Ocean Beauty- Danger of Leaving Seller Feedback On Amazon

I buy from Amazon all the time and have to tell you this is only the second time in many years that I've had a problem with a seller and this time it was  Ocean Beauty, on the site. I want to say right up front that this is in no way a reflection on Amazon, but on the private seller that I did business with on amazon.com. 

Click on pictures to enlarge.

I ordered this product on April 11th and was sent an email that it had been sent and I could expect it between April 17-20. I underlined how it says the package is 'In Transit" There was a tracking number and everything. Tracking Id 9400111201080442723186 as you can see.

This page has stayed like this since then and it is now May 18th and my order has since been canceled and refunded. I clicked on 'track package' and there were no details available. I gave them the benefit of the doubt and waited for a few extra days after the estimated delivery date and when I didn't get my package I sent them an email using amazon's 'contact seller' feature. 

As you can see in this picture I waited until May 3rd to send them an email because I was hoping they would send me an email if there was a problem or the package was mis-delivered. I was giving them the benefit of the doubt that there was just a hiccup somewhere and the package would get delivered since I had that email that said it had been mailed and was in transit. 

After contacting them because they didn't bother to contact me and I don't believe they ever would have, I got this email back from them. At first I thought it was a joke. If you don't know what I'm talking about, click on the image to enlarge it. Read the yellow underlined message they sent to me. It looks like a 9 year old wrote that. Completely unprofessional. 

But as you can see, it does say that they tried to call me (no they didn't) and that my package was lost in the mail. Meaning it had been mailed, right? Wrong! I called them and talked to Raquel and she told me that my package had never been mailed at all because they ran out of stock and didn't have what I ordered and they would like to refund my money.

I was fine with that. It took about 5 days and my credit card was refunded. I thought that was the end of it. I was wrong.

You can plainly see others have been leaving bad feedback for them, I'm not the only one. My feedback is the one on the bottom by Mary K. 

Here's a better look at my feedback. You can also see I left really good feedback for a company that gave me really good service, even when there was a little mix up with the order. 

You would think that would be the end of it, right? You can see I left my feedback on May 14th...not 5 minutes after I left that feedback...they called me. That's right, the company I left bad feedback for, called me and asked me to take down my bad feedback and if I agreed to remove it, they would send me a free bottle of what I ordered...when they found one. The man I talked to, hardly spoke English and it was hard to understand what he was saying, but I did understand he told me that they were moving to a new warehouse and he knew they had another bottle of the product I ordered 'somewhere in their warehouse' and when they found it they would send it to me for free. I said ok and thank you. I thought that was the end of it. It wasn't. 

On the 16th, I received another call from Raquel. The same woman I had talked to the first time on the phone. She asked me to take down my bad feedback and if I did they would send me a free bottle of another product since they don't have the one I wanted. But could I please take the bad feedback down now. 

I told her no. That if I actually was sent the free product, I would take my bad feedback down. That was not good enough for her. She said she would send me a tracking number so I knew I was really getting it and if I got the tracking number, would I please take down the bad feedback. I said no, not until I received the product in the mail. 

So I was sent an email with a tracking number and the day after it was sent I saw a package was really sent to me. I waited for the package knowing I wasn't going to get what I had originally ordered but something was better than nothing and they were trying to make up for their mistakes. 

I received a package a few days later with something similar to what I had originally ordered and so I took my bad feedback down as I had agreed to. So after 40 days, 2 emails, and 3 phone calls I finally received a product from the company I ordered from, it wasn't the product I had wanted but it was something and it ended up being free. Well, free except for my time, my energy and the stress of having to put up with a company calling me and badgering me to take down my feedback of their company and the lousy customer service I received. 

When my package came I noted the return address. You can clearly see the return address and the replacement free product they sent to me. I blacked out my own address but not my name.

                                  It says Deals Trading, 15 Fred Eller dr. Monsey, ny 10952-3902

So I looked it up online and found this website about it and a map. Now if I click on the map....it sure looks like a house, not a big company building. It says on the website that they have 1-5 employees. That tells me something, this whole incident tells me something and I don't think  have to spell it out for you.

I made this blog post because it is my opinion that had I not contacted them that first time, they would have kept my money and sent me nothing. No product, no email saying they were sorry, no refund and no free product. After talking with Raquel on the phone that first time and her offering a refund, there was no mention of getting a replacement product for free or asking if there was some way they could make up their mistake to me. 

