What happened to May?

Welcome to June Eve!

Did you all enjoy your long weekend? I mostly did. I've been having issues with publishing to my business web site and I've been emailing back and forth with my guru while we both try to figure out what's happening.

I did finally make it to the Walmart to pick up a few things and I made my BBQ sauce, baked beans and macaroni salad. Everyone but me went back for seconds so I guess it was real good! :P Leftovers tonight. I already froze half of the beans. I made a large batch. You know how I love to cook once, eat twice... or thrice even!

Al and Barbara came and brought a Strawberry Pie! Barbara makes the sugar-free version because she is diabetic, but I promise you it is just as good using Splenda if you need a fresh and fruity, easy peasy, yummy dessert. Don't forget the Whipped Cream! A can of  Whipped Cream is also sugar-free! Did you know that? Yipper! Me? I was too full for dessert, but today I will have a slice!

Well, I've got to get another cuppa coffee and get showered and ready for work. Still trying to track down my web-publishing issue today. I hope you all have a fabulous day! And me, too! Big hugs xo♥

Plan B

Good Morning! I slept in a little later... almost 2:45 am today! Of course I also went to bed before 7:30 so that was a solid 8 hours.

Yesterdays plans of going to Wally World were thwarted by life. That's OK. I'm sure they're open today and I'll dash out in a little while to pick up what I need. I have my list and I'll be in and out in minutes. Speaking of lists, I now use my iPad and the Notes App rather than writing lists which may be lost and forgotten. My iPad fits nicely in my pocketbook and it only weighs a pound and a half!



If all I need is stuff for a recipe I can just pull up my recipe blog and use that or if I need a few other things as well then I can copy the recipe into the note and add the other stuff as I think of it.  When I get to the store I just take out my iPad and I have my list propped on top of my pocketbook. It's a beautiful thing! As Miss Bee says, "Tits to that"!

Speaking of Miss Bee, you may have already seen my status update on Facebook but in case you missed it once again while wearing my Lucky BEEds I won at BWTB! This time I won a $50 game and the Jackpot! That's 2 Jackpots this month with my BEEds. I have only won 2 Jackpots over the previous 5 years. I may never take them off again! hahahaha! Actually, I need some more because I'm running out of blue outfits. :P

Now you know I am a person of faith and prayer and that I don't actually put my faith in luck. But still. :-)

Well, that's all I know right now. I hope you all have a lovely day! Big hugs xo♥

To honor and remember our heroes on Memorial Day

A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself. -Joseph Campbell

Sunday Stuff

Happy Sunday to you!

Me? I've been up since about 2:00 am. Any bets on what time I'll be in bed tonight?

Yesterday was a Home Depot and Lowes day. I went to get the flooring and transition strips for my hallway and the 2 closets in the hallway. A project for next week. The flooring has to acclimate for a minimum of 48 hours. Little by little I'm saying farewell to carpet. I've never really liked carpet and now that I have 4 cats, I like it far less. I just feel like the floor is actually clean after I wash it. I never feel like the carpet is clean, even right after I shampoo it. My bedroom will probably be next!

Today is a Walmart day. I've got to pick up a few things for my Sweet BBQ Sauce and Macaroni Salad. And since it's Sunday, it's also BWTB. I'm wearing my lucky BEEds again. I don't know what outfit I'm wearing but it will have to match the BEEds! That's all I know. :D

Whatever your plans are I hope you have a wonderful day. Big hugs xo♥

Fabulous Friday

You know when you have one of those really great hair days when your hair really just could not be better? And you have no idea why because you did it exactly like you do it every other day?

And you know how you hate to go to bed because it still looks fabulous at the end of the day?

And you know the next morning that really great hair day will be just a dream you can not re-dream?

And then you wake up and try to do your hair exactly like you did the day before when it looked so fabulous and then it looks like total crap?

Today is that day. srsly.

I don't don't what is up with blogger. But I mostly can not log in, except with Google Chrome... and it keeps sucking the resources out of my computer. So... I guess I'll see you on Facebook until blogger gets their stuff working again.

