I’ve done it again– rearranged the blog furniture! I was tired of all the nagging little nuisances of the old template (which was actually a combination of two different ones). I just loved the old header, and hate to part with it, but I couldn’t make it work with this theme.

I like the sleekness of this one. I have a small beef– the sidebar loads first, and if it takes long, the main content doesn’t load for a while. I HATE that! Why is it programmed that way? I want it to zip around like Zero Halliburton luggage, but instead it lags like an old wooden chest of drawers…

How about you? Do like this look or do you prefer the old ladybug in a picture frame look? Does it take too long to load? I’d really like to know.

As many of you know, I sometimes write articles for this blog and my other blogs, for pay. It has enabled me to earn a living, whereas I would not be able to in any other capacity. Because of a back injury, I am laid up sometimes for long periods of time, but my fingers are still in very good, typing condition. So I work hard to promote my blogs and work very hard to write good articles. Unfortunately, this summer has been a bit of a let-down, as I haven’t been making as much as I’d hoped. I’m still having a blast blogging, don’t misunderstand me! I love writing! I just wish I earned more money from it. :D

Even though I’m not raking in the cash, I’m doing other things to promote my blogs– making new templates load quickly, building social networks, etc. And some very dear friends have been using StumbleUpon for articles I’ve written that they like, which increases traffic for me. It’s been a TERRIFIC blessing.

So it makes me very, very happy when my blogs are read, and when they are read by many people. I am so happy to see my blogs rising in the ranks at IZEA Ranks. Today I checked my stats, and look what I found!!!

My travel blog is number one in Travel!

My home and garden blog is number one in Real Estate!

This little mommy blog is number three in Family!

And I am maintaining a number 43 in the Top 100 blogs at IZEA! Woweeee!

Now, if I can JUST figure out a way to translate those stats into cashola.. lol.

I really appreciate you reading my blog– reading and commenting on my articles, dropping your Entrecard, emailing me information and encouraging words. I love you very much. I am so very blessed to know you and I am greatly enriched as a person to have you as friends. God bless you all!!!!!

My daughter sent me an email with a link to a video, saying, “When you are in a ‘Cute Kitty Mood,’ watch this.” LOL, well, I am ALWAYS in a “Cute Kitty” mood. This is an adorable video. The music is really weird (what is that anyway?!) but the cat is so lovey!

My husband informed me that he is asking around for anyone who wants a kitten to go to a loving home (uh, that’s ME). I am so happy!!!! I just can’t wait to get my paws on a kitten again! After reading all those wonderful pet blogs like Luxor, Daisy, Chica & Pumuckl, I am desperate for another cat around the house. Probably the only downside to a housecat is the dreaded litter box. I have a horribly sensitive nose. So I’m doing some research on how to toilet train cats. Anyone have any suggestions?

Oh here’s another short video I found. What a spastic cat! LOL!!! So that’s why laser lights were invented, eh?

Ok, enough fooling around for me. Time to balance the checkbook and mull over the deep science of life’s mysteries, like do acne treatments really work?

OH.MY.GOSH. This is hilarious!!! What a funny commercial! It’s in German, but it’s very understandable. English is a lot like German, and it isn’t too difficult to understand what is going on here. LOL

Yowsa, hope that dude had term life insurance… Now don’t go chastising me for how weird I am and how mean the ad is. It’s fictional! But is IS a terrific idea, heh heh heh…

Woohoo! I’m doing the happy dance today, people! My CPU usage for this blog is back within its limits (and I’m still getting 7,000 hits a day!).

