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I've been married to my best friend for 21 years, and we have two teenagers. They're great kids, but still... This blog is all about them and what they're doing and all about me (and their dad) trying to be the parents of two teenagers.  Recent Posts
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Friday, May 16, 2008Sky Watch Friday (#22)
As Cory and I were leaving the track meet Tuesday, it had started to rain a little bit. Luckily, the meet was almost over, and the rain wasn't too heavy yet. It was coming in, though, and I just had to take some pictures of the clouds out my back window.
When you line the pictures all up in a row, they look kind of neat. It's not exactly right because I wasn't actually trying to line it up for a panorama, but still cool: If you enjoy looking at the sky as much as I do, you'll want to check out Sky Watch Friday at Wiggers World. Join in or just enjoy all the wonderful sky pictures. Labels: clouds, Sky Watch Friday Thursday, May 15, 2008Counting MoneyI counted the money from selling concessions the other night. First I wanted to be sure there was enough cash of various denominations and enough change in the box for next time. I'm never sure how much we really need, and I've kind of been going by what was in there when I first got the cash box. Today I decided that we had more than enough dimes and nickels. Everything is $1, $2, $1.50 - we need more quarters for change than anything else. I used to work at Kohl's, and I started thinking about the change we started with when we opened a cash register. Basically, we had a certain amount of bills (I can't remember the numbers on that) and a roll of quarters, a roll of dimes, a roll of nickels, and a roll of pennies. So, I figured I'd cut down the dimes and nickels to the amount in a roll. Of course, then I had to figure out how much was in a roll of each. Who remembers these things? So, I looked it up - how many coins are in a regular roll of coins? Then I started counting the rest of the cash and putting it together getting it ready for deposit. One time I was at the bank they gave me some currency wrappers, and I know the $50 ones are for the $1 bills, but I don't know which bills the $200 and the $500 are for. I don't even know if it really matters, since I tried looking it up and only found places that sell them. They didn't tell me which bills they were for, but several mentioned that they were easily adjustable for different amounts of bills. So I'm thinking maybe I can just use them in whatever way is convenient. It does help to divide the bills into manageable piles and wrap them together.If someone knows if there are specific rules for the currency wrappers, please let me know before I actually go and make the deposit and end up looking like I don't know anything. Sure, I'll tell the whole blogosphere I don't know. I just don't want the people at the bank to know! Labels: Band Boosters, fundraiser, money Wednesday, May 14, 2008Next Time You Need a Rental CarIt's been a while since we had to rent a car. We flew to Florida and needed a car to get around while we were there. There was the time Jeffrey and I flew to Florida soon after we got married and should have rented that convertible Mustang sitting out in front of the car rental place, but that's a whole other story. Oh, and there was the time we got the free upgrade to the really nice car with the leather seats in California.The main thing about renting a car is that, when you are traveling without your own car, you still need a way to get around, but you don't want to spend all your vacation money. Advantage Rent a Car has special rates on cars, trucks, vans, and SUVs, all for much less than you'd expect. Rates start at just $19.99 per day. Advantage Rent A Car has more than 150 U.S. locations and 130 locations in 33 countries internationally, so they probably have a car where you are going to be. When planning your next vacation, visit the Advantage Rent A Car website to see if they have the right vehicle at the right price. Advantage Rent A Car is committed to going 100% Green by 2010 - America's first major rental car rental company to commit to doing so. Have You Tried Zemanta? Image from FlickrThese little duckies have absolutely nothing to do with anything. I just thought they were cute. I've started using Zemanta. It's an add-on for my browser that lets it suggest pictures, links, tags, and related articles for my posts. It loads right beside the composer window for my post. When I first start a post, I get this message:Suggestions will appear when you write 300 characters or click the button above. Until then here are some interesting pictures from Flickr.and these little duckies