Up the Hill Gang

This is from Gus’ Caringbridge site…this was just a few weeks before Gus died. You all will have to stick with me over the next little bit…I’ll be reminiscing a lot as we approach the second “Celebrate Gus Day” which is on May 31st. I am really, really missing this little guy. There are just some days that I can’t believe he is no longer here…

TUESDAY, MAY 16, 2006 03:46 PM, CDT

This has been a great day for Gus!! I couldn’t believe how skinny he looked this afternoon…he has lost a lot fluid!! WoooHooo!!! He is being weaned off the Epi, Norepi and the oscillator. Now all we need are a few organs!

Thanks as always for all the prayers!

Now that I’m officially going back to school, I really, really, really need a laptop. Before, I just wanted one, but now I NEED one! No, really, I do! You see, my pre-reqs I am taking online and with a laptop I’ll be able to go on the back deck, or my room and do my assignments. I could also take my laptop to homeschool co-op and work on my assignments while I am not volunteering. It’s just a practical purchase, ya know?

So what kind of laptop do you all recommend? What kind of laptop memory should I look for? Most importantly, where can I get the coolest bag for my laptop?? Send me suggestions, folks!!

It’s official!!  I have just paid for my first of three pre-requisite classes I need before applying to nursing school!!  We weren’t sure if I would be able to start working on these pre-reqs this summer because of our low funds, but God has worked out our money in such a way that I will now be able to take the class!  I am also thrilled that a friend just so happened to have the books I need for these classes and she’s letting me borrow them…another of God’s provisions!!

I am soooo excited!!  I’ll be taking Anatomy and Physiology I this summer and then Anatomy and Physiology II and Microbiology this fall.  All of these classes are online so I’ll be able to still homeschool the kids.  I hope to get into the evenings and weekend nursing school next summer.

Why in the world would I even consider faux plants for my home??? Well, look at the photo below…seriously, I think this photo says it all: I have no ability to keep plants alive and well!! I try, really I do. They just demand so much from me…like water, and sunlight! Sheesh!! I do wish that I could grow plants though because I really do love the “life” they bring to a room.

Another reason I would consider silk plants is because of Jake’s allergies. You see, we’ve not really had too much of a problem with his allergies when he’s inside….and that’s because I’ve managed to kill our plants. However, if I wanted to add plants back to the scene, he would probably struggle with the pollen. I know, I know, he wouldn’t struggle for too long since the plant would probably be dead within the week!

Seriously, I have no idea why I’ve not looked into silk plants before now. I guess I’ve always thought they looked so…fake. That’s not really the case with some silk plants though. There are quite a few that look quite real…so much so that you can’t help but feel them to find out!

I’d love to find a fiddlehead fern plant. Until then, these ferns will do just fine! Very nice!!

I am excited!  Tonight Belle and I are going to put our pajamas on early, pop a big bowl of popcorn and watch E.T.!!  The boys are going to a sleepover so we’ll be having a “Girl’s Night In”….and we are going to have FUN!!  I’m sure there will be some lovely makeovers taking place.  I usually end up looking quite…well, quite unique!

I think I’ll have Pete pick us up some Cheer Wine too….

I found this Fazoli’s Bag on e-Bay and its current bid is at $10.55!! I’ve been trying to save pennies here and there while Pete has been in school and obviously, I’ve been going about it the wrong way. I should have been selling garbage on e-bay!! Not only did I find this Fazoli’s Bag, but I also found a piece of blue chalk, a piece of burnt wood, and an empty baby food jar! Of course, I also came across the chicken nugget that looked like the Virgin Mary….bids were disappointingly low on this one!

Now, I’ll have to be honest, I’ve thought about selling things on e-Bay but the whole process just overwhelmed me. I know you can make a lot of money selling through e-Bay, but you also have to be organized and be able to take good photos of your items. Since I don’t have the desire to delve into all of that and become completely overwhelmed, I think iSold It would be a better option for me.

