Our Best Reads For March

Once again, it's difficult to pick the best of the month but both of us agree for sure that we liked The Boy In the Striped Pajamas best. Gerard had a tie so I list two reviews of his here.

Gerard's and Karen's Best: The Boy In The Striped Pajamas by John Boyne
Gerard Review: "Don't Miss This One!" (100 stars)

I could have read this book in just one day! This book is about a 9-yr-old boy named Bruno whose father becomes the commandant of a Nazi death camp for Jews. Bruno becomes friends with one of the Jewish boys there named Shmuel. What a powerful story this is!! The ending really shook me to the core. It was also made into a move. Click here to view film clip.

Karen's Review:

This is a historical fiction story about two lonely boys who befriend each other through a fence of a concentration camp. It is told from Bruno’s (the Commandant's son) perspective which is very innocent in contrast to the awfulness of the Holocaust. Both boys are the same age but one lives very well and the other is in a death camp. It shows how unfair life is and has a shocking ending, yet Bruno's words that Shmuel is now his best friend for life came true. Bruno was an adventurous boy who was curious what life was like on the other side of the fence. He loved his father and knew that it couldn't be too bad if his father was in charge. I can't express all that this book encompasses. It's a great book that you will long remember.


Gerard's Review: Last Stand Of Fox Company by Bob Drury and Tom Clavin
Incredible Story! (100 stars!)

This is an amazing book that tells the story of Fox Company, a group of Marines who in the Korean War held the hill although totally surrounded by Chinese and in extreme cold weather conditions. What makes this book so good, besides the story itself, is the writing. It made me feel like I know these guys and that I was right there with them. It was hard to put this book down. It is amazing how they fought and survived. I salute you, Fox Company, and to Mr. Drury and Mr. Clavin, super job! Thank you for this book. It's a must read for everybody!

Read more of our book reviews: Zemek's updates on PNN

What News Source Do You Like? by Gerard

With so many newspapers going under now, I was just wondering how much you would miss your morning paper: A lot? Some? or Not at all?

Also, where do you turn to for your news: Radio? TV? Internet?

Which is your favorite news magazine: TIME? NEWSWEEK? OTHER?

We get NEWSWEEK WATCH. I really enjoy reading it cover to cover every week!

Here's Karen's answers, what about you?:
Would miss paper some.
I get my news from the Internet and Gerard.
Newsweek is best.

How Hyper Are You?

This description is true about me. I like to get 7 hours of sleep a night--this is deep sleep all through the night! This is when I function best. My life is full and the time usually flies by. Somehow, time at home goes by faster than time at work though! It Says I am 55% Hyper

You have a high amount of energy, but you're not manic about it. You live a busy, full, and productive life. You enjoy all sorts of activities, and you approach most tasks with enthusiasm. You are also naturally social. You have plenty of time and resources to devote to friends. While you are quite hyper, you do understand the importance of rest. It's difficult to get yourself to slow down, but when you do, you enjoy it.

Gerard's 80% Hyper:
You have an energy unlike any other. You're full of pep.
People wonder how you are able to get so much done. You love to keep busy.
It's likely that you're very physically active as well. You have a lot of physical endurance.
You are also quite outgoing. You're quick to start up a conversation and make friends.
You have the drive, confidence, and motivation to take you far in life.
While you may tire some people out, someone else is always looking to feed off your energy.

How Hyper Are You? click here to find out and share your results in the comments.

Rearranging the Living Room—Cats Approve!

When I was home sick from work and decided to read for awhile, I decided to move our one chair over in front of the big front window where we could get more light to see to read later in the evening. Also, in the summer, on warm days we get a nice breeze if we open that window and it’s very pleasant to read there on hot days. I moved the cat bed and Buddy Bear to the other end of the couch to make room for the chair in the corner, and also moved the cat tree closer to the window in anticipation of the warm summer breezes coming in for the cats to enjoy. I’m able to read past 8:00 p.m. without turning on a light now.

Both my cats immediately went to explore the new arrangement. I think they like it! Spunky even sat on the top back of the chair while I sat in the chair reading. Although I haven’t seen Manny on the chair yet, he does like laying on the round tunnel part of the cat tree to look out the window. Spunky has claimed the chair as hers and has slept in it every night since I’ve moved it there.