Oh! I won at Bingo with the Biddies again last night. It's totally my Lucky BEEds.

Have a fabulous Friday! I'm sure gonna try! Big hugs xo♥

Thursday Things

Good Morning! I've had my nose stuck in my web site. Lots of technical changes, some re-design and just a bunch of general housekeeping. Sometimes it's good to get in there and poke around because you find lots of stuff that is wrong or broken.

A few days ago I did another Facebook Ad campaign. So far the stats show:

• the ad has been seen by 1,721 individual people whose Facebook profile says they like my business industry category


• the ad has been seen by each of those persons 18.9 times


• 7 of those people clicked on the ad


• 4 of those people who clicked on the ad have "Liked" my business Facebook page


• 0 of those people have called and ordered using the ad's promotion code

And all that has only cost me $13.83 so far! doh!

Of course if just one person places an order the ad campaign is a complete success! And if any of those others ever do order that's simply icing on the cake. Long term benefits. That's how I built my first business... one person at a time, and I kept them. That's what I've tried to do with my current business as well.

I can report from my own personal experience that advertising on Facebook is FAR easier, has much better stats and is so much cheaper than any of the advertising campaigns I use to do in the past with Google ads.

For those of you who have read this far... Wow! You really are a good friend! :P Sorry to be so boring, but when my mind gets into the "work zone" I find it hard to think about anything else until I'm finished with the project. I even dream about it and wake up thinking about the idea I had in my sleep and have to jump right on it!

I hope you all have a lovely day! I'll be working hard but, for the most part, enjoying it. And hopefully I'll also be taking some lovely orders! Big hugs xo♥

Whitey Wisdom

When work is getting too hard (like your brains might leak out of your skull), or when looking at all of those numbers and letters is making you sleepy (like you can't keep any of your eye lids open), or if you got up way too early, or even if you think you're akshully fine but it's just that you've noticed that you might be just the tiniest bit crabilated from any of the aforementioned...

Take a nap. srsly. -Whitey

Thank you, Whitey. That 2-1/2 hour nap I took yesterday afternoon helped a lot. srsly. :P

Mancats on Monday

Da Boyz, helping Momma work. Good thing I have a big L-shaped desk, huh?



Welcome to a brand new week! I was pooped from yesterday's To-Do List and I ended up going to bed about 6:30... which means I woke up much too early this morning, even for me it was early....about 1:30. That means I'll be pooped out early again tonight. It will start a vicious cycle if I'm not careful. I promise to try to stay up until at least 7:30... 7:00 at the earliest. :D

Once again I'm already hard at it, updating my web site with the new catalog info.  I'm estimating another few weeks before I'm done. Then I should be good for another few years... mostly. :P

Don't forget to put some YAY in your day! Big hugs xo♥

iDad

Last night's Red Sox game was on Fox. Unfortunately for us it was blacked out in our area, even though we have the DirecTV Extra Innings package. It doesn't happen very often - just when the Red Sox happen to play on a Saturday night that Fox also happens to be televising. In fact, I believe this was only the 2nd time we missed a game.

So... What's an loyal, die-hard fan to do? My Dad listened to the game on... wait for it...

my iPad!

Yes, there's an app for that!

Dude. You rock!

Dreaming with a Broken Heart

When you're dreaming with a broken heart
The waking up is the hardest part

-John Mayer

But about that day or hour no one knows

So I awoke this morning to hear this line coming from my TV...

Welcome to the end of the world!

Yup, it was that stupid movie, 2012.

Here's something you can believe and take comfort in.

The Day and Hour Unknown

    ³⁶ “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son,^[f] but only the Father. ³⁷ As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. ³⁸For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; ³⁹ and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. ⁴⁰ Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. ⁴¹ Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.

⁴² “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. -Matthew 24:36-42

html code, jpg, pdf, png, and psd's...

Lately, that's what Barb is made of (y'all).

