Sometimes you'll see paid posts post to my blog on the Sabbath. (7th day of the week, Saturday) Please note that I am not writing those posts or posting them on the Sabbath. Those are posts that I have written earlier in the week. I have no control over when they are approved or posted. I'm not working on the Sabbath!
I hope that clarifies any questions or confusion you might have had. If you didn't have any questions, you can skip this post. Thank you.
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Fall Fun in Branson
This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Hiltons of Branson for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.
I love Fall. I think it's my favorite time of year - at least at this time of year! Yeah, I'm fickle like that. Whatever season I'm in, that's my favorite. Right now I'm loving the colors on the trees. They're just so gorgeous with all the bright reds and oranges and yellows.
Right now would be a great time to visit Branson. Not only could we enjoy all the great attractions Branson has to offer like live theater music shows, championship golf courses, that zip line I'm really dying to try, shopping, museums, and more, but we could enjoy the beautiful Fall colors! I'm thinking it would be really spectacular to try that zipline at this time of year - zipping through all the bright colored trees.
We could stay at the Hilton Promenade at Branson Landing and be close to just about everything. They're offering three great packages right now:
I love Fall. I think it's my favorite time of year - at least at this time of year! Yeah, I'm fickle like that. Whatever season I'm in, that's my favorite. Right now I'm loving the colors on the trees. They're just so gorgeous with all the bright reds and oranges and yellows.
Right now would be a great time to visit Branson. Not only could we enjoy all the great attractions Branson has to offer like live theater music shows, championship golf courses, that zip line I'm really dying to try, shopping, museums, and more, but we could enjoy the beautiful Fall colors! I'm thinking it would be really spectacular to try that zipline at this time of year - zipping through all the bright colored trees.
We could stay at the Hilton Promenade at Branson Landing and be close to just about everything. They're offering three great packages right now:
- The Silver Dollar City package which features two adult and two children's tickets to Silver Dollar City and rooms starting at $257.50/night.
- The Santa Claus package which features deluxe accommodations for a family of four (two adults and two children) and breakfast with Santa at the Level 2 restaurant with a special gift for the children. Rooms start at just $228 a night.
- And for the shoppers, a deluxe shopping package which includes hotel accommodations, a $25 gift card to Branson Landing, a second $25 gift card to Tanger Outlets, and complimentary breakfast buffet for two!
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Tuesday Tidbits
I don't really have a lot to talk about today either - or more like there are plenty of things to talk about, but they fly out of my head when I sit down at the computer. There are too many other things calling to me, like that kitchen full of dishes! How do we always end up with so many dishes? And, no I don't have a dishwasher or really want one. I don't even really understand what you're supposed to do with one. Besides, I don't want to give up any of my cabinet space in order to have one. Maybe someday when I have a much bigger kitchen?
Our little grandson is 5 months old now. The time really flies. It seems that only the other day he was a tiny new baby. Here's a picture his mommy just posted to facebook. He's trying to become a big boy! He can roll over now - from his back to his tummy and back again. Pretty soon he'll figure out how to go places by rolling over and over. And it won't be long 'til he learns to crawl. It really is amazing how much these little people grow and how much they learn in such a short time. And, of course, he's the cutest, sweetest little thing! At least we think so. He's a happy easy-to-get-along-with guy.I picked a few tomatoes and hot peppers from the garden today. I think it's mostly finished. I covered the plants up a couple evenings - a few weeks ago when they said there was a possibility of frost - to extend the life of the plants a bit, but I think they got frosted somewhere along the line when I wasn't expecting it. At least they got touches of frost - kinda killing the tomatoes and some of the peppers. I still got quite a bit of stuff from the garden this summer. That's another thing that always amazes me - how you can plant a little bitty seed in the ground and end up with FOOD!
Did you see what I did with my jalapenos? These Jalapeno Poppers are so good. Once I made them and froze them, I was hoping to get more jalapenos from the garden so I could make more, but I didn't really get enough to bother. Next year I might just have to plant more.
Besides those dishes that are still calling my name, I have a ton of other things I have to get done, so that's it for now. Hopefully I can catch hold of Tuesday next week and not let it pass me by. These weeks are just so fast and slippery any more - they get away so quickly!
