Random Thoughts 6/7/12

If you don't like ads on websites or blogs, there is a application you can use to obliterate them. I've listed a website where you can go to download this free or shareware application. I have a button on my sidebar that takes you there also since this blog post will, at some point, be far down or on the next page. So spread the word! It's the button just after my photos to the right.  -------->

If you've been a reader of my blog for any time, you know I do random thoughts once in a while. My random thoughts are simply that: thoughts that occur when I'm driving in the car, talking with Love Bunny (hubs), kids, friends, etc. I might even hear a radio program and think of something. Or I might even read an editorial on the internet or a news article, which will bring to mind a memory or just a thought. I'm sure you know what I mean. ;-) You've experienced this I'm sure. I might put them at the end of a blog post and sometimes I've put them at the beginning, which is less frequent as I'd prefer the lovely photos, or as I refer to them—eye candy, first. I'm very visual and need that. Anyway, this is one of those times that the random thoughts come first.


Random Thoughts:

In my quest to adjust to the new interface on blogger I posed a question to Google Forums. Sigh. How different they are from Apple Forums! Okay, so maybe I'm not doing it correctly but I tell you there are so many questions posed on there it's hard to get around. Google Blogger Forums, I mean. No topics for any specific issue, just a long line of questions.


Now, comparing it to Apple Discussions, for us Apple Mac aficionados, it's horrid. Apple has the best forums I've ever seen. Most of the answers come from tried and true gurus, knowledgeable men and women. Top notch people! You get immediate answers most of the time or advice or where to find it in the documents within Apple. Most of the time questions are answered very quickly though. Blogger just seems to "stab" at an answer. So trying to do a New Interface Tutorial has been something of a challenge. I'm still at it though so I'm not giving up. Actually, I'm still learning what works and doesn't work, but from the looks of some blogs, it's not going well with bloggers at all.
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Most of you know my affinity for camping: I hate it. Hubs is replacing the canvas in our pop-up trailer but at some point I'm going to have to tell him I'm not going camping anymore. I just can't do it now, especially with this leg I hurt in the fall at the lake 2 years ago. Camping? I don't want to become one with nature! That says it all for me.
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If it weren't for children, moms would be perfect. I adhere to that philosophy because I have 2 kids!
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I was at a blog the other day, one that has ads, and a rollover ad for Finish dishwasher detergent came on accidentally and I couldn't stop it. I was miffed. It just went on and on and into another ad and on and on. I'm either going to be very careful I don't "rollover" one or stop going to blogs with ads like that altogether. Very annoying. I hate giving up blogs I love though. We'll see.
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The word awesome is used waaaay too much. I rarely use it unless I'm describing something that inspires awe, meaning great reverential respect mixed with fear or wonder. Wait, wait!! That could definitely apply to the people I see in the grocery stores with tattoos and piercings. They inspire fear and wonder in me! Why do things like that to your body? Makes me wonder.
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I stopped at our Gem Stop gas station/mini-mart the other day to pick up a donut. Yeah, yeah, I have a weakness for their donuts and don't do it very often. That day though I was behind a lady who walked out with beer and cigarettes and the total was $86.00! I was astounded. First of all, mini-marts are notorious for being expensive, and secondly, do beer and cigarettes cost that much? Couldn't believe it.
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Stop worrying. Life is NOT about skinny women; it's about women, period. I can promise you that.
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Again, bottles that could have been discarded put to good use.

Eye candy for your walls.

Stephanie, this bling is for you, Sugar! :-) And smooches for Mum. ;-)

Beautiful plates.

Sweet place to throw your totes.

My daughter has one like this and she does store her good silverware in it.

More silverware and a lovely way to display it.

Somehow this drew my attention. White with a splash of black and beige thrown in makes it very beautiful.

Sweet gift for a friend.

Couldn't resist throwing in these darling plates of bluebirds.

Tattered elegance.

Zing!

I love these chairs and that little table.

Welcome to my getaway. No, not mine, just kidding.

We all know I cannot resist any photos with bougainvillea in it.

Or a photo of an old watering trough made useful.

Okay, okay, I'd camp for a few hours in this, may even one night but that's it!

~*~

Okay, Ranting About a Few Things?

