Our Best Reads--Sophie's Heart and Adventures With Ari

Here are out best reads for May:

Karen's: Sophie's Heart by Lori Wick
Sophie's Heart is a contemporary, heartwarming Christian romance about a grieving widower and his three children who hire Sophie, a Christian immigrant from Czechoslovakia, to be their cook and housekeeper. It's a fun journey seeing how the family comes to love Sophie and how she slowly becomes more Americanized. Throughout the book, the author reveals Sophie's heart through her prayers and one can see what it means to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ by reading this book. I enjoyed Sophie's interaction with her friends, her driving instructor, Alec but most of all with his children. It was refreshing to see how the oldest one, Rita, helped her instead of resenting her. This book gives great insight into what Christian living is all about!

Gerard's: Adventures With Ari by Kathryn Miles

Big Surprise--Wonderful Book! I really enjoyed it!

I went looking for a book at the library while waiting for a book I ordered to come in. First, the cover caught my attention. I thought, okay, just another dog book, but no! This is a wonderful book!! It's the story of Kathryn Miles, who you will grow to like very much, and of course, Ari, you will grow to love!! This book I enjoyed so much. One of the best parts is the interaction between Kathryn and Ari. It's so good. I also liked the month-by-month to see how Ari grows. Also you see the outside through Ari's eyes. All emotions are in play during this book. I hated to see it end. Don't miss a chance to read this one--it's wonderful! Hope Kathryn has another book in her. Two paws way up for Ari! I came away from this book with the feeling I just spent a week with a good friend. Karen read it too and liked it.


Read more of our book reviews at Zemeks' Updates-What We've Just Read

4 Things I Learned This Week-Part 21

Twitter

I just discovered how to add video and pictures to Tweets on Twitter: For video: http://twitvid.io and for photos: http://twitpic.com. Just use your Twitter ID and password and then upload you video. There's more ways too that are mentioned at mashable.com.

Short tweets are more likely to be retweeted than long ones.

Pool Shark In Diapers

If found this video at Living Life to the Fullest. I used to have a miniature pool table like this one when I was a kid. This kid is really good!

Wallpaper

Ever hear of heat-activated wallpaper? I didn't either until I saw it on New York Renovator. Wonder what it does? Well, the sample shown there was a green vine type print and when it got warm, pink flowers would show up! Do you have any heat-activated wallpaper? Have you even heard of it before this?

Lots of Tips

I came across a whole list of great assorted tips at Jodi's Journey. Easy things that will take care of ear mites, fleas, wet dog, headache, sore throat, toenail fungus, stuffy nose, bee killer, arthritis relief and more! Worth checking out--you're bound to find something there you could use. (I haven't tried any of these yet so can't guarantee they work.)

Enjoying Wildlife Along The Way--A Nice Walk

I love my early morning walk to the bus stop on sunny mornings when it's warm. It's just invigorating and I usually find myself praising God on the way. Our neighbors are into yard work so our street is quite pretty. Here are pictures of some of the wildlife I encounter along the way:

These two little barking dogs greet me as I approach their house with loud barks and then their owners come out to quiet them down. They're kind of cute though! I especially like the little brown one.





Another animal I sometimes see along the way is a bunny rabbit. This guy stayed still letting me take his picture before hopping along through other yards down the street.

The secret to enjoying my walk is to give me plenty of time. I used to cut it close, giving me just 10 minutes and if something held me up, such as hunting for my cats before leaving, I'd miss the bus or have to really run to make up for my late start. Now, I allow myself 20 minutes and if I don't leave right on time, it's no big deal. This cuts down considerably on my stress level to start the day and I even had time to stop along the way to take these pictures! Often the birds are chirping and today a whole bunch were in the street, but I ran out of time so didn't get their picture.

On some days, I'll see cats out too. One time there was one in the tree on the tree lawn and one house on the way has 4 white cats that are outside a lot in the front yard.

This past winter one morning, I even came across a skunk! It was running across the sidewalk about 12 feet ahead of me. That was when it was still pretty dark and before I carried my camera so didn't get a picture of him.

