Missed Walks

Jeffrey has missed walking with me 3 times this week. He had to get up early Monday and leave for Baraboo, spent the night in Baraboo Monday so wasn't here on Tuesday morning, and then had to go early to Baraboo again today. This is not good for his exercise program.

When I asked him if he at least used the exercise equipment in the hotel's exercise room on Monday night, he said no. He did go walk around Walmart for a while, so I guess that's better than nothing.

Free Blog Community

I signed up for a new blog tonight. I can't help myself, when I see Free Blogs, or free anything else, I sign up. That's why I started blogging in the first place - not because I really had anything to say, but because the blogs were free. And signing up was the best way to see how they work and what you get with each one.

So, tonight I signed up at thoughts.com. It looks like you can do about everything at thoughts.com - blog, upload and organize photos, share videos and podcasts, and get feedback from the rest of the thoughts.com community. Instead of using multiple sites for these things, thoughts.com members can do it all in one place.

When you publish a blog post, it gets listed on the Recent Posts page, and other members can easily see what's new and read your content. I just published a quick 'first post I just signed up for this' post, and I already got two comments welcoming me to the site. How about that? You can decide with each post whether to make it viewable to everyone, viewable to just you and your friends, or completely private. I like having that kind of control.

Right now it doesn't look like you can do much customizing of your blog, aside from picking from several color schemes. Another reason I sign up for all the free blogs - so I can play with the design - so that was one of the first things I checked on. They're trying to make it easy, no html skills required, but it sounds like they are working to add more features and customization in the future. It will be interesting to see where they go with it.

eBillme!

I was shopping online at TigerDirect last night. I bought a notebook cooler because sometimes this computer gets a little warm on my legs, especially in the summertime. In the winter I appreciate the way it keeps me warm. I also ordered a surge protector to carry with my laptop and a microphone for Cory to use with his computer.

Anyway, what I ordered isn't the point, though TigerDirect does have some nice stuff. What I was going to say is that I tried a new way to pay that I'm really excited about. It's called eBillme, and what's really neat about it is that you don't have to give your credit card information out when you're doing your online shopping, and you can pay cash instead of having to use a credit card. You just choose eBillme as your payment option, and they will send you an eBill. Then, you log in to your bank's website, go to the bill pay section and follow the instructions to add eBillme as a payee. It's really easy, and they give you step by step instructions if you need them. If you're already paying bills online, then you've probably done this before anyway. I pay all our bills online. Even the ones that don't accept electronic payments can be paid through my bank's website using the BillPay service. I love it. I never have to write a check, address an envelope, or pay for a stamp.

Back to eBillme, once you've got all the information entered, simply pay your eBillme invoice the way you would any other bill. Next time, it will be even simpler, because it will already be set up. With eBillme there are no accounts or signup required, and you never exchange your financial information with eBillme or the merchant. All purchases are covered by the eBillme Buyer Protection Plan, which includes Fraud Protection, Price Protection, a Return Guarantee, and In-Transit Protection, and it's a payment option at online merchants all over the web.

If you're one of those people who has avoided online shopping because you're afraid your credit card information might not be secure, if you'd rather pay cash for your purchases, or if you just hate filling in the same information every time you shop at a new site, then you'll want to look for the eBillme payment option from now on.

It Just Keeps Coming

I've been trying to clean up around here. I cannot believe all the junk mail that comes into this house. I do try to go through the mail as it comes and toss it as quickly as I can. But something always seems to slip through. I keep it because I might be interested, but I just don't have time to deal with it now. Not a good idea because things just seem to pile up, and I never get back to it. So, tip #1 - deal with it right away. Don't wait for later, because later never comes.

Also, I can't believe the number of promotional products I keep receiving. Mostly all these different organizations send out address labels. There aren't very many things I mail any more, so I have enough address labels to last me into the next century. Lately, the big thing to send seems to be calendars. I have 4 or 5 of them around here now. They send something, thinking that I'll feel so appreciative, or guilty about getting something for nothing, that I'll donate to their cause. Every once in a while I do go ahead and donate, if I like what they're doing. What I've learned though is that they don't go away after you donate. No, now they know I have money, so I continually get stuff asking for more. So, tip #2 - don't donate unless you want more mail.

