December 3, 2008

Jennifer’s on top of things!

I know you’ve probably been wondering what Jennifer is up to, so I thought today might be a good day to visit Footprints on the Moon so we could all find out. What she’s been up to is … a lot of stuff! My sewing machine is still over in the corner under a layer of dust and piles of junk mail. Jenn’s has been getting a real workout. She’s making a beautiful quilt with some fun Christmas fabrics. The idea of making a quilt has always sort of intimidated me, but not our Jennifer. She’s just learning to sew and jumped right in with this tough project. You gotta admire that spirit of seeing something, wanting to do it and and then tackling it head on. We’ve seen before (when she decided to teach herself to cook) that she is not afraid of a challenge. What amazes me is that she does so well at developing new skills without an instructor or guide.

Last time we visited Jennifer she had just committed to posting regular updates on her financial plan. She’s been sticking to her budget and has managed to reduce the balances on all of her bills. She’s even added a debt-reduction graph to her sidebar so it’s easy to track her progess. Again, my admiration soars! I’m not sure which I admire more; that she’s able to exercise financial discipline or that she’s so bold about sharing her experiences for her readers’ benefit. Way to go Jenn! You’re an inspiration to each of us.

Jennifer is a pushover for a pretty face. Okay, not just any pretty face. There’s one, though, that turns her to mush. Her nephew Killian is getting to be a big boy, so I suppose we’ll have to start calling him handsome soon, instead of pretty or beautiful. He’s all that, though, and he’s got his Auntie Jenn wrapped around his little finger. She takes a self portrait every Sunday, (just like some other folks you’ve met.) There’s always a warm friendliness staring out of her portraits, but the ones with Killian have a magical quality. I think it’s that thing called love.

Lest we get to mushy here I’ll tell you something Jenn has done that is just downright heartless. I’ve never thought of her as a braggart or known her to be petty, but how else can she be described when she’s done something totally self-serving and then told us all about it as if she expects us to congratulate her? Just the telling of it is pretty much guaranteed to make the rest of us feel like slugs, but Jenn just couldn’t keep it to herself. I’ll tell you, but prepare yourself for a shock. While the rest of us are still making lists and trying to find money in our budgets, Jenn finished her Christmas shopping several weeks before Thanksgiving! Wouldn’t a friend have kept such news to herself instead of making all of the rest of us feel like totally disorganized, incompetent, unprepared jerks for not getting started yet? Yeah, that’s what I’m thinking. I’m also thinking we should all go over there and give her a piece of our minds. You go first. I’ll follow you in a little while, once I recover from the shock.

[tags]blog reviews, blogs, Footprints on the Moon, personal blogs, review[/tags]

November 22, 2008

The Clan McLeod has contests!

That Gina! She just keeps on winning Tuesday Teasers and I’ll probably never get caught up with her linky loves! I have to try though, so I went over to her place this morning for a visit and to see what she’s up to. What she’s up to is contests! Gina is turning 31 next week, so she’s celebrating by giving her readers 31 giveaways to enter & win! She’s been running a new contest each day in November and will continue until December 1st. Here’s just a sampling of some of the contests that are still open (she’s already had a slew of winners.)

Her lastest giveaway, posted today, is for a cleaning package worth over a hundred bucks. It includes:

Wright’s Silver Polish
Perfect Planet Floor Cleaner
Weiman E-Tronic Wipes
Weiman Leather Wipes
Weiman Cook Top Wipes
Libman Wonder Mop
Libman WonderFiber Cloth

It probably says more about me than anyone needs to know, but this package is a definite turn-on! Contest ends on December 2nd.

A Custom Blog Design from Doodlebug Designs Go take a look at Gina’s blog. Yep, it’s a Doodlebug! Their designs are beautiful and they do a great job of bringing the blogger’s personality into the artwork. Valued at about $70 this is a great prize for any blogger who wants to increase their appeal! This contest closes on December 5th.

Pop’rs This looks like great fun! Pop’rs are like Pop Rocks, but they’re made to put on food - especially on food your kids might be reluctant to try. They come in eight fun flavors: strawberry, raspberry, color burst, cinnamon, cocoa, taco, buffalo and butter. Gina is givng away a four pack and the contest ends on November 30th.

The deadlline is fast approaching for the Pillsbury “Home is Calling” contest. The is a wonderful prize for this time of year when we’re all in the kitchen making holiday meals. The package includes:

A coupon for Pillsbury refrigerated crescent rolls
A magnetic coupon holder
A house-shaped mouse pad
Pot holders
A cookie sheet
A bread basket
And a loveable Pillsbury Doughboy figurine.

