Random Tuesday Thoughts

We didn't get Lebron. Oh well. The Bulls would have needed to do more team building anyway. Having 1 star wouldn't have gotten us a championship any way.

They caught that fugitive teen in the Bahamas. What a wiley one! It didn't seem like he was ever going to get caught.

Drew's Law backfired on prosecutors. That sux. Will Peterson ever go to trial?

Will the cap work for the oil spill? Doubt it.

My cats are quite talented. I left the A/C on when I left the house the other day. When I came home there was no familiar drone of the A/C. I freaked! I thought the power had gone out. When I got in the house, the light I left on was still on. Puzzled, I checked the window A/C. It was off. Either Maddux or Irish had pushed the button on the power strip that the A/C was plugged into and turned it off. I turned it back on and wah lah! The A/C was back on. Goofy cats!

Hey looky there over at my Followers! I've almost reached 300! Who will be my 300th follower? Now's your chance, if you haven't already, become a Follower!

In other blog news, I'm almost half way to a pay out on Google Adsense. It's taking forever! I've been doing Google Adsense since shortly after starting this blog. WTH? I would have thought I would have reached the $100 threshold long ago.

My birthday is coming up. July 24th. I have no idea what is planned, but I know the kids will be with their dad. I'm sure no matter what it is, we will have fun.

Lola's Diner ©2008-2010

Sprucing Up...

Being a homeowner there are always things to do around the home. Some need immediate attention, others, well, it would be nice to give attention. I think the longer you live in a home, the more you think about making some improvements, or maybe just a few decorating changes.

I recently purchased drapes for my daughters room. Now that's a challenge! She's a teen, so you know her color palette is umm, how shall we say? A bit wild. Her colors are bright pink, purple, and lime green. I managed to find the perfect curtains to go with that scheme. Bright pink and purple. Each window has a panel of each. She's ecstatic!

So now I'm about to do something for the rest of our home. I can't believe I haven't done something about this sooner, especially since it's my domain...the kitchen. Since I moved in the lighting has been 2 fixtures which are just a simple light bulb. Yup! That's it! (Ok, so it looks a bit fancier because I'm using the new compact fluorescent bulbs.) See for yourself:

Every other fixture in the house is either a ceiling fan, or a nice decorative gold-tone fixture. The fixtures in the kitchen seem to have been forgotten when the previous owners remodeled.

So, my question is this, do you have any suggestions for the fixtures in my kitchen? I'd like to have your input.

Lola's Diner©2008-2010

Sunday Stealing: Meme Of Many Odd Questions, Part One

Cheers to all of us thieves!

1. First thing you wash in the shower? My arms.

2. What color is your favorite hoodie? I don't have any hoodies. I wear the zip front fleece. My favorite is black.

3. Would you kiss the last person you kissed again? Most definitely. ;)

4. Do you plan outfits? Kind of. Last night was date night, no kids, so some extra planning was involved. Otherwise, I do try to wear stuff that goes together. No red tee shirts with green cargo pants.

5. How are you feeling RIGHT now? Good. Waiting for the time to pick up my son from his video game session at his buddies and for kids to go to bed so I can unwind.

6. What’s the closest thing to you that’s red? The tee shirt I'm wearing. (Which for the record, I am wearing with navy Joe Boxer shorts.)

7. Tell me about the last dream you remember having? I have no idea.

8. Did you meet anybody new today? Not today, but I did on Monday.

9. What are you craving right now? Can't say. ;)

10. Do you floss? Not as much as I should.

11. What comes to mind when I say cabbage? Either Cabbage Soup or Cabbage Rolls. Haven't had either in a long time.

12. Are you emotional? Only when I'm breathing.

13. Have you ever counted to 1,000? I'm sure I have. I have insomnia, so I count backwards from 100. Sometimes it takes more than several 100's before I fall asleep.

14. Do you bite into your ice cream or just lick it? Lick. (Giggle! I typed "lick"!)

15. Do you like your hair? Love it! Love it! Love it. I colored my hair last week to hide the gray which was taking over. My color came out a slightly reddish brown. Love that the gray is covered! And I love my shorty, spikey do!

16. Do you like yourself? Ever since "coming out". It's amazing how feeling comfortable in your own skin can change your outlook.

17. Would you go out to eat with George W. Bush? Even if he sprung for an expensive meal, I don't think I could do it. I happen to like intelligent conversation...something that would be considerably lacking in a meal with GWB.

18. What are you listening to right now? Finally watching the 2nd Twilight movie. I saw the first one for the first time earlier this week. I have to say...I don't understand the hoopla, and I am finding myself very bored.

19. Are your parents strict? Both my parents are deceased. I have to say though, I don't think they were overly strict. My parents had us later in life, so they were of the generation before my peer's parents. Different values for sure, but I think we were pretty good kids.

20. Would you go sky diving? Not unless my life depended on it.

21. Do you like cottage cheese? Yes. Sounds odd, but I like it with fresh cracked pepper on top.

22. Have you ever met a celebrity? Yes! Several.

Former 1972 Miss Wisconsin and 1973 Miss America, Terry Anne Meeuwsen at a 4-H event when I was a kid. I also met a former member of the Green Bay Packers whose name escapes me. (Not a Packer fan, what can I say?)

