The Keeper of the Pictures

I am known to my family as the keeper of the pictures. Mostly because when I was 12 my mom and dad gave me the box of pictures they had of the family when they divorced and told me it was my job to keep them safe for my family. To me it seemed like a huge box of pictures but when I bought my very first photo album all the pictures fit into this one huge photo album. So it was a lot of pictures just not as many as I had thought it was. Now with digital cameras I have a lot of pictures on the computer and after getting a virus a few years ago and losing all the pictures I had on the computer. I learned to back them up by putting them on Photobucket and some on fb.

That way there are some place if the computer decides to get a virus and I can't get to them again. I know I should back them up on disk but I like photobucket. So here are a few of my family pictures to get to know me better.

My mom, step mom and dad.

And here I am.

My younger brother, Billy and his wife Lynnece.

My older brother, Bear and his wife Melissa.

And this is my nephew Billy Jr. This is what I can do to the digital pictures when I have time. LOL He just loved this..:P

My beautiful daughter Elizabeth this past Halloween.

My dad caught off guard. lol

My hubby.

My mom and daughter on my daughter's 20th birthday.

My little brother Billy...relaxing with the cat in the back yard.

When my mom passed away last year I inherited all her pictures and there are a whole bunch that I have no idea who the heck they are, but I'm keeping them because maybe a cousin will come around some day and I can show them to him and he can tell me who some of them are. Plus, they are old...like really old black and white pictures that are at least 50-70 years old. I figured out a few of them and wrote who they were on the back of them. Ya know, I actually wrote on over 600 pictures that I got from my mom...my hand still hurts.

But all these old pictures are going in their own photo album named "Old pictures of people who could be family members" lol

One of the last times my dad came over I pulled out that very first photo album I made with the pictures when I was 12 and asked him about 4 pictures who I found out were his grandparents. How cool is that, I had pictures of my great grandparents all this time and didn't even know it.

My Rats

As most of you already know I have 4 male rats and I write articles about small animal care. I thought I would share a couple of pictures of my boys with you today.

This is Brodie. he's my smallest boy. he only weighs 1/2 lb. He lost a little weight when he got sick a month ago, but I've been giving him anti-biotics and he seems to be doing much better. He's more spunky again and eating more, so I'm hoping he will gain a little weight back. But he's always been my little guy.

Here's jasper. I just love his little face. he weighs 3lbs. He's a huge rat! When people come over they cannot believe how big this guy is. He's my lover boy, he loves to cuddle with us.

Here's Hades. He's just under 3lbs. He's my second biggest rat and he is by far the laziest. When we take him out he just lays down wherever we put him and waits to be petted. Unless there is food invloved and then he is as fast as a cobra. I kid you not.

And this is Ares. He's my antisocial boy. He doesn't like to come out of the cage all that often and doesn't like to be held. But if you come over to the cage he will let you pet him, give him food, play with him..just as long as you don't try to take him out.

And there you have my 4 boys. Aren't they cute!

My Articles

Since I have a few new followers I thought I would put the link out to my articles. For those of you that didn't know, I'm a Freelance Writer. I mainly write about small animal care because I love my little furry guys. I've got 4 little rats right now and so I use their pictures in a lot of my articles. So if you're interested take a look at my articles on the Yahoo Contributor Network and let me know if you have any comments or questions.

Update: Yahoo Contributor Network is no longer around.

Review: Neuragen Gel

My husband has been suffering from neuropathy pain in his feet for over a year and his doctors said they could get rid of the pain with a prescription medicine called Gabapentin. The prescription medicine worked for a little while but when the pain from the neuropathy got worst the prescription medicine stopped working, even when the dose was doubled.

So I went looking online for something, anything that would work and I came across a website for Neuragen. They claimed that their product would relieve the shooting pain, burning, tingling and stabbing pain associated with neuropathy. At the time they were giving away a small sample of their Neurogen PN liquid and so I signed up for the sample. When it came Ken used it on his feet and almost immediately it started to work on the pain he was having.

I visited the site and saw they also had a gel form of the Neuragen for $32.99 for a 0.28 oz jar. I checked Amazon.com for the product and they had it for $22.00 and eligible for free super saver shipping. So of course I ordered it from them and saved myself a little money.

I wasn't sure I wanted to spend that kind of money for such a small amount but when it came and we used it on hubby's feet, I could see you only need to use a tiny amount on the area that's hurting. So this small jar is going to last a while, but I plan on buying another jar just to have on hand.

This product, works really well. The gel is easier to apply to targeted areas that are bothering you and you don't have to run in it a lot because it absorbs right in and starts working almost immediately. I highly recommend this product to anyone who is suffering from neuropathy pain and hasn't been able to find anything that seems to help. Hubby is even going to bring this product with him the next time he goes to the doctor so the doctor knows to tell his other patients who have this problem what to get.

Bad Porn

Yep, it really is about what you think it's about...bad porn movies. Hey, I may be sweet but I watch them just like everyone else does. lol

But really what's with the bad camera angles where all you see for 40 minutes is the veincam getting a shot of what we thought was going to be a well endowed member plowing into a sexy bitch and ends up being some old hooker looking girl getting suddenly rammed with a not so well endowed guys member while he says oh yeah you like that and she moans louder than anyone you've ever heard in your life.

Should be erotic...but it's not. It's nauseating.

Who the hell wants to see some overly made up chick smearing lipstick all over her face as she snarls in what looks like pain as he tries to ram himself into what he calls her sweet ass, all the while looking like he's having a seizure and she does her personal impersonation of a rag doll screaming oh baby oh baby give it to me baby. (say that slowly with absolutely no enthusiasm and you'll know what I mean)

I don't know about you but I don't want to see some idiot pleasing himself while pointing his one eyed monster at her face and her making strange mewling noises as her nostrils are soaked with his seed. *Yeah that will give you nightmares for days won't it?*

I really don't want to see up close shots with the veincam looking at someone's idea of sexy when in actuality all we get is filming of his or her pubic area that actually looks a 3 year old tried to shave it because it's red and inflamed and in need of medical attention. Yeah sexy baby!

Lets not forget the the 10 minute shot of the one eyed monster thrusting home in extreme veincam closeup. Ahhhhh! They are so close you can tell whether or not he wiped really good the last time he used the bathroom. Oh what to much for you?...too bad.

Why is it that most porn producers make loads (excuse the word) of money but can't seem to make a porn movie worthy of watching?

Random Facts About Me

Random facts about me

I've read every book by Christine Feehan.

In High school I was in a play Called, Oklahoma * I sang in the choir*

I will not give up my morning coffee.

I remember my dreams.

I have Nightmares most night and have since I was too young to remember when it started.

I find Irish and Scottish accents a HUGE turn on.

I can only fall asleep on my back, with the covers tucked tightly around me. I don't know why.

I sometimes sit up in my sleep.

I wear a size 10 shoe.

I wrote 250 pages of a novel and then got brain freeze and couldn't write any more. That was 10 years ago.

I can't drive a stick shift.