Can Resveratrol Cure Cancer?

A group of members on the resveratrol forum are attempting to raise money for one of their members. He has cancer and has only been given a few months to live. One of the forum members treated her dog who had cancer with resveratrol, and he has been successfully cured. It has not been proven in humans, but the man and his forum friends are willing to try. Any donations or help would be greatly appreciated.

Save on Car Magnets

Cory's last day of driving for Driver's Ed is tomorrow. Then it's just a matter of letting him drive as much as possible to get as much experience as he can. I just wish I had some Car Magnets to put on the van, something that says "Student Driver" like they have on the Driver's Ed car. That way people will know to be patient, right?

VistaPrint has small and large-size car door magnets. You can choose from over 100 designs or design your own. You can either design using their design templates, choosing designs and customizing your text, or you can design your magnet with your photo editing or other program and upload the finished design. There is a one time fee for orders using an uploaded image, but after that you can use that same image on additional products at no extra charge. Either way you get full color printed magnets at a good price.

Because of their technology, VistaPrint can print small quantities and still offer the best value. Printing custom magnetic signs used to be a laborious, hands-on process, and therefore expensive. Now that VistaPrint has automated the process of ordering, printing and manufacturing custom magnets, the cost has dropped considerable, and VistaPrint passes that savings on to their customers. Even better, enter code CarDoor25 and save 25% off VistaPrint's already low prices on Car Door Magnets, and be sure to sign up for their email notifications for additional savings.

Walk for Alzheimer's

I recently added that Alzheimer's ribbon to my sidebar, which was a really easy way to donate $10 to the Alzheimer's Association. I was also reminded that it's time to start preparing for the Alzheimer's Memory Walk. The Memory Walk is the nation's largest event to raise awareness and funds for Alzheimer care, support and research. Since 1989, the Memory Walk has raised more than $230 million. Volunteers of all ages can participate and help in the fight against Alzheimer's.

Walks are held in more than 600 cities across the country, and it's easy to find one near you. Simply type in your zip code to find cities and dates. Become a team captain and create your own team or find a team to join, and then get started raising funds. The web site has all the tools to help. It sounds easy - sign up as a team with your friends and family, set up a website, set a fundraising goal and start emailing everyone asking for help and support, and then walk to make a difference.

Need Boots for Work?

My 'job' doesn't require shoes. I'm usually barefoot in the summer and only wear socks in the winter. So, I probably don't need any of these steel toe shoes, but there are plenty of jobs that require them. Work Boots USA has the highest quality work boots for working class America. They do their best to offer the best product for the lowest price, and include free ground shipping on U.S. orders over $50. You can shop by style or shop by brand. They have brands like Converse, Danner, Caterpillar, and Wolverine. Work Boots USA is a factory authorized dealer for all the brands you see on their website.

If you need work boots, check them out. They take great joy in helping people find the work boots they want and need, at the best prices.

Year of the Cat

Last year about this time:

In other news:
Beth brought home a kitten tonight. She begged and begged and promised that she would pay for everything and take care of it and everything. I hope she does because, against my better judgment, I said she could keep it. We haven't had an animal around here since fall, and it has been really nice. Hopefully she will do her part and take care of it and clean up after it and all that stuff. Otherwise, we get to get rid of it. Tim said it could go live at Jesse's house and be an outside barn cat. If we could have an outside barn cat, that would be good - no cat hair in the house, no cat litter, no mess. Well, Beth promised to clean up after it, so I'm not going to do any of that - and she better not wait until it is driving me crazy before she does it!

Tillie has been living here for a year, as of last night. All Beth's promises... well, she does take care of the cat, but only after being told several times. The rest of us have enjoyed having Tillie around - because she's a sweetheart, and we don't have to take care of the litter box. I do get a little tired of the white cat hair on everything, and I wasn't too happy the times Tillie decided to pee where she wasn't supposed to, but overall I like the silly little thing.

It's fun looking at this first picture of her. She's grown a lot since then, even gotten a little chubby - not chubby enough to need fat burners but the vet said not to feed her so much. Explain that to a cat who thinks she's starving. If she did something besides sleep all the time...

