Neopets

Neopets continues to amaze me. For one thing, it's always been free to join and play. And it continues to be free to join. It's been well over 10 years, 'cos some of my pets are over 3700 days old.

The minigames are loads of fun for all ages. There are many categories including puzzle, action, strategy, and more. Plus there are difficulty levels within each for more challenging games.

I'm not in any way affiliated with Neopets.

Celtics - Lakers

I don't always watch much NBA basketball during the regular season, but for the past 2 years, I've been enthralled with the playoffs.

The Boston Celtics this year have been thrilling in the playoffs. Rajon Rondo has been exciting and it's been enlightening watching him grow and evolve over the last 2 years. He's performed some jaw-dropping plays.

I'm hoping the Celtics can win the next games, but the Lakers are tough (and have that revenge motive this year, too). So we'll see what happens....

Photo courtesy of NBA.com

Treasure Madness

Because I've enjoyed the treasure-type games, I found Treasure Madness by zSlide through some of my Facebook game-playing friends.

It's also very fun to play but I REALLY like the mini-games that you're offered before accepting treasures. They're not too taxing but they do get more challenging as you progress.

It's also going through changes and iterations so it will be interesting to see how it evolves with time.

I'm not affiliated in any way with zSlide

National Consumer Panel

National Consumer Panel (fomerly HomeScan) is looking for new panelists. This is an AC Nielsen partnership company where you're issued a bar code scanner and you manually scan all the purchases that you make.

You get points for submitting scans weekly and for answering surveys, then you can redeem the points for prizes. Plus there are prize giveaways and I'm planning how I'm going to spend the $20,000 that I will win this year (this the power of positive thinking, right ?) !!

If you join the panel, I'll get a referral bonus, but I highly recommend it anyway. I just redeemed my points for a cookware set, so I'm very excited abouat it.

Treasure Isle

I'm not typically a gaming person, but Zynga's new Treasure Isle game is tons of fun. You actually go on a treasure hunt and dig and search to find buried treasure.

The game was launched on April 1 and Zynga's been adding new islands and maps about once per week to keep up with the demand.

Some of the of treasure maps/islands require Isle cash to unlock which you can earn free. But I've promised myself that if I meet my weight goal, I'm going to reward myself with Isle cash to unlock the rest of the islands !!

I'm not affiliated in any way with Zynga

Swagbucks Daily Polls

Swagbucks has just introduced a new daily poll feature that will allow you and your friends to earn Swag Bucks every day simply by voting! It's a great way to share your opinons with the community and be rewarded for doing it. All the polls are Swaggernaut submitted and those Swaggernauts whose polls are featured on the site earn themselves 100 SB (those can be submitted to: pollideas@swagbucks.com). This is a fun, easy way to rack up your free rewards from Swagbucks.com, the number one destination for fun, online polls.

Yes, this is my referral link and if you join, I can earn SwagBucks

Customer Service (Amazon)

Speaking of excellent customer service, I have to thank Amazon for their consistently high-quality service. I recently redeemed survey points for an Amazon certificate and ordered some books and used the Super Saver shipping. One of the books was on backorder, but Amazon shipped my books anyway while waiting for the last one.

So I'm kinda in a dilemma since Blogger has made it very easy for us to join the Amazon Associates program. I don't want my suggestions or recommendations to be "sponsored", so I haven't joined them. And since I can't get a commission on my own purchases, I'm not sure it makes sense.

So if you have any opinions on the Associates program, please leave me a comment.

Customer Service (NCP)

The name has changed to National Consumer Panel, but the function is still the same. I redeemed points this week to get a new 10 piece Tfal cookware set for my husband (he's the cook in the family).

When I ordered it, the shipment blurb said expect shipment in 6 - 8 weeks, which I thought was reasonable. So imagine my surprise when it arrived within 2 DAYS !! Just in time for my husband's birthday, so it was especially nice timing.

This was my first time redeeming a prize from NCP (formerly HomeScan), so I'm thrilled.