were one of those interesting pictures. To add them to my post, all I had to do was click. Then, every 300 characters, Zemanta suggests new things - new pictures, related articles, links, etc., based on what I write. It can really make blog posts more vibrant. I used to look for appropriate pictures on Flickr or on the web, and I still do, but it's nice to have Zemanta bring them to me. I tried using the suggested links once, but I didn't really like the links Zemanta gave me. They were mostly links to Wikipedia pages, which isn't bad, but not exactly what I wanted. For instance, when I mention Cory, I do not want to link to a page about someone else named Cory. I am talking about my Cory. Usually I link to things because I have something specific in mind, so I will probably continue using my own links rather than the Zemanta links. Zemanta supports Blogger, Wordpress, Typepad, and LiveJournal blogging platforms. I was going to say that it's never worked with my LiveJournal, but I thought I'd go over and start a post there, just to check, and it does work with LiveJournal now. I can't vouch for Wordpress or Typepad, because I don't use those. Adding related articles is easy, too. Zemanta searches the web, finds the related articles, and gives you a link to each article. Visit the article, and if it fits your post, simply return to your post and Zemanta, click on the title of the article, and Zemanta adds it to your post like this:  Thanks to Vic Grace @ Cariboo Ponderer for mentioning Zemanta in the first place! Labels: blogging, free stuff For Those Who Don't Think Bald is BeautifulWhen my brothers and I look at pictures from my parents' wedding, one of our favorite comments is, "Wow! Dad had hair." For as long as we can remember, he hasn't had much. My brothers have the whole thinning hair thing going on, too. I'm sure they love me telling the world that they're going bald!Recently, Cory has been pulling his hair back from his forehead and complaining. He's convinced he's going to start losing his hair, and since they say male pattern baldness comes from the mom's side of the family, he just may be right. If he decides it bothers him, he may try to do something about it. Procerin, a nutritional supplement to combat hair loss for men, looks interesting. It says it's composed of natural ingredients and doesn't have side effects associated with prescription hair loss treatments. Information from the procerin clinical study says that 90% of the men who participated in the study were satisfied with the results and felt that it slowed their hair loss and used descriptors like 'thicker' and 'more full' to describe their hair. Procerin claims an 88% success rate, and you get your money back if not completely satisfied. I Be Smart I just got an email from a friend linking to this little test. It's just a little test to see how smart you are, and he said I wouldn't pass. Of course that meant I had to try it and see how well I could do. I got them all right and got this trophy, too. How about that? For a little brain exercise try the Intelligence Test and find out how smart you are. Labels: from my email, fun, tests Tuesday, May 13, 2008Another Fundraising IdeaWe are always on the lookout for that perfect fund raiser. Like I said about the concessions, they can be good, but we don't always get the chance. We have tried candy bars, but most of them are still sitting in my basement. Spirit wear seems to be pretty popular when we get a chance to sell that, at the football games and such. We have t-shirts, sweatshirts, jackets, sweat pants, and several other items all in the school colors and with the school name and mascot on them.Something that might go nicely with that would be car magnets. I'm sure I've seen some of these around. It's looks like a great way to show school spirit wherever you go, and I would think that once people start putting these on their cars, other people will be asking where they got them, and they would practically sell themselves. They say that every parent will want one for their car, and most families these days have at least two cars. ARC Marketing makes it easy to design a car magnet by specifying shape, text, colors to use, mascot, etc. and come up with the perfect design. The design is free, and the sample magnet is free, too. Their prices are easily available on the website, and they let you know that there is a one-time setup fee and don't try to hide it. Future orders of the same magnets will not be charged that setup fee. They say that these custom magnets are very profitable and would be great fundraising items for schools, PTAs, sports teams, Cub Scouts and Girl Scouts, and many other organizations. Labels: 05/08, fundraiser, school Selling Food at the Track