I Read a Book Today That You Might Know!

I read quite a bit, but the books I do often read are not usually "book club" material, nor are they often books many of you probably have heard of. They're titles like, "The Daring Dutchess" or "Love's Sweet Majesty", etc. etc. (i.e. historical romances). You know, the literary greats. (cough cough) But today folks, I read a book some of you may know!

I read The Cat Who Could Read Backwards by Lillian Jackson Braun.

You see, DH has a somewhat lengthy commute to work and often I find audio books through the library for him to listen to. I had chosen one of "The Cat Who..." books for him to listen to, and he enjoyed it, but it was like book number 27 or something and he said he'd like to start from the beginning. So now he's up to book #3 in the car, and I caught parts of book #2 during our 50 trips to the fair last week and decided I'd like to try reading one of "The Cat Who..." books the old fashioned way, so I requested #1 from the library. Today was a day of no plans (THANK GOODNESS!!!!!) and so I staked out a spot on the couch (we do not have modern furniture, but it's comfy at least) and read the book today.

I loved it!

When I'm done posting I'm going to the library website to request #2 in paperback form for me.

What, only like 28 more books to go to catch up to her latest book?

Yay! :-)

Dear People at Audi

Dear People at Audi,

Just who in your marketing department thinks that making your commercials twice as loud as other commercials and the program I was watching would make me want to buy an Audi?

I'm sure they're patting themselves on the back in particular for the one that has music that starts off soft, then builds to an ear splitting crescendo. That one actually woke up my DH who was sleeping while I was watching tv. Now each time one of your commercials comes on, I have to frantically search for the remote to turn the tv down for 30 seconds until your ad is over, then return it to it's normal volume (otherwise I can't hear the show I was watching).

I don't know WHAT brilliant mind at Audi thinks these commercials are going to give me a warm, fuzzy feeling inside and make me want to run out and buy an Audi.

It's not a warm and fuzzy feeling I'm feelin' when your commercials come on. It's an angry feeling.

A very angry feeling.

In fact, I AM NEVER GOING TO BUY A STUPID AUDI AFTER HAVING TO TURN THE VOLUME DOWN AND UP ALL NIGHT LONG FOR YOUR LOUD COMMERCIALS!

There. I hope you're happy!!!!

The end.

I Wish I Could Give This Spider an Award

Isn't that a really nice web? So picturesque? So, what-you-think-of-when-you-think "spider web"?

DH was out geocaching and took this shot - and guess where - in an old CEMETERY! How perfect!

If they had awards for spider webs, I would definitely nominate this one.

Nice job Mr. Spider!

The end.

"Good" Junk Mail

We get a TON of junk mail. A TON. But now and then there's some "good" junk mail, like free samples or certain catalogs.

DH loves the Harbor Freight catalog (they have all sorts of things from air tools to car ramps to power tools to flashlights, you get the picture - man stuff).

Some of my absolute favorite catalogs are Plow and Hearth, the LL Bean annual Christmas catalog, and the Vermont Country Store catalog. The big giant Cabelas "Master Catalog" is a good one too.

Incidentally, have you ever seen the Vermont Country Store catalog? They have some of the coolest and weirdest stuff in there - like: Ear Wax Remover device, Prune Wafers, Anti Monkey Butt Powder (?!?), Provincial Print Mumu, Scrapple, and a light for your cane. Stuff ya don't see every day. Or at least I don't!

Do you have a favorite catalog you just have to look at when it comes in the mail?

Just So You Know, It's Smokey Bear - NOT Smokey THE Bear

This is NOT a paid post - I just really like Smokey Bear!

We are Smokey Bear fans and this pic was actually taken during one of our geocaching adventures - we usually take a pic if we're lucky enough to spot a picture of him!

Many people incorrectly think it's Smokey THE Bear, but just so you don't embarrass yourself next time you and your friends are sitting around discussing wildfires, I want to make sure YOU know his name is Smokey Bear.

No "the".

If you don't believe me, you can go check this page on Smokey's official site. See, I toldja!

Isn't Smokey Bear cool? I love him!

If you have time, "Get Your Smokey On!" and check out his website, there's some neat stuff. If you're a homeschooler or a teacher they have a Teacher's Guide, Activity Book, Poster and Wildland Communicator's Guide you can download.

There's also lots of other interesting stuff at SmokeyBear.com like the story of Smokey Bear, all about wildfires and the people who fight them, a kids area with games & stories, and a Real Time Wildfire Map, which is pretty cool.

Oh, and by the way - only you can prevent wildfires.

The end.

Skin MD Natural

I was sent a sample of this lotion to try about a month ago. What is unique about this product is that instead of just penetrating your skin like most moisturizers do, this not only penetrates and moisturizes, but it also acts as a shield - it keeps the irritants out and the moisture in. Now as I've already written, my first quest is that I'm always looking for that "perfect" hair conditioner for my dry hair -but my second quest is to find a lotion for my dry hands that is long lasting - through hand washing. (And just so you don't worry about me, I know that dry skin and hair are classic thyroid symptoms and I am actually on thyroid meds. I think God just musta made me with dry hair and skin - thanks for worrying though :-) .) In winter especially, my hands crack and bleed and I am constantly putting lotion on. (Good thing I'm an Avon rep - I keep my own self in business, heh.) Also, my DD has eczema intermittently, and we're always looking for the magic (non-prescription) cream for that too.

So, I've been using the Skin MD Natural, and I have to say, I am pleased with the results. Besides keeping my hands moisturized, they feel so soft and smooth, which I really like. It's also a lot less sticky than Avon's Silicone Glove, which is what I normally use in winter. Now of course, it's not winter, so this Skin MD has not yet faced it's toughest challenge, but I have to admit, my hands have never felt so soft and smooth. You can also use it for your face and body, and it says it's safe for sensitive skin (I can't speak to that, I have seemingly put hundreds of different products on my face and I've never had a problem (not that, you know, I buy a lot of Avon stuff or anything, heh).