Make sure you read Gina’s entire post so you’ll know how you can team with Pillsbury to help feed the hungry! Contest ends November 25th.

There’s more - lots more! - and there will be a new giveaway each day until December 1st, but I’m going to make you go over to The Clan McLeod and check the rest of them out for yourself. Give Gina your Happy Birthday wishes while you’re there, and don’t forget to tell her that skeet sent you!

[tags]blogs, contests, reviews[/tags]

September 13, 2008

Meet The Jilly Bean

I’ve always been a country girl at heart. Maybe that’s why I’ve liked The Jilly Bean since the first time she wandered in for a visit at skeet’s stuff. The Jilly Bean is a country girl and blogs about her life over at The Post-It Place. How country is she? Well, she knows that a tractor and overalls can make a man incredibly sexy. She’s recently started raising chickens and even brought in a chicken whisperer to help her out. She blogs a lot about the doings in Hick Town, which sounds like just the knid of place I’d have liked to have raised my son. Her son and daughter make appearances on the blog from time to time and are just the sort of wholesome and well-rounded kids you’d expect in such a nurturing environment.

Things have been a little rough for Jilly Bean and her family just lately. Like me, she recently lost her computer and all of the archived information it stored. Her mother’s fiance is approaching end stage with Renal Cell Carcinoma. Living out in the country, though, they’ve been really blessed with lots of help from some good neighbors. I’m sure she’d appreciate a neighborly visit from you, too, with a few encouraging words. Just don’t mention the Maytag man while you’re there, unless you want to jump on her Maytag-bashing bandwagon. They picked on the wrong woman when they mistreated our Jilly Bean. Take my word for it: you dont ‘t want to get on her wrong side!

Despite recent and ongoing events, Jilly Bean is an upbeat gal and likes to share her wit and humor. Go visit on a Thursday and join in on the Treasure Hunt Thursday fun. I’m thinking that Jilly Bean should be looking at jobs in logistics. She lines up a series of facts and writes very clever riddles for each treasure hunt. I think you’re supposed to visit several blogs and collect puzzle clues as you go, but I couldn’t find post that explains exactly how it all works. Maybe she’ll do one soon and make it easier for everyone to join in. There are no categories or tags to help with navigation either, but just scrolliing through the posts is a rewarding experience. Don’t limit yourself to just Thursday visits, either. There’s a little something worth smiling about in almost every post at The Post-It Place. Jilly Bean is warm and welcoming and her blog reflects that. I’m predicting you’ll all feel right at home from your first visit. Check it out and let me know, okay?

[tags]blog reviews, blogs, country living[/tags]

September 8, 2008

The Clan McLeod

The Clan McLeod chronicles the daily life of a homeschooling, Christian family. Like most homeschooling bloggers, Gina is generous with her experience. She blogs about the lessons she’s doing with her girls, about the study materials they use and the field trips they take. She also does an excellent job of reviewing some of the tools and training materials that help her stay on track as a teacher. If you’re homeschooling and haven’t discovered The Clan McLeod yet, I recommend that you check it out. You’ll probably want to add Gina to your blogroll of online homeschooling resources.

Gina first appeared at skeet’s stuff a couple of months ago - I think she found me through Laura Williams’ weekly contest listing (button in my right sidebar.) She’s become a weekly regular for my Tuesday Teasers and has won several times in the last month or two. In addition to being smart enough to crack my brain teasers, she’s got a sharp wit and compassionate heart. She sometimes donates space on her blog to worthy causes. She had a donation button up right now for a family that recently lost their home to fire. If you have a couple of extra bucks in your jeans this week, this would be a great place to spend them.

There’s almost always a contest or giveaway going on over at Gina’s place. Her current contest closes today so you’ll need to check back soon to see what her next giveaway is.

I’d like to see Gina add some categories or tags to the blog to make it a little easier to locate contests or homeschool posts or whatever you might be looking for. Her posts are well written and flow smoothly from topic to topic, but right now you have to do a lot of scrolling if you’re interested in a particular subject. The Clan McLeod has a lovely custom theme and is attractively arranged. The real treat, though, is Gina’s easy style. Many of her posts read like a conversation you’d have with a friend over a cup of coffee in a country kitchen. Her welcome mat is always out, so meander on over and get to know her.

