Happy Thanksgiving

Thursday, November 27, 2008


Been a bit missing, but I've been working hard again while getting over the last bit of the flu and cold I had this month. I'm all better now, and I am here to wish all of you that stop by on a regular basis a very Happy Thanksgiving. I am also happy to announce a new blog of mine just started this week - The Paranormal World. This blog will focus on all things unexplained! Stop by and take a look.

Much With The Sick

Monday, November 17, 2008

First, it was the flu. Then the men in the house caught colds, and they decided to share them with me. Yes, I know! How thoughtful of them. That explains why I have been so missing in action the last couple of weeks. I've been busy enough just trying to work and nap in breaks. I hate getting sick. I know we all hate getting sick, but I really hate it.

Things have been quiet for the most part. I've been working, writing and keeping myself busy anyway I can. My dad fell in the shower back on Saturday, so he's going to the doctor today. You want to talk about a loud crash?! There was one when he fell. New people moved into my old apartment next door. It's kind of weird knowing someone else is sitting in my bedroom and staring at my ceiling.

I know it really isn't my bedroom anymore, but I lived there for thirteen years. That is a really long time, and when I saw someone had moved in, it was just an odd feeling. It will pass. I like my new apartment. Remember all those problems I used to have with my cable internet dropping every morning - right around this time actually, 10-11am? Don't have those any more. My connection hasn't dropped once since September actually. It is the small things really.

And November Begins

Saturday, November 01, 2008

Been out of it for a bit. I was sick the last time I wrote in here, and then Monday morning I woke up sick with the flu. I thought I might even have to go to the emergency room or doctor at some point. I was that sick. I'm on the mend now thankfully, but it was one tough week. I spent most of the first three days in bed, and the last two days wanting to be in bed. I don't have that complete luxury though. I've had work to do. Work needs to get done.

I do have some good news though. On Monday, I was hired on to run two new celebrity gossip sites. These are a bit most focused than what I'm doing currently. I'm the new writer behind All Things Britney and All Things Lindsay. Two of the biggest pop princesses with lives that just need following. Both have new CD's on the way out, and if they aren't doing something their families are. I'm excited to be given the chance to talk about them both and share them with my readers.

I'm still as busy as ever with Celebrity Today and Teevieo as well. I have some plans coming up for Celebrity Today in the weeks ahead. More DVD reviews, and some great giveaways too. If you're someone that follows that blog, you'll be in on all the action. Right now, I need to get back to work. It never ends!

Hold My Calls Please

Thursday, October 23, 2008

That was me yesterday. I didn't feel well at all. I did what I needed to do, and then I grabbed a DVD and laid in bed off and on until I felt better. Well, at least I had a new DVD to keep me occupied.

Yesterday, I received the box set for The 4400 in the mail to review for Celebrity Today.  I'd heard a lot about the series, but I had never found the time to watch it. I was able to watch season one yesterday, and I am continuing on today with season two.

Good news on the home front. We might have a car in the house by the end of the day. Never know how much you miss a car until you don't have one. I don't drive, but my family does. Makes it so much easier to go places when you have a car!

I feel much better today. Not perfect, but better. Back to work with me!

Things To Ponder

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Today while I was doing my daily Entrecard drops, I came across a post titled 10 reasons your blog sucks. A bit of a strong statement, but some blog aren't as fancy as others. Some do this clearly just for fun, and are not serious about it. They pop in when they can.

After reading the list though, I discovered blogs that did one or more of the things on the list. I'll even be honest and say I've done a few of those things on the list myself. We are guilty of letting our blogs go from time to time. Life gets in the way.

I was thinking about it, and I've had this blog going for nearly four years now. That is a long time. I'm not sure how long I'll keep this blog going. I always seem to have something to say. I have my quiet moments to though. I think everyone is like that at the end of the day. We all have our moments.

The Phone Doesn't Stop

Monday, October 20, 2008

I'm sure we are all used to the phone ringing non-stop these days. The election calls are coming, and those won't stop until election day. The advertising ones get to me the most. There are ways to stop the calls, but does it really work? Today, I found this site that lets you report phone numbers you get called from, Report Annoying Callers. I think this makes it easier to block these numbers from being able to call you. Some of the descriptions of the calls made are frank and honest. Some are harassing.

Just this morning, I received a phone call from someone. All the man said was hi. Nothing else. Strangest thing ever really. I tried saying hi again and talking to the man, but he didn't say one more thing. Weird!

Manic Monday 10-20

Sunday, October 19, 2008



How long does it take you to get out of bed in the morning?: Usually only a minute or two. Unless I see its before 7am, then I stay in bed. I don't like being up before it is light out!

Do you usually sleep on one side of the bed or another?: I sleep right in the middle of my bed!

Something you wish to accomplish before the end of the year: I want to be writing for another site or two. I want to write another story too.

--

Another Monday. Where do the weeks go? Last week, I was sick. I have stomach issue. Stress related ones, and there were a few stressful things last week. This week is a new week, and I cut down on a few things that were overwhelming me a bit. I needed to prioritize a bit. Something we all need to do once in awhile I think. Right now, I'm ready for bed!

Bit By a Bug

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

My new computer was bit by its first virus. Yes, it lost its virus virginity yesterday. Around 11am yesterday, my computer restarted itself out of nowhere. I wasn't sure why. When it came back, the network and volume icons were gone from my system tray. I didn't think anything of it. Just went about my day.

I finally decided to look at that issue around 11 last night. I figured it would be a quick fix, and it would have been if there was a virus at the cause of it. It took me nearly three hours to figure out how to get rid of it. With the new system, I was having a few issues. I couldn't figure out how to boot into safe mode to delete the file in question. Finally able to enter safe mode on boot, and the file wouldn't delete.