Meet Image via WikipediaCory and I spent about 4 hours this afternoon and evening selling concessions for a track meet at school. We did it to raise money for the Band Boosters. I haven't counted the money yet, but I'm hoping we made a good amount. We could have done even better if we hadn't run out of hot dogs and cheese for nachos, and if we could've kept up with the pizza and the subs. There were a lot of hungry kids there!It was the conference meet, which moves from school to school every year. That means it won't be back at our school for 7 years, so we were lucky to get the opportunity to do the concessions and raise some much needed money so we can do all the things we do for the band. Selling concessions for the athletic events is shared by all the different groups and organizations at the school and usually on a first come basis. We didn't even have to ask for or sign up for this - the Band Boosters were asked to do it. It was pretty fun, too. Tiring, though.  Labels: band, Band Boosters, fundraiser SoonIt won't be long now, and Jeffrey says I get a clean face. He said that the other night, and I was all like, "What do you mean? I wash my face." What he means is, he's going to shave.See, he hasn't shaved in a while. He decided to grow a beard. Now, don't tell him this, but I do think he looks pretty nice with the beard. What I don't like is the way it feels when I kiss him, so there's been a reduction in the amount of kissing. Yeah, I hate that. I keep telling him, "I used to like to kiss you." But he likes the beard. He has decided, though, that when he reaches a certain weight-loss goal, that he's going to shave, and he's getting close. He's doing really well with his weight-loss and getting in better shape. At his last physical the doctor told him he was doing all the right things - changing his eating habits and being more active. His cholesterol came way down, and his heart rate and blood pressure look good, too. Maybe going the diet pill route and getting Phentermine without prescription would have worked for the weight-loss, but I think consciously making a lifestyle change the way he has is better in the long run. I'm looking forward to the clean face and some enjoyable kissing - Soon. I'm also looking forward to having him around for a very long time, so I'm glad he's losing the weight and getting healthier. Labels: 05/08, health, Jeffrey Monday, May 12, 2008Heads or Tails - Any Tom, Dick or Harry
HEADS - Any Tom, Dick or Harry
I used to think his brother was the better looking one, but I've changed my mind. Prince Harry is one nice looking young man. Sure, they're both nice looking, but, if I had to choose, I'd choose Harry. Visit the home of Heads or Tails to see more participants and join in. Labels: heads or tails, meme Create Your Own Dockers Comercial I don't know if you've heard about this or not, but there's a Dockers contest going on. People can create their own 30-second commercial for Dockers. All the videos can be viewed online and rated by viewers, and the best one has a chance to be aired on NBC during the Tonight Show with Jay Leno. How cool would that be to see a commercial you have created actually on TV?I wanted to link to my favorite video of the ones entered so far, but I couldn't figure out how to get it. If you click on the third one down, you can see it. It tells you how to say 'pants' in many different languages. It's kind of small to fit on the page, but if you visit the contest page, you can see it full size, and find out how you can enter the contest at the same time. Do you think you can do better? Dockers provides music, logo, and video assets that can be used in your video ad, but it doesn't look like it's required because there's at least one video that doesn't use the music or the video. The idea is to get as creative as possible, create the best video ad, and get your commercial on TV. Videos have to be uploaded by May 29. Dockers are one of Jeffrey's favorite brands of pants. He wears them for work all the time, and he says they are very comfortable. They also look very, very nice. We're definitely fans of Dockers around here, so I'm thinking I might just try my hand at creating a video ad. I've downloaded the media, now let's just see if I can get creative. Why don't you try it too? 
Sunday, May 11, 2008Camera Critters (#5)
Click the graphic to visit the Camera Critters headquarters and find out how. All the post headers, badges and rules are there, as well as Mr. Linky so you can sign in. When I eat lunch or breakfast, and I'm here by myself, I usually sit on the floor in front of the couch and either read or play Scrabulous. The other day I sat down to eat breakfast, all ready to read my book, when Tillie came along to "help" me.
