Priorities, People!

Image via WikipediaNext week - Dancing with the Stars, the Finals. Except on our abc station, they're showing it at a 'special' time - after the football game and the news. Oh yeah, really special. One - those football games never follow any rules and go as long as they want so, Two - the news will be late, and Three - it's anybody's guess when this 'special' time will actually occur. Besides being way too late for normal people who have to get up in the morning to actually watch, it's now impossible to record because, again, it's anybody's guess when it is actually going to start.

Also, if you vote on these things via phone, you only have 30 minutes after the show ends to cast your vote. That means 30 minutes after the actual show ends, not 30 minutes after the 'special' show ends. Sorry, your vote does not count.

While it's irritating any time a football game or other sports event is shown in place of a regularly scheduled show, this is particularly bad because it's the Finals. If they had done this earlier in the season, when it didn't really matter, it wouldn't have been quite so bad. Still, I think sports should be confined to sports networks where the people who want to see them can find them but they don't interfere with more important things. Obviously, nobody asked me.

Starbucks Giveaway

Image by DBarefoot
via FlickrI didn't win the last one, so I'm trying again. This time Laurie is giving away a Starbucks Gold Card Membership and a $25 gift card. The gold card means 10% off most purchases, and the $25 gift card means, well $25 of free Starbucks!

I am going to need to get to Starbucks soon, because the White Chocolate Peppermint Mocha sounds really good. We were just at Target Sunday, but for some reason there's no Starbucks in that Target. Cory was complaining. Not me, of course.

Maybe I Should Have Kept That Domain

Before I finally settled on alwaysbcmom.com as my domain, I registered a couple other ones. I've been using one of them, justgottasharethis.info, but I never did anything with the other one. Just last week it expired, and I let it. I don't feel too bad about it, since I think I only paid $2.99.

I was just reading this web hosting blog and read that someone registered pizza.com and then sold it this past April for $2.6 million. I doubt that I would ever get that kind of money, because I'm probably the only one who would ever want the domain I registered, and I didn't even want it after I got it. What they're really saying on this blog, though, is that if you have a domain name that you want to register, whether for your blog or for your business, you need to think really hard about registering it now, before someone else does. They may be willing to sell it to you, for a price, or it may be the domain name they need for their business, and you may be out of luck.

Besides information about domain names and how much you should pay for one, this Web Hosting Geeks blog has information about E-Commerce, generating traffic with search engines, and designing your site for SEO. The blog is associated with the Web Hosting Geeks review site, which has some good reviews of web hosting providers. If you're thinking about getting a new web host, this looks like a good site to visit first. You can find out which web hosts are the cheapest, which ones have the best customers service, and how much space and bandwidth you'll get with each, as well as what their customers think of them.

Oh, and if you haven't registered that perfect domain name - do it now.

Toast?

Image via WikipediaI am really going to have to make up my mind about the toaster/toaster oven thing. I toasted an English muffin today, and I had to push it down 4 times to get it toasted. This toaster is definitely not working properly.

I was thinking of getting a toaster oven instead of just a toaster, because I like the idea of being able to use it to bake or warm up some things, instead of having to turn on the actual oven, especially in the summer. We were looking at this toaster oven from Walmart - you can cook a pizza, bake, broil, even cook a rotisserie chicken in it. The only thing it doesn't seem to do very well is make toast. Actually, several of the reviewers say it doesn't make toast very well, and another one says it's perfectly golden brown, so I don't know what to believe.

Maybe I should just stick with a basic toaster? Any ideas or suggestions? Do you have a toaster oven, which one, and do you like it? Any toaster oven manufacturers out there who'd like to send me one so I can try it? It doesn't hurt to ask, right?

Kmart Has Plenty of Gifts Under $25

I used to work in a retail store, and I still remember working the returns desk on the day after Christmas. It always amazed me how many gifts were being returned, and how many people were positive their friend or family member paid full price. Maybe they did, probably they didn't, but without a receipt we could only refund the lowest sale price.

I say probably they didn't (spend full price) because I assume most people are like me. Well, not exactly like me, but I'm guessing they don't want to spend more money than is necessary when they buy gifts. If you find good deals and sales, then you can buy more, right? Or you can just get something for everyone on your list without going hopelessly into debt.

Kmart has the same idea. That's why they have 25,000 quality gifts for under $25. Clothes, toys, tools, bedding, and kitchenware, there's something for everyone here. Some things I found just browsing Kmart's site, because all of these gifts are also available online, are: a Halex table top Hockey game for $24.99, which would be great in the basement; a Craftsman 3.6 volt Cordless ScrewDriver I bet Jeffrey would like; and Joe Boxer women's fleece pajama pants for $7.79 that would be comfy for Beth and me to lounge around in. There's a complete 32-piece dinnerware set for $19.99. Beth keeps saying she's moving out, so it won't be long until she needs something like that. I won't be buying it though. That's too much like encouraging her to leave.

If you're looking for a budget-friendly way to buy all the gifts you want to this year, check out Kmart. You can either do all of your shopping in the store or at Kmart.com. With the current offer of free shipping on orders over $49, I don't know if it can get any easier.

Heads or Tails - an Autumn Memory

This week's theme/prompt is:
TAILS - Share an Autumn Memory

I love all the seasons. When it's Springtime, I love Spring. When it's Summer, I love Summer, etc. By the time Summer is over, I'm ready for the cooler weather, crisp breezes, and colorful leaves of Autumn.

