Today, you would think that spring has sprung....but it might only be fooling us. We are expected to get into the high 60s today but then it will be back down to freezing temps tonight and tomorrow night. Tomorrow won't even break the 60s....I think we have made the turn but that doesn't mean we won't have a few days here and there that are back in the throws of winter. I guess it means I am not going to get my big snow dump that I was hoping for but who knows...we could a freak thing, huh?
Lastly, I guess it means that I will be forced to get off my butt and get this yard looking nicer...our time away from the duties is over...haha.
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Geocaching Blues
I found 5 caches yesterday while I was out and about. 3 of them were in parking lots and totally sucked. One of the many reasons I won't miss geocaching in this state when we leave. I am thinking I might just archive all of mine and take them with me because these people who think that micros in the forest or in the littered backs of stores are exciting obviously can't appreciate a quality cache...grrrrr.
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Monday, February 19, 2007
Sounds Like...
Why is it that the music to the regular Law and Order reminds me so much of the show LA Law from when I was a kid?
How is it that with all the other things going on in our country and around the world, the fact that some stupid rich female celebrity shaved her head is reason for "Breaking News" on CNN?
How can movie trailers for new movies really feel okay about saying "the best animated movie of the year" when we are only in February? Isn't it the only animated movie from this year?
Is it any surprise that the muffler is rusted out on my new truck 900 miles after the end of the manufacturer's warranty?
How is it that with all the other things going on in our country and around the world, the fact that some stupid rich female celebrity shaved her head is reason for "Breaking News" on CNN?
How can movie trailers for new movies really feel okay about saying "the best animated movie of the year" when we are only in February? Isn't it the only animated movie from this year?
Is it any surprise that the muffler is rusted out on my new truck 900 miles after the end of the manufacturer's warranty?
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Peanut Butter Fiasco
Okay, I understand that there is a "recall" on certain peanut butter because of samonella or ecoli (this has been misreported today so who knows) and if a person has access to the Internet, they can find out exactly what brand and which lot number.
Thing is that the jack@ss local news stations want to get people to watch their broadcasts as 11pm so instead of caring about the public (those that might not have cable or Internet), they tell everyone to check in at 11 for the information.
Can I just say jack@sses again!!!
Thing is that the jack@ss local news stations want to get people to watch their broadcasts as 11pm so instead of caring about the public (those that might not have cable or Internet), they tell everyone to check in at 11 for the information.
Can I just say jack@sses again!!!
Roses
I went out yesterday afternoon to look at some properties with our realtor (long story), and didn't get back until around 4:30pm....when I did, there were a dozen roses in a vase waiting for me on the doorstep.
J must have ordered them while on his trip...makes me feel good to know he was thinking of me being alone on V day. I talked to him on the phone last night and thanked him for such a nice surprise.
They smell so great and just brighten the whole place up. I can't look at them without thinking of him. FLFA
J must have ordered them while on his trip...makes me feel good to know he was thinking of me being alone on V day. I talked to him on the phone last night and thanked him for such a nice surprise.
They smell so great and just brighten the whole place up. I can't look at them without thinking of him. FLFA
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Midnight Salad
When I was a kid, I would spend the night, quite often in fact, at my cousin's house. There were lots of weekends that I spent at their house....weird because now that I think about it, he hardly ever spent the night at my house...it was always their house that we had sleep overs at.
I could go into a whole soap opera explanation of how our families were connected, both legally and not legally but I am sure you would start to think we were from some hills in the SE of the US if I did that. All you really need to know is that our parents were very good friends as well as relatives (for a time) and that meant that my cousins and I grew up around each other (we even lived with them for a while when I was in jr high).
I always enjoyed my nights at their house...even if I hadn't planned ahead to stay the night, I could fit in my cousin's clothes and my aunt always had lots of silky cool pjs for me to choose from. Sometimes my aunt and uncle would put out the hidabed couch and sleep in the living room with us kids and we would stay up late watching horror movies (what else was on late in the late 70s/early 80s, huh?).
Without fail, everyone would fall asleep except for me and my uncle (think there were night owl genes involved here because my bio father was also a night owl). Around midnight we would get the munchies and he would get up and make a salad of iceburg lettuce, chunks of ham and blue cheese dressing. I swear that was the best salad I have ever had....and that time with him sharing that simple salad will always be a memory I cherish. I wonder if he remembers it too.