Looking for a Web Host?

I'm still not sure about changing to the 'New' Blogger. It's supposedly easier, but it means I have to learn new stuff and figure out how it works. It just seems easier to stick with what I understand, but I know there are advantages to changing, the same way I'm sure there are advantages to finding a web host and moving everything, changing blogging platforms, etc.

I'm not ready to make the jump (leap?) but I am trying to keep track of all the various options. Luckily, when looking for cheap hosting, there are quite a few resources out there. The web hosting reviews at Web Hosting Geeks look really helpful. They rank web hosts by the best value and price, and give users the opportunity to review the hosts. You can compare web hosts to get an idea of what features they offer and see what they charge, and then you can read reviews and comments by people who actually use those hosts.

In addition to the hosting reviews, Web Hosting Geeks has plenty of webmaster resources and articles on choosing a web host, what to look for in a web host, and deciding which web host is best for you. If you're looking into web hosts, be sure to visit the Web Hosting Geeks, because I think this site will be very helpful.

Check Out MyLifetime

I don't actually have time for online games, but I still like to check them out. MyLifetime has some that look like fun, if only I can figure them out. There's one called 'Be My Bra' that's supposed to help support women with breast cancer. I haven't yet figured out how it works, just listened to the theme song a couple times, but it sounds positive.

Along with the games, MyLifetime has a free beauty makeover where you can upload your own photo and try on various hairstyles, makeup, and accessories. There are relationship quizzes to take, craft ideas, entertainment articles to read, and so much more. It looks like a site I could spend some time on, if I actually had some time...

Still, I think I'll bookmark it so I can go back and take some of those relationship quizzes (see previous post).

Buy Furniture Online

Our bedroom outfit is one we 'inherited' from Jeffrey's dad years ago. Dad was moving in with his dad, and he didn't need it any more.  It was a step up from our mismatched water bed and dressers, so we were happy to have it.  We did replace the mattress a few years ago, and I'm still happy with the whole bedroom outfit.  Jeffrey is too, but he still likes to go into the furniture stores and look at furniture once in a while - just in case we fall in love with something and have to have it, I suppose.  I'd rather not visit furniture stores, mainly because I really hate the sales people who pounce on you the minute you walk into the store.  I'd like to look in peace, thank you.

That's why I love the idea of discount bedroom furniture you can browse and purchase online.  At The Bedroom Space, I can look to my heart's content without some pesky salesperson bugging me.  I can search by price range, style, or brand.  They've got entire bedroom outfits, bedroom accessories, memory foam mattresses, children's furniture, and a sale right now of 40% off Borkholder Amish furniture.  Hand made Amish furniture - this stuff is beautiful.  Not necessarily in my price range, but gorgeous.

More keeping with my price range, I searched by price and looked to see what they had in the $0-$999 range, and I found a very nice bedroom outfit.  The page has pictures, dimensions, features, manufacturer information, and even a section for customer rating.  They even offer free shipping and a free 5 year protection plan.  And, there's no tax unless you live in Florida.  They even offer no payment, no interest finance options.

If I find something I like, I can purchase it online, or if I have additional questions, I can call and talk to one of their sales representatives.  These sales representatives do not work on commission, so their job is not to pressure anyone into buying anything.  Their job is to help you find the product that best suits your needs, tastes and price range.

I don't think it could get much easier, so if you're looking for bedroom furniture or a mattress, check out The Bedroom Space.

Hot Enough For You?

I turned off the air conditioning this morning. Finally, after a long stretch of heat and humidity, it cooled down enough to open the windows. I'm really appreciating it, too.

I'll probably still need the air conditioning in the van when I go shopping tomorrow. It doesn't take a lot of heat to warm your vehicle up enough that you really appreciate a good, working air conditioning compressor. They say that driving with your windows down hurts your gas mileage, so car air conditioning isn't just about comfort. It's about economy.

So, if your Honda ac compressor isn't working properly, and you need a new one or some other A/C parts, check out discountacparts.com. They have a wide selection of auto ac parts, good prices, free shipping, and a full warranty on every part they sell. Just enter your vehicle's year, make and model to find your part, and if you need more help, they have customer service representatives available to take your call, Monday through Friday from 6am-5pm PST.