Monday, October 10, 2011
Hard to Believe it's October
The weather has been so sunny and warm and nice for the past week or so. It's hard to believe it's October! I'm not complaining at all because I know soon enough it will get cold. I think maybe we enjoy these warm, sunny days in Fall more than the warm, sunny days of Summer - just because we know they can't possibly last, so we appreciate them more. I try to appreciate the weather no matter what it is, but it's easy to take something for granted when it's what you expect. Soon enough the neighbors will be putting on the solar pool covers, the gardens will be completely done for the season, and we'll even have to turn the furnace on, but for now I'm enjoying every minute of the nice weather. If only I could get outside in it more...
The beauty of warm sunny days in October - besides the before-mentioned sun and warmth - is the cool nights! Warm in the daytime, cool snuggle weather at night. I love it!
The beauty of warm sunny days in October - besides the before-mentioned sun and warmth - is the cool nights! Warm in the daytime, cool snuggle weather at night. I love it!
Friday, October 07, 2011
Take the Hill's Healthy Mobility Challenge
This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Hills Pet Nutrition for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.
When we had our dog Nikki, we just fed her whatever dog food we got the best deal on. We didn't really realize or think about how important it would be to feed her better food. With the cats we are trying to feed them better food. We haven't yet tried the Hill's Pet Nutrition foods, but we have been trying to buy the better foods with more natural ingredients. Reading some of the information on the Hill's Pet Nutrition page, I'm learning that there's a whole lot I don't know about what my pets need to eat to be healthy. Be sure to check it out if you've got pets; there's a lot of information there.
If you have a dog (or dogs) you can register for the Hill’s Healthy Mobility Challenge. Feed your dog the Hill's Science Diet® Healthy Mobility™ dog food for 30 days and track your dog's progress over those 30 days to see if/how it actually works. At the end of 30 days you'll be able to see the results. You're also encouraged to come back and share the results with othere dog lovers.
Just for registering you'll get $30 in Hill's Healthy Mobility Coupon offers and an automatic entry in the Healthy Mobility Challenge sweepstakes! 30 Winners will receive FREE PET FOOD for a year! How awesome would that be?
Be sure to check out Hill's Pet Nutrition on Facebook too. You can share pictures of your pets, interact with other pet lovers, and even have the opportunity to win prizes or get additional savings on Hill's Pet Nutrition products.
When we had our dog Nikki, we just fed her whatever dog food we got the best deal on. We didn't really realize or think about how important it would be to feed her better food. With the cats we are trying to feed them better food. We haven't yet tried the Hill's Pet Nutrition foods, but we have been trying to buy the better foods with more natural ingredients. Reading some of the information on the Hill's Pet Nutrition page, I'm learning that there's a whole lot I don't know about what my pets need to eat to be healthy. Be sure to check it out if you've got pets; there's a lot of information there.
If you have a dog (or dogs) you can register for the Hill’s Healthy Mobility Challenge. Feed your dog the Hill's Science Diet® Healthy Mobility™ dog food for 30 days and track your dog's progress over those 30 days to see if/how it actually works. At the end of 30 days you'll be able to see the results. You're also encouraged to come back and share the results with othere dog lovers.
Just for registering you'll get $30 in Hill's Healthy Mobility Coupon offers and an automatic entry in the Healthy Mobility Challenge sweepstakes! 30 Winners will receive FREE PET FOOD for a year! How awesome would that be?
Be sure to check out Hill's Pet Nutrition on Facebook too. You can share pictures of your pets, interact with other pet lovers, and even have the opportunity to win prizes or get additional savings on Hill's Pet Nutrition products.
How to Keep Yourself Busy During College
As a mother of a college student, I often find myself with a lot of spare time. Even teenagers need to be taken care of and with my nights free to pursue whatever I want for the first time in 18 years it was difficult to fill it. I turned to the Internet to start reading blogs and websites and came across a lot of information about photography. I decided to read more into until one day I purchased a smartphone and began my new adventure.
Because of sophisticated smartphones, I never had to purchase a fancy digital camera. This is very convenient because I can multitask on one device. While I am outside snapping pics, I can send them straight to my son through text message or email. The cameras on these phones are almost as good, if not better than most of the devices you find in the digital camera section of photography stores.
Social media websites allow for easy storage of all of your pictures. You can find apps for social media websites through the Android Market and Apple's App Store and send your pictures directly to your computer in order to share them online. My photography became so popular with certain users that I was able to sell my pictures in custom prints. After I started this venture I was able to purchase certain equipment like software, lighting effects, and backgrounds with one of the best small business credit cards I could find.