I'm updating this here at the very top to alert those of you who are tired of ads—any ads. It eliminates ads for most websites and blogs. I understand people having to make money with their ads, but I think we deserve a choice to view them or not view them, if we so choose. I've had AdBlock for my Safari for a couple of months now and love it. I installed it on hubs' computer recently and he likes it. (It's a shareware, free if you're too strapped to pay the couple of bucks he asks, but I plan on sending this man and his wife a payment.) Anyway, go here for AdBlock for Safari—and you can use Safari on any PCs, even though it's an Apple browser and I think you'll like it a lot. If you're running Mozilla or Firefox, which I think is one of the best browsers ever and very fast, go here to download the AdBlock for Firefox. Firefox and Mozilla are actually one and the same. Mozilla is the foundation that took over Netscape and it created the Firefox browser. You can also get it for Chrome if you are running that browser. Here it is for Chrome. You can also block ads on Facebook and YouTube. Enough of this, just download them and have no ads to disturb you. I did and I'm loving it. Since this post won't be seen by many people after a few days, spread the word around. I've also put a button on my side bar to let people know they do have a choice to eliminate annoying ads; well, most of them anyway.

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Okay, vent time here. I have a couple of them today.

First, let's talk about ads on blogs. You must know by now I absolutely do NOT like them. I believe it destroys the beauty of a blog. I know, I know, some people need the extra income in this horrific economy and I can definitely understand that. But I sure wish you had control over what you have to advertise. I'm seeing some absolutely disgusting ads. Plus, if you perchance accidentally "roll over" them, they will start playing! Loudly!  Now, the music is bad enough, not that all the music is bad because some of it is wonderful, but I find it too distracting. I have to turn off my sound if the phone rings or if I'm already on the phone, my caller will hear it. Not just the music but the ads! I'm not going so far as to say I'll never view blogs that have ads because a lot of my favorites do and I don't want to give up reading their blogs at all. I love reading them; I just don't like to see toilets, personal hygiene and various other ads for which I have no use. Cars in Detroit, Florida, Maryland, etc? I live 2,000-2,500 miles away; I'm not going to Michigan, Florida or Maryland to buy a car.

The next vent if this new blogger interface. This post right here has been the absolute hardest ever to post. I even used a template for it and it wouldn't show my photos! Now, I know HTML and it was all good. I have no idea what was going on but I actually had to do the whole thing over about 3 times. I was getting so frustrated I almost gave up on this one but I didn't as you can see. Blogger, please fix this interface and not have it so "glitchy." Please!
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This is one of the most unusual colored living rooms I've ever seen but I really do like it. That sofa is very unusual and the rug is a bit modern for my taste but the room has a lot of pizzazz, which just goes to show you that if you like a color, then you go for it. Don't let anyone else set your standard for you. I think that's why we see so much "off white" and beige in living rooms. I find it a disgusting color actually. Be brave, use more color!

These chairs were the type we had in furnished housing in the military. They are really comfortable, too. Ours weren't this pretty; we had red leather cushions but I'd take another pair of those chairs again in a heartbeat.

Okay, I think this room is adorable! Mostly, it's the furniture I think is so cute.

Ooooooh, yeaaaaah! I love the red sofa.

What a wonderful place to be able to have.

While I like this and it's lovely with blue, I'd have pink with the white.

Summer nights on the porch.

The pink of this kitchen is wonderful and I like how the undercounter lights up the walls so sparkly.

What an unusual door. Kind of halloween-ish.

Elegant french doors.

I'd like these chairs in white, please.

Pink cabinets. Yellow walls. Squeeeeeal....

Quiet area made adorable!

Ooooh, yeeeeeah, but then I'd have to cook.

This painted window is gorgeous. I have no idea who did it but I sure would want one.

Oh, yes. Yes. Yes. Yesssssss!

My grandmother, mother, and even I, had one of these dryers. I think I must have thrown mine out at some point thinking it was too old-fashioned. :-(

I do my lamps with silk roses also. I saw one of these done in pink. I think I like the white better though—more elegant.

I'm afraid if I got in I'd never want to get out. Beautiful.

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Sweet cottages and a Story about Hubs

Welcome to the world, Mason. We're so glad you're finally here with us. Born on 5/30/12. Gramma and Grandpa are Mike and Sherilynn, my sweetest friend. He's a cutie for sure and much loved by all of us. Weight 7 lbs. 9 oz. First child so far for them
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Now, for the rest of the story on the toilets.

Hubs took the old toilet out to the driveway and emptied the water from the tank in the gutter—this is clean water, remember—then he carried the new one in and installed it and it leaked. For 2 days he couldn't get it to stop leaking and was hesitant to tighten it any more for fear of breaking it. I finally called a plumber. Men are always so hesitant to call outside help. "I can do this, no problem." Sigh.