I tried a simple system restore at first, but it wouldn't let me do that. Two hours later, I thought I might have to pull out the discs to do a complete restore, but I decided to give a system restore one more shot. This time to an earlier point. This time it worked. It was just one big pain. At least, my computer survived.

Almost Halloween Time

Monday, October 13, 2008

October means it is almost time for Halloween. I used to love Halloween as a kid. I tried to go trick or treating in costume until my 18th birthday. I thought it was fun, and I liked going around to see what some people did to decorate for the holiday. Some went all out and made little haunted houses up. Some did little spooky performances, and that was the main reason I kept going out each and every year.

Here in Arizona, not many stop by our apartment at Halloween. We buy the candy, and we end up eating it all by ourselves. I'm not complaining about that at all by the way! If kids actually came by our apartment, I might actually go through with dressing up. There is a costume and party store not too far from my apartment actually.

You can even buy your costumes online these days. It seems you really can buy almost anything online. You just need to look around a bit for it. Today, I found a Halloween Costumes site called Halloween Adventure. They even have costumes for pets. My cat would kill me slowly if I even thought about putting him through a costume experience though. I think if I were to dress up, the Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz costume would be cute.

The site has costumes for just about everyone though. All the big movie and television names are featured. I think my cat would make a great joker. Look at the picture below. I've noticed when they need pictures for something like this, they always feature dogs. Where is the cat love?! What do you want to be for Halloween this year?


Just Another Manic Monday

Does anyone remember that song? It is one of my favorite songs, and I also seem to think of it on Mondays. I seem to be getting this blog on track. I might miss a day here and there, but I really didn't have much to say here. I didn't want to bore everyone here with my promotional efforts for Celebrity Today because I didn't want to use this site to be all about that. Sure, I do promote it here. Celebrity Today is on the sidebar, but that is it really.

The weather is finally cooling off here. We are at 73 right now instead of 110. This means I'm dealing with allergies, and I am freezing my butt off. I went to the store earlier, and it wasn't even out of the sixties yet. I'm looking at getting an LCD Flat Screen monitor for my computer. I thought I found a great deal on one at Staples, but it might not work with video card. Since it is online only deal, if it doesn't work I'm stuck with it. This isn't acceptable.

The flat screen monitors are so cool though. I will have to keep looking at them. I'm sure I'll find one eventually. This one is fine, so if it decides to die, I know what I'm getting next time I upgrade. Right now, I need to get a new stereo. Mine is pretty much dead. Ugh. What a pain! More later everyone.

The Case Of The Missing Glasses

Sunday, October 12, 2008


I've have worn eye glasses since I turned six. Although, I think I stopped wearing them somewhere around my 18th birthday. I never liked wearing my glasses, and even though I knew they were somewhere in my house, I didn't know where. In the move, we had to pack up and get rid of a lot of things. I found a lot of things in the process.

One was the social security card I thought I lost two months ago, and the other was my eye glasses. They are scratched up, beat up, and right now as I am sitting here typing this, I once again don't know where my glasses are. Yes, I know. I'll find the eventually. I know I probably should think about buying a new pair of glasses. I just never really seem to get around to it.

Today, I found out that you can even buy glasses online. Makes sense because in this day and age you can pretty much buy everything online. I even found an article about the service. Zenni Optical has eyeglasses as low as $8 dollars, which is one of those shockingly low numbers, where you wonder if its true or not.

I spent some time on the site this morning, and I found a pair that might just work for me. The pairs do start at $8.00, and they even offer free anti-scratch coating and UV protection. I really like this frame, and it comes in a number of different colors too. What do you think?

Blogging Your Blessings Sunday

Been awhile since I posted one of these. Life has been hectic. I'm blessed because as hectic as the move was, it was completed relatively easily. I really didn't want to move, but I like the new apartment, and my cable internet no longer gives me problems like it did in my old apartment. That right there everyone is a blessing all on its own. I've talked about the problems I've had with my Internet time and again since I signed up for cable internet almost three years ago. Or is it four? One of the two. It was a real pain, and now the problems are history. Almost makes me wish we had moved sooner!

Have a great Sunday everyone.

Saturday Ramblings

Saturday, October 11, 2008

Another day. Another post. I know all of you are probably shocked. Entrecard is down. They have been having problems since last night. I have allergies bugging me to no ends.

My brother just came in here, being cute and wanting to rip down my Bon Jovi poster because he says I don't like him anymore. I still do. I just expanded my interests to include a huge amount of love for Eric Bana. Variety is the spice of life after all, and have any of you seen the man?

I like the weekends because I can slow down a little bit, but at the same time I really can't slow down. It is that whole double edged sword thing. Right now, I'm trying to fight taking medicine for my allergies. Ugh. I really should. I just hope I'm not catching a cold. Have a great day everyone.

Thinking About Webhosting

Friday, October 10, 2008

Time and again, I have considered getting web hosting for my blog and pulling it completely off blogger. I know many go through this internal debate as bloggers. I have had this blog since March 2005. Yes, I don't post daily like I used to in the past, but I'm still here, and I will hopefully be able to post more as time goes on. I need some place to let my hair down and just be myself. This blog is that place.

I'm always looking at sites that offer you information about webhosting. I came across this one today in fact. This one site compares the various webhosting sites out there for someone looking to make the leap. It reviews the big names Yahoo!, which it gave two thumbs up, and then it also reviews others like HostMonster. Coming in at number one was a provider I hadn't heard before called InMotion.

The site also offers information other than their list of best hosting providers. Articles include information on managed hosting. If you're pondering taking the leap yourself, it is always good to research. This might be the place to start.

Feeling overwhelmed

That is what I was yesterday. It is really amazing what sleeping in late will do to your mind. Of course, late was 9am. To some that might not be late at all, especially when you think about the fact I work from home. I looked at the clock at 7am, and I told myself just ten more minutes. That ten minutes turned into two hours somehow. That can happen so easily.