Proofed

Mary and I went to the printers to proof the calendar this morning. We weren't terribly picky about anything, and just found a couple of things that needed checked or fixed. I'm really glad I fixed the alignment issues before we sent it in, because I would have been so frustrated to see them on the print-out and know I couldn't do anything about them. Yes, they would have been fixed, but someone else, at the printers, would have had to do it, and it would have cost us.

Now we just wait for the calendars to be printed and delivered, and then we have to get them ready and mailed. Why is that our job? Yeah, good question - we already do everything else. We used to have someone in charge of mailing, but somehow the calendars started coming back at the same time she and her family were on vacation, and we 'inherited' that job too.

Oh well, there's an end to the whole thing. This is the last year. We're not doing it again - definitely not as a volunteer project, and we have no plans to start a small business franchise and do it for pay either, though Mary says the work we put in could easily cost the district $10,000, not that they would or could pay that. Really? I never have any idea how much to charge for things, and I'm really bad at keeping track of my hours. At least now I know that my hours are my own, mostly.

Cory Tells a Story

Cory posted this video to YouTube yesterday, and it's just hilarious. It's funny all on its own, but you might want to watch this video first to see why he's telling the story.



I think this boy has a future doing something other than selling discount furniture or used cars, don't you? Then again, he'd probably be able to sell anything.

I Forgot

While I was working around the house today, I was trying to think of a good way to work generic Phentermine into a post. And I did it. I came up with the perfect post that would just naturally work, and say something important at the same time. So I sat down at the computer and got distracted doing something else, which turned out kind of cool, but I'm not ready to show you yet.

Anyway, once I finished what I was doing, I remembered why I sat down at the computer in the first place - my post - and I couldn't for the life of me remember what I was going to say. I hate that! I am going to have to figure out how to use the voice recording function on my phone, or do something about my memory.

In the meantime, I added a ribbon to my blog - look over there to the left. Just because I added it, Caring.com contributed $10 to the Alzheimer's Association. Add your own ribbon to your website or blog, and they'll contribute $10 for yours, too.

Call Empire Today

You've all heard the jingle and seen the commercials, right? "800-588-2300 Empire Today." That phone number is probably as memorable as Jenny's number (you know the one). You're also probably familiar with the Empire Man. According to Wikipedia:

The Empire Man was introduced in 1977 as a live action character and later adapted into a popular animated persona that has grown to become a cultural icon. The Empire Man has been seen internationally in commercials and other media, has spawned a line of collectible bobblehead dolls, is featured each year in the annual McDonald's Thanksgiving Day Parade, and inspired the Chicago Cubs to declare an official "Empire Day" at Wrigley Field in 2007.

The Empire Man was originally portrayed on television by Lynn Hauldren, who continues to provide the voice of the animated character.

I particularly like this Empire Today commercial featuring the Empire Man:

Well, I've seen the commercials - that one where the people are walking on their brand-new carpet with their shoes on, still kind of bothers me - and I've heard the jingle, but until today I hadn't really paid much attention. Now that we're thinking of changing some of the Flooring in our house, changing the vinyl in the kitchen and carpet in the dining room to ceramic tile and eventually removing the carpeting in the living room and replacing it with hardwood flooring, I thought it was time to check out Empire and see what they offer. I wonder if I get one of those bobbleheads if I order Carpet or ceramic flooring?

Empire Today has been a leading provider of installed Home Furnishings and Home Improvements for more than 45 years. The company was founded in 1959 by Seymour Cohen and was a family-run business under its original name, Empire Carpet. The company later changed its name to Empire Today. I must admit this was something I always wondered - was the company called Empire Today, or were they called Empire and telling you to call today? I guess a little of both.

Empire Today offers many products, like carpeting, hardwood flooring, ceramic flooring, window treatments, Laminate Flooring, and bath & shower liners, not just carpet. They offer these quality products at low warehouse-direct prices, and can even install the next day. Empire doesn't have retail locations, and no overhead means they can pass the savings on to their customers.

