From A Book Lover

Technology is a wonderful thing. You can download music, news, and even books to your computer, your handheld Blackberry or similar device. I'm old enough and backwards enough (technologically speaking) to find that quite daunting - especially the book part.

It is wonderful, though, and I hope it means that a few of the people who claim they never have the time to read books now will find the time, as their gadget thingys are glued to their hands anyway...

I buy books online, though. Actual paper type books, that is. According to my bulging bookshelves, I buy far too many books altogether!

I don't think I'll ever move on from the old-fashioned paper variety. There's something about the turning of pages and browsing actual bookstores that will never lose its appeal.

What I'm reading right now? "The God delusion" by Richard Dawkins, "Rachel's Holiday" by Marian Keyes and "How Man is becoming Man" by my own dear father. (No, you can't get hold of it as yet. I'm holding one of 10 numbered copies...)

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South Park Me.

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A Weather Report

It's Sunday, it's January 26th, and the sun is shining from a cloudless sky in our corner of the world. It's just around freezing point, no wind, and it's absolutely gorgeous outside.
These wet winters are weird. We're prepared for another bout of bitter cold or a meter of snow, but if it happens now, it'll mean a month longer till spring, and we don't really want that... I can't wait for everything to turn green on our little bit of real estate - we're so far into the woods and facing the East anyway, so we don't get the earliest springs around here. It might as well get started soon!
I'm not going out to get you photos today - my back and hip are playing up something awful, so I'm more or less stuck in a chair. I'm hoping for some wonderful green photos as spring finally gets hold...

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Ups... And Downs...

# 1 Sis has a drug problem.
She had signed up for a drug rehab program, and was supposed to start her treatment/therapy on January 7th.

Over Christmas, she discharged herself, without ever having set foot in the place.

Whether or not she sees that she has a problem, I don't know, but she's certainly not ready to do anything about it.

My view of her has become quite pragmatic over the years. Whether it's the drugs or her personality - she's not a nice person.
She has two lovely kids, though, and I hope they'll soon have apermanent adress at their father's. I'm not sure which would be worse for them at the moment - the trauma of separation and "having to" live with Dad, that they don't think highly of, thanks to their mother, or the trauma of living with a mother they absolutely love, and who treats them as her personal belongings. (As in things to do with as she pleases).
At the moment, they live with their grandmother, which at least provides for a minimum of stability.

It's a bad, bad situation... My hands are tied in a way - we haven't really had any contact for years, and all I have to go on is hearsay. Reliable, but still. That means that if Child Services have to be contacted, it has to be by someone other than me, someone who has actually seen the goings on. That leaves only # 2 Sis, and I feel sorry for her. She will do it if she has to - and I'll be there for her as much as I can, as well as for # 1 Sis' children...

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One Year! And I Forgot.

Today's the 1 year anniversary of my first post here - and of my first attempt at blogging ever. (No, I'm not linking to it. Too embarrassing).
I thought to do a big blogaversary thing, but I forgot...

Instead, a few things I've learned this first year:

Blogging is...
1. fun.
2. addictive.
3. a social playground that I probably needed, living out here in the woods...
4. a possibility to earn enough to pay a bill or two
5. ever-evolving, through mechanisms I may never understand...
6. like any interaction between people: you meet all kinds, from bitchy to wonderful.
7. a great way of conducting experiments if you're so inclined, without fear of things blowing up or of getting, say, sulphuric acid in your eyes.
8. something your family needs time to get used to (as in: Mum's taking a break from her day job for half an hour - find your own shoes!)

Also, I've learned:
9. You can make friends online. OK, so you may not get along in Real Life, but you'll probably never know that for sure, so enjoy your online friends! Meeting up with online friends is a bit like having sex with a mate - there's always a risk of ruining the friendship...
10. New words/clusters of letters. RSS html widget tag java feed bot - and today, thanks to Claire, I learned the definition of the word Dork. I'm still uncertain about "Geek", but then I'm foreign.
11. To write better English. It wasn't too bad before, but using it every day (almost) like this, has improved my ability to "feel" the language, I think. By feel, I mean know what's correct and what isn't by instinct, rather than by looking it up.
12. To set up a dot com! Yay me!

What else? Loads. I'm not stopping, either, so I will learn more.

Thank you all - I was afraid of having people reading me in the beginning (It's true!!), but now I know that bloggers are people too... Thanks for all you've taught me, and for all your visits, comments and other encouragement!

Have some cake under a tree with me!!!!

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What's The Focal Point In Your Living Room?