One of my primary manufacturers just released their newest catalog, their first major update in 3 years. The new catalog has got tons of changes; additions of new rollers and removals of obsolete rollers. What that means for me is tons of changes to my business web site. It's a love/hate thing. I love to do it when I want to do a re-design/hate to do it when it's technical stuff.

This has turned into a mini-overhaul. So if you're wondering why I'm not blogging, it's because I'm up to my eyeballs in all that stuff. And I'm going to be there for a while.

Somehow, I'm still managing to put a little YAY in most of my days and I hope you are, too! Big hugs xo

You don't get something for nothing
You can't have freedom for free
You won't get wise
With the sleep still in your eyes
No matter what your dreams might be -Neil Peart

The Donald will not seek the Presidency

Did you hear? Donald Trump announced yesterday that he just began NOT running for President again. Anonymous sources close to Mr. Trump say that he had just been informed that should he actually be elected, he would be required to check his credit cards, his cell phone and his hair at the White House door. The hair was a deal-breaker for The Donald. Srsly.

So it's Tuesday and I have absolutely no idea what the day ahead may hold. Lots of lovely orders, I hope! And some Yay in my day and yours. Big hugs xo

Commercials are lost on me

I usually watch shows on my DVR and zap through the commercials... But I just watched a commercial because I actually watched House live. The commercial said, "In life you're either the gas or the brakes". I instantly thought, "I am definitely the brakes".

Monday-itis

Cat's sure know how to relax. I need to take a lesson from my cats on living stress-free. Just look at Gandalf. Five cushions for his afternoon nap. Boy howdy, that's rich!

Me? I went to bed before 8pm, watched about 15 seconds of the baseball game, slept until nearly 6am and still woke up with a tension headache.

My mother and I both won a Bingo game yesterday, so it ain't all bad! In fact, I've now worn my beautiful beads that Miss Bee made twice to Bingo and I've won both times. I think they are officially my Lucky Beads now! :D

I've got another busy day ahead. I sincerely hope to put some YAY in my day! And I hope you do, too! Big hugs xo♥

If your parents never had children, chances are... neither will you.
-Dick Cavett

Life is...

Life is a journey that must be traveled no matter how bad the roads and accommodations.

-Oliver Goldsmith

Sunday stuff

[caption id="attachment_749" align="alignnone" width="604" caption="Grayson, taken with a nearly-dead camera. Florida in 2004"][/caption]

Grayson is driving me crazy today. A few weeks ago he decided it would be fun to go into the bathroom and just meow about every 10-15 seconds. Constantly. It is walking on my last nerve this morning. srsly.

Actually, they are ALL driving me crazy today. I haven't let them out in the yard unsupervised since Whitey went on his recent walkabout. I haven't let them out at all in 2 days because:

1. I didn't feel like chasing them and


2. We had thunderstorms off and on all day yesterday.

They're NOT happy.

And Friday my brother's Doctor told him that he will not sign off on him to get his driver's license because of his seizure and alcohol history, considering this was only his second appointment with him and that he also has no blood levels history to evaluate.  My brother is also NOT happy.

Today I have just a little housework planned, perhaps making a few Chicken Pies and, of course, BWTB. I SO need something more exciting in my life. And less stressful... Like a cruise. :p

I hope that your day has some YAY in it. Mine, too! Big hugs xo♥

In case it isn't obvious...

This sign was amongst the signs on a corkboard/notice board when I took my brother Billy to his doctor's appointment yesterday.


It's not saying much for common sense and the general intelligence of people.  I'm thinking if they don't have sense to run away from an explosion, they probably can't read the sign.

Reminds me of Bill Engvalls "Here's your sign".

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7eYnDddsic]
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFiCVGl_Hdc]
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8BId9fKBVHQ&w=480&h=390]
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7NOV2d3tts&w=480&h=390]
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbtGe1h7Ue8&w=480&h=390]
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBHZeMgmXvo&w=480&h=390]
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LU7pa6WLcxU&w=480&h=390]
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mUEUwdhsn4&w=480&h=390]

a tisket, a tasket

Gandalf's in my basket!

