If I invited you to my house, would you.....

If I invited you to my house, would you sit here? Hubby promises it supports his weight just fine.

Ugggggggggggggggggggggggg!

Sigh.

We cannot have cushions because the stupid squirrels de-stuff them for nesting material. So this year I decided I was going to cut wood slats and put them on our swing frames.

Hubby wanted to take the easy way out and use straps. He looks at me really badly when I profess this is totally wrong, that I cannot believe he thinks this is acceptable, and try to explain how it is supposed to be installed. He, of course, has his manhood totally insulted.

I try so hard to be a good wife and not knock him down (because we are supposed to build up our hubbies), but it is SO hard for me when I am always confronted with stuff like this! I want to be a good wife.

He won't do it my way because he wants to do it how he thinks is an easy way, but yet when I come along after him and fix it right, even if I say nothing, his manhood is totally deflated because a woman did better than him and...and....and.....we argue! Okay. This has been a repetitive pattern for the past 21 years. The boys even know to try to help mom and/or dad to avoid a situation like this. We can never work together because I want to do it one way and he wants to do it the other (wrong) way, so we tend to do our projects separately with one of the boys.

Poor son of mine who helped his father do this. Sigh. Now that's another problem of mine. How can I just let it go and let him think he's been taught right? I don't need him learning wrong. I need to say something, right? However, to say something is to put down his father, which is wrong. It's a catch 22. So I pulled up some photos and left them on the computer screen for him to see the right way.

I cannot win. Nope.

I think I'm going shopping for some wood tomorrow. Sigh.
On a good note, I have three rose bushes blooming so beautiful and both the front and back yards smell so good that I just want to linger and deep breath!







Most of them are not very photogenic though. I am wondering if it is due to the ice storm. This one was about the best to photograph.








Now, this one looks like I ever so painstakingly pruned it so it would bloom in a circle. Nope. It wasn't me that did it. It has a mind of its own.

Have a happy weekend, everyone! --and breath deep for me.

Baby Shower Invitation

I am planning a baby shower for my niece and working on the invitations. I am happy with the way they are turning out.

I did get inspiration from two cards online, taking ideas from both of them to come up with this card.

Credit for the flowers goes to Amanda Rockwell.

I want to make some matching decorations for the party itself. I just need to think of what next.



Here is a freebie for you. The word art is rather small as it is sized for a 5 x 7 card, so it might not be big enough for a layout or you would have to keep it small on a layout.

I hope you are having a great weekend!

Breaking for Genealogy Changes (& Do you Know What a Genealogy Converter is?)

Ever since I started digital scrapbooking, I have had no time for genealogy. It's sad as I do have so many things I could be researching.

I started many years ago using Homestead.com to create my webpages. Before I moved this scrapbooking website to a new host, I was very happy with their services. I still have many genealogy sites hosted at Homestead and have made a crucial decision the last few days.

I have decided to move all my genealogy sites to blogs. It just makes so much more sense. There were no free blogs like there are now for me to utilize when I built my sites.

I have to renew my Homestead account in mid-July, so I have to get everything moved before then. I spent about 9 hours today creating 8 new blogs with the basics (feeds, stats, etc), copying and pasting information, and saving photos to my desktop for reuploading. Whew...it's a TON of work!

I have 5 of the blogs completed (with the exception of graphics for the blogs which will come later as that's not so important). However, I still have the 3 largest sites to move. In fact, the biggest one I am certain is larger than a 600 page book! Why? Because it was actually published once and was 555 pages! It has grown a lot since the last publication.

Can I get it done before mid-July? Sigh. In addition, I need to prepare for this same surname's big family reunion and I'm feeling burdened by it. I don't like doing it. I am going to just have to buckle down and start. Maybe make myself a list of what I need to do and go at it one at a time. I want to include the new site address in the newsletter, so it is good timing to be moving the site. I believe there are about 400 addresses on the newsletter. Sigh.

I have found many distant relatives (and now good acquaintances) with good information just by having my information on the Internet. I would recommend this as a great step for you if you are just beginning genealogy (or have never done it before).

I am excited about the transition to blogs as now I can invite those distant relatives to the blog so that they too can post their information on the same blog. In addition, the ability to utilize comments is also a grand attribute.

Blogs can be made to look just like a website. I'm amazed.


GENEALOGY CONVERTERS

In addition, I did go ahead a buy a different host and URL last night for my genealogy pages. It costs a third of what I was paying with much more space. I have 10 GB space as opposed to 175 MB.

Some time ago I tested some free genealogy converters and was happy with the results.

I tested GED-Page and GED4Web. You can go to their sites to see samples of the results of a Genealogy Converter.

However, the one that I preferred and do plan on using is found at Misbach called GED Browser Software. You can click on the samples on this page to understand how the software takes your GEDCOM file (I use Family Tree Maker) to convert it to a webpage.

It is awesome to utilize the tool! It creates a whole folder of many, many files which make up a website. Each name is clickable to another chart to cruise through your genealogy. This one even does photos (sample). Simply upload the folder to your host and they are ready to go!