No, it was only after I left bad feedback for their company that they started calling me asking if they could send me a free product and only if I took down my bad feedback. I feel I was bribed. But I agreed to take down the feedback if they sent me the product they offered to, in hindsight I would not make that mistake again, but neither will I go back on my word once I gave it. 

In Conclusion:

I made this blog post because I want anyone to know who is going to be doing business with Ocean Beauty on amazon.com to beware. They are unprofessional, unreliable, and you might not get the product you ordered. If you leave them bad feedback you could also get harassed like I was. So make sure to look at the seller's feedback from other's who have bought from the sellers before doing business with them.

A New Dish

Chili Noodle Casserole

I had decided to try out a few new recipes and this was one of the first. It consisted of boiled shells, browned hamburger meat, 2 cans of no bean chili, a can on stewed tomatoes and a cup of mozzarella cheese. Then I baked it for 20 minutes until the cheese was melted. It was a big hit with the family. 

—A member of @NescafeUSA Tasters

RIP Jasper

My beautiful Jasper passed away yesterday.

Jasper was my laid back, cuddly boy who loved to be cuddled and kissed on the face. Jasper loved to sit next to us on the couch where he would lay on us and eye boggle and give kisses. He would just stay close, clean himself or brux and boggle, or look around. Because he was so laid back and gentle, I would usually take him out to show to new people and he loved the attention. It didn't take much behind the ear petting to get him boggling. A few days ago, Jasper started slowing down for no apparent reason.

On his last day he was snuggling with his brothers, because that's where he seemed most comfortable and happy. As I was watching him in the cage he started to seem restless and his breathing became more labored. All of a sudden, Jasper ran down the ladder and to the cage door, making a line straight for me. I saw the urgency in him and picked him up and sat down. I was sitting there with him, just petting him gently and talking to him. I found "the spot" behind his little ear and I got a short, sweet boggle out of my boy... our last one together. I feel so fortunate that I was able to be home with him when he passed and it's obvious to me that he knew how much he was loved since he wanted to be held.

I had him on antibiotics for the past week, but the upper respiratory infection it seems got the better of him.

Jasper was my big boy, the biggest rat I've ever had or seen. He was always ready to come out for a snuggle and I am really going to miss our snuggle time together. 

Jasper being Jasper. He was so lovable and so laid back. 

Jasper laying on the food bowl. Or at least trying too. I don't think he knew he didn't fit. lol He scooped all the food out of the bowl first too. Silly boy. 

What ya doing mama.

My beautiful boy posing for the camera. 

He was so laid back, he even let me dress him for Easter with some bunny ears. 

He was such a sweet little guy, my heart is broken right now and I'll be taking some time off the computer for a few days. I'll be back in a few days.

Memories of My Mom

Happy Mother's Day

Because it's Mother's Day I wanted to share a memory of my mom today.

My mom passed away last June and it seems like it just happened. It doesn't seem like it's almost been a year. I have a lot of great memories of my mom and wanted to share some of them, so several times over the next month I am going to share a great memory I have of my mother. One of the best was one time my mom and dad, Uncle Jack and his wife took me and my little brother to Big Bear Lake in California and my mom saw a stray dog wandering around near our cabin. So she started leaving the left over dinner for him and after a day or so he got comfortable with her and she would be outside petting him after dinner.

We really didn't think much of it or pay attention to the dog for the first couple of nights. My uncle Jack was too busy sending my brother and I on snipe hunts.  They both got me good one night by taking me out in a field late one night with a plastic bag and spoon and telling me to take the spoon and try to catch the snipes in the bag. I bent down to do that and they turned the flashlights off and stood out there giggling at me freaking out.

When we got back to the cabin, my mom was outside feeding the dog again and I went inside the cabin for a minute.

My mom called me outside and was petting the dog and it came and sat down next to us on the stairs. My dad and uncle came out and stopped really suddenly and told my mom and I to get back in the cabin. My mom looked at them like they were crazy until my uncle said, Peggy...that's a wolf.

My mom and I were sitting on the stairs petting a wolf, or at the very least a wolf/dog mix. He was friendly though. We got up and walked back in the cabin where my dad and uncle freaked out. But my mom was laughing and fed the wolf/dog every night while we were there. We just didn't sit with him on the stairs again.