I never realized how important image editing software was until I started snapping pictures. “Lite” versions of Photoshop are available for purchase both online and through retail stores. This powerful software allows you to manipulate things like red eye, bad lighting, and other undesirables out of your photographs. Because they are not as expensive as the fully loaded graphic designer version, they are much more affordable. They are also very intuitive and easy to use because all of the features I need are listed in plain sight.
College is not just a new time of the year for students. It is also an important life changing event for parents who have never been away from their kids. If you begin to research hobbies on the Internet and get immersed in something new, you can start a business of your own and be a little surprised when your kids come back home from breaks.
Because of sophisticated smartphones, I never had to purchase a fancy digital camera. This is very convenient because I can multitask on one device. While I am outside snapping pics, I can send them straight to my son through text message or email. The cameras on these phones are almost as good, if not better than most of the devices you find in the digital camera section of photography stores.
Social media websites allow for easy storage of all of your pictures. You can find apps for social media websites through the Android Market and Apple's App Store and send your pictures directly to your computer in order to share them online. My photography became so popular with certain users that I was able to sell my pictures in custom prints. After I started this venture I was able to purchase certain equipment like software, lighting effects, and backgrounds with one of the best small business credit cards I could find.
I never realized how important image editing software was until I started snapping pictures. “Lite” versions of Photoshop are available for purchase both online and through retail stores. This powerful software allows you to manipulate things like red eye, bad lighting, and other undesirables out of your photographs. Because they are not as expensive as the fully loaded graphic designer version, they are much more affordable. They are also very intuitive and easy to use because all of the features I need are listed in plain sight.
College is not just a new time of the year for students. It is also an important life changing event for parents who have never been away from their kids. If you begin to research hobbies on the Internet and get immersed in something new, you can start a business of your own and be a little surprised when your kids come back home from breaks.
Wishes Do Come True
I got a visit from the Fairy Hobmother this week. A wish I made over on Tammy's blog was granted - for a $50 Amazon gift card to use on books and music (or whatever else I want)!
You've never heard of the Fairy Hobmother? Well, there really is one! I'm not sure I understand it, but just go with it. From the land of Appliances Online, the Fairy Hobmother cavorts among the refrigerators, freezers, dishwashers, ovens and *hobs - spreading joy around the blogging world. Leave a comment on this post telling me what you wish for, and the Fairy Hobmother could visit you, too. Did you hear that? Be sure to leave a comment, and your wish could come true, too.
*Who knows what a hob is? I had to visit Appliances Online to find out.
You've never heard of the Fairy Hobmother? Well, there really is one! I'm not sure I understand it, but just go with it. From the land of Appliances Online, the Fairy Hobmother cavorts among the refrigerators, freezers, dishwashers, ovens and *hobs - spreading joy around the blogging world. Leave a comment on this post telling me what you wish for, and the Fairy Hobmother could visit you, too. Did you hear that? Be sure to leave a comment, and your wish could come true, too.
*Who knows what a hob is? I had to visit Appliances Online to find out.
New to satellite
I appreciate the guest post, Jamie Guy
I usually do not pay attention to flyers we get in the mail because we get so many. I often throw them away before even looking at them. However, one pamphlet caught my eye because we are unhappy with our cable TV company and the pamphlet was advertising Cooper Satellite Tv deals. I immediately called my husband and told him that I think we should switch to satellite TV. We have been unhappy with our cable company for so many reasons. Whenever we have any kind of issue, the company has terrible customer service. They never show up when they say they are going to and often ask us to reschedule our service appointment. We are also not satisfied with the channel package that we have. We considered adding more channels, but the next larger package is entirely too expensive for our budget. It’s not that we need 600 channels, but there are a few channels that I am interested in having that I have watched at my sister’s house and would like to add to our package. I hope we will be happy with our satellite TV.
I usually do not pay attention to flyers we get in the mail because we get so many. I often throw them away before even looking at them. However, one pamphlet caught my eye because we are unhappy with our cable TV company and the pamphlet was advertising Cooper Satellite Tv deals. I immediately called my husband and told him that I think we should switch to satellite TV. We have been unhappy with our cable company for so many reasons. Whenever we have any kind of issue, the company has terrible customer service. They never show up when they say they are going to and often ask us to reschedule our service appointment. We are also not satisfied with the channel package that we have. We considered adding more channels, but the next larger package is entirely too expensive for our budget. It’s not that we need 600 channels, but there are a few channels that I am interested in having that I have watched at my sister’s house and would like to add to our package. I hope we will be happy with our satellite TV.
