Mary's World

Sting Fields Of Gold

2011-05-16T18:33:00.000-05:00

Andrea Bocelli I Believe

2011-05-16T18:31:00.000-05:00

sunshine on my shoulder

2011-05-16T18:17:00.000-05:00

John Denver - Annie's Song

2011-05-16T18:13:00.000-05:00

John Denver - Country Roads

2011-05-16T18:06:00.000-05:00

This is one of my favorite songs and musical artists. The world needs more John Denver's in the world!

Advertise Your Rummage/Garage Sale -- FREE! - Project Economy News Story - WISN Milwaukee

2011-05-11T17:43:00.000-05:00

Advertise Your Rummage/Garage Sale -- FREE! - Project Economy News Story - WISN Milwaukee

Helpful tips to successfully submit your sale to the Rummage Tracker

2011-05-11T17:38:00.000-05:00

Helpful tips to successfully submit your sale to the Rummage Tracker

True Faith

2011-03-18T18:55:00.000-05:00

NOTE TO COMPANIES!!

2011-03-15T09:51:00.003-05:00

I started to go through everything in our house

that has or is supposed to have an expiration date.

So far I have come across six companies who either use a "date code"

or have extremely hard to find or read expiration dates.

One is a regional company,

but the other five are national brand name companies.

Some of the problems so far:

Date code or sometimes a manufactured code

(I as a consumer is supposed to know what this means? Really?)

PUT IT IN PLAIN ENGLISH!!!

That would be

month, day, year

or day month year

Stop making it so hard for people

Hard to find expiration dates.

If you have a tiny product

it is not okay

to put it in the flap

or the sealed end of a bag.

Hard to read expiration dates.

Embossed type dates (that is like an indent) are very very difficult to read.

This also includes black ink on any dark background.

Also, white or yellow ink on a light color background.

Poor ways to get in touch with companies.

We live in a 24/7 world.

People do not work 9 - 5 or if they do they can not contact your company if your customer service hours are 8 - 5 Pacific time.

That is assuming there is a toll free number to call.

One company does not have a toll free number to call

and I will pay to call them.

Poor websites.

If you sell anything that has an expiration date

you should make it easy for customers to find out if it still good.

The company that did not have a toll free number to call, or an expiration date that I as a customer can understand also had nothing on their website to figure out the code.

The other company that I actually did get a real live person when I called was very nice, but could not tell me if my product was still good or not. I will either get a telephone call, e-mail, or a letter in the mail. Yes, I had to give all that information just to find out if my product was still good. No, I will not be buying much if anything from them anymore. No, they had nothing on their website either. They did have stuff about their reward card, re-called food (none of the other companies had that), school donations, products they sell, and so on.

Not everyone has internet access.

Just because you as a company has a website does not mean everybody has a computer or if they do have a computer the internet.

Many people have absolutely no internet access.

Yes, some libraries have the internet,

but they have a limited amount of them

and most limit the time to 30 minutes

(maybe up to 60 minutes if it is not busy).

I am one upset customer taking names.

I usually go through cupboards, pantries, medicine cabinets a few times a year to check dates.

We realized a couple of days ago

we have not actually done that in over a year.

We have had a lot of little emergencies, medical issues,

and family issues and have not taken time to do some serious purging.

We have three adults who all wear glasses. Two of us have bi-focals and getting worse. One of us has both macular degeneration and cataracts and finds reading extremely hard. Add that fact that companies use such awful ways to let people know if their product is still good or not and making it hard to contact them does not help people who are already frazzled, have medical issues, or plain busy trying to keep their head above water these days.

If you do not care about me as a customer to make it a little easier to want to purchase your product then you DO NOT DESERVE my money.

I get paid less than $8.00 an hour.

I do not have money to waste,

but will pay more for products by companies

that actually care about the welfare of their customers.

Remember if you are selling products that by law should have an expiration date or products that should have one even if it is not required then you would think you as a company would make it easier for your customers to NOT get sick. If a person can not read the date, but has limited funds might eat or use the product anyway. Yes, a person can always throw it out if he/she are unsure, but when a person does not have much money he/she might just take a chance that the product is still good.

Buzz Agent Cover Girl Campaign

2011-03-09T15:53:00.003-06:00

If you have not heard of Buzz Agent you should check them out.

They are a way to try new and old products.

It might take a bit to get going, but it is a fun way to try products.

Buzz Agent and Cover Girl have teamed up again.

I did the lipstain campaign when it was new.

A product I highly recommend.

The current campaign is in celebration of Cover Girl's 50th anniversary.

You may win samples by joining both Buzz Agent and Cover Girl

and liking Cover Girl on Facebook and posting a blog about them.

You can even Tweet about them.

If you are already using

Facebook and Twitter

why not try to win some free samples from a proven company?

http://www.bzzagent.com/member/CampaignHome.do?campaignId=7010289794

Racine Horlick High School Flea Market | Racine | Wisconsin | April 2011

2011-02-18T18:34:00.000-06:00

Racine Horlick High School Flea Market Racine Wisconsin April 2011

Household Repairs as of 12 February 2011

2011-02-12T17:54:00.003-06:00

So far this year we have had to replace a part on the furnace that cost us $578.00 with a $20.00 coupon from the telephone book (It was an old coupon, but they took it anyway). The furnace of course went out in the middle of the night on the weekend when the temperature was below zero with and without the windchill. We finally called around 5:oo a.m. and they had a few out on calls all night long. That was less than a month ago.

We have been having a little bit of sewer drain backups, but up until about a month ago nothing too bad. In fact we thought it was the washer at first. We thought the hose was loose, but it was not. It was getting worse and we tried those sewer drain cleaners and such, but they did not really help that much. My brother tried to snake it to no avail. My brother looked at the cold air pipe coming out of the house to see if it was clogged, because we sort of forgot to clean that this past fall.

We finally ended up calling professionals in with a 4 inch auger/snake to go through the pipes. It took less than an hour and cost us $449.33 with a $30.00 coupon from the telephone book. It turned out to be the tree roots growing through the pipes. Stupid tree roots!!! We have wanted to cut the 2 very large trees down for a few years, but the estimates have been so expensive. We want to get rid of those 2 and get some smaller ones. We are afraid they will fall on the house or somebody's car someday. They have both been hit multiple times in car accidents. They have also kept cars from ending up in our house. We like having them for the shade, but it really is time for them to go. We just do not have the money.

I still need to get the car fixed. I have not been able to do that. The one place wants at least $700.00 to fix it and the other places that would fix it for $400.00 to $500.00 do shoddy work according to people I know that work in auto parts stores. I have been told that by more than one person in more than one store.

I need a muffler for sure and possibly the exhaust pipe and catalytic converter.

There is one guy I know who says he can fix my car and if I actually need all the parts the first place that wants $700.00 says I can get the parts from his work for about $300.00. He thinks I might not need as much done as the first place claims I do. They had a lot of gaskets and wires and stuff. He says he thinks he can possibly weld some of the pieces together. As he said that I remembered the first place telling me if I know someone who welds that part of might be abled to be welded because of where the problem is.

To the first place's credit they did suggest that maybe I can get it done cheaper somewhere else or buy the parts and have somebody do it. The first place and a couple of others said it is not that hard putting mufflers and exhaust pipes on. They are actually some of the easier things to replace on a car. I guess that makes a little sense since it is on the outside of the car and uses primarily bolts, screws, and gaskets/clamps.

I wonder how much the car will finally end up costing me.

I wonder what else can break this year.

Last year we had to replaced the refrigerator and washing machine. Of course they both broke on a weekend and the refrigerator broke over Labor Day weekend after I filled it up of course. All I can say thank goodness Lowe's is open every day and has next day delivery on in stock products. They even deliver on weekends and holidays. Everybody else we had to wait days or weeks to get a refrigerator. We got both of them on sale and free delivery. That was really good since we live in the next city over from where Lowe's is located.

Home Depot which is about 1 mile from our home would have charged us for delivery no matter what we paid and they do not really carry anything in stock. Best Buy had a couple we refrigerators and washers we liked, but we would have had to wait for the washer about 1 week and the refrigerator over a week.

They lost out on sales, again.

We do not even consider Sears for appliances or special orders anymore. We have had problems every single time we have ordered or bought something major from them. The refrigerator we did have was from Sears. The delivery people were late, they were rude, they almost broke our door bringing in the refrigerator and they dented the side of the refrigerator and left a black mark on the side of the refrigerator that never came off. When we called to complain we were treated rudely. That was many years ago and we still will not buy from them.

Now I am sure others have had nothing but great experiences with Sears and that is wonderful. I am truly happy for those and I am sure that not all Sears stores are that way. Now that gentleman that sold us that refrigerator was truly kind and helpful and sometimes I seek him out to say hello when I am in Sears. Yes I still shop there occasionally, but I will not do any special orders or order appliances from them unless I have no choice.

To be continued.........

Making a Printable List Takes Time

2011-02-12T17:32:00.003-06:00

I decided to make up a printable grocery list today.

I did not finish it. It is strange as I sit down to do it from memory how much we actually buy. There is it seems an endless amount of things we buy for the house on a regular basis.

Think of it as categories like dairy, meat, deli, bakery, produce (fruits and vegetables), canned products (fruit, vegetables, tomato products, baked beans, tuna, et cetera), boxed items (pasta, instant potatoes for some people, cereal, and so on).

It is not just like potatoes or onions it is what kind of potatoes are you buying red, russet, baking, yams, sweet, Yukon gold, and so many more choices.

I know most people would just write down potatoes, grapes, or onions. I look at the ads or what is in season and get that whenever possible. Sometimes I do get what is not on sale if it is not too expensive and I am really in the mood for it like watermelon in the middle of January in the North.