My favorite book as a child was "Where the Wild things are"

I like the smell of gasoline

I have a huge collection of books and Book marks.

I only got one question wrong on my written driving test.

I had ½ point taken off the Driving test because I didn't signal when I pulled into the parking space to park the car.

I prefer the toilet paper to roll from the top. I will change it if it doesn't.

I'm afraid of water where you can't see the bottom.

I've never had a driving ticket or parking ticket.

I was paid to write an x rated story and it was published in a smut magazine a few years ago.

I suffer from insomnia.

I suffer from stress induced Migraines.

I like cold rainy weather over hot and sunny any day.

I like cereal for breakfast more than eggs and bacon.

I hate bee's. I think they are the demon spawn that will undoubtedly cause m to have a heart attack and end up in an early grave one of these days.

I like receiving snail mail, I don't know why, it just seems more personable than an email.

I a terribly at sports, I can't hit a ball if my life depended on it.

I love pumpkin flavored desserts. Yum. Especially if they have chocolate in them too.

I don't believe in spanking children.

I love watching re-run shows like Roseanne, Home Improvement and Becker.

I slammed both my thumb nails into a truck door when I was 11 years old, they never grew back right.

Nightwish is one of my favorite goth rock band.

I think guys with long hair are sexy.

I think everyone should have a pet rat. :)

Lies and Potatoes

Well let me start out with the liar. I have tried talking to someone who keeps telling me that they are never online and that's why they haven't emailed me back.

Really?

Is that why your FB page has something new on it everyday for the past three days that I've checked?

I am not stalking this person..I'm not..really! Stop looking at me like that. O.o

I also noticed that they read several yahoo articles because it's posted right to FB over the past three days, but they don't have the time to email me?

Yeah. If ya don't want to talk to someone,...just frickin say so. Don't lie about it.

Lying is the worst thing you can do in my book. At least to me.

Oh and if you say you want people to tell the truth to you, you have to keep in mind they might actually do that. So you can't get mad at them when they tell you, you need to brush your teeth before you get a kiss because you have sewer breath. Ok, just thought I would mention it, not that it has happened to me or anything.

Ok, maybe it did but it a long time ago and teenage guys seem to really get annoyed when you tell them they stink like sewer water, who would have guessed. *shrugs*

Now on to the potatoes.

I recently bought a 10lb bag of russet potatoes, a tub of sour cream and some real butter. I planned on having baked potatoes for a few nights with dinner in the coming weeks.

Only when I went to open and use one of the potatoes tonight I noticed it was...well...rotten, disgusting-smelling like a decomposing body ...awful smelling.

Now usually when you get one bad potato you will find that some of the other potatoes have gone bad that are sitting right next to the offending foul spud. So I picked up a few next to the odoriferous potato and wouldn't you know it...they were leaking spud juice as well. Just like a bloated corpse after it bursts from the putrification of rot. Yep, it smells just like that and there's not enough sour cream or butter in the world to make that taste good.

I looked a little more even though the smell was really starting to get to me and ended up throwing away the whole bag of potatoes because a few potatoes had leaked rot juice all over the other potatoes and I wasn't going to cook them and have to smell rotten potato gut smell all over my place.

So now what do I do with all that butter and sour cream?

I know, I'll go get a few potatoes..lol

Animals In Romance Novels

I was wracking my brain the other day trying to figure out what I could write another article about. I only write about 1-3 articles a month because I just can't seem to figure out things I want to write about. I've covered everything I can think of pertaining to caring for rats and hamsters and so I was thinking how can I bring the two things that mean the most to me together? The two things being reading and animals. So I can up with, Animal Characters in Romance Novels.

I love reading about animal shifters and how the author does as making me believe the character is really a wolf, or lion or whatever shifter they are using in their book. Most times I think they do a really good job at bringing aspects of the underlying animal to the surface for the human side to deal with.

My Newest Article Was Published

I always get so excited when I published another article. Even though I have over 200 articles published right now, it never gets any less exciting for me. I would love to share my latest article with you. Can Rats Have Allergies?

If you read this or any of my other articles, please let me know what you think. As always I thank you in advance for reading what I write.

Knorr® Homestyle Stock

Knorr® Homestyle Stock: Thx Knorr 4 my free sample. Get great Knorr Homestyle Stock recipe ideas at http://bit.ly/sDRUdc

I received a free sample of Knorr Homestyle stock and a free soup ladle from smiley 360 and loved it. I used my free sample in a stir fry dish that I make a few times a month and it came out tasting even better with this new addition to it. If you would like to sign up for smiley360, you can do so here.

If you would like to try my recipe here's what I did.

What you will need:
Stir fry meat either boneless chicken breasts or stir fry beef, I like using chicken.
4 cup of cup up fresh vegetables. You can use whatever vegies you like. I used broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, snow peas and water chestnuts from a can.


Directions:
slice the chicken into bite sized pieces and stir fry in a hot oiled pan until almost done. Remove meat from pan and add all the chopped vegetables at once. Cook vegetables over med heat for a few minutes until they start to get done and add meat back to the mixture. Add the Knorr homestyle stock to the pan and lower heat a little, cover pan and let cook for about 7 minutes. Stir and serve over white rice.

I have a rice steamer and the rice that I get from this is so much better than anything else I've ever had.

The Knorr Homestyle stock really makes this dish pop and I will be using it from now on in my chicken stir fry dishes. Chicken is the only flavor I have tried but since this was such a hit with the family, I'll be trying the beef next.

Super Points: Another way of earning free amazon gift cards

Earlier this month I was introduced to Superpoints through a friend on a chat forum. At first I thought it was not going to be as great a place to earn as SwagBucks, but after just a few days I have already earned a lot of points and will be able to cash out for an amazon gift card soon.

It has become my second favorite place to earn after SwagBucks. The key is to complete your profile, be patient with slow days and build up five to ten active referrals beneath you.

Once you sign up be sure to fill out your account information (to earn more spins) and verify your email address so you will start receiving daily bonus point emails. After filling out your profile and adding a picture you have 30 free spins on the super lucky button which has been giving me as many as 25 pts a day.


The Super Lucky Button is the easiest way to earn. With each spin you have a chance to earn points (but mostly I win 1, 2 & 5).

The higher your member level the more daily spins you will receive. At Gold and Platinum you will earn the wins from your referrals' spins also--there is no limit at this time as to how many points you can earn from referrals.

Members receive 25 points for each referral that reaches a basic membership.
You can also do surveys, watch videos and complete offers for points, much like Swag Bucks.

If you would like to sign up for either Swagbucks or Superpoints, here are my referral links and I would love it if you used them to sign up.

Swagbucks referral link

Super Points Referral link

Restaurant Bans Crying Kids

I read a story here, that a restaurant has now posted notices that if your child starts crying to take them outside. The new rules posted states:

“Dear all present and future patrons: GCP is proud of its reputation as a family restaurant, a title that we will work to keep. Unfortunately a number of our diners have posted unpleasant experiences because of crying and unsupervised children. To ensure that all diners have an enjoyable lunch or dinner with us we respectfully ask that parents tend to their crying tots outside.”