Once on the bus, I generally read and the time goes by quickly. Not a bad way to start the day! Do you enjoy going outside early in the morning? This is something I intend to keep doing even when I retire (not walk to the bus stop, but at least walk or work in the yard early). It's my favorite time of day. I love this time of year when it's light early.

Dinosaurs at the Cleveland Zoo --Watch Out!

Sunday we went to the Cleveland Zoo especially to see the dinosaur exhibit. As we approached the exhibit, one little girls was blocking her ears because she was afraid of the loud growling dinosaurs! She was cute! The dinosaurs looked realistic with movable heads, tails and legs. The foliage around them added to the feel that they were real and many of the little kids were scared. The dinosaurs growled at the people and one even spit! It's a great exhibit. I edited the video by just using some photos in parts rather than the actual video footage to make it shorter because it was 4 min. long. I hope you take a little time to actually view it.

One Man's Junk Is Another Man's Treasure

This saying is so true! Gerard found this nice yard sign for our yard. It was just dirty but other than that, we didn't see anything wrong with it. What a nice surprise!

Not too long ago, we finally put our old gas powered lawn mower which was sparking out for the garbage pickup and low and behold, someone came along and took it.
It was just taking up space in our garage for over a year after we got the Neuton cordless battery-operated lawn mower from my dad's after he died.

What treasures have you found that others thought were junk?

Cats Rule--Here's Proof--The Ledge Is Theirs

We have a little ledge at the top of our hallway stairs where we had our doll collection displayed until Spunky Doodle kept knocking them off and they kept falling over the edge down the stairs.

So we moved them all off and put them in our extra bedroom. The only thing left on the ledge then was a little candle holder that has three cats on it. For a long time, the cats didn't bother it until one day, boom! It got pushed off and the one head broke.

Instead of putting it back on the ledge, I just put it on the bottom shelf of the table that's next to the ledge. We're not sure which cat pushed the candle off, but I think it was Manny since I saw him up there not too long before the crash. The cats really like to sit on this ledge because it's high over the hall steps, plus right near the hall window where they can look out.

Mission accomplished! Both cats are very proud of themselves for claiming this ledge as all theirs. Spunky blogged about this too. Click here for Spunky's Tip.

4 Things I Learned This Week-Part 20

Choosing Colors for Decorating

At Freaky FrugaliteI found a great site that helps you choose colors for your rooms that reflect your personality or the moods you want to create in your home by answering a few questions. I tried it a couple different times using different answers just to see what it would recommend. It's www.prattandlambert.com.

Driving

I learned I wasn't up on driving rules as much as I thought after getting only one right out of six on the short driving quiz in the Cleveland PLAIN DEALER on Thursday. I was floored by this so went over to www.gmacinsurance.com/SafeDriving to take the complete quiz. Apparently, they picked out the hardest questions because now I got them right and scored 100%. I felt better. Take the quiz to review some driving rules and see how you do (not state specific).

Computer Tips

Finally, I found instructions for password protecting files in Windows XP at Bloody Computer. I've been wanting to do this since I got my home computer. Right click on file, send to zip folder, right click zip folder, select "explore" and choose add password from the file menu. UPDATED: 5/24/09: When I tried to do this, I didn't get the option to make a zip file so still don't know how I can do this.

IE Problem

I discovered my blogspot blogs wouldn't open in IE and in reading Beaded Tail's comment on Health Nut Wannabee Mom if found that she had the same problem that was fixed once she removed her followers gadget. So, that is what I did too and the problem is now fixed, but my followers gadget is gone. I hope this issue gets corrected and when it does, I'll re-instate my followers gadget.

It's Donut Day! Hurray! Hurray!

All right, we have bagels too. Every Friday at work the attorneys from the floor take turns bringing donuts and bagels. Who said attorneys aren't nice? I work with a great group of people and one of my tasks is "donut coordinator." I am the one who makes out the schedule.