After I watched who got voted off of Idol and then Bones I got up out of my recliner to go to bed and I noticed Gandalf curled up in my basket. With just a tiny bit of DIDN'T FIT goin' on. It cracked me up and I laughed all the way to bed!



Of course, I remember a time when he fit MUCH better! This isn't the same basket... but you get the idea!



I know Blogger is still broke. Bummer. My Wordpress seems to be workin' fine though. I have been busy, busy, busy and I'm still am busy, busy, busy, but I wanted to pop in to say "Happy Friday the 13th"! And I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! Big hugs xo♥

Ignorance

The truest characters of ignorance are vanity and pride and arrogance.

-Samuel Butler

In case you missed it...

In case you wondered where I went... I moved to Wordpress. My new blog is called iPhoneographi because that's the camera I seem to use most of the time nowadays. :P

eXpectations

Things we do not expect, happen more frequently than we wish.

-Titus Maccius Plautus

Multiple-choice Monday

Early to bed, early to rise, makes this gal...

1. Healthy


2. Wealthy


3. Wise


4. Up way before you

Let me help you out here a little bit... If you said, 2. Wealthy... you'd be way wrong!

So yesterday Empress Bee of the High Seas, Sarge and the Duck left on the Glory for a lovely cruise and I did not. Buggers. I did however take a MotherDear to Bingo. She had fun but neither of us won. Oh, wait... I don't think I told you... I DID win the Jackpot Thursday night! I decided to go just to get out of the house for a while, quite literally, just as my mother was walking out the door.

Woohoo!



And there was cake.

Let them eat cake.-Marie Antoinette

I also figured out what STUPID little thing was kicking my butt on one of the pages on my business web site Saturday. I looked at that stupid page for hours, checking the code, format, anything I could think of. It worked fine locally in preview mode, but as soon as I published, not so much. It drove me nuts! It was making my head explode!

Naturally, after a good night's sleep and a pair of fresh eyes the problem practically leapt from the page at me the next morning.

And all is well with my cyber world again. :P

So, it's Monday, y'all! Don't forget to put some YAY in your day! Big hugs xo♥

Happy Mother's Day!

The love of a mother is the veil of a softer light between the heart and the heavenly Father.

-Samuel Taylor Coleridge

I'll be taking my MotherDear to Bingo this afternoon! And making her a lovely angel food cake with fresh strawberries and whipped cream. Because it makes her happy and I love her bunches!

Wishing you all a perfectly lovely Mother's Day today!

Big hugs xo

mOther's Day

The love of a mother is the veil of a softer light between the heart and the heavenly Father.

-Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Saturday stuff

My office is Grand Central Cat Station again. You knew it would happen. It's OK. You can say it.

I just want you to know that I did give it a valiant effort though. However, between not letting them outside unsupervised because of Whitey's little adventure the other day and having my office door closed with all of them scratching at it and crying to get in EVERYBODY was NOT HAPPY all at the same time.

Actually, the only one who wasn't driving me crazy was Gracie. She does like to pop outside for about 5 minutes, eat some grass and then she wants back in until the next day.

I have no idea what I'm doing today. None. I've decided to just take it as it comes!  Beginning right now with a 2nd cuppa coffee! I hope you put some YAY in your day. Big hugs xo♥

Dear Milkman

Supposedly, these are actual notes left for milkmen...

Dear Milkman":

"I've just had a baby, please leave another one."

"Please leave an extra pint of paralyzed milk."

"Please don't leave a
ny more milk. All they do is drink it."

"Sorry not to have paid your bill before, but my wife had a baby, and I've been carrying it around in my pocket for weeks."

"Sorry about yesterday's note. I didn't mean one egg and a dozen pints, but the other way 'round."

"Please knock. My TV's broken down, and I missed last night's SOPRANOS. If you saw it, will you tell me what happened?"

"My daughter says she wants a milkshake. Do you do it before you deliver, or do I have to shake the bottle?"

"Please send me a form for cheap milk, for I have a baby two months old and did not know about it until a neighbour told me."