That is my referral link above, but we don't get any incentive for referring people to NCP

S. J. Bolton

The novel "Sacrifice" by S. J. Bolton was unforgettable, and I can't wait to read more of her books if they're in the same vein. It's a very creepy, plausible story with some throwback to ancient northern islandic myths.

I found a really interesting interview with Bolton about her ideas for writing "Sacrifice", and you can read it here.

Spring Break

I apologize - it's been a week since I've posted anything. But this week was Spring Break for us. So even though we didn't have a big vacation, we still had alot of activities.

(I love the picture of the teacher, 'cos some of my friends are teachers, and they needed the break probably more than the kids did).

Iso-Active Toothpastes

I'm trying toothpaste for sensitive teeth since mine are sensitive to cold. The toothpaste has really helped alot, but I'm not fond of the iso-active form.

While I like the foaming action of the iso-active toothpaste, I don't like that it continues to foam AFTER you've stopped dispensing it. Every morning, I've had to scrape off the little glob of hardened foamed toothpaste, and I find it very annoying.

So back to regular non-foaming toothpaste for me !! (But definitely the sensitive teeth formula)

Cookie Dough

My daughter recently had her birthday and wanted to make a cookie cake, but with a twist. She loves raw cookie dough (doesn't everyone?) but knows that you shouldn't eat it for health reasons.

So she put a thin layer of cookie dough in a 13 x 9 pan, cooked it for 10 minutes until the cookie dough was melty, then lathered icing on it.

It was gooey and decadent and delicious. It tasted like cookie dough fudge and was wonderful.

Richard Doetsch

"The 13th Hour" by Richard Doetsch is a wildly original story line that kept me on the edge of my seat until I finished it (the book, not my seat).

I'm not giving away an of the story to tell you that Nick Quinn's wife is murdered and he's offered 12 hours to relive and find and stop her killer. (What I won't tell you is exactly how that works since that's part of the fun).

Hallmark

I just found out that 2 of our local Hallmark stores have closed. This is such a bummer since I love Hallmark. I've been a Keepsake Ornament member for many, many years. And I love the cool gifts that they offer for specials when you buy 3 cards.

The closest one to us (now) is 20 - 25 minutes away, so I probably won't be going that often. I think I'll write the Hallmark people and ask them about the plans to reopen. I don't know if each store is independently owned (franchised?), or if Hallmark corporate makes the decisions on store locations, but I want my Hallmarks back !!

I'm not affiliated with Hallmark in any way

Stephen White

I've been seeing Stephen White's series featuring psychologist Alan Gregory for ages in my Mystery Guild book club magazine, but it wasn't until recently that I decided to start the series.

I enjoyed it, and I'm eager to see how White develops the characters and expands the types of investigative situations in which Gregory will be involved. As of now, there are 17 books in the series, so I'm hoping they're entertaining and thrilling to keep me interested in reading all of them.

Adgitize Customer Service

While I'm thinking about customer service, I have to applaud Ken Brown at Adgitize (yes, that's my referral link) for taking outstanding care of his members.

Ken is extremely responsive to any question that arises. He quickly amends any errors (if they occur at all), and compensates members for the inconveniences.

I've personally benefited from Ken's excellent customer service several times ( most recently, a few days ago) so I wanted to give him a public pat on the back.

Lowe's Customer Service

I have another exceptional customer service report today. If you remember, a few days ago I posted that my refrigerator croaked and I bought a new one at Lowe's.

When visiting the store over the weekend, we saw that the refrigerator was now even further on sale. I asked the store personnel about a price adjustment and they were very helpful with it.

They refunded my original purchase, then I bought the frig at the sale price AND redeemed a coupon. So I ended up saving about $140. I just wanted to share a big pat on the back to Lowe's.

I'm not in any way affiliated with Lowe's

Big East Basketball

What a disappointing postseason for the majority of the Big East basketball teams this year. It's so surprising that some of the top teams have been upset so early.

I just saw that Villanova was upset by St. Mary's today. Georgetown lost to Ohio University (which is only about 30 minutes away from us, so that was actually kinda cool).

And my Louisville Cardinals lost to California last night. I wish the game had been earlier in the evening since I had to watch it on my computer and I was getting so sleepy that I couldn't watch the second half. (I guess that makes me a bad fan).