You can read our cats' blog about this at Happy Day With Karen by Manny & Spunky.

6 Things I Learned in Week 12 of 2009

Great Ideas

I found a whole list of activity suggestions to keep the romance alive for us old married couples--or those in a dating relationship at The Zoo Crew. The blogger there went to a marriage retreat and is sharing things she learned there on her blog. Some of the things listed that we will try include eating at a new restaurant, having breakfast at the part, making a list of places we'd like to go, maybe learn a new activity together, look at our videos or photo albums and a whole lot more. I bookmarked this list so I could find it again. I also printed it out so we can mark the things we want to do! click here to go to the list.

Technology

Remember Topps baseball cards? Now they come in 3-D. The players actually come to life! Check out the video at ScienceJunkies.com. This blog has lots of interesting things.

Cats and Dogs

On the Misadventures of Me blog, I found a story about a guy who hated cats but did a favor for his son and took care of his cat which had kittens. Naturally he became attached to them but had to move from his condo so bought a trailer on a large piece of land and took in more and more cats which now has become Caboodle Ranch, a cat sanctuary. He is asking for donations for a fence to keep out the coyotes. He also has a blog at A Day At The Ranch. (My dad would have liked this guy and I'm sure would have made a donation!)

Companion dogs are used to help children with allergies and seizures and people with bipolar disorder, wounded veterans and people with psychiatric or memory conditions stay stable and safe. I found this out from an article in USA TODAY on March 25, 2009 titled "4 Paws and a tail at your service." Two sites that were given were www.angelservicedogs.com and www.cci.org(Canine Companions for Independence).

Love Language Test

Thanks to Firefly 1824 in the Women Speak Shelfari discussion group, I found the "Love Language Test." I was having a hard time determining my primary language so this test helped. Go to http://www.afo.net/hftw-lovetest.asp to take the short quiz and find out your primary love language. (Be sure to let your spouse know!)

Cold Remedy

At Spicy Bugz this week I found out that drinking hot lemonade (the kind made with real lemons) will help you feel better when you have a cold! Click here to see the entire post and let her know if you ever heard of this before!

The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman

The Five Love Languages is a practical book for improving one’s marriage. It points out that different things are more meaningful than others when it comes to expressing love but they are different for different people. Loving acts can fall into the following five basic categories:

• words of affirmation
• quality time
• acts of service
• gifts
• physical touch

Once you determine what your mate’s primary love language is, you can work at keeping them feeling loved more effectively. It’s also good to determine your own primary love language and let your mate know. Several things I plan to implement after reading this book are:

1. Focus on encouraging, complimenting and using kind words every day when speaking to my husband.


2. Have a sharing time each day where we each share three things that happened to us that day and how we feel about them.


3. Make a list of things we want to do together and do at least two per month.


4. Plan a new event with strong memory potential and do it this year.


5. Play “fill your tank” game. Ask spouse three times a week how full his love tank is on range of 0-10 and ask what I can do to fill it up today.

I had a hard time determining my primary love language because really my husband does all these things so I feel very loved. Here is a quiz you can take to help determine which one is most meaningful to you. By answering some concrete questions, for my physical touch was definitely my primary language and three of the others were tie. I was also surprised to find out that Gerard's primary love language is quality time. Guess I'll have to get off the computer earlier in the evenings!

Want to find out what your primary love language is and more importantly, your mate's? Click here to take the quiz.

What Kind of Spring Thing Are You?

Our results were true for both of us on this silly quiz. Hope you will take it and post your results in the comments.

Karen's Results:

You Are Kids Playing

You are a free spirited soul. More than anything else, you are often just happy to be alive. You are always laid back and cheerful. You enjoy whatever happens to come your way. You are spontaneous and zany. You're the kind of adult who still runs through the sprinklers. You don't take life too seriously. You try to have fun at all times, even when you're working.

Gerard's Results:

You Are Baseball Games

You like old fashioned things. You're one of those people who values tradition. You enjoy a slow pace of life. You believe that life is all about enjoying every moment. You love the changing of the seasons, and you look forward to what each season brings. You are smart and a bit obsessive. You become very immersed in your interests.

