Wordless Wednesday

I thought this was a neat pic with the sun breaking through the clouds.  What is a good pic that you have taken?

Mid Week Blog Hop

Weekend Blog Hop

Free Online Interactive Children's Library

I just learned of a fantastic free online children’s book library that is being developed which I highly recommend for you to visit and ‘Like’ their Facebook fan page to show your support and to be appraised of their developments. Children’s literacy is so important and the goal of this program is to create a public library online giving families and schools access to 100’s of quality interactive children’s books at no cost.

Here is the link to show your support for this wonderful program:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Free-Online-Interactive-Childrens-Books/158576927518927

Statistics. Who automatically cringes? Read this ...

I was totally excited when Tammy asked me to write about my experience during the Back to School, Back to Blogging Challenge hosted by Kludgy Mom. When I sat down to think about what I learned from this challenge, I was overwhelmed, I didn’t know where to start – I learned so much! I decided to do a Best of Back to School, Back to Blogging Challenge and post the favorite five things I learned and found beneficial! This is #5.  Here we go……

 Statistics

I’m guilty of obsessing over my blog statistics. I would check out my Google Analytics each night and would get excited that I had three more visitors today than I did yesterday or that the average time people spent on my site was now 2 minutes, 26 seconds! Yes, that is exciting, but other than that, I didn’t know how to get the most out of my blogs statistics. That’s where the B2S/B2B came in!

Kludgy Mom introduced us to the StatBook StatBook. She gave us an excellent tutorial on how to bring all those worthless important information we pulled from our statistics into one spot. She walked us through the making of the book, and what information was important to include. Kludgy suggested many important statistics to include that I hadn’t thought of as significant until then. Now that my StatBook is complete, each month, I will enter the prior month’s stats and can start to look for trends in my blog!

• The Official B2S/B2B information about statistics can be found here HERE and here HERE!

This is the last guest post from Cori, she was a real life-saver. I hope you enjoyed it!

Stumbled upon Stumble Upon yet?? Here's how!

Cori's  take on Stumble Upon


I have to be honest with you; I haven’t been fantastic about using Stumble Upon. I love the concept, but am having a hard time remembering to Stumble! However, I see how important it can be to bring new readers and potential followers to your blog!

First off, you need to sign-up for  Stumble Upon and I highly recommend you download their toolbar to your browser!

According to Gigi…

“Stumble Upon is a network of sites (not just blogs). When your site is registered with SU, you have a chance of receiving free traffic from other members (called Stumblers). But like with any other social media tool, you have to BE traffic to get traffic.”

Stumble Upon is very easy (assuming you downloaded the toolbar!) to use! When you visit a blog you enjoy, click the “I like it” icon on your Stumble Upon toolbar - that’s it, you’ve Stumbled!! If you are the FIRST person to like that specific page, you will be brought to Review Box. Type in your review and hit submit…easy!

The more you Stumble onto other sites and “like” them, the more people will Stumble upon your site!

Want a jumpstart to Stumble-Upon? There’s a weekly group on Kludgy Mom's Blogfrog Community], where you can add a post you want stumbled that week, and others will stumble that pages in exchange for you stumbling theirs! It’s a great way to begin climbing the Stumble-Upon chain!

• The Official B2S/B2B information about Stumble Upon can be found here HERE.

Who needs ideas?? Go to the idea bankl!

Courtesy of Cori 


We’ve all gone through blogging slumps. We have nothing worthwhile to blog about. Life is boring. Thus, your blog is boring. Now can you get out of the rut, with Kludgy Mom's Idea Bank]!

The Idea Bank is comprised of nearly 700 writing prompts! Pick a prompt, and write about it! It’s as easy as that!

The Idea Bank is continually being edited and updated! Have a prompt you want to add…according to Kludgy we should “keep the Idea Bank fresh by depositing a new idea (by leaving a comment) if you make a withdrawal of an idea”. I challenge you to leave a deposit or two in the Idea Bank, let’s keep the Idea Bank balance high!

• The Official B2S/B2B information about the Idea Bank can be found here Idea Bank, if you want to check out the idea book you can find it here HERE.

If you are enjoying the guest posts, I hope you are showing the love to Cori & Gigi!! ~ TP

Photography ~ guest series continues!!

 Guest series with Cori from Coris Big Mouth continues with her comments on how to add photos to your blog....

 

I think in my next life I want to be a photographer. Lately, I am so intrigued by not only photography, but also techniques and photo editing! Prior to B2S/B2B, I became a fan and follower of Alicia’s blog A Beautiful Mess and her beautiful photography. (If you haven’t checked out her blog, you must! You’re totally missing out!). Well, it didn’t surprise me that she was chosen to do a guest post on photography for the final week of the challenge!

 

Alicia reassures all us non-photographers or photographer-wannabees that “these days, you don’t have to be a photographer to have amazing photos”. Few! There’s still hope for me! Here are a few of her suggestions to add better quality photos to your blog.

 

• Use Stock Photos – Perfect if you forgot to take photos or you don’t have photos appropriate for a blog post!
• Utilize Photo Editing Programs – I’ve been getting better about using photo editors to improve my photos! It’s amazing what a couple simple enhancements can do to a boring photo! My personal favorite photo editor is an online program Picnik [http://www.picnik.com]. With Picnik you can edit and enhance photos and make collages! All very user friendly!
• Watermarking – I’m bad at this, but I understand that in today’s world, you really need to watermark your photos, so other people don’t steal them. This is one aspect of photography and my blog that I need to improve! But with all the crazies in society today, you can never be too careful when trying to protect your family!
• The Official B2S/B2B information about Photography can be found here HERE.

