French Open

YAY - the French Open tennis major tournament is being televized every day, so I get to see my favorite players. This tournament especially showcases their skill and talent since I think it's more difficult to play on clay (or at least on Har-tru surface, which is similar). I always feel like I'm sliding on ice and that I'm going to fall on my face.

Since school is almost over, my kids will be in tennis "camps" most of the summer. These are classes taught locally. Plus we have mini tournaments each week, and this year tennis teams are being added. I'll keep you updated how it goes, especially since I may be "captain" of a team.

Michael Connelly

I just finished "Brass Verdict" by Michael Connelly, and there was a jaw-dropper (at least for me) at the end of the book. Now I might have to go back and re-read some of the earlier Harry Bosch books to see if he dropped any hints (I won't spoil it for you).

This book brings Harry Bosch (detective) and Mickey Haller (lawyer) together to solve a mystery involving the death of an associate of Mickey's. Barnes & Noble describes the book as "Harry Bosch #14 and Mickey Haller #2."

I've read all the Michael Connelly books in chronological order 'cos he weaves main and support characters in and out of his books, which makes them very fun to read since they're somewhat intertwined.

Driving Lessons

I'm passing through one of those parental milestones: my son's learning to drive. So far, he's logged 15 hours (6 have been with a driving instructor). He now has 15 more hours to go before he can take his driver's test.

I think he's doing a great job so far. He knows that I'm a very conservative, cautious driver so he listens carefully and tries not make me nervous. I love it when he makes comments about the other drivers not being considerate ("I wish they'd signal and let me know they're turning") or not driving safely.

Now I just have to wait for the sticker shock when I find out how much his insurance will be !!

American Idol Finale

I never really watched American Idol until last year when I was flipping channels and saw the top 6 (or something) and got curious. For one thing, I find myself being VERY critical of the artists/singers so when they sing off-key, it's really grating to me. I find myself being even more critical than Simon in most cases.

So this year I've been completely enthralled by Adam's talent. This guy is just amazing, and his songs sound absolutely glorious when played in the car. I'm hoping he has a tremendous career 'cos he definitely deserves it.

MomPack

I've been a member of MomPack for almost 5 years and it's an extremely valuable, free resource. The MomPack site offers several ways for members to network and you can participate as much or as little as you want.

Some of the benefits are:
- MomPack Yahoo group (almost 9000 subscribers) where members post questions, share advice and tips, and introduce themselves. This group is moderated to prevent any spam or inappropriate posts.
- MomPack filler group (members share advertising fillers and make Mom Packs for distribution in orders, fairs, etc).
- Various other groups (ebay sellers, advertising, free recycling, chat, and others).
- Member directory
- Text link exchange

I've learned alot from the other "moms" over the years, and it always feels good to be able to help someone else as well. I like to help other "shops" to set up their affiliate programs and test them - I think that's alot of fun.

I'm not affiliated with MomPack in any way, just a very satisfied MomPack member

Ebates

I just received my quarterly rebate check from Ebates so I thought I'd share (in case you haven't heard of it). I love to shop online and I usually start with Ebates to see if my favorite stores participate.

At Ebates, you search for the store or the product and you can see the rebate percentage offered. PLUS you can still use coupon and promotional codes when you checkout so it's like getting a double savings.

My last check was $13.40 just for shopping online at Penney's, InkGrabber, TracFone, drugstore.com, and a few others. And yes, if you joined using my referral link, we'd BOTH get a $5 credit to our accounts (pending qualification, I think).

David Hewson

I'm finishing the latest mystery in the David Hewson series featuring detective Nic Costa and I'm anxiously waiting for the next one already. They're typically set in Rome, although this one requires Nic and some of his colleagues to travel to San Francisco.

The Hitchock movie "Vertigo" plays a large part in this book (I'm not spoiling anything by telling you that) and now I think I'll have to rent it. I usually don't enjoy watching scary movies, and I know that Hitchcock was a master at them, but "Vertigo" sounds very intriguing.

Web Site Cleaning

My next project is spring cleaning my websites.

- I have to close my RescuedBooks site by removing all the inventory (sad, but after 8 years, it's time).

- I have to check all the shops on my Favorite Online Shops blog and site (to make sure all the links are still working, shops are still active, etc. Some DO close without warning anyone, and this economy has been rough on small businesses.

- Ditto for graphics and buttons. I hate when I get that red X 'cos a picture isn't loading or has been removed.