For the rest of the day, I felt rushed and stressed out beyond belief. Thursday is my busiest day of the week. Sunday is also a bit hectic. Thursday is killer though because of the reviews I write for Celebrity Today. They won't write themselves! As much as I wish they would. I put a lot of work into my writing and blogs. It is good to finally see it paying off just a little. I want more though. Always want more.

September in review

Saturday, October 04, 2008

It is now October, and this means I am now living in my new apartment. September was the month from hell. Everything from moving to having the family car finally die out.  This means we have new car. At least not right now. We're working on it. We are learning just how good the public transportation is here. We have a free bus that takes us up the block and connects to other free bus routes. That helps. There is also the normal pay bus as well.

My dad lost his job in August, and he hasn't been able to find something new. He really shouldn't be working anyway. He's almost 83 years old. He just gets bored sitting home all day though. A couple of weeks ago, he twisted his knee and ankle. Both bother him. He walked too much, and that is what happened.

I've been busy with Celebrity Today. I'm really excited to see how well my blog is doing. My posts have been picked up a lot more recently through Blogburst as well. I've seen my television reviews end up on Reuters, USA Today and the Chicago Sun Times. Some of my other articles as well, and I saw a DVD review I posted go through USA Today as well. It helps give that little confidence boost when things don't seem to be going right.

I miss writing though. I know that might sound silly because I write every single day, but I miss writing fiction. I miss creating characters. My mind just doesn't click for fiction much anymore.  I'm always thinking of my blog and things for that. Ugh. I just miss fiction. It is where I started, but I know I make more money with my nonfiction. I need to be able to pay the bills. Someday I would like to make enough to have my own apartment. No, I need to make enough to have my own place. I'm working towards it. Slowly but surely.

Living in a Vista World

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

That is what it appears we now live in. I've had my trusty computer since 2002, when a couple of weeks ago, it started giving me a problem turning on. I knew it was the power switch. I just needed a new one. I called the manufacturer, and they told me they no longer carry that for my model. I would need a new computer.

So this is where I entered a Vista world. I've heard so many horrible things about Vista. I didn't want to switch to it, but the computer is great. 2.7 GHZ and 2Gb of Ram. I have never had a computer run this fast. I hated Vista though. A lot of the programs I had grown to love using stopped working in Vista.

Two weeks later, and I like Vista a little better. I don't think it is from Vista itself. I'm learning how to work with it, but I still miss how things used to be on my XP computer. If I had a retail XP disc, I would have downgraded already.

What I love is how much faster my computer is and how much faster I can get things done. If I was still in XP, I bet it would be even faster because XP uses less memory. The move is next weekend. You don't really realize how much junk you have until you start throwing it out! I should be around more in October.

A Moment

Sunday, August 31, 2008

To all those in the eye of Hurricane Gustav at the moment, please take care and get out of its way as fast as you can. My thoughts and prayers are with all those affected by this coming storm.

Up Way Too Early

Thursday, August 28, 2008

I have no idea why I find myself up and awake before 6am. The blog here has been quiet here the last few weeks, but I have had a tough August. I had the flu for nearly two weeks, and next month I am moving. It is a small move, but we are preparing things now for a move into our new apartment by September 20. We are being forced to make the move. It is either that or move out of our building entirely.

My focus has been on getting well, keeping up my entertainment blog, Celebrity Today, and now this move. This should be an interesting month, and I am hoping things run smoothly. Not only that, but my family has been dealing with some changes as well. Changes with my dad's employment. My brother started a new job.

Someone I knew in high school contacted me the other day on my My Space. That was a bit trippy. All in all, life is definitely keeping me on my toes lately, and I foresee a lot of changes in the weeks and months ahead. If this blog is a bit quiet in the coming weeks, that is why. All should be well and in hand by October 1st. If not sooner!

Hear It On Twitter First

Monday, August 04, 2008

That is what I'm learning. It seems when news breaks, it becomes viral within moments if you are on twitter and follow a lot of people. Last week when we had the California earthquake, residents in the area immediately went to their twitters and shared about it. I knew about the earthquake almost within moments. I could have been there and felt it myself for how fast I knew it.

Later in the week, Problogger was banned from Stumbleupon and because of Twitter and a post submitted to Digg, he was reinstated almost within the hour. I looked at my tweets, and there had been a firestorm about the ban.

Today, the topic that hit everyone fast was the news of Morgan Freeman's car accident. Twitter seems to be instant news. If you want instant feedback, go to twitter, and people will respond. I seem to be spending more time there these days, but time always seems to be so short!

Of Sezwho, loving in and Entrecard

Friday, July 25, 2008

Entrecard seems to be a big topic these days, and I know I've been discussing them on my blog a lot lately. I spend a good part of my day using the site promoting my other blog, and I've become a bit more active in the forums. Today, they announced they now have over 15,000 blogs in their system, and that is a huge number.

Not too long ago, they announced their partnership with Sezwho, which I did install on this blog for awhile. I just never found it to be working properly, so I ended up removing it after a few days. I know others have had problems with it. I was willing to try it though. I will give anything a fair shake.

Right now, I'm learning my way through twitter. I found Problogger's social media love in yesterday, and I went through and made some new twitter friends. I went from having a small list of people to follow to a rather large list. I'm learning how to manage it now, and it is getting easier. Always good to make more friends!

A Child of the 80s

Thursday, July 17, 2008



I was born in 1976, and I spend my younger years in the 80s. I love the music. I loved the television, and I loved the movies. One of my favorite 80s movies has to be The Breakfast Club. Who didn't love the brat pack? Emilio, Judd and Molly - among a list of others that made up this group of movie stars known for the teen movies of the decade. St. Elmo's Fire is another one, and I just sat down and watched Some Kind Of Wonderful the other night. There are so many great movies from the 80s. It takes me back to my youth, and it reminds me how great a time it was. WarGames, one of the popular movies of the time, is coming back for a one night only event in theaters on July 24. That is next week. The showing will also contain never before seen interviews. It is hard to believe it's been twenty years, but it has. You really don't want to miss out on catching this!