I love that I can just drop my item off at my local iSold It store and everything is taken care of….photos are taken, the listing is done, shipping is taken care of….seriously, how easier could it be?? I’d be crazy if I didn’t give this a try, ya know?

Now, if you don’t hear from me in awhile, I’m digging through my garbage looking for stuff to sale……

I just love Chris Rice’s songs.  Belle and I were just listening to one of his cds on the way back from dropping Pete off at school.  I love his songs that are about Heaven…they make my soul sing.

When Gus was in the hospital, Chris Rice was part of a fund raiser event for the hospital.  We were thrilled to find this out since we were already big fans.  It thrilled us even more to be able to talk to him after his performance.  We shared with him about Gus and he told us he would be praying…and I believed him.  Later that evening, the hospital PR guy dropped by to check on Gus (he was much loved by the staff!) and he brought a “Made You Smile” flat for Gus that had been signed by Chris.  Apparently the PR guy had told Chris about Gus too!  We hung it on the wall there in the hospital and after Gus died, it hung out here on one of the shelves.  I’m not sure where it is now…I need to find it….

This is really cool and my guys are going to love this!!

I’ve just found out about the Caffeinated ENGOBI™’s Guitar Hero™ Battle and I just know my boys and their friends will want to submit entries to win! All they have to do is video themselves playing Guitar Hero™ and then upload the video at the ENGOBI site. The grand prize is an Xbox 360™-enabled, customized Fender® Stratocaster. Of course, ENGOBI gear and other prizes will be awarded also.

The news of this contest comes at a perfect time because there is an “overnighter” planned for this Friday and I’m sure my guys and their friends will want to create their videos. I can’t wait to see all the craziness!! This could be very, very funny!!

I just realized that I had not invited you all over to my other blog where I have started my “Islands A-Z” series.  Since I will be starting school soon, we will not have the opportunity to do any kind of traveling so I thought I would “cyber-tour” islands around the world!  This week I’ve been visiting Anegada, BVI and posting about the animals, flowers, beaches, etc.  Next week I’m “cyber-visiting” Bird Island in the Seychelles.

I’m gladly accepting suggestions for islands to visit!

Have you gotten your free Southern Style Chicken Sandwich from McDonald’s yet?  Well today is the day and you don’t have a lot of time left to grab your good eats because the freebie chicken extravaganza ends at 7pm.  We went for lunch and I will have to say that these new chicken sandwiches are quite tasty!  They are certainly not as tasty as Chik-fil-a, but they are pretty darn close…they’ve got that same kind of taste.  Quite yummy!

Hat tip to Mommies With Cents…now my family has happy bellies filled with free chicken samiches!!

I’m two days behind on mopping my kitchen floor. Tuesdays are the days that I strive to take care of the floors here at the Doriot Hacienda. If it’s a floor, it gets cleaned…well, it’s my goal that it gets cleaned! Most of the time it gets shoved to the bottom of my to-do list because I’ve got kiddos running around.

When Gus was in the hospital, the cleaner gal would come by daily and spot mop our room. For some reason, I would always catch myself watching the mop…isn’t that weird?! Seriously, it was because the mop itself was so neat! It would swivel around and get in the corners and under the equipment and bed with great ease. This is sad, but I one day I almost asked if I could mop!

Seriously, I think if I had floor mops that are similar to those I saw used in the hospital, I would get my mopping task done in a timely manner. It would definitely be more satisfying to get all those corners good and clean!!

By the way, what do you all use to mop your kitchen floors?

I hate walking, but walking on the path down at Sycamore Shoals makes it better!  It’s really nice to walk along side the river and see all of the trees and plants in bloom and here the rushing water.   A couple of days ago we even saw a mama duck and three little babies on the path. Very cute!!  I fell fortunate to live near such an area….

I absolutely love mary jane type shoes. Just look at these two different styles I found over at Simple Shoes. I think I like the double strap one the best…no, wait…I think the top one because I like the contrast on the strap!

This online shoe store is really neat because they sale vegan shoes and bags that are eco-friendly. I did notice too that there is free shipping right now! I’m very tempted, folks…very tempted!!