"Milk is needed for the baby. Father is unable to supply it."

"From now on please leave two pints every other day and one pint on the days in between, except Wednesdays and Saturdays when I don't want any milk."

"My back door is open. Please put milk in 'fridge, get money out of cup in drawer and leave change on kitchen table, because we want to play bingo tonight."

"When you come with the milk please put the coal on the boiler, let dog out, and put newspaper inside the screen door. P.S. Don't leave any milk."

"No milk. Please do not leave milk at No. 14 either as he is dead until further notice."

and my personal favorite:

"Please leave no milk today. When I say today, I mean tomorrow, for I wrote this note yesterday...or is it today ?"

Hat Tip to Tummyfluff.uk

Hey, that ain't half-bad!

[caption id="attachment_681" align="alignnone" width="604" caption="This is what I started with. My scan of a not-very-well-cared-for 1959 family portrait. Besides being creased, cracked and discolored with time, it had crunchy-dried up tape on the bottom and my mother also had ink splots all over her face."][/caption]

My sister Lynda (standing in the back row) had changed her facebook profile picture to a cropped version of just the faces of her and my mother because...

Mother's Day is THIS SUNDAY!

You're welcome!

Anyway. When I scanned that portrait I probably didn't even have Photoshop or if I did I was completely and utterly clueless. Well, I'm still in the beginner classes, but I figured I couldn't hurt it any, so I decided to try to clean it up.

[caption id="attachment_684" align="alignnone" width="604" caption="Here's my desaturated Black and White Version"][/caption]

Once it was cleaned up, I also did a sepia version.

[caption id="attachment_686" align="alignnone" width="604" caption="My sepia version"][/caption]

I was surprised how well it turned out, even if I do say so myself! Personally, I like both versions but I do think that I prefer the Black and White version. Mostly, I'm just glad my mother no longer has ink splots all over her face and that I was able to get the big crease out of Janice's face without ruining it!

The more I use Photoshop, the more I love it.

I also created my first 2 Photoshop Actions yesterday. It was so easy to do I don't know why I didn't do it before! I did an action for my favorite effect - the Orton Effect and also for Colored Pencil, which I used on a photo taken of Aria on her 2nd birthday...



and one of a close up of Whitey...


Who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks? Not me!

Thursday things

Good morning, and welcome to Thursday. I think. I stayed up late and watched Idol. This morning I woke up and it was light in my bedroom! What's up with that? My eyes also feel like somebody punched them. ugh. Tonight I think I'll just let my DVR record it and I'll watch the Idol results and Bones when I get up or whenever. ugh.

See that sleeping angel up there? Well... Yesterday afternoon we had a bit of trouble here at the Swamp. Whitey wandered out of the yard and didn't come home until supper. I was stressed and worried for a few hours. I kept hollering for him every 15 minutes and turning over every rock on the 2 acres here at the Swamp. My Dad walked the entire neighborhood looking for him. And then he just strolled up like nobody's business, wanting his supper. So no Outside today. I can't do that again. I'm sure they'll all drive me and everybody else crazy wanting to go out, but they'll just have to get over it. Supervised outings only. 'Cuz I'm just mean that way.

Do you watch Idol? I wasn't going to this year, with Simon gone. I didn't care for last years judges and they changed them again this year. Except for Randy. Well, I hadn't watched it at all until my sister Lynda called just before she and Billy were flying down. She asked me to record the show for her. It was the night before she traveled and she couldn't stay up to watch it with an uber-early flight the next morning. I've been watching it ever since. We voted 1 of the final 5 off last night and tonight is the Results Show. Who will stay and who will go? I've said from that first night I played it back when Lynda was here that it will be James Durbin to win it. Or it should be! I still think he has the best voice and the best stage presence. Even if he does remind me a little bit of Shrek. And I mean that in a very good way. I love Shrek!

