Friday, July 31, 2009

Bluelight Specials Again this Saturday

This post was sponsored by Kmart. All the opinions are mine.

Remember last week I mentioned the return of the Kmart Bluelight Specials? It was all day long last Saturday, with more than 40 specials throughout the day both in store and online at Kmart.com? How many of you made it there? What kinds of great deals did you get? And did they really turn on the blue light like in the days of old? I always liked that blue light because for some reason I have a hard time understanding announcements over the intercom, either that or I don't really pay attention like I should when I hear those words, "Attention, Kmart shoppers." So I look for that blue light, go on over to the proper department, and ask someone what the special is. I ask you, where would I be if that blue light wasn't flashing?

About now you're probably wondering why I'm going on about the Kmart Bluelight Specials, right? Why? Because, if you missed it last Saturday, you can still get some great deals, because Kmart is doing it again this week. That's tomorrow, all day long August 1st. There will be over 40 special offers throughout the day on everything from patio furniture, to grills, to jewelry... all at Bluelight Special prices! 
 In addition to the in store specials, there will also be deals throughout the day at Kmart.com. Be sure to follow @KmartDealsnNews on twitter for updates and more specials. Wouldn't it be great if they'd tweet the online Bluelight Specials? I'm not sure if they will be doing that, but you can get a sneak preview of some of the specials now.

Click HerePost?slot_id=42828&url=http%3a%2f%2fsocialspark

Looking at the Sky on Friday - 24

Photobucket

I’m so glad there’s a meme like Looking at the Sky on Friday, because it means all the time I spend looking at the sky, and taking pictures of it, has a purpose!  Click the badge for more info.

I took this the other evening, after some rain had moved through and the sun was setting.  The colors in the clouds were amazing.

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

I Can't See for Piles and Piles

How do things pile up so much? I try to deal with the mail as it comes in - recycling the junk, organizing the bills so I know when to pay them, and setting aside things I want to deal with or look at later. And that's the problem, the setting things aside - because if I don't deal with it right then and right there, I never get back to it.

I was dusting yesterday and found a whole bunch of stuff I was supposed to deal with - web pages I was supposed to visit, frequent flyer programs I need to consolidate, a recipe I need to post before I lose it, a half-completed to do list, and I don't know what all. There might even have been something about a cruise to Alaska in there that I was always going to look at. I ended up killing a mosquito with the envelope from the National Wildlife Federation - and then I tossed that in the recycling. So many requests for donations! Sometimes I do think about it, but usually I set them aside and never get back to them. I don't even think about them again until I get the next request. I do believe all these funds, charities, and foundations would need less money if they didn't spend so much sending out mailings begging for it. Or calling me, but that's a different thing because at least phone calls don't pile up.

I keep saying that one of these days I'm going to get caught up, but I'm beginning to doubt it. Is it even possible?

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

I'm Going to Try This

I pretty much buy whatever cleaning supplies I can find on sale and that I have coupons for - whatever I can get the best deal on. Today I saw this post on Mama's Money Savers, and it has recipes for cleaning solutions you can make at home. I have all the ingredients for the Homemade 409, and my 409 bottle is almost empty, so I'm definitely going to try this.

I like the idea of not only saving money, but also knowing exactly what is in my cleaning solution. I'm looking forward to trying it and seeing how well it works.

Sunday, July 26, 2009

Who Pays for Double Coupons?

I got all my coupons cut out and organized today because I really have to go grocery shopping this week. I think I've put it off as long as I possibly can. I've sent Jeffrey to pick up the sales, and he usually brings milk home when we need it, but I haven't actually made a list and picked up all the regular stuff we need. I do pretty well when it comes to stocking up and having stuff ahead, but I'm running low on important things like flour. And we're low on cotton balls and q-tips, and a whole bunch of other things. Not actually out, but it's getting way too close. So, shopping this week it is!

I'm going Wednesday because that's the day Pick 'n Save doubles coupons - with a $25 purchase, up to $1 face value, and only 5 coupons can be doubled, but better than no doubles at all. While I was cutting out my coupons, I noticed one that said, "Do not double or triple." First of all, I would love to find a store that would triple my coupons. Second, it got me wondering, who actually pays for the doubling of the coupons? For instance, if I redeem one of my coupons for the best wrinkle creams or my favorite laundry detergent, does the manufacturer of that cream or that detergent have to pay twice as much as the face value of the coupon, plus the 8¢ they always pay? Or does the store pay the difference? And, if the store does pay it, what difference does it make to the manufacturer whether or not that coupon gets doubled or tripled?