What Part of Spring Are You?

Grrrr--5 Things About Blogs I Find Annoying

Following is a list of things that I find annoying when reading blogs. Perhaps, if yours falls into one or more of these categories, you will accept it as constructive criticism, not as an insult. If you agree or disagree with any of these things, please leave a comment. Perhaps it's just me that find these things annoying. I'd like to know.

Black backgrounds that are difficult to read because of the color print or font size used. I really find black background blogs depressing unless its a photo blog. Here's a clue--if you use a black background or any dark background, use a light color for the print such as white, yellow, or pink and make it big enough for us old folks to read it easily. I find these are the easiest to read. If I have trouble reading your blog, chances are I won't bother. That's a time when I drop my card and move on. (i.e., Walking Newspaper)

I like to know the length of the posts up front. I find it annoying when I can't just read the entire post on the one page, but have to click "read more" to get to see the end of it although I will do it if I found the beginning of interest. (i.e., Happy Family Matters, Father Blogger)

It's very annoying when I have to look all over the blog for the Entrecard and then find it buried among a bunch of advertisements or worse yet, way at the bottom of the page! (i.e., Dwayne Dot Com, ) People who position their Entrecard way at the bottom of the page thinking that I will read posts on the way are Wrong! In fact, the farther down I have to go to find it takes me away from reading the posts. If it's near the top, then I will scroll down and focus on some posts to see if anything interests me there. Also, no way would I choose to advertise on these blogs. At least with the new "one page down" rule Entrecard is implementing, this annoyance should be gone. I noticed Walking Newspaper has moved it up some--it used to be in the footer which after I realized it, I would just automatically scroll all the way down to it and move on.

I dislike posts with narrow sidebars and wide posts that run almost across the whole screen. I will seldom read those either but fortunately, there are not too many. (i.e., Cheaper by the Half Dozen and More). This one I do read anyway because the blogger does have interesting posts.

Is there anything about my blogs that annoys you?

Common Cold Causes Communication Breakdown

I hate being sick and just a common cold really wipes me out! I can't take any kind of decongestant for it like I used to because it would not get along well with my other medication. I had to stay home from church today but Gerard offered to bring me back whatever I needed. I know he always tells me to write down the things I want him to get from the store, so being the good wife, I did. Here's what I wrote:

1. KLEENEX
2. OJ
3. Vick's Minute Rub

He came back with 3 boxes of Kleenex, a big gallon of OJ and 3 Minute Rub boxes. I was grateful he brought all this, but I asked why did he bring 3 minute rubs--they last forever! He explained I wrote I wanted 3. I said, "no, I didn't." He said, "Yes, YOU DID. It said "3 Vick's Minute Rub." I answered, "Oh, I just numbered the items. Why then did you bring 3 Kleenex since that was just a one next to it?" He said, "Well, I knew you would need more than just one box." He's right about that the way I'm going through them! Oh well, the minute rub will last us a long time.

Then in the afternoon, he went for a walk. It was 50 degrees out and I wish I wasn't sick so I could go with him, but alas, me nose is still running every 20-30 minutes and I'm still sneezing away so I decided to try to lay down and go to sleep for awhile. I put one of those breath right strips on and found we were down to our last one! I went to call Gerard on the cell phone, but saw his still sitting on the dresser. ARRRGH! Honey, it only works if you take it with you!

I am fighting off this cold with everything I have. Will try to get some rest now. Feel bad I will miss puppet practice this afternoon but don't want to share my germs with the rest of the puppet team. Hopefully, the dripping and sneezing will be over by tomorrow so I can still go to work and not have to waste a day off being sick. Ugh.

I must say, I enjoyed writing this post so am feeling a little better at least. That Breathe Right strip helps!

For a post of how helped Gerard when He was sick, click here.

Yea For Spring!

One of the first signs of spring is when my crocuses come up. This is an early spring flower so that is why I planted these bulbs in my yard. Same with the daffodils in the back and some tulips and hacinths too. I love to see these poke up out of the ground breaking their way through the snow because then I know spring is really here. Below is a short poem that I made up and which illustrates why I am not a poet but thought you might enjoy it anyhow:
Spring
Spring is here,
It brings us cheer,
Spring is here!