My favorite is the chocolate frosted ones with the custard inside, but I also like the lemon and jelly filled ones too. The coconut sprinkled ones and solid chocolate ones are good too. In fact, the only kind I really don't care for are the glazed and ones with powdered sugar. What kind do you like? How often to you eat them? I usually have two and bring one or two home at the end of the day for Gerard. I hate to see them just being thrown away. I know donuts are "fat pills" but so far, it seems I can handle them without getting fat. If I do ever need to lose weight (or fat), this is an easy food I could cut if need be.

(Due to this post having to be on a Friday, my usual "Things I Learned This Week" post will be posted tomorrow.)

Birdie Bombs My Library Book--A Close Call

At lunch today, I went to the mall garden to get a picture for a blog post, then to the library garden (pictured above) to read. It was in the low 80s and a gorgeous day. The sun was so bright it made me squint and couldn't concentrate so I moved to the shade under the trees in the middle of the garden near the water. That was much better. All of a sudden, plop, right on a page of the book I'm reading about nature in Adventures With Ari, a birdie dropping fell on it. Fortunately, it missed my head. It would have been messy since I didn't wear my cap today, but from now on I will. I wiped the page off the best I could using a leaf before closing the book. I didn't think about that when I moved under the trees. Have to watch out for those bird bombers!

Are You Facebook, My Space or Twitter?

I am MySpace

Although this says I am My Space, I think I'm more of Twitter, at least I use that one every day. I do enjoy participating in the discussion forums on My Space, but haven't in a long time because once I started blogging, that takes up most my free time. I try to go on My Space on Mondays, but so far I've only made it twice. Here is the link to My Space profile if you care to visit: www.myspace.com/kzemek

Facebook is hard to navigate. I find it complicated but I like it to keep in touch with friends and family.



You are young ... or at least you feel like you are. You are drawn to musicians and artists. (I don't know about this, not really.)

You are proud of who you are. Your quirks are an asset, and you flaunt them! (Don't know about this either.)

You are attracted to shiny things, and you aren't afraid of a little bling. (True, a little!)

You're stubborn enough to stick to what your like, even if falls out of fashion. (Okay, finally one that is true for me!)

Click here to take the quiz to see if you Are You Facebook, MySpace, or Twitter?

What Super Power Would You Like To Have?

What Super Power Would You Want? I find myself wishing I could be two or three places at once. It seems I can never get everything I'd like to do done in a day. Here is the list of things I'd like to do every day:

I enjoy blogging so much that it's constantly in my thoughts. I think of ideas for posts and really like drafting them and finalizing them. I love taking pictures or scanning in old ones to got with my posts as well. I also like reading other blogs and learning new things all the time. Some are very funny and make me laugh which is also good and some are just interesting. Commenting on others blogs is fun for me too as well as reading and responding to comments people leave on mine. Although I see many bloggers very upset over the changes with Entrecard, paid ads are just not that big a deal to me as long as I can reject those I do not like. The benefits outweigh the bad in my opinion. The downside of all this is that it is very time consuming. I must force myself to step away from the computer!

Another big time eater is my full-time job. It would be nice if we didn't need money and working was not necessary, but unfortunately, that is not the case. I still have 7 years until I can retire at age 62. I know that time will go be quickly, but I really look forward to the day when we can retire. I have a feeling I will still be into blogging and maybe then will be when I seriously consider monetizing my blogs. I am thankful that I can take the bus to work because it's a 40 min. ride one way and that gives me time to read.

Sleep is also important and takes a good chunk out of my 24 hour day. I aim for 7 hours a night, but sometimes it's more and more often, it's less. I generally get up at 4 a.m. to visit and comment on others blogs before going to work.

I would like to spend more time relaxing and having fun at the gym, playing with my cats, taking walks and going places with my husband, playing golf, tennis, and bowling more often, pulling weeds from our yard and just relaxing on our front porch on nice days. I'm sure there's movies on TV I would enjoy as well, but seldom watch anymore since we got the computer--it's like a magnet and draws me to it. Alas, the best I do is squeeze these things into my schedule now and then. If I didn't like blogging so much, I would quit an then have more time for these things, but right now that's not going to happen.

So you see, if only I could be in several places at once, I could easily do everything I'd like. One of me could focus on blogging and visiting other blogs all day, one could go to work while another one of me could go somewhere and do something fun. Hey, one could sleep while the other one is at the computer participating in forum discussions or playing video games on pogo.com.

