Happy Wednesday, friends.

The latest two posts I’ve worked on are pretty comprehensive. A few readers had asked me about making and tweaking “buttons,” those small 125×125 graphic images that visitors can click to go to a website. If you have any desire to know how to do it, please read my posts and tell me what you think!

How to Make a Clickable Button For Your Blog – the Simple Way

How to Customize HTML Tags for Your Clickable Button

Correctly coding your buttons is important. Search engines frown on sloppy code, so results are always better with clean, simple code. Definitely check out my tutorials if you want to know how to create clean code for your buttons!

Check out more tutorials at my blog, too. Just click the button, below! :D

And I’m not even on vacation yet, sheesh.

I’ve been lurking. I’ve been reading your posts but not commenting. Sorry!

It’s just been pretty busy for me. ALL OF A SUDDEN, now, at the end of the summer season, a billion advertisers want me to write stuff for them…. and two tourist departments want us to travel and write about them. Whew!

Here’s a great video my sons found. This guy does hand shadows.

HEY NO GROANING! This is not Uncle Barry’s kind of hand shadows. This guy DOES hand shadows. He’s the KING of hand shadows!

This one is hilarious. It takes a while for the shadows to get going, but it’s incredibly funny! The “thing” that Ken Davis does as part of the shadow (Bob Stromberg has him practice in front of the audience before they get started) is pretty funny…. but disgusting!!!

***

Today I had to help my son do a ton of research for his Biology course. Some stuff is amazing, like viewing cells or fibers through the microscope. But some of the research included finding videos where they dissect fetal pigs and frogs, YUK!!!! I never took Biology in school. Well, I took about 3 weeks of it, because in my senior year my guidance counselor realized I needed the course in order to graduate. I guess all I legally had to take was 3 weeks of it in order to get credit for it (if I remember correctly). After that period of time, I could decide if I wanted to continue Biology or get another art class (which was my major). Haha guess which I chose.

Anyway, the fetal pig was pretty disgusting. I’ve become quite a softy in my old age, and the sight of the poor little piglet, splayed out for sadistic science teachers and disgusted schoolchildren was almost too much to bear. Why do we have to dissect ANYTHING? Just draw the diagrams, I’ll take your word for it, k?

***

Along the same lines, I don’t know why they don’t teach Latin or Greek in schools anymore. What’s the big deal, dissecting piglets?! But no languages? I don’t get it.

I would have LOVED to have learned Latin or Greek. But I was an “average” student and wasn’t allowed to learn the stuff that the “smart” kids were learning. The schools I attended had a caste system, based on your average grade. There were three hierarchies: the BOCES students, the “average” students, and the “advanced” students. The advanced class was looked on as practically supernatural.

I performed very poorly in math and science but excelled in English and art, so I was considered an “average” student because my poor math always neutralized my proficient English. It was a dumb system, averaging the scores of all classes together. Some students, like me, were much more proficient in one subject than another. SO I was stuck in the boring English classes when I would have done well in the more advanced classes.

Oh well, the beauty of being an adult is that I get to study WHATEVER I WANT, now. Like Mark Twain once said, “I never let my schooling interfere with my education.” I love Mark Twain.

***

Lots of houses for sale in my area. LOTS. I think some people have HAD it with the taxes going up up up (we pay about $27 per $1000 assessed valuation). And the flooding we have been getting was probably the last straw for some folks. Next house I get, if I can ever afford another house, I will BE SURE to ask if the basement or yard floods. I’ll be asking a mighty LOT of questions, believe you me, lol.

I wish I or my Hubs has spent some time in the military service, because veterans always get great finance deals like VAHomeLoans.net. We actually got our house through an FHA first-time homeowners project. I am so grateful for that. Maybe sometime we can get an FHA Streamline Refinance and pay the mortgage off quicker. But no more old houses for me! I like my house and it’s about halfway fixed up, but I am getting too old for this.

***

Can you believe we’re halfway through June already?! I haven’t even weeded my vegetable garden and planted anything yet. :| Maybe I’ll try zucchini, but I really doubt I’m going to get anything done this year. Oh well, I’m not too disappointed, haha. It’s actually nice to have a break from the weeding and watering. Do you have a garden this year? How’s it growing?