4 Things I Learned in Week 11 of 2009

colonscopy

When my dad was 88, his doctor said his kidneys were bad (no kidding, we knew that)and that he should get a colonscopy done. My dad said no, he didn't want that. I wondered what it was and now I know thanks to Doug sharing about his experience having one done at Retired and Restless.

roses

Did you know there are lavender, coral and orange roses? Apparently there are because I found a nice summary of what each color rose means at Mature Not Senile this week. The first flowers anyone ever gave me were from Gerard the day we first met! They were white, pink and yellow. I don't know if he knew the meaning of the colors or not, but white means "pure intentions, innocence, truth," pink means "feelings of a platonic nature," and yellow are for a "variety of special occasions." Maybe the florist knew--these are all good colors for that special occasion! Here's the link to the post I wrote about the day we met: click here.

Entrecard

I learned that Entrecard is going to pay cash if we want to turn in credits but the catch is we have to let some ads on our blog. It's a trade-off that I'm willing to try. This has caused quite a stir among the Entrecard community and some bloggers have already jumped ship. I'm going to give it a chance. For the most up-to-date developments and to express your feelings about the changes, check out their site at http://entrecard.com.

Our Cat

Our adoption story about our first cat, Moe, is featured on the cat/dog blog today.(click here to see it)

Don't Forget The Camera

I must start bringing my camera along when I leave the house. I never know what I will run into and a post with a picture is so much better than one without one. (At least that's my opinion). There have been four occasions now that I can think of where I didn't post because I didn't have a picture. Here they are:

One was in the snowstorm coming home from work. Downtown Cleveland streets looked like one big parking lot and it took me two hours to get home which normally takes 40 minutes!

Another time was when I was on the bus and saw the most unusual hairdo ever on a guy. He had short hair but all over his head he had wrapped his hair into many little points with tiny different colored beads holding them together. It was really hard not to stare! If I had my camera, I would have asked him if I could take his picture. I'm sure he was very proud of it. It must have taken him at least an hour to get it looking like that!

A third time was when I saw a double bus--not a double-decker one but two back to back that were connected somehow. It was the first I've ever seen one like that.

The fourth was St. Patrick's Day. It was a beautiful day for it in Cleveland with the temperature up to 65 which is extremely rare. Usually we have rain and even sometimes snow, but always the temperature is in the 30-50 degree range. I went out at lunch time and the sidewalks were packed, even one stree over from the parade. There were cotton candy, pretzel stands and people selling green shirts, necklaces, and all kinds of green things. Looking down the street, it was like a sea of green. I'd say most of the people were in the 15-25 year old range. It was really hopping! I walked to the bank to deposit my tax refund and crowds were lined up in front of restaurants and the Corner Alley waiting to get in. People were sitting outside eating and drinking and it was definitely a party atmosphere. It was sort of fun just being there. I'm not big on parades, never was, but it was fun watching the crowd. Like I said, I wish I had brought my camera. Too bad we can't rewind and replay a day like we do with the TV now.

Do you agree, pictures would have made this post so much better? I think so. Anyway, I still wanted to share about these things and m taking my camera with me today. What about you . . . can you think of times when you wish you had your camera.

Taking Off For the College Basketball March Madness Tournament

Since I participate in our office pool, I have a great interest in these games and both Gerard and I complete brackets. I think I read in the paper that Cleveland State will be in it this year! This year I decided to only work half days on the first two days of the tournament so I can watch it. I know certain sites have live coverage of the games, CBS Sportsline being one of them, but we are not supposed to watch it at work so I am avoiding temptation by leaving early to watch at home. Of course, they may put a block somehow for that site at work, but just in case they don’t, I want to avoid the temptation by leaving.

I Corinthians 10:13 comes to mind which says,

There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

I’m escaping! What about you? Are you doing a bracket this year? I know someone who knew nothing about the college teams but took third place in her office pool by choosing the teams based on their uniforms. That's usually how I pick mine too for the teams I'm not familiar with. So far, I've done better than my husband every year except last year so this year when my upset picks didn't pan out. It just goes to show you really don't have to follow the college basketball at all to win. Are you planning on watching the first rounds during the day?