A Sugar Problem

I don't eat a lot of desserts because too much sugar always bothers me. I've heard of sugar highs and how kids get hyper when they have too much sugar, but it doesn't work that way for me. When I have sugar, it either gives me a headache or zaps all my energy so that I just want to sleep. That doesn't mean I don't have the occasional dessert, like the Rhubarb Crunch I made Friday, but it's not something I can have very much of or have very often. And I put less sugar in that recipe than originally called for because I like it a little sour - after all, that's the point of rhubarb.

The good thing about not being able to handle much sugar is that I'll never need weight loss supplements, but it does get frustrating when everyone else eats all the ice cream or the chocolate and I don't get any. Sometimes I do eat it when I don't really want it, because I know it will be gone if I don't. I usually regret that, though, because then I don't feel good. Sometimes I just take it, especially chocolate, and hoard it for later. After they've eaten theirs, I still have mine!

Saturday, July 25, 2009

Camera Critters (#68)

cameracritterspost

I opened the back door to try and get a picture of the sunset.  Tillie thought she should check it out, too – but the deck was wet so I told her she didn’t want to go out.  I’m not sure she believed me.

And then I noticed the nice pink reflection on the wet deck, and Tillie ran off and wouldn’t pose nicely.  Brat!

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.

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Attention Kmart Shoppers

How many of you remember that announcement? You'd be shopping in Kmart and hear those words, "Attention Kmart Shoppers" and you'd know the blue light was flashing and it was time to rush over and get a good deal. I think the last time I actually experienced a Kmart Bluelight Special it involved socks for a quarter a pair, and we grabbed as many as we could!

Kmart Bluelight Specials aren't a regular occurrence any more, but this Saturday, July 25, Kmart is bringing them back. It's a one day only Big Blue sale, and there will be over 40 Bluelight Specials throughout the day - specials both in-store and online at Kmart.com. These specials will be offered on everything from grills and patio furniture, to jewelry and probably school supplies. I'm guessing on that last one, because Big Blue isn't actually saying. You just have to be there to find out. That's the fun of the Bluelight Special - you don't know what it's going to be, but you know the price will be special.

Since we already bought patio furniture and a grill this summer, we don't really need those Blue Light Specials, but I'm thinking something nice in electronics would be good - like a High Def video camera maybe. I really did like that set of patio furniture Cory and I saw at Kmart. If only I'd known...

You know how much I love a good deal, and if you're anything like me, you won't want to miss this. Be sure to follow @kmartdealsnnews on twitter for updates and even more specials. That's how I found out that the deals will be every hour, on the hour.
Click Here

Post?slot_id=42408&url=http%3a%2f%2fsocialspark

Looking at the Sky on Friday - 23

Photobucket

I’m so glad there’s a meme like Looking at the Sky on Friday, because it means all the time I spend looking at the sky, and taking pictures of it, has a purpose!  Click the badge for more info.

I took these when Jeffrey and I were walking around the Waukesha County Fair on Sunday, before the concert.

We didn’t ride any of the rides, just watched.  I’ll save all my ride time for some real thrill rides – I’m thinking we really need a trip to Six Flags and some serious roller coasters!

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

Options

Beth & Tim went to look at the house last night. They say it needs some work, but mostly it's in good shape - good enough to move right in. Oh, and it's not a mobile home, it's a manufactured home and considered a condominium. They have all kinds of amenities, like an exercise room and indoor and outdoor pools there. It's not a very big place, but there are just the two of them and they're not planning on sending out baby announcements (or wedding announcements either) any time soon. So it could serve them for quite a few years.

Today they're going to see if there's any way they can get a loan. There's also the possibility of a rent to own option, though I don't know exactly how that works. Even if this one doesn't work out, it will be good for them to know what their options are. After my last post a couple people mentioned that they would probably need a cosigner on a loan. I guess we'll see. She hasn't really asked - probably because she really wants to do everything by herself.