Migraine Headaches

First, let me say that I know nothing about migraine headaches since I've never had one. But this weekend during lunch, my son tells me that he's losing part of his vision in one eye (like he'd glanced at a bright light and now has a blind spot). So we quickly decide to go the quick care facility. During this time, he's developing a throbbing headache, but his vision is returning to normal.

The doctor says it's probably a migraine but schedules an emergency brain CT to rule out any other factors. The scan is normal, kinda as expected.

Our primary care doctor today says it may be a basilar migraine which may not allow for typical treatment options. So we're seeing a neurologist as well.

This is maybe the second one he's had where he's gotten this "sick", so I'm reading as much as I can find about migraines. If you know of any good website or book references, please leave me a comment.

Added Mailing List

As you know, I'm a big fan of independent affiliate programs and love to help promote small- and home-based businesses. So I've added a mailing group for my Free WAHM Affiliates site to share the best of home-based businesses that offer affiliate programs with no joining fees, no kit purchases, and no purchase requirements.

I also intend to use it for sharing updates on new programs, closing ones, changes (such as fees, quotas, etc), link changes, sales and coupons from the affiliate shops, and more.

I've decided to moderate the group (at least in the beginning to ensure no spam) and is limited to 1 post per person per day. If you're interested, I'd love to have you join us.

New Refrigerator

Quite unexpectedly, we woke up this morning to find that our "old" refrigerator wasn't working. The frozen foods were thawing and melting, and the cold foods were getting warmer.

It wasn't a planned purchase, but I had to buy a new refrigerator today. Luckily Lowe's had appliances on sale for 10% off, and luckily I had another 10% off coupon. So I'll be getting the new frig tomorrow morning. It's the one pictured at left, and I AM excited about the freezer on the bottom.

I'm not in any way affiliated with Lowe's or Samsung.

Jan Burke

I just finished "The Messenger" by Jan Burke and thought it was an entertaining story. The main character is a guy who was granted an unnaturally long life and he hears the last thoughts of the dying and relays them to their loved ones.

I'm curious now to check out some of her other books. I'm kinda in a supernatural thriller or time travel mode right now, so I'll see if her books fall into that catgegory.

Louisville vs. Syracuse

What an incredible game yesterday as Louisville beat Syracuse for the 2nd time in Big East play. It was made even more memorable by being the last Louisville basketball game to be played in Freedom Hall. Louisville will be moving to a new arena next year.

Even though I haven't been to a Louisville basketball game in many, many years, it brought back so many memories. I was in school there during the phenomenal 80's when Louisville had Final Four appearances and then won the National Championship.

Cleaning Top Sites

I've been cleaning out my Top Site list and weeding out all the nonfunctional sites. A few years ago, top site lists were hugely popular as a way to generate traffic to sites. Of course, I joined a bunch, and created one of my own.

Now, though, many of the top lists that I joined have been abandoned, so I've been "housecleaning". Also, for my own top list, I've deleted sites that are closed 'cos I HATE dead links.

(I just wish I was as enthusiastic about REAL housecleaning.... oh well....)

I'm not in any way affiliated with GoTop100, but you can create your own free top list there.

Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child

I just finished the latest book by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child featuring FBI special agent Pendergast. This is the 9th book and I'm so glad they didn't stop after the last one ("The Wheel of Darkness").

I'd describe the series as supernatural thrillers and you can read more about them on the authors' website www.prestonchild.com The books have made me very curious about New York museums, though, but I bet they can be creepy.

Elsa Barker

I've had the book "Letters from the Afterlife" by Elsa Barker, but I only recently read it, and it presented a new perspective from other books I've read.

There are actually 3 books that were channeled by Elsa Barker, and I found they've been transcribed at Earthly Pursuits in their original title "Letters from a Living Dead Man" if you'd like to read them. I plan to read the last 2 since they offer views on WWI, and I'm curious about the ideas about war and conflict in general.