My final four are Louisville, Duke, Gonzaga and Washington. Gerard's are Louisville, Memphis, Pittsburgh and Gonzaga. What do you think of that? I'm pulling for Gonzaga to go all the way!
Happy St. Patrick's Day!

My Funny Dad, Harry Blog Is Nominated as Best Diarist Blog!

I was so excited and happy when I checked my emails yesterday to find that Justin Germino (Dragon Blogger) nominated my blog about my dad, "My Funny Dad, Harry," for the Best Diarist Blog at Blognet Awards. Justin Germino is the blogger where I first found out about that site and who won the February 2009 Blognet Award so I am very honored that he nominated my blog. This is the site where I won $150 just for leaving a comment! It's really worth spending some time there!

This is the blog I initially started on March 1, 2008 to help promote the book I wrote about my dad. Having the blog just gives me so much pleasure in sharing more about him and keeping his memory alive. I'd love for you to stop by and visit my other blog about my dad and then go vote and leave a comment. Click here to go vote for my blog. Thanks so much for nominating my blog, Justin!

We're Praying Together Again--Answered Prayer

Sometimes life just gets in the way of what’s important and we need to re-evaluate our priorities now and then. This is what happened with Gerard and I. God is so patient with us and works in our hearts even when we don’t always realize it. When we first got married, we spent a little time every day praying together. For some reason, we stopped and neither of us remember why, other than schedules change and we just never found a good time to do it. Last October I even wrote a post about this: Do You Pray Together?.

I missed it because before I was married, finding someone who I would feel comfortable praying with was on my “list” of things I was looking for in a mate. I thought Gerard was that guy because he suggested we always end our times together with prayer when we were dating. The last few years we made this one of our “New Year’s Resolutions” but it didn’t happen. Last year, I started to pray that God would give Gerard the courage to bring it up and that we would start praying together again and the strength to be the spiritual leader in our home.

Monday night, we were both having a restless night and out of the darkness, he says, “Karen, we’re going to start praying together again. I don’t know why we stopped, probably my fault, but we’re going to do it again starting today. When you get up at 4 o’clock, you wake me up and we’ll pray together.” I was so happy to hear him say that, not the 4 o’clock part though, not necessary for him to get up that early. I’ve been getting up at that time to get my Entrecard drops done before I go to work. (Some of you may have noticed my comments have been showing up earlier.) I said, “how about right after you get dressed instead of 4 a.m.?” He agreed and that is now our prayer time together.

If you want to see some change in your spouse, why not give God a chance and pray about it. Nagging usually doesn’t work and confrontation is usually uncomfortable. As Nora, my Bible Study leader for “The Excellent Wife” said one night, “duck and get out of the way so God can work.” This is what I decided to do and will continue to do.

7 Things I Learned in Week 10 of 2009

Sayings

Anyone hear of the saying, "Perception is reality"? I just learned this one from Gerard last week when he was walking me home from the bus stop on a warmer day than we've been having. He said he thought it was 70 degrees but in fact, according to our outdoor thermometer, it was only in the upper 50s. He also said it felt warmer outside than in the house which we have at 65 degrees. This is when he said "perception is reality" and I said, "I never heard that before, I think you made it up." I guess what we perceive to be true is for us. I'm going to try to perceive it's 80 degrees today!

Sports

The Cleveland Browns traded Kellen Winslow which I am happy about but also Joe Jerovicous which I am not pleased about. He was one on the team who could actually catch the ball!

Our hockey team, the Lake Erie Monsters, is desperately trying to increase their attendance with some special nights. Now they are even inviting dogs to come! On March 22, people are invited to bring their dogs along. Tickets for the dogs are $5, people are $15. Now if they let the dogs on the ice, that would be fun to watch!!

New Blogs I Discovered

I found a really great blog this week called The Kay Way. It's a personal blog about Kay's life, life lessons she learned, and some ranting. The blog is very easy to navigate and looks great! It is not filled with a lot of advertising and she is looking towards becoming a Life Coach. I added it to my favorites and my blog roll. I think if you visit, you will find a lot of interesting things there.