I plan on uploading them to my host and then having a link on my blog to go to the files. I plan on moving away from the hundreds of pages of names in my current format. Of course, I will leave some pages as they are, but much of the tree is going to be in this new format.

I have many people who like to log in to check their information. I password protect the pages for living people. In this manner, the pages will be much easier to update. I can simple generate another folder of files quickly after inputting new information into Family Tree Maker and reupload. No more scrolling through long lists and pages of names to insert each and every piece of new information. I am SO ready for this change!

I do like keeping my information off of places like Rootsweb and Ancestry as I can control the information of living people much better. I know my information is on the site and the person died and no one can access the account, so now it is stuck. I do not want to make that same mistake. If I should die, at least eventually if someone doesn't pay the hosting invoice, the site will be taken down automatically.

I hope this has been an inspiration to other genealogist out there for new ideas.

Carmalized Onions

In several of the restaurants which I've been to recently, I've noticed a trend of "carmalized onions" on the menu. They are totally delicious!

That got me thinking about how they are made, so I tried it for myself early in the week.

I had recently spotted a bag of Videlia onions at the store.



Cutting the onions up went fairly quickly. I cut the onion in half, then turned each half up on its side to cut slices. The half slices fell apart from each other fairly easily with the spatula in the pan.






I melted about 2 tablespoons butter with some olive oil in the pan before adding the onions. I added salt and pepper. Thereafter, I just let them cook, tossing every so many minutes. It took about a half hour for them to cook, but the color was fabulous! OH, and they were oh-SO-yummy!

They were fabulous on top of a hamburger.

I decided that they were not hard to make, just time consuming. That will keep most people from making them and create a market for them at the restaurants. I probably could have cooked them for at least 15 minutes longer, but I was impatient and anxious to taste myself.

I wanted to attempt a panini with them. I added a half of a green pepper and cooked it down also.

I have a small George Foreman grill that I only use for making panini. I added cheese to the sandwich too.

Unfortunately, although the sandwich looked good, I think I need a different type of bread as this just took away the gourmet from the onions and peppers. In addition, the bottom side of the bread was soggy.

What kind of bread shall I try next? I need ideas? In addition, I may need to either toast it before I add the onions and peppers or use bread with a hard outside and soft inside.

Please share you ideas! I want to try again!

Wisdom of Old

I started my evening getting an estimate for work on the house, scheduling calendar events, organizing, and chatting on the phone. A relative called to say that my son was in the paper. We were surprised as it was a repeat event from two years ago.

I was anxious to get a copy of the paper and went to get in my vehicle when I spied my neighbor sitting on his front porch. I just knew he'd give us the article and always enjoyed chatting with him and his wife, so I walked on over for a visit.

He is 91 years old and she is 94 years old. I ended up spending hours there, but totally enjoyed my time spent with them. I've gotten to know them over the past 22 years with many hours sitting on their front porch with them chatting away.

Today's conversation brought many interesting stories and incite.

The best incite that stood out was when he shared that when he was young, a certain man's father always had the same bit of wisdom for him.

"If you have weight on your shoulders, then you'd better get busy. If you've got to wait on money, then that's just it."

He explained that if he had to wait on money, he'd be waiting a very long time. It was also a play on the words weight/wait.

To me, I can relate to feeling weight on my shoulders and stress bearing down on me and I just feel like I need a break and want to quit! However, this quote says to me that it is a blessing to bear a weight because it gives me an opportunity to get busy and get things done. Just sitting around waiting for the money to be handed to me would be a boring life and not so much of a blessing.

He shared that most people are always against the rich people being so rich, but that he saw it as the rich people provided the jobs for the rest of the people, so we needed them.


I also learned of the true meaning of "spring chicken." She teased about being a spring chicken. I always thought of a spring chicken as someone that bounced about like a spring (hopped about like a chicken) or, in other words, someone who was full of life and energy. It can also mean a young or inexperienced person. The looks in their eyes to each other as they toyed with the phrase had me wondering what they thought it meant. He did indicated to her that he never thought she was a spring chicken, which could have meant that he never thought she was inexperience (in you know what).

However, the discussion lead to sharing of how before refrigerators they had to eat pig in the fall in winter as it could be butchered and salted to last. However, in the Spring, they would save some of the eggs that they would normally eat in the winter and incubate them to raise 100's of Spring chickens. They talked about what an enjoyment it was after a long winter of rough pig meat to eat a soft juicy piece of meat. It was a lot of work to raise the chickens and take them to market.

There was a story of one couple who didn't own any coups and so they tied the chickens legs and put them in between the seats of the vehicle. Stacked up in such a way many did not get enough air and died on the way to the market. The couple felt a huge loss as the sale of those chickens were very important to their budget. He stated that in the future years, he offered to take his coups and get the chickens to market for the couple. People helping people--that's the way life should be.

I am sometimes discouraged when I see our youth now-a-days show boredom while listening to our elders. I enjoyed listening to them as it was as if I was peeking into the past. I wanted to get a recorder and transcribe it all down. I had SO much to do tonight, but not getting it done was well worth the time I spent listening to some very wise people.

