Archive for the ‘This and That’ Category
Follow Me Back Tuesday
Happy Tuesday to one and all. I’m thrilled that I get to be involved in another round of Follow Me Back Tuesdays. I did this last week on one of my other blogs, but I think this week I’ll be promoting this one. Why???? Just cause. I used to the the Follow me Fridays, but I think I like this one a little better. Not because of anything major, just because Tuesdays are better for me schedule-wise.
So, how does this thing work??? Just like the other one did. You go check out and follow the 4 hostesses on the list at the McLinky party. I’ll post the hostesses here, just to make it easier. You also need to follow the person in the number 5 position, which this week is Mommy of One…..And Counting. (Congrats honey).
Next, you need to add your name and blog site to the list. I’ll post that list here as the code doesn’t mess this blog up like it does my Blogger blog. Once your name is on the list, start watching for others that will come in and follow your blog. Be nice and follow anyone back that follows you, and go check out a few of the other blogs on the list and follow them. After all, that’s what this is all about. Also, remember to leave a comment with anyone and everyone you follow. That way we know you were here.
Now, like on my other blog, instead of just saying hi to those who follow me, I’m going to go one step further and do a little write up about the people that follow this blog for this week. Depending on how many follow me, I may have to do more than one post. Last week, I got like 14 followers and it took quite a bit to talk about everyone in one post. Hey, I’m not opposed to doing more than one. (Hint, Hint). LOL
Anyway, let’s get this party started. HAPPY TUESDAY AND HAPPY BLOGGING!!!!!
My Writing Experiment
I don’t know if anyone’s missed me too much lately, but I’ve been very busy for the past few weeks. I’ve been trying to get all my blogs updated as it seems I’ve been neglecting them. But, I do have a good reason. I’ve been busy writing my little fingers to the bone. I’m trying to see just how much money I can earn simply from writing on my blogs and writing articles for other bloggers and other sites. It’s kind of an experiment in motion.
Anyway, since the last time I posted here, I’ve been to Chicago to see my son graduate from Navy boot camp. That was so cool, but the scary part is that being a country girl, those big cities don’t do much for me. And I’m here to attest to the fact that having a GPS in your vehicle doesn’t always mean you’ll get to where you’re going. LOL. We spent 3 days in Waukegan, Illinois and was never able to find Lake Michigan. (Stop laughing).
I’ve also been pursuing the Internet for new places to write. I love to find new places and check them out to see if they’re worth talking about or not. And I did find one place that I’ve really enjoyed writing for called Info Barrel. I’ve only been there for a couple of weeks, but so far they’ve been a great site.
This is a revenue sharing site for article writers. The main reason I love this site is because of the community behind it. The admins are super nice, the other writers go out of their way to help out, and everything about the site is designed to make the whole process fun.
Another thing I like about this site is that not just anyone can jump on and start pumping out articles. Well, they can but they don’t get published right away. Every writer goes through a short probation period. In order to get to a point where you can post articles without being pre-approved, you’ve got to have a minimum of 10 articles okayed by the admins and have been a member of the site for at least 14 days. You’ll know when you’ve made it because the admins will send you a letter telling you so. I’m almost there. Just a couple more articles and a couple more days to go. I’m not in a big hurry as the site is based in Canada and this is a long weekend for them. (Happy Victoria Day weekend to any Canadian readers out there).
I’ve also found a neat little site for promoting yourself called Red Gage. This is a site like I’ve never seen before. It’s not a blogging platform or anything of the sort. It’s a site that pays you for doing all the stuff you do online anyway. Upload your photos, add links to your articles or blog posts, add documents and/or blog posts. The more you add and the more you get seen, the more you make. It’s that easy. Well, easy may not be the right term as it does take a little getting used to. But, once you get it figured out, it’s pretty easy.
I’m still looking and probably will on a regular basis. I love being a writer and am going to do everything in my power to continue to do so. My little experiment may not make a millionaire, but if I can keep food on the table and soap/shampoo/laundry and dish soap on hand, I’ll feel as though I’ve accomplished quite a feat. And if I can get to a point where I can take over the cell phone payments from the hubby, I’ll be gloating about it for years to come. LOL
Have a great day!!!!!
Some Of My Creations
I’ve been promising to show off some of my quilt “thingies”, but never seem to do so. This is because I’m so worried that someone out there who knows WAY more about quilting than I do will come by and say, “Hey, that sucks”. It would kill me and I’d probably never quilt again. Yes, I’m speaking from experience (not quilts). Anyway, here are a few of the things I’ve been working on.
First of all, I found a cute quilt block pattern that was supposed to be used as an edge. I liked it very much, and gave it my own twist. I call it Love Links. Here’s the first one I ever did.

