Tv Shows

So lately I've been a little caught up in a show that I never imagined I would be watching or even liking as much as I am. I'm talking about Big Brother. If you've never watched it you probably have no idea what I'm talking about but I'm a little obsessed with this show now. So much so that when a particular contestant was evicted from the house the other day *Frank* I actually started Tweeting to #BB14 about it and saying I was happy Frank was gone. lol

Another show I'm really looking forward to coming back is Vampire Diaries. Elena is now a vampire and I'm wondering how that's going to work out. Frankly I mostly watch the show just to look at Damon *Ian Somerhalder*. The man is gorgeous!

Criminal Minds should also be back soon and this happens to be one of my favorite shows. I love the characters, the acting and the stories that get told on the show. I even like the quirky little nerdy bits.

So those are some of the shows I like, what are some of the shows you are looking forward to watching.

Writing

Why is it easy to write some thing but hard to write other things? I started out thinking I was going to be a book writer. I even started writing a book...got about 200 pages *Of double spaced typed pages* into it and realized I had just written the end. I put it away and a few years later, re-read it. It's not very good. lol

It'll be a nice find for one of my grandchildren to find when I'm an old woman and read it. I'm sure they'll get a good laugh out of it. But I have written over 200 articles about Small Animal Care, which you can find here.

I don't find those hard to write. I think because I can focus all my thoughts into a few paragraphs and get the information I want to relay into about 500 words and not have to worry about making it longer. I know about the information I write about, I'm living it, have lived it or have seen it with others so I have experience with the situations I write about which I think makes it easier to write about.

There are other things I would love to write, like book reviews. I do them every once in a while when I book really speaks to me, when I want everyone to know how much I loved it and they just must read it...they must! But the words for the book reviews don't come easily for me. I would be most happy just to say, "I loved it...can't really explain why but I did. You simply have to read it and tell me you loved it too." But I know that's really not what I want to put out there and not what readers are looking for when reading book reviews. So I let those that do it best, do the book reviews. I'll just keep buying the books and reading them and telling my friends about them.

Crocheting A Baby Blanket

So last week I pulled out my crocheting needle and blue yarn and sat down and started crocheting. (At least I think I am- I've never done this before) Someone gave me the yarn and the two crocheting needles I have about 5 years ago and they have sat up in my closet until now because I actually have no idea what I'm doing. 

I don't even know if the stitch I'm using is a real stitch or something I just made up because it worked. LOL 

When I was 8 years old a cousin showed me how to start crocheting...the very first line and how to hook the lines together. (Yes, I'm aware I'm not using proper crocheting terminology- mostly because like I said...I have no idea what I'm doing) 

I'm trying to make a baby blanket. At least I think it's a baby blanket. This could end up being a shirt for all I know. (Not really). 

I don't think it's bad for a first timer who's had absolutely no training and taught herself how to do this in the first place. 

I'll post pictures when it's done. I have to buy some more blue yarn because I'm almost out.

Freebie Friday

No free samples in the mail this week but I did win a book. 

This week I received a book in the mail I won from Short and Sweet Reviews. I really like this series so I'm excited to start reading this one. 

Some Of Our Other Animals

Back in 2002, I decided I wanted some hamsters and Ken was ok with me adopting 1 or 2 of them. I adopted this little guy we called Smokey because of his coloring. He was a really cute little guy. But he was a little skittish and didn't like to be held at first which is why the top is off of his cage. We just brought the entire cage over to the couch, took the top off and let him climb out when he was comfortable. He got comfortable enough to climb on us and let us hold him after about a week. 

This is Cuddles. I walked into a pet store in the Mall to see about hamster cages and she was in a tiny cage all by herself, running back and forth jumping up and down like she was trying to get my attention. Now I don't usually buy hamsters at Mall Pet stores because they are usually not taken care of, but I felt bad for this little girl and bought her. She was a dwarf hamster. 

About 2 weeks after bringing Cuddles home...we heard squeaking coming from the cage. She had given birth to 5 little babies. * I kept all the babies* This is my daughter trying to wrangle all the babies after they were weaned. 

