I Can Design My Own Pool

My 71-year-old father packs up his duffle bag three times a week and drives to the local fitness center to swim laps. I am in awe of him. If ever I find myself with extra money, say if I win the lottery or something, I’m buying him a new house with a pool, on a lake with a his own boat. He can design his own pool with Pool Builders League City TX. I went to the site decorative pools.com and designed a pool, I felt like I was playing Sims!

It's Really Cold Inside and Out

The furnace guy was suppose to be here at 11:30 and it is now 11:36. My toes are going numb. I woke this morning thinking, "Huh, it's cold in here. It is 14 degrees outside but still." I shuffled over to the thermostat, 61 degrees. That can't be right. So when Boy#3 went back to bed, previous post he's sick, and Boy #2 went to school, I addressed the situation, I crawled back into bed. It was still warm in there.
An hour later, the husband and I woke up and started to look for the furnace guys phone number. During that search the kitchen got disheveled, now I have to clean out an entire drawer. Damn that furnace. I'm going to look out the window some more, make more coffee and look for the heating pad for my toes. Hopefully I'll find it right away and won't have to clean anymore drawers.

The Watch Dog

“I am trying to sleep you know”. This is what I tell the dog every other night when she jumps up on the bed and barks out the window at the neighbor who is letting his dog out. The husband suggested hanging sheets from the windows. Gently, I told him that hanging sheets really wouldn’t go with the rest of the bedroom décor. My sleeping problem may just have a solution after all. Decorative window film, now there’s a thought. We can cover the two windows in the bedroom and the dog can relax. Because it’s all about her you know.

Paging Dr. Mom

There is a flashlight in my bathroom, on the counter by the sink. Why? Most moms know why. Someone in the house has a soar throat. And it's up to the Dr. Moms to determine the severity. Translation - are they going to school today. Back when they were little I'd tell them to open, stick out your tongue and say ahhhh, oh and don't breath. That last one I added for myself, morning breath and germs coming at you first thing in the morning is never going to end well. I had the pleasure this morning of having two patients. They are taller than me now and I have to stand on the toilet to peer into the oral cavities. Boy #2 cowboyed up and went to school, he is in the beginning of the sick crude that will inevitably end up with me. Boy #3 has had enough and is sleeping it off today. One of my favorite lines from one of the little darlings when I couldn't see any redness was, "Are you sure you don't need new batteries in that flashlight mom?"

I'm Just Wondering

I can meander my way around the internet pretty well, pretty well for a high school graduate that went right into marriage and kids, did the whole stay-at-home-mom thing and cooks big Sunday dinners. I can google with the best of them, find a car insurance quote with a couple clicks, find a map and directions to any birthday party in the area. I have 957 usernames and passwords. What I can’t understand is while I have no problem opening up a new web page, there is one, just one page I cannot open. My cpanel at my hosting service. How is this my problem? I’m not being a smartass, I’m just wondering.

Hold That Door

I was out this morning and on my way home I stopped for a mocha cappuccino, because can't not stop. I'd spend my last buck on a mocha cappuccino. On my way out with my beloved mocha cappuccino, a deliveryman was on his way in with several boxes on one of those tall thingamabobbers with wheels. I can guarantee you this post is not going where you think it is, so let me spare you the suspense, nothing happened to my mocha!
This is where I'm going. He held the door for me. And I in turn, held the door open for him, because I am generally a nice enough person. He actually looked surprised and told me no one ever holds the door open for him. It takes 5 seconds, max, to hold the door open for someone. You can't be in that much of a hurry where 5 seconds is going to throw your schedule all to hell.
This post is me doing my part to make the world a better place. Slow down and hold the damn door open once in a while and do it with a smile.

Sunday Fundraiser Auction

It's Sunday and I have an afternoon in the kitchen waiting for me. How did I ever get stuck making Sunday dinners? It's against everything I believe in to cook on the weekends.

Before I set off to the kitchen I need to post this link to an auction going on at www.Plunderhere.com. I've posted about my friends in need before and now as we rally around them I can share with you one of our members from The Crabby Host auctions for a Ladies Nascar Hat! All proceeds go straight to Martha and Harold to help them with Martha's cancer treatment and prescriptions as they have no insurance. Happy bidding! And thank you in advance.