Another blog I found very interesting because of having been my dad's primary caregiver in his old age is Caregiving Daughter written by a woman who invited her mother to move in with her family about a year and a half ago. Her mother has the beginnings of Alzheimer's and the blog is a place for her daughter to vent a little and write about some of her frustrations.

My favorite PLAIN DEALER columnist, Regina Brett is going to start a blog!

Banking

The PLAIN DEALER had an article today rating the stability of banks in Cleveland and I was happy and relieved to see that Dollar Bank, the one we use, was one of the two that got 5 stars! The other one was Third Federal.

Strange Bus Ride To Work Today--

Just thought I'd share with you about my bus experience this morning to give you a laugh. This morning a BIG loud black woman asked if she could sit next to me. Of course I said she could. She sat down and asked for some gum--this is at 7:30 a.m.! Who has gum for breakfast? I didn't have any so then she's asking all those on the bus, just yelling it out, "anyone have any gum, could I have a stick of gum, please! I'm begging you" . . . the guy behind me gave her one.

Then a man came on she was "acquainted with from riding the bus" who sat across the aisle from her and she starts fussing with his shoes! She turned towards him but kind of leaned against me then as she talked to him. Then, for our listening pleasure, she bursts out in song singing "The Itsy, Bitsy Spider" for the whole bus to hear. All this while I am trying to read. I had to read the sentences two or three times--it was so hard to concentrate. At this point I put my hood up. She wasn't on long, thank goodness! Only about 15 - 20 minutes. The bus driver said nothing to her. This lady is a regular bus rider but not usually on my morning bus. This is one very strange person! I really believe she must be a little off.

(Things I learned this week will be up Saturday.)

What Do The Colors You're Attracted To Explain About Your Personality?

The Ultimate Color Test

Here are my results: When you are at peace, you are: Energized and innovative When you are moved to act, you are: Confident and optimistic When you are inspired, you are: Spontaneous and adventurous When your life is perfectly balanced, you are: Philosophical and expressive Your life's purpose is: To find contentment, (Which I have!)

Take The Ultimate Color Test

New Monitor Is Disappointing

Last Saturday I finally got a new computer AOC monitor that was on sale at OfficeMax. What a run around! The old CRT monitor had the connection built-in on the back. I knew the part that plugged into the computer was the blue kind so bought the 19" flat screen AOC monitor, but when I looked at home and saw my old one didn't have that kind of connection on the back, I thought it wouldn't work so returned it. The sales clerks at OfficeMax and also at Best Buy and Staples all told me to that I needed a VGA connection (the blue screw in kind) or it wouldn't work. Not until I stopped in at Computer Outlet was I told it wouldn't matter that the monitor had a different type plug as long as the computer had the right kind. So back to OfficeMax I went to repurchase the one I liked that I found on sale.

After looking for the directions and not finding any except for pictures to follow on how to assemble it, I hooked up the new one and it worked, but the picture looks sort of washed out. A CD came with it so I put that in and read all about this new monitor. Why can't manufacturers keep things simple? A brightness button on the front that works is all I ask. This one though, has a button but when I tried using it, there was very little difference. This monitor has 8 menus with various settings available! After flipping through them all, I discovered that if I used the picture boost at 100%, that gets the contrast and brightness more vivid the way I'm used to it. When I turned the machine off though and back on later, guess what! Back to the washed out colors so I reset it again and looked to see if I missed the "save" somehow but couldn't find one.

On Monday, I found the tech support number and called them about it. After about 15 minutes on the phone with a technician, he said there's no way to save that picture boost setting. Adjusting the contrast and brightness on the other menu didn't really help much so if I want the vivid colors, I have to reset picture boost every time. Unbelievable! On the displayed one in the store it wasn't washed out. I wonder if I should return it and try for a different one or just put up with this one. What would you do?

Have A Scripture Feast

Nora, the leader of my Wednesday night Bible study gave us each a small notebook and challenged us to write down our favorite verses in it and carry it with us. I started with verses that I memorized and then started going through my Bible adding others that I had underlined. It took me about six hours but the time flew by. It was just such a nice time of reflecting on God's promises and His character. Normally, I usually read just a few verses each day so this seemed like a real feast! It was encouraging to review the verses I've memorized through the years. I'm glad I did it and suggest you try doing it too.