 

Guest post!!

http://www.kludgymom.com/As most of you know, I'm whirling away on completing my degree (less than 3 wks, woot!). So, Cori from Cori's big mouth has graciously agreed to be my guest poster for the week while I finish up some last minute school projects.  Here are some tidbits to help you get to know her:

• started a hairbow making business
• nanny for triplets
• going to college and currently taking American Sign Language
• Preemie Awareness Advocate
•  done a lot of traveling through caribbean cruises, even been through the panama canal
• successfully finished the B2SB2B challenge
• Love, Love, Love to scrapbook just wish I had more time to do it!

This fall we participated in an event sponsored by Gigi @ kludgymom.com called "Back to School, Back to Blogging" or #B2SB2B for you Twitter affecionados.  Cori is sharing her favorite gems of wisdom from that event with you. Today's gem, NETWORKING!  Enjoy!!  Here's Cori ... :)

#1: Networking

 

Networking. You either love it, hate it or are scared to death of it! I for one, L*O*V*E networking with others, but I know that others are completely overwhelmed by the whole concept!

 

Well Kludgy Mom made it easy and broke it down into three focus areas: Blog Networks, Comments, and Social Media – even better she broke it down into an easy to follow diagram! The best part is….she made three separate diagrams (TP here, pardon the interruption, I was unable to get the pics to post ): )depending on how many followers you have to determine where you should spend most of your time in the blogosphere! How awesome is that?!  

 

1. Blog Networks: Not only do you need to JOIN blog networks, but you need to be ACTIVE in the networks! Post questions in their forums. Respond to others. Participate in events. Visit the blogs of the day. I’m a currently a member of two Blog Networks, Blog Frog and Bloggers. I know there are tons more and I challenge you to find them and join!

2. Comments: I’m sure you’re like me and read blog after blog and enjoy it! But how often do you leave a comment? If you have something thoughtful or pertinent to say, take the extra minute to comment. Everyone loves comments, no matter if they are famous established bloggers or a newbie blogger - a comment is a comment!

 

3. Social Media: I use Twitter, Facebook and Stumble Upon on a daily basis as a way to promote and share my blog with the world! You can set-up self-publishing/auto-feeds for both sites. So as soon as you publish your blog post, it’ll post to Twitter and/or Facebook…how easy is that?!

•  Twitter: Kludgy Mom wrote an awesome eBook on Getting Over Your Fears of Twitter that has some great information on how to get the most for your blog out of Twitter!
• Facebook: Facebook is a great way to share your blog feeds with your friends and family! You can even take it a step further and set-up a Facebook Fan Page for your blog! Fan pages are great because you can share your blog feeds with fellow bloggers who aren’t on your personal Facebook page!
• Stumble Upon: See above!

 The Official B2S/B2B information about Networking can be found HERE. If you want more information for New Bloggers (less than 100 followers) click HERE]. If you want information for Growing Bloggers (100-300 followers) click HERE and if you want more information for Established Bloggers (300+ followers) click HERE.

 

Okay, I know that was a lot of information for one blog post!

 
If you want to check out the ENTIRE Back To School, Back To Blogging Challenge, you can check it out on Kludgy Mom's blog. If you are curious what I had to say about the challenge, you can check out my posts for the challenge HERE!

 

Happy Blogging Everyone!

 

 

Wordless Wednesday ... video

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Wordless Wednesday

peekaboo!! Hope everyone is having a wonderful Wednesday!

Mid-Week Mingle

It's simple to participate, here are the rules:

1. Please place the "Mid Week Mingle Blog Hop" button in a blog post and/or on your blog somewhere. This lets us all know where to find each other!
2. Visit at least 2 blogs on this list.  
3. Add your name/image to the linky list below so we can visit you back.  

 Comments are optional but always appreciated☺

 

 

Weekend Blog Hop

Weekend Blog Hop!!

I participate in this weekly blog hop hosted by Tara over at Graphic Designs by Tara



It's simple to participate, here are Tara's rules:

 

1.  Please place the "Weekend Blog Hop" button in a blog post and/or on your blog somewhere. This lets us all know where to find each other!
2. Follow Tara's blog.
3. Visit at least 2 blogs on the list on her site.
4. Add your name/image to the linky list on her site so we can visit you back. She will be following everyone who posts.
5. Comments are optional but always appreciated☺

Join the fun!!

 

 

 

 

 

Saturday Silliness

Alright, I feel really bad that everyone has been so neglected.  Here are my excuses: boatloads of schoolwork & dealing with the aftermath of my FIL's passing last week.  Any sympathy?? :)

Here's a cartoon to bring a chuckle to your day.  Hope everyone is having a fantabulous weekend!!

Courtesy of Zits ®

What amuses y'all?? I enjoy deprecating teenager jokes/cartoons @ this point in my life; they are so close to my life! :)

Family emergency

Sorry for my absence.  Been busy, busy.  My father-in-law who has suffered from Alzheimer's has declined and is in the dying process.  We are leaving today to travel to IN (10-12 hr drive).  The family would welcome your prayers. 

Study or blog, that is the question

I'm waxing Shakespearean this morning, lol.  I came to the libray with the best of intentions.  I was going to edit a project for school before heading to work.  However, fate dealt me a cruel hand.  When I opened the file, I discovered the library computer had a different version of Word.  What's a girl to do? I mean seriously.  Why spend time reformatting it when I could just wait and work on it after I get home. Right? RIGHT?!?! Who is with me? "Work smarter, not harder" is my motto. So, you can obviously see which decision I made.  Really, it was the only rational one. :D


So, let's get you caught up on what is happening in my little corner of the world.  Shall we? 