It was a double blessing. Not only did I gain some incite, but they gained some company in their loneliness and felt good because someone was interested in what they had to say. Warm fuzzies abound!

Stat Fights

The two of you have never double teamed me before. I looked at my stats and imagine a Stat Fight. I'm in a weird mood. Thanks for the giggles Digi Free and Ikeagoddess! Sending you link love right back!

Okay, so this link love topic has inspired my next video. I am guessing there are a lot of designers and new bloggers that have no idea why link love is so important and how to watch your link love. Am I right?

Marie shared a bit about Technorati on Digi Free , but would you like to learn a bit more?

What Scrapbook Item Are You?

Dani found this quiz. If you like to analyze like I do, come and play with us.

The quiz can be found here.

I am a sticker. I keep reading it and seeing some truths and some non-truths in it about me. What part do you think is true?

Digital Scrapbooking Chat Converter in Vista

So, you do not live in EST and unsure how to determine what time to show up at a chat.


You can use an online converter. However, this is TOTALLY cool! For all those digital scrapbookers who have ever come in on the end of a chat or arrived an hour early, this is for you! Now you do not have to think. Wow. I like it when I don't have to think. Give my brain a rest and enjoy the chat!

This is a feature on Windows Vista, but not XP. Bummer.

Have I got you curious? Just watch the video.

Life with 4 Men - House Rule #6

Sigh. Isn't it something to shake your head at when a mom has to explain the reasoning and the whys of the rules over and over. I would love to teach them just once and they stick.

My men can eat cereal and milk faster than candy. It can be disheartening to continually find little balls of sweet stuff rolling about the countertops. Of course, no one admits they missed the bowl and did not pick up after themselves.

Does anyone else ever have this problem? I get outnumbered and just give up. Wiping it up is much easier than yelling for the responsible person to clean it up with no response.


HOUSE RULE #6

If Mom finds cereal on the kitchen counter (which eventually rolls under the stove and could attract varmints), or any surface in the kitchen not wiped down after use (and the wash cloth rinsed and placed back in its location), then a whole house interrogation will occur until the culprit is found and appropriately punished.

Record Enforcement here:

Template #42

Template #42 is available for download in the forums. There's a great template prize by Lisa available for one person to win, so I look forward to seeing your layouts!

FeedJit, Sitemeter, and Google Analytics (peek in on the videos)

FEEDJIT RESPONSE

A few days ago I blogged about my disbelief as to why SO many bloggers use FeedJit? It makes me uncomfortable and I tend to leave a site fast without reading or commenting.

Mark Maunder, Feedjit Founder & CEO, commented and invited me to respond either by a blog post or by private e-mail. Since I felt the information he provided would be of interest to all, I am responding by blog post.

Mark stated:

Right now we give you the ability on the Feedjit widget to request that Feedjit ignores future visits from your browser. We're also considering a feature whereby you can immediately delete your own location from the widget on the blog you arrived on.

That way visitors to websites using Feedjit have full control over their privacy and can choose whether or not to show themselves.

I have not seen on any of the widgets this option to ignore visits from my browser. I just see the city where I live and I scoot on out as fast as possible. So I went to the Feedjit site to look. I found at the bottom of the box an almost hidden area for "options."

I clicked to expand the options and choose to "Ignore my browser." I am informed that this places a cookie on my computer. Therefore, since I often clear my cookies with such software as Adaware, Spybot, and CCleaner which I run regularly, this will be a continual process of setting the options as I visit sites using this widget. That is frustrating.

In addition, the opt out cookie only works on one site at a time. Therefore, you must opt out on each and every site. This stinks.

In addition, it only fixes it for the "next" time I visit that particular blog, but leaves the current visit in the widget. This stinks.

I would be comfortable with the widget if it just listed my state. If the city were removed from the widget, that would satisfy me.

I also think being able to delete my location upon arrival would be a good feature too, although it would be a hassle.

I like what Julie It Is commented:

And the unfortunate thing is that it's opt out, not opt in for the blog visitor.

I would like to point out that FeedJit does offer three other great tools on their site that are worth checking into. In addition, the services are free and you cannot beat that price.


SITEMETER AND GOOGLE ANALYTICS

Digital scrappers have become avid bloggers! Many are just getting started and do not know the ins and outs of many of the tools available.

Many do not know about tools such as Sitemeter and Google Analytics.

Here are two videos peeking inside my stats so that you can become aware of possible tools for your blog. I would suggest these tools be utilized rather than something so blatantly visible to many users as FeedJit.

I hope these videos are helpful to you. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask in the comments. I will try to help as I can.

Creating & Using Grunge Overlays in PSE

Now that we've made some grunge brushes, let's use them!

You can download my free grunge overlay and watch the video to see how to create them and also how to use them in the forums. You must be logged in.

Quick Tip #8 Fast Access of Brush Library

Since we are creating grunge brushes and utilizing them in digital scrapbooking challenges, I thought this tip would be appropriate.