I could go into a whole soap opera explanation of how our families were connected, both legally and not legally but I am sure you would start to think we were from some hills in the SE of the US if I did that. All you really need to know is that our parents were very good friends as well as relatives (for a time) and that meant that my cousins and I grew up around each other (we even lived with them for a while when I was in jr high).
I always enjoyed my nights at their house...even if I hadn't planned ahead to stay the night, I could fit in my cousin's clothes and my aunt always had lots of silky cool pjs for me to choose from. Sometimes my aunt and uncle would put out the hidabed couch and sleep in the living room with us kids and we would stay up late watching horror movies (what else was on late in the late 70s/early 80s, huh?).
Without fail, everyone would fall asleep except for me and my uncle (think there were night owl genes involved here because my bio father was also a night owl). Around midnight we would get the munchies and he would get up and make a salad of iceburg lettuce, chunks of ham and blue cheese dressing. I swear that was the best salad I have ever had....and that time with him sharing that simple salad will always be a memory I cherish. I wonder if he remembers it too.
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
On My Own
I have been getting some awesome sleep the last few nights....and I know why. J is on a short business trip and I have the bed to myself. I put both head pillows in the middle of the bed and then the two leg pillows on each side. I can roll from position to position without having to do my usual "flip" and I guess that means that I am not waking up as much. It has been so nice.
I'll be glad when he gets home cause I miss him tons but I right now I am enjoying not having to do the "flip".
I'll be glad when he gets home cause I miss him tons but I right now I am enjoying not having to do the "flip".
Monday, February 12, 2007
Saving Water
Do automatic flushing toilets really save any water if they flush 4 or 5 times while you are still in the stall?
Friday, February 09, 2007
Is This True?
According to my January issue of Fitness magazine, nearly 25 percent of Americans say they've ironed their clothes while wearing them....
Thursday, February 08, 2007
Grandma's Pillowcases
Yesterday in my quest to remove all poison ivy/oak oil from my house, I did all the bedding. We have 4 pillows on our bed...one for each head and then one for each person's legs. The leg pillows sit on top of the bed and are visible. I always put one of my grandmother's pillow cases on those pillows because they are nice to look at and since they are out in the open, I figure what better place to have them.
For as long as I can remember my grandmother has embroidered. Mostly pillowcases but table runners, baby quilts and other items have made it in the mix as well. I started my own embroidery kit so I could do it with her when I was still in elementary school and I cross stitch now (and I am sure this comes from her). I have lots of pillowcases for my home that she has embroidered for me. I joke that I have enough to change cases everyday and not repeat for a year but I don't have that many...
I was thinking yesterday, when I was changing the cases on our leg pillows, that I will be bummed when these cases wear out. I have some quilts in my closet that were made by one of my great grandmothers and I don't use them like I used to because I don't want them to wear out. My great grandmothers would think it was weird that I have these beautiful quilts that I don't use for fear of wearing them out (but when they made them, they probably didn't think they would become antiques and worth money).
I am sure my grandma would think it was strange if I didn't use her pillowcases too, but then if I ever handed them down to the next generation, they would probably end up stored like my quilts so they wouldn't get worn out...weird how the value changes. Is it more valuable as something being used or is it more valuable hanging out in pristine condition in my closet?
Anyhow I decided I would make a quilt out of the embroidered parts when and if the pillowcases wear out. I have never made a quilt before and I don't really need another project right now so hopefully they will last for quite some time.
For as long as I can remember my grandmother has embroidered. Mostly pillowcases but table runners, baby quilts and other items have made it in the mix as well. I started my own embroidery kit so I could do it with her when I was still in elementary school and I cross stitch now (and I am sure this comes from her). I have lots of pillowcases for my home that she has embroidered for me. I joke that I have enough to change cases everyday and not repeat for a year but I don't have that many...
I was thinking yesterday, when I was changing the cases on our leg pillows, that I will be bummed when these cases wear out. I have some quilts in my closet that were made by one of my great grandmothers and I don't use them like I used to because I don't want them to wear out. My great grandmothers would think it was weird that I have these beautiful quilts that I don't use for fear of wearing them out (but when they made them, they probably didn't think they would become antiques and worth money).