• Favorite recent B.ism "my private anger issues are my business!!" Said after I was trying to give her better anger management techniques than screaming "I hate you" @ the taekwondo instructor when she becomes frustrated.
• Started B. on a med for ADHD. She is doing AWESOME! Woot!
• J is still perfecting the surly youth persona.
• Celebrated 17th anniversary by vomiting the very expensive dinner I had eaten. Blech.
• Got a second dinner out of the deal though. :D
• Went to a wine tasting where the owner became more talkative the more she drank. ;)
• Started PT last week.  Experiencing some mixed emotions, let me tell you.
• Started orientation as the substitute nurse for the school district.
• Getting caught up on projects around the house since I am more mobile.

That's enough about me.  What is going on with you? Anything new, fun, and/or exciting?? C'mon, spill ...

Weekend Hop!!

Welcome to my Weekend Blog Hop!

 It's simple to participate, here are the rules:

1. Please place the "Weekend Blog Hop" button in a blog post and/or on your blog somewhere. This lets us all know where to find each other!
2. Follow Tara, she is hosting the blog hop.
3. Visit at least 2 blogs on the list.
4. Add your name/image to the linky list below so we can visit you back.
5. Comments are optional but always appreciated☺

 

 Please support this blog hop by using your Facebook, Twitter, and forums to advertise. It's great for everyone to discover new friends, followers, and fantastic blogs!

Thanks so much for participating!

T♥

Friendly Friday - Blog Hop

Welcome to Friendly Friday!

Remember, YOU can host the link list on your blog, too! Just click "Get the code here..." at the bottom of the list. The code is different every week, so be sure to get the new code when hosting Friendly Friday on your blog. Hosting the list is a great way to get even more traffic to your blog and make Friendly Friday more beneficial for everyone.

Thanks for joining the Friendly Friday celebration hosted by Xenia at Thanks, Mail Carrier, Christi at Frugal Novice and Charla at Healthy Home Blog! We invite you to join us every Friday to make more friends in blogville, get more blog followers and follow other great blogs out there.



To join in the Friendly Friday celebration, include your family-friendly link in our list, follow the hostesses in the first 3 spots and then start blog hopping! Visit other blogs on the list and comment to give them some blog love. Then take a minute to follow them through Google Friend Connect - this is a good way to keep up with other blogs, but also lets us show support to each other! Please DO NOT list your giveaways here, links must be to either your homepage or your Friday posting with your blog title. All others will be deleted.


When people comment on your blog and let you know they're a part of Friendly Friday, return the favor and follow them back. This way everyone gets traffic and followers out of participating, and it's a win-win situation. We would love for you to also grab our Friendly Friday button and post it on your blog and/or in a post - the more bloggers that find out about Friendly Friday and participate, the better!

Spotlight on Friendly Friday Followers!

We love your participation and want to show it! In addition to gaining followers, each week we'll select three blogs at random and will feature links and a write-up for those blogs in the content of next week's Friendly Friday post. There are so many seriously wonderful blogs out there, and this will be a great way to highlight some of those each week. Say hello to the lucky chosen 3 for this week (and feel free to stop by and give them a little extra love):


The Nesty Girl over at - you guessed it! - Nesty writes about pursuing a happy home and a honeyed life through simplified living! She updates her blog three times a week with recipes, creative ideas, scrapbooking projects, and stories from her day-to-day life. Her writing is charming and relatable and, well, a lot of fun to read!


Jill (who lives in Florida) and Denise (who lives in California) are the bloggers behind Cottage Sisters. Denise is married to Jill's brother Mike, so they're related by marriage but are, according to them, sisters by heart. Their blog started as a way to share their homes, recipes, great books, and everything in between. You'll find photos galore and get a taste of both coasts!

Kime' at Adventures of the Domesticated Mama is a Christian SAHM (stay-at-home-mom) to six children. She homeschools and loves to sew, knit, crochet and bake. She hosts a lot of great reviews and giveaways and is very active in the blogging community. You'll also see fun photos of her family for Wordless Wednesdays from time to time!


Now that you know about these 3 wonderful blogs, it's time for you to join in! Add your family-friendly link below and we'll see you! And don't forget, you can grab the code to share the link list on your blog, too.


All three hostesses appreciate followers through Google Friend Connect AND Twitter and we'll follow you back - just leave a comment with your URL and/or Twitter username. Have a great weekend, everyone!

Mid Week Mingle Blog Hop!

It's simple to participate, here are the rules:

Please place the "Mid Week Mingle Blog Hop" button in a blog post and/or on your blog somewhere. This lets us all know where to find each other!

Follow my blog.

Visit at least 2 blogs on this list.

Add your name/image to the linky list below so we can visit you back.
Comments are optional but always appreciated☺

 
Please support this blog hop by using your Facebook, Twitter, and forums to advertise. It's great for everyone to discover new friends, followers, and fantastic blogs!


Thanks so much for participating!

T♥


 

Club Rules - Aspie style

OK, I found these when emptying DD's backpack.  Funny stuff (unintentional though it may be) from a 7y/o.  Misspellings are hers. 

1. No homework
2. bring - snack
3. No boys allowed
4. We meet at 8 p.m. in the afternoon
5. Wear your clothes
6. Only 1 boy allowed
7. Sleepovers are allowed
8. Bring cookies sometimes for snak.
9. We meet after school
10. Bring toys
11. Bring candy.
12. Bring sleeping bags
13. Bring drinks
14. No dirty + stinky peapole allowed
15. Only peaple 60 poands and below can be in the club
16. No squirming at slumber partys
17. No snoring at slumber partys
18. Use manners
19. Be quiet when the leaders talking
20. Don't grab other peaples arms
21. Don't hurt peaple
22. Don't yell at peaple
23. No back sass

Does anyone detect a trend...?  What rules made you LOL? My personal favorite was #5!! :)

The Versatile Blogger

I am thrilled to announce that I just won The Versatile Blogger Award from my friend Keri at Married to a geek! Thanks, Keri for selecting me! :)

**This is just a fun way to meet other bloggers and get to know one another, by passing these fun bloggy awards to other bloggers that we like! There are some FUN rules in accepting this bloggy award.