I have not even made it to the other necessities like toothpaste, shampoo, cleaning supplies and such. It is absolutely crazy how many different products we buy either daily, weekly, or monthly.

I am going to make a complete list eventually first by going around the house and writing it down on paper and then finish typing it into the computer. Oh what I have already typed is on four pages because I have the list column followed by a NEED column with an IN CART column next to it. I might add a SALE column and maybe a COUPON column following the in cart column. I have not decided that yet, but it does sound like a good idea. It might help me get the sale and coupon items first.

I am considering putting the multi-page list in one of those three pronged pocket folder so I can put the coupons that go with the list with it easier along with the sales flyers.

I have a feeling after completing this project I will be looking for ways to pare down what we buy or find double duty items (especially in the cleaning area). We have done that a little bit, but we need to do a better job. I need to find out what exactly the family likes when it comes to certain flavors of things like soup and other items so they do not sit on the shelf going bad.

Thanks for reading my out loud online babbling.

Have a great day wherever you are in the world.

I Need A Life Change!!

2011-02-09T17:40:00.003-06:00

So, How does a person go about changing their life drastically?

That is my question lately.

I owe too much money.

I work in a low paying, stressful job. I actually do generally like the people I work with even if they drive me absolutely insane some days.

I would love to take a bunch of computer classes, but have no money and the classes run too late at night when I have to get up around 3:30 a.m. every day.

I do have an Associate's Degree in Marketing which has been useless and paid for with Pell Grants.

I want to move, but unfortunately I am the only one working in my house. I live with an unemployed brother and a mother on Social Security who can not drive any more due to Macular Degeneration.

I find myself so exhausted physically, emotionally, and mentally. My mom and I want to clear out the house and sell it and move someplace smaller. We even talked about moving to another city and possible another state that normally does not get the kind of weather we do in the north. I know the south has been hit hard this year with bad weather, but that is unusual.

Too many years working part-time and occasionally full-time for less than $8.50 an hour (I have not had more than $8.50 since 1999 and that was because the store I worked at was closing and that is what the liquidators gave me to get me to stay). I am tired of all the stress and no energy. It is starting to take a toll on me. I cry too much, "fake happy" at work to customers because the customers will complain, I have put on weight again, I can not sleep even though I am exhausted, I am snapping at people way too much and am just overwhelmed and it seems like not one person in my life sees it or cares.

I can not even bring myself to talk to the couple of friends that I do talk to once in a while because their lives are actually harder in some ways, but they do have husbands to help pay bills and do shopping and .....

NOAA Environmental Visualization Laboratory - Blizzard conditions in the Northeast U.S.

2011-01-12T16:19:00.000-06:00

NOAA Environmental Visualization Laboratory - Blizzard conditions in the Northeast U.S.

CheapTweet - Full Color Vinyl Banners for ONLY $2 sqft Plus FREE Shipping! BestDealonTwitter - Twitter Deals, Coupons, Bargains, Sales and Discounts

2011-01-11T15:33:00.000-06:00

CheapTweet - Full Color Vinyl Banners for ONLY $2 sqft Plus FREE Shipping! BestDealonTwitter - Twitter Deals, Coupons, Bargains, Sales and Discounts

New Online Stores Now & Upcoming

2010-12-19T05:47:00.005-06:00

I have a new

family online store

using

Weebly.

It is called

Mystie Meadow Gifts

http://mystiemeadowgifts.weebly.com

This online store is going to be full of handcrafted items

and art work by my brother Scott W. Schneider.

Some of the types of items that will be for sale are:

crochet lap afghans
felt Christmas Stockings
pillows, pillow covers, pillow cases
ornaments (Christmas, Easter, Halloween, St. Patrick's Day and general designs)
original pastel artwork and limited edition prints of some of the artwork
wreaths
crochet top towels
notecards
bookmarks
and more

I am in the process of photographing items to be put up for sale.

Right now I only have a few ornaments up,

but please check back soon to see what I have added.

I will have what I am calling a sister store

(name to be released once up)

selling gently used

and

new merchandise.

We have way too much stuff in our house

and many items are still brand new in packages or with tags attached.

There will probably be additional items

that I find at a great price

to be passed on to others.

So please keep an eye out on my blog for further details.

Thanks for reading my blog.

2010-10-09T02:57:00.001-05:00

My friend & I will be at Festival Hall in Racine, WI at booths 23 & 24 selling things. Books, aprons, scrapbook supplies, ornaments, original pastels, afghans.

Sewage Back Up 17 September 2010

2010-09-17T18:40:00.000-05:00

All I can say is ewwwww!!!! It smelled too. City claims it has nothing to do with all the road work they did a couple of summers ago. The workers had to dig up part of the street because of a water leak, the workers also hit a gas pipe while working and we had to evacuate, the fire hydrant used to be across the street and is now in front of our house, but we have to prove it was the workers who did something.

WE NEVER NEVER HAD A PROBLEM UNTIL THEY CHANGED THE ROAD!!!!!!!!

Little Bits Of Lavender: We are starting slowly :)

2010-09-16T16:41:00.000-05:00

Little Bits Of Lavender: We are starting slowly :): "We have just listed some books on Ebay Our Ebay And have started listing some items on our Website. Our site is small and does not have m..."

Kiss - Beth - Live

2010-09-04T20:16:00.000-05:00

What's Wrong With These Photos?!

2010-09-02T20:20:00.000-05:00

What's Wrong With These Photos?!

Entry 2: Support the Stargate Movies!

2010-08-30T18:40:00.000-05:00

Horse Race: My Wife Knows Everything vs. My Wife Doesn't Know - latimes.com

2010-08-26T18:20:00.000-05:00

Horse Race: My Wife Knows Everything vs. My Wife Doesn't Know - latimes.com

Check out the 7/17 US Teacher Friday Tab deals at your local Michaels in Mt. Pleasant, WI!

2010-08-22T16:48:00.000-05:00

Check out the 7/17 US Teacher Friday Tab deals at your local Michaels in Mt. Pleasant, WI!

An Angry Rambling--I Apologize In Advance

2010-04-30T00:33:00.002-05:00

Ok so I am so looking for a full-time job that is mostly Monday-Friday with insurance and sick leave.

My mom and I did the Garage/Craft Sale and made more than we had to pay for the table, but not as much as we made last October. We are planning on doing it again this fall. I am hopeful that we do better then. I am looking for other venues to sell at, but when I work most weekends it makes it hard.

I have had tooth problems for a few years now and no insurance to take care of the problems. I "technically" work part-time, but tend to work a lot of full-time hours and receive no benefits. I can not seem to get ahead. I can not get my bills completely paid off or save anything. I am so tired of this.

Another part-time job that is going nowhere fast.

I would love to go back to school, but I just do not have the money. I did get an Associate Degree in Marketing in the mid-1990's, but personally I think it was a waste of time. I had been offered some scholarships and such to a traditional four year university, but I did not have my license or a car then and was unable to take advantage of it. Anyway, I would have had to take only two actual marketing classes and the rest was all the other junk (yes I mean junk) that is required for a Bachelor's Degree that has absolutely nothing to do with whatever degree you are going for.

My tooth starting hurting again on Monday, but I really did not think it was "the tooth" again, because the corner of a box had caught my face in the exact spot of my problematic broken tooth. I went through a severe infection and much pain about a month ago from this same tooth.

I tried to call in sick that Monday last time it was hurting and my face was swollen (very swollen), but of course there was nobody willing to work. I had worked that whole weekend with a very swollen and painful face. I work in the service industry so a person can imagine how depressing and embarrassing that was for me. People staring and making stupid comments like you really should go see a dentist about that. Like I did not figure that one out. My reply was with what money and who was going to work? Really people can people so damn stupid, rude, and insensitive sometimes.

Did those people really believe I wanted to have a broken and infected tooth? People act like they care, but they really do not most of the time. They just think they have to say something to make others think they are a good and decent human being. Unless you really care and are going to really help me by paying for a dentist or with a new job then please do me and the world a favor and keep your mouth shut.

I rarely believe people anymore when they say they care about what happens to me. It is hard when they constantly remind me in what they say and do that they really do not care. I had to borrow money from my mother to get the tooth pulled. I am just grateful that the regular dentist was able to pull it for $125.00 and that I did not have to go to an oral surgeon that would have cost me between $500.00 and $800.00. That is what my dentist estimated it would have cost me. He even got me in the same day I called.

Someone had sent me a link to an "affordable" health care where I live, but when I called the recording said they were not taking any new patients. This place is supposed to be for residents that have no insurance or are under-insured and they were not taking on any new patients.

So in other words if you have no insurance or are under-insured in the nation of ours you are totally in trouble. My mother wonders why I keep getting told by my Canadian friends to move there. They do not have this kind of trouble. If you need help you get help.

Sorry for the rambling, but ever since I moved back here in 1992 my life has just gotten worse and I just can not seem to find a way to make it better. It definitely is not for lack of trying.

I went to school, work hard, rarely call in sick, usually go in when called and the idiots that jump from job to job, get fired, come in late or call in a lot, et cetera gets all the breaks. Hardworking honest individuals need not apply because the companies would rather hire idiots.

Booth Number for Garage/Craft Sale 24 April 2010

2010-04-20T16:11:00.003-05:00

WHAT:

The Ultimate Garage and Craft Show

WHEN:

24 April 2010

WHERE:

Festival Hall
Racine, Wisconsin

TIME:

8:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.

