Tuesday, September 28, 2010

It's a Good Thing the Words are Up There

Oh, these people like to sing.  I don't mind listening, but I can't sing, so I don't really understand the attraction.  And I don't really pay much attention.  The other day they were singing a song.  It sounded like they were singing, "I am Salty" - which made absolutely no sense.  Why in the world would they be claiming to be salty?

So I looked at the screen.  What they were actually saying was "I Exalt Thee" - but they are really  hard to understand.  I suppose they know what they're saying/singing, but I just need to glance at the screen to figure out what they're saying.  Good thing the words are up there.  They don't always make sense, but that's a whole other issue.

The beat's good.

If We Get to Myrtle Beach

Jeffrey really wants to go to Myrtle Beach someday.  Apparently, there are lots of great golf courses there.  To tell you the truth, I don't understand the game or why anyone would want to hit a ball around with some sticks trying to get it into some tiny little hole that he can't even see.  But, he likes it, and he would love to play on some of those Myrtle Beach golf courses.

That leaves me wondering what I would do while he's chasing that little ball around, but since Beach is in the name of the place, I think I could survive.  I like the beach, he likes the golf courses - and neither one of us understands the other one.  Still, if we booked one of these Myrtle Beach golf packages, we could both get something we enjoy.  We might not spend a lot of time together, but we might just manage to have a good time.  I do like spending time with him, though.  Really.  I do.

If/when we decided to book our vacation to Myrtle Beach, I'm going to have to check out http://www.myrtlebeachgolf.net because they make it easy to book everything together - tee times and accommodations at the same time.  They also have information about other things to do, like night life and restaurants.  We'll just have to see each other at night - after the golf and the beach!

Saturday, September 25, 2010

We Have a Winner!

My Purely Dog Beds giveaway ended last night, and I picked a winner this morning.  Congratulations to sassy2!


Thank you to everyone who entered and to purelydogbeds.com for sponsoring this giveaway.

If you didn't win this time, stay tuned. I have another big giveaway coming soon!!

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

It's Been a Long Day

Summer's about over, and that means the days are getting shorter, right?  Maybe that's why today seemed so long - trying to cram too much stuff into a day that wasn't long enough.  If we could keep summer around, we'd have enough hours in the day to do what we need to do.  OK, maybe not, but it sounds like a reasonable theory.

I never did get around to mopping my floor, but I did pick peppers (insert tongue twister here) and chard today. And washed towels, and ironed, and went to the library, and baked bread, and washed a ton of dishes, and....  I'm sure there was more, but now that I sit down and try to list everything, I'm having trouble recalling.

I'm thinking that means I've had enough.  Time to go to bed, get some sleep, secrete some melatonin, and get ready for another day.  Then again, there are plenty of times that Jeffrey will call me during the day and ask me what I've been doing and, even though I've been plenty busy, I have trouble remembering what exactly I've been doing.  I have to stop and think.  It might be that there are so many little things I'm doing.  None of them seems all that important of and by itself, but a whole lot of little things add up to a lot.

It can't be that I'm losing my memory (or my mind) - surely not.

Reminder

There's still time to enter my giveaway!  You have until Friday, so be sure to enter now.  Winner gets a $40 Gift Certificate to use on the purelydogbeds.com site.  If you have dogs (or cats) you'll want to check this out!
Win a $40 Gift e-Certificate from purelydogbeds.com

Enter Now!

I Need to Mop

Did you know that dropping plastic containers full of food from the top of the refrigerator onto the tile floor is not a good idea?  Who knew plastic could break like that?  And spew food all over the floor.

Beth came over this evening, and I was sending some applesauce and Veggie Kablooie home with her.  She set the containers on top of the refrigerator, kind of half on the top of the refrigerator and half on the freezer door, so she wouldn't forget to take them with her.  It was all good, until I opened the freezer to put something in.  Next thing I knew I heard a loud crash, and there was a mess all over the place.  I didn't know she put them up there! 

We wiped up as best we could, but now I really need to mop.  I don't care if I use a cleaner or salicylic acid wash. Just a wet mop will be fine.  I gave Beth a hard time about breaking my containers because, even though I was the one who opened the freezer, she was the one who put the containers up there.  I still love her anyway.
 

Summer's Holding On

It's been feeling a bit like Fall recently - until today, the last full day of Summer.  Today the heat is back, and it seems that summer won't be giving up without a fight.  I'm pretty sure the fight is futile, though.  I've seen trees that are already starting to change, and my garden definitely believes summer is over.  All the tomato plants are dried up and dead.  They gave me lots of tomatoes first, though!  I've been getting quite a few green beans, but they're all about done, too, and the zucchini gave up a while back.  I've still got some peppers on the plants, and the chard is growing like crazy.  Chard doesn't seem to mind the end of summer, and keeps on growing through the Fall.