1. Thank and link back to the person who gave you the award.

2. Share 7 things about yourself.
3. Pass the award along to 15 other bloggers who you recently discovered and think are fabulous.

4. Contact the bloggers you choose and let them know they won the award.

Hmmm...7 Things about myself:

• I am a full time student; will graduate with my Bachelor's degree in nursing in December.  Woot!
• I am doing Taekwondo with my DD; currently sidelined due to a knee injury.
• My husband and I met through a video dating service.
• I would love to be a published author someday.
• I am an advocate of individuals with special needs; my daughter has Asperger's.
• I am a chocoholic!
• I spend too much time utilizing social media. LOL! 

 **OK**My picks for the 15 other bloggers to win this fun award!

1. Married to a Geek
2. Kludgy mom
3. We Aren't Perfect
4. Blue Frogs Legs
5. From Tracie
6. My Life as an Ungraceful, Unwilling Draftee into the Autism Army
7. The Redhead Riter
8. 2 girls on a bench
9. All Things Fadra
10. A Mother's Hood
11. Life With The Campbells
12. Katdish
13. Stark, Raving, Mad Mommy
14. A Belle, a Bean, & a Chicago Dog
15. A Bloggy Mom

Wordless Wednesday: Awesome Aspie Pics

Ok, so not totally wordless ... These pics were taken by my 7y/o Aspie w/only minor editing by me.

Girls with Asperger's - video w/Tony Atwood

Hello all! Here is a video interview with Dr. Tony Atwood regarding girls with Asperger's Syndrome.   It is approximately 9 minutes long, but well worth your time if you are interested in this subject. Courtesy of Autism Hangout ...

Girls with Asperger's Syndrome

Wednesday Blog Hop

Tuesday Trivia -- viva Le France

Here is today's trivia question:

What game was created by French mathematician Blaise Pascal, which he discovered when doing experiments into perpetual motion?



I will post the answer later in the day. Good luck!!

What other thought-provoking issues have you pondered today? :)

Monday Madness - - Trickle-Down Crimefighting

Today's episode of Monday Madness is courtesy of Buck's Weird News Blog

For those of you unfamiliar with Monday Madness, this will get you up to speed

Trickle-Down Crimefighting: Stimulus Helps Solve Cold Case


Who says stimulus doesn't work?

Police say they nabbed this man in a 22-year-old murder case... all thanks to a federal DNA grant.


Harold David Toney was a mechanic and part-time roofer working for, and living in a trailer on the property of, Hulon and Elaine Hughes - a couple found shot to death in their home in 1988. Although Toney was arrested after witness said he argued with Hulon Hughes and threatened to kill him, he was never charged with the murders... until now.

Police say the federal DNA grant helped them reexamine cold cases, and the trail led them back to Toney, according to KTLA.com.

To which I say ... Seriously??

What Monday Madness have you encountered today??

Love or Hate, the choice is yours ...

As everyone knows, today is the anniversary of the terrorist attacks.  Several of you have posted your own thoughts, tribute, etc. regarding these tragic events and the aftermath.  The root issue, as always, is life or death, love or hate.  What is your choice?  Choose you this day whom (or what)you will serve ... (Josh 24:25); the Bible also says you cannot serve two masters. So for those espousing hate in the name of God, I urge you to be cautious; God is not only a God of love (Deut. 4:31), God IS love (1 Jn. 4:8).  Remember the fallen and choose well.   Warning: videos are graphic, not for young viewers.

Hate
9-11 as it happened

Love
Because You Loved me

videos courtesy of You-Tube

What is your choice?

Thursday Triumph

Today's Thursday Triumph is on a personal level.  My son who has been, shall we say, unmotivated academically brought home a English paper with a grade of B+, 5 points from an A.  Woot!! He also seems to be a bit more overall motivated.  Also. Yay!!  Here's to hoping the trend continues. :)

Monday Madness - Labor Day

In honor of Labor Day, today's Monday Madness celebrates, well ... labor.  The article is from EW's celebration of Labor Day, with a twist.  They list the "20 most memorable movie/TV births; these made the cut:

• The Office (Celia Halpert)
• V: The Final Battle (Elizabeth & her terrifying lizard brother)
• Knocked Up (unnamed girl)
• Lost (Aaron Littleton)
• Children of Men (Dylan)
• Juno (unnamed boy)
• Alien (alien)
• She's Having a Baby ( unnamed boy)
• Fools Rush In (unnamed girl)
• Friends (Emma Geller-Green)
• The Fly (Giant Maggot Baby)
• The Cosby Show (A toy sailboat, a toy sports car, a giant sandwich, and a bottle of orange soda)
• Sex and the City (Brady Hobbes)
• Glee (Beth)
• ER (Jared)
• Stars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (Luke Skywalker & Leia Organa) AND Star Trek (James Tiberius Kirk)
• The Back-Up Plan (two adorable baby girls)
• Apocalypto (2nd child of Jaguar Paw)
• Look Who's Talking (Mikey Jensen)
• Nine Months (Samuel Jr.)

Are these your top picks? Did they miss any??  

