper out there over the weekend, and have eaten dinner out there several times.



It's not quite finished - they still have some railings and steps to put in and then the pergola to build - that's what those tall posts are for. The boards between them are just temporary to hold them in place. Finished or not, we have already started to enjoy it!

You can also view the pics on Jeffrey's Flickr stream if that works better for you. I took all the pics - I just uploaded them for him.

Of Movies and Mayhem

Cory's birthday is next Wednesday. He'll be 17, and while I think it is wrong that my baby is turning 17, that's not the point. The new Harry Potter movie opens on Wednesday, too - with a midnight showing on Tuesday night, and Cory wanted to go to that show. We said he could go, if he could figure out how to get there and get home. And then Beth volunteered to take him and his friends. We have 7 tickets for the midnight showing of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince next week - for Cory and 4 of his friends and for Beth and Tim.

Then, yesterday I found out that I won two passes to an advance screening at 7:30 Monday night - from the Ellen Show and CBS 58. I figured since the kids were already going, that Jeffrey and I could use those passes, but Cory thinks I should take him because he's the one who told me to enter the giveaway. Jeffrey doesn't think he'll be able to make it because he's going to have company at work on Monday and will probably have to work late, so it looks like Cory and I will be seeing the movie Monday night. And Beth's not happy about it and she's threatening not to drive all the kids to the midnight showing on Tuesday night. Like one thing has anything to do with the other.

I'm too old to be going to a midnight movie, but we already have tickets, she already said she'd drive - and talking to this girl is pointless. Logic does not enter into it. Commitment means nothing. Arghhh!

Let VenalTech.com Handle the Details

Have you ever wanted to start your own business? Had a great idea for something you would love to do, especially if you could earn a living while doing it? But where do you go from there? You need a business plan, marketing, and definitely an Internet presence. If you're like most people, you get that far and stop. You just don't know how to go about putting it all together.

That's where VenalTech.com comes in. The team of experts at VenalTech have a lot of experience and knowledge about online business, and have participated in the development of hundreds of successful online businesses. They work with each client to come up with a custom business plan that addresses the needs, goals, current situation and budget of each client. They build a website for your online business with all the features you need, so you don't have to be a web design guru.

They know about marketing and promotion, too and can get your web page to show up on the first page of search results, so customers can find you. They also have a social network division that can build your brand on all the social networks, like Twitter, Facebook, and MySpace.

All this means that you can focus on running your business while VenalTech takes care of the details. If you have an idea you'd like turned into reality, check out the VenalTech. com website to see what they can do for you. Their team of skilled web developers & programmers can build your online business from scratch.

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Heads or Tails - Spin

The theme/prompt for this week is:
HEADS - "Spin"

Jeffrey and I went to the Rotary Music Festival in Cedarburg on Friday night. From the Rotary website:

An annual favorite that attracts nine World Class and Open Class Drum & Bugle Corps from across the nation. This year’s festival includes the 2008 World Champions, Phantom Regiment from Rockford, Illinois.

This is the 3rd year we’ve been able to go. Jeffrey’s company is one of the sponsors, so they get some tickets. No one else seems to want them, so we’re more than happy to take them. We love DCI shows. That brings me to today’s theme, Spin. Those color guard members can really spin those flags! And various other things, too.

It was a very enjoyable evening, listening to music and watching those flags spin.

Heads or Tails is a fun weekly meme created and hosted by Barb (aka Skittles) – feel free to join in!

Soft Organic Flokati Rugs

We've currently got wall-to-wall carpeting in our house. Jeffrey would have liked hardwood floors, but we really couldn't afford that when we were building the house, and I thought they would be cold. If I had it to do all over again, I would have voted for the hardwood floors. Maybe we could have given up something else?

For now we'll just have to wait until we can afford to redo all our floors. We'll be starting with the kitchen and dining area and putting in ceramic or porcelain tile. Yes, I know we were going to do that a year ago or so, but we didn't. Now that the guys are building the deck, though, it would be really nice to have a hard surface to walk in on, instead of the carpet. I might even be able to relax the 'no shoes in the house' rule - on the hard surfaces, anyway. Maybe.

After the tile in the kitchen and dining area, we want hardwood in the living room. And if we want a little something soft, we could get a couple of these Flokati shag rugs made by nuloom. Seriously, look at the picture - don't those look soft? I'd never heard of these before, but I'm really liking what I've learned about them so far. They're made of 100% pure organic wool, handwoven in the same way they've been made for centuries in Greece. Each rug is washed in a soap-and–chemical-additive-free bath for approximately forty hours, which makes the pile swell and makes the rug thick and plush. The rugs are then hung up to dry naturally.