I have tried it on DD's eczema, but it doesn't seem to help any better than any of the other creams we've used. But, if you have eczema, you know that everyone is different - what works for one person may not work for another; eczema is tough to successfully treat. But if you check out the website, many people have had a lot of success with this product for eczema and psoriasis and other skin problems, so this may be worth a try if you're still searching for a non-prescription treatment. Also, if natural skin care is important to you, it's made from natural ingredients. It has a really nice, but faint scent, also.

Did I mention it makes my hands really soft and smooth? :-)

The website is surprisingly informative - check it out if you're interested, it has everything you'd ever want to know including before and after pictures, store locator, reviews, videos and graphics illustrating how it works and more: Skin MD Natural. Even if you're not that interested, the website is pretty cool, especially the before and after pics (but the beginning ones are kinda gross - so don't go there if you're squeamish).

The only downside is that it's somewhat pricey - it's $18 plus $4.95 shipping for a 4 oz. bottle. However, the lotion is very concentrated and you do only need a little bit per application - they say that a 4 oz. bottle would be a 1-2 month supply. And besides, some people don't mind spending money on good skin care. You could easily spend more than $18 at a department store counter for moisturizers, that's for sure.

But for all of you that are of a frugal mindset like me, the good news is that if you think this might be something you want to try you can send away for a free sample! Now I give that a big thumbs up! :-)

And if you're a fellow blogger and would like to request a bottle to review on your own blog, you can contact Pete Grimaldi at petegrimaldi@earthlink.net with your blog URL and mailing address.

Now me and my soft, smooth hands are going to go get some soft, smooth vanilla fudge ice cream. All this reviewing works up an appetite you know! :-)

Yes. I Know This is Over the Top.

Over the weekend we had our annual block party. Except "block party" sounds too ordinary. Because our "block party" is anything BUT ordinary.

You see, I live in a cul de sac with some truly wonderful, fun families, who happen to have a little more expensive tastes than we do, in general. And / or a lot more money. :-) While we sit on our 10 year old sofa, watching our 20+ year old tv that came from my grandparents' house which is sitting in the assemble-it-yourself entertainment center from Service Merchandise (remember Service Merchandise?), with our feet on the 30 year old coffee table from my parents' house, that sits on the area rug from Walmart, my neighbors are sitting in their livingrooms that look like a page out of "House Beautiful". But that's totally ok - we're happy with our old stuff, and I laugh to think if a burglar ever has the bad luck to choose our house to break into - he's gonna be a liiiiiiiiittle disappointed.

Anyway, the annual block party started out years ago as a simpler, potluck type of party, but it has evolved into this:

We rent a tent, tables and chairs. There's even lights strung inside
so when it gets dark, the party doesn't end.

Some of the menfolk actually built this "Tiki Bar" a couple of years ago.
It makes a few appearances over the course of the summer.

Yes, this is what we ate at our "block party".

I warned you - I totally admitted right in the title of this blog that it's over the top.

But it was goooooooooooooooooood!

Didja Know New Yorkers Like Bull Riding? And Other Notes From the Fair

One of the most fun things we saw at the county fair this year was bull riding! It was the second year they had bull riding, and it was PACKED. (This view is taken from the grandstand where we were elbow to elbow and cheek to cheek if ya know what I mean - those bleachers in the pics are bleachers they added to try to fit more people.)

What was very cool was the event was sponsored by Toyota Trucks and in the beginning they drove a Toyota Tundra out into the ring and they were throwing t-shirts to the crowd. *I* drive a Tundra and I was excited "my" truck was part of such a cool event. I taunted DH, "Yeah, you don't see any Honda Accords here at the bull riding, now do ya?"

What was even cooler was afterward we stopped at the Toyota Trucks tent and when I picked up the brochure for the newest trucks, a woman asked me if I had any questions. I told her that actually, I already own a Tundra. Then she says, "Oh that's great! Would you like a hat?" Yeah baby I'd like a hat!! (Meanwhile DD scaffed me a keyring too!) Here's my swag:


Another cool thing we have at our fair is an area of antique machinery. A few times a day they start all the machines and it's fun to see them in action - smell the gas and hear the putt-putts. This is my favorite machine. It crushes rocks. In all the years I've been to the fair, somehow that big flappy belt has NEVER come off!

This is another machine that they demo - they saw cedar logs into slices and give them away. I call this, "Saw of Death":


That evening as we were getting ready to go, DD wanted to take a last sweep through a few cow barns. We came across this cow trying to sleep. It was so cute and unfortunately because we were oohing and ahhing over how cute it was, we woke it up. And she just wouldn't close her eye again for me, so I took a pic anyway. Isn't it cute how she has her head kind of tucked around?

Goodbye county fair - we're counting the days until next year!

Random Thoughts on Fair Food, Politics and Our Stupid Refrigerator

Firstly, when it comes to batter soaked in grease, I have to say I like zeppoles best - they're much easier to eat while walking around than funnel cakes or fried dough, and somehow, strangely, they don't seem AS greasy. I also like how you get to shake them in the bag with the powdered sugar, rather than balance them on a plate like the fried dough or funnel cakes. I have therefore determined, zeppoles are the best choice. Just thought I'd share that nugget of knowledge with you. Oh, and here's another little tip for ya: by the time you finish eating any of the above mentioned grease soaked delicacies, you're gonna feel really sick and realize it was

Secondly, wah wah wah - poor Hilary Clinton, she didn't even get VETTED by Obama for VP - oh the travesty! Good grief! The Clintons and their sense of entitlement! Since when is the winning democratic nominee OBLIGATED to vet his RIVAL for VP? Oh wait, last I checked - NEVER! Note to the Clintons: The party is over - GO HOME!