I'm not really sure how much help we are willing or should be willing to give her, considering she's planning to move in with some guy without marrying him. Yep, she's all grown up and wants to make her own decisions - doesn't mean we have to or should help her do things that aren't necessarily right. I guess we'll have to wait and see what the options are.


Tuesday, July 21, 2009

She'll Need a Credit Check

Beth has been a little worried about what she's going to do if we have to move. She doesn't want to move, because she doesn't want to leave Tim. But if she stays here, she can't continue to live at home and can't rely on us to take care of her. Of course, she was going to move out as soon as she turned 18, so I don't know what she's worried about!

I think she realized how good she actually has it here - no rent, free Internet, satellite TV, a car to drive, etc. But, if we end up moving, she's going to have to give all that up, or figure out how to get it on her own - or with Tim, as the case may be. She's figuring out everything they absolutely need to live, everything they need to buy to set up a household. Not only that, she's looking at houses to buy because she hates the idea of paying more per month in rent than a house payment would be. They've even got an appointment to see a house (mobile home, actually) tomorrow night, and she's getting all excited.

If they could get something like this in the price range they're looking at, it would definitely be better than paying rent somewhere, but before she gets too excited and ahead of herself, I told her she needs to get a credit check and sit down with someone to see if they would be able to get a loan. It sounds like Beth is handling her credit card (the one with the $15,000 limit) very responsibly and should be building her credit record, but is it too soon? And is it really a good time to be buying something? I really don't know. We didn't look into getting a loan and a house until we'd been married for 6 years, and Jeffrey was 30 and working full time. I guess everyone has to start somewhere.

Monday, July 20, 2009

Heads or Tails - Wear

The theme/prompt for this week is:
HEADS - "Wear"
*OR*
TAILS - "Where"

I'm beginning to think that if I want to go to any fairs, festivals, or concerts in the future, I'm going to have to get me one of these gas masks to wear. That ought to protect me and filter out all that nasty secondhand smoke, right?

gas mask
Originally uploaded by jessonepointoh.


Looks real comfy, huh? But seriously, it's either that or stay home because it doesn't seem like most smokers have a clue how their smoke affects other people. If you're a smoker, and you're considerate of those around you, I'm sure they appreciate it! If you're a smoker who has never given it a second thought - please do. Forcing the people around you to smoke because you do is just plain mean. We shouldn't have to resort to wearing gas masks in order to go out in public.

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

UGH!

Jeffrey and I went to the Waukesha County Fair yesterday to see REO in concert. It's pretty much a summer tradition with us, seeing REO in concert. They put on a good show, and we really enjoy it, except I do wish they had played more songs from the Find Your Own Way Home CD. The trouble with these outdoor concerts is that I always end up surrounded by smokers. I guess I should know better and just stay home. Only smokers are allowed to have fun, and that's just the way it is. It doesn't occur to a single one of them that there are people in the world who actually need to breathe, who might not want to breathe their disgusting smoke. We had smokers behind us, smokers beside us, and then after the concert started more smokers right in front of/beside us - basically on top of me - and of course, that one couldn't go five seconds without lighting up, practically in my face the whole time. And then her fat friend came and stood directly in front of me - and when I moved in front of her so I could see and take a picture, she shoved me and said that I was rude.

Besides the burning eyes, sore throat, and all the other adverse reactions, I think what really bothers me about the whole thing is that smokers can come up and force me to breathe their smoke. They don't ask if I mind (I do!) They think they have the right to smoke, any time, anywhere, as often as they want. I thought I had the right to breathe, but I can't do it any time, anywhere, as often as I want. I can't walk up to a group of smokers and force them to breathe smoke-free air. Nope. I don't have a nasty habit, therefore I have no rights. They can assault me, and I'm just supposed to take it.

I always try to find other non-smokers to sit by, and I guess the smokers do too, because they always seem to find me. Seriously, why can't smokers look for other smokers to sit by? Congregate together - downwind. How hard is that? But no, they spread themselves throughout the whole crowd, making it completely impossible to avoid them. Even better - they could NOT SMOKE. It seems obvious to me that the people with the nasty habit should be the ones to give something up when they're out in public. I know for a fact that they can make it through a concert and even have a good time without smoking, because I've seen them do it. So why are they regularly allowed to ruin it for the rest of us? Why?