Finally, it seems as though whenever something special comes up it happens in pairs. We'll go a month with no definite plans for the weekend and then boom--two things come up on the same day. Why does this happen?

I wonder why God didn't give us this ability when He created humans. God is omnipresent (Ps. 139:7-12) and the Bible says we are created in his image in Genesis 1:27. Now there's a point to ponder, I think I'll ask my Pastor about this!

What super power would you like to have and why?

7 Things I Learned This Week-Part 19

My Funny Dad, Harry Giveaway

When visiting Mountain Woman's blog at Red Pine Mountain, I saw she's having a book giveaway contest for four copies! All you have to do to enter is leave a comment that you would like to enter. There are some other things you can do to get more chances to win. The drawing will be June 12 for Father's Day. I was glad to see there were some who wanted it! Click here to head on over to enter!

Anti-Monkey Butt Powder

Kathy at "The Junk Drawer" discovered this product at her drug store and actually took several photos of it. This is a new product to me; never knew there was such a thing. Here is the link to her post about it: Do You Have A Monkey Butt?.

Birds & Squirrels

My new animal fact I learned this week is that sometimes birds attack squirrels. You can read all about the bird-squirrel fight at Forest Fight at The Everyday Adventurer.

Self Defense

I found a great post this week about teaching kids self defense at For Your Protection. There is also a link in the post to a whole video series about different ways kids can get away from an abductor here: Expert Village. If I had kids, I'd sure want them to know how to defend themselves.

Coolest Horse

At Just Wondering, I came across this video of the coolest horse ever. I never knew a pony could ride in a car and live inside a house, answer the phone and bring his owner a beer from the refrigerator. It even laid on the bed! I wonder if the horse is happy or if it wouldn't rather be out running. What do you think? Watch this video: The Coolest Horse,

How To Protect Your Address Book

This came from an email sent to me by a friend. I'm not guaranteeing it works, but it's simple enough to give it a shot. This trick won't keep the virus from getting into your computer, but it will stop it from using your address book to spread further, and it will alert you to the fact that the worm has gotten into your system.

Here's what you do:

First, open your address book and click on 'new contact,' just as you would do if you were adding a new friend to your list of email addresses. In the window where you would type your friend's first name, type in 'A'.

For the screen name or email address, type AAAAAAA@AAA.AAA
(mailto:AAAAAAA@AAA.AAA)

Now, here's what you've done and why it works:
The name 'A' will be placed at the top of your address book as entry.

This will be where the worm will start in an effort to send itself to all your friends. When it tries to send itself to AAAAAAA@AAA.AAA (mailto:AAAAAAA@AAA.AAA), it will be undeliverable because of the phony email address you entered. If the first attempt fails (which it will because of the phony address), the worm goes no further and none of your friends will be infected. You'll also get an undeliverable message which alerts you that a virus has entered your computer and you can take care of it.

Osteogenesis Imperfecta

From reading "Handle With Care" by Jodi Picoult, I learned Osteogenesis Imperfecta (OI) is a rare bone disease where a person's bones break very easily--just by getting bumped, falling down, or even sneezing. The person with this disease is generally very short too. Much of their time is spent in the hospital and living with casts which is extremely costly.

Happy Gotcha Day, Manny--He's 4 Now!

After our Moe died New Year's of 2007, we missed him very much. One of my dad's cats, Sylvester, was the only cat I knew who actually liked being held and would crawl on my lap and let me pet him as long as I wished. It was a very big strong unneutered tabby man cat that had feline aids so I couldn't bring him into my home so had to have him put down. I thought it would be nice to see if I could find a cat like him. Spunky already reminded me of my dad's Sweet Thing (not in temperament but in looks). I missed my dad's cats too because I helped take care of them and visited with them every day as well.

I noticed Spunky missed Moe too and was lonely through the day while we were at work, so I planned to get another cat. When I heard about Manny needing a new home, I thought he'd be perfect for us. An old friend of mine became pregnant so couldn't take her allergy medicine which made it necessary for her to get rid of her cat, FooFee. He was neutered and was declawed on his front paws, plus he was a tabby which is what I was planning on getting. We renamed him Manny.