It really is amazing to see how tiny seeds and little plants can grow so much and produce food.  All in the space of one summer.  Really.  Amazing.  All the wrinkle creams mentioned at http://www.consumerpricewatch.org may claim to be amazing, but they've got nothing on my garden.  It does have me wondering - fight the natural order of things with wrinkle creams and anti-aging lotions, or age gracefully like the garden?

Monday, September 20, 2010

The Stars are Dancing Again

Dancing with the Stars kicked off again tonight.  I think there is quite a bit of potential in this year's group of stars.  Dirty Dancing is one of my all-time favorite movies, so I'm especially interested in seeing how Jennifer Grey does. If tonight was any indication, she's going to do great. 

I also especially enjoyed watching Kyle Massey from Disney Channel's Cory in the House.  I'm not at all familiar with him, but I think he's going to be one of my favorites.  He was just so much fun to watch, and he may be the youngest competitor, but he's not afraid to work hard and put everything into his performance.  I must admit that while I was watching him and his partner (the very blond) Lacy Shwimmer dance, I was thinking that it will be fun to watch him slim down and get in shape throughout the course of the season.  It just seems to happen on Dancing with the Stars.  They don't have to worry about finding natural appetite suppressants that work. All that dancing means they can practically eat anything they want and still slim down.

One of these days I think I'd like to be on DWTS too.  I mean, take some kind of ballroom dancing lessons or something.  It's come a long way since those days we had dancing in PE, and everybody hated it.  Now it looks like fun.

Saturday, September 18, 2010

Camera Critters (#128)

cameracritterspost 
Weasley likes to sit on the couch or chair and peer over the arm.  We think it’s kinda cute.

He’s just kinda cute.

Even when he looks at me with that “I can’t believe you’re pointing that thing at me again” look.

Camera Critters is a fun weekend meme hosted by Misty Dawn.Visit the Camera Critters headquarters and join in.

Happy Birthday, Beth!

I am now the mom of only 1 teenager.  My beautiful daughter, Beth is 20!  How in the world did that happen?

Then again, her teen years seemed to last forever.  When she was 3 she already had that teenage girl attitude!  Or maybe it's just girls in general and has nothing to do with being teenagers.  They've got way more attitude than the boys do.

Attitude or no attitude, she made it through her teenage years without a case of acne that called for epiduo and without having her parents strangle her, so it's all good, right?  And she's turned out pretty good, despite the horrible home life she thought she had.

Dear, sweet, precious Beth - you've grown into a lovely young lady, and we love you very much!!  You are smart and beautiful, and you can do anything you put your mind to.  Enjoy your twenties.

Friday, September 17, 2010

Protect the Table

It's starting to feel a lot like Fall, even though it doesn't officially start until next week. Before we know it, we'll be putting the Thanksgiving Tablecloths on the tables and cooking our turkeys.  How does time go by so fast?  It seems just yesterday we were celebrating our first Thanksgiving with family in our own house, and a little bitty boy banged his spoon on my brand-new table and made a bunch of marks in it.  That was before I had any kind of tablecloth on the table, and it hadn't even occurred to me that I might want Table Pads & Tablecloth Protectors to protect it from over-excited little guys.  Since then, I've mostly kept a table cloth on the table at all time, and we always used to use placemats, too, for extra protection.

Now that my little guy is all grown up and off to college, and I don't have any little kids around the house anymore, I suppose I could take the tablecloths off so we could enjoy the beauty of the table.  Except those spoon gouges aren't the only thing that happened through the years.  There was the time the bag of water Beth brought her goldfish home in leaked all over the table.  We wiped up the top of the tablecloth, but no-one thought to check underneath, where the water had seeped.  So my beautiful table has water damage, too.

I'm just going to have to think positively and say all those marks just show how much the table was used and loved.  They bring back memories.  Now, if you have little kids in your house, you might want to check into the table cloths and table protectors, before the damage happens.  You can collect memories some other way.

Bed Bath Store has a large selection of  tablecloths and protectors as well as home decor, bath towels, curtains, comforters, and things to help you get organized like these Over the Door Bathroom Racks.  Shipping is free when you spend $89 or more, and you get 6% from UPromise if you're a member.  Considering how fast time goes and how fast these kids grow up, it's always a good idea to save money for college any way you can.

Get Moving with PlayStation®Move



This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of PlayStation(R) Move. All opinions are 100% mine.


I always thought video games were a complete waste of time.  In a society where so many people are overweight and downright obese, so many of our kids were sitting on their butts playing video games.  My opinion is changing.  Sure, there are still the video games that only exercise the thumbs you use on the controllers, but now there are games that actually require you to get up and move.  What's really cool about this is that, if you asked most kids to get out and get some exercise, you'd hear nothing but complaints.  But get them to play a video game that just happens to require movement, and they're getting some exercise without complaints!  Well, except for the complaints about having to wait for their turn.  Of course, it's a good way to get the family to spend some time together.  I've heard it said that the family that plays together stays together!