Breathe Happy with Febreze
I'm sure you've seen the Febreze commercials where they blindfold people and take them to some really nasty places to see what they smell. A while back Febreze sent me a blindfold and a bottle of their Linen
&Sky Fabric Refresher so I could conduct my own experiment.
Unfortunately I haven't been creative enough to come up with one, so I'll just post this video by Febreze.
I think these commercials are a bit extreme. I mean, nobody's going to spray Febreze to make some really nasty place 'nice' - as long as you don't look at it! Well, maybe I could use it in Beth's car... Or if there's not time to clean and people are coming over, I could spray Febreze and make them wear blindfolds while they're here!
Seriously, for everyday odors - real-life stuff - Febreze is great. Smells have always bothered me. Perfumes, sprays and scents meant to cover up the 'bad' odors, etc. So I'm very leery of using any kinds of air fresheners or refreshers. I'm not sure how Febreze does it or what they do differently, but their products do not bother me. They have some really nice scents and some good products for different needs. I never would have known if they hadn't sent me some of their products and said, "Try this!" I just would not have bought them. I still don't use them all the time, but I like knowing I have something when I need it, and that it's not going to bother me. I like the scented oil warmers in the bathroom where the litter box is, and I sent the Febreze Sport to college with Cory last year for use in his dorm room. Sounds like that one really came in handy, because his room-mate had some nasty-smelling shoes!
Here are some great Febreze coupons and offers. There's a money back guarantee on the Fabric Refresher, and you can grab $10 worth of coupons or find out how to get a Febreze Noticeables oil warmer for free.
I think these commercials are a bit extreme. I mean, nobody's going to spray Febreze to make some really nasty place 'nice' - as long as you don't look at it! Well, maybe I could use it in Beth's car... Or if there's not time to clean and people are coming over, I could spray Febreze and make them wear blindfolds while they're here!
Seriously, for everyday odors - real-life stuff - Febreze is great. Smells have always bothered me. Perfumes, sprays and scents meant to cover up the 'bad' odors, etc. So I'm very leery of using any kinds of air fresheners or refreshers. I'm not sure how Febreze does it or what they do differently, but their products do not bother me. They have some really nice scents and some good products for different needs. I never would have known if they hadn't sent me some of their products and said, "Try this!" I just would not have bought them. I still don't use them all the time, but I like knowing I have something when I need it, and that it's not going to bother me. I like the scented oil warmers in the bathroom where the litter box is, and I sent the Febreze Sport to college with Cory last year for use in his dorm room. Sounds like that one really came in handy, because his room-mate had some nasty-smelling shoes!
Here are some great Febreze coupons and offers. There's a money back guarantee on the Fabric Refresher, and you can grab $10 worth of coupons or find out how to get a Febreze Noticeables oil warmer for free.
Tuesday, October 04, 2011
When is a Warranty not a Warranty?
When you get it with MSi - that's when!
One of the reasons Jeffrey decided to buy the computer he did was that it came with a 3 year warranty from MSI. It also had a really good sound card and other things he needs for running sound and doing the things he needs to do. Everything was fine until the latch that held his battery cover on broke - and then it didn't hold the battery in like it was supposed to. So he called customer service to see if he could get it fixed. First of all, they made him pay to send it in. Then, after they had received the computer, they called several times telling him how much it was going to cost to get it fixed. Ummm... warranty!?
After much discussion, he got them to agree to fix the problem at no charge, which they should have just done in the first place since the computer was under warranty. But when he got it back, took it out of the box and turned it on, there was a crackle in the speakers that had not been there before. He called MSI and reported the problem and finally got them to agree to pay to have it sent back to them so they could fix the problem. Guess what? They couldn't find the problem. They couldn't even tell there was a problem. So they sent it back without fixing it. The crackle in the speakers? Jeffrey booted the computer up, I bent down and heard the crackle they couldn't find within about 10 seconds! Yep, their tech department over there at MSi is great! Maybe they could fix a problem if only they could or would admit there actually is one. Maybe.