They come in a nice Silver Grey color that would look really nice in my living room, as well as other colors like Natural, Dusty Rose, and Duck Egg Blue, and in several sizes. The site says that they're ideal for children's and teen's rooms, but I think they'd be great anywhere you want a little softness.

Maybe in front of the fireplace? The one we eventually want to put in. And definitely no shoes on this!

Camera Critters (#65)

Mine’s kind of late this weekend because we’ve been kind of busy – holiday weekend, and all.  It is still the weekend, though, so I give you our proper Miss Tillie:

Look at her with her paws all crossed.

Camera Critters is a fun weekend meme hosted by Misty Dawn.Visit the Camera Critters headquarters and join in. There are all kinds of great critter pics to see. 

Looking at the Sky on Friday - 20

For more info on this fun meme, click the image.

Sunset Saturday night:

I really liked the rays coming out from behind the tree. 

If you enjoy skies as much as I do, be sure to check out Looking at the Sky on Friday.

30 Patriotic Songs for Less Than $2

This Saturday is the 4th of July, Independence Day. That means cookouts, parades, flags flying, fireworks, and patriotic music. I'm especially looking forward to the fireworks.

Just in time for Independence Day, Amazon.com is offering this A Salute To America MP3 album download for only $1.99. It's going to be featured as the MP3 Deal of the Day on Friday, July 3rd. That means you can get 30 patriotic songs such as The Star Spangled Banner, America the Beautiful, Stars and Stripes Forever, Dixie, You're a Grand Old Flag, and the Yellow Rose of Texas - all for $1.99. Regular price is $9.49, so that's quite a significant discount. The songs are all performed by the 101 Strings Orchestra which has recorded hundreds of albums since its inception in 1957.

I've been listening to the previews of all these songs - you can listen to 30 seconds of each - and really enjoying all of them. We own a lot of music, but we don't have a good collection of patriotic songs like this. We might have a few of them here and there, but definitely not all of them and not in one place. I don't think I can afford to pass up this deal - 30 songs for less than $2, and we can play patriotic songs all weekend.

Be sure to check out A Salute To America on Amazon.com and get your July 3rd Deal of the Day. (Actually, check it out now, because you can save 10¢ and get it for $1.89 right now.)

Heads or Tails - Tool

The theme/prompt for this week is:
HEADS - "Tool"

This is a pretty easy one – and it’s about time because I haven’t done a Heads or Tails post the last couple of weeks. I need something easy to get me back into it. Sometimes I just think too hard…

Anyway, there are plenty of tools being used around our house these days, because Jeffrey and Cory are building a deck.

We’ve been in this house for 11 years, and we’re finally getting a deck! Our original plan was to put in a paver patio and a pergola, but because of some changes at work, we may have to move in a year or so. The deck is going to go in quicker and cheaper than the patio, so we decided to go with a deck, and the pergola.

It’s been a nice Father/Son project, and I know we’re all going to enjoy having a deck! Cory seems to be enjoying it a lot. He wasn’t quite old enough to get into it when Jeffrey built the shed several years ago. (Shed Construction) But this time he’s really getting into it. Jeffrey bought him his own hammer and everything – so now he’s got at least one tool of his own. It’s got a lifetime warranty, too.

I can claim I helped on the deck, too, because I put a couple screws in, and I went with Jeffrey Sunday to get the posts and handrails – and the patio furniture. Cory was at another graduation party, so when I got home from the parade, the two of us went to Home Depot. I think we got the best buy we could on the deck supplies. We had a 10% off coupon and got no interest and no payments for a year – so we can build the deck, get to enjoy it, and not have to pay anything until next year. We also got the wood he already bought transferred to the no payments no interest plan.

Jeffrey and I had to go to two different stores to get the stuff we needed because the posts at the first store were not very nice at all. They all had big cracks in them, and they didn’t have many to choose from. So, we went to a bigger store, and they were much nicer! It would have been nice to get them at the closer store and get it over with, but we wouldn’t have been happy with them at all, so it was worth the extra trip. We also got them to match the competitor’s ad, even though we forgot to take it with us, so we got the posts cheaper. It wasn’t until we got back home that I looked it up and realized the handrails and balusters were on sale, too – so Jeffrey took the receipt and ad back to the store yesterday and got an adjustment, saving us $40 – and every little bit counts!

It’s coming along! This is really going to be nice.

Heads or Tails is a fun weekly meme created and hosted by Barb (aka Skittles) – feel free to join in!