Hold off on buying that Blu-ray

Article in Consumer Reports dot org ...

Bruno Gideon

For over a year now, I've been reading Bruno Gideon's One Minute E-Mail every week. He's down to earth, full of commom sense & experience & wisdom. Always a teacher, never a preacher. An excellent writer.
It's just a great way to start your day.
Check him out :-)

Babies Online - free stuff for you & baby!

Babies Online is a cool website hints, tips, connections & FREE STUFF!!!! "for new and expectant parents". Gotta love it.

Movies

Unaccompanied Minors was hilarious & very, very fun. Perfect family night movie!

In the Land of Women was great. Excellent story line. Could have had a stronger, more creative ending, but overall very enjoyable. Great acting.

Good Luck Chuck was entertaining & made me burst out lauhing several times. Definitely for a younger audience though ... well, 18 - 30-something.

The Santa Clause 3 was a fun family movie. It's been at the top of our Blockbuster Queue for a while ... since November 07. We just got it. LOL

The Game Plan was really corny but very fun & cool at the same time. Just when I thought the predictable parts were about to happen, the story twisted. I laughed, I cried. Everything I look for in a movie.

Writing In Code

I wanted to add a page to my website. One with a map, or a list of the US States, & when you click on any given State, it would automatically bring you down the page to that state's list of stores that carry GrammaBurp cards.
Well, it took me a few hours, but I did it!
I really have MySpace to thank for getting me over my fear of html in a fun & easy way. And the good folks at Yahoo Answers answered the technical part of it. And then it was just a matter of me typing it.
I have some tweaking to do with it... and more states & stores to add ... but I'm just really pleased with myself for actually being able to do it. **pats self on back**
Computers (& microwaves) were recent inventions when I was in High School. I remember everyone being told to sign up for a computer class they would be offering if we were interested. I signed up. Even before I knew much about them, I knew. Unfortunately, there were not enough spaces for everyone who was interested, because I was never offered the class. Eh, just another one of those I wonder where I'd be today if I had done that questions.
AND yet another fear conquered! Woohoo!

Growing Greeting Cards

The seed was planted.
The ideas flowered.
The research ... weeded out ... the plan.
I worked the soil, and I fertilized ... a lot.

April 21st 2005 I made my first dollar.

At that moment it became so much more than just another one of my ideas.

Photo By Sue Bush
This is me, in my old, tiny office, when my line consisted of only fifty cards. The first time I was interviewed for a newspaper.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I was in my late 30's ... and without realizing it, I had become accustomed to having exciting ideas, and not following through -- for whatever reason. But somehow, that kept me going.

And then it happened.

My daughter got married & had a baby & moved to California & her husband was deployed to Iraq. The baby was only a couple of months old. I couldn't handle them being so far away. I finally got the balls enough to quit my day job. We got pet sitters / house sitters & we rented a car & drove from Massachusetts to California.

I'd had the greeting card idea before we left, and had been talking about it with my wife... she was used to me talking about my ideas & she was always very supportive & honest & helped me process the ideas.

We're in the middle of the USA -- highway driving all day -- tired -- and maybe a little lost. We pull off the highway & into the first parking lot we came to. Turns out, it was the Corporate HQ for Hallmark in Kansas City MO. THAT was the moment we knew - THIS wasn't just another one of my ideas. THIS was what I was supposed to be doing.

No one will ever know the amout of excitement I felt that evening, being so completely blown away by fate - knowing that everything -- every step - every move - every turn -- had been right ... sitting in the Hallmark parking lot.


to be continued ... (don't you hate that?)

Bourne

Bourne Ultimatum

Aside from the fact that I mutilated ALL ten of my already pathetic fingernails, I FREAKIN LOVED this 3rd in the series of Jason Bourne movies. TOTALLY left me saying: "I cannot WAIT 'till the next one comes out!"

There was only one scene in the movie that was a bit too fake & drawn out ... the entire rest of it was ...

Whew, man.

Awesomeness at it's finest.

FREE condoms for everybody!!!!!!

OK, well, you have to be 18 (yes, because we all know that no one under 18 has sex) and it takes 6 weeks to receive your 1 free Trojan condom. But hey, it's free!

CLICK HERE to get it!

Oh, and it's a limited offer to one free condom per person per year... so, if you don't need more than one this year... you probably won't mind waiting the 6 weeks it takes to receive it ... here ya go.

:-)

YAY TROJAN!

Hillary's Daughter The PIMP

Re: the comment about Hillary's daughter being "pimped out".

I think Whoopi said it best ...

"unfortunate things happen when white people try to use black slang". (or something similar to that)

Does the guy deserve to lose his job? NO

Does Hill need to take a chill pill & concentrate on bigger & better things? YES

OK, so, how do you think she should have reacted to the pimp comment?
I think she should have gotten Chelsea a t-shirt that says "I'M PIMPIN FO MY MAS".

Yup. That's exactly what I think.