***

Psalm 19
1 The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
2 Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they reveal knowledge.
3 They have no speech, they use no words;
no sound is heard from them.
4 Yet their voice goes out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world.
In the heavens God has pitched a tent for the sun.
5 It is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber,
like a champion rejoicing to run his course.
6 It rises at one end of the heavens
and makes its circuit to the other;
nothing is deprived of its warmth.

7 The law of the LORD is perfect,
refreshing the soul.
The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy,
making wise the simple.
8 The precepts of the LORD are right,
giving joy to the heart.
The commands of the LORD are radiant,
giving light to the eyes.
9 The fear of the LORD is pure,
enduring forever.
The decrees of the LORD are firm,
and all of them are righteous.

10 They are more precious than gold,
than much pure gold;
they are sweeter than honey,
than honey from the honeycomb.
11 By them your servant is warned;
in keeping them there is great reward.
12 But who can discern their own errors?
Forgive my hidden faults.
13 Keep your servant also from willful sins;
may they not rule over me.
Then I will be blameless,
innocent of great transgression.

14 May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart
be pleasing in your sight,
LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.

It’s PINK! You all know what that means…. the husband won’t take it to work! hahahahah!!! It’s MINE all MINE!!

Buxr sent me the mug to thank me for the review I did for them. Buxr is a pretty cool website (even cooler after giving me the mug!)– it’s a shopping website where you can get notices of deals, coupons, win prizes, and even support charities. The charity drive is ongoing for the month of December. Buxr will donate $1 for each friend that fellow Buxr members refer to the community. The page also has a VERY article on how to give to charity while on a budget. Buxr is a worthy site– I’m so glad to see the charity drive– check it out!

In other news, I won a contest!! Yes! I won the contest run by Lorena at Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow. Isn’t it very pretty? Lorena sells them, she has some other really beautiful, romantic prints, too.

I think these prints would make exquisite gifts for the holidays, or even as wedding presents.

Speaking of weddings, did you know that there is such a thing as best wedding insurance? There is! I hadn’t heard of it until I saw a website for a wedding insurance company. Apparently, enough brides and grooms get cold feet these days to warrant this kind of stuff!

Finally, I cannot BELIEVE how quickly this week has flown by. It’s hard to believe it’s Friday already. Has the week flown by for you?

Buy.com has a much better price (no surprises there). Regular prices at Buy.com are better than sales at the pet stores… although Buy.com has lots of stuff on sale regularly, too.

Look at these ADORABLE doggie duds! They even have little booties for dogs, LOL!

I am very partial to the Monkey Costume, hahah! Those Yorkies sometimes drive me bananas…

Buy.com has a ton of pet supplies: besides warm sweaters and costumes, they have toys, treats, nutritional supplements, pet food, pet supplies, kennels, carriers, everything. They have a nice selection of collars, MUCH better than WallyWorld and the other places. I have to get another collar and leash for the dogs… maybe something extra special for Livvy, since she is so graciously sharing hers…

1. I got my iPhone case. It is beautiful! I admit, I am a real gadget junkie.

But it is so purdy!

I allow myself cute stuff like this because I work like a dog all day and into the night. I think I have become a work-a-holic. I can’t even relax without working on something! It’s been too long since we had a break; I really need to get serious about going on a short vacation or something. The kids especially need it.

2. I’m baking a turkey in the oven today. It’s cold and rainy today, and the kids are a little “down” because of it. But throw a turkey in the oven to bake all day and ahhhhhhhhh turn the rainy day into a cozy one. Nice.

3. I think online banking password security is the WORST security system of all. Have you noticed it? They only allow you, for example, a maximum of 8 characters, and all must be letters or numbers. However, my Photobucket online photo account can have a billion characters (so it seems– I have a LOT) and they can be letter, numbers, symbols, anything! So my Photobucket account password is harder to hack than my bank account password! That’s crazy! I know banks use encryption, but if a hacker wanted to figure out the password, it wouldn’t be too difficult.

I think that either banks should change their security questions for our accounts, or social networks should stop demanding so much information (and we stop giving it). If you’ve ever applied to create an account online, you’ve no doubt run across these kinds of questions for a password reset, in case you forget your password:

OK, those questions are insane! Anyone who follows you on Facebook or Twitter can answer those! And the banks FORCE you to choose and answer one of those insipid questions. That’s crazy! It’s like they are BEGGING that your account get hacked and all your money stolen… :thinky: which makes me wonder. Hmmmmm….