I am sure my grandma would think it was strange if I didn't use her pillowcases too, but then if I ever handed them down to the next generation, they would probably end up stored like my quilts so they wouldn't get worn out...weird how the value changes. Is it more valuable as something being used or is it more valuable hanging out in pristine condition in my closet?
Anyhow I decided I would make a quilt out of the embroidered parts when and if the pillowcases wear out. I have never made a quilt before and I don't really need another project right now so hopefully they will last for quite some time.
Warning....Updated
Make sure you are changing your Blogger password regularly...seems to be a rash of h@ckers using a forced password program to hack people's account. Since Blogger doesn't have a lock out on their password system, the h@ckers can just keep trying until they get it right...I have seen at least 8 blogs today that were broken into in the last two days....and I am sure there are more.
Don't know why anyone would do this to someone else...just lame but then some people are just lame.
Update:
Seems that most of those claiming to being hacked were actually deleted by Blogger for TOS violations. At least one was really hacked and the password issue is still relevant but at least it is not a epidemic of hacking going on...
Don't know why anyone would do this to someone else...just lame but then some people are just lame.
Update:
Seems that most of those claiming to being hacked were actually deleted by Blogger for TOS violations. At least one was really hacked and the password issue is still relevant but at least it is not a epidemic of hacking going on...
Wednesday, February 07, 2007
Stamping Out The Oil
Looks like J might have gotten either poison ivy or oak so I am doing a lot of laundry today because who knows what clothes he was wearing when it happened and what he might have touched in our house.
I already went through the entire house with a rag soaked with alcohol on it so I could get rid of the oils if they are any anything, like doorknobs, lightswitches, and flushers.
Ugh!!! I hate this stuff but we both get it pretty bad so the precautions are worth the effort.
I already went through the entire house with a rag soaked with alcohol on it so I could get rid of the oils if they are any anything, like doorknobs, lightswitches, and flushers.
Ugh!!! I hate this stuff but we both get it pretty bad so the precautions are worth the effort.
Sunday, February 04, 2007
Today Is The Day
Whooooeeee!!! Superbowl Sunday is here. I will get going on that soon, but I have to get some stuff done around here before heading over to our friends for the big game. I will have my socks and sweatshirt on and hopefully they will help to push the Bears to a Superbowl Victory!!!!
Saturday, February 03, 2007
Thursday, February 01, 2007
Snow Updated!!!
We finally got snow this morning!!!! We only had a sprinkling earlier and then it started to really snow a bit. Now we have about 2 inches but the rain has started so I am sure it won't last long. I managed to get outside and take some photos and video before my camcorder batteries died. At least I have some footage...will probably stay in today, except for picking up my niece later this afternoon and going to the gym after lunch.
Redundant
I have become a bit addicted to the Blogger Help Forum's. I try to post helpful information when I can, but this morning has been ridiculous.
Apparently a huge amount of people are having problems. These could be a server problem at Blogger, or they could be a migration from old to new problem. Thing is, everyone is posting their error message on the forums in all the different topic areas (some of which are not for problems) and no one seems to be reading the fact that EVERYONE is having this problem (meaning it is something that Blogger is probably working on and won't be fixed until it is fixed by them). There are hundreds of posts about this same exact problem and people are all pissed because it is not fixed yet.
Seems a few people have found relief by reloading their pages, or even by upgrading to the new templates while others have mentioned that reverting back to classic templates has helped them. I know that I would be irritated if I was having a problem, and I might even go to the forums to see what was up, but if I saw that everyone was having the same problem, I would just figure that Blogger was working on it and I would just have to wait. I definitely wouldn't start modifying my template without an indication from Blogger that I should do so.
It is amazing to me that when there is a problem online, people get mad so fast when it is not completely fixed in a matter of minutes. The instantaneousness of the web has made us all a bit less patient.
Apparently a huge amount of people are having problems. These could be a server problem at Blogger, or they could be a migration from old to new problem. Thing is, everyone is posting their error message on the forums in all the different topic areas (some of which are not for problems) and no one seems to be reading the fact that EVERYONE is having this problem (meaning it is something that Blogger is probably working on and won't be fixed until it is fixed by them). There are hundreds of posts about this same exact problem and people are all pissed because it is not fixed yet.