The plumber took the tank off and saw the problem. A common problem. The huge "nut" around the hole wasn't lined up as it should have been. It's marked with a magic marker slash across it but hadn't lined up. Hubs later told me he didn't turn it upside down to see that mark. But it worked perfectly after that even though I was afraid to sit on it for fear of doing something to make it leak again!

This isn't the end of the story.

A few days later, I was sitting here in my office and hubs came it sweating violently and said, "Get me to ER." After asking what was wrong while jumping up out of this chair, he said, "I don't know." I'm suspecting heart attack or stroke or something equally horrific. He just kept saying, "Get me to ER."

Helping him into the car and exiting my garage, I turned on my flashers and headed out of the neighborhood onto the main streets hoping for a cop to help us break the speed limit to get to the hospital, which is about a 7 minute drive. No cops! But people did see we were in stress mode and pulled over for us.

I entered the reception area of ER and said, "I need a gurney." Blank looks! I repeated more forcefully, "I need a gurney!!!!" (I'm a very assertive person, very.) That got them moving.

While driving there, hubs finally told me what the problem was. While standing at the bathroom vanity, he felt like he'd been kicked in the lower back. It almost took him to his knees. He lay down on the bed, got dizzy and started perspiring profusely. That's when he came in here. He was pale and drenching by the time he got in here to tell me.

Bottom line: They did urine tests, CT scan and blood work. No kidney stone, which they suspected at first. After 4 1/2 hours they let him go home. The doctor, who looked like he just graduated middle school and had hair curling at the nape of his neck and wore a braided necklace (sigh, so 1960s Berkeley) finally said he thought it might be shingles. Shingles?!?! Nope, he never got shingles and it's been several days now.

I think he pulled that lateral after lifting 2 toilets, one still with water in the tank!, and carrying them in and out of the house. HE says he's never felt anything so intense and such pain and it couldn't be that. I'm convinced that's what did it. Sometimes, wives/mothers know best. Right? Yeah.

An aside: Once I got to the hospital, I called my young friend, Stacy, told her to get two elders from our church over to ER to administer to him. I can always count on this woman! I simply said I needed help and that was all; she took it from there. While they had him in the CT scan room, Stacy and I went out to lunch at McDonalds, just in the next block and enjoyed ourselves immensely. We knew he'd be safe after that blessing. We have a lot of faith in the power of God. And I never miss the opportunity to eat out, never!

He's been fine since. ;-) And for that I'm most grateful to our Lord.
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A sweet container for holding your lovelies.

Just look at how individual flowers decorate a table. Just cut them from your gardens when available. Stunning!

Beautiful vintage armoire and chandelier in a room with beadboard ceiling.

Love those shutters. Can you just imagine closing them in the evening for privacy and then opening them up in the morning to beautiful sunshine? Oooh, yeah!

Abundance in blooms.

A wonderful old kitchen made to look new or is it a new kitchen made to look old? Hmmmmmm.

Sweet pillows and roses for a vignette in a bedroom. Beautiful.

Here we go with the ivy going to rot the shutters again. ;-)

Easily made hanging craft you could make for your child or a gift for a wedding or baby shower.

I think this is a "Cleaver" house. Doesn't it look similar?

A lovely vintage chippy table and an ice cream parlor chair.

How does this family see out the windows? It's also covering the chimneys so they obviously can't have a fire in the fireplace. Personally, I'd love to have light come into a home.

Cute little shed or kids playhouse.

Beautiful in whites. Notice the faux fireplace mantel? And hubs thought I was crazy for doing this in our family room. Hah!

Quaint cottage probably in England considering the stonework and the windows.

Cute little french blue shutters on a cottage.

Rustic, yet gorgeous kitchen.

While my actual coverings and colors are different, this room has the same symmetry as mine.

I love what this homeowner has done to this room. Very sweet and feminine.

Isn't this adorable?

A very small cottage in the woods.

White and luxurious.

Cute little gingerbread house with pink frills.

Could be a cottage in Monterey from the looks of it.

Sweet!

Pretty pastoral scene somewhere in merry ole England.

Some of the prettiest cupcakes I've ever seen.

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Now go have a cupcake or something so rich it'll hurt the glands in your mouth.

~*~
Photos courtesy of pinterest and tumblr.