BOOTH NUMBER:

SPONSORED BY:

The Journal Times

Horlick High School Flea Market, Saturday, 17 April 2010

2010-04-17T01:20:00.003-05:00

Horlick High School

Racine, Wisconsin

is having a

Flea Market

today

from

8:00 a.m.

until

3:00 p.m.

The cost is $1.00 to get in.

I have never gone to this before and have no idea what to expect.

I am going primarily to see if I want to do it next year.

I understand that many people attend every year and it seems more people go every year.

I have always seem to get stuck working weekends and have a hard time getting weekends off (especially Saturdays--it seems a lot of people "can not" work Saturdays or Sundays for one reason or another).

Horlick High School also does a craft fair in November. If I am remembering correctly the craft fair is the Saturday before the United States Thanksgiving.

If I see a lot of people today and they are buying I might try to sell at the craft fair.

I am keeping my fingers crossed hoping to see a good turnout.

I am also looking for a job that is Monday - Friday or at least easier for me to get weekends off more. I really want to start selling at fairs more.

I will do my best to keep everyone updated.

Thank you for reading my blog and I hope to see you at a fair sometime.

Sorry I've Been Absent

2010-03-23T19:05:00.005-05:00

If anyone who has read my blog on a somewhat regular basis before I apologize for being absent for so long.

I started a new job about the time of my last blog after being out of work for almost six months. It has been hard over the last couple of years for me. The stress level has been high as are my bills. My current job and my last job are and was part-time so many things have been put on credit cards even though I did not want to use them. I got new glasses a few weeks ago that I had to put on a credit card, because I did not have the money to pay for them. It was a good deal though: two pairs (I have bi-focals) for $149.99 plus $50.00 for the eye exam. If I did not need bi-focals it would have been two pairs for $99.99. It would have cost more than that if I just wanted one pair. Crazy I say that it is a better deal to get two pair than it is to get one pair.

I went for an eye exam because I had not done so for 2 1/2 years and my mom was having trouble seeing out of one eye. It turns out that she has cataracts and needs surgery. I paid for her eye exam too. She will have to get another one by a specialist which is $141.00. We still have no idea how much the surgery will cost. She does have medicare, but it does not pay for all of it. Then she will have to go back for another eye exam after the surgery to get new glasses. We are hoping there will be another great sale then.

A couple of weeks ago I got a very bad tooth/mouth infection. I ended up going to an urgent care center for a prescription. It cost me $85.00 for the visit and that included a $10.00 coupon the girl gave me because I do not have insurance. I still need to have the tooth pulled (or should I say cut out). I do not have dental insurance either or a dentist and of course because it is a broken tooth that most of it will have to be cut out it will cost more.

My current job is technically part-time, but I do end up working full-time hours many weeks (without the benefits of insurance, vacations, et cetera). My boss is trying to get me full-time status; since, I am willing to work the hours and even extra sometimes. Hey, when you have bills you work when you can so you can pay them off.

I took the car in for an oil change and had to add an air filter that cost $16.00 more than I planned on spending, but it was in really bad shape. The place I go to actually found me to show me it to see if I wanted it replaced right away. My brother did check it last fall, but I park near bushes and trees at work and I swear some the stuff in the filter looked like seeds and feathers. Crazy birds!!!

I currently work in a gas station/convenience store that is open twenty four hours. We never close not even for holidays.

I have been working on craft items (mostly ornaments) for a rummage/craft show taking place at Festival Hall in Racine, Wisconsin sponsored by The Journal Times on 24 April 2010.

My brother will have original pastels at the fair, my mom has crocheted some lap afghans and towels (the kind with the crochet top). Some pretty colored yarn used on mostly white towels. We will also have board games (used and new) along with Ty (tm) Beanies, other stuffed animals, movie/television themed items (I used to work for Suncoast Motion Picture Company and collected a lot of stuff).

What craft items do not sell will go up on Etsy. My brother's artwork will most likely go on Etsy too, but I might try Artfire and Ebay also. I will be putting things up on my Ebay store too.

Peanut Butter & Jam Free Concert Series 2009 Kenosha, Wisconsin

2009-07-03T16:29:00.002-05:00

Peanut Butter & Jam Free Concert Series

Where:

Veterans Memorial Park

54th Street and 6th Avenue

Kenosha, Wisconsin

When:

Thursdays through July & August 2009

Time:

Afternoons

11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m

Evenings

6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Performing Acts Are:

9 July 2009

World Class Noise

Soul, Originals and covers of contemporary favorites

http://worldclassnoise.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

16 July 2009

Lil' Ed and the Blues Imperials

Blues

http://www.liledandthebluesimperials.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

23 July 2009

Copper Box

Polka, Rock, Zydeco

http://www.copperboxsite.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

30 July 2009

British Export

Beatles Tribute

http://www.britishexport.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

6 August 2009

Replica

Originals, 1980's Rock Covers

I tried to find a website for the band, but was unable to.

If you know of one please leave a comment with a link.

Thanks.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

13 August 2009

Tin Horse

Country, Southern Rock

http://www.tinhorseband.com/shows

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

20 August 2009

Kojo

Reggae, Calypso, Soca

I am having trouble finding the correct link for Kojo.

If you know of one please leave a comment

and post a link in there somewhere if possible.

Thanks.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

27 August 2009

Johnny Combs Man In Black

Johnny Cash Tribute

http://www.johnnycombsthemaninblack.com/tour.html

Johnny Combs' website still has last year's date listed.

Please follow the

Happenings magazine

website

for correct information.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kenosha Events link

http://www.kenosha.org/kenevents/events/pbj_concert_series.html

Happenings Magazine link

(located in Kenosha, Wisconsin)

http://www.happeningsmag.com/kcms/modules/tinycontent/index.php?id=10

Food will be available for sale

The Reuther High School Culinary Arts Program.

In the event of rain

during a concert

it will be cancelled.

*******************************

Peanut Butter & Jam Kids

Fridays at 6:00 p.m. on the following days:

24 July 2009

7 August 2009

21 August 2009

There will be

music, movies, games, prizes, and a moonwalk slide.

Hot dogs are only $1.00 and soda $0.50.

Garden Pictures May/June 2009

2009-06-13T20:49:00.004-05:00

What A Tease!

2009-05-30T19:09:00.001-05:00

What A Tease!

Shared via AddThis

Thank You Found Handmade

2009-05-01T14:12:00.003-05:00

One of my

cross stitch pillow ornaments

is one of the items featured

in one of

Found Handmade

blogs.

Yay!!

Thank you

for finding me

and liking one of my items

enough to add it to your site.

This is the link to Found Handmade

http://www.foundhandmade.com/news/itemize

This is the link to the item featured

I hope you like it too.

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=22748212&ref=cat2_gallery_20

8th Annual Ultimate Indoor Garage & Craft Sale 4 April 2009

2009-03-06T19:43:00.003-06:00

SPONSORED BY:

The Journal Times
www.journaltimes.com

WHEN:

4 April 2009

BOOTH RESERVATION DEADLINE:

12 March 2009

COST:

Booths (size is about 10' x 10')
$50.00 without electricity
$55.00 with electricity

WHERE:

Regency Mall
5748 Durand Avenue (Highway 11)
Racine, Wisconsin
(inside the old Linens 'N Things next to J.C. Penney)

www.shopregency-mall.com

SALE HOURS:

8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

SET UP TIMES:

Friday, 3 April 2009
from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
or
Saturday, 4 April 2009 at 6:30 a.m.

PAYMENT OPTIONS:

Check (payable to The Journal Times and may be mailed)
Call 262-634-3331 extension 213
Credit Card options Visa, Master Card, Discover

INFORMATION:

Call
Sherri Bialecki
at
262-634-3322, ext. 213

The complete ad is in
The Journal Times
6 March 2009 edition
on page 5A.

The Journal Times will also include an
ad in both the
April 3rd & 4th
editions of the newspaper.
There will be space to specify some of the items you will be selling.
For complete details please see
the complete ad in the newspaper
or call the information number.

On a personal note
I have absolutely no affiliation with
The Journal Times or Regency Mall.
I think this is a great idea
and not everybody gets the newspaper
or catches everything in it right away if they do.

Just a Personal Update

2009-02-17T23:51:00.004-06:00

There has not really been anything new to write about other than the fact that I am still looking for a job since the store I worked at closed the end of January 2009. Job hunting in any economy is nerve wracking, but it is especially hard to do when the economy is in such bad shape.

I guess the trick is to keep a positive attitude and just keeping up the job hunt and updating information on resumes and applications if something changes. Things will get better eventually and one has to keep up hope and try to remember that. I started applying for jobs as soon as I heard we were closing knowing that so many places only do online applications and it can take time for those applications to reach the right people.

I have tried to do both online and in person applications since the last week I worked. Sometimes even if a company is not "actively" looking to hire someone when you apply does not mean that they will not have something soon. Sometimes people transfer, move away, quit, or get terminated for some reason or the company might have an opening, but have to wait for some reason to interview people and then hire someone.

It is hard to stay optimistic though I admit. It is hard knowing I have bills and no job. I worked part time even though I needed full time and many things went on the credit cards like so many people in the United States because of it. My family is now starting to understand that and are looking for ways to help.

My goal is to have half of my credit cards paid off by the end of this year and hopefully the rest by the middle of next year. I guess it will depend on how long it takes for me to find a new job, what kind of job (full time or part time) and how much money I make how long it takes to pay off the credit cards.

All for now thanks for reading this if you made it to the end. Sometimes it just helps to put things in writing to boost (mostly me) a person's spirit.

Nyoka's (aka Jean or DreamKeeper) Blog link

2009-01-19T22:40:00.003-06:00

One of my Facebook's friends has her own blog

(everyone does these days right???

lol---if not they should they are so much fun to do)

and the link is below.