At the same time we had all the babies, Cuddles and Smokey...our neighbor had a rat who he wanted to give us because he didn't have enough time to devote to her. So we adopted Romi. Here she is wearing a Christmas Hat. lol 

Then one of the kids in the neighborhood asked her mom if they could give their hamster to us because they didn't want to take care of it anymore. Of course I said yes. Here is Buster. He was the biggest hamster we ever had. he was big enough to put the guinea pig harness on and take for a walk...which I did. 

Here I am trying to wrangle all the dwarf hamster babies. One of them climbed up on my shoulder to say hi. Those little hamsters were fast and would climb all over us when we put them on the couch. We had 3 boys and 2 girls so once they were old enough they went into separate cages so we wouldn't have more babies. Cuddles ended up with her own cage because once the babies were weaned she wanted nothing more to do with them and would fight with them. She was much happier in her own cage. 

Hahaha

Hand full of baby dwarf hamsters. 

And here is the shelves Ken make for all the hamster cages. The plastic container on the floor was their play area that we would let them run around in to play when they came out. Romi's cage was on the other side of the room. 

23 Years and Counting...

Today is My and Ken's Anniversary...sort of. lol While we aren't legally married we've been living together now for 22 years and have known each other for 23 years. 

We are opposites in just about everything but that makes for a very interesting relationship. I like sweets, Horror movies, romance books, staying at home, Mexican food and Heavy Metal. 

Ken likes savory foods, Action movies, action books, going hiking/fishing, Italian Food and soft classic rock. 

Total opposites...

We made it work because we can talk to each other, he talks more than I do sometimes. We have shown each other new things, got each other to try new things and have always been there for each other. 

I showed Ken that Rats are great pets and now he loves them. I showed Ken that it's ok to have tacos for thanksgiving dinner-everybody loved them. And he showed me that sautéed peppers and onions aren't bad after all, that cream cheese is great on bagels and it's ok to be yourself. 

I wouldn't change the last 23 years for anything...now if I can only get him to start reading romance novels....

Buffalo Chicken Wings Recipe

This is my recipe for making hot chicken wings. I like this recipe because I like a little my chicken wings to be a little spicy without burning my tongue off and the hot sauce you use really makes a difference here. 

Start off by taking 4 lbs of chicken wings (I use the frozen ones) and bake them for an hour at 350F. They will be underdone but we will cook them the rest of the way in this next step. 

You will also need a jar of Franks Red Hot sauce..12Oz..and the original is the best for this recipe. You are going to use the whole bottle. 

Along with the Franks Red Hot Sauce you will need two sticks of sweet cream butter-unsalted. (Yes, I know that's a lot of butter) Make sure you use real butter and not margarine..Margarine just doesn't taste the same. 

After you have roasted your chicken wings for an hour, take them out and add the two sticks of butter to a deep pan and turn on medium. When the butter has melted, add the entire bottle of Franks Red Hot Sauce to the pan of butter and stir. 

Now add the roasted chicken to the pan of butter and hot sauce and simmer for 30 minutes. This will cook the chicken the rest of the way and give the chicken time to absorb the flavor. 

Take the chicken out of the pan and enjoy.

Happy Birthday Mom

This is a picture of me, my mom and my daughter a few years ago. It's one of my favorite pictures. 

My mom would have been 65 years old today. 

Winners!

Since we only had a few entries, you all win bookmarks! I'll be contacting you shortly. 

The winner of the $10 Amazon gift card is...Ashlyn! Congrats! I'll be contacting you soon. 

Rats

The reason I write articles about small animal care is because I want people who have these little animals to know what to do in an emergency, how to take care of them from day to day and why they deserve love, affection, respect and care just like any other animal. Just because they are small and are cheap pets to adopt doesn't mean they don't deserve to be well cared for. 

When I bought my first mouse when I was 12 I had no idea how to care for him, I did the best job I could of course and I think I did pretty well. He would even sit on my math book (eating the pages) while I did my math homework and I would share my cookies with him. 

But when I got my first hamster when I was 13, I freaked out when she started stuffing her cheek pouches and called the pet store to ask how to stop her from choking. (I know I've told you this story before) The guy just laughed at me and said she was fine that it was normal. It would have been nice to have something to tell me about all these things I would experience with these pets, which I why I write these articles. 