[tags]blog review, blogs, bloggers, homeschool blogs[/tags]

August 26, 2008

Let’s talk about Jenn!

It’s been a while since I last updated you on my friend Jenn who blogs over at Footprints on the Moon. She’s doing something right now that I admire greatly, so I thought I’d tell you about it. Y’all know about my epic struggles with clutter. The reason I haven’t given you an update on that lately is that there’s nothing much to report. I’m easily distracted - what can I say? Jenn, though, makes up her mind to do something and then she makes it happen. She set some goals for herself and has been working diligently ever since to realize them.

One of her most important goals is to pay off her debts. Like most of us (well, me, anyway) she’s spent money that she doesn’t have and is left with the bills to pay. I love the way she’s organized her debts into a bar graph that she has to see every day, thus keeping herself motivated to take care of them. She can see a visual of her progress every time she makes a payment. Smart, Jenn! I’d copy that idea, but past history tells me it would end up being just another embarrassment staring me in the face.

Jenn hasn’t limited her goal-setting to her finances. In July she committed herself to do 101 Things in 1001 Days. I know a couple of other people who are doing this, too. Again, something that I admire greatly. It takes a lot of stick-to-it-ivity to set the one or two goals that many folks set each New Years. Most fail to reach those goals. I’m going to make a bold statement right here, right now: Jenn will reach her goals. She’s got the focus, the motivation and the desire. She has a plan. I believe that she will stick to that plan and allow her motivation to carry her to each and every goal she sets. I owe her several more linky-love posts (she’s a frequent winner of Tuesday Teasers.) We’ll check back in with her from time to time and I’m betting there will be signifigant progress to report each time. Don’t wait on me, though. Hop on over to her place and give her a little encouragement. Not that I think she needs it, you know, but everyone appreciates an “Atta girl!” every now and then. Hey, Jenn - atta girl!

Photo credit: froggybluesock

[tags] blog reviews, blogs, Footprints on the Moon, personal blogs[/tags]

August 14, 2008

Win a Sony Digital Photo Frame

I have eighteen framed photos on the media center in my living room. I know because I just counted them. They’re not there to impress anyone else - there’s rarely anyone here besides me and the beagle. The photos are there because they please me. Each is a photo of someone I love. I enjoy seeing them there every time I sit down in my living room to watch TV or read a book. I live thousands of miles away from my nearest relative, so the photos help me stay connected. I’d display more of them if I had more space. Alas, there’s just no room for more photos and besides, the dusting … well, okay, I don’t dust very often, but when I do that’s eighteen photo frames to dust and eighteen glass overlays to clean. If Sis ever gets around to sending pictures of my two great nieces I’ll make room for two more photos and have twenty photo frames to dust and twenty pieces of glass to work the old Windex magic on. I’m not complaining, mind you, but there ought to be a better way. Actually, there is a better way. The Sony Digital Photo Frame can display up to a thousand images and only takes up the space of a single frame. I’ve seen these marvels in action and they’re quite impressive. Load your photos and the frame cycles them so that you can enjoy them all, one at a time. The only reason I don’t have one yet is the cost. At $249.00, the price is a little steep for this working gal. My pal Lisa knows how badly I want one, though, and she’s having a contest to give away a Sony Digital Photo Frame! You heard me right! Follow the link to her place and she’ll tell you how you can enter to win. I don’t want you to win - I want me to win, but you’re my friends so I thought I should let you know. Let’s call this my good deed for the day. If you should win instead of me (what a travesty that would be!) you’re gonna owe me, big time! Go! Enter! Please don’t win!

[tags]blog contest, contest, giveaways, Lisa Reviews, Sony Digital Photo Frame[/tags]

August 8, 2008

True Aloha

I love sharing stories about Hawaii with my readers. Many of you have come to count on the occasional slices of local life, photos and recipes that I dig up. Hey, I’m in Hawaii! What’s not to love? There are limitations on the way that share the aloha, though. I blog about events and people in my own backyard. I’m not too heavy into research, so I don’t have anything to say about the outer islands or festivals I haven’t been to or trails I haven’t hiked. That’s because skeet’s stuff isn’t about Hawaii. It’s all about me. If it doesn’t cross my path and I don’t happen upon it, you won’t find it here. Those of you who want a broader picture of my beautiful paradise just won’t find it amidst my clutter. You need to go to a Hawaii-centric blog for that. I recommend True Aloha for your steady diet of Hawaiiana. Anele is all about Hawaii, and she’s a lot more willing than I am to work at bringing together the big picture for you.