Sponsored by NCM Fathom

Firefox 3 & Entrecard

I've been talking a lot about Entrecard on my blog lately, but it is site I find myself spending more and more time on. I've had some problems lately with dropping on my one blog account because of Firefox 3. It kept logging me out.

However, tonight I figured out a small workaround that will work for me until the problem is solved. It isn't the best solution, but it will let me get back to dropping regularly on this blog, and not just my other one. I installed Flock. They call it the social browser.

It is made using the Firefox engine, but since I installed an older version I am not having the same logging out issue I was having. It will do for now.

Keeping Safe On The Internet

The past few weeks I've been coming across sites that have been labeled as attack sites and have been blocked from my browser. I hadn't seen this much in the past, but now it seems to be more and more common. I like it. It is way of them protecting me from the bad you can find on the Internet - viruses, porn, and the like.

However, these filters aren't always full proof, and there are ways to get around them if you really want to. Today, I found out I can ignore the warning and continue onto the site with just the click of a button. What if that had been a porn site, and I was just a teenager? One button click, and I would be able to see all the porn I wanted. There are a number of free porn sites popping up online. You can even find pornish videos on Youtube if you look around a bit.

Filters can be great, but they aren't always the only line of defense you need. There are programs out there, and today I discovered one that offers porn detection. This one might be something for parents to look into. I know I don't want any kid of mine watching porn. Not that I have kids! I do have nieces though, and if they were younger than they are now, I would want them protected. The youngest just turned eighteen. They grow so fast!

Anticipation Builds

Tomorrow I will be at the movie theater to see The Dark Knight. I have my ticket bought, and all I need to do is pick it up at the box office. I am really excited to see this movie, not only as a reviewer but as a fan of Batman. I've seen all of the movies, and I am a huge Christian Bale fan. I was saddened when Heath passed on, and even wrote about his death on this blog.

I'm exhausted lately though. It might be monthly thing, so I'm just waiting it out, and I'm not going to let it stop me from going to the movie tomorrow morning. I was lucky to get the ticket that I did. Showings were selling out. I'm in for the 11:20 showing.

Other than that, there have been a few minor annoyances in life lately. I had a minor issue with a site I write for, and it is making me ponder continuing on with the site. I left before, and I will again if I see it to be necessary. Right now, I'm just going on. Also having an issue on a more personal front. Family sometimes is just troublesome. Not sure why I bothered trying. Thank you for proving to me it wasn't worth the effort.

Knowing Your Bill IQ

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Something that has been weighing on my mind a bit lately is finances. Before I was worrying about not making enough money, but now I'm wondering just how much I'm going to get nailed when it comes tax time next year. It really is funny how that works. I don't like credit cards, and I don't like loans. I like to pay with cash or using my debit card straight from my account. I've seen what credit cards can do to a person.

Today I found a site that lets you take a quick test to find how financially fit you are. Debt help is also offered. In just a few short moments, I found out that I'm 85% percent financially fit, which isn't a bad number. It gives me a B. Not an A, but a B. Damn, I'd love that A. I try to pay the bills I do have on time, but since I work freelance from home a set savings is not yet in place for me. I needed to start making money because I could start really saving it. Now I'm working towards that.

I've invested some of my savings, and I have money market accounts where I can. Every little bit of savings helps. With this BillsIQ, I now know I still need to work on things. I need to save better and save more. One thing at a time though. I just started making more money!

Working The Social Networks

I posted this a few days ago over at the forums at Today.com, and I thought I might share this with everyone here. Since I started Celebrity Today, I've taken a crash course on social networking. I'm learning there are things to do and things to avoid. Social networks are meant to be social. You need to take part in them. Vote and leave a few comments. Submit more than just own articles. Some won't even let you submit your own stuff - like Newsvine and Stumbleupon. Stumbleupon will let you up to a certain point, but then it will stop you.

I've learned lately it isn't good to submit every single post on your blog to the social networking sites, digg especially. Submit the ones of length and that are not found already. How many people wrote about Angelina and Brad's twins? A lot. If everyone digged there post about it, that would be a lot of posts on digg with maybe one or two votes.

If you're able to be the first on a topic, if you're able to add something to discussion the other posts haven't already made, then go on ahead and submit. With digg, do not shout every single post. If people have you added as a friend, they will see your post without shouting it. If you do shout, make sure the article is worth the shout. A paragraph about Angelina's reason for naming her babies might get you some looks.

I've used a lot of the social networking sites. From the big ones like Digg, reddit, Stumbleupon, Proppeller and Mixx to the little guys like Blog Engage, Blogatiser, Kirtsy, Livewire, Post on Fire, Thoof, and Blogvine. There are a couple of others, and some have worked better for me than others. Not every single one will work for you.

Time just flies by

Monday, July 14, 2008

I've been horrible about keeping things up here, but things are busy. Things get added in, and my schedule goes to heck. I'm working on it though. The past week my house has been mostly empty. My brother has been off coaching in a couple of out of state tournaments. The first in Oregon, and he flies back in from Chicago tomorrow.

I've been writing a lot, but not any fiction. Someone should smack me for that. I'm just so tired by the end of the day that pulling out a story to work on is just hard. I even have less time to read. Most of my days are either spent promoting or writing for Teevieo or Today.com. I have applied to a couple of other sites, and I'm waiting to hear back.

One sounds like it might be right up my alley, and the second is using the skills of researching celebrity gossip stories online and sharing them. No writing involved. I'm hoping to hear back on that. I always email new positions I find. I do have a blog idea for something out of my genre of celebrity gossip and news, but I'm still pondering it. Something in the technology genre dealing with software.