Now I have to say, I don't have a problem with this rule at all. If you are going to bring your kids to a public place you should have to make sure that they don't bother others who are there.

When my daughter was little I got so tired of seeing other people's kids acting up while I made sure mine behaved and their parents did nothing to stop the tantrums, throwing things, and screaming. The few times my daughter did act up....we left. There was no second chances and I think if your child knows that right from the get go, you will have less problems in the long run. If my daughter started acting up in the store, we left..I went back later while Ken watched her. If we went to a place she liked, let's say peter Piper Pizza and she started screaming because she saw other kids doing it and didn't stop after the first time I told her to..I took her by the hand and we left. There was no going outside for a talk and letting her go back in..What does that say to them? It says I can get away with being a brat a few times and laugh about it, but if you take them out of the situation each and everytime, they will know the next time that they have one chance and one chance only and are less likely to act out.

There are too many people out there wil kids who cannot control them, in my opinion.

I've had a few people come to my home with their kids and they just let them do whatever they want. And then get mad at me when I say something to their kids. I had a person come over with their 3 year old and mom went outside to smoke...the three year old screamed, kicked, banged on the door and threw a temper tantrum from hell and all the person holding her did was hold her. I could not understand why she didn't take the kid outside...it would have stopped the crying and tantrum throwing and then while at home teach the child they cannot act like that when they are out...or keep them home!

If you know you have a brat...don't subject said brat to other people...keep them home until you teach them how to act when outside because no one wants to be around that and it shows what a terrible parent you are.

I'm A Guest Blogger at "Like A Bump On A Blog"

Today a friend of mine asked me to be a guest blogger on her blog, Like A Bump On A Blog. I happily said yes, because I love her blog.

Today I chose to share some of amazing 3D art work pictures I found online, so come on over to Amber's blog and check out the pictures and while you're there, check out her blog.

Review: Naughty Little Secrets by Cassandra Curtis

Product Description from Amazon.com
A guilty pleasure.
A wicked desire.
A lusty kink.
A hidden fetish.

Everyone has a few naughty little secrets. All of Stacie Purcell's secrets are in the red story binder she keeps in her messenger bag. An aspiring writer, Stacie dreams of the day her sexy stories will get published. But when she misplaces her binder, she is frantic, worried she'll never see it again. Desperate to get it back, she’s willing to do whatever it takes.

Tyler Murchison can't help noticing the cute little blond in his car repair shop's waiting room, her nose buried in her red binder. Closing up for the night, he discovers a not-so-innocent piece of paper and a mysterious messenger bag in the waiting room.

Intrigued by the drawings of sexual positions and the erotic fantasies Stacie weaves in her stories, he returns the binder, and offers Stacie a chance to experience all the incredible sexual delights she writes about.

But can a single night of wild, passionate sex lead to something more?

My Review:
Stacie works in her sister's hair salon but her true passion is writing and she jots down ideas for her book in a folder she keeps in her messenger bag. While at Tyler's garage having some work done on her car she inadvertently leaves her messenger bag behind and Tyler finds it along with a page filled with some highly sexually suggestive material. Tyler reads a few pages of the book she's writing before Stacie frantically calls looking for it. In my head I was thinking if I'd had a crush on a guy for years and was writing a book like this, wouldn't I leave my messenger bag where he could find it too? Even subconsciously I think maybe she wanted Tyler to know what she was writing and that he was the model for her Hero.

When Stacie finds out Tyler read a few pages and is willing to help her out with some kinky research, what can she say other than yes. Stacie seems shy but really wants to channel her inner naughty girl when it comes to Tyler. Naughty Little Secrets was wonderful. It was passionate, sweet and ,truly, a joy to read. Any book that can make me laugh, smile and blush in the space of a minute has my seal of approval. When Stacie is doing research for her book and looking at the names for the different sexual positions and comes across things like the backward facing bad dog or face salami, I couldn't help but chuckle.

I really enjoyed this read, I usually stay away from short stories, short novels and novellas because I'm never sure if there will be enough time for the author to really develop the characters and the plot, but I was pleasantly surprised with this book because the characters came to life and the plot was strong. Naughty Little Secrets has an interesting array of characters, suspense, sexual tension and romance that there is never a dull moment.

I'm looking forward to reading more from Cassandra Curtis.

I was Interviewed at SOS Aloha!

I was interviewed at Sos Aloha. Come by and chat with me and while you're there take a look around Kim's blog. She has something interesting to chat about everyday.

Music

I listen to music all day while I'm on the computer writing, reading facebook, blogging or whatever I happen to be doing. I listen to all sorts of music as you can see below. I use music to fuel my writing when writing articles and get me going. I think a lot of people do. Sometimes I use music to down out the other people around me. Living in a small apartment with two other people, I need my space and quiet time to myself and this is how I get it.

I routinely look at youtube for new music and even browse the top 20 on MYV to see what's new. Some mornings I will stop on the music channels on my cable *Not the NTV or VH1* because they hardly ever play music anymore and that's a real shame. No, I mean the 100 extra channels of music I have on digital cable..all music all the time and they have different channels for different genres of music, which I love. I still love the 80's.

Lately I've been listening to Visions of Atlantis which I describe as Symphonic Power Metal.


I also think of Sirenia as Symphonic Power Metal.

Hollywood Undead I consider to be Rock Rap..I don't know what others consider their music to be but I really like them too.

Dead by April is a band that my daughter actually showed me because she thought I might like them and she was so right. I love this song and yes while there is a little bit of screaming which I normally don't like...I love this song.

And then we come to yet another guilty pleasure of mine...Adam Lambert! Omg those eyes!I'm not ashamed to admit it...I wiggle-dance in my chair whenever his songs play. He gives me goose bumps everytime I hear him sing.

And then we have the Sick Puppies. Yeah the name of the band was a bit strange to me too...until I heard them sing. This song is one of their best.

One of my all time favorite bands is Disturbed. I've loved just about everything they've done. I love the lead singers voice and the beat of the music and when I need a swift kick in the pants to get me started...I listen to this.

And now I want to share someone I found on Youtube who doesn't yet have a record deal...and I ask you why? Why doesn't this guy have a record deal because he has a beautiful voice..and I do mean beautiful..Here he plays the piano and sings and he does both so well..Please listen to this guy.



So there you have it. A little sample of the different types of music I listen to all day while online. What are some of your favorite bands?

Happy Birthday to Me and Giveaway Winners!

So first off the winners of my giveaway are:

The Ten Dollar Amazon GC goes to- drakenfyre75

And my three winners of the bookmarks are- Sophie, Katie Dalton, Kristen.

Please give me a day to get the emails to you because today is my birthday and I might be busy or you can send me an email with your mailing address if you won the bookmarks to miztik_rose@yahoo.com

Thank you all for commenting and happy hunting *For all those great giveaways out there*

10 Ways To Get More Swagbucks

What is SwagBucks?