MOVEThe PlayStation(R)MOVE is a system that really brings movement into gaming.  It's a combination of the PlayStation®3 system, the PlayStation®Eye camera and the PlayStation®Move motion controller.  All these work together to put you right into the action.  The interaction between the camera and the controller allows you to see yourself holding an object in your television or to interact with a character right inside your living room.  How cool is that? There's a sphere on the end of the controller that allows the camera to pinpoint your every move.  So it knows your every move, and if/when you hit the bullseye, it won't be a fluke.  I'm not sure that necessarily a good thing - sometimes I need those flukes!  On the other hand, those games where you feel you are doing everything right but the ball just won't go where you hit it are a bit frustrating, so I'm thinking this will be better.


PlayStation®Move is an extension of the PlayStation®3 you can add move to your system just by buying the camera and the controller, the MOVE bundle package for only $99.  There are even upgrades for some of your existing games that will make them work with PlayStation®Move!  There are games for everyone - family, sports, action.  I know it's not actually a game, but I think the Get Fit with Mel B looks like a good one to have.  It would be like having a personal trainer of my own, don't you think?  It might also be a fun way for me and Jeffrey to work out together, and maybe we could whip him into shape!  There are also shooting games, fighting games, and bowling!  I love bowling.  I especially love the idea of bowling without having to actually pick up a heavy ball.  It's so much easier on my wrists. 


We don't have a PlayStation, so we'd have to buy the whole system to try this out.  It would be wonderful if some magic genie decided to just gift us with one...  I'm sure we could have a lot of fun while we get MOVEing!  The kids might even decide to come home and visit us more often.


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Thursday, September 16, 2010

Looking at the Sky on Friday - 69

Looking at the 




Sky on Friday
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 on from the van when we were taking Cory back to his dorm a couple weeks ago.

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

Does Your Student Need Help with His Homework?

I know I learned the things I was supposed to learn in school. I got straight A's after all! But, by the time my kids got to 5th grade math, I was struggling to remember how it all worked.

Seriously, how many parents actually remember Adding fractions or what the Formula for volume is?  How about Graphing linear equations?  Did I ever even learn to graph them?  It makes it really hard to help with the homework, that's for sure.  Chime in here if you remember all the stuff you learned in school.  For the rest, thankfully there's online tutoring.

TutorVista is the leading online tutoring company in the world.  For $99.99/month you can get an unlimited tutoring package.  That includes all subjects, not just math.  Students can get personalized one on one tutoring any time they want, 24 hours a day.  I've never checked into actual in-person tutoring, but I'm pretty sure it costs more, and it's not available any time your student needs help with his Algebra 2 homework.  They offer a free first time trial, so you can check it out before you decide to use it.  Tutoring is available for students K-12 and college.

Get Ready for Fall with the TiVo Premiere


This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of TiVo. All opinions are 100% mine.

Summer is almost over, and that means no more re-runs.  All the new Fall TV shows will be starting.  There are some brand-new ones that look pretty good as well as returning favorites.  I'm particularly looking forward to Hawaii Five-O because I remember watching the original series.  It will be fun to see how they do this new one.  And, of course, I'm looking forward to the new season of Glee.  I will probably have to DVR it, though, because Jeffrey doesn't like it so much, and Cory isn't here to watch it with.

Speaking of the DVR, I always thought that TiVo was just a brand name for a DVR.  I didn't realize all the things it can do - way beyond just recording shows to be watched later.  The TiVo Premiere, along with the new TiVo Slide remote, makes discovering this fall TV season’s best entertainment (web video, TV, and movies) easier than ever.  You can use the exclusive TiVo Search and TiVo Collections features to catch up on shows you've missed. Also, find upcoming episodes and entire previous seasons on Netflix, Amazon Video On Demand or Blockbuster On Demand.  TiVo Premiere also lets you check out everything your favorite actors have done – and then watch it right there via YouTube, Amazon VOD, Blockbuster, Netflix or your cable lineup.  It sounds like this thing can practically do it all, making it a very handy gadget for hard-core TV fans.

The TiVo Slide remote is cool all on its own.  It has an ergonomic peanut-shaped design, and a fully retractable TiVo Slide remoteQWERTY keyboard for quick and easy text entry.  Seriously, how cool is that?  How would you like to win one?  Enter to Win here, and you could.  TiVo is giving away 30 Slides in 30 Days.  Unfortunately, we've missed some of those 30 days, but the sweepstakes runs through 9/22, so there are still some Slides to be given away.  Become a Facebook Fan or follow TiVo on twitter to be eligible to win.  Being a facebook fan also gives you access to special deals, giveaways, TiVo news and more.

This Tivo Premiere is making my plain old DVR look pretty boring.



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He's the Tiger

Cory auditioned for his first college play on Sunday evening.  He messaged me on Facebook the other day to tell me that he got a part!  He's the tiger.

When I asked him if it was a big part, he told me that the play is called The Calico Tiger.  And he's the TIGER.  The tiger in the title.  The tiger.

So, yeah, I guess it's a fairly important part.  What do you think? 