Rug Clipping (Part 4)

Here's an update on the rug that I'm making (mainly during Louisville basketball games). It's coming along nicely. Remember that it's 3' x 5' so it's quite large.

It's still a little difficult for me to estimate how many strips of a certain color I'll need to work into the pattern, but it's getting a little easier. Not all my fabric matches, so I want to make sure that I have enough before I start a new section.

I'll post periodically as I add new colors, but I'm quite proud of it.

Making Pill Packs

YAY - I finally found a great way to sort my pills soo I can make my pill packs !! I'm on blood thinners so I can't take a regular multi-vitamin since they usually have Vitamin K in them. As a result, I take quite a few supplements and I make pill packs every 2 weeks.

Sorting them can be a hassle and I've tried ice cube trays, etc, but then tried my silicone baking cups, and they're great. They're the perfect size, plus they bend when I need to pour the pills into the plastic baggies.

Just thought I'd share this since it made my day brighter.

Origami (Part 3)

I was really, really pleased with these 2 origami boxes, and I can't wait to try them in fabric.

The box on the left is a self-sealing box, so the 4 flaps fold together to close the box.

I think the box on the right looks like a popcorn box, but it would make a very cute gift box/bag.

I got these patterns from books, but if I can find them online, I'll post them on my craft blog.

New Contact Lenses

I had my annual vision exam, and I'm trying something new this year. My near vision is getting slightly worse as I'm getting older (ACK !!), enough that it's bothering me when I try to read the newspaper or a magazine while I'm drinking coffee at the table.

I've been using reading glasses, but my vision provider suggested adjusting one contact lens for nearer vision, and leaving the other for distance vision. I've talked with several people that have this and they like it very well,

This is my 2nd day with my trial pair, and it does make vision adjustments much easier. When I'm at the computer or doing close work or reading, it's much clearer. And my distance vision for driving and for tennis doesn't seem to be affected.

FitBit (Part 2)

I got my FitBit on 2/12 (just 4 days ago) and already I love it. It's very small (roughly 2" x 3/4") and easily hidden.

But one of the best features is that it wirelessly uploads your steps to your home page every 15 minutes if you're within range of the tracker.

I think it's more accurate than the pedometer I was wearing which is another best feature.

I've been exploring the FitBit Community and the moderators/staff are VERY responsive. They've added "Friend" features so you can see other's steps which is a motivator. They're also getting input on creating clubs and challenges.

So I'll keep you updated, but this is very cool and I'm excited.

I'm not in any way affiliated with FitBit

Louisville vs Syracuse

The Louisville - Syracuse game had me biting my nails and pacing today, but I'm glad Louisville held on to win. I kept having awful visions of blown leads (as in some key earlier games that Louisville lost).

I DID work on my rag rug during the game, but ran out of fabric strips. So I was cutting more strips for the last 3 or 4 minutes, and I could hardly look at the tv during that time.

Maybe this is the spark that the team needed to carry them through the rest of the season and into the Big East tournament.

And yes, I'll post more pictures of my rug since it's really progressing nicely.

Facebook Fan Pages (Part 2)

Indie Affiliates
As promised, here's the other badge for my fan page at Facebook for Indie-Affiliates. I decided to use this fan page for the coupons and special offers for both IA and FOS, so I have my blog posts fed into it.

This has been fun learning how to do this, and I find myself being on Facebook now much, much more than Twitter.

FitBit

As a birthday present for myself, I ordered a FitBit and I can't wait until it arrives. I've been wearing a pedometer since about 2000-something, and this one looks fantastic.

I started with the SportBrain and I loved the "upload your steps to a website" feature since that REALLY kept me honest as other people could see my steps. But I kept having problems with it not uploading after time and it got frustrating.

Now I'm wearing an Omron from Walking Spree but the website didn't have the features that I wanted. You can upload your steps, but that's about it.

This new FitBit appears to offer what I want and the reviews I've seen have been wonderful. It should be shipping today so I'll post more when I actually have it.

I'm not in any way affiliated with FitBit

Origami (Part 2)

Awhile ago, I posted my first attempt at origami bags and boxes. I finally got some time and tried 3 more designs from books. I'm using 12 x 12 standard scrapbook papers.