6 Things I Learned in Week 9 of 2009

Web Sites

It's absolutely free to list items to sell on Craig's List. I just found this out when reading www.craigs list posting tools.info.


When participating in discussions on www.zootoo.com, I discovered a new site, www.catchannel.com where you can create a CAT FANCY cover with a picture of your cat! This is one I did with Spunky Doodle.

Today when I visited Kids Are My World I learned where to get those little animated pictures that I sometimes see on others blogs. Personally, I find them a bit distracting after awhile and I don't think I'll be adding any because you do have to download their program, but I may change my mind about that at some point. Anyhow, here is the site: SweetIM.

Household Tip

I finally found out how to get my faucets to sparkle and get rid of the soap scum and grunge from The Modern Mom. She recommends using sponge and dab full-strength fabric softener (she uses Downy) on stained areas. Let sit for 15 minutes, then wipe with a damp cloth.

"My Funny Dad, Harry"

When I went on www.shelfari.com this week I checked to see who read the book I wrote, "My Funny Dad, Harry" and to see if they wrote any reviews on it. I was pleased and surprised to find out that several had it on their shelves with a little heart on it which means they marked it as a favorite! That really made me feel good that even people I don't know personally liked it that much. Shelfari is a great site for readers. You can search for a book and find out who else on there read it and what they thought about it. You can also discuss it with others either through notes to them or in discussion groups.

John Grisham

I was surprised to learn that John Grisham's book, "Innocent Man" is non-fiction. It's about several men being wrongfully convicted for murder. I learned that if ever I get arrested, I shouldn't say anything without an attorney present. This is a very sad book. This is why I am against the death penalty!

Where's the Newspaper?

When we first signed up to get the newspaper again, I specifically asked for it to be put up on our porch by the front door. At first, it was there every morning. But now, I think the paper deliverer likes to play games with me because each morning the paper is in a different spot. One day it will be at the end of the porch, another day at the bottom of the steps, another day near our bushes at the side of the steps, another day on the walkway to the steps near the drive. Really, I don't get it. How hard is it to throw it by the door? or at least on the porch every day?

It used to annoy me but now I have begun to just accept it and look on it as my morning game of "Huckle, Buckle Beanstock!" It was a game we used to play sometimes as kids. Everyone would leave the room except for one person who hid a small object. Then everyone would come back and hunt for it. The first person who found it would call out "Huckle, Buckle, Beanstock!" and would get to hide it for the next round.

Nice Surprise--I Won Cash From Blog Net Awards!

Yesterday when doing my drops, I decided to vote for a blog or two and discovered that I won 1st prize ($150) for commenting on http://blognetawards.com. I did leave several comments but I will definitely be visiting that site to vote and comment more frequently now.

Drive Carefully--Here Is a Video Showing What Not To Do

This is hilarious! I came across it on Signe Says and just had to share it. I bet it will make you laugh!

UPDATED: Sorry, the embedding was disabled but here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygtBxhFc24A It's worth checking out.

Help! Computer Troubles Are Scaring Me!

Yesterday while on my computer, it acted weird. All of a sudden, it only showed the top half of the screen and the line across the middle jiggled up and down, then went to a solid skinny line across half the screen and the top half went dark too. Oh, oh! What's going on? Can anyone tell me what this means? I hit a bunch of keys, ctrl-alt-delete, tried manually turning it off--didn't let me, Esc several times and finally, it came back like normal and worked.

This morning, it did the same thing when I turned it on. It took 20 min. to get on this morning so I backed up my few important files to a disk. When I tried doing my password one though, I got some stupid message that said I don't have authority to save it here, do you want to save in documents and to "contact my administrator." I AM THE ADMINISTRATOR!

Is it time for a new computer? Is this a warning signal? Or, hopefully, is it just some minor thing that can be fixed. Anyone out there who can advise me as to what to do?

UPDATED 3/2/09 7:40 P.M.:
I checked with one of our computer people at work and she thought I might need a new monitor.