It is an awesome looking blog.

If you like scrapbooking please check it out.

Even if you do not like scrapbooking

please check it out for the beautiful pictures on it. Thanks!!!

http://nyokajean.blogspot.com

I Am Looking For A New Job

2009-01-10T23:44:00.005-06:00

Mary L. Schneider
marylsracine@aol.com
schneidermaryl@yahoo.com

Objective

I would like to work for a company

with a low turnover rate and who value their employees.

I desire 30 – 40 hours per week.

I am also open to new career possibilities except commission work and outside sales.

The store I am currently at is closing the end of January 2009.

I would very much like to get out of retail, but will consider all job offers.

Education

Associate Degree-Marketing (graduated with honors)
Gateway Technical College, Racine, Wi

Skills

*service customers, perform opening/closing duties, and inventory receiving/returns
*various paperwork as needed, set ads/promotions
*register sales, stock, maintenance, price change merchandise
*reconcile cashier bags, daily/weekly worksheets
*enter invoices, worksheets in the computer

Employment

Waldenbooks
Racine, WI
262-554-0406

Senior Bookseller/Keyholder
(1 August 2006---present)

Suncoast Motion Picture Company
Racine, WI
(Store closed June 18, 2006)

Acting Assistant Manager
(March 2006---June 2006)

Third Key/Floor Manager
(July 2003---March 2006)

Part-time Sales
(November 2000---July 2003)

Builders Square II
Racine, WI (Store closed due to bankruptcy.)

Bookkeeper/Cash Office
(March 1997---September 1999)

Service Desk Associate
(July 1996---March 1999)

Cashier
(February 1996---July 1996)

Traffic Lights Now Up and Working On Byrd Avenue and Ohio Street.

2008-11-20T20:47:00.005-06:00

In case you have not been
to the south side of

Racine, Wisconsin
the traffic signal lights

are now up and working

on the corner of

Byrd Avenue and Ohio Street.
They started working sometime today.
The street was supposed to be done by
1 September 2008

and it is now

20 November 2008.

The company that got the bid

lost about
$11,000.00

a week
when they went past
1 September 2008.
That is about
$132,000.00
give or take.

That is a lot of money!!!!

I bet that owner is a little angry.
It is just nice to be able to
get in and out
of the driveway
and garage finally
without having to worry about
barrels and traffic.

Unique Web Address Available for Facebook

2008-11-16T21:12:00.002-06:00

I added a new friend today

and this friend let me know

you can create a unique

web address

for your profile

Facebook.

I did not know you could.

That is nice if you have a

business, band, or are an author, et cetera

and use Facebook

to get your

message, product,

or are just trying to promote yourself in any way.

This is my Facebook web address.

http://profile.to/schneider_mary_l

Santa's Arrival at Regency Mall, Racine, Wisconsin 2008

2008-11-09T21:27:00.004-06:00

The jolly one in the red suit known mostly as Santa Claus

will be arriving at

Regency Mall in Racine, Wisconsin

Saturday, 15 November 2008

10:00 a.m.

Santa will be at the mall

every day

through

24 December 2008

during most of the mall hours

Click on this link

to get your

$2.00 off coupon

for the family photo package

http://www.shopregency-mall.com/shop/regency.nsf/CouponLookup/32A1B10E710A0C398525738B0002F0EE?OpenDocument

There will also be Pet Night with Santa.

Pet nights will be on

the following

Wednesdays

November 19

and

November 26, 2008

December 3,

December 10,

and

December 17, 2008

from

5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Pet Night is being sponsored by Central Bark.

http://www.centralbarkusa.com

Central Bark

is a Doggy Day Care

and they will be opening

Racine, Wisconsin soon.

They are going to be in

one of the buildings

in the back of the mall.

I believe it used to be a tire store.

I think they are opening this week,

but you can always call the mall to double check.

They have a few Doggy Day Care places

in the area

and a few other states

with more opening soon.

They also do a lot of other things

to help out pooches.

Please check out their website (link above)

to learn more about them.

Regency Mall

telephone number 262.554.7979

Regency Mall

Racine, Wisconsin

website

http://www.shopregency-mall.com/shop/regency.nsf/index

Regency Mall Holiday Hours 2008 & Regular Hours Too

2008-11-09T20:17:00.004-06:00

As of this blog

these are the

holiday hours

for

Regency Mall

Racine, Wisconsin

for

2008.

-----------------------------------------

Thanksgiving, November 27

closed

Gobble Gobble

Remember to go to bed early

to start your holiday shopping early tomorrow.

lol

----------------------------------------

Friday, November 28

5:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m.

----------------------------------------

Saturday, November 29

8:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m.

-----------------------------------------

Sunday, November 30

10:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.

----------------------------------------

Monday, December 1 - Friday, December 5

10:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m.

---------------------------------------

Saturday, December 6

8 a.m. - 10:00 p.m.

---------------------------------------

Sunday, December 7

10:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.

---------------------------------------

Monday, December 8 - Friday, December 12

10:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m.

--------------------------------------

Saturday, December 13

8:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m.

---------------------------------------

Sunday, December 14

8:00 - 10:00 p.m.

-----------------------------------------

Monday, December 15 - Friday, December 19

9:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m.

---------------------------------------

Saturday, December 20

7:00 a.m. - 11:00 p.m.

----------------------------------------

Sunday, December 21

8:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m.

----------------------------------------

Monday, December 22 - Tuesday, December 23

8:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m.

----------------------------------------

Wednesday, December 24

7:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.

----------------------------------------

Thursday, December 25

closed

Merry Christmas everyone :)

Friday, December 26

7:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m.

----------------------------------------

Saturday, December 27

9:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m.

----------------------------------------

Sunday, December 28

11:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.

(normal Sunday mall hours)

----------------------------------------

Monday, December 29 - Tuesday, December 30

10:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m.

(normal weekday mall hours)

---------------------------------------

Wednesday, December 31, 2008 - Thursday, January 1, 2009

10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.

==========================

Starting

January 2, 2009

Regency Mall

is back to regular mall hours.

Sunday

11:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.

-----------------------------------------

Monday - Friday

10:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m.

-------------------------------------------

Saturday

10:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.

http://www.shopregency-mall.com/

Road Construction Ohio Street Racine, Wisconsin October 2008 picture update

2008-10-31T19:44:00.002-05:00

Well everyone

the road construction

Ohio Street

Racine, Wisconsin

is almost done.

The traffic lights are up if not working yet.

This project was supposed to be done by Labor Day.

It looks like they got a little behind.

There is still some work to do, but not too much I believe.

These photographs were taken by both my mother and me.

Rest In Peace Kenneth Robert Benning

2008-10-23T09:22:00.003-05:00

Kenneth Robert Benning

3 November 1985 - 20 October 2008

I hope you find peace Kenny.

You are loved more than you probably believed

and we will miss you the rest of our lives.

My oldest friend (since the age of 4)

recently lost her son (totally unexpected).

Everyone that probably knew him

or any of his family

probably already knows all the information,

but I decided to post

when and where

the funeral is

just in case

anyone that reads my blog

and knew Kenny or his family

does not already know and would like to attend.

Kenny's funeral service is being held at

DRAEGER-LANGENDORF

FUNERAL HOME

AND CREMATORY

4400 County Line Road

(corner of KR and Meachem)

Racine, Wisconsin

telephone 1-262-552-9000

www.draeger-langendorf.com

Visitation:

Friday, October 24, 2008

3:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Funeral Service:

Friday, October 25, 2008

5:00 p.m.

Trick or Treat Times & Dates 2008 Racine County , Wisconsin area

2008-10-18T20:21:00.003-05:00

Here are some of the

Trick or Treat times

Racine County, Wisconsin

area

2008.

********************

October 26

Burlington, Wisconsin

2:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.

********************

October 31

Caledonia, Wisconsin

5:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dover, Wisconsin

6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin

5:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

North Bay, Wisconsin

4:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Norway, Wisconsin

6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Racine, Wisconsin

5:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sturtevant, Wisconsin

5:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Union Grove, Wisconsin

5:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Waterford, Wisconsin

5:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Wind Lake, Wisconsin

6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Wind Point, Wisconsin

5:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yorkville, Wisconsin

5:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.

********************

November 2, 2008

Raymond, Wisconsin

1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rochester, Wisconsin

2:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Some direct links to the applications/games I play in Facebook

2008-10-15T22:52:00.002-05:00

I play all of these except Bar Fight
and these are the direct links to the groups I belong to.
I also play some of the other ones like Blood Lust, et cetera.
You can find those in my apps on Facebook.

Each group name is followed by its URL for ease of finding us.

Armies: THE BLACK WATCH HIGHLANDERS
http://apps.facebook.com/armyfight/affiliation?id=167413

Anime Fight: CELTIC GOO GOO DOLLS
http://apps.facebook.com/animefight/affiliation?id=270011

Bar Fight: THE SWORD & WAND BOTHY
http://apps.facebook.com/bar_fight/affiliation?id=200801

BBQ Fight: THE UP YER KILT HAGGISHOUSE
http://apps.facebook.com/bbqfight/affiliation?id=273559

HOUSE: CELTS/DRUIDS/PRIESTS/WITCHES:
http://apps.facebook.com/my_home/affiliation?id=92039

Petz (Bunny Fight): THE WATERSHIP DOWNS WARREN
http://apps.facebook.com/bunnyfight/affiliation?id=147711

Pimp Fight: CACKLING WITCHES BROTHEL
http://apps.facebook.com/pimpfight/affiliation?id=327743

Space Fight: CELTIC GODS & GODDESSES
http://apps.facebook.com/spacefight/affiliation?id=165957

Spies: THE CELTIC TRAINING ACADEMY
http://apps.facebook.com/spyfight/affiliation?id=270953

Superheroes: The 'hood
http://apps.facebook.com/herofight/affiliation?id=151207

Tuner Car Racer: THE FLYING HEDGEHOG SPEEDWAY
http://apps.facebook.com/tunercar/affiliation?id=205777

Tuner Car Racer-Round 2: THE FLYING HEDGEHOG SPEEDWAY-2
http://apps.facebook.com/tunercar_icebat/affiliation?id=136
--------------------

Thanks Bobby for the information on 43 Marks

2008-10-12T20:27:00.002-05:00

Thank you Bobby for the information on

43 Marks

....this is sooo much better!!!