Thursday Triumph

 I'mmmm baaaack! Did anyone miss me?? I have been out of commission for the last couple of days with a stomach bug.  I will spare your delicate sensibilities the graphic details.
Anyway, so I am feeling better and ready for this week's post of Thursday Triumph or Tantrum; this week is a triumph.  Yay!! I feel good, so let's share the love...   :)

Artist opens show at Ramapo College

Alex Kasket, a 23 year-old artist, lives in Westchester County, New Jersey. Masket is completely self-taught and has freedoms unimaginable to most other artists. He doesn't have to buy his materials or make money for rent. He isn't worried about critics or a judgmental art world. He doesn't care. Really. But he's happy to stand in the spotlight while others admire his work. On the way to a show he might say, "I am a movie star."

But this isn't some independently wealthy, self-absorbed artist in action. "I am a movie star" is actually one of the few things Alex can say. He is severely autistic and what his mother, Elaine, calls functional non-verbal. He knows maybe 50 words, by her estimate, but he mainly communicates through sounds, facial expressions and his art. Read the entire story here.


What amazing, special, one-of-a-kind thing have you encountered this week? How do you overcome challenges?  

Follow Friday - 50 questions

I found this at Thoughts of a Working Mom, so I had to do it! Feel free to C & P, and fill out your own. Leave me a comment, and I’ll come visit!

1. Where were you three hours ago? Still in bed sleeping.

2. Who are you in love with? My husband

3. Have you ever eaten a crayon? Not that I can recall, but I can’t be certain.

4. Is there anything pink within 10 feet of you? No, no, no

5. When was the last time you went to the mall? Honestly can't remember.

6. Are you wearing socks right now? No

7. Do you have a car worth over $2000? Yes

8. When was the last time you drove out of town? Yesterday

9. Have you been to the movies in the last 5 days? No, but I have a Netflix movie to watch if that  counts. :) 

10. Are you hot? Hubbie thinks so! Oh wait, not talking about that kind of hot ... *sheepish grin*

11. What was the last thing you had to drink? MIlk

12. What are you wearing right now? Jammies

13. Do you wash your car or let the car wash do it? Car wash

14. Last food you ate? Chocolate fudge pop tarts. Shh ...

15. Where were you last week at this time? Home

16. Have you bought any clothing items in the last week? Items for my DD's Brownie uniform & a T-shirt

17. When was the last time you ran? Can’t remember

18. What was the last sporting event you watched? If Taekwondo counts, last night.

19. Your favorite animal? Dogs

20. Your dream vacation? Paris or a beach; tough call

21. Last person’s house you were in? Mine

22. Worst injury you ever had? Recovering from a right tibial tubercle avulsion (bad knee boo boo)

23. Have you been in love? Yes I have and still am.

24. Do you miss anyone right now? no

25. Last play you saw? Can't recall

26. What is your secret weapon to lure the opposite sex? None, I am married

27. What are your plans for tonight? House cleaning

28. Who is the last person to send you a Facebook message or comment? Vickie

29. Next trip you are going to take? Taking DD to Nana's tomorrow

30. Ever go camping? Not recently

31. Were you an honor student in school? Yes

32. What do you want to know about the future? Nothing

33. Are you wearing perfume or cologne? No, the smell bothers me.

34. Are you due sometime this year for a doctor’s visit? Sadly, yes. Gyn. appt. next month. woot.

35. Where is your best friend? Don't have one.

36. How is your best friend? ??

37. Do you have a tan? No.

38. What are you listening to right now? Stupid dog barking incessantly

39. Do you collect anything? money??

40. Who is the biggest gossiper you know? Hmmmmmm

41. Last time you got stopped by a cop or pulled over? 2 yrs ago for speeding. Got a warning. 

42. Have you ever drank your soda from a straw? Yes

43. What does your last text message say? Sent - The AC is NOT on. My bad.  Received - Sheesh mom, lol

44. Do you like hot sauce? no

45. Last time you took a shower? Last night

46. Do you need to do laundry? Always.

47. What is your heritage? Mutt

48. Are you someone’s best friend? Yes

49. Are you rich? Yes, but not financially

50. What were you doing at 12 AM last night? Sleeping

© 2010, Nurse's Notes. All rights reserved.

Thursday Tantrum - - a bit of a rant

OK, I've figured out what to do with Thursdays.  I will either rant or toot someone's horn.  Today is unfortunately a rant.  I am a stickler for customer service, I admit.  If I can work with people and treat them kindly and with courtesy, I think it is not unreasonable to expect of others.  Lest you think me a heartless curmudgeon, let me assure you I am not.  I completely understand if someone is having a bad day.  With that said, on with the rant!!

For 3 years, I have used Norton products to provide antivirus protection for our home network.  In January, I upgraded to the "bells & whistles" premier edition without hesitation as I had no previous difficulty.  Then, I started having difficulties with the system.  Not being the brightest when it comes to technological issues, I did not immediately attribute this to the Norton product.  Over the course of the past 8 months, I have made various adjustments in an attempt to rectify the issue: purchased an external hard drive (placing all photos, music, iTunes library, etc on this), took it to my computer guy to delete extraneous files, etc.  Finally, last month, he says "hey, you have Norton, that's almost like a virus in itself. It REALLY slows systems down." Eureka!  So before I took the plunge to delete Norton, I downloaded a free antivirus software (plug for Avast here) and added an additional 2GB to my computer.  After this, I continued to have issues with the computer running slowly, freezing & crashing.  OK, enough is enough.

So the rant is regarding my treatment by the customer "support" staff today.  Of course, the individual assisting me was an individual not residing in these fair United States.  When I explained the issue, I was informed it had been greater than 60 days since purchase & therefore I was not entitled to any form of refund.  End of conversation.  Thank you for contacting Norton.  OK, my bad.  Next time, I will read the impossible to find, refund policy.  So I decide, whatever, it is an inferior product. I will uninstall it & just eat the loss.  Except, it froze when I tried to uninstall!!! ARGH!!!  I can't use it & I can't get rid of it; what is up with that?!!?!