This is my mom and my hubby Ken, outside our apartment complex from just a couple of years ago.

Happy Mother's Day Mom

Watch the entire video

Make sure to watch the whole thing.

Winner!

Thanks to everyone who entered my $10 Starbucks Gift Card Giveaway. 

Amber! Who's email begins with awal....

I'll be contacting you soon for your mailing address. 

Thanks again to everyone who entered. 

I'm A Very Happy Girl Today

I went to check out my Yahoo Contributor Profile and see how my articles are doing. Imagine my surprise to find a shiny new Badge on my profile, a Hot 500 Badge! There are thousands of contributors (writers) on the site, so to be one of the top 500 for last month and get the badge is a real high point for me.

I've been a member of the Yahoo Contributor Network (Formerly known as Associated Content) since 2006 and this is the first time I've received this badge, so you can imagine my surprise, shock and excitement. And yes, I took a screen shot of it on my profile page. lol The badges are given out each month so I might not have it next month, but I have it right now! Look at my pretty red badge.

I mostly write articles about small exotic animals such as gerbils, hamsters, rats and mice but have other articles about rabbits, dogs, whales and pigs. I have also written an informative article about what Wicca is and my thoughts on ebooks vs Traditional books. I was also interviewed a while back on SOS Aloha about my articles. 

If you read my articles, let me know what you think and if you have any questions about small animals and their care just ask. I'll do my best to answer your questions.

New Necklace I made

I decided to make some new jewelry with some of the loose stones I had in my beading kit. I used semi precious stones and small gold tone beads as spacers. It's been a while since I sat down and made a new necklace but I have so much beading material I may as well use it.

—A member of @NescafeUSA Tasters

Giveaway: $10 Starbucks Gift Card!

Win A $10 Starbucks Gift Card!

I love entering giveaways and have won a few recently so I thought I would hold one and give a little something to my wonderful readers. All you have to do to enter this giveaway is leave a comment with your email address (So I can email you if you win). 

That's it!

I will pick a winner on 5/7/12 and send them an email. I will also announce the winner here on my blog. I will need the winner to respond to my email and send me their mailing address within 24 hours or I will pick another winner. 

Disclaimer: This post was not sponsored by anyone but me. The giveaway is for my readers because I love them! This is only open to people in the U.S. Must be 18 years or older to win.

Update: This giveaway is now closed. 

This Seems Legit

I receive emails that I have determined to be scams all of the time. Some are easy to tell they are scams while others, like the one below are harder to tell they are scams. I mean, who wouldn't believe I just won Five Million Dollars? This totally seems legit to me *insert sarcastic tone of voice here*. I will however tell these scammers something that may help them in the future. If you are going to write to people who most likely have half a brain, you may want to learn better English so you don't sound like such an idiot.."brain cage" really? I feel sympathy for those who don't see emails like this one for the scams they are and end up losing money to these idiots. Here's the email I received today. I had to share it with you because I found it so ridiculous.


"hello I call CHRISTELLE VALBERG married born April 24, 1968 and I am a French national. You can contact him because I want to do something very important. This will seem a little suspect it true that you do not know me and you do not know. I have a cancer that is terminally ill, my doctor is telling me that my days are numbered because of my range of health. From what the Dr. I was justified, a bullet is currently installed in my brain cage, I have this disease for over 4 years. I made you to accept my award. I have the sum of $ 5,000,000 as a grant. Please accept this sum as it may well be very useful and it asks nothing in return. It is necessary to accept my offer if you directly answer my email: christellevalberg@yahoo.fr I feel very bad and I'm afraid, almost did not sleep at night and day. I can not die without having done all this grant money if I do not think it would be a copy gasto.Quiere my email address to write to my lame: God remains with you."


Oh yeah, that seems legit...

Do You Tip?

I was watching a show on tv a while back and it showed this server in a restaurant ranting about not getting an 18% tip on all the people who ate at the place she works. Now while I do understand that servers/wait staff don't make big bucks, they know what they are going to be making when they apply for or take the job, no one forces them to be a server and a tip is not mandatory of customers.

This lady said if you expect to get good service that they expect to get a good tip of at least 18% but in my opinion she is wrong. Good service is what they are paid to do, it's not mandatory for customers to give them a tip for a service that's already being paid for. That's their job!