Here's a Valentine's Day Gift Idea

I really never have any good Valentine's gift ideas, probably because the husband and I never buy each other presents anymore. But I ran across this idea online and thought it was cool. We are painting our living room and I would love new pictures on the walls. At Photofiddle.com you can use your own photo’s and turn them into artwork. I want to do a big collage of the boys and the dog. I’ll procrastinate enough that maybe I’ll get it done by Father’s Day.

Gross, It's Puke

The dog puked on my comforter. And my blanket, the living room floor and my office floor. She's having a reaction to her rabies vaccine. I called the Vet and he sent me to the drug store for Pepcid AC and Benadryl, yeah that's what I thought I should do. Give a dog Pepcid AC.
I had her outside because she didn't look too good and as soon as we got in the house she puked. That's when the kids got home from school. I'm really not sure if Boy #3 is going to eat today, but I am sure he won't have a job in the medical profession.

My Weekend in a Nutshell

I was asked on my chatbox how my weekend was going. There isn't much room there to elaborate so I said good. It was good. Hold on to something I plan to elaborate. Actually, besides being colder than a witches tit in a brass bra, it was good. Did I just type tit?
First of all I'm happy to let all my readers know that the neighbor across the street finally took her Christmas wreath off her front door. This was a huge distraction for me, as I would look out my office window searching for some insightful verbiage in a post and there hung the wreath. My mind would then wander off.
Second of all, Sunday was the husbands birthday and my mom volunteered to have everyone to her house for dinner. I didn't have to clean my house or hardly cook. That worked out well for me. The house is a complete disaster because I have my new domain name and hosting all set up, thank you Val, and I messed around with that all day Saturday.
Speaking of my new blog, if anyone can help me with this latest email from tech support I would be most grateful:

Your router is blocking "ICMP Ping Requests" and that is why the trace route is failing. You should consult your router's documentation to see how to enable this again. As for your firewall situation, you are either being blocked by your router if it has a built in firewall or by Norton. Again, you would need to consult the software documentation to look into how to create firewall exceptions for cPanel.

I can log in or open any other site that my little heart desires except my cpanel at SurpassHosting. I will be plastering this question around the blogs and message boards today as I am anxious to get www.diabeticride.com up and running!
I am understanding it as I need to tell my computer to give a site more time to hook up together. Feel free to laugh at me and talk down to me, but just help!
So yeah, I had a good weekend!

We Call Ourselves Crabs

I have been selling online since 2003. I've been a member of various online sellers message boards, bouncing around getting and giving advice. I bounced into The Crabby Host this past summer and found my second home. We call ourselves crabs. I've made friends there, I've learned there, shared, laughed, cried there, I have a friend in need there.
One of our members is facing cancer without insurance. Her username is flying high and her husband is also a member, he's The Pet Guy. Together they are facing uncertainty and mounting medical bills with grace and a dedication towards each other that you just don't see every day.
Led by Deb and Joe over at The Crabby Host the members have rallied! We have a support/donation thread in the works. There you can find out how flying high aka Martha and The Pet Guy aka Harold are doing, they post often. You can leave some supportive words, stories or poems. Hey guess what? You can also make a donation! Here is a direct link for those donations.
Whether you make a donation or not, whether you visit us or not, that's up to you. But I am asking you to say a prayer for Martha and Harold. Every little bit helps. I have a Sellers Helping Sellers Blog ribbon/widget on my right side bar. I couldn't get it in my post for some reason. I'll keep working on that! Thanks for reading one of the most important post I've written in a while.

My Top Droppers

Well everyone else is doing it! I wanted to post my top EntreCard droppers and give them a big thank you! Fantasy Baseball is my highest dropper as of today! I appreciate all of you top droppers taking the time to drop on my blog. EntreCard has been a great source of traffic for me and I hope to gain some readers as they drop an EntreCard. I'm off to drop a few more cards then get my butt in bed.

Thank you everyone!

Hey, It's Cold Out There

I have a Florida Refinance on my mind. I would like to head south please. Northeast Ohio has a cold front moving in, wonderful. It’s going to be 10 degrees tomorrow. That is cold enough to freeze the snot in your nose when you go outside. So if you will excuse me I need to click over to DollarBlvd.com.