So, the crackle didn't get fixed, and now the computer won't recognize any external sound things like headphones, microphones or speakers - so the crackle was probably the beginning of problems with the sound card. I wonder if they'll actually fix it?
In the meantime, Jeffrey is having some other problems with the computer so he thought the easiest thing might be to wipe it clean and start all over. The only problem - he can't re-install the operating stystem (Windows Vista) because it was stored/hidden on the hard drive. But the hard drive was set up really strangely - partitioned into a C and a D drive, but the C drive where everything is usually installed was really, really small, and he was running out of room to install programs. So he called MSi, talked to a tech, and was told how to remove the D partition so that he would just have one big hard drive. The tech said that wouldn't hurt a thing. Not a thing until he wants to re-install the operating system, because removing the partition wiped that out. And, yes, he could get a disc from the people at MSi to re-install, but they expect him to pay $25 to get it plus shipping. I can understand a nominal fee to cover the cost of the disc and the shipping, but that's just ridiculous. He paid for the operating system when he bought the computer. It already belongs to him. And it's their tech's fault for telling him he could remove the partition without hurting anything.
The guy said he could send the operating system disc out at no charge, if it was within the first year. Was there something special about this 3-year warranty that made it only nominally useful in the first year and then completely worthless for the remaining two years? All I can say is that if you're thinking about buying a computer from MSi, don't count on decent customer service or for them to honor your warranty. From what I can tell, they're incompetent crooks, who aren't willing to stand behind their product or take responsibility for their actions, and they definitely won't be getting any holiday invitations from this household!
*I linked to them multiple times with do follow links, hoping they'll notice and maybe be a bit ashamed.
One of the reasons Jeffrey decided to buy the computer he did was that it came with a 3 year warranty from MSI. It also had a really good sound card and other things he needs for running sound and doing the things he needs to do. Everything was fine until the latch that held his battery cover on broke - and then it didn't hold the battery in like it was supposed to. So he called customer service to see if he could get it fixed. First of all, they made him pay to send it in. Then, after they had received the computer, they called several times telling him how much it was going to cost to get it fixed. Ummm... warranty!?
After much discussion, he got them to agree to fix the problem at no charge, which they should have just done in the first place since the computer was under warranty. But when he got it back, took it out of the box and turned it on, there was a crackle in the speakers that had not been there before. He called MSI and reported the problem and finally got them to agree to pay to have it sent back to them so they could fix the problem. Guess what? They couldn't find the problem. They couldn't even tell there was a problem. So they sent it back without fixing it. The crackle in the speakers? Jeffrey booted the computer up, I bent down and heard the crackle they couldn't find within about 10 seconds! Yep, their tech department over there at MSi is great! Maybe they could fix a problem if only they could or would admit there actually is one. Maybe.
So, the crackle didn't get fixed, and now the computer won't recognize any external sound things like headphones, microphones or speakers - so the crackle was probably the beginning of problems with the sound card. I wonder if they'll actually fix it?
In the meantime, Jeffrey is having some other problems with the computer so he thought the easiest thing might be to wipe it clean and start all over. The only problem - he can't re-install the operating stystem (Windows Vista) because it was stored/hidden on the hard drive. But the hard drive was set up really strangely - partitioned into a C and a D drive, but the C drive where everything is usually installed was really, really small, and he was running out of room to install programs. So he called MSi, talked to a tech, and was told how to remove the D partition so that he would just have one big hard drive. The tech said that wouldn't hurt a thing. Not a thing until he wants to re-install the operating system, because removing the partition wiped that out. And, yes, he could get a disc from the people at MSi to re-install, but they expect him to pay $25 to get it plus shipping. I can understand a nominal fee to cover the cost of the disc and the shipping, but that's just ridiculous. He paid for the operating system when he bought the computer. It already belongs to him. And it's their tech's fault for telling him he could remove the partition without hurting anything.
The guy said he could send the operating system disc out at no charge, if it was within the first year. Was there something special about this 3-year warranty that made it only nominally useful in the first year and then completely worthless for the remaining two years? All I can say is that if you're thinking about buying a computer from MSi, don't count on decent customer service or for them to honor your warranty. From what I can tell, they're incompetent crooks, who aren't willing to stand behind their product or take responsibility for their actions, and they definitely won't be getting any holiday invitations from this household!
*I linked to them multiple times with do follow links, hoping they'll notice and maybe be a bit ashamed.
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