What's special about Empire is you don't go to them, they come to you. Call or go online to schedule a free no-obligation quote. A friendly, professional representative from Empire will arrive at your home, bringing lots of samples. That makes it easy to choose the right colors to complement your decor, and you will see exactly what it is going to look like in your house. The Empire professional also does all the measuring so you know exactly how much you need, and will give you a fully installed price. It sounds a lot easier than buying a tile here and a tile there and bringing them home to see what looks good, and then trying to figure out exactly how many we'll need to buy. Here's how it works:

It looks easy and convenient, doesn't it? They have a nice chart showing the advantages and convenience of the Empire Shop-at-Home Service where they compare what you get with Empire and what you might find in a retail store.

Empire Today also has no payment, no interest payment options, currently no payments until January 2010, and great customer service. They want completely satisfied, lifetime customers, and have won several customer service awards.

Call Empire Today, have your carpet tomorrow.

Boat Safely

Boating is a fun summer activity, and we have plenty of lakes here in Wisconsin, so there are plenty of boats out on the water. Here in Wisconsin, there doesn't seem to be any activity that doesn't involve beer. Somehow, I don't think boating is excluded from that.

It seems pretty obvious when you stop to think about it. Boating Operating Under the Influence is just as dangerous and just as illegal as operating a motor vehicle on the road while under the influence of alcohol. Arizona Game & Fish is offering Boating Education Online in an effort to educate people and hopefully save some lives.

Watch some videos. Read some facts. Learn about boat safety, and save the beer for later.

A Site Especially for Pet Lovers

I just signed up for a new site for pet lovers and all about pets. It's called ZooToo, and it looks like a very helpful site. You can post pictures and information about your pet(s), connect with other pet lovers, find and review pet services, and even get free samples of pet supplies to try and review. If you have a pet question, you can ask the rest of the community at ZooToo to find an answer. I'm particularly interested in finding some opinions on what cat food we should be feeding Tillie. The vet said we should be feeding her a better food than we bought at first, but buying the food from the vet is way too expensive.

I haven't figured it all out yet because I was spending more time uploading pictures of Tillie than anything else, but you earn points through your activity on ZooToo. Inviting friends, writing in your pet journal, uploading pictures, all contribute to your point total. As you accumulate points, your status in the community grows, and you can use your points to help various causes, such as animal shelters and rescues.

If you love pets and want to know more about what real people think of the pet products and services on the market and in your area, then you'll enjoy ZooToo.

Trials of Technology (Part 4)

It's been a more than a month since I mentioned anything about our newMP3 players but we got one of the rebates yesterday and it reminded me.

I was having trouble using my Sansa c250 player with our library's Overdrive service. I thought it was working, except that I couldn't rewind or fast forward through the tracks. That I could have lived with, but about 3 tracks into my first book, when I started playing what should have been about 40 minutes into the track, it started from the beginning. No matter what the counter said, I could only start from the beginning of the track. That meant that I listened to the first 40 or so minutes while I was walking one day, then the next day I either had to listen to the same 40 or so minutes, or just forget the whole thing. It was rather frustrating, especially considering I don't have as much time to listen to books since Jeffrey has started walking with me in the mornings. I guess we could both listen to our MP3 players while we walk, but it's nice to be able to talk to each other. But I had a couple days to walk by myself because he was in Baraboo for work, and one of those days was a complete waste.

I have since deleted all those nice books I downloaded from Overdrive and added some from MP3 CDs I checked out of the library. I put them all on Jeffrey's player, too so he can listen to them in the car with his FM transmitter. The MP3 books work just fine.

I also downloaded a converter from Giveaway of the Day that removes the licensing from the Overdrive books and converts them from WMA to MP3, and I used that to convert a new book I downloaded from Overdrive. That works perfectly - I can fast forward and rewind if I need to, and it starts where it is supposed to. My conclusion is that, yes, the Sansa c250 player can work with Overdrive, but you will have to find a program to convert the files to MP3 first so that they will work properly. It's probably easier just to check MP3 or audio CDs out of the library and use those, but sometimes it's nice to be able to just download a book and not have to actually go to the library. Also, I have had the best luck setting the player's mode so that I can just drag and drop the files onto the player instead of syncing with RealPlayer or Windows Media Player.

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• Trials of Technology (Part 2)
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