Yesterday I blogged about my blog’s massive CPU usage. My web host, Whip An Orbit, had contacted me to inform me that the huge load was crashing their servers. They asked me to fix the problem. I would like to commend the guys at Whip An Orbit for their excellent customer service– and compassion! Other web hosts would just rip out my blog and suspend my account. Whip An Orbit emailed me first, and when I emailed and called them, they were as gracious and helpful as anything! They gave me some tips about what was causing the problem. When I said that one of my blog posts had been “Stumbled” at StumbleUpon, they understood and immediately decided to hold off any suspension of my blog. They realize that StumbleUpon traffic slows down after a few days. I just have to say a big THANK YOU to those Whip An Orbit guys. Wow, relief is wonderful. If you want to check out their hosting plans, my affiliate link to their website is here. I’ve had very little downtime with them, especially compared to my blogs on Bluehost (those crash with CPU Quota Exceeded errors after about 500 Stumbles).

I’d also like to thank Terry from FindSavings.com. He’s read my blog, and took the time to write a whole bunch of emails with tips and smaller theme graphics for my blog. His advice was phenomenal. I think that because I did follow his advice, my CPU usage is within limits today. Terry runs a GREAT website with loads of store coupons and promo codes. I am a strong proponent of using online coupons– I never buy anything unless I check first– and Terry’s site is my favorite. So he’s not only a great coupon provider, he’s a real pal, too. Thanks, Terry. :-)

I can now rest easy and enjoy all this heavy traffic, and I can drop Entrecards again! And guess what– my RealRank is 51 today! I made it into the Top 100! Amazing!

So all this excitement has me exhausted. I think I am getting too old for such hoo-hah. I hardly slept at all last night! I’m ready for a nap. Zzzzzzzz

This is a sticky post. I’m asking you to take 20 seconds of your time to vote for me! See that little video in the sidebar. Over there.

See that little green button that says “VOTE.” Yeah, click it. There’s no signing in, no giving of your email or name. But that little click could earn me up to $3,000 for my dream job! I appreciate all the help I can get! and thanks. :) You can vote every day!

We now continue our normally verbose blog posts…. please scroll down.

Just so you know– my web host informed me that they will be undergoing maintenance tomorrow, August 8th, in the morning. This blog will be down for a few hours, hopefully shorter. I apologize for the disruption, but I think it will be brief. Before you know it, we’ll be back up and running (and on a better server, too).

Just thought I’d let ya all know. I’m grateful my web host informed me ahead of time!

Oops I forgot to insert my gratuitous (OMG I spelled that right the first try!) intermediary post. I’m doing that now. So just ignore the man behind the curtain if you have no idea what I am talking about. The reason for my brain freeze is most likely due to this.

I’ve gotten a few new games for the kids for the summer, with the intent of reviewing them for you moms out there. :D The latest we got is called the I Spy Memory Game. It’s available from Briarpatch, a company renowned for high-quality games and puzzles for children. They sell it for about $25, the average price for children’s games today.

This game is probably best suited for kids ages 3 to 10. Adults may like it, playing with their kids (and adults with bad memories, like yours truly *ahem*, may find it useful, too). I love the game because it’s really a whole bunch of games. Depending on the age of the child or the mood of the parent, you can play a variety of different games– up to five different games if you follow the manual, and more if you are feeling creative. Up to six players can play together.

This is a terrific game for improving cognitive skills and memory, especially in young children. The game of memory was favorite game of mine as a kid, and I still love playing it. Back then, we had the old plainly marked cards- now, kids get these vivid colorful cards! We’ve always loved the I Spy books, and the cards are absolutely gorgeous! They are very thick cardboard, and durable, and thus kid-friendly.

The game we liked to play was the old-fashioned memory but another good one is the “riddles” games– using the suggestion printed on a card (I spy a…) and then trying to find that thing within a certain time frame. It is extremely challenging!

I highly recommend the I Spy Memory Game, especially for children younger than 10. It’s a GREAT game that is not electronic (I try to avoid those noisy electronic mind-numbing games) and helps the child develop skills he will need. It’s also so flexible that you really can’t go wrong with any game. Grandparents, it’s a great gift! And I Spy would make a great birthday party game, too.

Have you ever been in so much pain that you felt like you were going to throw up? Yeah? I feel for ya. I really, really do. :(