I attended an Oprah Show taping. See Oprah's Touch/I Shook Hands With Oprah".

I also met Rosie O'Donnell at a book signing at Michael's craft store. She also shook hands with me and my kids and one of her staffers took a photo for us with my camera. She seemed to be going through the motions and was more interested in people with small children and babies. Kind of disappointing. She was kind of my idol. Her coming out helped me come out.

Lola's Diner ©2008-2010

Ask Me A Question - The Answers, Part 3

I am Harriet said...

Entrecard is a bit safer again Stacey. I'm back to 300 drops/day....knock on wood. Quite a few bloggers are coming back- not as quickly as they left though.

My question for Lola-
How's the diet going?
I saw your picture at Lin's and you looked fabulous!

June 29, 2010 4:46 PM

Thank you! It's not really a diet. It's the UN-diet. It's called, eat only when you are truly hungry and watch portion size. In other words, don't overeat. I also tend to skip 1 meal a day. I had a recent doctor visit after my blogger visit with Lin and Cardiogirl. It was just under 2 weeks from my previous doctor visit. I lost an additional 6 pounds! I thought I was slipping, eating badly, but I still lost weight. I don't exercise, because of my back. I would think if I were able to exercise, my weight loss would be more dramatic.

I don't own a scale. I rely on my doctor's office scale. They only have 1 digital scale, so I know my weight is as accurate as it could be. Since I only weigh myself at doctor's visits, there is no tendency to feel guilty if I indulge in sweets at a party, and then the guilt doesn't turn into a downward spiral. You know...where you go "I messed up, might as well enjoy myself", or "I messed up, screw it, I'm gonna do whatever I want".

And since I don't own a scale, I'm not constantly checking my weight and in a way sabotaging myself by analyzing those minuscule day to day changes.

It may sound like a silly system, but it's been working for me.

Please click HERE to submit your questions in the comment section.

Lola's Diner ©2008-2010

June Top Commenter Winners!

1st Place - 3 Week Free Ad.
2nd Place - 2 Week Free Ad.
3rd Place - 1 Week Free Ad.

Here are the results:

2 way tie for first place, so both ads will run for 3 weeks.

Lin @ Duck and Wheel With String 3 Week Ad spot.
Harriet @ Harriet And Friends 3 Week Ad spot.
Cardiogirl @ Cardiogirl 2 Week Ad Spot.

Congratulations to the winners!

Just a reminder to everyone that my Top Commenter Contest will be running in July, so now is your chance to stake out your spot at the counter or grab a booth. Comment early and often. (Just like voting in Chicago.)

Feel free to copy this contest and link back to me to give me credit for it!

Lola's Diner©2008-2010

Ask Me A Question - The Answers, Part 2

cardiogirl said...

How did you get Blogger to create a pop up comment box? I love that! I'm on WordPress and am happy with that, but I hate leaving comments at Blogger because it takes you away from the blog.

I'd like to leave your instructions at other Blogger sites so *I* can be happy while leaving comments.

Yes, it's all about me.

June 29, 2010 7:18 AM

Of course it's all about you! To create the pop up comment box in Blogger:
1. Go to Settings.
2. Go to Comments.
3. The third option is "Comment Form Placement". Select "Pop-up Window".
4. Be sure to scroll down and click on "Save Settings".

Very simple!

Please click HERE to submit your questions in the comment section.

Lola's Diner ©2008-2010

Ask Me A Question - The Answers, Part 1

StaceyC4 said...

So glad you asked to be asked! Okay, so now I have been Ecard free for over a month and I have to tell you, I miss the traffic. I just got my check from BlogHer and it was for half of what I normally get! Do I cave and give them another chance? I cannot afford to put any money in to advertising and so it was free traffic - and lots of it! I went from over 200 visits a day to 12! What are your thoughts?

June 25, 2010 2:41 PM

I miss the traffic too. However, I'm not willing to deal with the nasty stuff that people have been doing with their blogs that can affect my computer. The viruses and Trojans that can be caught from those not so nice bloggers. Since leaving Entrecard, I have not had to deal with any of that. (knock on wood!) The part that is really frustrating is that the powers that be at Entrecard don't give a flying **** about the good bloggers. They do nothing to stop those bad bloggers who plant viruses and Trojans in their blogs to infect other bloggers. I really feel like I can't support something that doesn't protect it's members.

I've never earned enough on any of the ad things to get a payout yet. I think most of those don't count the stop and run traffic from Entrecard anyway. Sure it's nice to see those big stats, but if those ad sites don't count that traffic, it's basically phantom traffic. They come, they drop, and poof...they are gone. Sure a few stop and read, but in my experience it isn't many.

I tend to get more traffic when I participate in Memes that use McLinky or MrLinky, Blog Carnivals, Blog Hops, Girls Nite Out, and Follow Me Fridays. I also use Reddit.com when I do reviews or post about certain topics that I think would have a broad appeal.

I'm trying to stand firm in my departure from Entrecard. It isn't easy, but I'm determined to stay away.

How about anyone else?

Do you regret leaving Entrecard?

Have you wandered back?

Got more questions? Please click HERE to submit your questions in the comment section.

Lola's Diner ©2008-2010