Tag: shopping

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Bulletproof Microphones

Since both of our parents were killed over five years ago now, my oldest sister is always stuck playing hostess for most of the major family holiday dinners and get-togethers. Since I am on my own and live the closest to her and her family it only makes sense for me to pitch in where the others really can’t manage to do for a variety of reasons, I try and help out in any way that I can.

Over Christmas it was mentioned that we should try doing some karaoke at the next family dinner, which just so happens to be Easter and that believe it or not,  is only a few short weeks away. My sister does have a karaoke machine but it’s been around the block a few times from the look of it and it doesn’t have the microphone that used to go with that particular karaoke machine. I have been looking at various microphones online in my spare time and have been totally surprised at how many microphones are really out there.

I think I finally decided on the right one, the sm57, but what freaked me out was in the description part of the add it boasts that it is bulletproof and how it stands up to road travel and abuse. Guess these are just an added bonus to the whole deal, I really don’t think anyone in my family would get that crazy during karaoke at my sisters on Easter, but in case they do I will know that the microphone will make it through all right! I can’t wait to share this story on Easter day with the family members that manage to find their way there this year.

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He’s Large!

There’s a scene in the movie, Popeye, where Olive Oil is hanging out with her girlfriends and she starts to sing a song about her fiancé, Bluto. She tries to sing of his virtues, but the song ends up, “He’s large,” and the girls sing along like backup singers, “Large.” That was the polite way, back in the 1980’s, to describe guys like me. I’m large and I’m not all that worried about losing weight. I’m not fat. There is a difference between large and fat.

My problem with being large is finding clothes that fit. For some reason a lot of U. S. manufacturers have decided that men who are wide must also be short. If I can find clothes that fit me around the waist, the legs are too short. If I find a shirt that is large enough for my barrel chest, then the sleeves are too short. That is why I shop for Large Men’s Clothing online. I know the measurements that I need and I can usually get enough details from the web site to know if the clothes will fit me.

Enjoy the video, thanks to YouTube! I’ve always been a Popeye fan and was thrilled when this movie came out. I think it’s time to dig that movie out and watch it again, probably been ten years since I’ve seen in last!

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Luxury Vacation Rentals, Paris or Greece?

Since it has been so nasty outside with freezing rain, snow, sleet, along with some pretty hefty winds these past couple of days, I do what I only have to do and get myself back inside as quick as possible. The older I get the less I enjoy (yes I used to enjoy) winter and all the ugly weather that it brings along with it, like it or not. Although we have had some pretty mild winters these past couple of years it is still winter and it’s still cold and wet. Not my favorite mixture.

I’ve been going through some boxes that have been in the “Guest Room” for many years now that mainly have papers in them that have needed to be gone through, most of which ends up in the paper/cardboard recycling bin. It’s a slow process and sometimes a painful one that causes me to feel depressed for days. Even though my folks have been gone for over four years now it is still painful and raw. I will never get over it, but am doing the best that I can with the cards that I have been dealt in this life. Living here at their house and running the family farm on my own has been a challenge and will continue to because that is real life.

What I really need right now is when I get my tax refund check is to book one of the luxury paris vacation rentals that I’ve been eyeballing online for years now. I made the mistake of sharing my wants and needs for a luxury vacation some where like Paris or Greece and now she seems to be on a mission to get me away from here and plan the “perfect get-a-way” for me before I lose my mind and health. I don’t want to go alone, but there really aren’t a lot of people that I could spend that amount of time with and enjoy before wanting to strangle them. I’ve been on my own for so long here that I don’t know how I would handle sharing myself 24/7. And trying to find someone that can get away for a week because of their job, or their kids, or their aging parents, or their health or their finances, blah, blah, blah………

 

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Paper Trade Account

This morning I am taking advantage of a nice quiet house, not that it is ever loud, to get online and learn more about the stock market. It seems to me that the huge decline in stocks these past several years or so has brought the price of many stocks down to a price point where there are good opportunities for smart investors. Four years ago if you told me to invest a couple thousand dollars into a handful of stocks, I would not have gotten much for money. The price per share would have been so high that I would not have many shares. Now that the price has dropped to what I call an adjusted level of reasonable price points, the challenge is to find the businesses that offer good value for the investment and that have a good to excellent chance of coming through this recession as a healthier, stronger company.

If you find the right companies for this investment strategy, you will be rewarded in a few years with rebounding share prices. A good friend told me about a web site that is an online stock broker and also a great learning tool. They have a great feature called a “paper trade account” so that you can play the market without risking real cash. Once you are comfortable with the results of your paper trading efforts, you can easily open a real account and manage your real shares. What a wonderful idea that I believe I am going to check out here real soon and would urge others to try out as well, just to get a good idea of how it all works before jumping in.

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The Old Homestead Crying Out For A New Kitchen Undermount Sink

It really shouldn’t surprise me that so many things are in such bad shape around here, but with so little time and little money to put back into the old homestead it sure is frustrating and very disappointing. The latest thing that I have discovered is the need for a new Undermount Sink in the kitchen.