Fortunately, after the computer froze & crashed again, and a couple more attempts I was able to uninstall this gem.  So, since this is my blog, I would like to say: I will think carefully about purchasing ANY products from Norton in the service.  The product doesn't work, causes innumerable system issues, technical/customer support is nonexistent, and the site is difficult to navigate to find any helpful information.  I don't need the aggravation when there are free products that are EASY to use.

Was my reaction over the top?? What are your thoughts on poor customer service?

What do you do when you have issues with a product purchased on the internet?

Wordless Wednesday

OK, just wondering who thinks this sounds good?

Trivial Tuesday - are you smarter than a sixth grader?

First, I would like to give a great big shout-out to @mrsnotouching, who is my 100th follower; thanks!! We traded favors, lol. You'll have to ask her ... ;)

I thought we would do something fun (at least to me) today. Trivia!! Before you click and run, I got this question from www.schoolfamily.com; it is from the sixth grade curriculum. Easy peasy, no? OK, here is the question:

 If triangle ABC is similar to triangle DEF, what is the length of side EF?

1. 12 inches
2. 4 inches
3. 2 inches
4. 1 inches

What do you think? This is the honor system; no cheating :). Please leave your answer in the comments; I will post the answer this evening. Argh, the suspense!!! 

Are you smarter than a 6th grader? 

Monday Madness - Gold bullion stolen from Florida treasure museum

Hello! I am trying a new schedule & content due to the resumption of university classes today.  I will try to continue to post Monday through Friday, but will definitely post twice a week (probably Monday & Thursday).  Please be patient as I figure out what I can successfully pull off. Regarding the new content, I've noticed other blogs have "themes" for particular days.  As I've never been a nonconformist, I am following suit.  Hence, "Monday Madness" will be excerpts of an article that I find entertaining, odd, irritating, or otherwise worth discussion; I will add my two cents witty commentary (in pink).  I hope you find this addition interesting. If you find it loathsome, please send me an e-mail.  Without further ado ... today's Monday Madness.

Gold bullion stolen from Florida treasure museum (courtesy of Reuters @ www.reuters.com; full article @ http://tinyurl.com/2bdv5tb)

The 74.85-ounce gold bar was stolen on Wednesday from the Mel Fisher Maritime Museum in Key West, Florida, in what executive director Melissa Kendrick called "a very quiet smash and grab." (not exactly pocket-sized @ 4.68 lbs)

The 11-inch (28-centimeter) gold bar was inside a glass case with a small opening where visitors could stick a hand inside and lift the bar to examine it. (again, not pocket-sized. Seriously though, "an opening where visitors could stick a hand inside!?!? Whose bright idea was that? Perhaps someone who is now unemployed?)

Gold has hovered near historic highs after hitting a record $1,266.50 an ounce in June, but the stolen bar's $550,000 valuation reflects historic value far beyond its melt-down worth.

Kendall said the bar had several distinctive markings, including Roman numerals signifying it was 16-karat gold, a symbol identifying its owner, and a series of dots indicating what taxes the owner had paid to the Spanish crown.

"It's a one-of-a-kind piece," Kendall said. (so unique, we wanted to make sure just anyone could touch it ...Doh!!)

Again, let me know your thoughts on the new format, please.  

Regarding the article, as I ask my kids "what would you have done differently?" 

Have a great week!!

Follow Friday - The ABCs of Me

If you are checking me out to follow, I thought you might like to know more about me (or not, but it's my blog, so sorry)

Jen @ Thoughts of a Working MOM did “the ABC’s of Me” and I thought it was a fun tag so….I just had to do it.


Here’s mine!

Age: 45
Bed size: King
Chore you hate: Cleaning the litter box
Dogs or Cats: We have both + 2 hermit crabs.
Essential start your day item: Coffee
Favorite color: blue
Gold or silver: silver
Height: 5'7"
Instruments you’ve played: trumpet, baritone, french horn, drums, flute, clarinet, saxophone, viola, violin
Job Title: Registered Nurse
Kids: 1 boy, 1 girl, (1 husband)
Loud or Quiet: Quiet (too bad you can't always get whatcha want!)
Mom’s name: Sandy
Nicknames: TP, Tam
Overnight hospital stay: yes
Pet peeve: rudeness
Quote from a movie: "As you wish" (name that movie)
Right or Left handed: Right handed.
Siblings: 2 brothers, 1 sister (dead)
Time you wake up: 6:30 - 7:00am
Underwear: yes :)
Vegetable you don’t like: brussel sprouts (wrote a paper on this in college, got an A)
Ways you run late: waiting on kids, primarily
X- rays you’ve had: knee (x2), (mainly a CT scan or MRI girl, myself)
Yummy food you make: bread
Zoo favorite: monkeys

Thursday Throw-together

Aack, I thought the manic Monday was supposed to end on Monday. Guess not. Le sigh.  Ok, here's the skinny.  I know you can't wait to read all about it!!

I'm on the computer this AM, merrily checking my e-mail, Twitter, etc.  Then, blue screen.  That's all. Yikes.  Ok, no big deal, just a glitch. Right?? So I shut down, restart & run a scan.  About 2 minutes into the scan. Boom!! No blue screen but ... TOTAL SHUT DOWN!!! What is going on?!?! OK, still no reason to panic.  I have to go to the university to pick up books for the fall semester; I'll have the guys in the computer check it.  They know so much more about this than I do. Right?