Thirdly our STUPID refrigerator is on the blink. Couple of weeks ago all of a sudden it stopped getting cold. The fan and everything else was working, but no coldness. Called a repairman and $75 later, discovered it was just a loose connection. Gah. But it's happened twice more and it's not exactly a loose wire, it's a plug that is somehow loosening (and luckily DH paid attention when the repairman was here and fixed it himself). We can tell exaclty when it's ok again because you can hear this sound like an air conditioning compressor turning on, and then voila, the coldness is back. I'm worried this is going to happen while DH is at work and I'm not so keen on pulling the fridge out and unscrewing the back to get to this dumb plug. DH has got to figure out a way to keep the plug plugged. I was just reading at NY Renovator and Strawbale House about how companies do "planned obsolesence" and man, my house and appliances are only 6 years old yet my front loading washer broke and had to be replaced, the microwave turntable is broken, the bottom rack of my GE dishwasher is totally rusted and needs to be replaced ALREADY, and now the fridge is turning off because of a loose plug.

Niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice.

Let's Play "What's For Dinner?"

A favorite thread of mine at the Two Peas Not-Scrap-Book-Related forum is the one that occasionally pops up called, "What's For Dinner?".

I don't know why but I LOVE to hear what other people are having for dinner, especially because the readership at that message board comes from all over the country and all over the world.

Plus sometimes it helps give ME ideas of what to make for dinner - I don't know about you, but sometimes I get "Dinner Block". (It's very similar to "Writer's Block"). I know, who would think it's so hard to think of what to make for dinner? But it is!

So please tell me - what are you having for dinner? (Or if you already ate, tell me what you had - or even if you went to a restaurant, tell me about that!)

Edited to add: see comments for what I had for dinner

"Battle of the Fairgrounds"

So we were at the fair for 11 hours Thursday. Yup, 11 hours. (I told you I love the fair!) Now let me say right off that DD can hike for 5 miles, but she ain't gonna walk around the fair for 11 hours like her crazy parents. So our solution to that is we have this large wagon we bought when she first outgrew her stroller, and even though she's 9, she still fits in it no problem, and I tow her around the fair. It works out well because we get to do and see all we want WITHOUT all the complaining. I'm pretty good with that thing too - dodging and navigating through crowded buildings, in between strollers, scooters and cowpies, over curbs, grass and peanut shells - I've had years of practice. I'm telling ya, if you see me barreling along with my big red wagon - LOOK OUT!

So I bump into an acquaintance of mine from high school and as we're blah-blah-blah-ing about boring stupid stuff that I really don't care about, I notice that she's got this pretty kick-butt stroller - it's got big 'ol monster truck lookin' wheels and it's a cool orange color. This thing looks like you could run up mountains with it (or take it on a 5 mile hike on a whim, ha ha), so I asked her about it. It's called a Bob stroller and she proudly informs me it's the stroller of choice for the Ironman Triathalon. She proceeds to tell me how great it is for jogging, and how she likes to jog 5 miles a day, yada, yada, I think I fazed out at this point.

So I'm standing there with my wagon wondering if I could take her stroller on, or what. I could call it, "Battle of the Fairgrounds". We could race from one end of the fair to the other, having to complete challenges along the way like: get in line and buy zeppoles, make a restroom stop, run through a cow barn without hitting any pies, and make a pass through the crowded bleachers during dog agility competitions...

The thing that worried me is the stroller had a swiveling front wheel which I knew would enable her to make sharp turns. The wagon, on the other hand, has the steering radius of a battleship. (Kinda like my truck, heh.) However, what I'd lack in speed and agility I think I could make up in force and intimidation - I mean I've got 50 lbs. of DD rolling along in my big, red, plastic tank on wheels...and I am, after all, "strong like bull" (you have to say that with a Hungarian accent).

In the end I decided not to challenge her.

So we said our goodbyes and she jogged off with her sleek stroller and I huffed and puffed my way over to Millie's. She's just LUCKY I was hungry and was more interested in getting pierogies than racing. (Oh they're SO good - you get a plate of three - I get the potato and cheese, cheese, and cabbage.)

But I'll be there - lurking around every sausage and peppers wagon, behind every giant pumpkin, watching you, Bob-stroller-girl!

The Amazing Dairy Cow

(If you're really interested you can click on the picture to
enlarge it and you can more easily read the facts about
The Amazing Dairy Cow - it *is* actually pretty amazing!)

Moocow Says...

...blog posting will be light this week 'cause we're spending lots of time at the county fair!
Moo!

I Guess This Must Be a Really Good Cat Spot

 

We Weren't Planning on Hiking Five Miles, But... Part 2

 Saw another newt this week - BONUS!  Isn't it cute??  Another hiker we passed told us that type of newt is called a Red Eft.  (Those are our 9yo DD's hands, to give you an idea of the size of a newt.)

So we continued hiking.  The Appalachian Trail can be a "busy" trail, especially on a nice day, so we stopped the next people we saw coming the opposite way on the trail and asked them how far it was to the trailhead.  They said it was about a mile or so.  (Turns out it was a good thing we had filled up on pancakes!)

Now ordinarily we would not ever do a hike like this without our backpack because it's got a first aid kit, bug spray, rain ponchos, a whistle, etc. and we are big on safety on the trail.  Also we only had two bottles of water with us, which is pretty skimpy for a hike this long.  HOWEVER, the trail was now in the forest where it was quite cool, and I was pretty sure I knew of a way to refill our water bottles at the other trailhead, so I thought we would be ok on the water we had.  And as far as not having our pack with safety supplies, as I mentioned, the AT can be a "busy" trail on a nice day and I felt confident that if something were to happen it would not be long until other hikers came along to provide aid.  And I did have the cell phone AND a signal.  So we decided to go for it.

The trail wound its way through the forest for awhile, then we descended down the mountain until we got to the edge of the forest where there was this bridge:

We walked over the bridge and we were on the planks again.  This area was more than just a wetland, this was a marsh.  There were some beautiful cattails.  The planks went on for quite some time - in the picture above it's hard to see but the planks led us all the way across to the far treeline.  The reeds at times were 6ft tall or higher, it was really cool and beautiful.