I talk about our ono grinds (delicious foods.) Anele wants you to know how to make them for yourself, so she features local foods every week in her Aloha Friday Recipe feature. Do you know what the local favorite dessert dish is? I’ve never thought to tell you, but Anele featured it recently. It’s called Haupia and it’s a coconut pudding that’s to die for! Check out Anele’s Haupia With Pineapple recipe. It’s quick and easy to make and oh, so ono! Follow her directions and you can serve it the next time you want to throw an authentic Hawaiian luau. Bento fans? Check out the cutest little Spam Musubi in the world in Anele’s Bento Musings!

I’ve been here for fourteen years and there are so many things I’ve never checked out yet. I haven’t gone hiking in years, despite some of the most beautiful hiking trails in the world being available to me. Many folks carry a GPS with them when they hike now, and that means lots of geocaching opportunites in Hawaii and anywhere else you care to hike. Anele keeps you up to date on Geochaching in Hawaii, so make sure you check her out before you plan your Hawaii vacation agenda. For the less athletic among you, she’ll point all of you armchair travelers to the best Hawaii programming on TV, with an up-to-date widget so you’ll never miss a thing. Whatever you want to know about Hawaii, it’s probably already on Anele’s blog. If it’s not, ask her! She’s the expert on travel and vacation planning and has done a great job of covering music, local events and pretty much everything else Hawaiian. Bookmark True Aloha, or, better yet, add it to your feeds. If you want to know all about me, you already know where to come. Now you know where to find True Aloha, too!

[tags]blog reviews, blogs, Hawaii blogs[/tags]

July 23, 2008

Army Mom: New Jersey

These days it seems to be a popular stance to say “I support the troops but not the war.” I understand the sentiment, but find it refreshing to find someone who feels no need to qualify their support. That someone is Charlotte, who blogs over at Army Mom: New Jersey. I cannot imagine the stress of having a child in the military while a war is going on, but Charlotte has handled it well. She kept us all up-to-date while her daughter was serving in Iraq and we all celebrated the homecoming with her over on the IZEA message boards. She continues to support our troops and each week features a Wednesday Hero on her blog. There’s an old saying” “They also serve who only stand and wait.” The families of our service members make huge sacrifices even when there are no hostilities going on, but especially when their loved one are deployed to war zones. Hats off to Charlotte and all of you who serve by supporting your loved ones. You are as essential to our military as each active-duty member, so I salute you and thank you for your service!

In addition to her daughter, Charlotte has a hubby, two sons and five grandkids who also play starring roles in her life. Her blog is a tribute to her daughter’s service, but these days it’s mostly about her day-to-day life as a wife, mother and grandmother. It’s a real homey place, so go on over, kick your shoes off and sit awhile. You’ll enjoy the visit! Oh, and check out Charlotte’s Tips on her other blog, too. She’s a pretty handy gal and enjoys sharing her wisdom!

Photo by Chartlotte

[tags]Army Mom: New Jersey, blogs, military familes[/tags]

June 15, 2008

Her opinion counts

Chatbug Karen is an opinionated woman. She has something to say about everything. Do you want to know what’s right (or wrong) in pop culture? Karen will give you the scoop on movies, books, TV shows, games and music. Being a mature woman, she’s got enough mileage on her accumulated some wisdom over the years and honed her wit to razor sharpness, so it’s always interesting an informative to look at celebs from her viewpoint or to consult her opinion before you plop down your hard-earned bucks at the box office window. I enjoyed comparing our thoughts about American Idol during it’s most recent incarnation, and Karen is the one who finally got me interested in perhaps getting a Wii. I thought they were just kidstuff, but Karen’s post about family fun changed my mind, and her blog is where I found out that you can download games so that Wii has the stuff that really interests you instead of just the arcade and racing games they always show on their commercials. Maybe everyone else knew that, but I didn’t until Karen told me. Her blog is accurately called My Opinion Counts and it certainly does with me. I value her insight, and not just on the fun and frivolous stuff of life. As a small-business owner I really appreciate the stories she relates about the business she and her husband run. I’m still kind of new to it, so their years of experience operating a small business have taught me some things I would otherwise have had to learn by trial and error. Since I’m pretty much stuck on my little island, I also enjoy Karen’s travel reports. She’s a great resource for armchair travelers like me who don’t get out much. Her archives and categories are user-friendly, so when you find something you like it’s easy to find related posts.