Do the Reuse Challenge


This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Aladdin. All opinions are 100% mine.

Aladdin has a challenge for you. - Make a 30-day commitment to give up disposable paper cups, water bottles, or food containers.  By making small, easy changes in our everyday routine and using reusable products, we can make a big impact in our lives, our community, and the world.  Think you can do it?  Need some good reasons why you should do it?
  • Seven million barrels of oil are used to produce the disposable bottles Americans go through in one year.
  • In the United States, 50 billion disposable water bottles are consumed per year; 137,000 per day; 1,585 per second.
  • It costs about $165 a year to make drip coffee at home versus $636 to buy drip coffee at your local café.
  • Unless we change our habits, 23 billion paper coffee cups will be thrown out in 2010.
  • Nine dollars will generally cover a decent lunch out. If you buy rather than pack a lunch five days a week, you shell out about $2,350 a year.
I would think that last one would be reason enough - but then I'm just cheap!  Same with the coffee.  And disposable water bottles?  I am WAY too cheap for that.  I know I'm saving a ton of money by using a water filter on my kitchen faucet and refilling my own re-usable water bottle, not to mention not having my recycle bin uneccesarily overflowing with empty plastic bottles.

This challenge sounds pretty much like my everyday life, doesn't it? But there are a lot of people out there throwing away a lot of things and filling up our landfills.  I have often wondered what people are throwing away when I see their overflowing toters on trash day.  We rarely get ours even close to full!

Even though I'm already pretty good at avoiding disposable items, there are always things I can improve.  For instance, while I got Jeffrey to start taking his lunch to work instead of going out for lunch shortly after we were married, I am still packing his sandwiches and carrot sticks in plastic sandwich bags.

Anyway, enough about me.  Do you think you're ready to accept the Do The Reuse Challenge?  There are several challenges you can get involved in.  Accept one or accept them all and see how making one small change can save you some cash, save our planet, and lead to a healthier you.  Everyone’s welcome to participate (the more, the better!), and 9 families will be blogging about their experience on the Aladdin website.  Won't you join in?

In addition, when you accept one of the Do the Reuse Challenges you’ll be able to get discounts and free shipping on selected Aladdin products through their website, www.shopaladdin-pmi.com - which means you can save even more money!  Oh yes, I'm all about the saving of the money.  (*grin)  Also be sure to Like Aladdin on Facebook to keep up with the Challenge, interact with others who are participating, get some great ideas, and some savings codes just for fans.



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Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Sittin' in the Cheap Seats

Radio City Music Hall by NightImage via Wikipedia
When you think of the cheap seats, you probably think you'll be up in the nosebleed section, about as far away from the action as possible, right?  That's how it usually works.  The more you pay, the closer you get, and if you can't afford to pay a lot, you just hope they'll have some big screens so you can see what's going on - either that, or you better take the binoculars.

Then again, you could check for a deal at acheapseat.com where they negotiate great prices on tickets for events around the country and then pass the savings on to their customers.  They have tickets for concerts, sports events, and theater.  Whether you're looking for Radio City Christmas Spectacular Tickets for your trip to New York City or Boston Celtics Tickets, it's worth checking - to see if your cheap seats can be down there with the people who paid the big bucks.

It's also a good site to check if other ticket sites are sold out.  I wish I had known about it when I was checking on tickets to see Wicked when it came to Milwaukee.  Perhaps there would have been some tickets available in my price range.  As it is, I didn't pursue the matter, and we didn't end up seeing the show.  Right now I can find Jersey Boys Tickets for next summer - Orchestra level and still not cheap enough for me, but at least they're available.  I checked another site, and the Milwaukee shows aren't even listed yet.

Anyway, I'm going to be checking this site when there's an event I want to attend.  We saw Lion King in Vegas, and I'd really like to see some more Broadway productions.  Also, there are a few people I'd really like to see in concert, and if we can get some good tickets, that would be great.
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Tuesday, September 14, 2010

The Real Zenni Optical Glasses

I know I said I'd show you the glasses once we got them from Zenni Optical, and then I got all excited about getting them, started wearing them, and then never got around to posting anything.  But it's not too late, right?

First, I got this pair of glasses for $9.95:

I didn't add any extra options like anti-glare or clip-on sunglasses, so that's what they cost - $9.95 plus shipping.  And this is the pair that I end up wearing practically all the time.  I really think they're fun, but I know I never would have let myself buy them for regular price, the price I would have to pay if I bought them at a regular glasses place.  Like I've said before, glasses for me usually cost closer to $200 or $300.  These just would've seemed too frivolous to spend that much and for them to be my only pair.