SwagBucks.com is an online site dedicated to help you earn just by using the SwagBucks.com search engine. You’ll get results from Google and you will be periodically awarded as you search. These SwagBucks rewards can be redeemed for things like paypal cash, Amazon gift cards and a lot of other prizes.

Does It Really Work?

I am normally a skeptic when it comes to these types of 'make money by earning points" type of things, but it really works. I've been using the site for a few years and I earn at least $20 in Amazon gift cards each month with out having to pay a single cent or sign up for anything with my credit card.

If you aren’t using Swagbucks (and may I ask why not?), here is a quick recap: Swagbucks is a search engine powered by Google. Whenever you search on Swagbucks, you have the chance to win points (aka Swagbucks) that you can redeem for prizes and gift cards. You can easily earn enough points to get a $5 Amazon gift card every month just by doing a few searches!

Here are 10 tips to getting more swagbucks.

1. Search on Friday. It is good to do a search every day, but Friday is Mega Swagbucks Day! That means, your chances of winning the higher value bills are higher.

2. Install the Toolbar. The Swagbucks toolbar is just like a Yahoo or Google toolbar. The toolbar makes it more convenient to do searches since you don't have to visit the site itself. You will also occasionally get Free Codes via the toolbar! Check the little message icon on the toolbar daily because the Free Codes are usually only good for a few hours.

3. Tell your Friends and get referrals. If you are loving Swagbucks, then you are probably telling your friends already, so why not get some Free Swagbucks for it? Go to the Swagbucks blog page at this link and they will tell you how to find your personal referral link. When your friend signs up using your unique referral link, you will earn a Swagbuck each time they win a Swagbuck.

4. Modify your Search. If I do a search and don’t win a Swagbuck, I will change my search term slightly to see if I win. Example: I search for “Avenged Sevenfold” and win nothing, so I add the word “Songs” and search again. For some reason, I usually win Swagbucks by doing this!

5. Search for Images or Video. This will work sometimes but I don't get as many swagbucks doing this as I do with regular web searches.

6. Search Daily. Searching daily builds Swagbucks faster than anything else. I search three times a day. Morning, afternoon and Night.

7. Play Games. Go to Swagbucks, click on “Earn” then “Games”, then click on “Play Free”. You have to play 2 different games in order to get the 2 Swagbucks, you cannot keep playing the same game over and over. But you can pick two games to play and switch back and forth between the two of them and for every two plays you will get 2 swagbucks.

8. Watch Swagbucks TV Click on the “Swagbucks TV” on the dropdown menu under the “Earn” tab to pull up the Swagbucks TV page. You have to watch 10 different videos (they range in length from one minute to five minutes) and then you’ll earn three Swagbucks. You can skip to the next video as soon as the meter showing the percentage goes up.

9. Swag Code Hunts - Sometimes The Swag Guy (TGS) will hide a Swag Code for us to find. Follow the hints and find the code. Then copy & paste the code into the Swagbucks homepage (on right side, paste into box and click “Gimme”)

TIP: When copying  and pasting a Swag Code be sure to remove any extra spaces before or after the code! Codes are case sensitive and must be entered exactly as they appear when you find them.

10. Swagstakes - Sort of like buying a raffle ticket and you have a chance to win hundreds or thousands of Swagbucks. I haven't won any Swagbucks entering the Swagstakes but I have won some gift cards.

Other things to do everyday.
Voting in the Daily Poll gets you 1 Daily SwagBuck
Visiting the No Obligation Special Offers (NOSO) gets you 2 Daily SwagBucks Just keep clicking on 'skip' on the bottom of the offers and when you get to the end, enter the code you see. Just follow the instructions, it's easy.

Sometimes you will have things sent to your inbox. Do the ones you want to do and get some extra Swagbucks.

Attempt 5 Surveys Daily for 5 Swagbucks (even if disqualified) You get more if you qualify for the survey, always try to complete the surveys.

Gold Surveys- Now they have gold surveys that even if you don't qualify for you will get 5 swagbucks for the first 5 tries.

I hope some of these tips will help you earn more Swagbucks!

I Have A New Article Published

How To Give A Rat A Subcutaneous Injection
You all know I mainly write articles about small exotic animals like rats, hamsters and mice and so I'm always looking for new ideas on what to write about. So when I had to start giving hubby injections for his medication, I thought about the people who had to give injections to their animals and decided to write an article explaining how to give fluids to a small animal like a rat, if they become dehydrated. So if you like to read my newest article just click on the link or here, and let me know what you thought.

Hashtags

I've been seeing a lot of twitter speak being used in other places and I was wondering if someone could explain this to me...why?

On blog posts I see things like #likethis or @books or #friends in the titles and in the post itself. I checked to see if the blog post was being put on Twitter and it wasn't. So I don't get it.

I also see it in fb posts that aren't being tweeted, so wth?

Astronaut Ice Cream

I heard about something called Astronaut Ice cream and found it on Amazon and decided to try it for myself.


This is what the package looks like.

It's freeze dried ice cream ready to eat for astronauts. Seriously..

It comes in a small brick and is wrapped in white paper when you take it out of the foil package.

When I opened mine up, it was already in pieces ready for me to eat. *I'm sure the box getting tossed around going through the mail had nothing to do with it*

I ate a couple of pieces and even talked my daughter into sharing a piece or two with me. It tastes just like ice cream...just warm and hard...lol It does melt in your mouth while you are eating it. All in all, not bad.

Similar Covers

I don't know if you've ever noticed seeing a book cover you liked and then a while later while scanning the book shelves you see the same cover or a similar cover on the shelf but it's for a completely different book. I feel a little cheated by this and think of the book as cheap when I see this. Like the publisher didn't care enough about the book to give it an original art work cover or just tweaked a few things in a used cover so it looks a little different...like we as readers wouldn't notice. makes me think that the publishers think we are stupid or just won't care.

Now I want to say I know this in no way reflects on the author because they have very little say most times on the covers, cover art, cover models.

Don't believe me? Go to any authors website, blog ect..on the day they see the cover for the first time and read what they write. They are excited to be seeing it for the first time...they don't have a lot of say in the cover most times.

So this is to the publishers of the books..not the authors.

To me when the publisher has an original cover it says to me that they believe in the book and they know they money the put into the cover they will be getting back ten fold because they know the book is going to be great. I don't really know why they choose cover stock for some covers, I really don't. All I know is I don't like it.

Why I may Follow You on Twitter

..and some reasons why I may not.

It's just recently that I've been doing more Tweeting on Twitter. At first when I signed up, I just didn't get it. Probably because I had no followers and had no idea how to get any. So I put out a few tweets and ...nothing.

So I left it alone for months, tweeted nothing and then while entering contest and giveaways I saw there was a "tweet about my giveaway" option and at first I scoffed at it. I was like, I don't even know how to do this and secondly, how to I find the link to post so someone can see that i tweeted about their giveaway. Thankfully, I figured it out and can now Tweet as well as most and have even added a few pictures of my ratty boys using Twitpic.