UPDATE:  Ok…I removed the calendar and I’m feeling much better now…”trauma” has now subsided…for the moment! lol!!

Does anyone out there know how I can fix the margins on this Wordpress theme?? I hate when there is no white space between my sidebars and my main area…like it is now. This drives me nuts because everything runs together. I have looked around at different “help” sites but my eyes have glazed over and I just need someone to come in and make it all right! lol!! I hate dealing with code…I completely don’t understand anything past the basics so keep this in mind if you comment! If my dirtbag friend, Judi, would start creating Wordpress themes I wouldn’t be going through this “trauma” right now!! Sheesh!

I have been very pleased with my SocialSpark experience so far. As I said in a previous post, I love the colors and site is easy for me to navigate. I also love the “social” aspect of it…I’ve discovered some pretty neat blogs!

I would love to see more companies advertising through SocialSpark, though. Even better, I would love to see more moms advertising their businesses! There are a gazillion mompreneurs out there and they have created some of the neatest products around. Blogging about these products would be fun and I would feel like I am supporting other moms which is important to me!

I also think it would be great to post about traveling and destinations…especially tropical destinations! I love to research about different areas around the world. In fact, some of my most favorite posts I’ve written have been about cities in Italy and Greece. I think chambers of commerce or tourist boards, both here and abroad, would do well advertising through SocialSpark.com. Personally, I would love to do more posts about unique cities here in the US…especially in the South!

Of course, I would definitely be ecstatic if Godiva Chocolates would run a Social Spark ad campaign that included samples!!

I’m not really sure if we were supposed to keep this Chicken a la King in the freezer for this long…and still eat it…but we did…and we are all still alive!!  If you haven’t tried this very yummy dish then you have been missing out.  It’s low-fat! (HA!)  It’s easy to make and freezes well.  Tonight I served it over penne pasta, but you could serve it over rice or biscuits too.  You could also just eat it…straight out the pot.  Of course, I would never do that…….

Ingredients 

• 4 ounces mushrooms, sliced
• 2/3 cups  green pepper, chopped
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 2 tsp chicken bouillon granule
• 2 cups milk
• 1 cup water
• 2 1/2 cups cooked chicken, cubed
• 4 ounces pimiento, drained

Directions

1. In a large skillet over med-high heat, cook mushrooms and green pepper in butter until peppers are crisp-tender; Remove from heat.

2. Lightly spoon flour into a measuring cup, level off, and put into skillet.

3. Stir in flour and pepper. Return to low heat until mixture is smooth and bubbly, stirring constantly.

4. Stir in bouillon granules, milk, and water. Bring to a boil and stir 1 minute.

5. Stir in chicken pieces and pimento. Cook until thoroughly heated.

6. Freeze in a quart-sized freezer bag or serve immediately over puff pastry shells, biscuits, rolls, or toast.

Recipe source:   Recipezaar

Seriously, folks….if you could see my shoes right now, you would feel so sorry for me! I have had my red Anywear shoes for several years now and I love them. Well, let’s say I used to love them. Just a few days ago, they started tearing and they look awful and they are making weird sounds. Really, it’s just not pretty! I’ll probably get another pair just like what I have because they really have lasted a long time.

However, I do want something different too! I know, I know, those of you who know me are shocked that I would even consider putting anything else on my feet other than my red clogs, but it’s true…I’m in the mood for something different. I’ve checked out the seychelles shoes and the tsubo shoes over at Infinity Shoes and there are several styles I like. Here are two of my favorites.

This one is called “Step On It” and it’s a Seychelles Shoe. I love the name!

This is the Miz Mooz Perry…very cute!

Of course, there are the minnetonka boots as well, but those are more my mom’s style. When I was younger, we would go to Gatlinburg, TN and she would make me try on moccasins in one of the little stores there on the main street. I swear, I think she tried on every single pair. She loved them, but never bought herself a pair because she used her money on her children. I would love to buy her a pair of mocs for her birthday. I wonder if she remembers visiting that store and trying on all those shoes??? Seriously, it was probably only once, but it felt like we went there quite a lot!