Bobby I tried to link to you to thank you but it wouldn't let me. :(

Everyone please check out this site.

http://www.43marks.com/

Some More Pictures of the Ohio Street, Racine, Wisconsin Road Construction, September 2008

2008-09-19T08:01:00.003-05:00

My mom took these somewhere between

12 September 2008 and 15 September 2008.

I do not remember exactly which day,

but I uploaded them to the computer on 15 September 2008.

I do believe she is starting to get the hang of the camera. lol

Also, I think she is starting to enjoy using the camera

knowing that I can post the pictures online

and e-mail them to people.

The Chai Story--Dog Toy Horror--link included

2008-09-07T16:24:00.003-05:00

My friend Lori sent me an e-mail with a link to this blog.

Chai is a beautiful dog who was playing with

wht turned out to be a poorly defined ball.

Chai ended up having his tongue amputated because of what happened.

To read Chai's complete story,

see the pictures of what happened,

to see videos of what he has had to endure,

and to read follow-ups of his progress

and the fight with the company about the balls

click on the link below.

No animal

should have to go through the pain

of what

Chai

went through.

Fair warning though

the pictures and the video

can be a little hard to look at,

but well worth it.

I actually cried when I read this blog.

http://thechaistory.blogspot.com/2008/08/chai-story.html

Jason Statham in Transporter 3

2008-08-31T21:21:00.004-05:00

Ok sometimes I swear I am more guy then girl when it comes to movies. I would rather watch a car chase or somebody blowing up something or a science fiction movie than more so called romantic comedies which are mostly just immature whiny adults. Give me the classic romantic comedies first. Although there a few modern romantic comedies and other romantic movies I actually like, but I still prefer my action movies.

Below is the link to one of the movie trailers for "Transporter 3" starring Jason Statham that is currently on You Tube. I admit I have watched the first two a few times. I also have quite a few of the actor's other movies. I still have not made up my mind if I like "Crank" or not. LOL I do find myself leaning towards movies he is in though because I usually enjoy them. I have a weakness for the "Transorter" movies though and have no idea why. ha ha ha

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUZUD3Wja78

Congratulations to my friend

2008-08-24T22:02:00.003-05:00

I just wanted to say congratulations to someone

I used to work with and now call friend

who found out she is having twins.

They are due in March.

Her and her husband are both happy

and I believe a little shocked.

I just wanted to put it out there

for the universe to send good wishes to them.

There has a been a lot of sad, bad, or scary things

happening to people in my life right (or people that I casually know)now

and I am just happy to hear great news.

Maybe just maybe this is a good omen.

Best wishes to my friend having the twins

and to my friends (both in person and online) and colleagues

who are going through hard times right now.

Even if I do not say it much

I do think about you and worry about you

a lot more often than I ever say.

You are all in my hearts.

An Online Friend Has A Cross Stitch Blog...Check It Out

2008-08-14T00:58:00.003-05:00

One of my online friends

had posted some pictures on another site of cross-stitch projects

and I commented on how I liked them.

I didn't know my online friend had a blog.

Well, so many people do, but not everyone.

So if you are addicted to counted cross-stitch check it out.

http://its-all-about-cross-stitch.blogspot.com/

Road Construction Ohio Street Racine, Wisconsin 26 July 2008

2008-07-27T14:27:00.003-05:00

The east side of Ohio Street is getting closer to be done!!!

Yay!!!

The concrete was poured for part of the sidewalk and all the driveways yesterday.

They still have to pour the corners,

but soon our side of the street will be done

and then yeppers the other side will get torn up and done.

That side probably will not take as long since there are as many driveways.

I think there are only two in the way.

P.S.

My mother took all these pictures

since I was getting ready to go to work.

I believe she is actually starting to get the hang of it and enjoying it some.

An Awesome Link!!!! allmyfaves.com

2008-07-22T19:25:00.002-05:00

My sister-in-law sent me an e-mail with just this link.

I double dog dare you to click on it.

LOL

I clicked on the link and my response was holy &^%#.

There are literally dozens of icons to click on

to get to your favorite place

or to try someone new.

http://www.allmyfaves.com/

Ok, seriously I could not resist a double dog dare from "A Christmas Story".

I Added A New Coupon Link Box

2008-07-20T21:03:00.002-05:00

I thought I would share

some of the

links for printable

and online coupons/codes

for everyone.

Off to the right side >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

there is a box

with a whole bunch of

links to various coupon sites.

If you have a favorite one

that you do not see

please let me know

and I will try

to add it to the list.

We all could use some help in the best of times,

but even if you are not

having a hard time financially

you might as well save money if you can.

It all adds up

to a lot of savings

over the course

of a year and lifetime.

More Pictures From the Road Construction of 2008 Ohio Street July 2008

2008-07-20T20:26:00.003-05:00

My mother took these yesterday? or friday morning.

She has the ones printed out with the exact date.

This can not be good for the sidewalk we think??!!!

I want this over with!!!!

Ok enough whining.

We just have to remember how nice it will be when it is finally finished.

Yeondoo Jung--Wonderland 2005 on Very Short List

2008-07-14T10:59:00.004-05:00

Not too long ago my friend Lori sent me a link

to a website called

Very Short List (VSL)

to look at and I ended up subscribing to it.

They have features on different subjects from around the world.

So far I have seen everything from books to art and so much more.

Some quirky, some serious, some just plain fun,

and some very creative

like the link below for

Yeondoo Jung in Korea.

Yeondoo Jung took drawings from children in South Korea

and created live art with them and then photographed them.

What a fun concept.

The pictures are fun to see and could possibly be something that

parents, teachers, or anybody looking to inspire children or themselves in art.

So check them out.

Very Short List link.

http://www.veryshortlist.com/home/

Yeondoo Jung--Wonderland 2005 link.

http://www.yeondoojung.com/artworks_view_wonderland.php?no=88

More Pictures From the Road Construction of 2008 Ohio Street

2008-07-11T16:52:00.002-05:00

These pictures were taken Wednesday, 9 July 2008.

This is in front of our house and these were taken either from the sidewalk or front yard.

This was taken between 11 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. Wednesday, 9 July 2008.

My mother took these this morning, Friday, 11 July 2008. Part of the street cracked last week when they were sawing. That part will have to be replaced.

The Soap Buffet on Etsy--link included

2008-07-10T22:25:00.003-05:00

I do not usually blog about what other people are selling on sites that I sell on

unless they are family or friends,

but this was just so cute that I had to share.

This company sells the most adorable soaps.

If you are looking for something a little different check them out.

****NOTE****

I get no money or anything for sharing this with everyone.

I just liked the items a lot.

Adorable made to order mini cupcake soaps

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=12898836

The Soap Buffet on Etsy

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5933608

Looking for Printable or Online Coupons??? Links included

2008-07-09T08:26:00.003-05:00

These days everyone is looking to save a little or a lot of money.

A good source is printing coupons off the internet.

I am always amazed how few people think of doing that.

Whether you are a seasoned shopper with good instincts/skills to saving money

or new to the game I am sure there is something here that will help you.

This is just a very small sampling of coupon websites.
Some hints to finding coupons go to the

television shows websites, your favorite brand website, store websites,

I think you are getting the picture.

Not all websites for brands or stores will have coupons,

but many stores have unadvertised specials on their website.

Please NOTE THAT NOT ALL STORES ACCEPT INTERNET COUPONS, but many do.

If your favorite store does not accept internet coupons call over the manager

and ask why and see if they will change their policy.

If not then tell them you will take your business elsewhere.

When looking for coupons online you do not have to pay for them.

The websites that ask for you to "buy" coupons

a lot of the time (but not always) have counterfeit coupons.

That is why some stores do not take internet coupons,

but any coupon can be faked just like anything else that is printed.

If you print coupons from the computer make sure the bar code prints.

Online coupons.

Coupon Craze
http://www.couponcraze.com/

E-Bates
http://www.ebates.com/?navigation_id=18568

Creation Rewards
http://www.creationsrewards.net/m/default.asp

All Online Coupons

http://www.allonlinecoupons.com/

Online and Printable Store Coupons.

Coupons.com
http://print.coupons.com/couponweb/Offers.aspx?pid=13306&zid=iq37&nid=10

Smartsource
http://coupons.smartsource.com//index.aspx?Link=5S2ZUA6PWPEPO

Couponbug

http://www.couponbug.com/couponweb/CBLanding.aspx

The Coupon Mom

http://www.couponmom.com/

Ask.com Coupon links

http://www.ask.com/web?q=grocery+coupons&o=10548&l=dis

Earn Gift Cards, Products, Money....from surveys, et cetera

2008-07-07T13:50:00.004-05:00

I was actually paying attention to

"Good Morning America" on ABC

this morning

and they had this segment on getting free things, money, et cetera.

This is a link from the "Good Morning America" show

that has additional links that you or I can check out.

Please Please Please

before you sign up for anything

READ THE ENTIRE PRIVACY AND TERMS SECTION.