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Looking at the Sky on Friday - 22

Photobucket

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

Clouds over the houses across the street this afternoon.

I never get tired of clouds.  If you enjoy skies as much as I do, be sure to check out Looking at the Sky on Friday.

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

All Night Long

My kids had it good - compared to the others who went to the movie with them last night. They got back to the house sometime between 3:00 and 3:30 this morning. I didn't actually hear them come in, but I heard some water running in the bathroom somewhere in that time period. About then it started raining so I had to get up and close some windows. I didn't see anyone then.

When I got up this morning, I heard laughing coming from the basement. A couple of Cory's friends stayed over, and they were going to crash here. But they never went to sleep! Then Alex's mom came and picked them up about 7am because Jordan had to work at 8:30. Alex had to work at noon, and Vanessa had to work at 10:00 - and Tim had to work all day like normal. Cory didn't have anything planned for the day, and Beth took the day off work because she knew they were going to be out late. So Beth was still in bed, and Cory finally went to bed when his friends left, and they both slept for hours. I have a feeling everyone else is really going to crash once they finish work for the day.

When's the last time you PARTAED all night? Just thinking about it makes me tired - I know I'm too old for that stuff!

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Midnight Movie

Cory and his friends are all at the theater, waiting for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince to start. One of their friends had to work until 8pm, so they had to wait for her to get off work before they could leave. Here are the rest of them while we were waiting for her:


For a while there I was wondering if I was going to have to go, too. First we had the drama last week when Beth was threatening not to take them because of the free passes I won. But she got over that, because she really likes Harry Potter, and I'm pretty sure she's looking forward to this movie, too. But tonight, Tim called and said he had something else to do - and she got all upset at him because they already had plans, and he had to go because he said he would and they already had tickets, and... Pretty much the stuff we were telling her last week. It's not funny, but it kind of is. Anyway, I don't think those two could live without some kind of drama on a regular basis. If they had to argue about manufactured homes, they'd do it. Luckily this time they got it worked out and took all the kids to the movie.

They should have gotten there in plenty of time - I mean 3 hours before the movie should be good, right? But Cory called after they got there and said that the line was crazy, and they were already letting people into the theater. By the time they got in there, the only seats they could find together were in the last row of the front section. I'm really glad I didn't go, because I really don't think I could sit that close to the screen. And I'm too old for this late night stuff. I'm already up past my bedtime! I certainly don't plan on waiting up for them.

Cory turns 17 at 12:34am - during the movie. I don't plan on staying up for that, either.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince!

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood PrinceImage by drewesque via Flickr

Cory and I got to see an advance screening of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince last night, and it was awesome!

We got to the theater a little before 4:30 and got in line. Our timing was pretty good because there was just one family and then another guy in front of us, and it wasn't long before the line started growing - out the door and along the building. Cory finished reading the book while we were waiting in line. He's been re-reading the whole series and watching the movies in preparation for this. I took a book, but never got around to reading it. Instead we just ended up talking to the guy ahead of us in line.

About 6:40 they began the process of handing out tickets, checking for recording devices, scanning passes, and giving out wristbands as we filed into the theater, and then we got to pick our seats. We got some of the best seats in the house - VIP seats we usually pay extra for.

Anyway, the movie. Awesome! It was really well done - funny, great action scenes, romance at Hogwarts, great story. I was watching it thinking this is the best one yet. Then, as soon as the movie was over, Cory turned to me and said exactly the same thing. Best Harry Potter movie out of all of them! (though, we've liked them all) Maybe it was the excitement, the newness, and the UltraScreen, but I think it was because they did a really great job on this one. Since Cory had just finished the book, he couldn't help but compare the book and the movie - and overall he was pleased with the way they did it. He's seeing the movie again tonight, at midnight, with his friends, and he can hardly wait. He started counting down as soon as the movie was over last night.



Saturday, July 11, 2009

Camera Critters (#66)

cameracritterspost

Mine’s kind of late this weekend – Again.  But I’m getting to it, finally.