But lately I've been getting followed by people who are...spammers..or have links in the profiles to porn sites. Spammers are sending me links that thankfully I am not stupid enough to click on. All I don't need is another computer virus. I know how to block and report these people but the numbers keep climbing.

Reasons I don't follow you.
You follow 1800 people but only have 5 followes. This says to me you are a spammer.

You follow me and send me a direct message with a link to you site or link to where I can buy your book and then do it every week even though I haven't responded. If I wanted to see your site, book, blog ect..I would have. The fact that I haven't should tell you something.

You don't have an avatar and bio is missing. Please fill it out and let us know something, anything about you.

If I look at your twitter feed and see that you have a propensity to argue or belittle others, I will not follow you and if you get out of hand, I will block you.

Following family. At first I didn't have any family that I was following and now I have a few. Their not up on tweet etiquette and will sometimes tweet things that are just silly and sorta inappropriate. Gotta love family on social media. lol

So now I follow those who have similar tastes to me, things we have in common or people who follow me who actually have something to say, not just want me to read their blog, book ect..

I'm a Creeper...

I was having a conversation with my daughter the other day and she was telling me about something that happened on facebook with her friends..I said, "Yeah I know, I read what they said."

She stopped and looked at me and said, "How?"

I told her that I have my facebook set so that I can see what others 'like' 'comment on' ect and that I routinely check out profiles of friends, friends friends, her friends, my friends friends, their friends..ect..anyone who has a public profile and is connected to anyone I chat with on facebook, I check out their profiles.

Then she asked me who of her friends I have checked out..I told her all of them that have public profiles. I started naming names and describing their pictures in their albums and she looked at me and said "Omg, your a Creeper!"

I started laughing and said, "Hey if someone on fb has a problem with their profile getting seen by a stranger they should change it to private.

Then I get on facebook the other day and see this on my daughter's page....


LOL!!!


So, my secret is out...I'm a Creeper. I didn't even know there was a name for looking at strangers profiles. But hey, if you have a public profile...I might just be creeping a peek of it soon....

Kimberly's Bloomin' Reviews: Blossoming Blogger Giveaway

Kimberly's Bloomin' Reviews: Blossoming Blogger Giveaway: One lucky winner will win a $50.00 Amazon Gift Card on this blog! That's a great giveaway! Go join her blog and show her some bloggy love.

The Insanity of Protecting Rats

I had to share an article with you and let you know I wrote to the man who wrote the article and got a response. I was surprised by the article and even more surprised by this guy's response to my email. I thought I would share them with you. First click on the link and read the article...if you know anything about me at all you'll see why I had to write to this guy.

The Insanity of Protecting Rats

Here's my email to him:
"Hi,

After reading your article I felt compelled to write to you and express another side to this story. My name is Mary Kirkland and I write articles about how to care for small animals such as rats, hamsters and mice. I teach people how to humanely remove rats, mice and other rodents from their property with humane traps and relocate them or call people who will do it for them.

There are those of us and I do mean a lot of us who adore rats, all rats including the wild ones. I myself have 4 pet rats and seeing articles like yours makes me sad that you cannot see that there's nothing wrong with not killing every living creature you see as a pest just because they invade your space. There's nothing wrong with humanely trapping a family of rats and relocating them.

Oh and I also wanted to let you know you have some facts wrong about rats. You say in your article that the life span of a rat is approximately 9 months...that's inaccurate, an average life span of a rat is 4 years...even in the wild.


Mary Kirkland

My Published Articles- http://contributor.yahoo.com/user/37985/mary_kirkland.html "

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Here is his response to me:
"Worldwide, rats and other rodents tons of food that would otherwise feed humans. You are free to hold your beliefs and care for your rats, but I assure you that you are a distinct minority was regards what most people feel about them.

Cheers,

Alan Caruba"
________________________________________________________________________________________________

Now I kept the emails just in case someone doesn't believe me. Because this guy writes articles just like I do and I was a little surprised that he didn't check his response to me and catch the glaring mistakes in this response.

Oh and I don't believe that I am a distinct minority in my beliefs because it was another ratty lover that showed me the article in the first place and there are more and more people who think not all animals should be outright killed just because they are unlucky enough to share the same space with a human.

If you agree with me, you can also send an email to Alan and let him know. Here's him email address ACaruba@aol.com

Are There Any Books You Won't Read?

I read a lot of books, probably around 50 a month. There aren't a whole lot of books that I won't read. I've read self help books, although I really don't read them much anymore. I'm old enough now that I am stuck in my ways and don't really want to change. lol

I like cookbooks of all kinds but have come across a few that I would not read. Ones like..The Afterbirth recipe book. O.o Yes, there really are recipes for your afterbirth. Yecht! How about a nice afterbirth meatloaf..Yeah, I don't think so.

Or another cookbook I saw was the big book of road kill recipes. Now of course these are not the names of the cookbooks..I made them up. At least I hope these aren't the names of the cookbooks because seriously just made them up. lol

And yet another cookbook would be the Let's Eat A Bug cookbook. Yummy ways to deep fry, bake, and saute all the bugs in your garden..lol Oh yum!

Oh and lets not forget cooking with Sperm and cooking with mother's milk. I'm seriously not making this up..it's real. Google it.

Yeah, it's a real book. Aren't you looking forward to that sperm flan? Me either.

It's not the cookbooks that really get me laughing or gagging..*No pun intended* there's also books about hair..like mullets, bee hives, how to shave your head, how to keep people from pulling your hair or keep insects from invading your hair.

Then there's the one's that think they are funny...farting dogs, the big books of farts. The big book of pimples, hairy nipples or piercings. Oh and the amount of circumcision books will boggle the mind. There's one called, "I Want My Foreskin For Christmas"...seriously.

Don't even get me started on the bathroom humor books. I won't even go there. *Again, no pun intended*

Then I was surprised by the amount of books about Crafting With Cat Hair.



Blurb From Amazon:

"Got fur balls?

Are your favorite sweaters covered with cat hair? Do you love to make quirky and one-of-a-kind crafting projects? If so, then it’s time to throw away your lint roller and curl up with your kitty! Crafting with Cat Hair shows readers how to transform stray clumps of fur into soft and adorable handicrafts. From kitty tote bags and finger puppets to fluffy cat toys, picture frames, and more, these projects are cat-friendly, eco-friendly, and require no special equipment or training. You can make most of these projects in under an hour—with a little help, of course, from your feline friends!"

There's also Crafting with dog hair and I can only imagine how many other animals are listed as well.

So there you have my list for the types of books that I don't want to read. What would you say No to?

How to Cure Aggressiveness in Pet Rats - Yahoo! Voices - voices.yahoo.com

Since I wrote an article about rats I thought I would add a picture of my boys here. This picture cracks me up because what you see is three little ratty butts and then the smallest rat in the middle sticking his head out. Little Brodie is all about the cuddles here. lol


Here's my latest published article. if you take a look and read it please feel free to let me know what you think about this one or any of the others I've written.