With Zenni Optical, I didn't have to make the choice.  I could have the fun glasses and get another, more reserved, pair too!  Both for less than I've ever spent on a pair of glasses as long as I can remember.  Here's my other pair:


This second pair is one of Zenni Optical's $8 frames.  I added anti-reflective coating for $4.95 and clip-on sunshades for $3.95 - so they cost about $17.  I like them, too.  They fit really well, and feel really nice on my face.  I paid more attention the last time I bought glasses, to the sizes of the lenses and the bridge, and the shape of the frames, and that made it easier to choose a pair online that would most likely fit and look good.  A good idea is to look at the glasses you already wear.  Most of them have the lens, bridge and temple sizes stamped on the inside - usually on the bridge and the temple.  That helps with finding a pair online that will work for you.

I was also worried about having to adjust them when they arrived or find someone to adjust them.  Amazingly, they came out of their hard plastic cases fitting perfectly!  And, if they hadn't, the ladies at my local Walmart optical are more than happy to adjust my glasses for me any time I go in.  I know because I've had to get the pair I bought from Sam's Club adjusted several times, and still haven't managed to get them as comfortable as these were right away. 

Imagine!  Two pairs of glasses for under $30!!  The ordering was easy.  We had our prescriptions and Pupillary Distance measurements from our eye doctors, so all I had to do was enter the information in.  If I had a question about anything, Zenni Optical had the answer.  All I had to do was mouse over the little question mark next to each item for a detailed explanation.  It could not have been easier, and I could not be happier with my Zenni Optical glasses.  I don't know why I waited so long to order them!  I will definitely be ordering from them again.

Besides my glasses, I also ordered a pair for my husband, a pair for my son, and a pair for a friend - 5 pair total.  Shipping is $4.95 no matter how many pair you order, so that worked out to $1/pair - and why we ordered all of them at once.  Everyone else is happy with their glasses, too.  I will post pictures of theirs later.

Monday, September 13, 2010

Venetian Carnival Masks

Venetian Masks
If I asked you where to buy Venetian carnival masks, would you know?  You know the type of masks I'm talking about, beautiful masks once worn in Venice society by noblemen and servants - to keep their identities and activities hidden.  When you think about it, I'm surprised more celebrities don't wear these.  The paparazzi might still be able to take their pictures, but it would be hard to prove who's actually behind that mask.

OK, just a thought.  Maybe nobody still wears these masks while going about their daily business, but they are recognized for their beauty and craftsmanship and are collected for use and display by people who appreciate fine art the world over. And they are still worn during the world famous Carnivale in Venice.

Whatever style of  Venetian Face Masks you're interested in - Bauta, Columbine, Medico Della Peste, or Moretta - you can find them all at 1001 Venetian Masks. Each mask is hand selected and made by Master Artisans and is 100% authentic – no imitations.  1001 Venetian Masks is a family owned business, providing a great selection of Venetian masks and exceptional customer service.  Please be sure to check them out.  These masks are gorgeous!

Friday, September 10, 2010

Purely Dog Beds Giveaway

This giveaway is now closed.

Do you have a dog?  Then you're going to want to enter this giveaway.  The people at PurelyDogBeds.com have offered to give one lucky reader of this blog a $40 Gift E-Certificate!  It can be used to purchase one $40 item or any combination of items. It can also be used towards the purchase of a bigger-ticket item, like one of their line of designer pet beds!

PURELY DOG BEDS is an online retailer specializing in bedding and household products for your four-legged friends.  Besides dog beds, they have accessories, carriers, car seats, furniture, toys, and more for your favorite dogs.  If you don't have a dog, that's OK, too.  There are some cat beds, and the pet carriers would work just as well for cats.  I'm really liking that wheeled one on the bottom left.  I wonder what Weasley would think of that?

Giveaway Details:
  • Mandatory entry:  Visit PurelyDogBeds.com and tell me something you'd like to use your $40 Gift E-Certificate on if you win. (This must be done first for any additional entries to count)
For additional entries: (leave a separate comment for each)
  • Blog about this giveaway with a link back to this post and leave a comment with the post url.
  • Follow me on twitter (@bcmom) and tweet the giveaway link.
  • Follow @purelydogbeds on twitter.
  • 'Like' purelydogbeds on Facebook.
  • Subscribe to my blog in a reader or by email, or Follow this Blog with Google Friend Connect. Let me know which way you subscribed - or let me know if you're already a subscriber.
  • Link to Beth & Cory's Mom on your sidebar or add me to your blog list or blogroll.
  • If you can think of any other creative way to spread the word about this giveaway, go ahead. Just leave me a comment letting me know how and where you shared.
Contest ends Friday, September 24, at 11:59 PM CST. Must be 18+ to enter. Open to residents of continental U.S. only. Winner will be chosen by random.org & announced soon after the contest ends. Winner will be notified by email, so be sure I have an email address for you. Winner then has 72 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen.

Thursday, September 09, 2010

Looking at the Sky on Friday - 68

Looking at the 



Sky on Friday
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 was out looking at the clouds again this evening.  I was actually hoping for some clear skies, but the clouds were kind of pretty.

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

Wednesday, September 08, 2010

I Think It Works

Testing the Zemanta Blogger gadget.  (It was really simple to add - use this link)

It seems to work!