The good news is I finally see results. I've been writing professionally since 2001, and I've not had one year where I have had to file taxes due to my earnings from my freelance writing. This year I will have to. I hope I don't have to pay a lot! Crossing fingers there. It isn't like I spend a lot though. I buy the occasional DVD or poster, but I like to save my money.

Now if only I could get something going with the fiction. One sale makes me want more.

I will admit ...

Saturday, July 05, 2008

5238dd240x180publicThat I am a messy person. My room is not the cleanest. It's not the type of dirty that is gross and disgusting by any means, but there are clothes and piles of papers all over my room. I revolt against cleaning, and I have for a long time now. Growing up, my mother would be so hard about being nice and neat. As I grew older, I just learned how to hate it. Instead of cleaning, I wish I could just throw at least half of what I have in my room at this moment right out the bedroom window or over the balcony ledge and have it go into some great abyss to never be seen from again.

Could you imagine is we could really do that? I hate doing laundry. I hate vacuuming. I hate everything about it. The rest of the house is fairly neat and tidy thanks to my dad and brother. You would think it would be the men that would be the messy ones, but no its me! I am admitting it fully right here and now. Will I change someday? There is always room for change and improvement. So someday I might change my ways. I need to clean sometimes right? I'm thinking I'm do for a cleaning right now actually.

We have this huge loud vacuum right now, and it is such a pain. There is a new vacuum out right now by Dirt Devil . I used to have one of these myself years ago. It is even Energy Star compliant, which is important. Could the new hand held or stick vac help me in my cleaning? It could. Anything is possible. I just need to stop hating the word!

Sponsored by Dirt Devil AccuCharge

Maybe time does heal all wounds.

Friday, July 04, 2008

The fourth of July hasn't been my favorite holiday for quite some time. Growing up in Los Angeles, I used to love the day. It was a day filled with family, food and fireworks. Thirteen years ago today, my mother passed away, and I've always said she helped keep this family together. She may have adopted me, but she was still my blood. Complicated family tree. I don't speak to my birth father these days at all, and I barely talk to anyone else. I called my brother in California this week, and he isn't doing all too great. If you pray, throw in a few words for him.

It's kind of funny to me because in learning how to tweet, storm facebook and bouncing around online this week I actually found the facebooks of some people I once knew or talked to. It is weird finding people like that online, but you get over it. Today to me is just another day. I take it a little bit slower, think a little bit more, and I remember the woman that raised me. She was only 57 when she passed away, and she would be seventy now. I sometimes wonder how she would be now, how I would be if she still loved. She was always my strongest supporter. I still miss her, but this year it isn't as sad. Not sure why, but that's just how it is. Have a happy 4th of July everyone.

Of Digg, Entrecard and Editor's Choice

Tuesday, July 01, 2008

I've been using Entrecard almost since the day it arrived on the scene. Some things have come around as ways to get readers to your site, and they just don't seem to work very well. Blogrush is one of these things that immediately comes to mind. Yes, I'm using it on my blogs right now, but I'm just trying to see if there has been any more improvements since I last used it. In the week I've had it back on, there hasn't much of anything in the way of new traffic. I'll give it another week trial and see what happens.

Entrecard, however, has been a great way to get find new blogs to read myself and get new people to my blogs. I've noticed just how well the service can work in the past month with my other blog, Celebrity Today. A lot of my readers come from there, and I love seeing them come back day after day. Last night, Graham over at Entrecard started something new with Digg. Entrecard is really the biggest social network of pure bloggers out there, so when they join together it is going to be great. People have been adding me on digg all morning, and I'm hoping this is another great way to get my blogs noticed.

Celebrity Today was just honored today as Today.com's Editor Choice Blog for the month of June. I've put a lot of work on that blog, and I know it is still new. It will be two months old this month. If the months ahead, I plan to keep writing good content and contributing to the blog community as best as I can. Happy July everyone. Posts three days in a row! I needed to revive this blog too.

Upgrading to Firefox 3

Monday, June 30, 2008

I usually hate change. Software programs are constantly updated, and when they are any number of problems can pop up. Everything from system resource usage going through the roof to features you depend on disappearing. A week or so ago, Firefox updated itself to Firefox 3. They had a huge download day, and yes I did download it back then. Then half of my add-ons stopped working. To me this was unacceptable. So I went back down to Firefox 2. I knew in time the add-ons I use regularly would be supported by Firefox 3, and today the ones I was waiting for were updated to new versions. So I finally took the leap to Firefox 3.

There were a few problems. A few extensions still didn't work. I lost my themes. I somehow lost the bookmarks I'd made in the last week. All small problems. I hunted down versions of my add-ons that did work with Firefox 3, found some new extensions for the ones that didn't have compatible versions, and then found some new themes. Then there was a problem with my No Script add-on and Entrecard that I needed to fix, but once I did everything settled. So far, I can see some faster load times with Firefox 3 compared to the times I had with Firefox 2. I see that as a good thing. Here is to change. Anyone else have experienced this change recently? What do you think of the new Firefox?

Twitter, Facebook ... oh my!

Sunday, June 29, 2008

This week, I've been learning about some of the other social networking and blogging places out there. I've jumped full speed ahead into Tweetville, and I love it. I see it as a good way to interact with other people, and it can also be a good way to promote your work around the web. The month of June has gone by so fast for me, and I know July will be another interesting month. I am trying to decide if I want to go BlogWorld in September. It's in Vegas, and I'm just a short plane trip away in Phoenix. It might be a good idea to go since blogging seems to be my main activity now. I'll keep pondering it.

And It Is Friday

Friday, June 20, 2008

I'm sorry for being so quiet here lately. I think things might be finally settling down. I know I keep saying that, but this time I mean it! Knocks on wood. I'm pondering an idea for a short to submit to Torquere. I have five weeks to write it. I should be able to. I'm just trying to get things going elsewhere. Anyway here is a Friday Feast to help me get back into the swing of things.