In ours, it's the television. I'm ashamed to admit it, but it's true. All the furniture is arranged so that the screen is in full view for everyone.
Getting rid of it is not an option, but it would be nice to be able to focus on each other a little more often...
Ok, so we can turn it off. We do that too... Not, perhaps, often enough! It also means a change in our consciousness towards the thing. Perhaps one of those popup tv lifts would do the trick - out of sight, out of mind???

I'm not sure I want to put money in my "less TV"-experiment, so we'll probably have to have a thorough think about our habits. With 6 kids and 2 adults, each with his/her own brand of addiction to the thing, that will be no easy task! (OK, 5 kids. Miracle Boy has escaped. As of yet...)

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I'm Not A Worrier

- usually. I do worry about Hubby these days, though. I want those bastards he's (still) working for to bleed, but I don't want him to get ill in the process.

He's intent on standing firm, so he keeps going to work every day, subjecting himself to the subtle and not so subtle psychological warfare that's going on. I can see it's taking its toll.
He's also in every high risk group known to man, except that he doesn't smoke... Right, so we have mortgage life insurance, but what good does that do? I want him here, with me, happy and healthy...
This is a good rendition of me when I think about what they're putting him through...

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Saturday Photo Hunt # 31 - Important

Finally - my first PhotoHunt of the year!!!

This is why cats are an important part of the domestic animal population on any farm...

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5 Cats

Would you like to know about Cat 5? Well so would I.
It's just that I have a hard time figuring out which one of them it is. It's probably not one of the red ones - should I venture a guess, Cat 5 is probably the furry one to the left. Sadly, she's no longer with us. She was given away to a young girl who had everything lined up for her: toys, cat bed, cat litter, gourmet cat food - she's probably wearing pink and being a totally obnoxious kitty by now...

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I'm Sorry,

ô, partner that I shall not name in this post. It looks as if I must contact you, and tell you that there is a limit to how many times I, a mommyblogger, can get away with mentioning things like truck accessories in my posts.
I have no knowledge of things mechanical, I don't know a jack from a joe, and to be honest, I'm not all that interested either.

Now, if I were given an interesting topic, like a fully-automatic cleaning gadget (Bee would call it a cabin boy) or a machine that clears clouds (or cluttered surfaces), I'd give a very enthousiastic account of what they could do - promise!

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A Narrow Escape

We're in the process of building an outhouse here - a stable building, that is. The builders are still in the process of preparing the ground for the actual building, putting down pillars, filling up with rocks and gravel - that sort of thing.

I got the first bill today, and almost swallowed my tongue. Luckily, I was just preparing to yell at # 5 Brat to not go into the huge, water-filled holes that have mysteriously appeared around our house with all the tractor activity (and torrential rain) of late. She went into the hole. I didn't swallow my tongue.

I still have to pay the bill - it'll be interesting to see how far our budget goes, when 1/3 of it is eaten in 2 weeks...

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Dangerous Stuff

Sis and her hubby are planning to get a new roof on their house. There's only one problem - the old roof is made of asbesthos tiles. In this country, getting rid of those is a complicated matter - as well it should be, considering the impact asbesthos has on human health and the environment.
Did you know that asbesthos dust has got its very own brand of cancer? It's called mesothelioma, and attacks the linings on the inside of the human body - the mesothelium.

To dispose of these tiles, sis and her hubby will have to pack them in plastic and deliver them to a special plant, where they hopefully will be handled safely an destroyed. The process is quite expensive, too, so even if they do it "by the book", many people won't, thus exposing the environment to yet another hazard.
I hope they're careful while handling the stuff. Long term exposure to asbesthos dust is what triggers cancer, but it really is a vile substance.

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Down Memory Lane

I got a record player for Christmas. Not a CD player, not an MP3 or Ipod, but an old-fashioned record player for vinyl records. I told hubby that's what I wanted, and he found me one! OK, it's not ALL old-fashioned, it's got a built-in CD player, as well as a radio, and I can transfer music from vinyl to MP3 - how great is that???

Anyway, I've been tripping down memory lane every day since. From The Beatles ("tell me that you need no diamond rings, and I'll be satisfied...") to Tom Waits ("the piano has been drinking... not me"), via Manfred Mann's earth Band ("but I saw a kid with no smile on his face today") and Supertramp ("I can see you in the morning when you go to school"). OK, I'm not old enough for The Beatles, I know, but I grew up with them, and I do have the original edition of Sgt Peppers on vinyl, so there!
Musicals, U2, Led Zeppelin, Mozart, Piaf - my eclectic taste in music is all there, imbedded in plastic, in large, impractical cardboard envelopes...

I've got records to last me a long time, and then I can start all over again. Or... I can go looking for more vinyl records... I'm not sure I'll bother with the MP3 possibilities though - vinyl is vinyl, and transferring it feels a bit like cheating! Scratchy sound in speakers is what it's all about!!!