Do you know how you can quickly access the brush library in Photoshop Elements? I believe you will be surprised by this one. It also works on the shape library.

A Fast Way to Get Me to Leave Your Blog

Why are SO many bloggers using FeedJit? I absolutely do not like arriving on someone's blog only for it to say where I live and where I clicked from to get to the site.

It is certainly one of the fastest ways to get me to leave your blog. Sure. I'm aware that other applications provide this information in reports, but who needs to have that for public information for all to read right there on a blog sidebar?

If it makes me feel this way, I wonder how it is making others feel.

Life with 4 Men - House Rule #5

This one actually worked for a while. Now we have a different system whereby they take turns and the sink must be empty before they go to bed or we will yank them out of bed from their deep sleep. The only problem is that we forget to enforce the rule.

*****

HOUSE RULE #5

If Mom finds you watching t.v. or playing on the computer at the same time as there are dirty dishes in the sink or clean dishes needing to be put away, then, naturally, this will result in a loss of t.v. privileges for one week.

P.S. This rule now applies to males of all ages. Everyone needs to learn how to wash dishes. You are all old enough.

Record Enforcement here:

Newest Video and Freebie – grunge brushes

Today’s video is for creating grunge brushes!

I am anxious to see you create grunge brushes and to share them with me!

I have provided a download to a set of grunge brushes which I created.

Click here

Stop Please! I appreciate you too!

Whew! Man, do "I" feel guilty.

I've been tagged about 10 times in the last 10 days or so and there is NO way I can keep up with the tag recipricating AND all the interesting stuff on my site and blog AND family AND work AND e-mails.

Whew!

There have been about three different types of tags, but I'm only recalling the one that has occurred most and its something about 7 things about myself.

Next time, please say "I'd love to tag Hummie, but I'd rather her make videos and challenges than take time to reply, so I'm going to tag so-n-so instead." Yep, then I'll come and give you warm fuzzies and read all about you and we will all be happy.

Okay, well--here goes some 7 silly things--because I DO appreciate you and I DO try! Whew.


1. I am an analyzer! Yep! Did you know that this blog's original name was "Life Analyzed?" I thought it fit the description of me so well. I have to analyze everything. For instance, I walked by these crackers in the store and thought to myself "now what will they come up with next?" Really? Do that many people love macaroni and cheese THAT much that they can use it as a ploy to market their crackers? There. I confessed it. I thought bad thoughts about a product and then purchased it anyway just to see what it tastes like. Tastes like Cheez-Its. Buy them instead.

2. While at the winery, I just HAD to stand there and analyze out loud while my poor son stood and listened how this grape vine could be a grand example of the Bible verses about the Vine and the Branch. Yes, he even patiently waited for me to photograph them--and it was his birthday.

3. I am always ready to share my faith, although I do not want to push it on someone as I truly believe that has the reverse effect. If you ever want to know about my faith, I invite you to ask. I'll be glad to share.

John 15:5 "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.


4. I took a tour of my hubby's work the other day for the first time. Why did I do it? Because he is always saying to me that I would never visit his work because I do not care about him. So, I had to prove to him that I cared about him. It is a rather dirty job and he comes home that way. He comes home every day physically tired and I come home every day mental tired. We make a great pair.

5. I do NOT look good in a hard hat and safety glasses, but I will do anything for my hubby because I love him even though I am always frustrated with him. We've been married 21 years and 9 months (because our son just turned 21). Uh-hem.






6. I am a sentmential sappy person. Oh, well, you already knew that, huh? While watching my son skip rocks the other day, all I could do was think about my Dad and how he skipped rocks every time he came around a non-public water source. I miss him. (okay, this one does not count because you already knew it).

6 again. I'm a bad dog mom. I allowed my son to give her his wine when he didn't like it, just to see what it would do to her. She totally loved it and couldn't get enough! Sometimes I wonder if we are actually related as she has many of my attributes. Do you think she analyzes? I may never know.

7. A fun post would not be so fun without an inside joke post. Uh? These may not be eggsalas (enough with the eggs posts on this blog, right?), but they are real chocolate deviled eggs. I didn't buy them, but did gawk at them for quiet a while.



Now, I'm supposed to pass this on. However, being as so many bloggers have already been hit with it, just consider yourself tagged if you haven't been tagged.

Feel free to leave me a comment to your post about 7 things about yourself.

I'd love to read it.

Oh, and I appreciate you!

Life with 4 Men - House Rule #4

Thanks for all the comments on these rules! So, others have problems with men and toilets too? [giggle] Please remember that these house rules were something I opted for as the boys got older. I am sure there are methods of use that I used when they were younger that were more effective, but this has been the best way to communicate with them as teens.

This one was hung over the trash can. I am thinking I need to print it out and post it again as a reminder. Sigh.

*********
HOUSE RULE #4

If Mom sees you putting something in a full trash can and then walking away from it without emptying it (or if she sees your item was the last one thrown into the can), then you will be grounded for one day to your room.

Optional: This rule could be put into a duty roster by the male participants in this house.