Shoveling

We got hit pretty hard today. Looked like about 8 inches of snow, which, when I decided to go to bed last night, was light & fluffy. Then came the sleet & freezing rain all morning & all day. Holy shit. It took me 20 minutes to clear a two-foot wide section the length of our car. Frozen slush. You had to break it up before you could shovel it. And even then you couldn't put much on the shovel - either because you simply couldn't lift it or for fear of the shitty plastic shovel snapping in two beneath the weight of the frozen sludge. All together, I only shoveled for a little over an hour ... with many breaks ... it took all day ... and now my shoulders are wondering what the hell I was thinking.

More movie reviews

Mr Woodcock - Very silly, entertaining, Love Seann William Scott. The bonus is, you get to see him & Billy-Bob in wrestling outfits ... HA!

3:10 to Yuma - awesome awesome awesome! Even if you don't like westerns, this one has an amazing story-line. Great movie!

PiGS - well, they tried ... but it just didn't do anything for me.

Oceans Thirteen - Lived up to its promises. I've been very impressed by all three 'Oceans' flicks.

Superbad - if you only see one movie this year, make sure this one is it. It's absolutely factually rediculous, and completely hilarious. Takes American Pie to the next level. I AM McLovin.

Great FREE Websites For Kids Online

All the experts told my parents that too much TV would damage us ... eh ... we made it through. Now the evil spawn of these "experts" are still waving the same flags ... only this time they've added warning labels on computers too.
Well.
I happen to disagree.
I'm not gonna sit a child in front of the TV or DVD or computer or video games completely unsupervised ... or for hours on end. But you can bet all of my kids have TV's in their rooms.
First, selfishly, it does give us 'mommy time'... Secondly, if their responsibilities are not done (chores, homework) then no phone or electronics.
And third, there are actually some excellent programs on TV, & fun, educational games on the computer.
And 4th ... that's not all they do.
To sum it up ... anyone who tells me that Baby Einstein is going to damage my granddaughter's brain, can bite me.

HERE'S A LIST OF GREAT FREE WEBSITES FOR KIDS.

Sesame Street

Noggin

The Wiggles

Playhouse Disney

PBS Kids

Me

I LOVE watching movies. Comedies especially. I have experienced true love, many times ... I am addicted to chocolate... I used to drive fast... now, old women pass me. I love working on the computer. I'm an animal lover. Always have been. I think that people who abuse animals &/or children should get life sentences. That way the cycle might end. My living room looks like a day care center. I don't do windows & I rarely dust. If my office / desk isn't clean & organized, I get very little work done. When I put my mind to something I go at it 100% ... I have had 1,000,000 ideas ... I didn't always have the family support -- or belief in myself -- to stick with the ideas & follow through enough to see if it'll turn out as great as I think it will in the beginning. I love to laugh. I strive to be healthy. I was given up for adoption at birth. 10 years ago, I met my birthmother & birthfather... we still stay in touch. They're both amazing. I've been a foster mom for 10 years. Sometimes it's too easy. At other times, it's so difficult, we discuss not doing it any more. The system sucks in so many ways. Many of the people I work with, do truly care. While at the same time, I've seen some of the worst the system has to offer, Social Services case workers for one - I have yet to be impressed. Empty threats, empty promises, lies, huge caseloads, laziness ... It's truly sad. I teach children to jump in puddles. I rarely shop for sneakers, because I'm so particular about how they should fit - it usually takes me a month of shopping & trying on sneakers, before I find the right pair. I hate shopping. When I DO finally find the right pair of sneakers, I should buy two pair. I do not own shoes. I have a garage full of crap. Good crap, but crap nonetheless.

Hey, you never know.

Each link is searchable by State / last name ... pretty cool .... & hey, you never know.

You may just end up finding some LOST MONEY !!!


MISSING MONEY DOT COM

UNCLAIMED DOT ORG

The Chocolate Garden

I first heard of The Chocolate Garden back in 2001 on TV ... The Food Network did a feature on them.

You know how TV shows featuring foods have the hosts take a bite ... and no matter what, they all say: "Yum, this is amazing"... but you can tell by the looks on their faces that as soon as they go to commercial, they're bending over the trash bucket? Ya. Well not this time. When they tasted the Chocolate Garden's truffles, time seemed to slow ... all you heard was: "mmmmmm". Eyelids were slowly closing in their most unexpected public moments that proved to be nearly orgasmic.

I immediately got online & ordered a two-pack. Six days later I received my order & tasted them for the first time. Five minutes after that, I was placing another (much larger) order.






I may have mentioned before, how cranky I get when I go to 'gourmet chocolate shops', pay too much & end up disappointed. One of the reasons I fell so immediately head-over-heels with The Chocolate Garden, was because these suckers are hand-rolled. The truffles you get in many "gourmet" shops are mass produced, and have a horrendous wax coating that just makes my tongue say: "ewww" the moment I put it in my mouth.

There's no wax on The Chocolate Garden's truffles.

Let me just say this ...

Oh ... My .... God.

Chocolate lovers, you will know - with your first soft bite - these are simply, the world's greatest chocolate truffles.

Period.