See, he looks like Sylvester in this bottom picture, doesn't he? At first Manny was very scared, naturally, but he is now Mr. Nice Nice as I predicted he would be. (video of scared Manny). It took awhile for him to warm up to us, but he has become very affectionate. Although he doesn't crawl on my lap if I'm sitting, he does come up on the couch and on our bed with us. He enjoys laying on my legs while I watch TV laying on the couch. Manny is more brown and Sylvester was more gray, but the markings are the same. Click here to read about Sylvester's Last Day.

Manny wrote about his birthday on his blog and asked me to be sure to let you know: Happy Birthday To Me.

What Vitamin Are You-Take the Quiz

I am Vitamin A (Karen)

You see the world vividly. You are a very visual person, and you pay special attention to colors. This is very true about me. At work I used to always use the colored labels for my client files. Each client got a color and our records department used color coded files as well so it was easy to spot missfilings. When they went to a more standardized filing system, I was frustrated because all my color coding was for naught. Boo hoo. And while you appreciate a sunny, beautiful day - you also like the subtle visuals of night. I love to sit out on the porch on a hot summer's night and talk! You are youthful both in appearance and spirit. You are likely healthier than average. I believe this is true. I do try to keep a youthful spirit and at the amusement park, the person who tries guessing your age had me 10 years younger than I was. I think my youthful appearance is because I do not have any children. You shine brightly and are best in small doses. Too much of your company can be overwhelming and even dangerous.I'm not sure what this means. Guess I need to keep my posts short?

What Vitamin Are You? Click here to find out and share your results in the comments.

(I'm not sure what these results have to do with vitamins, maybe you could explain that to me too.)

Do You Celebrate Your Proposal Date?

Today is the 12th anniversary of the day Gerard proposed to me on my back porch after we got back from playing tennis. Maybe not the most romantic proposal, but I thought it was cute—he just couldn’t wait any longer! We were 44 and 45 when we got engaged. We had only known each other for six months. Gerard said he knew right off that I was the one for him. I don’t know how he could know so quickly, but he insists he did. He treated me like a queen from the start of our relationship, opening doors for me, sending me surprise gifts, carrying things for me, helping me with my coat, following me around everywhere I went and still does most of these things. Now that our money is combined, I asked him to cut down on the surprise gifts. The rest, he still does.

I must admit I was a bit scared about getting married, After all, my life was good and marriage came with no warranty. There are no guarantees but we both went in with the attitude that marriage is a lifetime commitment so we’ll make it work. It does take work, some sacrifice and some compromise, but we look forward to growing old together and enjoying our retirement years in the future. Right now, we are having a pretty good time too! It seems we were meant for each other.

What about you? When and how did you get engaged? Do you celebrate your proposal date?

Ice Cubes Come In Handy For Carpets

From moving our furniture around when we had our insulation installed, there were little dents in the carpet where some of our heavier pieces were. I put an ice cube on the dent and waited for it to melt, hoping the cats wouldn't hit it off. As soon as I put down the ice cubes, the cats came to see what was going on. The dent was still there. I tried it again, this time completely following the directions which include dabbing it with a paper towel after it melted and then vacuuming over the spot. It revived the carpet fibers and the dent is gone!
I got this tip from Modern Mom.

Getting Married is A Scary Thing

I was a very happy, fulfilled single into my 40s. An older friend of mine, Luther, told me I wouldn't want to grow old alone. It made me think and realize that he was right.

Marriage though is such a huge step, especially since I was perfectly happy with my life as it was. I didn't date anyone but had many friends, was active at church and participated in bowling leagues, both from work and church. I rented the upstairs from my parents and had a very nice set up. I could eat meals downstairs with them whenever I wanted and only paid $100 rent a month! My dad even took my garbage out for me. I really had it made but knew I had to start seriously looking for a husband if I didn't want to grow old alone.