How to Cure Aggressiveness in Pet Rats - Yahoo! Voices - voices.yahoo.com

Cotton Candy Reviews: Spontaneous giveaway!

Cotton Candy Reviews: Spontaneous giveaway!: If I get 200 followers by midnight tomorrow I will giveaway 3 books by Aussie authors of your choice up to $30 from The Book Depository! So ...

Sure, I Can Do That..

Hubby's insurance finally approved a new medicine that he talked to his doctor about. The meds he is taking are notorious for adding belly fat to the person taking them and since he started getting a belly he wanted to try the medicine that is supposed to help with that. The box was shipped to us and he found out it's actually an injection he has to give himself daily..in his belly.

They sent a large box of supplies and instructions and left it up to him to figure out how to add the sterile water to the vials and fill the needle and give himself an injection. Neither of us have a problem with this because it's pretty straight forward and we can figure it out with the instructions, but I really think they maybe should have sent a nurse to show him how to do it, or at least have one available for those who are sent this and don't have a clue. I was a little surprised they did this and just left it up to the patient to figure out. I know if these supplies had been sent to an older person like my mom or dad...they would have been freaking out and probably would have missed one of the steps and done it wrong.

As it turns out...I am going to be doing the mixing and giving Ken the injections because he'd rather have me do it, which I have no problem with. I gave him the first injection last night and he said he didn't even feel it..because I am just that good...LOL *Or the needle is just that tiny, yeah it could be that too*

I remember my doctor telling me that if my diabetes test results came back positive that I would have to take a class through the health department before they would give me the blood sugar meter and my first month's supplies. I wonder why that wasn't the case for this.

My Favorite Movie Quotes

We all watch movies and some of them have the best movie quotes that stick with you forever. The one that has always stuck with me is " You're gonna need a bigger boat" Of course that's from Jaws.
I love that movie..

Others would be..

"Go ahead, make my day" Sudden Impact.
"It rubs the lotion on its skin. It does this whenever it is told." Silence of the Lambs.
"Get your stinking paws off me, you damned dirty ape." Planet of the Apes.
"No wire hangers." Mommy Dearest.
"Nobody puts Baby in a corner." Dirty dancing.
"He's not brooding, or lovesick, he's the fucking shark from Jaws." Fright Night Remake.
"Welcome to Fright Night! For real." Fright Night ..original.

Those are some of mine, what are some of yours?

My latest article was published

You all already know how much I love to share my articles as they get published and hope that someone who is looking for an answer to some of the questions I've answered in my articles is helped. Well this is no different. I wrote an article titled How To Care For An Older Rat and you can read it by clicking the link.

I used a picture of Hades for this article. My 4 rats are a little over a year old now and so cuddly and lazy. My big squishy rats. lol

Vampires or Werewolves?

I'm a huge Vampire fan and I blame my mom for that one. When I was young..I mean really young like 5 years old she had me watching the black and white Dracula with her. Then when I didn't have nightmares and I liked it she would let me stay up on Friday and Saturday nights to watch horror movies with her. I later found out that she let me stay up with her because she was too scared to watch them by herself. LOL So she had me out there for moral support and my love of all things horror was born.

My little brother and older brother also loves to watch Horror movies and when my daughter was born I let her watch horror movies with me and now she loves them as well. My favorite horror movies have Vampires in them...I'm sure I've seen about 99.9% of all vampire movies ever made...even the old black and white ones that were made before I was born and I loved them all.

I recently watched the remake for Fright Night..which just happens to be my favorite vamp movie of all time and the remake was so good. I liked it because you can watch it as a stand alone movie and it doesn't follow the original word for word, which really irritates me in remakes.

Now Werewolf movies are great, they come in a close second for me. I think I've probably watched 98% of all werewolf movies ever made. Yes, I am that much of a horror movie fan. One of my all time favorites is The Howling. The transformation scene where the werewolf starts becoming a werewolf in front of the woman in the room is just so cool. They do close ups of his face bubbling and that grossed me out so much I remember when I got the vcr I would reverse and fast forward a few times so watch and re watch it. lol

There are good movies and bad movies...but if you are a vampire and or werewolf fan do you watch them anyway? I know I do..I have to so I can say it was either good or bad.

Rats: Pests or Pets

I have a family friend on facebook that does not like rats and he is always making comments about how rats are not pets they are pests. Now the last time someone said something bad about my rats...I deleted them...and he was my nephew. But the nephew was rude, and immature about it..this guy is just ignorant and I feel a little sorry for him because he will never know the love of a small animal such as a rat or hamster.

I think there is a way to explain your feelings towards something you don't agree with and then there's the way that will get you deleted from your aunt's facebook page...the rude way. I am able to see others opinions, everyone is entitled to their opinions even if I don't agree with them. But be an adult and express your opinion without putting the other person down, there's just no call for that.

Book Review: Twice Bitten by Chloe Neill

I just want to say that I don't write a lot of book reviews even though I read at least 50 books per month..the reason being I don't think I do as good a job as most other reviewers do at writing them, but after reading certain books I feel the need to share my opinion of books that really left an impression on me. This is one of those times. I should let you know right up front... I did not like this book so this will not be a gushing review..

I read the 1st and 2nd books in this series and while they both had good story lines, the plot was getting a bit thin. The interaction of the characters wasn't all it could be and while it kept me coming back hoping for more from this series..I can see after reading this book that I'm not getting my money's worth at all. I bought the first two books and won this third book in the series. I have to say I'm really glad I didn't have to spend the overpriced amount this book is being sold for only to read it and be disappointed. I'm glad this book was won and not bought because that would make me ever more irritated than I already am.

I've read a lot of reviews for this and so many people love this story..I tried but I just didn't and that being said, this will be the last book in this series I will be reading. I wanted to see more of a romance blossom between Merit and Ethan and while the storyline does develop...when Merit is put in danger Ethan has a freak out sort of emotional melt down and breaks things off with her. I wanted to see their relationship evolve, not be flushed down the toilet. This story needed the evolving relationship of some couple..any couple..just to make the storyline palatable.

The action in this story is good, it really is. But I want more story line than action that lets an author think that character development isn't needed if there's enough drama. I wanted less action and more interaction between the characters and this books just didn't deliver.

I thought I knew where this story was going and thought I would read the synopsis for the 4th and 5th books in this series just in case things do get better. I was shocked at the reviews and after reading some of the reviews with spoilers in them..I am now sure I won't be reading anymore. While I hoped things had gotten better I found the series took a direction I didn't see coming nor that I wanted to read about. I'm not paying these over priced prices for books in a series whose story lines take a turn I don't think any of us saw coming or really wanted to read about.

Save your money and read another series because this one just took a nose dive off a steep cliff.

How To Make Bill Collectors Stop Contacting You

Here's how you get debt collectors to stop calling you. Write the collection company a letter, telling them that you are requesting they cease and desist any phone calls to your residence or business.