Here's Ares taking an Apple Jack from my fingers. 

My boys cuddling together. These two cuddle together a lot while sleeping. Rats are social animals and like to have a cage mate. They also like to have interaction with their humans so it's important to take them out and play with them every day. Of course when I take these two lazy butts out now, they just lay down next to us and want to be petted. 

Spoiled..lol 

Hades eating an Apple Jack. Sugary cereal isn't an ideal snack but it's an ok treat if given minimally and just every once in while as a reward or treat. 

Freebie Friday

This week I received samples and coupons to give out at a sampling party from Nescafe Tasters Choice. 

I've had these sampling parties before and everyone loves getting free samples and trying new things, so they go over very well. You can also sign up to be a Taster and if approved, you may receive free samples to share at your own sampling parties. 

-A member of the Nescafe Tasters

Petrified Wood

A friend of mine posted some pictures of the Petrified Forest a couple of weeks ago and I commented that I inherited a piece of petrified wood from my mother after her passing. So I thought that would make a good blog post and here are pictures of the piece of petrified wood I have. 

It's about 6 inches long and think in some spots while thin in others. My mom got it from her father who got it who knows where. 

This picture shows how it's thick on one half while being thin on the other half. 

I have been to the petrified forest located in Arizona but I hardly remember it since I was a little kid. But at least I have this little piece of history from a time when maybe my grandfather or even my great grandfather may have visited there. 

On a side note, my daughter also has a small piece of petrified wood that she found in a box of junk that someone threw away. Obviously they had no idea what they had. 

Depression

Unless you have dealt with depression I really don't think you can really grasp the effects it has on the person experiencing it. I've been dealing with depression related symptoms for almost my entire life and I wrote about my experiences with depression in this article. I know that when I was really young the reason I was depressed and had thoughts of suicide for the first time at age 9 was because my father was a very abusive alcoholic. So I attribute most of my depression back then to the situation I was in but as years went on the depression just got worst until I found out in my 20's that I had Hypothyroidism and that can also cause depression. Read my article about The Thyroid and Depression for more information on that subject.

Although getting treatment for my Hypothyroidism has really helped with the depression symptoms, I also have clinical depression and a personality disorder called Schizotypal Personality Disorder. The personality disorder combined with the clinical depression makes it really hard to find an anti-depressant that will work because the personality disorder isn't something that medication can really eliminate.

But since I have tried so many different medicines and know first hand of some of the side effects I had thought of writing an article explaining which ones have the least amount of side effects.

Recently I wrote an article about two of the different medications I have tried, Effexor and Lexapro. It can take years like it did for me to find the right medications or combinations of medications to alleviate the symptoms of depression without having to deal with some of the awful side effects that come with these medications. So I thought I would give people trying to find a good anti-depressant with little to no side effects a heads up.

Do Children Need Cellphones?

No, this isn't a cell phone...it's my cordless land line phone and the only phone I have. A while back I read that parents were buying their kids as young as ten years old a cell phone along with all the other back to school supplies. When did a cell phone become a back to school supply?

I've actually been asking myself this question for some years, I wrote an article about Kids and Cell Phones a few years ago and my view really hasn't changed on the subject. I don't see the need for a 10 or 12 year old to have a cell phone. If a kid wants a cell phone, they should have to wait until they are 16; old enough to work and pay for their cell phone themselves. 

When my daughter was 16 and asked for a cell phone we both said no, that when you get old enough to have a job you can get one for yourself, until that time we have the house phone. Of course she didn't like it but we didn't back down from this, I just don't see a cell phone as being one the things that a kid needs. A kid needs food, clothes, shelter, love, structure and an education...not a cell phone. 

I also didn't let my daughter have a computer in her room. The only computer has always been in the family room and still is. When she was a teenager and wanted to go onto MySpace and then FB, I told her before she was able to go to those place I had to have all her passwords to all her accounts. of course she didn't like it but that's what parents are supposed to do. Too many parents these days have no idea what their kids are sending/receiving or talking about online and that's scary. 