(This picture is looking back at the way we had come, that's the mountain we'd just come down.)

 

Finally we reached the other trailhead.  We knew what we were going to find there, because we'd actually stopped there by car at another time.  This is what was there:

 

Did you know that the Appalachian Trail is a stop on the Metro North Railroad?  Isn't that cool?  There were some people there who had just gotten off the train when we first got there.  Just a little further on is a major road and a parking area, which is where we had stopped one other time.

Very close by to this "train station" was a garden center, and the other time we had stopped here by car I had noticed that the garden center had an Appalachian Trail sticker on one of its doors, so I suspected they would be "hiker friendly".  So we walked over and sure enough they we extremely friendly and happy to let us refill our water bottles.   (I'm going to give them some linky love here for being a friend to hikers:  Native Landscaping Inc.   They actually have some info on the Appalachian Trail on their website - cool!)  We sat on the bench of the "train station" for a bit and rested, then decided to make our way BACK over the mountain.  DH set his GPS to track how far we were walking, and when we eventually made it back to our car we had walked 2.62 miles, so round trip it ended up being over 5 miles we hiked that day - on a whim.

Eh, I'm going to admit that before we reached our car we started talking about what we could get to eat - we were STARVING.  (We did finally manage to walk off those pancakes.)  If we were good hikers, we would've had some granola and fruit (or something equally as healthy) waiting for us at the car.  Not us though.  We decided to call for pizza from the trail, this way it would be ready when we got to the pizzaria.  Gotta love modern technology. 

So we finished up our lovely afternoon at our favorite pizzaria stuffing some slimey pizza down our pieholes.

Ahhhh.  Good times, good times.

The end.

We Weren't Planning on Hiking Five Miles, But... Part 1

We were just going out to do a little "geocaching errand". Real quick, zoop zoop. Then back home.

We parked at one of the trailheads of the AT (Appalachian Trail). Right here happens to be the "Dover Oak" - it's the largest oak tree on the Appalachian Trail. We've seen it before, but I had DH take pics to show you. It's cool.

The Appalachian Trail runs through our area, and we've hiked many portions of it in NY and in CT. In case you don't know much about the AT (Appalachian Trail) here are a couple of links if you're interested: Appalachian Trail Conservancy and Wikipedia. Basically the trail runs from Maine to Georgia through beautiful mountains, field and forest. It's a very popular trail for day hiking or overnights or longer. The trail is marked with these distinctive white blazes. They are a familiar sight in our neck of the woods, ha ha. See it painted on the tree to the left of the trail?


Sometimes there are turns or intersections along the trail. In those instances they use a double blaze, with the upper blaze either to the left or right, indicating the direction you should go, like this:


Anyway, we quickly accomplished our "errand" and DD says she wants to hike on further. We didn't even bring our backpack (that has really important stuff you want to have along on a hike like a first aid kit, bug spray, rain ponchoes, etc.) and we only had two bottles of water, but we figured heck, it's a BEAUTIFUL day, we've never hiked further along this section, why not just go a little further. It was uphill, but I figured, eh, let's get to the top and enjoy the view and then we'll turn back.

(On a side note, a kinda bad thing was that DH had made us some delicious pancakes for breakfast, so we were kinda still full of pancakes at this point, and believe me, those pancakes were slowing us down.  Hiking up a mountain on a full stomach is not exactly the ideal, but we soldiered on.)

A goodly portion of the trail was made up of planks because the area was a wetland. The thing I thought was kind of weird was that this was a rather steep hill, and I would not have expected a hilly area to be so wet. It was fun walking on the planks though.


So here's a picture from the top of the hill, although it doesn't really give you a good idea of how steep or high it was. (If you look in the distance at the mountain, there's a rocky area in the middle top. We've been up there before on that section of the AT, it's called Cat Rocks and there's an amazing view of the valley below.)

After enjoying the view DD says she wants to go on further.

Hmm. The trail ahead does look enticing. We do happen to know where the other end of this section of the AT comes out. Wonder how far that is...?

We decided to keep hiking.

To be continued...

DD Went Crazy With the Melty Beads

I know some of you (moms) know all about this, but you can buy these colorful plastic beads and you place them on plastic templates that have tiny pegs to put the beads on. Then, you put this special waxed paper thing over top and run an iron over them until they melt and stick together and once cooled, you can then take the whole thing off the template and all the beads are fused together.
DD was sitting watching the Olympics and churned out a whole bunch of designs.  I think I like the big hexagon best.

The Alexa Mystery

I'm a fairly new blogger. I have read numerous articles about how to improve my Alexa rank.

I've read my share of of "25 Ways to Improve Your Alexa Score", "5 Surefire Tips to Improve Your Alexa Rank", and "Here's An Article About Alexa Score I Copied And Pasted From Someone Else Because This Topic is So Popular it I Bet it Will Give me More Visitors", yada, yada, yada.

The conclusion I have come to, is the only 100% known way to HELP your Alexa rank, over and above just growing the number of visitors to your site, is to get people who have the Alexa toolbar installed visit your site.

Unfortunately, I've learned that a large percentage of them are webmasters and tech people and such - not exactly the niche group that wants to read "Carole's Thoughtful Spot", huh?

However, it's like this big mystery - how exactly do they "compute" your traffic and page views and what not in order to come up with your Alexa rank? Is there a piece of scratch paper lying in the bottom of a safe somewhere guarded by lions with this information? (A piece of scratch paper with the formula for Google Page Rank is probably in there with it.) Or is there some guy in the basement of the Alexa building paid minimum wage to spin a big wheel of random numbers that determines your number, or what? Because even the most brilliant of minds cannot seem to figure out their system. And apparently they even recently changed this system, or "algorithm", you know, just in case anyone was getting close to figuring it out.