Well, the day is already getting away from me. I need to jump in the shower. I open in 30 minutes! I'm not use to starting my day so late! Oh. And my bank statements didn't come so they didn't get balanced yesterday. So that moves to the top of the list today, even if I have to download them. Don't forget to put some YAY in your day! Big hugs xo♥

Today's post is brought to you by the letter Whitey

Whitey totally doesn't care that I am trying to keep my office cat-free. srsly.

I took this photo yesterday but I can assure you that as I type this he is exactly in that spot looking pretty much as smug and self-satisfied with himself as he is in the above photo.

Today's plan is less busy and less stressful. So I have said it, so it shall be done. In between taking orders I will be first balancing statements and lastly paying bills. Emphasis on taking orders!

I am thinking of getting a perm so my hair will have some lift and body instead of its normal straight and flat... although it is mighty scary-looking in the morning after sleeping with all that product in my hair! I am actually thinking of trying my mother's VO5 that she's been using for decades. They had the scoop on hair gel all those many years ago! And there I was poo-poo'ing my mother. Shame on me!

Well, time to get with it! I'm open for business! Don't forget to put some YAY in your day! big hugs xo♥

how to beat a day that has beat you

Yuengling. (insert deep breath here)

Perfection

Have no fear of perfection - you'll never reach it.

- Salvador Dali

I'm busy, but not too busy to change my passwords

Good morning!

I've got a really busy day ahead. But I just remembered that it's time to change passwords and stuff. So I thought I'd remind you to do the same. You know... your blog, email, facebook, online banking... all of that kind of stuff.

So... This is your friendly reminder to change your passwords and clear your browser cache.

Because if you're reading this, I'm probably your friend and I want you to be safe and secure.

Have a lovely day. I will eventually!

Big hugs xo♥

ding dong, the wicked's dead

It was the very first thing I heard when I woke up this morning.

Oddly, the news did not give me cause to celebrate. Rather, I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Because it will.

It always does.

And it totally will.

The Office Reveal

I've been working on finding a better layout for my office for months. It's actually a very small 4th bedroom here at the Swamp, perhaps originally designed to be a nursery or even a single child's bedroom... or a teeny guestroom!... but it's plenty big for my office.

[caption id="attachment_630" align="alignnone" width="507" caption="Office Before"][/caption]

It has been quite functional but it just hasn't felt "quite right". Every now and then I would pull up the room planner and "move" stuff around.

The problem I was having was that I wanted to be oriented so that I could be looking out the windows when I looked up. I also wanted the cats to be able to see outside the windows without being in my way on my desk.

Well, I finally figured it out!

Ta-Da!

[caption id="attachment_629" align="alignnone" width="512" caption="Office Now"][/caption]

The door in my office is now SHUT and the cats are NOT ALLOWED. Between constantly having to move them out of my way all the while trying to sound professional while on the phone with my customers or having one of them Hiss or Snarl at another one while I am on the phone... I decided that 4 cats + a small office did not go together.

So I put my desk exactly where I wanted it to be.

The End.



Well, it's not the end, because they are still scratching at the door and meowing and all 4 of them are all lined up in the hallway outside the door much like the queue at a popular Disney attraction. Those of you with cats will know the the single-minded determination of which I speak.



They say you can't out-stubborn a cat.

But I shall, I tell you! I shall!

Sorry about the lighting in these, I took them in the wee hours and the iPhone's camera doesn't do dark very well.

In other news... There have not been many leftovers since my brother Billy moved in with us a month ago. That boy can put away some groceries, let me tell ya! Well, last night I made 2 Chicken Pies for supper.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="640" caption="This photo is from the archives, but they looked a LOT like these ones! :D"][/caption]

We had Al and Barbara over. And do you know there is nothing more than a teeny tiny speck leftover? I intend to have that for lunch today. Or maybe breakfast, before anyone else snags it! :D

And finally, a very Happy Birthday indeed to my sister Tina and my niece Leann. Yes, Tina decided it was a good idea to deliver her daughter on her birthday. I think that means that Tina really has not had another birthday since that day, right? Right!

Today is laundry and possibly BWTB. I hope your day is lovely. Big hugs xo♥