Record Enforcement here:

I am sharing this technique challenge on my blog, but please keep in mind that I do not post notifications of all new things here on my blog. Join my notifications Yahoo Group to keep up with the new things in the forum!

This challenge is to bring focal weight to a photo by using turned mats. There is a video with more ideas in the forum. I hope to see you participate! Sharing layouts is one way to inspire each other.

I look at this layout and realize I was only scrapping 6 months or so when I made this totally from scratch! See, if you are new to scrapping, you CAN do it!

Life with 4 Men - House Rule #3

Here's the one you all have been waiting for! Yep! If this one doesn't make you laugh, well, your laugh meter may need adjustment.

HOUSE RULE #3

If Mom finds pee anywhere on the toilet or the area around the toilet, all male inhabitants of this household will loose their computer privileges for one week.

a. When you miss and hit the back area of the toilet where the lid connects to the toilet, it leaks down through the screw and onto the bottom of the toilet and floor. There is no way to clean the screw except to remove it, therefore, this disgusting stuff stays on the screw making the bathroom stink. AND the lid cover soaks up the pee and stinks requiring it to be washed.

b. When you miss and it runs down the side of the toilet, it gets on the rug requiring it to be washed more often or it provides an unpleasant feeling when one steps on it AND it runs onto the floor and seeps in between the cracks of the floor and onto the wood under flooring which is impossible to clean unless you replace the whole bathroom floor therefore making the bathroom a continual stink.

c. When you miss and hit the magazine basket, well, I still can’t figure out how you are doing this and may need to find a new basket as this one always stinks now. (Update: we now have a plastic magazine rack and, although it doesn't stink, it always has dried droplets visible on it..ick!)



Optional: Cleaning the toilet once a week would be nice. You may want to practice this because once Rule #3 is satisfactorily completed, more rules may follow. You may want to set up your own cleaning duty roster/rotation.

Record Enforcement here:

Life with Four Men - House Rule #2

Are you enjoying these? Please tell me you are!

I was too busy yesterday to get one of these posted. Hubby and I went out for our weekly dinner date and then a good friend called to go walking. Thereafter, I was just burnt out for one day!

Am I allowed?

How many of you have this problem? Probably not many. We have an awesome city that picks up recyclables at the end of the street as a substitution for one trash day. However, they have to be bagged and sorted correctly. My men often refuse to work with the system -- even the oldest one. He recently declared to me he wasn't "doing it that way any more," indicating that he was doing it right now. Oh, great! The leader of the pack has finally changed his ways! Do you think the others may, just may, finally follow suit now? Sigh.

****
HOUSE RULE #2

All recyclables must be put in the appropriate bin after being cleaned. NO ITEMS ARE TO BE PLACED ON TOP OF THE BIN OR ON THE FLOOR OR COUNTER OR TABLE OR ANYWHERE ELSE. If an item does not fit in a bin, then put it with other items of the same material in a plastic bag and throw it on the carport.

a. All caps must be removed (except bleach, detergent, and oil bottles that make leak harmful stuff).

b. Absolutely no restaurant carry-in pizza boxes are recyclable….they must go in the trash.

This rule is subject to additional rules.

Record Enforcement here:

House Rule #1 Revisited

So, after posting House Rule #1, I was motivated to revisit the issue.

Oh my goodness...no wonder I don't go into their bedrooms! I try to avoid looking at all costs. What costs? My sanity!





Yes, what was once a problem fixed years ago is still a problem. Am I a bad mom for looking the other way? Am I a bad mom for choosing my battles? I feel like a bad mom.








So, I retyped up a new version of House Rule #1 and dutifully posted it yesterday morning.

It reads as this:

HOUSE RULE #1 REVISITED

Absolutely no clothes shall be retained on the floor, bed, or desk of this room. Please put the clothes away in an appropriate place, such as the closet, wardrobe, or dresser drawer.

Any clothes found by the female inhabitant of this household in an unacceptable location will be swooped up immediately and placed in holding for a period of three weeks.


PLEASE ACKNOWLEDGE THAT YOU HAVE READ THE ABOVE BY SIGNING BELOW.

Love,
Mom

P.S. – Making the bed would be nice too.




This was the signature I got. Cute, huh?

It's a penguin exclaiming and a, well, whatever it is I could not understand him (but it's not a dinosaur), saying "rawr."

However, the good news is that the mess was cleaned up and I did not have to say a word. Now, to follow up with the punishment.

I understand the comments heard were "I'll just go naked" and "I'll wear the same clothes every day."

Sigh. What's a mom to do?

May Designer Challenge Freebie

Here is my contribution for the May Color Palette Designer challenge.

You can find some other awesome contributions in the forum threads! Be sure to go through the chatty posts to find them!

Download Freebie

Life With 4 Men- House Rule #1

Some discussions in the forums reminded me of my old "house rules." I got fed up one day about 5 years ago and decided to try posting written house rules about the house.

I found that if I talk to my men, no one listens. However, if I write it down and post it up with tape, it gets read and understood. Why is that? Do they really tune me out that much?