My goal is to get "good enough" to try the designs using fabric. I have the fabric stiffener, so I just need to practice the folding techniques more with paper.

The far left is a one-piece box. The middle is a bottom box and top box (lid). The right one is a self-closing box but it was kinda difficult, so I have to keep working on it.

These are SO fun, though, and they're like puzzles. I get rather tenacious (stubborn?) and won't give up until I figure them out.

Phillip DePoy

I just finished "The King James Conspiracy" by Phillip DePoy. This novel is set in the early 1600's while King James is having translators work on the new version of the Bible. I love this time period in history anyway, so it was a fun book to read.

I'm also a huge fan of DePoy's series set in the Smokey Mountains featuring Fever Develin.

Facebook Fan Pages

Favorite Online Shops

I finally took the plunge and created fan pages for my 2 sites/blogs, so if you want to join me, I'd really appreciate it.

This is the badge for (you guessed it) Favorite Online Shops, and I will post the badge for Indie-Affiliates later.

I found out that if you already have a personal account, you can create the fan pages from there. You're not allowed to have more than 1 account on Facebook, so I couldn't have a personal account AND a business account.

And I found out how to import my blog posts so that I don't have to rewrite my posts and updates (which is REALLY nice !!)

Customer Service (Part 2)

I have another very positive customer service interaction to report. We had bought a six-pack of bottles of O'Doul's nonalcoholic beer, and 2 of the bottles were only partially filled, which was very curious.

Since I used to work in a manufacturing plant as a quality engineer, I know that machines can malfunction, and getting that feedback is always important. So I called the Anheuser Busch customer service agent.

The representative was very attentive, apologetic, and made me feel that the company valued my opinion. Without expecting it, I was also offered a refund on the entire six-pack purchase.

It takes very little to really inspire customer loyalty, so hats off for another good experience and satisfied customer.

Photo courtesy of Anheuser-Busch, and I'm not in any way affiliated with them.

Australian Open Final

Congratulations to Roger on his fantastic Australian Open win and his 16th Major. I awoke this morning in time to see the trophy presentation, but I plan to watch the match this afternoon on replay from espn360.

Now we have to wait until May for the next Major, the French Open.

Photo courtesy of Tennis.com

Steps and Calorie Challenge

I'm inspired now to lose these holiday pounds and get back into a little better shape. I need motivations and rewards, so I decided to create a spreadsheet so I could track my calories and steps vs. weight loss. If I get to my goal, I'm going to reward myself (I still have to decide what that will be, but I'll let you know).

I used to be part of an online walk club and we'd have wonderful challenges that would inspire me to walk, so now I'll create my own. I still use SparkPeople multiple times per day to track my foods, and I'm using an Omron pedometer to track my steps.

Creative Home Arts Club

So far I'm really pleased with the benefits of joining the Creative Home Arts Club. I really enjoy the projects in the magazine itself.

Plus, I just got my 2nd $10 members rebate. In every issue (published every 2 months), there's an offer for a rebate on specific crafting supplies. The last time, it was beading supplies. This time, it was paper crafting supplies.

Also, a VIP discount to JoAnn Fabrics and Crafts is available for members. This has pretty much saved me my annual subscription alone.

I'm not in any way affiliated with CHAC or JoAnn's. I just like shopping there.

Farmville (Part 2)

I think it would be incredibly fun to work for a company like Zynga who gets to make Farmville and dream up all the new features.

I got the biggest kick out of opening all my "presents" on Christmas Eve (especially being a grown up, we don't get that many real presents, so the virtual ones were fun). Now you can send mystery gifts to your friends which is exciting, too.

And I know it's goofy, but I really enjoy harvesting the trees. In real life, I did join the Arbor Day Foundation, so we'll be getting real trees to plant in the springtime.

I'm not in any way affiliated with Zynga, Facebook, or the Arbor Day Foundation

Australian Open 2010

YAY - the Australian Open has started.  As you probably remember, tennis is one of my favorite sports.  So during a major, we get to see tennis everyday. (I keep asking my cable provide to get the Tennis Channel, so I have to keep visualizing that it will happen !!)