Back in the Dentist Chair

My mom doesn't own a computer so I feel safe in posting that I had four cavities filled today. But wait there's more! About five more. I told mom I was going for one. So you can see the problems I'd have if this ever got back to her.
Right now I am wishing the Novocain was still working. Oh and I wish I was a better flosser. The two injection points in my gums are soar and I don't think the right side of my face has rebounded from all the stretching. My wrists hurt from clutching the arms of the dentist chair during all the drilling. So let's all remember to brush and floss, okay?

Back in the Day When We Camped Out

Back in the day when the boys weren’t embarrassed to be seen with us, the husband and I would load up two cars with camping gear, schlep our way to a campsite, unload the cars, set up camp and call it a vacation. It was a relaxing long weekend, no kidding, I’m serious. I cooked over an open flame all weekend. We had this tripod grill that I centered over the campfire. One of our favorite easy chicken recipes for the campfire was always fixed the first night we camped. When packing up at home I would put chicken breasts in a zip lock bag and pour Italian dressing over them. By the time we were ready to eat they were marinated to perfection. I wish we would have had a video camera back then I would have submitted it to the contest over at http://wherestheflamegrill.com/.

Another Mrs. Kravitz Moment

I'm having a Mrs. Kravitz moment. When your desk is right next to the window that overlooks the neighborhood you can't help but notice things. You can call me a nosey neighbor I suppose. But when is my neighbor across the street going to take her Christmas wreath down off her front door? It's starting to bother me. We had, just last week, unseasonably warm temperatures. Most of the neighborhood was busy taking down their holiday decorations. Maybe the neighbor across the street forgot the wreath was there. They use their garage to go in and out of the house. See how observant I am? Don't you wish you lived across the street from me? Oh, look at that a police car just went flying by with it's siren on. I have to go crane my neck to see what's happening.

Give a Teenager a Cell Phone - Get a Headache

I intend to dole out some parental advice for those of you with teenage boys. I usually don’t hand out unwanted advice because I don’t receive it well. I live by the philosophy, “Don’t tell me what to do.” And it’s been working well for me. But I’m going to do it anyway.
Before you place in the hand of a hormone raging, absent minded, hyper active, know it all teenage boy, a cell phone, might I suggest the best insurance plan that your cell phone provider has to offer? Maybe stock up on Motorola Cell Phone Batteries? I’m just sayin’, it will come in handy. And then after you have that taken care of, get yourself on some Prozac. On my computer, in my favorite sites I have Battery Stock.com stored for quick reference. They have same day shipping of a very huge inventory of cell phone batteries and other accessories. The husband and I have never had battery issues, because we actually listen to the instructions given to us, so we just need them when they wear out. Some how through no fault of there own the boys batteries get overcharged or sometimes even get water in them. Huh! My boys will be writer’s, they just don’t know it yet. The stories they can tell……

The Diabetic Ride

Yep, that is what my new blog is going to be called! DiabeticRide.com is the domain name that has been registered. I'm just getting the hosting finalize and I'll be ready to start. The Friday before Christmas the husband was diagnosed with diabetes, you can read my post about it here.

For a few months I had been planning on starting a new blog, my own blog, but wasn't sure about a niche. Holy Crap be careful what you wish for. I got my niche. I plan to learn about diabetes through this new blog. It will in no way be me giving advice, it will be about the husbands and my journey to trying to keep him healthy.

I will be looking for other diabetic blogs to link with and the first thing on my list will be finding recipes. If you have a recipe for diabetics I will definitely link to your blog for it. Leave me a comment and I will make sure I let you know when DiabeticRide.com is up and running.

So please be sure to join the adventures of this clueless couple on their Diabetic Ride!

Is That Legal?

I think I'm going to try and talk one of the boys into being a lawyer or maybe marry one. It would be nice to have a lawyer in the family to explain to us things like Structured Settlement Payments or have someone that can answer us when we say, “Is that legal?” We don’t say that a lot. But it would be nice to have an answer when we do. And while I’m picking out wives for my boys, how about a nurse or a doctor?

Bargain Bin

I've decided to spend some very much needed time on my eCrater store this weekend. I need to unload some inventory. So I created a new catagory called Bargain Bin. There you will find marked down tools and gadgets.