The first house rules were put up all at one time and were up for a few weeks or more. They then went in a collection on the side of the refrigerator where punishment was recorded. Occassionally, they went back into place as a reminder.

Remember as you read them that my poor hubby had to follow along to make them effective. I don't think the boys appreciated it when he failed.

After the first set of house rules, over the years, when I am at my whits end, I will type up my frustrations and post them in the appropriate area, requesting that all men sign it declaring it was read before I will take it down. It's a much more peaceful way to communicate and a lot less stress on me.

Of course, if anyone wants to have a friend over, it's great encouragement to push the others to get it executed so it can come down before a guest might see the document. A little encouragement never hurts.

Do tell me you are enjoying these and do not think I'm silly or stupid.

Here is House Rule #1 as follows. I will be glad to post another one every day until they are all up, but I'd appreciate some comments so I know that people are at least getting a laugh out of them.

Really, you must read House Rule #3--it makes me laugh every time. However, I may just be crazy for thinking they are funny. You will have to let me know. To live with 4 men, I have to find humor in odd ways. House Rule #1 is just a teaser--they do get better.

*****
This was posted on the door of 2 bedrooms.

HOUSE RULE #1

If Mom finds an article of clothing or anything else on the floor in this room, AND if the tops of any surface are not neatly organized, AND if she finds anything at all on the top of your desk lid, then the inhabitants of this room will loose their television privileges for one week.

Optional: Dusting and vacuuming once a week would be nice. Making the bed would be nice too. You may want to practice these because once Rule #1 is satisfactorily completed, more rules may follow.

Record Enforcement here:
*************
This was posted on the door of the 3rd bedroom

HOUSE RULE #1

Mom and Dad will attempt to keep their bed made. No one is to watch television in this room, thereby messing up their bed and ruining their quilt without the permission of said adult.

Record Enforcement here:

Spybot Video Tutorial - Stopping RAM problems

Spybot has saved the day for me on numerous occassions.

For instance, when I installed the newest version of Nero on my XP machine, the start-up programs totally disabled my machine. I was unable to open any program or folder without waiting for a long period of time (10 to 15 minutes maybe). I was able to endure the waiting period to get Spybot opened and disable Nero from the startup.

Just this past week I discovered a startup file for Windows Media Player which was also reeking havoc on my XP machine. The mouse would jump everywhere. The newest version 11 has the capatibility to share with xbox. However, it was too much on my RAM, so I was able to temporarily disable it through Spybot until I could discover how to turn the setting off from within the player itself.

One time I did find a spamware and/or virus running through the startup in Spybot which was not found by any other scan. I was able to do an internet search to identify it, stop it from starting up, and locate it on my machine to manually delete it.

If you are having problems with RAM on your computer while using Photoshop Elements, it is a good idea to check out the startup items as everything that starts up is taking up RAM. Many of the programs, such as Quicktime and other common programs, have a feature to make the program load faster when in use, but is unnecessary to have running in the background during startup.

Who knows, maybe your computer will start up faster too!

I had to cut off the end of the video so it would be under 10 minutes for YouTube. The ending merely stated the above information.

Queen for the Day

What a great day it is for me! I was so surprised to have been randomly placed as Queen for the Day at DST on my son's big birthday!

I feel a bit odd promoting my own "warm fuzzie" day, but unless I share, how will you all know?

I look forward to seeing you at DST and answering any questions that you may have.

So, who was it that said something about a "golden birthday" some weeks ago? Supposedly it is significant to have the years of your birth match the day of the month....and my son is 21 on the 21st of the month! Go figure that! It only happens once in your life. Hmm..Wikipedia also calls it "champagne birthday." Do you think I could find some champagne today?

Sentimental Sappy Day, Freebie, and Filter Challenge

I've begun my sentimental sappy mom day! My baby is 21 and I am sure he won't appreciate me getting all sentimental and sappy, but maybe those that like freebies will because I made one especially to celebrate this moment.

Download Freebie



I tend to take these moments and wallow in them. It is amazing what digital scrapbooking does to help me through those 'oh so emotional moments. I have always said it is good therapy. Scrapping those good moments with those bad moments is healing. I had fun digging out an old photo and crying over it as I scrapped.

Credits on this layout other than my freebie go to Flergs Denim Blues. I recently purchased a few of her kits and I am really enjoying them.

With this layout, I am encouraging you to use a the Underpainting Filter in a layout. Join the challenge here. I simply made a selection of the photo and hit Control J to put it on its own layer. I ran the filter on the copied selection and added a drop shadow.It provided a perfect area to add a title and created a simple artisticness to the layout.

To understand how the Underpainting Filter works, one must first reflect on oil painting techniques with a brush on canvass.



When an artist paints on canvass, after making the general outlines, they create the underpainting, which in effect is simple large areas of general color. Thereafter they paint in the details.

To change the brush size, you change the size of the large areas of general color. The next slider in the filter changes the "texture coverage" and I would recommend just playing with it to watch what it does. To me, it appears to change the amount of area that the texture of the canvas shows through.