A little criticism: Karen, is there a reason that your posts aren’t dated? I enjoy browsing through your blog, but it makes me crazy when I find an interesting news item you’ve referred to and I don’t know if it’s something that happened last week or last year. And about those news items: why no links? Some of the current events you provide commentary on are well known and I can make the connection, but some refer to stories that are new to me. I’d like to learn more about them, but never know where to start. How am I supposed to decide whether or not to steal your ideas if I don’t know where they come from, hm? Your story about con artists devouring neighborhoods is fascinating. I want to know more, but need a source, know what I mean? It’s not annoying enough to make me quit visiting your place - nothing could make me do that - but my visits might be enhanced if a little more information was provided. Some news sources like to link back to bloggers who mention them, so sending them some traffic them could bring some good karma your way, too.

Speaking of stealing content, Karen ran a hilarious but thought-provoking video a while back. I’ll paste it below so you can see. Well, no, wait - that would be so wrong! I want you to go visit her, so start with the video, then come back and tell me what you think about it. Take your time though. There’s a lot of good stuff over there that you’ll want to read. I’ll still be here when you get back. Go! Go see Karen!

[tags]blog reviews, blogs, reviews[/tags]

June 4, 2008

Taking care of ta-tas!

When my aunt was first diagnosed with breast cancer back in the sixties there weren’t many options for treatment. She had double radical mastectomies which, in those days, frequently meant removal of massive amounts of non-breast tissue - muscles extending up into the shoulders, back and arms, for instance. She also had chemo and raditation treatments. She’s in her late sixties now and doing pretty well - she’s on a road trip this week to visit with one of my uncles and his family. When my mother got her diagnosis in the seventies, she didn’t want to lose her breasts. She did a lot of looking around and found a risky but promising research project that involved some new chemo drugs and two kinds of radiation treatment. She experienced a long remission following treatment, but lost her battle to breast cancer in 1988. We’ve come a long way since then. The “new” drug my mother recieved may very well be one that is contributing to the survival of many breast cancer patients today. Early detection is now a reality and most women in the US follow the now-standard recommendations for monthly self-exam, routine examinations by their doctors and mammograms every three years for younger women, every year for women over forty or in a higher risk category. Survival rates are up and increasing all the time. We still don’t have a cure, but we’re getting closer every day. It’s taken a lot of effort by a lot of people to get this far, but more is needed. Research, diagnostic procedures and treatment all carrry a hefty cost, and today I’m saluting some women bloggers who are helping to raise funds and awareness.

Colleen and Deb are both participating in the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer this October in New York City. They’ve held fundraisers and collected donations amounting to about $1100 so far, and their walks are still a few months away. Each is committed to raising $1800, so they still need some help. You can support Collen’s efforts by going to her Avon Walk for Breast Cancer site and clicking on the donation button. When you’re done there, you can contribute to Deb’s walk with a single click, too. See how easy that is!

Laurie will be particiapating in the Dallas/Fort Worth area Susan G.Koman Breast Cancer 3-Day in November. A donation from you can be a part of helping Laurie’s walk. She’s already raised almost half of the $3000 she’s determined to generate in contributions.

Don’t have any money in your pocket right now? These women are holding bake sales and garage sales, selling merchandise and staging other events in addition to the walks they’ll be taking. These are things everyone can do in order to help raise funds. Summer’s coming and you’ll be needing things for the kids to do. Why not a joint family project dedicated to raising money to fight this terrible disease? You can make your donations in memory of someone you’ve lost, in honor of a survivor or even in gratitude for your own healthy breasts. Many people believe that we can find a cure for breast cancer in our lifetimes. I believe it. I don’t have a lot of money, but I’ll be having a garage sale soon. I’ve already sent Colleen, Laurie and Deb each a contribution from the money I expect to earn from clearing away the clutter. I’m not just talking to the women here, either. Men, you all love breasts, and you’ve all got a pair of your own (yes, you can get breast cancer, too.) I hope some of you will consider making your own contribution in whatever way works best for you. The ta-tas you save may be your own!

A big mahalo to Corrin, who won a linky-love review playing Tuesday Teasers. She asked me to use it this way instead of doing another review of her blog. Oh, hey, Corrin - you da bes!

[tags]Avon Walk for Breast Cancer, breast cancer, charities, fundraisers, Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer 3-Day[/tags]