The only reason *I* even care about this is that in my mind I think that once I get my traffic rank under the "magic" 200,000 the floodgates will open with the high paying sponsored ad offers. (Hey, let me have my fantasy.) My current weekly rank is 203,811, though my 3 month average is higher. You can see my "official" rank there on the right of my sidebar. I think if you click on it you can see my current stats. I keep it there so I can enjoy a little pang of discouragement every time I see it.

However, on the bright side, my Alexa rank HAS been improving over time. Thing is, I'm not even quite sure how I'm managing this, other than I'm trying to get more visitors via Entrecard and other means.

Until Turnip comes out with a post saying he's figured out Alexa, I guess I'll continue groping in the dark for the elusive "under 200,000"...

The end.

P.S. My understanding is that Alexa is owned by Amazon, and criminy - I buy a LOT from Amazon - shouldn't that count for something? Can't I get a little traffic-rank-love for buying the Jonas Brothers' new cd??

American Girl Dolls Modeling Their Summer Style

I guess some of us are never too old to play with dolls.

Some of us being, uh, me.

Once every season AT LEAST we make sure to change all the dolls outfits.
Here they are modeling their "Summer 2008 Collection". We did a lot of mixing and matching.

From left to right are:
Nicki, Mia, Samantha, Emily, Julie, Nellie, Kit, Kirsten, Anna, Mei Lee and Lexi

(Now before you think we're so rich we just flit off to American Girl every other week to pick up a new doll, these are all birthday/Christmas gifts, or DD saved up her allowance and report card money to buy, etc. over the course of the past few YEARS. Also, the last four on the right are mine, the rest are DD's. Think of it this way - instead of expensive video game systems and games that become obsolete every few years, this is what we spend OUR "fun money" on. Just sayin'.)

The end.

BINGO!

Did you play bingo as a kid? We had the kind with the little blue bingo circles that you put in a little cardboard box that had a little hole at one end and you'd shake out a "circle" to call each number? Remember that? I used to play it with my brother, I wonder if we still have it at my Dad's house? I can remember sitting huddled over our little cardboard bingo cards downstairs in our brown paneled playroom. (Yes, I was a kid in the 70s.)

Now in these modern times DD has a bingo set that has a whole bingo "cage" that holds the bingo balls - you turn the handle, the cage spins and a bingo ball is dispensed. It's pretty cool actually. That's the problem. EVERYBODY fights over who gets to "man" the bingo cage.

Oh but wait, there have been even MORE advances in bingo technology - check this out! I'ts the Disney Bingo DVD game!

Wow, this looks like so much fun and great for making good memories of family time playing a game together. Better than trying to shake that blue circle out of that stupid cardboard box with the slot, huh? :-) And better yet, no fighting over who gets to control the bingo cage! Good times, good times!

I see they have the Screenlife's Disney Bingo DVD game at Drugstore.com and MY favorite store, Amazon.com. (And yup, it's eligible for the Super Saver Shipping - I checked!)

Make some fun memories playing bingo!

The end.

I Won!

...an award! A very cool award:

I was given this coveted honor by the Dine-o-meter blog, which also very deservedly got this award, you should TOTALLY click that link right there and check it out!

Now I have the privilege of handing out this award to a few deserving bloggers. It's customary for the award-ee to link back to the award-er, and then honor a few blogs of their choosing, and leave comments on their blogs - but don't feel obligated. If you just want to accept it with quiet dignity and never say another word about it, it's all good. :-)

Here are the blogs I choose to bestow this coveted award to:

Hot Rods in the Hudson Valley - I wouldn't think I'd like a blog about hotrods, but he makes it so entertaining! He even shows you when he makes mistakes. He was just on the local radio!

New York Traveler.net - I live in NY and she posts the most interesting little "travelogues"!

The Peanut Butter Blog - I would not think peanut butter could be so interesting, yet I find myself drawn there each day... Recipes, crafts, information - you name it!

MammaDawg - A very entertaining personal diary sort of blog, and with great scrapbooking tips too!

A Frog's Blog - A lot of topics for Entrecard-ers, but it ain't sugar coated, and I like that!

I am now going to bask in the glow of my award.

The end.

Psst....If You Have a Tween - New Jonas Brothers Album Out Today

Sorry. I know it's kinda pathetic that I'm so up on all this stuff. But it's out today. I had to double check when I saw the Amazon price - only $7.99! We parents appreciate that! :-) It's linked in my sidebar (scroll down a little) if it's a "must have" for a tween in your life too... (it's called "A Little Bit Longer")

Tagged, I'm it!

I was tagged by the Sewing Mom for the 6 Unspectacular Quirks Meme, which I've actually done before, BUT I have SO many unspectacular quirks I'll share 6 more.

The rules are:

1. Link back to the person who tagged you
2. Mention the rules on your blog
3. Tell about 6 unspectacular quirks of yours
4. Tag 6 following bloggers by linking them
5. Leave a comment on each of the tagged blogger’s blogs letting them know they’ve been tagged.

Here are six more of my unspectacular quirks:

1. I hate the circus - I can't enjoy it because I spend the whole time worrying someone is going to die in a tragic accident.

2. I love our county fair and I look forward to it all year long. I usually go at least three times, it is one of the highlights of my whole summer!

3. I suddenly love chick peas. I don't even know anything about them - do they grow on bushes? In the ground? Are they really good for you? I have no idea!

4. I shave my big toes. Not that I have any hair there (cough, cough). But just in case I did, I make sure to shave it off. Somehow I feel unfeminine having hair on my big toe.

5. I love cat feet. Love, love, love them!!

6. I love the tv show Lost and I listen to podcasts about Lost, especially while mowing the lawn. Anybody else listen to Jay & Jack and the Transmission? (crickets chirping...)

I'll tag a few people:

Putabuttononit
Momma Muse
Thrifty Momma Ramblings
Idiotic

and anyone else that wants to grab this, go ahead and let me know you took it so I can come see your quirks!