Labels: book, Camera Critters, reading, Tillie Friday, May 09, 2008The Good NapkinsI got this email from my cousin today, and I just had to share:Some of you may not have daughters, but you have been a young girl... Labels: from my email This Sneaky Cold has Caught Me Image by© Roxy 馨文 All rights reserved via FlickrSunday evening I started feeling like I was getting a cold. Hot honey-lemon water, tea, and lots of vitamin C are usually my first defense, so I started with that. But this stupid cold has been sneaky. I haven't felt all that bad, so I haven't been as aggressive as I should have been in fighting it off. Some days I forgot to drink my hot honey-lemon water or take my vitamin C. I have been good and stayed away from the sugar because that always makes it worse right away. Today that sneaky little cold came to get me, and I do not feel good at all. I feel the same way about this sneaky cold as I do about the mortgage lenders who are always calling me to ask if I want to re-finance. I want them all to go away and leave me alone! Also, normally I would be looking forward to getting to sleep in on the weekend, but we have to get up early tomorrow and go visit family. I want to see them, but I really want to sleep.  PrioritiesCory's Biology paper - doneMy dishes - still not done Since I took time out of my evening to take Cory to his friends' one act plays, I told him he was supposed to wash the dishes when we got home. That's when he conveniently remembered he had a Biology paper due, and so he spent the entire night after we got home working on his paper. It may not have taken as long as it did, because he had all the information together, but he forgot the sheet with all the requirements (what had to be included, the order, etc.) at school, and he had to track down someone who had theirs. Still, the dishes need done, and I can't leave them for him because I need to use some of them. I've got cooking to do. I guess he'll just have to owe me. Labels: around the house, Cory, school Thursday, May 08, 2008Do You Like Reality Shows?Tammy said I was a great mom because I took Cory to see his friends in their play. I must be, because I took him again tonight. They did what they call Student Directed One Acts, and there were three of them. His friend Cole was in the first and second ones. His friend Alex was in the first and the third, and his friend Vanessa was in the third. I know Alex and Vanessa from the library, so I was interested in seeing them, too, but it did take time out of my evening, so I told Cory he needs to do the dishes now that we're home. Of course, he just remembered he has homework. Homework takes priority, but I do hope my dishes get done.The problem with going to see these plays is that I missed Survivor. When I heard about RealityBug, a site dedicated to Reality Shows, I was hoping I would be able to find out what happened there. However, I don't see anything about Survivor there, so I'll have to find out about that elsewhere. What I did find was information about some shows I really enjoy but haven't been watching recently, like LA Ink and American Chopper. Not only are there show updates, there's also Reality TV News. I learned that there's a new Orange County Choppers themed roller coaster opening soon at a theme park in New York. I wish it was closer. RealityBug looks like an interesting site for anyone interested in reality shows. You can also register, for free, so you can join the message boards and discuss your favorites shows. No I Didn'tI logged into Facebook this morning, and it said I've been doing things that I haven't been doing.
All that Hug Me and SuperPokin stuff - nope, not me. Scrabulous - I was doing that. Does this ever happen to anyone else? No More Putting it OffI started on the school calendar last night. Finally. I opened the file and started putting the correct dates and holidays in. It's important to have the holidays are all on the right day, because this is the calendar people are going to hang on their walls and use to schedule their lives. We have the federal holidays, days like Mothers Day and Fathers Day, and the Wisconsin Public School Observance days. Sometimes I can get confused trying to go from one list to the next and making sure everything is where it should be. And that's just the beginning. In addition to all that, as soon as I get the graphics, I have to insert the student artwork. Then, when we finally get all the dates for the school activities, I have to list them, too. We put a little icon for different kinds of activities - academic, athletics, arts, fundraising, etc. - on the calendar boxes, and then put a list of all the activities to the side, leaving room for people to write their own info, appointments, and activities in the calendar boxes. Image via Wikipedia It works pretty well. In fact, another local school has pretty much completely copied our calendar design for the last couple of years. They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, right?If I don't get around to visit much in the next few weeks (I really should keep track of how many hours go into the creation of this calendar), you'll know why. I'm working on the calendar, and I don't have time for anything else - not blogging, not lying around in my hammock chair, not planting my garden, nothing. It's the same every year. When we finally go to print, I finally get to breathe.  Wednesday, May 07, 2008TNT Screen CaptureToday's Giveaway of the Day is TNT Screen Capture. They gave this away awhile ago, and I grabbed it. I love this little program! It lets you grab a screen shot and do all kinds of fun things with it. Mostly I've just played with the different background colors, including the cursor, and adding sparkle, but really there is a lot more. You can add text, color, another image, write on your image, and various other editing options.