At least my 'Enter' key is working, and I have line breaks.  Oh,  happy day (or night)!  Sure, I can write my posts in HTML, and I will always need that for the tweaking, but I'd much rather use the regular, visual, 'Compose' mode.

Zemanta is Breaking my Posts

I think I finally figured out my formatting problems with Blogger.  It's Zemanta!

I've been using Zemanta for a while and never had any problems until recently, unless you count all my images vanishing when I added related articles in Windows Live Writer - but they fixed that.  Overall, I love Zemanta.  It sits there right beside my compose window and suggests related images and articles, and links and tags, though I don't usually use those.  If it doesn't have anything that catches my eye, I can use 'Refine' to search for specific things.  It really is handy.

But now, suddenly, it's causing problems.  I never would have noticed if I hadn't disabled it yesterday because it was sitting on top of an email I wanted to read, and I couldn't figure out how to get rid of it.  Once it was disabled, my formatting and line breaks started working again.  I thought Blogger was fixed!  And then, I re-enabled Zemanta so I could use it - to add related content - and all my lovely line breaks disappeared!  My 'Enter' key stopped working in 'Compose' mode, and I had to go back to the 'Edit HTML' tab to accomplish anything.  While writing this post I have enabled, disabled, and re-enabled Zemanta (or is that disabled, re-enabled, and re-disabled?) just to test my theory.  Yep, the culprit really is Zemanta.

I've been using the browser extension, but apparently there's a new Blogger gadget, so I'm going to have to figure out how to add that and see if it makes a difference.  In the meantime, I would much appreciate it if Zemanta would fix this issue.  Thank you.
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Double Standards

When discussing the new cast of Dancing with the Stars on The View, Barbara Walters asked, about Bristol Palin:
Why is she a star?  She's a 17-year-old who got pregnant
I've been asking the same thing about the idiot guy who got her pregnant!  The only claim to fame Levi Johnston ever had was getting his then-girlfriend pregnant.  So she happened to be the daughter of the governor of Alaska, who then became a Vice Presidential candidate.  So what?

And then they broke up, and suddenly Levi Johnston began making the talk show rounds, posed for Playgirl, and is even talking about doing a reality show.  And did he go on that Donald Trump show, too?  I haven't heard anyone question his involvement in all these things.

But Bristol does a community service commercial showing the difficuties in being a teen mother, and there were plenty of people questioning that.  "Did she say she regrets having her son?"  "How dare she say something like that?"  Um, hello - having a baby outside of marriage, when you're a teenager, is not the best life-decision in the world.  Once you have that baby, of course you're going to love him and make the best of the situation, but trying to get teenagers to think before they get themselves into the same situation is a good thing.  I don't think Bristol was saying she'd trade her son for anything, now that she's got him.  That doesn't mean she can't tell other girls to make better choices, while they still have the chance.

Not that that has anything to do with her going on Dancing with the Stars, and I agree she's not a star.  But people do know her name, and she has as much right to go on these shows as her son's father does.  If they're going to question Bristol's involvement, then they should have started ages ago by questioning Levi's too.

Tuesday, September 07, 2010

Decisions, Decisions

We're getting a little closer to picking our colors for the house.  We've got all the samples, and we keep looking at them and putting them together in different combinations and looking at the houses in the neighborhood, and... We're going back and forth between staying relatively close to the color we have now and making a rather drastic change.  So hard!  It might be easier to shop for the right term life insurance.

When we originally built the house, there weren't that many choices.  I think that was easier.  Now there are all kinds of choices and options - colors and textures and designs.  And, like I said before, these are decisions we're going to have to live with, because once you put the shingles and siding on the house, you don't just change it when you feel like looking at something different.  Or, at least, our neighbors are going to have to live with it.  They're the ones who have to look at the outside of the house.  Mostly.

We have ruled out blue, gray, yellow, white and brown for the siding, so we're getting closer, right?

Wipe Out!

What is there about that show? I'm sure somebody's going to get hurt one of these days, but I just can't stop watching it whenever it's on. Is it the sound effects or just the fact that people are bouncing off stuff and getting into the oddest positions? Whatever it is, it's hard to turn away once the show comes on.

Sometimes I think I might be able to do better than the contestants on the show, but I know I'm fooling myself. I think I'll stick to watching on my Samsung HDTV - and letting those people make fools of themselves.  Of course, at least one of those fools comes out with $50,000 every week, which just might be worth a few bruises.

Monday, September 06, 2010

Microwave or Fridge?

I bought Cory a microwave for his dorm room last week, since his roommate already had a refrigerator.  I thought it might come in handy, but he's decided that he really doesn't need one, so I'm taking it back. He says the coffee maker will be good enough, because mostly he just needs hot water - for his tea and ramen.

He said what they really needed was a bigger refrigerator.  Now, they obviously can't have full-size kitchen appliances in the dorm room, and no-one would want to carry them up the stairs anyway, but the tiny little refrigerator his roommate brought just doesn't hold much of anything.  They've already filled it up in the first couple days of college.