This is really important folks.

Do not just skim over it.

Some of these sights might not be right for you depending on what your require.

These are binding contracts.

The ones that are usually on major network shows are almost always okay,

but one can never be too careful.

If you sign up on legitimate site you should always be able to leave it.

There are also sites like MyPoints, In Box, Harris Polls Surveys, E-Rewards

(for people that have the Borders reward card---which is free to sign up for) et cetera.

Some you get gift cards or products

and some you get actually money when you hit certain threshold.

Most sites you do have to do a lot of surveys

or some you get more points if you shop through their website.

There are cons and pros to every offer.

If you regularly shop through the internet anyway then

In Box Dollars and My Points can be really helpful.

My Points has offers from big well known establish stores and websites.

If you like magazine subscriptions or gift cards the E-Rewards is a great way to go.

You can also get gift cards

and I think magazine subscriptions through

My Points and In Box Dollars.

Harris Polls you can redeem for products and you can also enter money sweepstakes.

There is a lot of sites out there to help,

but you do have to read the fine print and understand how it works.

If you are not sure how things are going to work

I suggest getting an e-mail that is set up just for new items.

You can kind of gauge how much spam

or other problems you get that way

and maybe not sign up for more than

one or two new items at a time

to help narrow down any problems.

Women For Hire from "Good Morning America" on ABC

http://womenforhire.com/survey

My Points

This website also gives credit for reading e-mails, but also has free products

***might have to pay for shipping though***,

but still might be a good deal if it is something you really could use.

It does not hurt to look.

http://www.mypoints.com/emp/u/mypoints.vm?campaign=14wy_cUm1oqqSq-pPkIj

InboxDollars

At InboxDollars the threshold to request a check is $30.00. That's not too bad.

I mostly read the e-mails and that can take a while,

but I am up to over $15.00

just by clicking on the e-mails and then the link inside the e-mail.

They do have many offers to try if you are willing.

I am just trying to get the credit cards down more before I start actually buying stuff.

http://www.inboxdollars.com/members/

Harris Poll Online

http://www.harrispollonline.com/

I DO HAVE A FRIEND

WHO HAS BOUGHT FROM

MY POINTS

AND I BELIEVE INBOX DOLLARS

AND HAS NO PROBLEM.

MY FRIEND ALSO HAS THE

MYPOINTS CREDIT CARD

THAT WILL HELP EARN EVEN MORE POINTS.

Road Construction Ohio Street Racine, Wisconsin 2 July 2008 1 a.m. picture update

2008-07-03T10:33:00.003-05:00

The first four pictures were taken between

1 a.m. and 1:30 a.m. yesterday, Thursday, 2 July 2008.

This poor fellow got stuck being out here all night cutting the cement.

It was very loud and I heard him a couple blocks away.

As he got closer this machine actually made the house shake.

I figure since I could not sleep I might as well take a few pictures.

The last one was taken around 8 a.m. on the same day.

Concrete Poured--Ohio Street 1 July 2008

2008-07-01T22:41:00.005-05:00

Here are a few pictures of the

concrete being poured today,

Tuesday 1 July 2008.

Apparently this is according to my brother the hardest job performed today. The picture above this. Mmmmm....I wonder? This was very heavy to push and in some spots took four men to push. I wonder if it was a little easier going down the hill for them?

How would like to have to deal with a flat tire while you had a truck with wet cement in it? I know I would not like to....LOL...this happened right in front of me and boy was it loud. Yes I did jump!!!! The driver still dumped the cement and then got out of the way while someone else brought a tire and changed it.

I do not know what happened after I went to work, I guess the same as before I went to work. The crew started before 6 a.m. and they started at 16th Street and went south. I do not know the exact time they started pouring the concrete, but I do not think it was much past 6 a.m.

It is a long slow hard and tiring job these men are doing. I am glad I am not the one doing it. When the crew started this morning it was rather chilly out and by the time I left to go to work in the early afternoon it was already around 80 degrees.

Once the crew started they did not stop even to eat. There are not many people out there willing to do that. They just ate while working or when they had to wait for something. The white stuff in the one picture is a kind of wax to keep the sun from drying the concrete too fast.

It was an interesting morning that even brought out a few neighbors to watch.

Concrete Being Poured---Construction 2008, Ohio Street, Racine, Wisconsin

2008-06-27T21:58:00.002-05:00

Everyone we are definitely getting closer to the east side of Ohio Street being done.

If the weather cooperates

the paving will start on

Monday, 30 June 2008.

They will be paving from

north to south

starting just north of 16th Street.

The paving is expected to be done by

Tuesday, 1 July 2008 evening.

Once the paving is done

it needs to cure and gain strength.

This will take about one week.

Once the concrete is strong enough

then the curb and gutter will be attached.

Driveway aprroaches

will be done after

the curb and gutter.

Also, the contractor will be starting

BEFORE 6 A.M.

to prepare the equipment before pouring the concrete.

The contractor will also

be there well after dark

sawing joints in order to prevent uncontrolled cracking.

This will be both

Monday, 30 June 2008

and

Tuesday, 1 July 2008.

If everything goes well

people living on the east side of Ohio Street

will be able to get into their driveways

in about three weeks after

the cement, curb, gutter, and driveways are done.

This is the company doing the road construction

Community Engineering & Building Services LLC

4701 W Mill RdMilwaukee, WI 53218
telephone (414) 353-9101

fax (414)353-9102

cebsllc@sbcglobal.net

Flower Power---Pictures from the garden

2008-06-23T19:21:00.003-05:00

Some pictures from the garden.

I hope everybody likes them.

In an earlier blog I posted how the front

by the window used to look.

With a few dollars more

and

a lot of hard work

we finally got this part

of the garden looking better.

Now on to the rest of the yard.

Some More Pictures of the Ohio Street, Racine, Wisconsin Road Construction

2008-06-22T20:48:00.003-05:00

My mother got a real kick out of this machine!!

LOL She insisted on pictures of it. So, here they are. The road is getting closer to being done. Oh wait that is just one side of it. When they are finished with the side closest to our house they will be working on the other side. Folks it is going to be a long summer.

PLEASE REMEMBER

TO SLOW DOWN

WHEN GOING THROUGH

CONSTRUCTION SITES

IF YOU GET A TICKET

GOING THROUGH A WORK ZONE

THE COST OF THE TICKET

IS DOUBLED

YOU MAY EVEN END UP

IN PRISON

ANYWHERE FROM

3 1/2 YEARS

10 YEARS

DEPENDING

ON THE CIRCUMSTANCES

Wisconsin has almost 2,000 crashes in work zones a year.

Remember these are people working in the work zones.

Some day it might be you or someone you know.

It is not worth risking the worker's lives or yours.

For any of you that have been

turning left on Ohio Street in the work zone area

I hope you get a big fat ticket you deserve it.

There are signs posted stating no left turn.

There is not enough room for you to turn left

and you hold up other traffic.

Nothing like blatantly breaking the law.

The speed limit laws for Wisconsin link:

http://www.dot.wisconsin.gov/safety/motorist/behaviors/speeding/laws.htm

Work zone safety for Wisconsin link:

http://www.dot.wisconsin.gov/safety/motorist/workzones/

Link to the Real PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

2008-06-19T17:21:00.002-05:00

I know this will probably anger a lot of people and I honestly do NOT care!!!!

I am so sick of

everybody telling me

or sending me things

on the Pledge of Allegiance

with the

One Nation Under God

in bold and big font

and telling me

I need to circulate the e-mail

to keep it in.

They are all

under the impression

that it was

in the original

Pledge of Allegiance

and it was NOT in it.

To read

the history of

the Pledge of Allegiance

click on the link below:

http://history.vineyard.net/pledge.htm

This is the orginal

Pledge of Allegiance

as written

by Francis Bellamy

in 1892.

pledge allegiance

to my Flag

and the Republic

for which

it stands,

one nation,

indivisible,

with liberty

and justice for all.'

Enough said.

If my family and friends

decide to read this

do you finally get the hint?

How many e-mails

do I have to send

telling you this

before you stop

badgering me about this?

For everyone out there, If you are going to send e-mails, blog, et cetera about something like this

please do your research before badgering friends and family about the topic.

TO MAKE MYSELF CLEAR

I believe that religion belong in the family.

If you want to go to church

practice your religion

you do NOT

have to bother

your friends

and

family about it.

Things were NOT any better

when God or prayers

were in the schools or workplace.

If it was

there would not have been

open and okayed separation, lynchings, slavery and so forth.

These were people who believed

that their religion

was "the" religion

(and how many so called Christian religions are there anyway?).

Things are worse

because

some people do not see fit

to actually teach their children how to behave,

to respect others and their differences,

make excuses for them when they do something wrong,

think that redneck jokes are funny et cetera.

I think you get the picture.

The next time you see

an inappropriate joke, cartoon, e-mail

think about yourself

and what kind of jokes could be made about you

and see if you still think it is funny.

Gas Line Break Scare--NO fires, explosions, or injuries

2008-06-12T19:35:00.004-05:00

A little excitement today with the road construction.

Somebody managed to hit a gas line today.

We did leave the house and we just went down the block,

but we were able to go back in the house less than a half hour later.

Luckily nothing exploded, caught fire, and nobody got hurt.

That is was is most important NOBODY GOT HURT.

My neighbor takes care of other people's children

and it is scary just thinking about how bad the situation could have been.

This most certainly could have been avoided,

but even when people try to be careful accidents can happen.

I was outside just a few minutes before

and I will say it did not look like the workers were trying to hurry.

They knew the gas line was there and was using a hand shovel.

I do not know exactly how it happened

because I went inside a few minutes before it did happen.