Expecting a tip from everyone or bitching about a small tip is rude and ridiculous. If someone thinks their waitperson was nice/helpful enough to leave them any sort of tip, even a couple of bucks change, then that person should remember they didn't have to and be thankful for it.

Tips are for good service rendered. Not just because you brought out the food and never came back and did your job of asking if anyone needed a refill, something else or if I have to hound the other servers to get my check because you never come back to my table after bringing the food.

You pay for your food and anything extra should not be 'expected and bitched about if you don't get it'. If I felt like giving a tip, I will. If the service was bad and the server had a bad attitude, I'm not leaving a tip. You took that job knowing full well that you would be having to wait on customers and be friendly. I worked in a bakery/deli and never got a tip and I made sandwiches, donuts, sliced people's cold cuts and cheese and made party platters all day, but I did it with a smile because that's what I got paid to do.

Not everyone who works with the public gets a tip. The people in the bakery/deli who slice your cold cuts and cheese don't get tips, doctors who make sure you are alright don't get tips, the cashier at the grocery store doesn't get a tip.

And don't even get me started on those places that put out a tip jar right by the cash register and expect a tip like Starbucks, port of subs, subway and other fast food places that seem to be doing it. They get paid for doing their job and I expect to pay the price on the wall, next to what I am getting. I don't tip at those places.

The one thing I will say is if I order food and have it delivered, I usually tip the person who brings it to me. I do tip when going out to eat, although I really don't go out to eat all that often anymore. I just don't think the servers should be getting all ranty and indignant if they don't get the 18% tip they are looking for. If I throw a couple of bucks on the table after a meal, smile and be happy you got anything at all, because believe me if I hear a snarky remark about a small tip...you'll never get another tip from me.

I was being nice one time when I went to Port of subs and left $2 in the tip jar after the ladies made our two sandwiches. They had been nice and I was feeling generous and so when she gave me my change, I put it in the tip jar and on my way out I heard her say to the other lady, "Two bucks? Can you believe this shit?"

There was no one else in the store at the time and she didn't even have the common courtesy to wait until we were completely out the door before she took the money out and said that. so whenever we wanted sandwiches again from port of subs, I made sure to go on days I knew they were working and got them then. I never gave another tip. Oh and yeah, I called the 1-800 number and complained about them too. It pissed me off just that much. I wasn't worried about retribution since you watch them through the glass making the sandwiches..they couldn't spit in my food in the back like I'm sure they would have given the chance.

Yeah I'm pessimistic/negative and irritated with the whole tip thing. It's probably a good thing I don't go out much..because I'm not a good tipper.

What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Stronger...

I would love to know who thought that up. What doesn't kill you, makes you stronger. Is that really true for all of us? I'm not so sure. Sometimes the things we go through when we were younger shape they way we are later on in life, for the good or the worst. But sometimes the things that happen in life don't make you stronger, they just leave you feeling exhausted, frail and broken. 

A good friend of mine passed away last week and it's left me shaken. He was only 55 years old and so I never thought anything would happen to him, not for a long time anyway. This coming June 23rd will have been one year since my mom passed away. You just never know what little gem life is going to throw at you next and while I used to just take each day as it came, right now I seem to be in "Oh no" mode. That is, I'm thinking, "Oh No"..what's going to happen next. Oh no, why is my phone ringing, is it going to be bad news? Oh no, who's at my door...ect.

I really need to get out of this frame of mind, but I'm not sure how to right now. But I guess that's what life is..cycles of time where the water is calm and everything is moving smoothly with the occasional wave, storm or shark floating along the surface ready to bite you in the ass if you get too close.

Operation Smile

Operation Smile: This April Like Operation Smile on Facebook and SwimWays will donate $2 per Like http://on.fb.me/IKxw0E #OperationSmiley360

About Operation Smile:

Operation Smile is an international children's medical charity that heals children's smiles, forever changing their lives.

Every three minutes a child is born with a cleft — often unable to eat, speak, socialize or smile. In some places these children are shunned and rejected. And in too many cases, their parents can't afford to give them the surgeries they need to live a normal life.