Wrong.  I am at the moment sitting in the computer lab, running a second scan with Avast antivirus.  I ran the first scan with Norton (btw, this is also what caused the total shutdown earlier. Word to all the Norton users), which ran in no time & showed no viruses.  OK. So the computer guy says "it was probably just a thing". A thing!!! What in the world is a "thing"?!?! BTW, the Avast scan has been running for 10 minutes & is only 9% complete.  Why was the Norton scan so quick?

So, with that said, I am frantically typing away to get this post up before my computer freaks again.  If I vanish into the nether regions of the cyberworld, you'll know why.

So, how's your week?  Are you have any similarly exciting events happening?

Tuesday Triumph & Tragedy

It's Tuesday, one day closer to the weekend.  More importantly, the last day of my children's freedom summer vacation. Yes folks, school starts tomorrow here. We have an even split -- one child (DD) is excited, one child (DS) is not.  This is not surprising because DD is 7 & DS is 16, lol. To the best of my knowledge, there is not much that is exciting for a 16 y/o male; evidently due to the resultant loss of the "cool factor" with any show of emotion.  So, back to the title of the post... A school related triumph was the successful, albeit grumpy, awakening of DD @ 7:00.  A school related tragedy was the unsuccessful awakening of DS @ the same time (or @ 7:30, 7:45, 8:45); he finally dragged himself to quasi-consciousness @ 9:15.  This is tragic simply because somebody is going to have a rude awakening (literally & figuratively) tomorrow @ 6:30AM. Sigh.

On a more personal note, my triumph which I am most exultant about: I AM EXCUSED FROM JURY DUTY!!!! Huzzah! That is all.

What are your tragedies or triumphs this week?  How do you cope with tragedy or celebrate triumph?

Just another manic Monday??

This is the last "summer" Monday for the year. Since school starts this week, I know next Monday will definitely be more manic than today.  However, I'm feeling a bit frazzled, nonetheless. Since I hurt my knee last week, it seems to take me FOREVER to get things done.  Sigh.  Did I mention I'm just a smidge impatient.  Plus, I'm very independent & being dependent for others to do things to my liking is also not my favorite thing. Again, sigh.

Is your Monday manic? What do you do to destress?

Since my friend Stephanie, got this stuck in my head, I now graciously share with you ... Enjoy

Follow Friday

Rules: follow host blog & any others you wish. This hop is from Quality Time (just click the button).  Please leave a comment to let them know you are following.  Have fun!!  This hop is from Quality Time (just click the button)

Thankful Thursday

Stole this idea from Mrs. B. @ Who I Am (http://tinyurl.com/2dj33sm)


Things I am thankful for:

• Aspie meltdown averted in a semi-public place
• The start of school & some type of routine
• The generic ~ God, family, friends, wisdom, & good health. Seriously thankful for all of these :)

What do you have to be thankful for this week??

Wordless Wednesday ~ where I'd rather be

Do you have anywhere you would rather be today??

Guest post

Good morning, all. Today, I'm guest posting @ gatherinspirit.com.  Those of you who follow me on Twitter may already be aware of the TN family who is in great financial need.  The post gives more details about their situation in the dad's own words.  Please check it out.  If you cannot help, please pass the information to others. Every bit helps.  If we can promote saving a woman's uterus (@savetheute), we should be able to help an entire family.  Blessings to you all!!

http://gatherinspirit.com/2010/08/helping-a-family-in-need/

Monday Mayhem

Well, nothing to start off the week like a little Monday mayhem. Namely  "unauthorized account access" (to quote MSN), or "hacking" (in the vernacular) of my Hotmail account. Yippee!!  OK, tip for anyone I know. I never simply send a link; I ALWAYS have something to say, lol.  Anyway, hopefully the problem has been resolved.

In other Monday mayhem news, took DD to the eye dr.  She needs glasses. Good news, it is only for "distance" (like reading the board); bad news, she has Asperger's.The reason that is bad news: how many inches away does the work have to be before she wears/removes glasses.  Why can't she just wear them all the time?!?! I understand the eye doctor's reasoning, just see this causing undue stress. Sigh.

Have you ever had an account hacked? If so, what was the fall-out??
Have you or your child ever needed a medical device only part-time; was it confusing?

Time off

Hello all.  Just wanted to let you know I am taking the week off to complete some long-overdue projects since the summer semester is over.  One of which is to work on the blog, so hopefully it will have a new look when next we meet.

Thanks again to all of the awesome ladies who guested for me while I finished my Statistics class (got a B+, BTW!! Woot!)

Gah-mah’s Arms

Today's guest is a Twitter friend, Sandra Heska King.  Here's a bit about her. Sandra (AKA Sandy or even Snady, the result of a typo that stuck) lives in Michigan in the same 150-year-old farmhouse her husband grew up in. She is mom to two grown adopted children and grandma to Gracee and Lillee. Snady is a passionate chocolate lover, avid Detroit Tigers fan, Bible teacher and inspirational writer who keeps her
nursing license intact. Website: Sandra Heska King