The last options on this filter are the same as in the texturizer filter. Although oil painters often painted on canvas, you may choose any texture, even those you have created yourself and loaded. Change the scaling, relief, and direction of light as you do in the texturizer filter.


So, I asked for permission in the forums yesterday to be sentimental and sappy. Of course, the ladies were so fun and friendly and granted me permission, followed by yet another food discussion....yep! What better way to wallow in one's sappyness than to enjoy sappy syrup!

I found that quite funny as I had already planned on having Texas Toast for dinner last night.

I am curious, do people in Texas think of this as Texas Toast? Or is the rest of the country just odd for calling it that?

I am also curious as to how you make your Texas Toast?

I purchase the bread called "Texas Toast" as it is thick, but it does work with regular bread also.

I crack eggs in a bowl and beat them with a fork with salt, pepper, dried mustard, and milk, just as I would for scrambled eggs. Thereafter, I soak the bread in the egg mixture, turning to soak both sides, before frying it in a pan like a pancake.

I would love to hear how you make yours! I find this a bit humerous as the last time I talked about egg salad, oh...I mean eggsalas, the power of suggestion was effective!

Have a wonderful beautiful day on me! Enjoy! ....and I look forward to your comments, as always!

Quick Tip #7 - Visible Masks

Did you know that you can see your mask in full view just as a layer and not only as an itty bitty thumbnail?

Check out the video! This tip is cool!

Technique Challenge - Gradient on Mask Video Tutorial

As we continue the technique challenges on ways to utilize the gradient tool, we learn how to put the gradient on a mask to create a blended area into a photo perfect for journaling, quotes, or titles.

You can see the video and share your layout with this technique in the forums here.

The Day I Almost.......

The day I almost.....road 19 miles!

Okay, so I only went half of that! Don't you think it's spectacular for this fat 'ol woman to ride 9.5 miles on a two wheeled contraption?

Come on--cheer me on!

Oh, wait--I didn't *really* ride 9.5 miles. I confess, I walked part of it.

Now I'm in four wheels! Whew...safe and sound!



Here is a video of the scouts riding by!

Where is Matt?

Have you seen these videos? I know I have, but it's been such a long time!

According to his site, a new video will be out next month. Wouldn't you like a job like this? This time he's getting others to dance with him.

Enjoy!




Outtakes



An interview--very interesting



You can see video responses on YouTube. I actually think it would be a fun thing to try to record and share, even if it were just around my own town. Can you imagine me doing this? Giggle

Can you rinse........?

I was scooping a wonderfully round scoop of ice cream when the ball of cold delicious stuff fell to the dirty floor.

Now, we have all heard of the 3 second rule, right? Or is it the 5 second rule? Or 10 seconds?

Anywho, I plucked it up quickly in my hand saving it from its demise and said to myself out loud, "Can you rinse ice cream?"

To which hubby cracked up laughing and said, "you need to blog that."

Ahhhh.....do I have him well trained and versed in the techy language of the 21st century or what!

I wasn't going to post this, but --- here it is! After his comment I could not resist.

So, do you think I rinsed or not?

Computer Crash Alert! Service Pack 3 Update!

I learned today that the new service pack 3 for Windows XP which was released yesterday (Wednesday) is crashing some computers.

It appears to be just HP computers with an AMD processor.


Read here and here and here.

To see whether or not you have an HP with AMD Processor, right click on "My Computer" and choose properties.

Please remember that the service packs are installed with automatic updates, so your computer may automatically install this without your guidance. A suggestion would be to change your automatic updates so that they download, but not install without your permission.

To change the automatic update settings, click on "start", then "control panel," and then "automatic updates" to bring up the popup box. Choose either to have them not be installed automatically at all (which means you will have to get other updates manually from the website) or the second option to "download updates for me, but let me choose when to install them."

Snipping Tool in Vista

The Snipping Tool in Vista is awesome! It takes screen shots so quickly. I find the images to also be very clear.

It is a priceless tool for any blogger to quickly add an image to a post. Images always make posts seem more attractive.

It is also a great way to get quick shots for teaching and tutorials. I see the ladies in my forum grabbing screen shots all the time to help each other and it always makes me smile when I see them go to that effort to get a shot, upload it to a host, and share it.

Here is a video that shares how the Snipping Tool in Vista works.

Simon Cowell said "hummdinger!"

Okay, well, I may be strange for getting excited, but did you hear it? Did you hear it? I may be the only one excited, but won't you be excited with me?

Simon Cowell said "hummdinger!" Okay, so, statements by Paula, Randy, and Ryan of what a "hummdinger" is followed, but I didn't care. I think Simon must know I like David Cook. Don't you think? Whoooo Hoooo! Not!

So, it's going to be the Cookie and Archie show! Anyone going to be watching with me? I've become a reall Cookie fan! Of course, I rooted for him because he was a Missourian, but as the weeks went on, I became excited because he IS really talented!

So, who is wondering why I'm excited about this?