Since 1982, Operation Smile — through the help of dedicated medical volunteers — has provided more than 2 million patient evaluations and over 200,000 free surgeries for children and young adults born with cleft lips, cleft palates and other facial deformities.

With your help, how many lives can we change tomorrow?

*I may receive compensation as a result of this blog post from Smiley 360 in the form of free samples and/or points*

Articles Published, Movies Watched and Books Read..

I write when I have the time and find an idea for an article. Well, this month I had the time to write uninterrupted because Ken was in California dog/house sitting for his sister and my daughter was out with her friends or her boyfriend. So I had the house all to myself. I was able to get in a few movies including the remake of Nightmare on Elm Street, which was less than satisfying. I really like the original much better. I also watched Rise of the Planet of the Apes and Hostel 3, both of which I really enjoyed.

I read a couple of books including a new one by Shelley Munro called Cat Burglar in Training, which I really loved. This book is Previously published as The Shadow *that I wrote a review for*, and is newly refreshed by the author, It's a great story and I like the changes that were done. Shelley was nice enough to send it to me after I won an ecopy on a blog contest and when I finally had a few minutes to myself I knew it would be one of the books I read. I love Shelley's writing, her books are always so good and she is such a sweet person. Shelley has a blog Taste of Kiwi, that she regularly updates and chats with commenter's. If you haven't read a book by Shelley Munro yet, I highly recommend her, all of her books have been keeper's.

I also read Wild Cat By Jennifer Ashley, this is part of a series that I am really enjoying and am looking forward to the next book coming out which the author said on fb should be next year. I'm very much looking forward to that. If you like Shifter romances, I recommend this book.

I still have a few other books to get to, I just haven't had the time yet.

I did however find the time to write two more articles.

What Causes Weight Loss In Pet Rats

How To Keep Your Rat From Tipping The Scale.

Good Bye Tk

I found out earlier today that a good friend of mine passed away from a heart attack. Although we never met in person, we'd know each other through several yahoo groups and fb for many years. I was so shocked and saddened to hear of his passing, I'm still so sad about this.

William Watts or Tk as he was known to us was one of the nicest people I've even had the privilege of knowing. I met him during a time in my life when I had all but given up on there being people like he and his wife out there to meet. He renewed my faith in humanity and made me see there were still people in the world that would help another for no other reason than they wanted to.

I've received many holiday cards from he and his wife and sent many in return. He was proud of Canada where he lived and sent me Maple Leaf cookies to try because he wanted me to experience something he loved. I sent him something from Vegas so he would always have a little part of where I lived with him.

When I found out he loved spongebob square pants, I sent him a few spongebob stickers that he took pictures of after he put them on his riding mower.

I'll never get to meet Tk in person but we talked like we had lived next door to one another for years. He was like a member of my family and after my mom died last year I made it a point to let him know how much he meant to me. I told him since my mom passed away so suddenly, I wanted the people I loved to know how much they meant to me and how much I cared for him because we never know when we'll go to sleep and not wake up.

I'm so happy that I wrote that letter to him and let him know how much he had influenced my life for the better. Don't waste time never telling those you love how much they mean to you, because they can be taken away at any minute and then you'll never have the chance to.

Be happy and free, Tk. You'll be missed my friend.

A Maintenance Man's Wife

Being the wife of a maintenance man has been interesting to say the least. Not only can Ken do simple handy man type things he is also certified in AC, Pool maintenance and Plumbing. He can fix pretty much anything where he works at. Over the last 22 years I've heard so many stories and seen so many funny things because of the type of work he does that I thought it would be fun to share a few of these stories.

A few years ago a lady asked the manager if she could have a pole *stripper pole* installed in her living room. The manager approved it and Ken installed it. He had to drill through the floor and the ceiling to install it. I found that way too funny. I really didn't think an apartment manager would approve something like that being done to an apartment but he might have had the hots for the lady and probably tried sneaking looks in her window for all I know. LOL

Ken also worked at a Hotel/Lodge that I won't name but it's here in Las Vegas and it's really nice. :P He and one of his workers came back to our place after work and was telling me about what they found in one of the rooms after the couple left. Now the couple had stayed for three days and didn't want anyone in their room for anything. Ken told me that he and another maintenance person were called to do some maintenance on the room and when they got there they had to take some hardware off the ceiling, walls, and bed.