So, we looked for a good deal on compact refrigerators and found one that looked like a good deal - and went and bought that yesterday.   Yes, it cost more than the microwave, but I'd rather spend the money on something that he actually needs and will use. He can keep some drinks in there, milk for some cereal, leftover pizza, whatever. If he really needs to heat something up, there is a kitchen somewhere in the dorm. He can use an oven.

Now, his roommate will either have to take his home next time he goes, or they'll just have two.  They won't take up much more room than having a microwave and refrigerator.

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Saturday, September 04, 2010

Anniversary Gifts

Jeffrey and I will be celebrating our 25th anniversary next summer, hopefully in a better way than we celebrated our 24th this summer. For those of you who don't know, we had a tornado come through our neighborhood on the evening of our anniversary. We certainly won't forget that particular anniversary anytime soon. When looking through a list of anniversary gifts by year, you do not see tornado listed next to 24th anniversary.  Actually, they don't list 24th anniversary, so maybe that can be added!? 

Seriously, I really don't recommend a tornado as a great way to celebrate. The dinner and glass of wine on the deck beforehand was rather nice, though.

Speaking of that list of anniversary gifts, I'd heard that the 25th anniversary is silver and 50th is gold, but I didn't know what the traditional gifts were for other years. For instance, did you know that 3rd year anniversary gifts are supposed to be leather? And 9th anniversary gifts should be pottery?  Or what about just being totally untraditional and giving Anniversary Toilet Paper? (seriously)  Or I suppose 1st anniversary is paper, so that would be appropriate.

The list is rather fun and a good way to get some ideas for anniversary gifts. There's something for every year 1-20, then it skips to 25 and then to 50. I guess they figure once you've been married for at least 20 years you should be pretty good at coming up with anniversary presents on your own.

So here's my question for you: What kind of traditional or NONtraditional anniversary presents have you gotten or given? And what were your favorites? Anybody get that toilet paper?

Friday, September 03, 2010

One Week Down

Cory's home for the weekend! It's nice to be able to talk to him and see how he's been enjoying college this first week. It sounds like he's been keeping busy, making new friends, and enjoying his classes. What he still needs to do is find a job! But he hasn't had much time

At least one of his friends got and email about work study before she even got to campus, and they helped her get set up with a job. Cory never got any such email, and he hasn't been able to figure out the online job site that is supposed to list available jobs and help students get hooked up with jobs. It's kind of like searching for certified diamonds in a field of dirt. None of them are jumping out and sparkling for him. In fact, the only list of jobs he found looked like they were for graduates. They weren't even in the same town.

It sounds like he'll be doing some emailing and filling out applications when he gets back to campus on Tuesday.

See What I Got from CSN Stores!

This is it - what I got from CSN Stores.

It's a Hamilton Beach 4-slice 'Toastation' Toaster and Oven

My old toaster had been having problems and not toasting things properly for a while.  I kept putting off getting a new one, thinking maybe I wanted a toaster oven - but just couldn't make up my mind.  So we just kept using the old toaster and pushing the toast down several times to get it toasted.  And then, when I was trying to decide what to order from CSN Stores, Cory made a comment about wishing he could toast 2 bagels at once, and it hit me - look at the toaster ovens!  I picked this one because it's a toaster and an oven in one.

When I found this, there were no reviews on the CSN Stores site, so I went looking elsewhere to see what people were saying about it.  I ended up finding some good reviews, and a better price, at Amazon.  When I went back to the CSN Stores site, I noticed the little 'Seen it for Less?' link next to the price.  So I clicked it and filled out the form with the price and the link to the competitor's website.  Within half an hour, I had already received a price match email from CSN Stores!  They couldn't quite match the price from Amazon, but they came pretty close.

With the price match, I had to call the 800 number to place my order instead of placing it online.  I ended up calling a couple times and talking to a couple different people, and they were both extremely helpful and friendly.  Their customer service is really great. Shopping with them was a real pleasure. And then - shortly after I'd placed the order, I received an email telling me that they'd upgraded my shipping so I could get my order faster.  I got it 3 days later!

Since then, I've been using it as much as possible. It definitely makes better toast than my old toaster.  It's also nice that you can look through the oven window to see your toast while it's toasting.  I haven't quite figured out what setting (1-6) I like for my toast.  I like my toast fairly dark, so I'm thinking somewhere between 4 and 6.  Mostly, I just keep an eye on it, and when it looks about right, I hit the handy 'cancel' button, and it pops right up!  Also, I really like the way it glows when I'm toasting something.  It looks so warm! I realize my old toaster glowed, too - on the inside - but it didn't have the handy window to see it.