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Engagement Rings - A Thing For Spring...

Diamond engagement rings aren't as much of a tradition here as they are in, say, the US. It's a shame, really - there's nothing quite as romantic as a frantically nervous suitor on his knees, a beautiful ring set in diamonds at the ready, and the famous question on his lips... (Or maybe that's just a thing of the movies???)

Whether you're ready for commitment, or you've been committed for 10 years already, looking for engagement rings or that special piece of gorgeous jewelry to commemorate your anniversary, James Allen.com is a site worth investigating. It's beautifully laid out, it's all about customer service and security, and the choice is marvelous!
Would you like to do more than just buy the ring? You can design your own. Unsure about cut and quality? Read up on it in their "Diamond Education" section.

Romance can be achieved without diamonds, but they certainly add that WOW-factor! Ask any woman...

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People Are Strange...

Our horses have a great life. They're well fed, live outdoors all year round, and have the freedom to roam quite a large area of woodland in the winter. They also have shelter (that they rarely bother to use).

Today, we were woken up by two inspectors from the local Animal Care whatnot society (very polite and friendly blokes, btw). They had had a call from someone who had seen our horses outdoors.
So - we now have to take them in.

How it's better for an animal to be kept in a way that defies nature, indoors, without freedom of movement, is beyond me. We'll be able to put them outdoors again when our new stable building is ready (they'll then have the freedom to go in and out as they please - guess where they'll be... - and they'll be less visible from the road).

In the meantime, they'll be cooped up indoors, sweating and bored. How weird is that...

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A Life Change?

For many people, obesity is a life-threatening condition. They struggle for years with diets and scales, without getting any results. In many cases, yo-yo dieting can make matters worse as well.

I heard of gastric banding, now known as lapband surgery first in the 80es, when a colleague of my father's started offering this course of action to his patients. What happens is that a band is placed around the upper part of the stomach, like a "belt" making less room for food. The patient will then feel full with a much smaller food intake than usual. This makes for an intake of less food, more often, which is beneficial in any diet. It reduces the need for food altogether, and makes overeating quite impossible.

In the early days, this had to be done in open surgery, which was risky. Now, it's done by peephole surgery, whereby small holes are made for the instruments (including a camera), and the whole procedure is done quickly and safely, enabling the patient to go home after a few hours.
The procedure is fully reversible, and the tightness of the band can also be adjusted, which also reduces the risks.

This has given countless people a new life, and quite possibly a longer life too.

I'm not one to promote any kind of unnecessary use of a scalpel, but this is something I know to be efficient and beneficial to patients who are in dire need of help.

This has been a paid post.

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Post # 700!

I've written 700 posts on this blog! That's in less than a year... Come to think of it, I've got a Blogoversary coming up soon as well - some time in late January, I think. Must work out when, and have a bit of a celebration... OK, give me a minute, while I investigate...

Done! January 22nd is when I've been blogging for a year. How does one celebrate that? Any ideas??

For now, a toast to post # 700 - we'll see about the one year mark later!

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Work - An Update

It looks as if hubby will be offered a settlement from his workplace. It's definitely an illegal termination, and I can't see them taking it to court - they'd lose big time. So our lawyer is going for a year's salary. They've offered 6 months already... Meaning that for the greater part of this year, or at least for 6 months, there'll be a double income around here. Which means we'll probably be able to take the kids on that trip to Paris.
Yay!
I've already started to look for suitable accomodation. We'll be 7 people, maybe 8 if Miracle Boy is coming too, so I've been looking for some kind of condo hotel or appartment. Condo Hotels are all right, but with appartments, you never know what you'll find, so I'm a bit weary of those. The easiest would be to just book a couple or three hotel rooms in the center and be done with it - which is probably what I'll end up doing.

Not yet, mind you, I'm still just playing with the idea.

I'm confident that our lawyer does well for us, he seems extremely competent. Hubby is still going to work - he's making a point. It takes its toll on the poor fellow, though, so I hope they can reach an agreement pretty soon.

Paris is just a perk - hubby's health is what's important...

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A Warning...

Some of my readers may remember that I did an experiment on driving traffic to my other blog a while back, with a ppc company called Bux.to. You can read up on the experiment here, and see what came of it here.
Although I got my money’s worth in a way, all the traffic came in the span of 2 minutes, and was without any interaction whatsoever, so I decided that I’d had my 2 minutes of fun. I’ve not been back there. I guess I could go and click some ads to get my money back, but I doubt that I will.