Appetizer

If you could live on another continent for 1 year, which one would you choose? - I think I would pick Europe. I love so many of the cities and countries there. I'd hop from Paris to Rome and then to London.

Soup

Which browser do you use to surf the Internet? - After years of being a dedicated Internet Explorer user, I have seen the light and I am now a Firefox user.

Salad

On a scale of 1-10 (with 10 being highest), how much do you know about the history of your country? - Ten years ago I would have said a ten, but you forget these things over time. Now I think 7-8.

Main Course

Finish this sentence: Love is… everything.

Dessert

Have you ever been in or near a tornado? - No. Earthquakes were bad enough.


Summer Is Coming

Monday, May 19, 2008

Summer is just about here, and that means it is time for those all important summer vacations. My father and I have been discussing heading to Vegas for a few days sometime this summer, and this has always been one of our favorite vacation spots. Growing up, my family went to Vegas at least once a year. There are plenty of things to do in Las Vegas, even if you aren't over the legal gambling age of twenty-one. There is even more to see and do now as the city has grown. It is one of those cities you can find something to do any time of the day or night. My favorite and wildest vacation there was the summer I turned eighteen. I remember gambling at the dice tables at 5am. Yes, I know I said eighteen, and I know that isn't the legal age for gambling, but the pit boss liked my chest. My shirt hid nothing! My mom and dad were both with me, and we all had a really fun time. We even decided to stay an extra day. If you have never been to the city before, there are sightseeing tours available from Trusted Tours and Attractions. Things to do in Boston are also covered by this company! If you want more information about tours in any of the cities Trusted Tours is located in with things to do in all of those cities, you can join their electronic newsletter. If you join this month, you are entered to win $150 you can use to download from iTunes!

Toothache From Hell

Friday, May 16, 2008

That is what it feels like anyway. That is what I've been dealing with the past twenty-four hours. I've never had a tooth hurt so much. I'm actually not sure if it is the gum or the tooth itself, but it hurts. I've taken so many medicines in the last twelve hours I'm not sure how I'm still standing. I'm hoping it goes away this weekend. It has made it hard for me to do much of anything. I've caught up on a lot of television today while spending time with my niece. She made it safe and sound yesterday afternoon, and I'm going to miss her when she leaves tomorrow. Right now, I'm going to finish watching Moonlight, which I really hope is saved, and then I plan to head to bed.

Are The Monsoons Hitting Early?!

Thursday, May 15, 2008

Anyone that lives in Arizona knows we have a summer storm season. I just had a weather alert sent to me by my weather program for a dust storm warning until 5:00pm. Dust storms and thunderstorms are not uncommon here during the summer months, but they usually don't kick in until later in the summer season. For them to be hitting this soon is a bit strange, and I've lived here for fourteen years now. I look outside, and there is clouds overhead, and the wind is picking up. Remember what I said earlier about my niece coming into town? She hasn't made it here yet. I hope she isn't caught in the weather. Still I can't believe the summer storm season is already here. I might need to tune in to the news in a bit to see just what they say about these developments this afternoon.

And it just started to rain ...

Get Sparked

For the past several weeks, and I am thinking for even longer than that, I have been hearing about SocialSpark. This is a new social networking and paid to blog site from Izea, and it has just gone public in the last week or so. I hadn't joined it yet, but today I took that dive finally. The site needs the latest browser running on your computer. Both Firefox and Internet Explorer 7 work with the site, but I'm still using Internet Explorer 6 as my IE choice. Luckily, I do use Firefox as well. It is easy to sign up and then set up your profile and blogs into the system. Now I am just waiting for them to verify my blog and check to see if I have the proper tools added. They also need to look at my blog, and see if they want to accept it into the system.

I'm hoping that happens, and it should just take about twenty-four hours for this entire process to happen. That is what they said when I submitted my blog just now. The site looks easy to navigate. It only took me a few minutes of looking around to find things I needed. It has a pleasing look to it too. What makes SocialSpark different than other paid to blog sites is the links are all no follow. This is a good thing. I am looking forward to making new blogger friends through the network, and seeing what all the buzz is about for myself.

EDIT: Blog was approved in less than an hour. Not bad! I'm looking around again now, and I'm excited about this new opportunity.

Gay Marriage In California

Yes, that's right. The news is gay marriage is now legal in California. There might be a turnaround with it still, but right now at this moment if you're gay and living in the state of California you can go get married. I never thought I would see this day come, but here it is. I was born in the state of California, and I lived there for the first eighteen years of my life. I thought if there was a state in the Union that would make this a reality, it was the state of California, and that day has come. This might lead the way for other states to pass similar laws, and I hope it does. As a bisexual woman, and a writer of gay literature this is a big day for me. I'm tempted to write a quick story about a couple going to get married now, but I will have to file that plot bunny away for another day.

Visiting!

My niece is visiting for a couple of days. She's just finished up her junior year of college, and she is heading home for the summer. She lives in California with her family, and she goes to school in New Mexico. She's driving back, and she decided to stop off here on the way back to see her grandfather and I. I honestly don't even remember the last time I saw her. I think she may have been in junior high school still. Yes, it has been that long. We don't make it back to California much, but we used to in the past. It really isn't an easy drive. She's already on her way, so I'm trying to make the apartment at least a bit presentable. My room is the worst of it. I'm a bit of a messy person. Just a little. My mom wouldn't be happy about that, but I think this is my way of getting back at her for always having things so damn neat.

I'm about to make my bed here, and I keep telling myself I need new bedding. My blanket has seen better days, and I'm not even sure when the last time I bought new sheets was. That would tell me it has been a long time. This morning, I decided to take a quick look online to see what was available, and there is new Tommy Hilfiger Bedding out. It is probably a bit more than I'm looking for, but it is nice to look at. I typically buy things on the lower end of the spectrum, but I don't mind looking!