Rag Square Basket

YAY - the Boston Celtics won last night and evened the series with the Magic at 2 each. And I'm positive that it's 'cos I crocheted during the game. In fact, I even helped the Red Sox beat the Tampa Bay Rays AND the Bruins beat the Hurricanes.

I'm working on a square rag basket which is challenging for me since I can't find a pattern, so I'm trying different stitches to see what works. Most of the larger square baskets make the 5 sides and stitch them together, but I'm trying to do it as one piece.

If I can figure it out (or find a pattern), I will post it here.

Mother's Day

I've really enjoyed being a mom but I have 2 great kids who make it mostly easy. I try to respect their differences and their individuality, and sometimes it's a very fine line between letting them have their freedom and setting limits. I also want to be involved but I don't want to hover.

So I wanted to wish a Happy Mother's Day to all the moms. I hope you're enjoying your day (it's a gorgeous, sunny day here). I wish I was a garden person and I'd be out planting flowers, but my landscaping skills are rather limited. I can grow hens and chickens, though (maybe I'll post a picture soon).

MP3 Players

My latest Scanning activity has been researching MP3 players and how to play the music in my car. Per my last post, yes, the CD worked beautifully, but I also wanted to investigate how to play the ipod without burning a new CD if I wanted to add to my playlist.

My options are:
- an fm transmitter (I purchased one through Amazon - it should be here Friday). My son has one for his ipod touch and it's wonderful.
- an audio cassette adapter (my son's car only has a cassette player, no cd, so I tried the adapter and it's fantastic).
- portable speakers - I bought some that are in a little zippered case that also holds the ipod

I feel so digital !!

Burn CD

Today was a momentous day for me - I bought my first download from itunes. My kids all have ipods (I have a 1st generation ipod shuffle that I inherited, I think) and they've been purchasing and downloading for quite awhile.

Anyway, there were some songs that I wanted so I could make a CD to play in the car. I know it's still very low tech, but I'm a very tactile person (yes, I still like to read real paper books, too). Anyway, I just finished making the CD and now I'll go try it out. Wish me luck !!

Random Post Widget

To help you share more of your older posts with visitors, Gautam at Blog Godown created this easy-to-install widget for Blogger.

I have it in my sidebar, showing 10 random posts from this blog. I like this as a complement to Link Within (see post below).

Gautam has also mentioned that he will be creating more widgets (and I've suggested some that I'd like to have !!) so I'll keep you posted as he develops more. I'm so grateful for the coders that can create all these wonderful, fun widgets.

LinkWithin

Thanks to Karen & Gerard Zemeks for posting about Link Within. It's a cool, free application for bloggers that will show related posts from your archives (along with pictures).

I'm going to try it, but my posts are generally shorter, so I don't know if it will look cramped and crowded.

If I have to remove it, I'll just rely on the site search and blog archives so readers can find older posts.

Ok, here goes !!

Update: After asking about any addtional features since I thought my blog looked too crowded with the additional thumbnails, the LinkWithin people were VERY gracious about activating the widget for the individual stories ONLY. So now, the related posts won't show on the home page, but they WILL show on the separate posts !! I'm very pleased with this and wanted to give them a big THANKS !!

Top Droppers for April

Thank you so much to my top droppers for April. If you want to know more about this, please visit EntreCard

BeadedTail
Silver Sachet
Momspective
Kids Toys
Singapore Draws
Split Rock Ranch
Wii Mommies
Search Engine Panel
Serian Man
Black is beautiful
Jean sQuared
My Heart Voice
Three Fates Design - Beaded Jewelry
Dragon's Den
Isker's Blog
Dogmaw Glass
Hot in Singapore
Sunflower Seeds
AsTheCrackerheadCrumbles
Doocci.com
First Door on the Left
Lohman Trading
Grandmother's Patternbook
LOL Cats
Enjoy Work As Leisure

Rag Rug (Done)

Well, I finally finished my big rag rug (during the Celtics - Bulls game 5). It turned out ok, but my family and I all decided that the colors weren't exactly what we wanted.

So my daughter had fun unraveling it, and now I've separated the colors into blues, red, green, and pastels. I've started a big square basket, and I'll post pictures. I'm not unraveling them 'cos I'm a perfectionist - I'm unraveling them 'cos I'm learning and this is like homework. Plus I'm also trying to decorate my home, so if it doesn't look right or as I envisioned it, I have no problem taking it apart and trying something new (remember, I'm a Scanner !!)