One of my main concerns about Gerard was all his credit cards and his credit card debt. He was willing to cut them up and let me handle our money so this worked for me. He was also okay about me not cooking, not having children and coming to my church. He said if we were married, my routine wouldn't have to change. He would do all the housework and yard work since he did it anyway and I could still watch my show when I came home from work every day. Gerard and I were very compatible and so after much prayer, let him know that if he asked me to marry him, I'd say "yes."

related post: Why There Are People who Are Afraid of Marriage

Things My Mother Taught Me and What I Miss

A mother is such a special, influential person in someone's life. My mom went to be with the Lord December 2, 1999 and I miss her. We were very close and I wish she were still alive, although it was always hard knowing what to buy her for Mother's Day. My mom and I always got along great, even through my teen years. We laughed a lot!

Things My Mom Taught Me:

How to subtract 9, 8 & 7 quickly and check subtraction by adding
How to make pumpkin pie
How to keep a scorecard for baseball
How to catch a ball
How to prioritize
How to memorize the books of the Bible
Don't take advantage of people
Give myself options in choosing courses
Do a job right
Share what you have with others
Don't judge people by their looks

How to play these games:

Monopoly
Canasta
Mah Jong
Scrabble
Rook
Muggins
Flinch
(I taught her poker and Pinochle)

Things Mom and I Used to Do together:

Shop for clothes.
Watch the soap opera, "Guiding Light."
Watch sports on TV.
Bowled.
Attended Mother-Daughter Banquets.
Attended TOPS Awards Banquet.
Plan youth group meetings for church.
Work on crafts for Hobby Club.
My mom was overweight so very, very soft. Loved snuggling up against her and talking late into the night.
I'd bring her home library books and she'd read them in her old age.

One of the best gifts I gave her was a letter telling her how much she meant to me. It wasn't for any special occasion, just an assignment I had to do that was in an AWANA book I was working through, but it meant so much to her. I came across it when I was clearing out my dad's house after he died. She had saved it in one of her drawers. I wish I had saved it, but didn't. At that point I was just so tired of going through everything that I just wanted to get the job done and figured I didn't know where I'd put it anyway.

What do (or did) you do with your mom? What did your mom teach you? If you are a mom, what would you most want for Mother's Day? Today is Mother's Day and I wish everyone a happy day.

5 Things I Learned This Week of 2009-Part 18

Kill Germs

I have Purell, hand sanitizer at my desk at work and Germ-x by my computer at home and in the kitchen and have started using it. It says it kills 99.99% of the germs I come in contact with. The desk has an abundance of them, over 10 million according to Dr. Charles Gerba, university of Arizona Microbiologist! Do you was your hands enough? Click here to find out.

DirectTV Remote

Gerard discovered that if he's watching a sports channel and hits the red button on the remote control, scores come up for baseball, basketball, and hockey. He got excited about that!

Art

At Freaky Frugalite I saw some interesting hand art that I've never seen before. This is way more than just making a fist and drawing some eyes on your finger and lips on your mouth. (Picture used by permission from Guido Daniele of http://yoke.cc/handart.htm where a lot is displayed. Really worth checking out.)

Drawing

I learned from my S.S. class this week how to draw an angry face by having the eyebrows be low above the nose and go up. They like it when they can teach me things too!

Vocabulary

We Are DINKS Gerard and I learned we are DINKS? People with dual-incomes-no-kids. Gerard came across that term in the book he is currently reading, Adventures With Ari, by Kathryn Miles. I never heard of that term before, have you?

Cats In Business

I always like being greeted by a cat when I go into certain business. There are some local businesses that I have come across that have cats. I’m surprised with so many people who are allergic to cats, that any business would have one.

In the Arcade between Euclid and Prospect, The Bancroft Gallery has a big bushy black cat in it. They do framing and sell artwork. Sometimes I’ll go there on my lunch hour to visit. The owner actually had two cats at one time and has some pictures up on his door of one of them on his back.

There used to be a photography store with a nice cat that lived in there. Sometimes I would go in on my lunch hour just to pet that cat. Last time I went though, I was disappointed to see the store wasn’t there anymore.