Seems a few people have found relief by reloading their pages, or even by upgrading to the new templates while others have mentioned that reverting back to classic templates has helped them. I know that I would be irritated if I was having a problem, and I might even go to the forums to see what was up, but if I saw that everyone was having the same problem, I would just figure that Blogger was working on it and I would just have to wait. I definitely wouldn't start modifying my template without an indication from Blogger that I should do so.
It is amazing to me that when there is a problem online, people get mad so fast when it is not completely fixed in a matter of minutes. The instantaneousness of the web has made us all a bit less patient.
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Wool Coat
How exciting is my life that I am blogging about my coat???
Well, today I broke down and finally bought a "dress coat". I have a ton of coats, in fact I have a pile of them in a goodwill box on their way out the door. Coats are very hard for me to give up but reality is that when it comes to actually wearing a coat, there are only a couple that I really wear and the rest are just there for reserve.
I am trying to be better about not hoarding things and moving into a simpler life but it is hard for me....I am by nature a pack rat and keeping things for "just in case" is a motto of my life.
So, you are probably wondering, how buying a new coat is working on simplifying things...well, I haven't had a coat that I could wear with nice clothes or dresses, since I don't know...highschool, when I would wear recycled black trenchcoats? So I needed to get a nice wool coat with the idea, that this would free me up to get rid of three others that I have just had in reserve.
It seemed like I was in Burlington Coat Factory forever but I ended up with a 275 dollar Anne Klein wool/cashmere coat for about 100 bucks and I am happy with the purchase. I don't know that I will wear this coat all the time, but it will definitely fit the bill for the long term dressy needs, and now I can hand off the "wannabe" letterman's jacket, the 80's fleece, and the ugly OD green coat I used to wear in the 90's with big sweaters and leggings....(yes, I wore them too). I am sure someone else will find these coats very useful in the cold days we have left this winter, and I will feel a bit free-er.
Well, today I broke down and finally bought a "dress coat". I have a ton of coats, in fact I have a pile of them in a goodwill box on their way out the door. Coats are very hard for me to give up but reality is that when it comes to actually wearing a coat, there are only a couple that I really wear and the rest are just there for reserve.
I am trying to be better about not hoarding things and moving into a simpler life but it is hard for me....I am by nature a pack rat and keeping things for "just in case" is a motto of my life.
So, you are probably wondering, how buying a new coat is working on simplifying things...well, I haven't had a coat that I could wear with nice clothes or dresses, since I don't know...highschool, when I would wear recycled black trenchcoats? So I needed to get a nice wool coat with the idea, that this would free me up to get rid of three others that I have just had in reserve.
It seemed like I was in Burlington Coat Factory forever but I ended up with a 275 dollar Anne Klein wool/cashmere coat for about 100 bucks and I am happy with the purchase. I don't know that I will wear this coat all the time, but it will definitely fit the bill for the long term dressy needs, and now I can hand off the "wannabe" letterman's jacket, the 80's fleece, and the ugly OD green coat I used to wear in the 90's with big sweaters and leggings....(yes, I wore them too). I am sure someone else will find these coats very useful in the cold days we have left this winter, and I will feel a bit free-er.
Monday, January 29, 2007
Taxes Are Coming
Well, the season is upon us again. I have not actually started dealing with it full scale but it is on the back of my mind. I have purchased my software, mostly I am waiting for tax paperwork to come in the mail and for the motivation to the year end filing to locate all the necessary components.....haha.
I am usually a Turbotax user but in the last few years have gotten very irritated with their new methods. The basic version (which is the only version I have ever used) has progressively started to offer less and less for those that need to do more than a 1040EZ. Since we own a house that we live in and own one we rent one out in another state, our taxes can be slightly confusing (not as confusing as they would be if we had a business or something). I have recently found that Turbotax has not been helping me as much as it should and that pisses me off. I mean to offer something for a price and then to slowly reduce what you are offering but not lowering the price any is just plain deceitful.
So I looked into my options and decided to go with Taxcut this year. Their prices differences are not based on what they offer me regarding my federal taxes but based on whether you want to e-file (which I don't) or if you have state taxes to do (which I don't). I read a review/comparison on the two and Taxcut won out. I am hoping that I will get all questions asked that I need to do my taxes correctly this year and will feel justified in my decision to dump Turbotax.