Thank you Sewing Mom for tagging me for this fun meme!

The end.

The Mushroom and Tick Hike

Over the weekend we took advantage of the BEAUTIFUL weather in the northeast and went geocaching in a local preserve. We found five caches in all, and saw probably 20+ varieties of mushrooms - I had no idea so many types and colors of mushrooms even grew around here! Isn't that a particularly picturesque pair of mushrooms?

Ok, this is so immature, but here's a mushroom that looks like a butt!


There was a very cool fire tower that we could climb:


And the view was spectacular! That's the Hudson River in the distance, and the Catskills beyond that:


And we saw a newt while we were looking at some weird mushrooms, it's always a bonus when we see a newt, I love them:

It was a lovely afternoon. We finished up by having ice cream at a place renowned for their homemade ice cream to celebrate that DD finally passed her swim lesson level (this was the third try). Then we went home and took showers and did tick checks.

Are you ready for this?

We pulled off each other a combined total of 27 ticks!

They were the tiny "nymph" ones. Like the size of a pencil point. You can hardly even see them. They were mostly on our feet and ankles. Definitely a new "tick record" for us!

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Psst...!

Don't Miss My Thanks and Top Droppers...Scroll Down a Couple of Posts, please! I want you to know you're appreciated! :-)

It's 95 Degrees Out But I'm Freezing!

Ok, believe me, if anyone hates the heat, it's me. Air conditioning is my best friend during June, July and August. Now, I know everyone is concerned about the polar ice caps melting but cranking the A/C to "Arctic" is NOT going to help the ice caps. Why oh why do so many businesses and restaurants go overboard with the A/C? Even in the car. DH has "dual climate control" but even when I turn mine up to 72, his 65 degree air always creeps on over!

Typical summer wear is tank tops and sandals, but I find myself freezing when I go to a Dr's appointment, a restaurant, or ride in a car! Or heaven forbid I have to get on a plane!

Well I found an answer to my problem. Is this not the most clever idea??

It's the Cabin Cuddler!

This is a portable micro fleece travel blanket and pillow that stores in it's own tote bag - you can fold it and use it like a shawl in a cold waiting room or restaurant, or you can use it as a full size in a car or airplane. It comes with an inflatable pillow that you can use with the tote bag which turns into your own hygienic pillow case! It even has a pocket for your feet to keep them warm, how clever is this?!? And you might be thinking this is really small, since it fits into a tote bag, but it says the contour cut of the blanket covers every inch of your body.

I was checking it out on the Cabin Cuddler website and it comes in black and cranberry. I like the cranberry. It's even been featured on the Today Show and QVC.

Looking at this, I had some other ideas for this that aren't even mentioned. Right away I thought this would be the perfect thing for an elderly person - I know often times elderly people get cold easily. This would easily hang off the back of a wheelchair or a walker. My grandma is in heaven now (where I'm sure it's not too hot or too cold!), but this would have been perfect for her. (Now if only they can come up with a box of kleenex that tucks up your sleeve for the elderly...just kidding, did your grandma do that too?)

Another idea I thought of right away is this not only would be good for airplane travel so you don't have to use their who-knows-where-they've-been blankets, but have ya ever stayed in a skanky hotel (you know, by mistake, like the website or brochure was REALLY misleading)? Where you didn't even want to touch the bedspread or sheets? With this you could sleep on your own little germ-free pillow and wrap yourself in a nice clean fleece cocoon.

And hey, remember how I told you I wear my coat around the house in the winter to save on heat? I bet THIS would be a lot nicer while I'm sitting doing my blogging! Hmm...I have one of those bean pillows you heat in the microwave and use like a heating pad, I could heat that baby up and put it in the feet pocket, OH YEAH BABY!

Ahem. I'm going to go start my Christmas list now... :-)

The end.

Top Droppers

First of a heartfelt "thank you" to EVERYONE who visits my blog - really - thank you! I love to read your comments, and I love to see those of you in my Entrecard "inbox", eh, I just love you! :-)

I want to give some special recognition to my Entrecard top droppers over the last 30 days for their dedication:

Turnip of Power - 30
Technically Easy - 30
Nessas Place - 26
Frog's Blog - 24
First Door on the Left - 23
Article Specialist - 22
Freaky Frugalite - 22
Big Boys Have Toys Too -22
New York Traveler.net - 21
Chica and Pumuckl - 2 Egyptian Cats in Germany - 21

Quite a potpourri of different blogs, huh?
These bloggers are really dedicated and worth a visit - check them out!

And thanks again to ALL my visitors!

The end.

PSA About Coloring Your Own Hair At Home

I've been coloring my own hair using store-bought hair dye for years and years. I've known women who try this for the first time, see the color when they're done, and run to the salon and pay a lot of money for them to "fix" it.

Well, in case you've never colored your own hair and you've ever thought of trying it, let me let you in on a handy little piece of knowledge:

The color your hair comes out immediately after coloring it IS NOT THE COLOR IT'S REALLY GOING TO BE 3-5 SHAMPOOS LATER. You have to give it a couple of days and a few washings - quite a bit of color comes out initially, and THEN you will see the true color your hair has become.

For example, I just did my hair a color called something to the effect of "Medium Reddish Brown". It looked more like "Hideous Way Too Red, Or Shall I Call It Orange, and Not Really Very Brown" for the first two days. However, now it has transformed into the medium reddish brown as promised on the box, and it's very nice - I've gotten two compliments on it already.

In my opinion, coloring your hair at home is easy and VERY INEXPENSIVE. And you can nearly always get a coupon too. The trade-off is you may have wonky colored hair the first day or two or three. (Although I suppose you could just wash your hair a few times the first day to speed up the process.)

Anyway, if you've never done it and and you want to try it and your hair comes out too dark / too red / too light - just chill. Wash your hair a few times. It will probably be ok!