When we go to Richardson’s for our spring flowers, there is an orange cat there too who hangs out near the register. That’s one of the reasons we go there even though there are other places closer where we could buy our flowers. I like petting that orange cat.

Our vet, Dr. Hart on Akins Road in Cleveland has two greeter cats. It’s nice because usually we have to wait and they provide some entertainment. The one is very friendly and will usually come over and let me pet him while I wait. My dad’s vet on Memphis also had a friendly greeter cat.

Both my husband and I liked the book, Dewey about a cat that was dropped into a book return box at a library and the librarian who found it and let it stay in the library. I wish our library had a cat.

Do you know of any businesses that have cats? What do you think about business with pets?

Do You Wash Your Hands Enough?

For Secretary's' Day, our firm gave all the support staff a Purell Pal to keep on our desks in an effort to stop the spread of germs and prevent illness. I thought this was a very practical gift and a good idea. I like it because it's handy and dries really fast without any goopy feeling left on my hands. After reading the brochure about "Why You Need Purell" I am now using the hand sanitizer and washing my hands way more than I did before. It had a quote by Dr. Charles P. Gerba, University of Arizona microbiologist that says "The average desk harbors over 10,000,000 germs! The brochure lists the following germ count at an average desk that really got my attention:

• Desktop = 20,961 germs per square inch


• Keyboard = 3,295 germs per square inch


• Mouse = 1,676 germs per square inch


• Phone = 25,127 germs per square inch

Considering I'm at a desk most of the day, I am in contact with LOTS and LOTS of germs. I am at a desk at work and then also at home too when I go on the computer every night. Wow! Both Purell and Germ-x claim to kill 99.99% of most common germs that may make you sick. Many of the most common germs are transmitted by hands; thus, we need to wash our hands frequently.

Here's the list given in the brochure of when we should wash our hands:

• After you shake hands


• Before you snack or eat


• After using the restroom


• After handling money


• Every time you return to your desk (I don't understand this one--does it actually shield against germs too?)


• After getting coffee, using the vending machine, or visiting other shared areas


• When you cough, sneeze or blow your nose


• Before you leave for the day so you don't bring these germs home with you


• Any other time you feel the need

I didn't do so well so have a lot of room to improve starting now. How about you? What are your thoughts about this? Do you use a hand sanitizer?
(This is not a paid post).

This is Be Kind To Animals Week

Why not take a trip to the zoo and visit some?

Visit www.moblyng.com to make your own!

Perhaps it's time for you to get a pet and give a homeless cat or dog a good home? Take a visit to your local animal shelter. Maybe a stray has found you. Why not take it in and give it a good home like we did with Spunky Doodle?







Click on the picture and play. Just by playing, you provide 20 free pieces of kibble to help feed cats or dogs, even if you answer wrong!The least you could do is play the Feed Cats & Dogs Trivia game at the top of my blog this week or help by clicking on the animal rescue site (see right side of my blog).


For sure, if you have pets, give them some special attention this week. Maybe give them a little extra play time, pet them more than usual or give them some special treats.

I'd love to know how you plan to be kind to animals this week!

Every Saint Has A Past . . . Every Sinner Has A Future

I am not big on poetry, but this one my cousin emailed to me got my attention. I don't know the author and if you've already seen it, I apologize but I thought it was worth posting.

BEST POEM IN THE WORLD (author unknown)

I was shocked, confused, bewildered
As I entered Heaven's door,
Not by the beauty of it all,
Nor the lights or its decor.

But it was the folks in Heaven
Who made me sputter and gasp--
The thieves, the liars, the sinners,
The alcoholics and the trash.

There stood the kid from seventh grade
Who swiped my lunch money twice.
Next to him was my old neighbor
Who never said anything nice.

Herb, who I always thought
Was rotting away in hell,
Was sitting pretty on cloud nine,
Looking incredibly well.

I nudged Jesus, “What's the deal?
I would love to hear Your take.
How'd all these sinners get up here?
God must've made a mistake.

And why's everyone so quiet,
So somber - give me a clue.”
“Hush, child” He said, “they're all in shock.
No one thought they'd be seeing you.”


JUDGE NOT

Remember...Just going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than standing in your garage makes you a car ..