Anyway, I need to get something soon before I start looking more and more like a hobo….

Wow!  I’ve had a fantastic Mother’s Day and hope all you moms out there have had the same!  Much to my thrill, I got a lot of thoughtful gifts this year.

Belle bought me a Ped Egg which I’ve wanted forever.  Let me tell you folks, my heels are very smooth…maybe too smooth.  I might need to wait a few days to Ped Egg again!

Jake bought me gel pens and a very bright spiral notebook for school…which begins June 5th!  Gel pens rock!!  These are neon and have 3Xs the ink!!

Nik gave me Coconut Lime body cream.  It smells perfectly yummy and I will use it often as I write my “Islands A-Z” series over on my pink blog!!

Pete was very thoughtful and printed out Gus’ Caringbridge entries and comments for me!  I have been working on this for ages, but have not been able to get it done.  Now I have all of it in a binder! Very neat!!

After the opening of gifts, we had a cookout.  Pete was able to grill our hamburgers and hotdogs in between the torrential down pours!  Liz, Sophie, Laura and Madison joined us….we had a very nice time and were able to eat on the back deck…until it became far too windy and started to storm again!!

Do you all remember a few weeks ago when I posted about the Renuzit TriScents “Transform Your Home with Tanya Memme” Promotion? Well, it’s now time for us to go cast our vote for our favorite semi-finalist! There are a total of ten finalist and really, all of their stories are great, but we can only vote for one. I wish they all could get the home makeovers!!

Some finalists pleaded their cases through videos and then there were some that had used a photo and had written their story. I’ll be honest, I was drawn to the videos in the semi-finalist gallery, but I kept on coming back to the third finalist which was just a photo. This finalist is the one with the husband who has served in Iraq. Personally, I think that act of service to our country deserves a huge home makeover! That’s not what did it for me though. If you read on down, you’ll see that this gal has earthworms in her laundry room!!! ACK!! Oh please, help me now…my skin is crawling! Those of you who know me well know that worms completely freak me out. Seriously, I would have to move out of the house if I found worms in my laundry room!! This family certainly got my vote for the $20,000 home makeover with Tanya Memme! Come on, Renuzit! Help these folks out…rid them of the worms…bleh! Here’s Finalist #3’s screenshot…

You still have time to vote too! Of course, I’m going to encourage you to vote for the crew with the earthworms which is finalist #3, but you can vote for which ever finalist you like. One vote per day can be placed from now until June 7^th. Be sure to remember to vote daily….if we pull together, we can conquer the earthworms! Bleh!!

Most of the contests I’ve come across this week are ones that end shortly so be sure to enter now!  There are some really, really cool contests out there this week…of course, these are just a few of what is out there.  These are my favorites!

$25 Olive Garden Gift Certificate… Mommy Cracked certainly must know that I’ve been craving the OG for awhile now…I better win this one! Chicken Marsala has been a callin’ my name….

Yankee Candle Giveaway…Head on over to Ribbon Rock Star and enter win the absolute best-smelling candles ever: Yankee Candles.  I keep on looking for candles that are just as fragrant as YCs, but I have yet to find any.  I love that these candles are fragrant down to the last bit!   Hurry…this giveaway ends on May 10th!!]

Georgie Designs Giveaway… Musings of a Housewife is giving away a $50 gc to Georgie Designs!  All you have to do is browse Georgie Designs and pick your favorite piece of jewelry and then leave a comment at Musings of a Housewife.  There is an extra gift if the winner has also signed up for the newsletter.  Neat!  Ends soon so hurry!

Abazias Diamonds…Oh, yes!  Mamanista is giving away diamonds!!  Woohooo!!!  Seriously, do I even need to say more?  This contest ends on may 19th!

Katie Brown Gardening Kit…What a cool giveaway hosted by GoodyBlog!  This might be just what I need to get over my worm phobia! lol!  Contest ends on the 9th so hurry!