*Don't* make any threats. *Don't* acknowledge the debt. Just tell them to stop contacting you. They *have* to stop calling you or they're in violation of federal law and you can then get the Federal Trade Commission after them.

Even if you're on the Do Not Call list, a collection agency can still call you if they think you owe them money. But writing a letter to them should stop that foolishness. You can file complaints all day and they won't listen until you've written that all-important letter. And it has to be in writing.

Just print this form, fill it out and send it to them. They are allowed to call or write to you one time to let you know they received the letter and will not contact you again. The only problem is with most collection agencies, they will just hand the bill over to another collection agency and you will have to send another letter to the new one as well. But at least you will not have the phone calls.

Here's what to write in the letter.

Date
To: *The name and address of the collection agency*
Re: Account with *The original creditor*
Account Number from the original creditor

Notice to cease communication

This is to advise you that pursuant to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, you are hereby notified to immediately terminate any contact with me, or any member of my family or household, regarding any matter concerning the collection of a debt you allege is owed to your company or to your principal/company/client the original creditor noted above. This notice shall include but is not limited to written correspondence, as well as telephonic communication. You are advised that I simply wish you to cease all communication (Mail, phone calls or other) with me or any member of my family or household. This includes my place of employment. I do not admit any debt or deny any liability on the debt. I just want you to stop contacting me.

I intent to keep a log of any phone calls or other contacts you make to me after today. I am aware that further communications by you will make you liable for sums up to $1000, plus actual damages and counsel fees. You may contact me to tell me you are ceasing communication, once.

sincerely,

*Your name*

My Address is:

My Rat Hades

You Have A Lot of Nerve

I recently received an email from an author who wanted me to review a book for him...and I should say I probably would have done so...but in his email he tells me I can download the book for just $1.99.

Wait..what?

You want me to pay for a book that you want me to review?
*face/Palm*

Are you out of your mind?

Yes, yes I think you are..

That is all.

Turning 42!

Yes, I know this spring chicken has hatched, been scrambled and is now just a shell of her former self...LOL *Omg I crack myself up*

That's right in February I'll be turning 42 years old and this month I got my very first pair of reading glasses. *hangs head in shame* It was starting to get really hard to read the fine print on bottles, magazines, my 48" tv screen. lol so reading glasses it was. They really help though I have to say.

I thought I would share some of the other things you youngun's have to look forward to as you get older. *Omg I just said youngun's..I totally sounded like my gramdma*

A few years ago I found my first gray hair..I knew right then...it was time for Nice & Easy..I have very nice Black hair now..no grays.

I am old enough to say things like, do as I say, not as I did.
Because I'm older than you and I know better!
Been there done that.
When I was your age...

I can also do things to embarrass my grown child...lol

Now I already had a 10% hearing loss in my left ear...from listening to music too loud when I was younger is what my doc told me. *Tell your kids to turn down their music or we'll have a bunch of deaf 40 year olds in 20 years* but it seems my hearing has gotten even worst in the past few years. Yea old age..thanks so much.

My hair is falling out more and more...my husband went so far as to tell me my falling hairs are attacking him, stalking him and when he walks by POW, they wrap themselves around his feet and scurry into his underwear to wrap around his manly parts. I should tell you, my hair is down past my butt, so when one falls out, it can wrap around the darnedest things several times. lol But I seriously doubt they are stalking him...O_o

I found a 2 inch long hair on my face...i kid you not..it was the thinnest hair I've ever seen and I pulled it out but you know what...it just keeps coming back. I can only hope it doesn't bring brothers and sisters with it.

I also found a gray eye brow hair. Eye brow hair...lol yeah I was a little freaked out that my eye brows were turning gray..

My skin is getting drier..good grief I should just buy stock in a lotion company right now.

I have Osteoarthritis in my knee's. I am creaking and cracking more than a wooden carriage.

Did you know that as you get older you can have light bladder leakage? Yeah, me either...getting old is so much fun.

Oh and the best thing about getting older is I don't want to leave my house because I get tired easy. Decreased activity? Check!

In the course of natural aging there are many things that may or may not affect you, but it's the normal course of things and not much we can do about it.

Here are three Videos of my Rats

I've shared pictures of my rats with you all before but I'm not sure if I've shared the videos I made of them, so here they are.

Jasper, hades, Ares and Brodie.








They are very affectionate and make great pets.

How To Get Rid Of Bed Bugs Without Spending A Lot Of Money

Here's a Great article telling you how to get rid of Bed Bugs without Spending all your money on fumigators or chemicals and it really works. Click Here to read my article.

Save your money for things that work and don't give money to pest control that uses chemicals that don't work. Bed bugs are immune to so many of the chemicals that are used by pest contol but they keep using them and charging you hundreds of dollars.

Using Kitty Litter which is a desiccant and dries bed bugs out, some tape and vaseline...you can rid your house of these pests yourself, but you have to be vigilant and get the kitty litter into all the little spots in your home. It really does work and it's easy and cheap, what do you have to lose before you spend hundred's or even thousands of dollars on a pest control company?

A Small Rant

A while back I was contacted by a publisher and was asked if I would be willing to review one of their products, it was an audio book. I said yes and was sent an audio book, listened to it and published my review. Everything was fine. I was then asked if I wanted to run a contest on my blog page and said yes, I thought it would be a great idea and this publisher would send the winner their prize. I should say that the prize was a copy of the same audio book I had listened to and reviewed, Everything went well and the winner got their prize. I was asked if I would like to do it again...and once again I said yes.

I ran the giveaway this time for a different audio book and gave the publisher their address...this is when things got a little strange. The winner was sent a copy of the same audio book I had reviewed and another person had already won in another giveaway on my blog. Now at this point me and the lady from this company had been emailing each other quite often and I never went more than a day without getting a response from her. But when I emailed her this time about the mix up it took a few days for her to get back to me but she assured me she would resend the right audio bookset that my winner had won and that we had agreed I would be giving away.

A couple of weeks went by and my winner told me she never got anything else. It's now been more than 2 months since this has gone down and all my subsequent emails to the publisher have been ignored.

I was not going to tell you the name of the company I was dealing with but anyone who looks back into October can see what giveaways I was doing and for what company and I think it's only fair to tell others to be careful when dealing with companies who are going to be responsible for mailing the winners their prizes. So I decided to tell you it was Macmillan Audio that I had these problems with.

I've seen on a couple of other blogs that they tell you they are not responsible for lost of misdirected mail when it comes from the publisher itself and not to take it out on the person who's blog you won it on since it's coming straight from the publisher and they are responsible for mailing the winnings out. So I was wondering how much do things like this happen?

I really have no idea what the problem was but it turned me off from doing this type of giveaway again. I may do another giveaway in the future but if I do...it will be for an amazon.com gift card...

How Much Reading Do You Do?