My daughter is 21 years old and even though I may not have her passwords I still stroll through her fb account and look at her friends, I visit their pages, look at their pictures, read their status updates and she calls me a creeper. Hey, I'd rather be a creeper than not know anything about my kids friends and have no idea what is going on with her and her friends. 

I was watching the back to school commercials on tv and saw they were showing the newest cell phone accessories right in the same isles with the backpacks, paper, pens and other school supplies. Most people do know that cell phones aren't even allowed at most school's, right? 

Heidi Betts Bookmarks and $10 Amazon Gift Card Giveaway!

I wanted to do something nice on what would have been my mother's birthday this year. So I decided to hold a little giveaway as a way to celebrate that day. 

I have 5 Heidi Betts bookmarks to give away to 5 lucky people and one of those people will also win a $10 Amazon gift certificate. 

To enter this giveaway please click here to read an article I wrote and then come back here and leave me a comment about your thoughts on the subject of the article along with your email address so I can get in touch with you if you win. 

I will pick a winner on September 2nd, which would have been my mother's birthday. 

Good Luck!

This giveaway is now closed.

Baby Registry

Someone in my family asked if my daughter had her baby registry made up yet and you know what? I hadn't even thought about doing that. So I helped her make one and thought I would share it with you because who doesn't like looking at baby stuff? lol

So here is my daughter's baby registry.

Hard to believe that my daughter used to be that small. Oh how time flies.

Gumball Machine

I finally have a gumball machine. My sister in law brought it with her and gave it to me the last time she came for a visit. Yes, it's actually made for Jelly Belly jelly beans, but it works great as a gumball machine too. Yes, I have a gumball obsession. 

Freebie Friday

This weeks Freebie Friday is filled with chocolate, mermaids and coffee. I can't think of a better combination.

I won this delicious chocolate bar From the Fall River Chocolate Company in a contest on Kandy Sheperds post on Tote Bags n Blogs. 

It's a dark Belgian chocolate bar made with wild rice grown in their valley. It was 110F the day I found the package in my mailbox and the chocolate bar had partially melted but I just popped it into the freezer for a little while and then ate it. It was in a sealed package which made it very easy to do. 

There is a crunch in this bar from the wild rice that was very interesting and the dark chocolate is so good. The bar is now gone so obviously I enjoyed it very much. If you're looking to try something new and you like chocolate, I would definitely buy a bar of this wild rice chocolate. 

You can contact Melinda Booker at FallRiverChocolates@gmail.com  for more information. 

I also wrote an article review on Yahoo Contributor Network for this chocolate bar which you can find here. 

I also received two samples of Nescafe Memento, one of which I tried while nibbling on my chocolate bar. I really liked the Cappuccino and the caramel isn't bad either. 

I also won a mermaid pin from Cassandra Curtis on her Blog, When Midnight Comes. How cute is that?

Bookshelves

As you can see from my bedroom bookshelves right here, I need more room. Like a lot more room. lol This is actually two large book shelves side by side and they are completely packed with books. We plan on moving before my grandson gets here, so probably in November when it cools down because who in their right mind would be moving when it's 113F outside, right?

This is the hanging bookshelf in my hallway. I really like this one because it gave me a little room to put a nice long stack of books up out of the way and it fits in my small hall way. 

This is the bookshelf in the living room. you can't tell but these are stacked two deep. There are books in back of books. I plan on buying several more book shelves when we move...so I better make sure I have enough room for them. lol 

And this is the corner bookshelf. There are so many books on this thing. I think I might just buy several more of these and put them in every corner in the new apartment because I sure can fit a lot of books on this and it doesn't take up precious floor space. 

So there you have it. All my bookshelves. Do you have a lot of bookshelves too?

Picture of Big Bear Lake

When my brother, sister in law, daughter and nephew went fishing at Big Bear Lake in California, my daughter took some amazing pictures of the surrounding area. 

I've always like going to Big Bear because of all the tree's and the little places you can go hiking. 

I love looking at these pictures because they bring back such great memories of going there as a kid and renting a cabin with my family. 

What's not to like, it's beautiful. 

Do you think you would like Big Bear?