GoodyBlog…..this is going to count for 6 and 7 and more!!  GoodyBlog is having a Mother’s Day Blog Party that you don’t want to miss!!  Sheesh-a-moley!  You just have to go see all of these giveaways!!

Drew Barrymore has always been one of my favorite actresses. Not only is great in movies, but I also like to hear her interviewed. She seems to be so genuine and I like that! I also like her sense of fashion: unique yet casual. She seems to wear just the right thing for the different events she attends. I know she probably has a stylist, but I’m certain she has a say in her “look”.

I recently had to fire my stylist (lol!) so here lately, my style has not been very lovely or unique. I think I’ve gone to the overly-casual side of things with my blue jeans and bright-colored t-shirts. Some of my t-shirts even have bleach stains on them! Seriously, I’m classified in the Frumpster category when it comes to fashion. I just need to exercise that idea of “out with the old and in with new”! And a new pair of earrings might help too!

Now, I bet you all are sporting much better style than I am and that’s why I think you should try your hand at creating a tv commercial for the Dockers contest! If your tv ad wins, it will be shown during The Tonight Show with Jay Leno! Isn’t that cool?!

I think it would be really easy to create a neat ad focusing on Drew Barrymore’s casual style. I bet she even wears Dockers! Of course, if you would rather focus on a different style that is fine too! You’ll need to head over to the official contest site to see all of the rules.

I am really looking forward to going back to the contest site to see the finalist! Very cool!!

I have decided to skip the weed be gone chemicals this year and opt for more “green” methods.  I’ll try different recipes until I come across one that works.  Being the scientist that I am (ha!), I will divide the area into sections so I can tell if a certain method is working our not.  I’m just clever that way, ya know!

I’m starting out really simple this week only because the recipe I wanted to use called for gin and I’m flat out of gin!

Here is the area I want to make lovely.  The first method I’m going to try is the “Boiling Water” method.  I’ll post the results in a few days…

See this?

Brilliant! Simply brilliant!!

I absolutely hate it when I am showering and the shower curtain decides to cling to my rear! I swear you can’t turn around in the shower without being attacked by the curtain…sheesh!

A few years ago, Pete and I were reading up on a trip we were about to take. I was thrilled to see that the resort we were staying in had those shower curtain rods that were curved. Finally, I could take a shower without all the touchy feely stuff the shower curtain forced on me!! We both were looking forward to that experience and I’ll have to be honest, when we finally jumped into the shower and pulled the shower curtain shut, we realized that it really wasn’t much more room at all! We were so disappointed. Seriously, that curved rod wasn’t very curved at all…no fair!

Now, look at the ShowerBow. Honestly, I’ve not tried this, but from the photo I can tell it opens up the shower space much more than that curved rod set-up we experienced. Not only does it look like it offers more space, but it’s obviously easier to install since you don’t have to drill holes in the wall! I also like that it’s lightweight and hidden. All you have to do is tip it back when not in use so that the shower curtain is not taking over your bathroom! Incredibly neat idea!! I am definitely adding this to my list of things I want to buy for our house after Pete graduates….the list is getting long folks, but don’t tell Pete! Lol!!

Update: Thanks to all who commented! I figured it out just a bit ago. I think sometimes I just need to walk away and come back to things…it’s like working a math problem! lol!! Now…here’s the next thing I need help with…how do I squish my center area down so that the content area is skinnier?

So, as those of you who visit often can see, I’m changing things around again. I have a problem though…I can’t get rid of the google ad in my left hand sidebar all the way at the bottom. I’ve moved my widgets around and I’ve looked everywhere but I can’t even find the code for the stinkin’ ads, therefore, I can’t remove it. Is it built into the theme??

Somebody, please….tell me how to get rid of it! lol!! I really don’t want to support google…I know I do in some areas…sheesh…I don’t know how to get away from them! Posting adsense ads is NOT something I am gonna do! So, please help me before I completely have a melt down! lol!!