I'm sure I will still find time to blog, as I plan to be in front of this computer all weekend.

I'll leave with this for now:

TOP TEN THINGS THAT SOUND DIRTY IN GOLF BUT AREN'T
10. Nuts...my shaft is bent.
9. After 18 holes I can barely walk.
8. You really whacked the hell out of that sucker.
7. Look at the size of his putter.
6. Keep your head down and spread your legs a bit more.
5. Mind if I join your threesome?
4. Stand with your back turned and drop it.
3. My hands are so sweaty I can't get a good grip.
2. Nice stroke, but your follow through has a lot to be desired.
1. Hold up...I need to wash my balls first.

It's Because I'm getting Older

Thank goodness I took my drugstore reading glasses to my job interview. Otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to see the type on the mound of papers I had to fill out. But there’s something to say about a real prescription. By the time I was finished, my head hurt and I felt crossed eyed. I just got new glasses in the summer and two months later it seems my eyesight got worse. It’s because I’m getting older isn’t it? I made a Great Discovery: www.ZenniOptical.com. I can’t be spending a bunch of money on glasses twice a year. I usually get at least three years out a prescription or at least I use to.

Bloggers I have a Problem

I've been swearing like a drunken sailor since yesterday morning. There is something wrong with my computer. It's running way too slow. The geek can't get past the fact that we have a wireless connection and he blames everything on that. So he's no help. I have defragged, tossed my cookies and ran a Norton Anti-Virus scan. What else is there? Does anyone have advice?

Technologically Challenged Mom

My mom is the most technologically challenge person I know except when it comes to medicine. She and her friends can sit for hours discussing medications and surgical procedures for hours and then she relays her latest information to me. I guess that’s what senior citizens do. So and so’s daughter, the heavy one, met with a lap band physician and she goes on to tell me about this weight loss surgery, how easy and safe it is. All the famous people are doing it, you know. And she promised to keep me posted on how so and so’s daughter is doing. Thanks for that mom.

Crazy Dog

The Christmas decorations are put away, but not without incident. The boxes are stored under the steps, in the closet under the steps. It's dark and full of cobwebs. The closet is one of the reasons Christmas decorating is a chore, especially the putting away part. So I'm dragging the stuff that resides in the front of the closet out and the dog has her nose in everything. She's under-foot and I keep shoeing her away. I busy myself outside the closet, then get the first box to go in the back. My non-battery, wind-up lantern needs to be wound. Did something just move in the back of the closet? YES! It's a creature. My screams were un-necessary because it was the dog.

Sitting in the Dentist Chair

Sitting in the dentist chair this morning I couldn't help but run my tongue over the teeth that had root canal after the temporary crown was taken off. Dear God they were little nubs of teeth. Like the kind you see in the mouth of a woman being interviewed after a tornado swept through the trailer park she lives in. I layed there waiting for my permanent crowns to be put in hoping no one I knew came in for a dental exam. Actually I was thinking about just about anything that I could to try differ the view of gloved fingers and metal instruments going in and out of my mouth. I hate going to the dentist, I put it off and now I'm paying big time for it. What really sucked about today's visit was I didn't get any drugs. Last visit they drugged me when I got there and sent me home with some. I suppose I will have to remain lucid the rest of the day.

I am a Loud-Talker

My mother asked me a couple of months ago why I talk so loud. I had no idea I did talk loud. I talk too loud? After some personal observation I can now blame my loud-talking on my teenagers. Because teenage boys think of two things and two things only the majority of their waking hours, girls and cars in no particular order. Trying to get my voice to penetrate the thick skull of a teenage boy, trying to weave my voice through their constant thoughts of used cars and the opposite sex has turned me into a loud-talker. Have I lead by example? My mind tends to wander when they talk about cars. Most of those conversations they save for their dad, thank goodness. The three of them, the husband, Boy #2 and Boy #3 have found a site called BuyYourCar. They have been studying since the holiday season ended. Yes, I had a rest from car talk during the holiday season. But now we are back at in full force. So BuyYourCar has a section on buying advice, which is a good idea. It has questions you should ask the seller of the used car. This is the section the husband only looks over because Boy #2 and Boy #3 are too busy visioning themselves behind the wheel of a Mustang. I’ve also noticed the husband is a loud-talker too!