I am usually a Turbotax user but in the last few years have gotten very irritated with their new methods. The basic version (which is the only version I have ever used) has progressively started to offer less and less for those that need to do more than a 1040EZ. Since we own a house that we live in and own one we rent one out in another state, our taxes can be slightly confusing (not as confusing as they would be if we had a business or something). I have recently found that Turbotax has not been helping me as much as it should and that pisses me off. I mean to offer something for a price and then to slowly reduce what you are offering but not lowering the price any is just plain deceitful.
So I looked into my options and decided to go with Taxcut this year. Their prices differences are not based on what they offer me regarding my federal taxes but based on whether you want to e-file (which I don't) or if you have state taxes to do (which I don't). I read a review/comparison on the two and Taxcut won out. I am hoping that I will get all questions asked that I need to do my taxes correctly this year and will feel justified in my decision to dump Turbotax.
Saturday, January 27, 2007
Pinging Issues
Well, as you all know (at least those of you that use Blogrolling) there has been a problem lately with their "recently updated" feature not working. In reality, it works fine, the problem seems to be either that Blogger is no longer sending out pings that they can read (I think this might be a New Blogger issue), or they are being bombarded with spam pings and legit ones are being dropped. I have tested the system by pinging the manually for all of my updates (as well as blogs that I read) and those go through fine and the "recently updated" feature seems to function fine.
I started noticing that recently my RSS feeds (this turns out to be partly because the RSS address on New Blogger is different than on Old Blogger) of my blog weren't updating on My Yahoo much and I am trying to get more traffic (even put my main blog on FuelMyBlog). I listed my blog with Yahoo and Google, and have been proactive in trying to get this "recently updated" issue fixed. I have become even more convinced that there is a New Blogger pinging problem. I don't think that their pings to even Weblogs or Technorati are working either. That is why I went to Autopinger yesterday.
I signed up for a free account and put all my blogs into their automated system where I could pick and choose which services would be pinged (and they ping EVERYBODY). I also ping manually through them each time I update one of my blogs just to be as current as I can. It has become part of my blogging routine. I turn off the services that are of the lowest percentages (usually indicates a problem with their system), and a lot of the non-english services (I keep at least two of the Japanese ones but turn off most of the others).
Anyhow, I thought I would share news of this service because it seems that my pings from them are getting through to Blogrolling with no problem and my blogs are reflecting the correct "recently updated" information. I figured that some of you might want to sign your blogs up for this service so that your blogs would show as "recently updated" as well since Blogger doesn't seem to be doing it for us right now.
Note: There is another service called Pingomatic that you can use for manual pings but I like the fact that if I forget to do it manually with Autopinger, they will eventually do it for me (I think it is at least once an hour).
I started noticing that recently my RSS feeds (this turns out to be partly because the RSS address on New Blogger is different than on Old Blogger) of my blog weren't updating on My Yahoo much and I am trying to get more traffic (even put my main blog on FuelMyBlog). I listed my blog with Yahoo and Google, and have been proactive in trying to get this "recently updated" issue fixed. I have become even more convinced that there is a New Blogger pinging problem. I don't think that their pings to even Weblogs or Technorati are working either. That is why I went to Autopinger yesterday.
I signed up for a free account and put all my blogs into their automated system where I could pick and choose which services would be pinged (and they ping EVERYBODY). I also ping manually through them each time I update one of my blogs just to be as current as I can. It has become part of my blogging routine. I turn off the services that are of the lowest percentages (usually indicates a problem with their system), and a lot of the non-english services (I keep at least two of the Japanese ones but turn off most of the others).
Anyhow, I thought I would share news of this service because it seems that my pings from them are getting through to Blogrolling with no problem and my blogs are reflecting the correct "recently updated" information. I figured that some of you might want to sign your blogs up for this service so that your blogs would show as "recently updated" as well since Blogger doesn't seem to be doing it for us right now.
Note: There is another service called Pingomatic that you can use for manual pings but I like the fact that if I forget to do it manually with Autopinger, they will eventually do it for me (I think it is at least once an hour).
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