The older I get, the quicker time flies! I swear, I didn’t even realize that Mother’s Day was just around the corner until earlier today. Our church youth group is having a huge plant sale and I kept on hearing people talk about how the hanging baskets and ferns were being bought for mothers day presents. I was thinking that it was a little early to be buying those presents…nope, I was wrong! Lol!

So, what am I getting my mom? Well, I’m just not sure yet. I am leaning toward some fabric because she is in a quilting mode right now. Then again, what I would really like to do is rent a cabin for the weekend and take her and my grandmother away for a “Girls Only Weekend Getaway”! Of course, there are flowers which are always nice. I like this arrangement best of all. The browns, reds and pinks are luscious, aren’t they?

Would a vase with an arrangement be better? I could also buy her an antique frog for the vase and she could make her own arrangements through the summer. The vase idea sounds like a better idea to me…but I do just love the red and pink roses in that brown basket! I found this one over at 1800flowers.com and there are many more different arrangements and gift sets you can order. Just be prepared because they are all so nice. It’s really, really hard to choose!

I was so excited to find out that I had won one of the contests I had posted about in my previous contest post! After posting here, I went back to the contest at Pass the Torch and entered to win Hidden Treasure of Assets Board Game. It just came in the mail so be looking for some photos and a review coming soon. I can tell you though, at first glance, it looks really neat!

Here are my seven favorites for this week! Have fun!

Spazzstick Giveaway: Leslie from Leslie’s Life is giving away 4 Spazzsticks. I love the name and I really, really need some lip balm! This contest will be ending on May 7th so hurry on over!

Redpoint Brush and Liner Makeup Kit: I used to have a really nice sable eye makeup brush and I absolutely loved it. It’s now gone…I shudder at the thoughts of what may have happened to it! lol!! Now, I have a brush from Walmart and it’s “bleh” compared to the sable brush. Winning this kit would be nice!

Alice in Paris/Broomhill Pictures: I love, love, love this giveaway! I would be thrilled to win a $40 gc to either etsy store, but I’m really drawn to the beautiful and bright artwork at Alice in Paris! I saw this giveaway over at Bloggy Giveaways. Hurry, this contest ends on May 3rd!

Natural Salt Lamps Giveaway: I’ve been trying to go “green” little by little so when I saw this giveaway I just had to sign up! A Bookworm’s Diary is giving away 4 Solay simple 2 oz natural cleaners. Very neat!

La La Natural Boutique Hemp Apron: Here’s another neat giveaway hosted by A Bookworm’s Diary! The winner of this giveaway wins a really neat hemp apron which is 100% Vegan. Completely neat!

A Breath of French Air: Enter win a $10 gc that you can redeem in A Breath of French Air etsy store! I absolutely love handmade soaps and bath goodies…they are such a treat to me and seriously, I need some pampering time! lol!

Cuisinart Food Prep Plus: Me. Wants! lol!! My Wooden Spoon is kicking off a 3-month long giveaway event/extravaganza today! Each week there will be a new contest to enter. This week’s contest is the Cuisinart Food Prep Plus…how cool is that?!

Again, have fun entering all of these really cool contests!

I just like being there! It’s not so much because I can make money accepting jobs to write blog posts, though that is certainly a huge perk. I swear, I think it’s because of the color scheme! There’s something about that shade of yellow that makes me happy and makes me want to hang around. And then I notice how nicely the red goes with the yellow…and then the blackish gray color pulls it all together. It dawns on me that this color scheme is perfect for SocialSpark! The red and yellow are flame colors while the gray is ashes!! It also dawns on me that I have probably had way too many Mountain Dews this evening….

Seriously, when I received my invite to check out SocialSpark, I was very excited. After visiting every nook and cranny at the site, I’ve decided that it really is a neat place! Not only is the color scheme nice, but the site is very easy to navigate which is a big deal to me. If I am at a site that is just a smidge bit difficult, or cumbersome to navigate, I won’t stick around. SocialSpark did not let me down.