Here's a video I took of my t.v. I just had to save it for excitement's sake. Wouldn't you have?

What is it about dirt?

After work today, I got on my bike to test it out for the long ride I'm due to take this weekend. We decided to take the bikes to the bike shop to ensure they are in good working order. Putting them in my vehicle was not an easy task.

I then worked on planting all those flowers I've been working on all week. I made a lot of progress, but I still have some left and only one more evening to work on them before I head out for camping and biking.

I had to push myself to get outside and work in the garden. The day is overcast and dull and semi-cold. However, once I got out there, I was glad I went.

What is it about having my hands in dirt that just plain 'ol feels good? I can never find the words to describe how it feels.

The birds were chirping, the air was fresh, and I was engulfed in nature.

Goodbye "Hello," Hello Yahoo IM

Many digital scrapbookers preferred using Hello because it had a capability of sending screenshots. Hello is shutting down and there is big discussions as to what to use now.

Thanks to Maria (Ferg Designs) for figuring out that you CAN do screenshots easily in Yahoo!

When you are in an IM with someone, click on the PHOTOS button to begin photo sharing, then CTRL+Printscreen will take a snapshot of your screen. You will then select the option to share the photos from your CLIPBOARD!!

In addition, ALT+Printscreen will take a snapshot of the active window (without the extra stuff in the background).

On laptops, you may need to hold down the "Fn" button before hitting the print screen button.

In addition, you can put your IM name in your profile in forums.

Here is a video to show you how it works.

Check out the Yahoo IM Beta versions! The new Beta version will share YouTube. I love the Vista version too. Although it is scaled down version during testing, it does some really cool things.



In addition, I understand that with a tweak, Yahoo IM can be set to view conversations in tabs. See this page.

My Yahoo IM is "hummdingertub"....feel free to find me if you have questions or want to play with the IM!

May Flowers

I promised some photos of my flowers. Goodness, it is keeping me busy this week!


Here is a photo of some phlox that is blooming right now. Um....don't look at the weeds there! They got pulled last night.











My clematis is blooming beautifully right now too. I just love the duo color of pink and white together, don't you? Some day I need to scrap the story behind this plant that refuses to die!















This interesting flower is blooming again. I took better photos of it last year and I believe somewhere in the comments here on my blog I was told what it is. I'm too lazy to go look for that info right now.










Saturday I went shopping in anticipation of having all my men helping me plant my flowers on Mother's Day, only to have the weather be windy and cold and mess up all my plans. So this week I'm rushing every evening to get them planted myself before they die. Some of them are already taking a toll.

I got one bed planted Monday night and Logan helped me plant some of the ones that needed a big shovel last night. The rain this week is making it hard to get out there. We did get a little wet, but had to push on. I hope the weather cooperates after work today so I can get more planted. Of course, I will show you the beds on my blog later. I do so love my flower gardening!

I bought a lot of perennials this year. I am getting tired of spending money every year, so I am trying to fill the beds with perennials to save money in the future.

Since I am going camping this weekend and also have to test my bike which I am taking along, I feel the pressure to get these planted. I won't be able to work on them this weekend, so I only have two more evenings to get it done! Oh my! Stress!


Every year I hit the sales at the hobby store and pick up little things for my garden. It seems that they never last and I have to throw them out and get new decorations. Many of the decorations cost only $1 to $2.50, so it's a nice way to bring some points of interest to the flower walk down the garden.

Here is a little butterfly that hangs from a flower basket. I'm sure it will look better if I can get the flowers planted in the basket!




My flag which hangs from a pole finally got so bad that I had to throw it away. I got this little butterfly mobile to hang from the pole. It bounces up and down and is kind of cute!

















I have a lot of stone walls with great space to place things upon the walls. However, every year, especially during the winds, the items do not withstand the weather.

I found some wrought iron statutes and am hopeful they will last longer. They are quite heavy and did not cost much. This bird is cute, but I think I need to find some time to paint it. I do not feel confident to paint it well enough though.



This wrought iron frog prince reminded me of the silly bits of humor hubby comes up with about being my frog prince. I wish I could remember the humor to share with you now, but it is so unique its hard for me to remember.











This little pail was only a few dollars, so I bought a few flowers to add to it. I am hopeful that the metal will not rust and it will be resilient to be tossed about by the wind.










Here is another wrought iron item which is new. The basket is heavy enough to resist the wind and I think the flowers look cute in it.












I had a glass ball a few summers ago that lasted only a matter of weeks. It was one of the kinds that you can see yourself in.

This time I got a wrought iron stand to hold the ball, so it should be more stable. In addition, I put it in a low box where Abbie Rae generally does not seem to traverse when chasing rabbits and squirrels. I like seeing the sunlight catching in the pieces on the ball.





This ball is rather small, but it sure does add some color to the garden. I can spot it first off from my bedroom window.

In general, I do not like a lot of gaudy things about my garden. I try to choose the items carefully to enhance the garden just right without making it look odd.

Of course, I'll be do a video tour of my gardens again this year, so you can let me know then what you think of these types of things in my garden.