As you also probably remember, I'm a very big Roger Federer fan.  I hope he continues to excel this year and to prove why he's the greatest tennis player ever.

Blog Birthday

I just realized that this blog's 1 year birthday was a few days ago  This has been such fun for me - getting to share some of my personal interests and hobbies,  likes and dislikes.

 I know that after a year, I might start to repeat myself a little, but I'll try hard to make sure I don't.

And thanks so much for stopping by and (as always) for sharing comments.

Hardwood Floor Cleaners

In case you haven't been able to tell, we have hardwood floors on most of our first floor. I've really struggled with the best way to clean them, since most of the products I've tried leave streaks.

So far, the best I've found is the Orange Glo floor cleaner (that says Bona Kemi on it, so I'm assuming it's the same as Bona Kemi) with the microfiber cloths which are supposed to be best for hardwood floors.

I've also used the steam mop. This seems to work about the same as the Orange Glo/Bona Kemi.

Anyway, if anyone has any suggestions, I'd appreciate them.

I'm not in any way affiliated with Orange Glo or Bona Kemi

Customer Service

I've had 2 recent customer service returns experiences that were very different and wanted to share.

I'd bought some scented oil and an oil warmer from Yankee Candle during their recent sale. I tried it, and decided I'd take back the unopened oil since I much prefer the candles. The cashiers were so warm and wonderful and made me feel like an extremely valued customer. They told me to even bring back the opened oil and they would exchange it as well. I walked out of the store feeling super special.

Then I tried my Oreck steam mop that I'd bought and wanted to return it. However I'd passed my 30 day trial period due to holiday travel and bad weather. They told me that there was no way I could get a refund. I called the Oreck company and they said they could take it back with a 20% restocking fee and I'd pay shipping, so it would cost me $50 to return it, and I decided to keep it.

It was just interesting to see the differences in customer service and generating customer loyalty and satisfaction. Any one else have any experiences to share?

I'm not in any way affiliated with Yankee Candle or Oreck

Edward Sklepowich

I just finished the first book in the series "Death in a Serene City" featuring Urbino Macintyre. The books are set in Venice and Urbino is an American who has chosen to live there.

So far, I think there are 9 books in the series, and I enjoyed the first one. It was weird, though, 'cos I kept expecting Urbino to run into Guido Brunetti (of the Donna Leon series).

I'm not sure if our libraries have all 9 books, so it may take me awhile to find them all. I had to order the 1st and 3rd through Paperback Swap. (Yes, this is my referral link).

Tracfone

I just renewed my Tracfone for another year and added 2000 minutes to my daughter's phone. I'm a really happy Tracfone user for about 7 or 8 years, and I think their service just keeps getting better.

The Tracfone people keep lowering the cost of minutes which make it so economical to use. My daughter is a text-oholic, but it's still much less expensive than the unlimited text messaging plans from other wireless services (we did all the comparisons to check).

I'm not in any way affiliated with Tracfone, just a happy, satisfied customer

Rug Frame

After being inspired by a lap quilting frame that I saw at JoAnn Fabrics, my husband made a small rug frame from PVC pipe. This would be used for my 36" x 60" rug that I'm "clipping" using fabric strips.

This is a great size that fits over my lap and lifts the rug so I can get my hand underneath it to pull the fabric strips through. The total cost was $3.00 for the pipe and fittings (not counting the pipe cutters which were less than $10).

First Snow Day

First of all, Happy New Year 2010 to everyone !! We have our first snow day of the year so my kids are home from school today. We're supposed to have snow showers for the next few days, so we'll see how much accumulation we get.

I have so much "work" to do after the holiday travels are over:
- start dis-assembling my holiday decorations (mainly the outside lights since I leave my inside decorations up for a few more weeks).
- get my poor blogs updated since I've neglected them over the holidays (sorry)
- upload all my holiday pictures to Facebook so I can share them with my family
- lose the pounds from the holiday goodies (mainly that scrumptious chocolate fondue on New Year's Eve)
- and more as I think of them !!