A productive week!

That is what this has been. There are a few problem areas, but I'm sure I'll be able to fix those soon. I'm hoping so anyway. I'm moving forward with my new blog over at Today.com. If you haven't checked it out yet, why haven't you?! Kidding kidding. I'm enjoying it though, and I'm also moving forward with my fiction. I wrote a bit in one work in progress earlier this week, and I've been bit by another plot idea that I might try tackling soon. Really soon. The idea keeps popping up in my head, so I'm thinking that is telling me something. Other than that. Life is just good right now. I just want it to keep going that way.

Today's Thursday Threesome is  ::Mark my Words::

Onesome: Mark--ing devices? What do you use to mark things up around the house, school, work, wherever? Does the Sharpie rule? ...or do you believe in the sanctity of the pencil <g>?  - My brother has his sharpie and dry erase pens all over the living room. I'm the standard pen and pencil type of girl. On my computer, I have a sticky note software program with a list of important dates on my desktop screen.

Twosome: "My-- day starts off best when I......" I'll let you fill in the blank at your place!  - When I get up early, and I get things done. If I let things set until later in the day I just feel like I've wasted the day somehow. This is a change for me because a few years ago, I used to sleep in and do everything last. Now I'm up around 7am every morning, and I'm done with my work related things by at the latest ten am.

Threesome: Words-- of a feather clump together? Nah, but hey: what word pairings do you use routinely? Are you into alliteration? ...pithy comments? 'Down home' sayings? Give it up for Thursday! - I seem to have this habit of throwing the word actually around. I see it popping up everywhere, and I am now making a conscious effort of stopping using that word!



Wordless Wednesday #11

Wednesday, May 14, 2008



Am I the only one excited for this coming out next month?


Moonlight Angst

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

This is prime example of why I do not let myself get too involved in television shows. News from today's upfronts is that CBS has decided to not renew Moonlight for a second season. This is shocking to say the least because from what I've noticed the series has a strong fan base. I tune in weekly myself, and I was actually into the story line of Mick St. John and his life. This is just horrible. I'm wondering if fans will try to rally support for the series like they did for Jericho last year. A whole bunch of peanuts were delivered to the offices of CBS, and they gave the show another shot. What could we send in here folks? Pints of blood? Just an idea! I'm not sure how much CBS would like that. Damn it. I really liked Moonlight.

Knocks On Wood

I hope I'm not jinxing this by saying it out loud, but life is really good lately. Things seem to be falling into place slowly but surely. I picked up the new freelance assignment at Today.com. I am moving forward with my fiction. I actually submitted my one short already out, The Real Deal, to a few review sites yesterday. I'm still learning how this whole process works, but the fact is I am learning. It just took me a while, but maybe the pieces are falling into place now. I can only hope really. I love to write. I always have. I've been writing since I was so young I can't even remember. I loved getting into character and creating stories long before I even started writing them down. It has always been fun for me, and now I share my writing with other people.

Things also seem to be falling into place personally. I've rid myself of some people that weren't really all that good for me, and I'm still in the process of doing that. It is never an easy process. The whole letting go aspect has been something I've had trouble doing over the years, but the past six months or so I've realized I needed to do it. I had to do it to be healthy, and that is what I finally did. I just want things to continue going well. That is why I'm knocking on wood and crossing my fingers right now.

They Continue

Monday, May 12, 2008

The car problems that is. Remember last week when I mentioned that my dad had locked himself out of his car? That has happened twice now. Someone put in a non-standard car alarm into his car, and it has gone bad. We need to have the alarm removed completely, but that is proving to be difficult. They connected way too many wires, so it is going to cost us. With the alarm the way it is, we can't close our car windows. We need to reach in and open the car from the inside. It is the only car we have at the moment, and we're still working on getting a second. We've had to rent a car a few times over the past year, but that just costs too much. Right up the street from us, we do have car rental available through Advantage rent a car. They are just a few blocks from us, and we have used them in the past. They have a number of different specials and discounts, especially since we live in the area. It is just a pain really though. I'll be glad when my father's car is fixed, and we have a second car. No more hassle.

Today.com!

Good news everyone. Well, good news to me. I've been selected as one of the bloggers over at Today.com. It is up and coming blogging network looking for professional bloggers to write for several topics. I've been selected to cover the latest in celebrity news with daily posts about what is happening with celebrities, movies and a bit of television. I still work currently with Blogcritics and Teevieo, so this is just another place you'll be able to find me daily. I keep up with the gossip daily anyway. Why not write about it? You can check out the latest by checking out my sidebar.

Happy Mother's Day

Sunday, May 11, 2008

This day is usually a sad day for me. I lost my own mother several years ago. Past a decade now, and she was always a very important part of my life. I've always felt a bit cheated by having lost her so young in life. There were so many things she missed out on. She was my biggest supporter. She always stood by me, no matter what I did. We had our problems too. All mothers and daughters do. No relationship is perfect when it comes to mothers and daughters. I know in my life though I was blessed to have her as my mom. It took me a long time to admit that to myself because I allowed our problems cloud my judgment of her. She was a good woman though, and she loved me. Someday I hope I can be half the mother she was, but I'm not sure it is in my destiny to be someone's mom. There are days I just can't see myself doing that. I have enough with my cats. I know that might sound silly, but some people aren't put on this earth meant to be parents. Others are. I think I'm one of the former. To all of the mothers out there though, have a wonderful mother's day.

If it isn't one thing ...

Thursday, May 08, 2008

You know how the saying goes, if it isn't one thing then it is the other. That couldn't be more true of the last two weeks for me. First my computer gets hit by viruses. Then I catch a cold, and my internet connection has fits. The cold and the connection issues have hung on. Today my father locked his car, and it won't open. Faulty alarm issues there. Those need to be fixed. We just tackle the issues as they come on. At least the cough is going away. That has been driving me nuts.

