Coming to a Nursery Near You

Archive for May, 2008

1. What are your top five favorite authors? What genres do they write?Dean Koontz, Stephen King for horror
   Catherine Coulter, Sue Grafton, James Patterson – crime/suspense
2. What are your favorite genre(s) to read?crime/suspense 1st, I also like autobiographies.
3. What are you reading right now?currently, I am reading

Amazon.com: Paula Deen	Amazon.com: Between You and Me
Amazon.com: Digital Photography For Dummies (Digital Photography for Dummies)	Amazon.com: Behind the Smile

Yes, I know – 4 books at one time – but at least they’re diverse! LOL

4. What are the last three you read? What’s next?
Can’t think of the last THREE, but I know I read James Patterson’s The Quickie while on vacation. Before that, probably Double Crossed? Or Cross? LOL

5. Name one book you think I should try out! Thanks!
I think EVERY woman should read “We Are Our Mother’s Daughters” by Cokie Roberts.

I ran across this blog post the other day while dropping cards for Entre Card and just thought it was such a cool post, I wanted to share it with my friends who might not happen to read Turnip of Power. So, here ya go    (my comments follow his post)

 

Active And Passive Rewards For Blogs

Posted in May 29th, 2008

by Turnip

Every so often you visit a blog and think “Great Post!” and then feel a compelling desire to reward the author.  That’s because on turnipofpower.com I subliminally play an ultra high frequency sound file that says “Great Post! Reward the author!” over and over.  On other blogs, this feeling may indeed be genuine.  So how can you reward the blogs you like?  There are both active and passive ways to accomplish this feat.

Active Rewards

1. Post a comment.
2. Stumble the post, or submit it to other social media like Technorati and Digg.
3. Click a Pay Per Click Ad. (That catches your interest)
4. Mention the post in your own blog and link to it.
5. Drop an Entrecard on it.  (Lame, but they pay me to mention Entrecard)
6. Buy something using one of their affiliate links
7. Donate money to the author through paypal.  (It happened once to me!)

Passive Rewards

1. Sign up for the site’s RSS feed or Mailing list.
2. Install the Alexa toolbar for Internet Explorer, Sparky or SearchStatus plugins for Firefox (This benefits everyone you visit, including yourself)
3. Bookmark their Google search link so they get credit when you search.
4. Bookmark the site, so you visit in the future.

Any other methods you use to reward your favorite blogs/authors?

I stumbled this post and of course, left a comment. I also dropped a card on his entre card widget. How do you let a blogger know you’ve enjoyed their post? (I did repost with his permission)

Quote of the Day:
The happiest people don’t necessarily have the best of everything. They just make the best of everything.
–Anonymous

I have to say, I was really impressed with the response I received from Michael Angelo’s after I blogged about the problem I had with one of their products earlier this week.  The very next morning, I received a very courteous email from someone at the company who asked for my addy so she could send me a coupon and the assurance that this was not their standard and was very apologetic.  So that was pretty cool.  I was happy that they’d responded.  Then, later that evening, another employee of Michael Angelo’s stopped by and actually commented, asking my opinion on how to properly advertise serving sizes because obviously, if someone’s got a family of 5, and they’re all teenage boys, it’s not going to feed 5.  So I’m doubly impressed now, and look forward to getting that coupon in the mail so we can give Michael Angelo’s a 2nd chance.  I’ll be sure to blog about it when we do.

I’m in a funk, and so I haven’t really felt like blogging much. My therapist was here today and has brought up the idea of attempting to apply for disability. She reminds me that it doesn’t have to be forever. But that it’d be a good process to go through, at least to see where I stand with it. I simply cannot fathom trying to work a job when my muscles ache with any repetitive task (even washing dishes or walking up the stairs feels like a marathon), plus the problems with my neck, back & feet would make it impossible to work in a retail place, which is what 90% of our town comprises itself of. So I don’t know – I may, I may not. I mostly fear that the doctor, whom I just started seeing in February, will think I’m just trying to scam. I did want to tell you all that sent your thoughts & prayers for my sister back in November when she was having problems with her pregnancy that she’s only got 8 MORE DAYS until she’s due!  She’s had it a bit rough, but so far, everything’s looking good!  YAY Heather!  I can’t wait to be an Auntie again for #6!

I’m in the middle of another redesign for my blog.  I know, Right?!  But I was inspired after some recent work for Pinks & Blues (soon to be renamed Mom Generations), and got carried away.  I’m excited about it (ok… well, at least it’s something pretty).

Things are kind of iffy lately with Jimmy.  He’s mega stressed out about his job and the chance he’ll lose it when this new company takes over.  So it’s taking it’s toll at home as well.

I haven’t been sleeping well, thanks to Zachary – I think that plays a large part in my funk.

I took this picture on Saturday. I’m thinking I’ll make it into a photo card.  What do you think?  Speaking of photo cards, do you ever buy them?  Do you prefer pre-printed cards or cards where you can write your own thoughts in?  What do you usually pay for a greeting card?  Are you willing to pay more when it’s a hand-made card? 

Would you please leave your answers in comments? I’m really trying to decide if this is an avenue I should pursue.  Thanks

Quote of the Day:
If you haven’t got charity in your heart, you have the worst kind of heart trouble.
–Bob Hope

This photo has NOT been digitally enhanced at all.  This is exactly how I took it.

Quote of the Day:
In matters of conscience, the law of the majority has no place.
–“Mahatma” Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi

I picked up a Michael Angelo’s Chicken Parmesan (39oz) frozen entree this weekend while grocery shopping.  I figured it would be a good, quick fix on a night when I wasn’t in the mood to cook or was short on time. In any case, I followed the directions and popped it in the oven for an hour.

According to the package, the serving size is 1 cup – and there were “about 5″ servings per container.  Cool – we have “about 5″ people.  So when it came out of the oven and I started dishing it out, I was more than a little surprised/disappointed.

The package contained 2 whole pieces (roughly 3 oz.) of chicken (which, to their credit, was REAL chicken), 3 much smaller chunks of chicken (these were the size of chicken nuggets) and the rest was filled up with spaghetti.  I dished it out – a piece of chicken to hubby, a piece of chicken to son – 2 chunks for daughter, 1 chunk for baby – none left for mama.  Then, a cup of spaghetti for hubby – about 3/4 cup for son, 1/2 cup for daughter, 1/4 cup for baby.  None left for mama.  Now, I’m not being melodramatic – but “about 5″ means AT LEAST 4.  This didn’t even feed 4!  Lucky for me, I wasn’t hungry.  But honestly?  I’d have rather have bought TWO packages that served 3 each, rather than 1 that served “about 5″.  It makes me pretty annoyed that Michael Angelo’s either doesn’t actually measure the contents of their boxes (and yes, I know it goes by WEIGHT) or perhaps they just take a guestimate on the servings – but for a family who does read the labels and depends on the company to be HONEST about the contents?  It makes me never want to buy a Michael Angelo’s product again.

On the plus side, I have to say that the sauce was very good – not a typical “frozen” kind of taste.  The spaghetti was perfectly cooked, and the chicken was quite good (literally, I had 1 bite).  So the quality was very good – the quantity? Not so much.

So what do you think? False advertising? Or perhaps I was expecting too much? 

Photo from MichaelAngelos.com

Quote of the Day:
Sharing money is what gives it its value.
–Elvis Presley, singer