I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry

I suppose it's a sign that I'm getting older .... but I kept finding myself wondering if some of the sexual references in the movie I NOW PRONOUNCE YOU CHUCK & LARRY were appropriate for the 14 yr old to be seeing. It's rated PG-13, but I kept thinking ... I should get up & check to make sure it's actually PG-13.

And because of that, I don't think I enjoyed it as much as I would have if the 14 yr old wasn't watching it with us.

There were several laugh out lout moments... but also many predictable moments.

Excellent actors, all of them. LOADED with stars. Great message.

Overall, good entertainment.

Free Samples from WalMart

WalMart has a section of their website that offers FREE SAMPLES !!!

A simple name & address form, and you'll get free (sample size) stuff delivered to your door.

I've been using it for 3 months now & I have actually received several sample-size items in my mailbox. No additional junk mail that I have noticed either! (They don't share your contact info.)

The only drawback? You have to fill in the name & address infor every time.

Free stuff = cool.

ENJOY!

I WANT THE BANANA!

We have a YMCA family membership. They have a lot of different aquatic programs. Kids lessons, family swim, open swim, laps, even kayak lessons & programs for older people & people with injuries & synchronized swimming.

Yesterday we took our 3 1/2 year old granddaughter swimming during the family swim time. She loved it. About 20 minutes into our time in the pool, she spots something -- her eyes get big -- she yells: "I WANT THE BANANA!" She's hungry? Now? We look around. There's a big yellow kayak parked upside-down on the side of the pool, waiting for the kayak class.

It really did look like a humongous banana.

:-)

Ghirardelli Chocolate

As a self-proclaimed chocolate connoisseur, I have to say, I know chocolate. Chocolate & I have been having an ongoing love affair for more than forty years.

I've been to the local malls where the fancy-schmancy chocolate shops claim to have the best chocolates in the world, spent waaay too much money for something that tastes the same as a $2 hollow chocolate Easter bunny.

I've tried every chocolate bar known to man.

Belgian chocolates are very good. But even they, pale in comparison to Ghirardelli. (GEAR-UH-DELLY)



There's just something about the taste of Ghirardelli that makes you -- if you're a true chocolate lover -- sigh ... and feel the rush of calm surround your body like a warm, soft blanket.

It's the greatest natural high that I know.

I read once, that they roast their cocoa beans differently than other chocolate manufacturers. Ghirardelli takes the little seeds out of the bean & roasts them at precise temps, in order to get specific flavors. Most other chocolate manufacturers roast & burn the bean ... the result being ... burnt seeds, under-roasted seeds ... varying, inconsistent flavors.



I've even visited the factory in SanFrancisco.

It was a thing of beauty. Huge vats of slowly stirred, thick liquid chocolate. I wanted to jump in. I wanted to swim in it. I pictured myself diving in. Evidently, someone had the idea before me because there were Plexiglas walls surrounding the vats.

All in all, my visit to the Ghirardelli factory was one of the most memorable experiences of my time in SanFrancisco... even though I didn't get to go swimming.

The grocery stores carry double chocolate ghirardelli brownies & ghirardelli semi-sweet chocolate chips. The next time you're gonna make brownies or chocolate chip cookies, I challenge you to spend the extra $1.50. You WILL NOT regret it. :-) I promise.

Ever changing

Feels like life is changing ... again. Everything always changes, I know. But a lot of the time, I don't see it coming. Sometimes I feel it coming, but I'm not aware enough of the significance of it all ... then I can look back & say: "gee, I should have seen that coming." But now ... everything is changing. I can see it, I can feel it ... & I'm scared. And I'm excited.

My daughter is moving out of the apartment upstairs, into her own apartment (in town). And she's taking my grandbabies with her. It's just so convenient having them right here. But I know it'll be more normal -- for her -- if she's not living with mommy at 23 yrs old.

And it's been crowded. We're foster parents. And we have a fairly large old house. Since I work at home, and since my daughter moved in (& required the entire upstairs) ... my workspace -- my OFFICE -- is shared with our bedroom. It's squished. It's hard to concentrate. It impossible to organize. My office space is less than half the size it was before. So yes, I'm looking forward to having my office space back. If a feng shui person saw this space right now, they'd run screaming.

All of it though, is leaving an uneasy feeling in my gut. A lot like butterflies. Fear of the unknown I suppose. Also, partly, me losing control of the situation. (Did I mention I have control issues? -- well, they're not really issues, so long as I'm in control.)

Scary.

I think I made a mistake.

I like to think I'm like most moms out there. We all try to do our best. We all try to do better with our own kids than our parents did with us. We all try. And we all make mistakes.

I think I made a mistake. I kind of got sidetracked on this blog ... I mean, I was keeping it all about greeting cards - and the truth is, I WANT to write about other stuff too.

So ... stuff that once didn't belong here, will now be here. YEE HAWWWW! Such freedom! Woo Hoo!

I hope to blog here about; life, marriage, funny things my daughter & granddaughters say & do, product reviews, pet tales, food, and maybe even a dash of poetry.

In other words, you all (if there is actually anyone out there reading my blog) will get to see the real me - the true me ... you'll see what a whack-job I really am.

Lucky, Lucky you!