I also like this torn paper effect. Note I added text, and the text has a shadow if you want. Today, you can get TNT Screen Capture for free at Giveaway of the Day. After today, it will cost $39.90. Labels: free stuff, giveaway of the day Chemical Free PoolsI've always loved swimming, and my kids seem to have gotten that from me. They're little fish, or I guess I should say not-so-little fish. They both have been asking for a pool for a while, but we keep telling them that the lake is so close we don't need a pool. Truthfully, I know I would enjoy having a pool in the backyard, but I have been kind of intimidated by the idea of taking care of it. Some of our neighbors have pools, and I see them out cleaning them, and I see the empty bottles from all the chemicals set out by the street for recycling. Speaking of those chemicals, that is one thing that I do not enjoy about swimming in a pool. I like swimming underwater, and I like being able to see where I am going. That means I end up with red, blurry eyes every time I swim in a pool. I remember at least one time that I could not see clearly until halfway through the next day! Also, you always have to remember to shower off and rinse out your swimsuit after swimming. So, when I was given a chance to review ecosmartepool's eco-friendly pool treatment, I jumped at the chance. What do you mean you can have a safe, clean pool without all those chemicals? I didn't know it was possible.Looking around the ecosmartepool site, I learned a lot. Chlorine, the most popular method of sanitizing pool water, works because it kills anything organic. That means that, in addition to killing bacteria and algae and all the bad stuff, it also attacks the skin, hair, and eyes of the humans swimming in it, and maintaining chlorine levels at minimal acceptable levels is very hard to do. Research has shown a possible link between chlorine and cancer, and it has also been linked to asthma. This is not good stuff. Some pool systems use salt chlorinators, which turn salt into chlorine, meaning you don't have to purchase chlorine, but you are still swimming in it. The cost is better than buying chlorine, but the salt generator has to run constantly, eating up any savings by increasing electrical costs. A major drawback of chlorine generators is the amount of maintenance required. Mineral deposits can build up, and the slightest blockage means that it will not work until it is cleaned. Maybe I'm lazy, but if I had a pool, I know I would rather spend more time swimming in it than taking care of it. Also, with these types of pool systems, the chamber may need to be replaced every 3-5 years, at a cost of more than $400, and they cause damage and calcium build-up on pool equipment, meaning that has to be replaced more often, too. The backwash kills plant life and sterilizes the soil so that nothing can grow around the pool. Ecosmarte pool systems are a better choice all around. They use no salt, no chemicals, no chlorine. The system creates two sanitizing agents, copper ionization and liquid oxidation. Copper ionization was developed in 1967 for the Apollo Space Program to ensure safe drinking water, and the ECOsmarte System uses this same technology. The copper ions are safe and essential for humans, plants and animals. In fact, they say that if you drank 2 gallons of pool water, you would only ingest the amount of copper found in a multi-vitamin. However, these copper ions are lethal to bacteria, algae and some viruses. The oxidizers created by the oxidation process are responsible for removing body oils, suntan lotions, and the dead organic matter killed by the copper ions. The copper bars in the ECOsmarte chamber cost less than $100 to replace and they should last 4-7 years. The ECOsmarte chamber is warranted for 5 years and should last indefinitely. Also, the maintenance on this system is pretty simple, involving checking the water once a week and simply flipping the switch on the system. No, I don't really understand how it works, but if I had a pool I would love to try it. I love the idea of swimming in nice, clean water without chemicals. I love the idea of being able to spend more time swimming than taking care of the pool. Also, if for any reason you are not pleased with the Ecosmarte system, you can return in within 60 days of purchase and get 100% of your money back. They say that in the last 10 years less than 1% of all units sold have been returned. I think that says a lot. The ECOsmarte system is better for your health, better for your pool equipment and pool filters, and better for the environment because it uses no chemicals and is extremely energy efficient, costing only $1 per month to operate. Ecosmarte also donates 5% of their profits to environmental charities. Swimming in a Ecosmarte treated pool is like swimming in bottled water. No more red eyes, and no need to shower off after swimming! Labels: 05/08, pools, swimming |
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It's Friday again, and that means Sky Watch Friday! I love Fridays. I watch the sky most every day, but Fridays I get to share, and see what others have seen. I get to see skies from all over the world on Fridays.