There are several things I like about SocialSpark. I love the profiles and all of the info they contain. It is super easy to read about other bloggers and even easier to add them as friends and visit their blogs. Here are two screenshots from my account. The first one is my personal profile. See the red and yellow? Nice, huh? If you read my profile, you’ll find out my interests, education, how many props I’ve been given plus much more. Over in the sidebar, you can see a screenshot and a link to my blog. There is also a section for my most recent post.

Here’s the bottom part of my Profile Screen. This is where you can see all of my friends( Jenn and I just became friends!) and read comments that they have left for me. See my comment section? See how it is empty? Sad…

Another thing I like about SocialSpark is the statistics that are available to both bloggers and advertisers. Here’s a screenshot of my Stats section. You can view my Real Rank, Alexa, Page Views and Visitors. One quick glance tells me what I might need to start focusing on more…traffic!

Not only is SocialSpark easy to use, but I also have the opportunity to communicate with the advertiser and share with them why I could write a great post for them. For example, I sign into my account and see that there is an opp for nasogastric tubes and I also notice that my blog does not qualify because the advertiser is looking for medical related blogs. Even though my blog is not medical related, I feel that I would be able to write a great post about this topic because I had a son who had a nasogastric tube that I was responsible for taking care of and replacing when he pulled it out. I can ask the advertiser for a slot on this job based on this information. Of course, the advertiser can give me the job or not, but I like that I can at least communicate in situations like this.

Now, I’ve shared only a small bit of info about SocialSpark so you’ll definitely want to head on over there and check things out for yourself. Again, I have been really pleased with my SocialSpark experience and I look forward to making new friends, discovering new blogs, and, of course, making some more money!

SocialSpark’s Code of Ethics can be seen below. You can click on the highlighted link for further explanation of each point of this code.

-100% Audit-able In-Post Disclosure
-100% Transparency
-100% Real Opinions
-100% Search Engine Friendly

Remember that catchy tune by Rupert Holmes?  You know the one…where the first line of the chorus says “If you like buying chihuahuas”?  LOL!!

We heard this song last week and the first line actually goes like this:

“If you like Piña Coladas

And getting caught in the rain”

I swear, Belle absolutely slays me with things like this!  She is such a hoot!!  I seriously need to create a list of all the misheard words and her one-liners…

So…Pete was telling me about how some students at ETSU wore empty holsters to school this past week. These students were part of the Second National Collegiate Empty Holster Protest and they were protesting the state and school laws that make it illegal to carry a concealed weapon. After the tragedy at Virginia Tech, more and more students are feeling the need to protect themselves and possibly those around them. It all makes sense to me, but it also makes me nervous. I remember my college days and I’m not too sure anyone I knew would have been responsible enough to carry a concealed gun!

Our local newspaper wrote that the university was concerned about how people would react when they saw the empty holsters. What do you think? Would you feel uncomfortable seeing an empty holster? I really think that probably the majority of the students on campus knew about the protest and so they weren’t surprised at all. Something like this protest would have been talked about before the actual protest day.

I asked Pete if he was going to be part of the next protest. He told me he would be if he could find the coolest holster that was ever created! Lol!! So I sent him to look at the Galco holsters. Right now, you get a free mug with your order and free shipping if your order is at least $75. Of course, we don’t even have a gun to put in any of those holsters so I’m not too sure if this would be a wise purchase for us! Lol!! And I just can’t see buying a holster for one protest, can you? Well, maybe if we could figure out a way to turn it into a multi-tasker…..the wheels are turning, folks! Ha!

 Here are the top seven Entrecard droppers!  I appreciate their visits and also enjoy visiting their blogs.  If you’ve not given Entrecard a try, you really should!  I’ve come across some of the neatest topics and the neatest blogs.  It is a little addictive though, so be careful!  Enjoy this week’s links:

• Trainee Trader

• Absolutely Mom’s 

• The Sewing Mom 

• Photography by KML 

• EZ Money Online 

• According to Nessa 

• All In A Day