About a month ago, I mentioned about a contest I found online through Renuzit Triscents. The contest has now entered its semi-final round, and they want people to vote for the best contestant out of the ten left to win the home makeover. You can check out the contestants in the semi-finalist gallery. I took a look at the contestants, and I voted for this family. The four of them live in a small two bedroom house that from the looks of things needs a lot of work. It sounds like they are going through some difficult times, which is something I can definitely appreciate at the moment. Take a quick look, and see who you think should win the $20,000 makeover from Renuzit and Tanya Memme!

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Monday, May 05, 2008

A new week has begun, and the past week has been a bit hellish. After my computer decided to get hit by viruses several times last week, my connection decided to join in and give me trouble. We will call it a two-for-one special. The connection problems were caused by some work being done on my apartment building. They are repainting the whole complex, and our section was done this last week. While painting, they stupidly painted over my cable wires. The paint didn't set well on my wires, and my Internet connection is so iffy at times, I had problems most of the weekend. I had to take the paint off, and make sure all the wires and connection were in order.

I think I have it set now. It was knocking me off the most between 10:30 and 1pm, and things look good today so far. It is such a pain! Not only did I have computer issues, I also came down with a cold on Friday night. I was coughing all weekend. I kept taking naps and making sure I rested. Today I feel better than yesterday, and I'm hoping to feel even better tomorrow. I'll get back to my normal blogging habits once things are more calm. I'm thinking soon.

Fear & Writer's Block

Thursday, May 01, 2008

We all have our insecurities in life. Every single one of us. Two places this week, I've seen how fear can make you think you're dealing with writer's block. Writing isn't easy. It is difficult to do, but I love doing it. I write in one form or another every day. I write for work, for fun, on this blog, and I also try to write fiction. That is where my block lies, and I am wondering if it may be related to fear instead of an actual block itself. I've had a hard time selling my fiction. I just made my first sale this past year. I've had people knock my writing down in general, and my self esteem in that area isn't the best. It is something I'm working on. I'm trying to submit more, write more, but it isn't easy. I'm trying though. I'm starting to wonder if I'm not trying hard enough.

A Bit Of History

Wednesday, April 30, 2008

I've always been fascinated by old homes. The ones you can tell have a lot of life to them. They have been around a hundred years or more, and you know the walls have stories to tell. They might even have a few spirits around to tell them. I love historic places. I love going to visit them and walk through the hallways. I know it may sound silly to some, but I've always been a history buff. Just this week, I found out that there is Titanic exhibit at the Science Center here. The story of the ill fated ocean liner has always fascinated me, and I'd really love to go. I might just get that chance.

I don't know what it is that grabs me about historic places. Growing up, I was fascinated by the story of Pompeii, the ancient city that was destroyed by a volcano. I'd watch shows that would take me to places that I knew I would never have the chance to see myself. In Orange, Texas, there is an old house that takes us back to Victorian times. The W.H. Stark House has been restored to its former glory, and people can visit. They can walk through its walls, and learn about the history of this Texan historic landmark.

The house once belonged to William Henry Stark and his wife. The man was an important part of history in Texas, and he was involved in much of the financial dealings in his day. The house was restored during a ten year process beginning in 1971, and today it is open to the public, where they can tour the house. The fifteen rooms contain much of the original furnishings.You can take a walk back through time and see how life was lived back in the early 1900s. You have to wonder the stories those walls can tell.

The Week From Hell

Back on Sunday afternoon, my computer suffered one of those fatal errors. Explorer crashed and kept crashing. I was hit by some kind of virus. I did a restore of my system. Reinstalling all the programs I needed. I hadn't done one of these in nearly three years, so I guess it was time. Sunday night just before I could install my virus protection, I was hit again. Thought I got it all, but my explorer started crashing and reopening, and I had pop-ups up to my neck. Did another restore. And another because one of the sites I regularly visit was hacked and infected my Internet Explorer. I didn't realize that or what it was doing until after another restore.

Once I figured out the problem, I was able to disable the problem add-on, and I think I'm okay now. You don't realize how much you depend on your computer until you almost lose it. I think I'm okay now. Virus program installed. Spyware remove installed and running. For a minute there, I thought my computer might be toast, but some work on my part and a lot of late hours, things are now running smoothly. I hope. I'm crossing my fingers anyway. That explains my absence the last few days. I hope all are well.

Thursday Thoughts

Thursday, April 24, 2008

Do you ever ask yourself how you fill your days? Most of my necessary work is done early in the day, and you would think this would leave me the rest of the day to do things I need to do. I need to write. I have ideas, but no drive. I need to find it. I keep thinking I have, but I still don't do anything. This really needs to change. I keep saying that I'm working on it, but I don't see anything changing. That is my fault. I'm the one to blame. I take full responsibility. I had another strange dream last night, but I've already forgotten what it was about. I need to start writing these things down!

Here is this week's Thursday Threesome ::The Convenience of Extra Cash::

Onesome: The-- endless onslaught of junk snail mail: how much do you get each week? I'm thinking maybe we could use it as insulation in our houses... I've lost count on how many advertisements we get in the mail each week. There is two weekly groups that come in every Tuesday and Wednesday, and then you have the various singles that come in throughout the week. Most of it goes in the recycling can the management of our building has set up right in the mail area.

Twosome: Convenience of-- a quick in and out? Do you have a convenience store nearby that is really convenient for you?: There are actually three around. Two on one side, and one on the other. Both are within a ten minute walk, or even faster to get to by car.

Threesome: Extra cash--? When you need some, where do you get it? ...the ATM? ..."write for over" at the store? What is this 'cash' thing you speak of <g>? I typically have a good handle on my money. I have some saved in the bank, and some locked away in a box in my home for those extra special cash emergencies.


 
 
 
 
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