There were heavy metal hooks, chains and boards screwed right in the walls of the room. He said it looked just like a BDSM Dungeon and all the workers were talking about it. Even the front desk people wanted to go take pictures before it was taken down. There was an X frame screwed to one wall with heavy chains screwed to it.

My first thought was...why didn't they take their equipment with them? lol

At one of the apartments we lived at where Ken worked maintenance I was called and told to get my daughter who was just a baby at the time and quickly come down stairs. So I did and I and other workers families were ushered to other other side of the street. When I asked what was going on I was told there was a bomb scare and they were only telling the people who worked there and their families until the police told them for sure.

The police/Swat came and finally after an hour were able to get the guy out of the apartment and he didn't have any bombs but he had a hell of a lot of guns. The guy was arrested and Ken and another maintenance man were told to repair the broken window and door and lock the place up. When he came home that night he told me the entire inside of that apartment was painted in camouflage paint. When the guy didn't come back after 30 days and no one came to pay his rent, all of his belongings were bagged up and put in storage for a month before trashed. When they started bagging stuff up they found pipes for making bombs, nails and three more guns so they had to stop and call the police back. The police came took the guns and pipes and I never heard what happened to the guy.

Oh and the best story I saved for last. Years ago Ken hurt himself on the job and broke both his ankles. The guy that came and took over his maintenance duties until he healed came over to our apartment all the time to ask how to do certain things and ken trained him is what he needed to know..about three months after the guy got hired we see his mug shot on the news one night. The story said he killed one guy and then killed his room mate, wrapped the guy in plastic and duct tape and hid the body under his bed for 6 weeks. When the police went in to investigate the disappearance of the room mate they found the body wrapped in plastic under the bed and the guy confessed to killing him.

That guy who killed those two people had been in my apartment, ate at my table, talked with ken all the time and we never suspected a thing until seeing his face on tv that night. How creepy is that?

Being a maintenance man's wife has been interesting alright.

5 Ways To Stretch Your Pet Rat Budget

I have another article published today and would love it if you would read it. 5 Ways To Stretch Your Pet Rat Budget.

That's the picture I used for my article, it's of two of my rats...Jasper and Ares. Don't they look comfortable?

Las Vegas

I've been living in Las Vegas now for more than 25 years and when I first got here I went to all the Hotels and casinos and did the buffet thing, the gambling thing, the people watching thing and put up with the crowds to see the outside shows like the Volcano at The Mirage.

I don't do those things anymore because it got so boring. It's the same old thing every time, I guess it's great for tourists but the locals say once you've seen it a dozen times it kinda loses its appeal.

I used to enjoy the buffets..I mean what's not to enjoy about an all you can eat dessert bar? Right? lol But the desserts are usually cake and pie and I can make that at home. Yep, I've become a fuddy duddy.

I don't gamble, I don't go to clubs, I don't go to bars or Hotels and I don't like crowds. I would rather rent a movie On Demand and eat my own food. lol

How Do I Find The Yahoo News Articles I've Commented On?

I remember before Yahoo changed the way they did things it was easy to find all the different articles I had commented on, but now unless I bookmark the page...I can't ever find the articles again. But...did you know that there is a way to find some of the articles you've commented on if..and I do mean if you have gotten at least one thumbs up on your comment.

Here's how.

Go to your Yahoo mail page and look at the top right hand side. There should be a little bell right next to Go mobile, Try Y! and Yahoo with a little house next to it. Now click on the bell and there will be a drop down menu of the recent comments that have gotten a thumbs up. All you have to do is click on the one you want to see.



Still don't see it? Look at my picture below. I have a little black arrow where the bell will be. Click on that bell, and then click on the article you want to read. It's that simple.

Pre Ordered Books

Time Untime by Sherrilyn Kenyon (A Dark Hunters Novel) Not available until august 13

Kiss The Dead by Laurell K. Hamilton (A Vampire Hunter Novel) Not available until September 10th

Dark Storm by Christine Feehan (A Dark Series Novel) Not available until September 10th

Now all of these are available in hardcover which I like, I know some people don't like paying more for the hardcover but I like it. I pre-ordered all of them a few days ago and do it with these three series because these three series are my all time favorite series. So I wanted to let you all know if you haven't been reading these series *And what's wrong with you? o.O* you really need to take a look at them if you like Vampires or paranormal romance.

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!