I haven't used to oven part of it as much, but I have reheated some pizza and some apple crisp, and they both turned out great. I hate to reheat pizza in the microwave, because it gets kind of soggy or tough, and I hate to turn on the oven for just a couple slices of pizza - so this will be really handy.  It's not as big as some of the other toaster ovens I looked at, but I wasn't planning on cooking in it anyway.  Except I was thinking of getting one that included a rotisserie, thinking we might make our own rotisserie chicken once in a while,  but that one would have taken up so much space on the counter.  While the Toastation is definitely bigger than the old toaster, it isn't quite so big as some other toaster ovens, and I like that about it.

Cory's coming home for the weekend, and I got some bagels at the grocery store on Wednesday.  So he'll have to see how this toasts the bagels.  I'm not sure he needs to do two at once, but the Toastation can definitely do that.

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In exchange for my review, I received a promotion code from CSN Stores that I could apply to any item(s) of my choosing from their 200+ stores.

Thursday, September 02, 2010

I'm a Pro at Procrastination

So, I'm sitting here with this keyword and this link, waiting for some inspiration to fill up the rest of the post. I'm having no luck, though, so I figured I'd just start typing. The news is on, and it's almost bedtime - so I don't have a lot of time to figure it out.

Are y'all tired of reading my posts today? It would help if I didn't wait until the last possible day to do stuff - but I do. It's not like I want to. It's just that there are always other things that need done. Or maybe it's just that the things that actually get done are the things that absolutely have to get done - and the other stuff can wait, until it absolutely has to get done. And until I have time to do it right.

Unfortunately, I can't really come up with the right way to mention apidexin - or even a good way for that matter. So I'm just going to do it and hope I can do a better job tomorrow - in between cleaning bathrooms, fixing food, and maybe picking up my son the college student. I'm only saying maybe about that last one because I haven't actually talked to him about that, but it is a long weekend, and he probably has more stuff he wants to pack up and take back to college with him - and probably has some laundry he wants done, too.

Looking at the Sky on Friday - 67

Looking at the 



Sky on Friday
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.
A huge mass of dark clouds rolled over our house this evening.  I went out to the driveway and watched them and took pictures, until some big fat raindrops started falling and chased me back inside.  I didn’t want to get my camera wet!
Right before I came in, some of the clouds were picking up some red highlights from the sunset behind me.  And look at the texture of those clouds!
It was definitely not a night to be out using the gas grill on the deck, but it was a very interesting night for cloud-watching. 

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

Tape This to Your Mirror

Now that Cory's away at college, he's going to have to learn to tie his own ties. He won't have his dad there to do it for him. Thankfully the Sunday comics had just the thing a couple weeks ago. Someone asked, "How do you tie a necktie?" and the comic showed exactly how to do it.
I just cut it out so he can tape it to his mirror, as suggested. Hopefully it will help.


Cory's plan, in the absence of his dad, was to find a girl (or girls) to help him with his ties. I'm not sure where these girls learned to tie ties, maybe from the Sunday comics? I don't doubt he could find plenty who would be more than willing to help him, but it wouldn't hurt for him to know how to tie his own ties. Ties are a guy thing, and guys should know how to tie them, even if they don't wear them every day.

Never having worn mens ties, I don't know how to tie one, but this makes it look fairly simple - simple enough even a character in a comic can do it! Maybe I should tape this to my mirror first and try it?

What about you - can you tie a necktie? How did you learn?

How Rude!

I just got a phone call. The Caller ID said, "Unavailable, Out of Area" but I answered it anyway. I said, "Hello" but no one answered. So I tried again - "Hello?" "Hello?"

...and that's when the computer generated voice said, "Good-Bye" and hung up on me!

What in the world? Why would this unknown caller even bother to dial my number if he/she/it has nothing more to say than "Good-bye" - why?

Will it Ever be Clean?

Dusting, vacuuming, straightening up all day. How does this place get so messed up? And so cluttered? Part of it is the samples we have on the table with all the colors for shingles, siding, garage doors, and trim - and NO we haven't decided on our colors - but that's not all of it. Mail and newspapers and just general clutter, they all seem to take over. Jeffrey says now that the kids are gone the house shouldn't get so messy, and there won't be so much to do. If only I can get everything cleaned and caught up first, then maybe he's right. I'm afraid that's going to take a while, though.

Now that the kids are gone, I suppose I could just wear little sexy costumes when Jeffrey gets home from work, and he'd never notice the house. Of course, we could never have anyone over, because they'd be sure to notice the mess.

Which means that I better get back to cleaning.

Formatting and Line Breaks

I probably shouldn't say anything for fear of jinxing it, but it looks like Blogger has the formatting thing fixed.  It has been bugging me that I couldn't see my cursor in Compose mode, that all the line breaks kept disappearing, and that I couldn't even insert line breaks in Compose mode.  What was up with that?

OK, never mind. I just tried hitting enter, and nothing happened - except that I couldn't type anything new until I switched to Edit HTML mode. And when I go back to Compose, my line break disappears, and all the text is in one big block.

Is this bothering anyone else? I thought maybe it was an issue with Firefox, but since I've been using Chrome, I've had the same issues. I really, really hope they get it fixed soon.