I totally dig the colors I used in this one. The problem was that I had no idea what I was going to do with it once I finished. It just kind of sat there staring at me, going “Don’t ignore me. I thought you loved me”. Then I got an idea to turn this into a purse pattern. I had a cool idea and did what I could to put it together. Here’s the finished product.
Laying flat
Upright position

Though it didn’t turn out exactly as I’d planned, I’m pretty happy with it. I’m going to use it for my daughter’s Easter Basket. She’s 16, and loves the little purse/bag thing. I told her she could have it, but not till after Easter. LOL. She knows she’s getting it for Easter, so this post isn’t going to give anything away. Besides, she never reads my posts anyway. I’m just mom, I never do anything cool.
Anyway, there’s a couple of the things I’ve been working on. I have a whole crap-load of other things, but not nearly enough room here. Let me know what you think, but please be kind. I don’t take rejection well at all. LOLOLOL!!!
Look at all those crafting books
I know I said I’d be back in just a few days, but you should see what I’ve been doing. I’ve been so busy with my quilting projects and reading all my new crafters’ magazines that I’ve completely lost track of time. What felt like a couple of days has turned into a few weeks. LOL. Time really does fly when you’re having fun.
Anyway, my wonderful mother-in-law was kind enough to give me a whole tote full of fabrics, 2 boxes of ribbons, and a huge bag of lace. But the biggest prize in my new lot was the whole box full of crafting books and magazines she gave me. My mother-in-law is as craft crazy as I am, maybe more. And though she has 3 daughters of her own, none of them are really into the whole crafting thing. So, I get all her crafting hand-me-downs. Whoo Hoo for me. LOL
As I began going through this box full of books, I was shocked to see just exactly what I had in my hands. She gave me books and magazines that go back to the late 40’s-early 50’s. Here are a few pics I took just to prove how cool my mother-in-law really is. She’s awesome!!!!!
Craft Works, Pack O’ Fun, and Family Circle magazines
As you can see, this one was issued in 1969 and only cost 20 cents
This is a huge pile of Crafting Traditions magazines from 1996-2003
2 books published in the 60’s on how to recycle things you already have around the house. And you thought the whole Reuse/Recycle thing was a new idea. LOL
A massive needlework book from McCall’s-Fall/Winter issue for 1964-1965-it cost a whole 60 cents.
And now for my favorite
This is a book that my mother-in-law put together herself when she was in college. It’s full of little character drawings from the 30’s, 40’s, and 50’s. It’s so cool.
From food and drinks
To scenes of various emotions.
Needless to say, I’ve had a ball the past couple of weeks. I’ve found a ton of ideas to work with, some of which came from days gone by and I’ve come up with ways to give them a modern twist. Now, if I could just finish one whole project, I’d be doing great. LOL
Browsing For A Browser
Do you really pay much attention to the browser you use? I’m not a big advocate of any of the browser names, until last night. I’ve been using FireFox for a couple years now. I really liked it, a lot more than I did Internet Explorer. IE didn’t seem secure enough for my liking, but I actually liked the way FireFox allowed me to check out my favorite sites. It was just easier. That is until a couple weeks ago when I updated to the latest version.
After updating to the newer version, I noticed that it took forever to even get online. Now, it could be that I did something wrong, or because I live in the middle of nowhere and our Internet connection pretty much sucks. Whatever the reason, all hell broke loose last night. In the middle of what I was doing, FireFox totally broke down and crashed. I couldn’t even get back online with this browser. So, I said screw it and decided to use IE.
I haven’t used IE in a very long time, so I kept getting messages to update to the latest version. Finally, I gave in and updated. That was a huge mistake. After completing the update and restarting my computer, I found that I couldn’t get online at all. IE doesn’t work at all now and I still have problems getting on with FireFox. So, what’s a country girl to do??? She joins the 21st century and downloads Google Chrome.
So, I am now using Google Chrome. It’s kinda cool, but I’m having trouble getting used to a few things. Finding all my favorite sites is a little annoying, but I’m getting the hang of it. It’s a lot faster than either of the other browsers, but I’ve noticed that some of the pics on certain sites don’t load completely. Not sure why, but haven’t completely ruled out operator error. LOL
I’m not exactly advocating Google Chrome, but I can say that out of the three, it is the only one that has allowed me to get online in the past 48 hours. I have to use it for awhile before I can truly say whether or not I really like it. For now, I’ll use it and see if I can’t figure out all the in’s and out’s. And if I can’t, I’ll have my kid come in and teach me how to use it. LOL

