Every saint has a PAST...Every sinner has a FUTURE!

No one can be good enough to get to heaven and no one can be too bad that they can't get there because where we spend eternity is not based on what we do, but on who we know because of God's grace and mercy.

(Ephesians 2:8-9: For by grace ye are saved through faith and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God: not of works lest any man should boast.

(KJV)

As Christians, we must be kind to everyone and show love even to our enemies. We cannot expect everyone to live by God's standards if they do not know him.

6 Things I Learned This Week of 2009--Part 17

Help Feed The Hungry

At A Better Woman For God and Family I discovered a similar site to my cat and dog trivia to feed shelter cats and dogs but this one is to help feed people! This is a word game and for every correct answer, 10 grains of rice is donated to the needy. Please visit FreeRice.com to start playing and donating. It's kind of fun, all you do is pick the right definition of words. Just wish they would donate something better than rice. UPDATED 5/4/09: You can choose to do words from different languages or math. I tried German and did better than I expected.

Elephants

I saw a show this week about a place for orphaned elephants and learned the proper way to introduce yourself to an elephant is to blow into their trunk. They cover themselves with dirt for protection from the sun. They are very caring and nurturing animals as this picture I found shows at: Maria Michelle's Furkids and Animal Rescue.

Get Rid of Those Bees

I discovered this way to trap bees on Mature But Not Senile. I hate bees because I got stung once and it hurt so I'm going to give this a try this summer in my yard:
make a yellow jacket trap.

get a 2 liter bottle, cut the top off, where it enlarges - keep it.

then fill it with about 1? of sweet juice, koolaid or pop in the bottom; none of that non cal crap - they want real sugar and only sugar based stuff.

if it’s an aggressive breed they may even like a small bit of pineapple in the bottle to hold their attention while they get stuck before drowning since they can’t fly out. yep.

invert the top and remove the cap, put it back on top of the bottle, with the cap end facing down into the bottle to allow the critters to fly in.

they get drunk on the nectar in the bottom, and drown. simple but effective.

you should change it about every few days or as you accumulate critters.

this works for almost all flying pests.

This was a comment left by BadGalsRadio that was reposted because it was such a good comment. There is more to it so be sure to check out the whole thing at Mature and Senile.

New Christian Blog Discovered

I just discovered a new Christian blog that is outstanding called We Used To Be You. It is well designed, easy to read and navigate, and is extremely interactive. Posts are well thought out, interesting and informative. This is where I first heard about Miss California's Statement that marriage is between a man and woman and all the repurcussions about it. This blog provides guidance to girls and women by sharing their life experiences, providing Godly counsel and sharing the love of Christ. Then answer questions from their readers. I added it to my blogroll and am now a follower. You may want to take a look at this one--it's awesome! Here is the link to the post I wrote about it on my other blog: You Go, Girl!. UPDATED 5/2/09: I was shocked when I got home yesterday and found 23 comments on this post. Quite a debate went on while I was at work which I spent about 3 hours responding. You may want to take a peek and may even have something to add. Little did I realize my innocent post would get so much reaction!

Technology

This is a link to a video called "Did You Know?" that I found very interesting. My cousin emailed it to me and it said Sony played it in their Executive Meeting. I don't how how true these stats are, but some things I found interesting in it were:
1) China will soon become the No. 1 English speaking country in the world.
2) India has more honors kids than America has kids.
3) One in four workers as been with their current employer less than a year; 1 in 2 less than 5 years.
4) One out of eight couples married in the U.S. last year met online.
5) There are over 200 million registered users on MySpace which means if it were a country, it would be the 5th largest in the world!
There are a lot more interesting stats in this video--take a look for yourself.

A Heartwarming Story--Homeless to Chef!

In an email newsletter I received from Covenant House I learned of a heartwarming story about Kimberly, an orphaned girl who was living on the streets and was helped by Covenant House to overcome tragedy, earn her high school diploma, and secure a job as a prep chef. You can read her story at www.support.Covenant House.org. Covenant House rescues kids living on the streets and helps them turn their lives around every day! I am pleased to be a monthly sponsor.