4. Some of my neighbors have their Christmas lights up already. It’s bad enough that the stores have decorations up, LOL! Although, I think the white lights and other Christmas lights are very pretty. But it’s disconcerting how our society rushes us and hurries us and prods us.

5. I finally chose some new glasses. I haven’t had a new pair in about 7 years or so. These current ones have been through at least two major renovations, and the plaster and dust scratched them terribly.

Glasses have always been an instrument of fads... Would you wear these while driving? And how would you wear them if you already wore glasses? LOL

I never liked them, actually (I have always hated wearing glasses) because they are so small. At the time, teeny-tiny frames were all the rage, so there was nothing else to choose from. Now, people are wearing these mini-Drew Carey glasses– thick, ugly, dark plastic things– and I don’t like them, either. I ended up choosing another wire frame, but they are slightly larger than my current teeny-tiny ones. I wish fashion wouldn’t change things so much!

I also got the glasses at Walmart, my first time. It’s a REALLY long story full of adventure, drama, tragedy, and revenge, but let’s just say that I think state health insurance is great if you are mentally ill, have AIDS, or are pregnant. Of which I am none. But if you need glasses and a dental cleaning now and then, the insurance means very little. I require a very strong prescription, so my glasses are always very expensive (upwards of $250). But because I am not mentally ill, nor have AIDS, nor am expecting, the insurance would only cover about $50. :-p I checked prices for my prescription at Zenni Optical- and they do have great prices– but if you are legally blind and wear corrective lenses, you’re gonna pay through the nose no matter what.

Anyway, I’m looking forward to my new glasses. They are bigger, which is great! And I won’t have to squint through all the scratches anymore! :D

So that’s it for now… thanks for reading!

The creators of this cockamamie idea, the D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics, invited hackers to “bring it on” and try to hack this Titanic system (“No iceberg can sink this ship,” right?!). :-?

A few days later, the Board of Elections and Ethics issued a statement stating that “usability issues [were] brought to our attention.”

Yeah, the system had been hacked.

Every time a voter cast a vote, a website played this song. You Michigan residents will recognize it, no doubt:

Ha!

So the expensive and elaborate online voting system has been scrapped until further notice.

I don’t understand one little bitty thing about this whole fiasco…. if absentee ballots do not arrive in time for counting toward the election… why don’t you just extend the time period for counting all the votes?? Why create a vulnerable and expensive new system that only creates MORE problems and costs us MORE money?!?

:blink:

Problem is– clothes these days! OMG, how do you moms do it?? Where do you find suitable clothing for your children?? There is just NO WAY I am paying such high prices, and for such horrible styles. The pants for boys are awful– waistlines that sink down to their knees?? Why are boys’ clothes so sloppy and baggy? And why are girls’ clothes so tight and revealing? I cannot bear to part with my cold cash to fund such immoral clothing styles. It’s a pity. Now I remember why my son is down to three pairs of pants and four shirts! They are the dregs of an older era, a time when “being sex-ay” wasn’t part of a child’s clothing vocabulary, back when clothes were neat and tidy and were mere coverings, not filled with advertisements or sexually-manipulative styling. What a travesty, truly.

I went to Walmart the other day, and was appalled to see so many young girls in the tightest clothing ever. There they were, cavorting around while their moms and dads shopped.

:blink:

Please, please tell me why parents allow their children to wear such clothing. When I was a kid, I did wear sloppy clothing (until my teens, when I started to care about my appearance). My parents did nothing about it. However, if I dared to wear tight clothing (and I had a pair of sleek Jordache jeans!), my parents threw fits. I remember I once tried to wear a baseball cap that said “Together we Stand” (it had a US flag on it), and my step-dad would not allow me. He thought it was unfit for a teenage girl to wear! But I never resented him for being too protective. If anything, I appreciated it. Which makes me baffled by all the kids today, wearing the sluttiest clothes– out in public, even!

I’ve heard that there’s a bit of a rebellion brewing– moms are fed up with the slutty clothing that stores are selectively offering for their children. Hurray for them! I like the “neat” clothing for boys an girls, such as is found at great universal. It’s comfortable without being sloppy or slutty. I hope to see more outcry about this issue, and more choices given to us by clothing stores.

When you need to buy clothing for your kids, what do you do? Are you unhappy with the styles offered to us by the Big Box stores? Got any ideas? Because until then, my son is stuck with his three pairs of pants and four shirts…