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Night Caching

DD was having a sleepover at her Grandpa's house with her cousin last night, and so as usual, on the rare occasion DD is out of the house, we went Night Caching. That's Geocaching at night, folks.

There are two types of night caching. The first is when you are looking for a cache that is specifically set up to be a night cache. These are a LOT of fun. The ones we've done usually involve using flashlights to find "glints" on trees to find your way to the cache. It can be quite tricky. It also can be spooky to be out in a forest (or wherever) in the dark.

The second type of night caching is when you look for a regular cache, but at night. This isn't always possible because the area it's in may be closed at night (for instance most parks). Or it could be too dangerous to attempt in the dark, or might be too difficult to find in the dark. You have to use your own judgment but there ARE plenty of public places accessible at night such as certain trails, caches in park-n-rides, caches along the roadside, etc.

We found two caches last night - one was a true night cache, the other was a cache that we were able to find at night. We had a little trouble with the first one. This particular cache has been around for awhile and over time some of the "glints" had fallen off, so as you can imagine that made it a little more challenging. Also, we left a little too early and it was actually dusk when we found it, and the glints are easier to see when it's dark with your flashlight. However, I'm glad it was not in fact dark when we went because we saw something VERY cool! The thing I'm not glad about is we didn't have our camera - we figured we weren't going to need it because it would be...dark! Anyway, the hiking was mostly through forest but we came to a small clearing where there were THIRTEEN huge ANTHILLS! The biggest one was about 4 feet wide in one direction and about 5 feet wide in the other direction and about 2 to 2 1/2 feet tall. It was totally amazing. We looked at the ants themselves and they looked like ordinary black ants, although I've never seen such a large anthill, nor such a large group of them. We have a cool anthill way in the back of our backyard, but that thing is puny compared to these. We may go back just to show DD, so if we do I will be sure to take pics.

By the time we did the second cache it was actually dark. I also forgot to mention that I carried my whoop a$$ can of Bear Spray with us for both caches. Black bears are sighted regularly in my area - I've already found bear poo on our property twice this summer. I actually saw a bear in my neighbor's yard last year. I even hear bobcats are making a comeback. Well, whatever may have been around to attack us, I had my spray. Luckily we did not encounter any large and dangerous animals. Our big problem was walking into spider webs. Yick! (I could have tried the bear spray on the spiderwebs, but I think that would've been a little overkill.) DH had a brilliant idea and picked up a fallen branch with a clump of dead leaves on the end and he used that as his "spiderweb sweeper" to clear the way in front of us. It served us well. And, luckily when we got to ground zero, the cache was an easy find.

I rarely take anything from caches for myself anymore, but at this cache was a stuffed "Blue" from Blues Clues. She was so cute and somehow I felt bad shutting her back up in the dark lonely cache and having her wait in the lonely woods until someone else decided to find that cache. So I took her. She only smells a LITTLE musty. The cache container was an ammo can, so at least she'd stayed pretty dry and decent. So DH put in one of our trade items for her, and I hiked out of the woods clutching my bear spray and Blue in one hand, flashlight in the other.

Some couples go out to a fancy dinner and a movie when they get a night to themselves.

We go out to find hidden stuff in the dark!

The end.

Car Magnets

I have heard a MILLION times about free business cards from VistaPrint. In fact my brother-in-law JUST had some printed and he gave me one - it's really quite nice. But I had NO idea they sold so many other business and promotional items! Something I saw that I may be interested in is car door magnets. As I've mentioned before, I'm an Avon Lady (or as DH affectionately calls me - the Ding Dong Lady) and I have thought about getting magnetic signs for my truck as I'm tooting around my hometown. I've priced them before and they're kinda expensive - gotta sell a lot of lipsticks to pay for those. However, not only does VistaPrint sell car magnets in two different sizes, but they start at only $9.99 and on top of that, would you believe I found a coupon code for 25% off car door magnets?

Here's the code for 25% off: CarDoor25

Here's the link if you want to check it out: Car Magnets

You can use one of their templates to create it, or you can upload your own design, or they can design it for you. The nice thing about car magnets as opposed to vinyl lettering is you can take them off whenever you want. Like if I'm going to a wedding or something I don't necessarily want to be driving the Avon-mobile, if you know what I mean. (Or if I'm going to a Mary Kay party, ha ha!)

Some Ideas to Jazz Up the Olympics

I saw these first at Freaky Frugalite, and she got them from Only in Silence. These gave me a good laugh and I had to share... Click here for MORE ideas to make the Olympics more exciting!

Rx Glasses That Are Inexpensive AND Nice Looking!

I first heard about Zenni Optical $ 8 Rx Eyeglasses on a fellow blogger's blog, and it caught my eye because usually glasses are SO expensive. And if you're ever lucky enough to get a deal on glasses, you KNOW the frames that are part of the "deal" that you get to choose from are from the "special case" - aka: the ugly ones they can't sell. However, these are touted as "Incredible Stylish New Frames From Zenni". Hmmm, that can't be right. I know - I've had me a few pairs of glasses from the "sale case".

Well then I saw Zenni Optical was on FOX news! And the glasses looked slylish and from this decade and everything, so I had to check this out for myself. It seemed too good to be true. I mean, they offer a huge selection of frames, with single vision lens, sunsensor (photochromic) lens, tinted sunglasses lens, bifocal lens and progressive lens starting as low as $8!

And they're not ugly! I looked!

For example, check out this cute pair! They even come in purple, my favorite color!

How on earth can they do that?!?

Well after digging around a bit I discovered that the secret to Zenni’s low prices is that they sell only their own manufactured frames direct to the customer, with no middlemen and virtually no advertising budget. Aha.

Well put this one in your "Frugal File" if you need prescription glasses - definitely worth checking out 'cause who doesn't want to be frugal AND cute! :-)

When a Phone Rings at Our House, It's Game Time!

At our house we have two different games that start when a phone rings.