T-Shirts are at the Top of my List

I haven't blogged about my T-Shirts in a while so that's on my list today, along with taking the Christmas Tree down. T-Shirt blogging on the top of the list, Christmas Tree breakdown at the bottom. I'm not one of those people that keep their tree up until March, but I do put it off as long as I can. Don't believe me when I say I will take it down today, I don't even believe it myself.

Back to the T-Shirts! I opened this CafePress Shop way back in 2003. I got the idea after yelling at one of the boys, because he forgot something - again. "Do I have to pin a note to your shirt?" I took that concept a step further and came up with the idea to have a T-Shirt look like it had a note pinned to the back of it, you know like "Kick Me" all the nerds had on the back of their T-Shirts in school.

My best seller is pictured in this post - "Under Surveillance, (just act normal)" and the one that I wear all the time - "Would someone please stop this woman from spending anymore money? Thanks, her husband" is a popular one too!

I also have Under Surveillance in a contest at http://www.t-shirtcountdown.com/ in the Funny T-Shirt category it's in 28th place right now and I could use some votes if you got a minute! Just look for the picture in this post if it move a place or two.

Now I have something on my list done! And there's no way I'm getting to that tree today.

Help and Information

My new domain name has been registered! I hope to be working on my diabetes blog this weekend. That means I have to start searching for information, but first I need to search for, well, search engines. I am trying to use google as little as possible. I ran across a Tips Search Engine, its concept is to provide useful tips rather than a useless list of results. Hey whatever gets me to some information faster I’m all for it. So I will add it to my list of possible google replacements. I clicked around the site and it has a few bugs and “pages not found” so hopefully that gets worked out, because I like the concept of this site.

From My Head to My Toes - Ouch!

Ouch. I just took the crazy dog for a walk and then shoveled a little. Shoveled a little yesterday. Why is it that have kids still at home on Christmas break and I'm the one shoveling? My back hurts and you know what? It's pretty damn cold out there. But I sat on my ass in front of the computer all day so I thought I'd better do something.

Speaking of computers, Boy #3 has been behind closed doors all day after I took him to buy a graphics card. He has about 4 computers in there all in pieces. And now he's hooking them all up together, it's really quite scary the stuff he knows. I'm sure he could explain it a little better than hooking them all up, actually I think he did but it went completely over my head. Where's the Tylenol?

Pragma Telnet Server

The husband unknowingly opened a virus on his computer at work and affected the whole office. “Are they going to fire you?” I asked. “No, it was nothing I did. We’re looking into Pragma Telnet Server.” He explained to me that Pragma Systems can help business with security in their network which will help them to be more productive. “Well as long as you’re not fired.”

Socks - I'm Losing the Battle

They always need socks, my boys do. Santa brought them all socks for Christmas. Boy #3 managed to get a hole in a pair he wore for the first time. He thinks it's funny when the dog tries to pull them off. I've had it with socks already. I've lost a fortune on socks. I don't want to talk about socks anymore. Enough with the sock talk.

As you can see in the picture, Boy #3 duct taped the hole in his sock. What do you say to a kid after he does something like that? "Hold still, I'm taking a picture of that so I can blog about it!"

Gadget Scratch Protection

What do teenage boys do to their cell phones and iPods when mom and dad aren’t looking? We purchase these pieces of sophisticated equipment and then place it in their grimy hands and for the life of me I cannot figure out why. Because the next time we see it, it will be unrecognizable. And the next time we do see it, it’s because something is wrong with it. I don’t even ask “how it happened” any more because amazingly they don’t know. Huh.
“Why is it wet inside honey?” “I don’t know.”
“How did the screen get scratched honey?” “I don’t know mom.”
“Pukey, where is your iPod?” “I don’t know.”
“Was it necessary to scratch you girlfriends name on the back of your cell phone?” “I don’t know how that happened.”

Along with a few extra brain cells they could use an iPod case and also a case for their cell phones. InvisibleSHIELD is a tough film that protects all those gadgets screens from Lord knows what they do to them. I found the site during my morning social networking ritual. It’s funny too, because just last night I said to Boy #2, “Don’t carry your cell phone by the antenna.” The sad fact is, it doesn’t even surprise me that I have to tell him that anymore.