A few days later, I got a mail from Google Adsense. Their whatnotbot had detected activity on my site that was against their policies, and they wanted to make me aware of that fact. The activity was likely to have been paid for, and they just wanted to remind me of their rules, as well as point me to tools that would enable me to stop such activity, should it have been induced by a third party.
Woops!

I quite easily worked out the activity in question… It won’t happen again. Not because of the email from Adsense, but because the added traffic just wasn’t worthwhile.

Now, to the warning: If you’re relying on Adsense on your blog, don’t use sites like this to pay for traffic. I never thought of it (I don’t have the Adsense rules pasted above my screen), but it was detected very quickly. Sites like bux.to may well be good for driving traffic if your budget is such that it can be done on a regular/consistent basis, and you don’t use Adsense. (The traffic I got seemed very unlikely to click ads or even read blog entries. They stayed their allotted 30 seconds, and off they went to the next ad… Statistically though, if you get 1000s of visitors per day, some are bound to click or read something, I guess).

I won’t put Bux.to down altogether - you can earn some extra cash by clicking ads, and if you refer people, you can earn more. I won’t be paying for traffic again, though!

This post is partially copied from Mother's Got A Dot Com. I won't be sued, though - it's my blog...

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Manic Monday # 37 - One

Mo's word in week # 1 is one...

At one, there is so much to do...

Throw one's breakfast around...














Investigate Mum's styling foam...












Goof around in the bath...














Celebrate Christmas in style...













Learn funny hand gestures from one's siblings...

And generally, keep an eye out for anything interesting that might cross one's path.












Life at one is sooooo great!!!

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A Blog Cash Update For December (And 2007)

December was a little bit of a put-down, and I think it's safe to say that the Google slap is the reason for that.

$167 is what I've made from blogging in December, most of it from Pay U 2 Blog. That's about half of what the prognosis looked like before Google came down on the Blogosphere, and it's from 2 blogs...

I'm somewhat optimistic, though - my dotcom is about to come of age in PPP terms, and it looks as though there's still some call for blogs on their own domain over there. I'll find out within the next month. The PPP opps I've been eligible for with this blog have dwindled to zero now, so I'm hoping for an improvement there.
Blogsvertise has been dead all December, I've had a couple from Sponsored Reviews, and nothing from ReviewMe. Bloggerwave - nada, and I've long since given up on Loudlaunch. I signed up with LinkWorth, and they gave me a teaser opp, but since then it's been all quiet. As for Linky Love Army, I had 2 opps in November, and got paid for them, but I haven't been able to log in for a week or so, so maybe they died...

I also made a few dollars giving away jewelry at Silver Jewelry Club - (feel free to click and order some right here)
:-)

I've also discovered two sites that do help to drive traffic, and Entrecard.com.

Linkreferral lets you improve your in-site ranking on a daily basis by being active on their site, thus also improving your placing on their site. I've had an average of 15 unique visitors to my dotcom from them every day since I joined. On the days I've been "active", I've had up to 30-40.
Entrecard.com gives you a widget for your site, that works like a tray for calling-cards. You also get to make your own card, that you can drop at other people's blogs, and use to advertise your own. You earn credits by dropping your card and by selling ads on your blog, that you can use to advertise your blog on other people's widgets. I've had a steady stream of visitors to my dotcom from them, too - 47 organic clicks on the first day, somewhat fewer in the days since, but still a very good result. Here's my Entrecard profile!.

Some of these visitors stay a while, too, and I've recieved some lovely reviews of my site as well. Try them out - you won't regret it!

2007 as a whole gave me a blog income of $1704. I started doing ppp in May, so it's not bad at all.
I've learned plenty, and I'm all set for learning more. And earning more.

More importantly: I've made some lovely friends in the Blogosphere in 2007, I've found some amazing blogs, and gained (a little bit of) insight into a world that was totally alien to me just a year ago.

Thanks everybody - I'm looking forward to a New Year with all of you!

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A Charitable Deed In 2008?

One great thing about the US is the various ways you can contribute to different charities.
There seems to be no limit to inventiveness on that score, which is a wonderful thing.

One possibility is car donation. You can donate your old car (even your new car, your motorbike or your airplane!), and choose which charity the proceeds should go to. (Single mothers, orphans, homeless, teen and adult rehab, as well as prison reform).

Car Angel is non-profit, and they use the income from car and other donations to make videos for kids and teens, as well as prison literature. To date, they have given away over 2.4 million videos.

Now, I could think of many other ways of helping the needy, but I guess building up people's morale and values is a good thing too. Have a look at one of their videos here!

The donations are IRS tax deductible, and they pick up vehicles nationwide, running or not (some restrictions apply).

If you're not using that extra car, why not explore this possibility?

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