She lies spread-eagled in the Pack-n-Play.
So vulnerable. So dependant.
I want to pick her up. Cradle her. Drink deep of baby. I want to savor the scent of formula
and lotion and sweat and damp diaper.
I want to stroke her hands and her feet. I want to smile and coo and sing.
My arms ache to hold her.
While her needs are simple and her wants are few.
Because I know how fast time passes.
When her little body will no longer fit neatly in one arm. When her legs will dangle off
my lap. When I won’t be able to even pick her up. When she’ll squirm away or avoid my
touch.
When little things won’t mesmerize her. When she’ll seek bigger thrills.
When she’ll smell of peanut butter and bubble gum and cotton candy and popcorn.
Of hair spray and perfume. (But please, dear God, not cigarettes or alcohol or blood.)
When she thinks she knows all, needs nobody.
But still so vulnerable.
My arms ache from holding her.
I gently trace her jaw line with my index finger, cup her face with my hand. It fits in my
palm. She stirs, and I pull back. She needs to rest. We’ve had a busy morning.
Walking, bouncing, rocking, rattling, bathing, talking.
Yes, she talks. Even at only seven weeks old. And she has a lot to say.
“Ooooooh! Ahhh-oooh. Goo-wah. Eeee-yah!”
And I know she said, “Gah-mah!” Yep. I heard it. She did.
For now I stand guard. Hover while she sleeps. Wait until she wakes.
I tuck this moment under my heart.
I wish I could tuck her under my wings. Hide her from any hurt or pain. But I know I
can’t. At least from everything. I couldn’t with her mom. I can’t with her sister. I know
she’ll pass through refining fires.
But I remember that I must let her go. To the One whose ways and timing are perfect.
And I can pray. That she won’t be burned. That she’ll make good choices. That life’s
punches will make her stronger. That she will know and cling to the One whose feathers
are broad. That she’ll rest in the shelter of His wings. Totally dependent on Him.
And that she’ll know that no matter how old she gets or how tall she grows, “Gah-mah’s”
arms ache to hold her.
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.”
Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare
and from the deadly pestilence.
He will cover you with his feathers
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. Psalm 91:1-4 (NIV)
Copyright © 2010 by Sandra Heska King

Light vs Darkness

This is has always been a theme over the ages! Night and day, summer vs winter, good and evil etc. We've heard them all but what does light vs darkness mean to me as a woman, a mother, wife and well plain old me?
For me, the differences between them are  great. It means the difference in my attitude and the attitudes of those around me. The light and dark is shown to me as the day turns into night or as a bright sky turns into a stormy one.  Each of those changes is amazing and new, clear and refreshing.  Imagine if there were always daylight? Some places in the world get like that during the year. I do not believe I could ever live there, because I need the change.
Even in my relationship I am a night owl and my husband an early bird! Yes this makes it tough, but we've worked it out over 15 years. I enjoy being up all night and sleeping in the warm sun, but there needs to be that change between the light and darkness.  I can even see the difference in our children from summer to winter, their energy levels change, their outlook, and attitudes as well. They become more active in the summer vs the winter, we all seem to change during these times. It seems that it is how we were made to live it out, to deal with the light vs the dark, warm vs cold etc.  How do you deal with these changes?
As I am writing this post I look across the room and in the corner there is a keyboard leaning against the wall. I took a photo but the flash voided out so much of what I saw! I saw the shadows over the keys cast by the light from another room, beaming into my darkened bedroom. I see the beauty of the keys and how they form a ladder of light from top to bottom. What types of things in your life bring the light vs darkness out? What type of person are you?

Robertsrockfarm.blogspot.com


www.robertsrockfarm.blogspot.com

Friday Funnies (Valley Hospital -- pilot)

In honor of Friday Funnies, I have requested the ladies from 2 Girls on a bench to visit. Lest I detract from their awesomeness, I will turn it over to them ....

The Two Girls on a Bench have decided to start branching out and writing pilot ideas.  We are so excited to be invited by Nurse's Notes to do a guest blog.

Since we're not anywhere close to being able to understand what it must be like to be a nurse or anything involving math or science (yes we are a sad female cliche only strong in the humanities) we have decided to pay homage to all nurses with the following sitcom pilot idea.  Please note that in this sitcom all the nurses look like regular woman and all the men look like GQ supermodels.

TRICIA

Yeah, I like that, it's like Grey's Anatomy, but different. 

SIANA

Yeah, not really, but whatever you say.  What should we call our sitcom?

TRICIA

We should do like a play on words, like the show "House" but we can call it "Shack".

SIANA

Wait, what?  Oh, I get it, a "shack", that's so dumb, I can't even tell you how dumb that is, I'm speechless.

TRICIA

Shut up and let's just call it Valley Hospital.

SIANA

Ok, I like it, sound like General Hospital but with our own spin on it.

TRICIA

Exactly.

  

VALLEY HOSPITAL - PILOT

It's an ordinary day at the Van Nuys Valley Hospital.  The sounds of clinking carts and people pacing back and forth hurriedly saving lives clutters the hallway with activity.  JOANIE, a beautiful 30 something nurse with a true woman's body, sarcastic sense of humor and love of civil rights, walks down the hall with a premature baby in one hand, a box of donuts tucked under her arm and carries a cooler with a lifesaving kidney transplant donation.

JOANIE
Lila, get this baby into an incubator!  Susan, get this kidney to the surgeon!  Joe, get these donuts into the break room stat!

JOE, an unsuspecting strikingly good looking young man takes the donuts without delay.

JOE
I've got it covered, would you like some coffee?  I know you just worked a double shift.

JOANIE
Thanks sweetie.

JOE
One Splenda and a dash of cinnamon?

JOANIE
You got it, what would I do without an assistant like you?

Joe runs off to get Joanie's coffee.  Joanie heads to the nurses station to make sure the hospital is running in tip top shape.

SEAN, the handsome 40 something chief of surgery, stands at the nurses station waiting for Joanie.

SEAN

So, are you going to accept the Nurse of the Year Award this year or are you going to turn it down like you do every year?

JOANIE

You know I don't have time for that silliness, I've got lives to save here Sean!

SEAN

Just think about it Joanie, it would be good for the hospital.

JOANIE

Oh Sean, when are you going to learn that there's more to life than awards and prestige.

SEAN

When you say you'll marry me?

JOANIE

Oh get back to work!

As Joanie and Sean laugh, a code red alert sounds and they rush down the hallway to revive an elderly man.

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