WE energies and the fire department

was there in minutes to shut the gas off

and did not leave until everything was okay.

The road construction workers

and the energy company

worked fast and kept their cool.

This was taken from the front step.

This was taken from down the block.

This one was also taken down the block.

I just zoomed in a little bit for this one.

This was taken from our front yard.

This is also taken from our front yard.

You can see the yellow caution tape.

That is where the gas line broke.

What I do alter in my pictures occasionally:

I try to crop out license plates and neighbors houses

(even though they are already on Google).

I sometimes crop out excess sky, road, grass, that sort of stuff.

I want the main part of the picture to show

and not all the other stuff like blue sky and grass.

I will use the contrast and auto color buttons if the picture is too dark.

I do not do anything else to them.

Pictures of my birthday presents 6 June 2008 continued

2008-06-09T17:03:00.003-05:00

The last of my birthday presents.

My best friend growing up and I

decided years ago to stop doing "birthday"

because there were getting to be too many people in both of our lives.

We almost call each other,

but I really did not expect a call this year.

My birthday fell on the weekend

and she normally goes out of town

where there is limited cell phone service.

She went into town to get some things

and to call and wish me a Happy Birthday.

I know she thinks of me;

So, I really did not care that she could not call,

but was happy that she was able to.

This is from my friend Beth

and was totally unexpected as were most of my presents.

Beth has limited income (like so many of us)

and I would have been happy with just an e-mail saying Happy Birthday.

I am still trying to figure out how she knew it was my birthday.

I think a little birdy named Lori might have said something.?

Anyway, Beth

if you do read this

thank you very much and the chocolate was delicious.

My friend Linda crocheted and gave me this dishcloth along with bath salts.

I laughed out loud when I saw the card.

Very funny.

This is what I bought with my gift card from Waldenbooks/Borders.

I realized I forgot to photograph the actual card the gift card was in.

Sorry about that.

Maybe one day I will add it to the blog.

Bye Bye Ohio Street Bridge (pictures included)

2008-06-08T20:36:00.006-05:00

The bridge going across Ohio Street in Racine, Wisconsin came down Saturday, 7 June 2008.

This is what I did on my Saturday morning.

Ha Ha Ha

I left to go grocery shopping with my mother shortly after the first half of the bridge came down.

Of course that is when something interesting happened.

You can not tell but off to the right of the first picture is our driveway

and one of the crew parked his pick-up truck sideways across the driveway.

I bet you can guess what happened next being the intelligent people you are.....

yeppers it got hit by a piece of the bridge.

I guess someone did not think the piece was as close as it was.

I wonder how they explained that one to the boss and the insurance company.

Hee hee hee.

I sure wish I had been home to get a picture of that...oh well.

It seems so strange not seeing the bridge outside the window anymore.

If I remember right it went up the summer before I started kindergarten

and that was 1969.

Yes I am showing my age and I do not care....ha ha ha.

I am going to miss being able to go up on the bridge to look out and see what is happening or to take pictures. I really enjoyed doing that and when my nieces and nephews visit they always liked going up on the bridge. I keep wondering what my grandparents and father would think of all the changes. I have one brother that has not been back here in over 20 years. I bet he would not even know where anything is anymore. It is hard to believe all the changes that have taken place since I graduated in 1982. I just wish more of it was for the positive instead of the negative.

Pictures of my birthday presents 6 June 2008

2008-06-06T17:21:00.005-05:00

This year was a really good birthday year. I will even forgive the pouring rain, severe thunderstorm watch that turned into a severe thunderstorm warning, and the tornado watch that turned into a tornado warning. Luckily the tornado did not touch down and was farther west. It almost always rains on my birthday and many years the severe storms have hit also. It is just the way the weather patterns are this time of year.

Well, I received $60.00 in birthday money and had planned on using it for gas or groceries or something stupid like that....LOL....actually I did use some of it on groceries yesterday, but that is okay considering the price of things.

I was told I had to stop work today and I did. Linda if you read this I am sorry I did not come back to work, but with the storms and gas prices and honestly by the time I got home I was/am just plain tired. So, her present will be added at a later date.

I feel bad because I got presents from my wonderful boss Pam (the Borders gift card pictured below), a special birthday cd of my favorite "American Idol" singers from this season made by Lori and her beautiful daughter Sarah along with personalized candy (so cool), my brother Scott gave me "Rush Hour 3" and "Mirror Mask" on dvd. I also got a check for $20.00 from my brother Paul and sister-in-law Sandi which I bought the 2 pairs of pants at Steve and Barry's for only $8.98 each. Steve and Barry's re-opened on 4 June 2008 in Regency Mall, Racine, Wisconsin.

I bought this beautiful striped sweater on clearance at Christopher & Banks for only $9.97 and the t-shirt (also on clearance) at Sears for get this only $1.99. Yep that is what I said only $1.99? I even had the clerk double check for me in case somebody screwed up, but it was the correct price. There are some good deals out there if you are willing to look for them.

I was going to go to the art museum but I thought the bad weather was going to come earlier than it did and did not want to get caught walking around downtown in it. So, my mother and I went to the mall to look around.

Pictures of Taking Down Lights on Ohio Street

2008-05-31T10:53:00.003-05:00

These pictures are from a few days ago. They took down the lights between Republic Avenue and 16th Street. Today is Saturday and they started work at 6 a.m. Yikes!!!! I just wish they would hurry up get this done; so, we can put the car back in the garage.

Photographs on Ohio Street, Racine, Wisconsin, Road Construction

2008-05-19T19:32:00.005-05:00

I took this from our back door;

which is actually on the side of the house.

I took this from about the middle of the bridge.

This is what woke me up at

6 a.m. Friday, 16 May 2008.

I first heard this when it was two blocks away

and it made the whole house shake.

This was breaking up the bottom layer of cement.

The city had been adding layers on top

of this one for years.

This was taken from our driveway.

Another picture taken from the bridge looking north.

This was taken from the bridge looking south.

Another one looking south.

I took this one from inside the house

out the kitchen window.

This one was taken from the front yard looking north.

This was taken from our driveway.
Is it me or does this kind of look like a dinosaur? LOL

Another one taken from the front yard looking north.

This was taken from the front yard.

This was taken from our driveway.

Are we having fun yet? LOL

I would have taken pictures

of the workers putting up the temporary poles for street lights today,

but I was gone part of the time (we had to buy a new water heater)

and worked in the yard some.

Oh yeah I took allergy medicine and promptly fell asleep

and slept for four hours.

Yep that's right I took a four hour nap.

I guess I was really tired.

Still to come with the road:

A traffic light on the corner of Byrd Avenue and Ohio Street.

So, be careful when they finally open up the street.

The bridge is coming down.

We have been told the main part of the street

may be finished by the end of August.

They will be cutting down the trees by the street and replanting in the fall.

I will update when I find out more folks.

More Pictures From The Front Of Our House In Progress

2008-05-09T16:03:00.003-05:00

Ok, so the dead half tree is NOT a new addition to our garden. LOL We were going to cut it down, but the sparrows, cardinals, and purple finches all decided to make it their home this year.
Yes all three together. There are babies already too!!! They did not like us digging around there today.

The azalea we bought today (Sorry, I forgot which one it is. I will add the name at a later date.) and the iris we bought a couple of years ago. I do not know what one it is. Some kid stole our markers last year. If anyone recognizes it please post a comment about its name. The violets are wild violets. They have been growing in our yard somewhere ever since I can remember. A couple of years ago I dug a bunch up and transplanted them under the bushes we did have. I always thought they were pretty. I use to pick them alot and bring them in. I think it is because they are purple and that is my favorite color.

Front Of Our House IN PROGRESS

2008-05-09T15:44:00.003-05:00

This is a work in progress. We still have to get some dirt for under the window and plant three Japanese yews. A boxwood is going in front of the mailbox. Down by the front sidewalk is a complete mess. The grass and dandelions are taking over. The weather has been so bad lately cold and rainy and tonight the weather people are saying there will be a frost. It has been hard for us to get things done. Of course my allergies do not help and the dampness/cold hurts the fingers and knees. My mother thinks I am getting arthritis, oh well it could be worse. Once we get the dirt and rest of the bushes in we are going to dig up the front by the sidewalk and move some of the plants up under the window. It will be nice once we get it all done I think.

I will get a complete list of bushes and plants (except for the ones we already have because I am not sure what they are any more) when it is all done.

The house needs some repairs and painting, but we can not do that until fall. There is too much construction kicking up dirt to paint.

More to come.

I So Wish I Had My Camera Today 5 May 2008

2008-05-05T18:40:00.004-05:00

Today has been a strange sort of day.

I hear this big bang outside and decide to actually see what it was. The city is doing road construction by our house as previous blogs have mentioned. The big bang was just the truck dropping a scoop like thing on the road (it made the whole house shake).

My stomach has been a little queazy the last couple of days (no I am not pregnant for those of you thinking that) and decided to eat a few saltines. I get them out of the box and placed them on the counter and looked at the next counter to see the coffee and grounds all over it. My brother the genius did not get the filter thing lined up. This is not the first time he has done that either lol.

I ran out of black printer ink Saturday and decided to go get some today, no big deal there. At Best Buy if you have their reward card and buy 2 qualifying inks or 1 multi-pack you get free computer paper up to a $9.99 value. Also, you earn points to reward certificates. I have to admit Best Buy has never been one of my favorite places, especially ours. Although, I have noticed a big change over the last few months (mainly I actually get someone asking me if I need help without my looking for 15 to 20 minutes and when I have a complaint they actually listen and try to do something about it).