This time of year is usually crazy for most people and the last thing on their minds is picking up a book and reading it...well for some but not for me. I was able to get in several books this month and the rest of the year and I plan on buying and winning even more books this year...which means more bookshelves..lol

My husband was at his sister’s dog/house sitting for a whole week this month. So I was able to get things done and at the end of the day read a book before bed. I should say I’m a really fast reader and can read a 200 page book in about 2 hours. The one reason I don’t get a lot of reading done is because he is always talking to me, asking me things, pointing things out on the tv, blah blah blah all night long. LOL I usually read early in the morning while he’s still asleep or just tell him to leave me be for a couple of hours..which seems like pulling teeth. Good grief you would think he’d be happy I was quiet for an hour…but nooooo. He talks more than a giddy teen aged girl…and that’s saying something.

Some of my favorite books this year were…Deep Kiss of Winter by Kresley Cole and Gena Showalter, Dreams of a Dark Warrior by Kresley Cole, The Vampire and the Virgin by Kerrelyn Sparks, Hunger Untamed by Pamela Palmer, The Darkest Secret by Gena Showalter, Primal Bonds by Jennifer Ashley, Hit List by Laurel K Hamilton, Ecstasy Untamed by Pamela Palmer, Dark Predator by Christine Feehan, and Inferno’s Kiss by Monica Burns.

I know there were more but those are the ones I can see on my bookshelf from this year that I read and are keeping. But then I keep all my books so I am going to need to buy more wall hanging corner bookshelves soon to make room for next years books. lol Hubby said he might have to move out if I keep getting books just so I’ll have room…I told him he didn’t but I would need his dresser drawers soon…LOL

Happy After Christmas!

I hope everyone had an awesome Christmas and are happily playing with all the goodies they got. My funny story for the year is I got up Christmas morning and went to go on the computer for a few minutes before things got hectic and all these po ups started popping up on my screen and then I get this message on the bottom that said your computer is infected with a virus and you need to click here to get rid of it. Well, thankfully I am a bit more savvy about these computer viruses these days and was able to figure out that a virus was in my computer. One that Mcafee didn't catch and you know those anti-virus programs don't catch everything. So I ran Malwarebytes...*Thanks goddess for that program* and was able to get rid of the "Win 7 security home* blah blah virus. Buh bye virus..

But while the virus was on my computer it ate some files...yes I am saying it ate some files.., because once I was able to get back online some of my pictures were gone, Paint, adobe, notepad, word pad and other programs weren't even there anymore.

So thankfully we have user accounts set up on this computer and it affected only my user account and I had to send myself an email with all my favorites, send all my pictures I had left to Photobucket and delete my user account and make a new one. What a total pain in the back side.

But thankfully it worked and my computer is now working again. All I can say is always store your photos on an external site. I found that out the hard way a few years ago when I lost a whole computer full of photos when my computer stopped working and I wasn't able to get to the pictures on it. I always store a copy of every picture I take on photobucket now.

I had a good Christmas. I got 3 gift cards and went to shopping on Amazon right away. My goodies should be here in the next few days.

So what about you all? What goodies did you get?

It's been 6 months

It's been 6 months since my mom passed away and I'm still not completely over her passing. It's still hard to believe that I can't just pick up the phone and call her. But instead of being down, depressed and crying about today...I would much rather remember my mom like in these pictures...happy and with family. She came over for my daughter's birthday 6 months ago just 2 days before she passed away. And my brother took her to the Redondo Beach Pier so she could see the ocean again, which she really had been wanting to do.

So here's to my mom. May her memory live on through all who knew her.

Not You're Grandma's Christmas Movie

I thought I would talk about a movie that most people don't watch around this time of year, and if you do watch it...you are probably as weird as I am....LOL

The movie being Santa’s Slay (2005)- Santa Claus is actually a demon *The devils son* who lost a bet with an Angel and was forced to play the fun loving, gift giving, belly laughing Santa for 1000 years. And Now that the bet is off, he's not a happy camper and takes it out on the innocent Christmas loving families. With the terms of his bet off, Santa begins a murderous rampage, killing a cast of surprisingly recognizable names in increasingly festive, Christmas-related ways (such as drowning by eggnog). His victims include the likes of James Caan, Fran Drescher, Saul Rubinek and Robert Culp. Merry Christmas indeed.

Pejazzling

This is not for the faint of heart. It's also kinda x rated...lol
Pejazzled penis Don't click on the link if you are offended by blinged out male genetalia. lol

"Now you can treat your penis like it’s the diamond encrusted totem pole you’ve always known it to be, and don’t even get me started on those disco balls of yours."

I found this entirely too funny.

My Amazon.com Wish List

Did you know that you can share you amazon wish list if you make it public so others can find you? If you do this people who might want to can then pick things off your wish list to send to you either anonymously or with a note. I've sent gifts this way to my sister for her birthday and to a few friends around their birthdays as well as the other day for christmas. I think it's a great way to make sur ethe person you are getting a gift for actually gets something they wanted and it's a great way to do something nice for someone when they don't know they will be getting it.

So I thought I would also share my Amazon.com wish list in case someone wants to do the same for me and send me a gift. lol Hey, it's almost christmas and who doesn't love gifts, right? lol

My Amazon.com Wish List.

if you have one you should share it on your blog and see what hapenns as well.

My Weekly Wrap up

This week has been a stressful one for me but also full of good news as well. Yes, for once I have good news as well as the bad to share.

My younger brother has been having some bad stomach pains for the past month so when he went to the doctor they scheduled some tests and today when he got some of the results he was told he had several ulcers as well as a stomache nodule that they are going to do a biopsy on. But the doctor doesn't think it's anything to worry about, which is good news.

I got a letter in the mail from the state telling me that I owed them $1700.00 from my deceased mother's estate.

I looked at it and read it several times before getting incredibly pissed off.

What it was: My mother was on disability and she got medicaid which paid for her doctor visits and medications. Well they wanted to try and recoup as much of the money that had been pain by medicaid from any money, property ect left in my mothers estate after she passed away.

There was $1700.00 in my mothers bank account when she passed away and they wanted it back. Now granted half of that was spent to get family here on a plane for the funeral, the funeral itself and the rest was halved between me and my brothers.

I was freaking out thinking I was going to have to make some sort of payment arrangements to pay this money to the state but the good news is, after calling the woman and answering a few questions...she told me that I wasn't going to be liable for the money being paid back and I just had to send her a few completed forms filled out and that would be done with.

I still don't understand how they are going to come after the family 6 months after someone has passed away and the money is gone, it's crazy.

Other good news for me this week is...I won 10 books this week. Count them 10! I just received 4 of them and am waiting for the others. It's been a good book week for me. lol

I have 2 other books coming that i pre ordered a few months ago with an amazon gift card that I won...so that's 2 more free books to dd to the count for this week...and I also won a $10.00 Amazon gift card from a blog contest as well as cashed in my swagbucks points for some Amazon gift cards...With all those gift cards I bought myself a pretty sterling silver and black onyx ring and bought a friend of mine a dvd from her Amazon wish list and sent it to her since she has her wish list set to public and people can see it and send her things off it. I love that feature..she doesn't even know anything is coming until it gets there. I figure I had a good week, may as well make someone else happy too.

Merry soon to be Christmas