I took Tillie out on the deck the other night so she could check it out.  She wandered around, sniffed things, jumped off the deck to chase a bug in the grass, and then when she hopped back up onto the deck, she noticed something.

What is that over there?

One of the dogs who lives next door!  Tillie has watched the dogs before, out the back door while she was safe inside, but this was the first time she’d noticed them outside while she was outside.  She looked for quite a while, but I think she felt safe since she had the rail between her and the dog.  I don’t think the dog had realized before that a cat lived next door.  So she was quite interested.

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.

Friday, July 10, 2009

His Excuse is No Window Cleaning Equipment

Jeffrey used to wash windows, from the time he was a teenager. When we got married, he had just started working as an accountant, but he only worked mornings there. In the afternoons he still worked as a window washer. That means he's a professional, right? You'd think our windows would be really clean. . .

Wrong. He has never once washed our windows. There was that one time he went and washed windows for my grandparents, but never our windows. I've given up asking him because he always says he can't, because he doesn't have any window cleaning equipment any more. Most of the time I don't worry about it too much, but this morning there were 5 or 6 cute little birds perched on the railings of the new deck. I would have loved to get a picture of them for Camera Critters, but I couldn't get a good shot through the glass. And then they flew away.

Maybe now that we've got the deck out there and I can reach up to the top of the sliding door without a window cleaning pole of my own, I ought to give it a try. I have Windex and paper towels.

Maybe if I mess it up badly enough Jeffrey will jump in and fix it.

Thursday, July 09, 2009

Looking at the Sky on Friday - 21

Photobucket

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

Fireworks from last Saturday night.  We took the tripod, and I put my camera on the ‘fireworks’ setting.

All together now – Ooooh!  Aaaaah! 

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

New Premium Denim from A|X

Beth was looking through a catalog we got in the mail today and found some really neat stuff for closet organization. She pointed out a really nice shoe organizer and said that I needed that for my shoes, and then she said, "You probably have too many shoes." I said you can't use 'too many' and 'shoes' in the same sentence. There's no such thing as too many shoes. And she said, "Oh, you're one of those girls. I'm like that with jeans. You can never have too many pairs of jeans."

She does love her jeans and could probably have fun looking at the denim at Armani Exchange. I like a good pair of jeans, too - though I usually buy my jeans on clearance or at Goodwill. Beth likes her jeans to be a little better. Not that I don't find good jeans, it's just that labels are more important to her than they are to me.

A|X is the youthful label created by Italian designer and entrepreneur Giorgio Armani. New Premium Denim starts at $98, which sounds a little rich for my blood, but I'm sure it's a good deal for designer jeans. So, just for fun, pretending money really isn't an issue, and refusing to let go of my youth, I picked out a few pairs I'd like. I particularly like the Indigo Destruction Skinny Leg jean (pictured here), also the Rhinestone Skinny Flare Fit, and the A|X Pocket Boot Cut. I'm liking those shoes with the jeans, too. What did I say - I'm a shoe girl. I should probably wear heels with my jeans once in a while. I know my husband would appreciate it. And I can believe I would look just like the picture in those jeans.

There's promotion going on at Armani Exchange right now. Customers who purchase a full price pair of denim from Armani Exchange, either in store or online, from now until 7/19/09 will receive a gift card of $20 off their next purchase of $100 or more. The gift card will be valid from 7/30/09 through 8/15/09. There's also a text A|X Contest going on where someone will win a pair of denim every day for the month of July by texting the keyword "DENIM2" to ARMANI (276264). Free designer jeans - it would be hard to beat that! I promise to wear heels with the jeans and even take some pictures if I win.

Post?slot_id=41385&url=http%3a%2f%2fsocialspark

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.

InkSo, 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)

Wednesday, July 08, 2009

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.

Tuesday, July 07, 2009

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.
brought to you by VenalTech.com

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!

Monday, July 06, 2009

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!

Saturday, July 04, 2009

Camera Critters (#65)

cameracritterspost

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. 

Thursday, July 02, 2009

Looking at the Sky on Friday - 20

Photobucket

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.

Wednesday, July 01, 2009

30 Patriotic Songs for Less Than $2

0703_300x250 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.)

Post?slot_id=40995&url=http%3a%2f%2fsocialspark