My mom decided to go with me and one block away from home going towards Best Buy we are at a red light with 5 cars in front of us. Ok nothing unusual yet, but this is where I wish I had my camera.

This dark blue station wagon with 3 cars in front of decided to go up on the curb and grass ??? why ??? that is what I said. Well, they knocked down the traffic light. No kidding. I think they hit the white car in front of them I could not tell, but boy was she angry. Oh yeah, there was a woman standing there next to the light waiting for it to turn green so she could cross. The traffic light barely missed her. She had to jump out of the way. There were some men I believe from the electrical company working a few yards away too.

It happened to be an older couple in the blue station wagon that knocked down the traffic light. I can not imagine how you explain that to the police or insurance company.

So, what happened in your day today?

Happy Birthday Lori!!! Colors of Me blog

2008-04-30T22:10:00.003-05:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LORI :) :D

I really am sorry I forgot to get you something. :(

Sidewalk Repairs

2008-04-28T09:15:00.003-05:00

Last year in my neighborhood the city started putting green x's on cracked parts of sidewalks. For some reason none of ours had them. That meant they had to get fixed and/or replaced. It is up to the homeowners to spend hundreds sometimes thousands of dollars to fix them. This year a good part of sidewalk has the green x's.

My question is if they are public sidewalks why are we responsible for fixing them and why are we the ones who have to pay for them. It is not like we can charge people to walk on them to help pay for it.

Oh, and yes this is the same sidewalk by the pictures of the road construction. With all the vibrations the cracks have even gotten bigger. Wait though the construction has just begun!!!
They have not even started to actually fix the road. So who knows what the trucks and vibrations will do the sidewalks, our house, our yard, et cetera.

The decision making politicians are a joke. A few years ago our telephone company dug up part of our sidewalk to put new lines in the ground, added a manhole cover, shook our tree and house like you could not even believe and made the couple of small hairline cracks that we did have even bigger.

Did I mention that they denied doing that. You would think that in this day of lawsuits companies would think to photograph the sidewalks and area they are immediately working in to prove whether or not they did or did not cause damage. Of course if we had thought about it would have photographed the sidewalk too.

Live and learn. Live and learn.

Remember if anyone is doing any kind of work near your home take pictures before they start so if something goes wrong you have some kind of proof that there was either no damage or if there already is some damage how bad it is.

I ran into one of my neighbors that did have sidewalk repairs done and he only had about I say 3 feet to 5 feet to do and it cost him almost $600.00. One of my other neighbors had to pay almost $1,600.00. Where does the city think people are going to get the money to pay this?

Garden Flowers

2008-04-23T17:21:00.004-05:00

In the front garden.
So sunny and bright are these daffodils;
or, like I say daffy dils lol.
This is really two tone,
but I took these late in the day and it kind of shows that. I know these look like ordinary daisies, but these are garden mums.
There has been some debate on the classification of daisies over the last few years.
I have been told by certified horticulturalists (spelling?) that there is a difference and some year it will be settled once and for all.
I say why bother.
Pretty is pretty who cares.

We bought these today and are not planted yet.
This is a six pack of garden mums that we got at Menards.

Petunias and geraniums. I did not even plant these this year.

My brother did these yesterday.

He never wants to help with this kind of stuff (lol) and he did these and other pots without being asked to!!!!

Another type of geranium.

This is another one we bought today in a six pack from Menards.

We also bought a boxwood bush, but I forgot to photograph it. The boxwood bush was on sale for only $14.88. It is normally $24.99. That is a good deal. It is not a huge bush, but big enough for the price.

I bought the bush for my mom's birthday today.

More Pictures From the Road Construction of 2008

2008-04-18T10:25:00.002-05:00

Our driveway is just to the right of the stairs there. What a pain in the *&^%. We can not use the driveway or garage for the car I am guessing for most or all of the summer. Hopefully whatever they do with street will make traffic slow down a little and be safer for everyone. There is a middle school just past the building on the left side of the picture. The building on the left is a nursing home.
There is an elementary school a few blocks to the right of these workers. On the corner behind these workers there is an apartment building that has low income housing for people. Some are on disability, social security, or work but do not make much money, etc.

The speed limit on the main road is 30 miles per hour and on the secondary road it is 25 miles per hour. Imagine being elderly, disabled, a small child, or someone who lives on these roads constantly having to deal with people routinely going 40 - 50 miles per hours.

People need to slow their cars down. There is nowhere you have to be that is that important (unless it is an emergency and even then slow down) that you risk a car accident that can forever change your life. Right now through the construction the speed limit is 20 miles per hour.

Remember at least in Wisconsin if you get a speeding ticket in a construction zone your fines DOUBLE as do the points taken off your license.

The workers are cutting into the cement and directing traffic today.

Of course there is always one idiot, moron, completely oblivious person, who should not have a license that honks his/her horn. Really like that is going to speed things up. It was some guy in a little expensive sports car that honked his horn. He even tried going around the idiot. He probably paid too much for the car, gets horrible gas mileage (gas as of my station yesterday was at $3.49 per gallon), and I do not even want to think about what he pays for insurance.

All I can say if he drives like that he deserves to be ripped off!!!!!

Construction 2008, Ohio Street, Racine, Wisconsin

2008-04-18T10:03:00.004-05:00

The first 2 are taken from our front step. This one is taken from the side of the house.
This one was taken across the street half-way down the steps of the bridge by our house.
This was also taken from the front step of our house.

This started about 2 - 3 weeks ago up a couple of blocks from my house.

From what I can understand they will be doing the following (unless something changes):

1. They are redoing the water pipes.

2. They are redoing the corners that already have wheelchair access, but I guess it is still too steep according to federal law.

(My question is they did not know this when they did this years ago?)

3. The crossover bridge is supposedly coming down.

(At first I thought why are they tearing down a perfectly useful bridge that a lot of people would still use, but I was up on it today and it is getting a little too rusty.)

4. I have been told that there is a traffic light going up on my corner.

I guess we will have to wait and see.

5. There is a hill in the street and they are going to fix that.

My mom and brother were talking to some of the men yesterday and apparently they are only going to dig up part of the road and push it futher down the road to help level it out some.

That should be interesting to see. Ha Ha.

I hope I am off work when they do that so I can get pictures.

I am the only one that has bothered to figure out how to use the digital camera.

So here now are a few pictures with more to come throughout the summer.

I know the first one is blurry but I was having trouble focusing because he was moving too fast and the light was in my eyes. I did take more pictures, but I hope you get the idea of how close they are to our houses and trees and everything else.

Watch out for sample products

2008-04-17T20:49:00.002-05:00

So, it is like this.....

I get a magazine in the mail and there is a coupon for a "new" product by an established and well known company with a well known spokeswoman and attached to the coupon is a sample of the product....cool right???

That is what I thought. It is a revitalize lotion...so, I decide to try it today and let me just say my face and skin did NOT like it one bit!!!!!!

First my face was just itching a little bit---ok, not so bad at first. Then it started to itch a lot!!!!!
Ok, still it did NOT hurt but was beginning to really really really annoy me. Then all of a sudden my face felt like someone was burning it!!!!!

Did I mention I was at work during all this? No I did not mention that.

I told my boss I had to go to the bathroom and by the time I got there and looked in the mirror my nose and cheeks were bright red and my forehead and neck were slightly red. I took off all the makeup I had on in those areas and washed my face and it has now been over 10 hours since I put that "lotion" on and over 6 hours since my face started burning and it still burns and hurts and itches.

I know it was not the make up because that has been the same for a while now and my eyes did not have that itching and burning like the rest of my face.

The moral of the story is

ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS

test a new product on a small area before you apply it all over.

I was not that concerned because I have used this company's shampoo and conditioner several times and like it and have had no problem with it. It is obvious that I had a severe allergic reaction to this particular product. It will heal in a few days (hopefully), but meanwhile I still had to work like this and have people look at me funny.

Highlander

2008-04-12T19:10:00.005-05:00

One of my favorite shows of all time is "Highlander: The Series". I also enjoy the movies, but the show is one of my favorites. There are other shows like "Stargate SG-1", "Stargate Atlantis", "24", and others that I enjoy.

It is not one of the greatest shows, but it something about it touches me. The comedy episodes are fun, but there is something sad and sometimes beautiful in the serious episodes. It can be spiritual almost haunting like.

I have been asked by people I know if I would ever want to be immortal, and I never know for sure what I would want. On the one hand you get to live long enough to see changes in the world and whether what some leader long ago was right or wrong in the end, but it would also be very sad and lonely. I can not imagine watching everybody I ever knew die knowing that I would not (except by taking my head as in the show and movies).

In the end I do not think I would want to be immortal.

What brought this blog on??? I was playing around You Tube and was watching some of the videos and realized again how spiritual and sad and at the same time how beautiful some of the

episodes were.

Small World

2008-03-29T23:57:00.003-05:00

So, my colleague and I believe friend (even thought I am old enough to be her mother) took a trip to Texas recently. As everyone knows Texas is a BIG state. I used to live in Texas from March 1987 until June 1992.

I lived in Edinburg which is next to McAllen and where does my colleague and friend visit??? A wild guess here everyone lol? McAllen talk about a small world. She went to visit her grandparents. I do believe she was the youngest one everywhere she went, but that is okay. I thought this was just too interesting not to share even though I am probably the only one who cares. LOL

I miss living in Texas (at least the part I lived in). I hate winter weather, the people where I lived were nice and friendly and would help just because you needed help. I do not know if that is still true, but it was while I was there.

First Flowers in Bloom At My House-- 26 March 2008

2008-03-26T19:06:00.002-05:00

These were taken just outside our front door under the evergreen bushes.

I hope you like them.