Also in Autumn, we always go somewhere for the Feast of Tabernacles, so we have memories of visiting Florida, Tennessee, South Dakota, Wisconsin Dells, and Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri. When Beth was just a 2 week old baby, we went to the Dells. The day we drove up, it was sunny and warm - shorts weather. A few days later, it snowed! And then it all melted, and the weather got warm again. This was all in the space of a week. You gotta love Wisconsin weather!

The year Cory was a baby, we went to the Ozarks. We spent a couple days in St. Louis on the way down - one day at the zoo and another at Grant's Farm. I hadn't thought of that place in ages, but I'd love to go back there. They raise some of the Budweiser Clydesdales there. I love those horses! There's also a big deer park, animals to pet, and some entertaining shows. I especially liked the elephants. Beth was only 2, so she won't remember it at all, but she enjoyed it at the time.

Heads or Tails is a fun weekly meme hosted by Skittles.

Sears Has Layaway

The other day we saw a commercial about Sears Layaway. Cory didn't know what layaway was. Our society seems to run completely on instant gratification and credit, and layaway went out of style for a while, but it's back. I think it's great because it gives people a way to purchase the gifts they want for the holidays, without maxing out the credit cards. This is definitely not a time to max out the credit cards - as if any time is. With the layaway program, you find what you want, make a down payment, and make weekly payments. When your item is paid for, you get to take it home. No more payments. I think it will make people think a little harder about what they can afford, but still be able to take advantage of some good sales.

There are some items excluded from the Sears Layaway program, but most in-store merchandise is included. Cory would love some new Wii games, and Jeffrey has been wanting a snow blower for a long time. We could put it on layaway now, get it paid for, and bring it home in time for the winter snow. Maybe instead of games for the Wii, I should find Cory some new winter boots, so he can help with the snow shoveling/blowing. I somehow doubt he'd appreciate that, though he does need some new boots, since he grew out of his old ones.

For me I'm looking at toaster ovens. My toaster doesn't toast very well any more, and I'm thinking about getting a toaster oven to replace it, instead of just a toaster. Since toaster ovens cost a bit more than any old toaster, layaway might be a good way to pay for it.

What are you going to put on layaway?

Camera Critters (#32)

I've been trying to clean my computer off. Along with the pictures I mentioned, I've also been trying to get the videos off. They should be easier, because there aren't nearly as many of them, though they take up more space. I've been uploading a lot of them, and then deleting them from my computer. I just discovered that Vimeo has a link on each video so you can download the original file - which is really nice, just in case I want to use the videos in the future and be able to edit them. In the meantime, they can hang out at Vimeo.

I've been uploading some videos of Tillie when she was a kitten, so I thought I'd share one of those this week:

Tillie Kitten Playing from bcmom on Vimeo.

Wasn't she a little cutie?

Camera Critters is a fun weekend meme hosted by Misty Dawn.Visit the Camera Critters headquarters and join in.

Getting Ready for College

I just heard about this on the news

MADISON, Wis. -- Wisconsin students can study for their SAT and ACT exams for free on a new state Web site.

KnowHow2GoWisconsin announced Friday that its Web site now has tutorials and interactive practice sessions for the two college entrance exams as well as the graduate school exam known as the GRE.

The program paid for with a federal grant includes a vocabulary builder with more than 2,000 words that adapts to each student's abilities.

KnowHow2GoWisconsin is a partnership of Wisconsin public schools, colleges and universities that aims to help more students go to college.

KnowHow2GoWisconsin

This looks like it's going to be really helpful. Besides the test prep, the site is supposed to help students know what they should be doing now to get ready for college. There are a lot of great resources on the site, too. I'm looking through this site wondering why no one told us about it before. Were we somehow supposed to find it on our own? I do wish the school would do a little more to make sure the kids have the resources they need to be successful.

Time to get serious about this whole college thing. Like they say, "There are lots of steps 2 take and this website can help. It’s never too early–or too late–2 get started on the road 2 college."

The Weekend, Finally!

Image via WikipediaTwice yesterday I heard Thursday referred to as 'Friday Eve' - is that new? I never heard that before. It's like we all live our lives waiting for the weekend and doing whatever we can to hurry it along.

I must admit I do like weekends, mainly because we usually get to sleep in and get some extra rest. Last weekend we were busy with the school musical. While we did get to sleep in, we were also up late, so it was pretty tiring. I'm hoping to catch up on my rest this weekend.

We do have a few plans, nothing major like jetting off to las vegas nevada or anything. Cory is going with his friend Vanessa to meet one of his favorite authors tomorrow, John Green. He's taking his books and a couple of the library books to hopefully get them signed. Then Sunday we're going to see the new Bond movie - Quantum of Solace. I never used to like Bond movies, but they've grown on me. I especially liked the last one, Casino Royale, the first one with Daniel Craig as Bond, so I'm looking forward to this one. Daniel Craig is no Sean Connery, but I still thought he was pretty good.

I started reading some reviews suggested by Zemanta, but I'm not going to do it - maybe after. Seriously, movie reviews - if the reviewer loved the movie, I expect too much. If they hate the movie, well - I just want to make up my own mind.