When the cell phone rings we start playing, "Find the Cell Phone". You see we have only one cell phone and we share it. So it doesn't always get put in the same spot depending which one of us had it last. Could be upstairs, in my purse, in DH's coat pocket, on the counter - could be anywhere. Luckily we have the ringer fairly loud so when the game starts, we can all play. (We even get a decent signal in the house - we had started looking at cell phone amplifiers when we first got the phone, but luckily the signal is strong enough.)

The other game is "Decipher the Caller". We have caller ID, but for some reason on our phone the area where the caller ID is displayed doesn't work properly and some of the "dashes" that make up the letters and numbers don't show. So you have to try to figure out from what dashes the phone decides to give you if the caller is friend or foe. Sometimes when we're stumped we get the fun of eagerly awaiting the message to see who it is.

Except when the person doesn't leave a message, durn it!

The End.

Are You Going No 'Poo?

No, no, no, not that. I mean, that would be impossible.

Wouldn't it?

No, I mean are you going no shampoo?

In my never ending, lifelong quest to find a way to keep my long hair properly moisturized yet still nice looking, I stumbled across the No 'Poo "movement". Here's the link to a website that explains this in detail - No Poo Do. But the gist of it is, you stop using shampoo and your scalp will start producing less oil, and you distribute the oil that it does produce throughout your hair by just rinsing your hair and "brushing" it 100 times with a washcloth. Supposedly your hair becomes healthy, shiny and beautiful.

After reading this I DO think a major part of my "hair problem" is that I AM constantly stripping the natural oils from my hair which makes it dry and lifeless about 90% of the time. Seems no matter what shampoo or conditioner I try I have never found that "magic" one that makes my hair moisturized but still have body. Seems like every kind I try either makes it greasy, or else it's still dry. Can't find a middle ground.

Also, I truly didn't realize the kind of chemicals that are in shampoo. I guess I foolishly thought shampoo was just nice smelling soap. Apparently not.

Now I'm not seriously considering going no 'poo. But I thought it was a really interesting idea. However that "adjustment period" kinda scares me. You see, all this time you've been stripping your hair with shampoo, your scalp has had to work to produce a lot of oil (sebum, really) to replace all you are washing away. Once you stop the shampooing, for a couple of weeks your scalp still produces the same amount of oil (which I'm sure isn't pretty), but then over time your scalp starts adjusting and not producing as much oil since it's not all being removed. Eventually you get to a point where your scalp is producing a lot less oil and your hair "normalizes" and goes into basically it's "natural state" and supposedly looks great. Being an Avon rep I know a lot about skin care, and I know that with your face, if you have oily skin, you can actually make it more oily by washing it too much - your skin compensates for all that "cleansing" by making MORE oil and so then you're cleansing it even MORE and now besides cleansers you're spending money on trying to find the best acne treatments. So I CAN believe your scalp works in a similar way.

Anyway, here's another article about women in the UK who participated in an experiment to go no 'poo for six weeks with varying results: Could You Survive No Shampoo? It's really interesting and a little funny too. (I guess it's not nice to laugh at some of these ladies who were practically traumatized by this experiment, but I couldn't help it. I'd probably feel the same way.)

"No 'poo" is an interesting idea, but I don't think this method is for me... I guess my quest continues.

The end.

Giant Cat Wipes Out Ogunquit, Maine

We bought a puzzle of Qgunquit to do as a final "closure" to our vacation.

But Basil decided to come lay on it. She ALWAYS lays on our puzzles. Does your cat do this too??

(Btw - having some technical problems - as a back up, I am using dial-up right now. That's right folks, a blazing 49.2 kbps. Should be good to go again by this Wed. afternoon though, I hope. I PRAY! I apologize I've hardly been able to do any Entrecard dropping. Believe me, it's KILLING me and I SO miss visiting everyone in the blogosphere!)

The end.

A Penny A Day...

We're ALWAYS looking for ways to save money. For me it all started when I met DH. He's very frugal and he's taught me to be on the lookout for ways to save money. The first thing he taught me was always look on the ground and pick up any coins you see. You'd be amazed how much FREE money over time you can just pick up off the ground! (I actually almost got clocked in the head one time picking up a penny in front of an automatic door - when I bent down to pick up the penny the "electric eye" didn't see me anymore and if my friend didn't grab my belt loop and pull me back, I'd have had a concussion over a penny.) DH often walks on his lunch hour. He finds coins on the ground nearly EVERY DAY! He is actually keeping track of how much money he finds so that at the end of the year he can see how much free money he found in 2008!

It adds up, people. A really great example of the benefits of looking for free money on the ground was this spring we were down in NYC for the day for my birthday and we went to the "Top of the Rock" (top of Rockefeller Center) and DD found A TWENTY DOLLAR BILL on the ground. There wasn't even anyone close by to try to return it too, so she kept it. Spent it an hour later at American Girl Place, but hey - lesson to ya - watch the ground for free money!

We have some other good ways of saving money too. When I'm home alone in the house during the winter I keep the heat as low as I possibly can and I do this by wearing a coat in my own house during the day. Hey, this year with the price of heating oil I think I'm going to wear a hat and gloves too! (I'll have to get those fingerless gloves so I can still blog!) At the advice of another blogger I've started using vinegar instead of fabric softener (I still can't believe that actually works!). And DH regularly practices "hypermiling" to save gas. The list goes on, but I don't want you to think we're any weirder than you already do. Ha ha, too late, huh? :-)

Well I found a cool test on Bills.com. I took the test, and since I have the advantage of being married to a frugal Scotsman, I must admit, I scored pretty well, but they still had some good advice and tips I could use. If you are looking for debt relief, they seemed to have a lot of options available and advice. They even offer credit counseling.

Anyway, a cool and fun site - definitely worth checking out, even if you think you're doing pretty well.

And don't forget to look at the ground when you're walking around - a penny a day (or more!) adds up! (Just remember to watch your head if you're in front of an automatic door. Or, make sure your pants have belt loops for loved ones to grab you back with!)