Now instead of going into town and spending the time and money that it takes for the gasoline that it takes for the trip, I have asked my eldest sister to take a look for me on the Internet to help find some sites that have affordable Undermount Sinks. Since she is very familiar with everything around here just about as well as I am and I trust her judgement since she helps out more than anyone else around the house when she is able. Right now I really have my hands full on the farm, this crazy weather makes farming so much harder to deal with, so any help right now is totally appreciated.

I don’t spend a lot of time in the kitchen. I tend to buy frozen dinners that you just toss in the microwave for a few minutes. Eat it while watching the TV or sitting in front of my computer. When I’m done eating, everything expect the fork and the glass that I have used goes right into the trash, so there isn’t a lot of dishes and clean up in that old kitchen, but I don’t want to wait much longer to where it will turn into a real pain in the neck.

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Free Website Templates, Free Is Good

My blog has been on my mind lately and I’ve been considering and seriously thinking about getting a new look for my blog. There are so many gorgeous free web templates out there now. Either my blog needs a new look or I need a new haircut. But something needs to have a fresh look . . . guess I’m in the winter doldrums today.

Actually, if I had the time and the right software I would love to design some free templates on my own. I have some ideas for themes that aren’t represented now – at least in the sites I’ve been browsing through as of late. But there are so many free website templates out there right now that it just boggles my brain.

To make a premium template it takes a lot of time and effort from people that know about programming, music, animators as well as usability experts, just to name a few that come to mind. So it is a team effort, whether you have an expert from each important and very necessary field or one person that “knows it all”  and can get the job done on their own. I do know some folks that can and do it all, no way I would even attempt most of the stuff. Even though I’ve been blogging for numerous years now, I still consider myself to be a newbie.

Most of what I learned I taught myself and thank goodness for my sister who quite frequently drove all the way up here for a few hand’s on sessions. That made so many things so much easier to do and it helped a lot of what I learned to make sense.  There is just so much to learn and things are always changing. I feel a headache coming on/out and my stomach is being “sensative” just thinking of those times. Not the best

 

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Role Playing Games

My brother has discovered an awesome role playing game on the Internet called World of Warcraft, which I’ve heard about, but know nothing about. He was telling me about the game and wants me to join in the fun and play along with him. From what I understand, you download the software and sign up for the game online and then you buy a wow game card so that you have unlimited access to the game web site for a month.

The game card is like a subscription. There is a place online where you can buy a world of warcraft game card, and they have special deals where you can get a 60 day subscription. Instead of having to drive to the local game store, park your car, go inside the store to get waited on, pay for the game card, then drive home with it, you can just go online and get your wow game card code right away. They send it to you in an email and you have it in minutes instead of all the time you would waste buying it from a local store. That all makes sense to me, as I really would prefer buying things on the internet. I’m just not sure if I will have enough free time to spend playing this role playing game and that I’d be just throwing my money away. I’ll have to go over to his place and watch him play it and see if it is even something that I would want to do.

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Wrapping My Brain Around Half Chaps

The first time I heard someone talk about half chaps, I just couldn’t wrap my brain around the concept of just half of a chap. Now chaps aren’t something that are discussed much, so I hadn’t really thought about the half chaps that they are now selling of which so many of the equestrians of the world are wearing these days.

So when my oldest niece asked for a pair of half chaps for this Christmas I had to look a bit online and see what they are all about. Theequestriancorner.com is a great website for all kinds of equestrian gear and equipment which has a good amount of half chaps of which I took some time and checked out. They were actually cheaper and better looking than I had thought they were going to be, so I ordered her a pair for Christmas. The look on her face when she opened up the package was just fantastic! Her mom actually got a video of her shaking the box, trying to guess what was in it and then just ripping it open and the look of surprise and happiness when she got it open and realized what they were.

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So Many Beds, So Little Time

As I’ve been talking about here lately that after spending some time now sleeping in the bed here at the farm that most be as old as the original farmhouse decor, I have decided that I really need to invest in a new bed that will be better for my aching back. After putting so much time and effort into the place, plenty of blood, sweat and tears have been placed into the daily work routine and I just can’t do it all anymore with a sore back each morning.

I have been doing some looking around online to see what types of beds are out there these days, I want to find one that is good quality, fits in with the rest of the furnishings in the old place and it definitely needs to be affordable at this point. Man have I been surprisingly overwhelmed with all of the selections that are now being produced and being offered these days, but I was happy to find one particular site at Time4sleep.co.uk that has a few that have caught my eye and I want to check out further that are in their Antique beds category.

A good quality bed is an investment and not something that I will take lightly, but I really need to make a decision soon, as these cold winter mornings are bad enough without starting them with an aching back!

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The Right Kind of Bed For A Good Night’s Sleep

Sleep is such an important human condition. Sometimes I hate the way that our bodies require sleep – it is such a disruption to the day or night to have to stop and lie down for 6 hours. But a good night’s sleep is important to your health and ability to function well the next day. On a good night, I might be able lie down for 8 hours. To be honest, I can’t remember the last time I’ve slept longer than 8 hours uninterrupted. Most night’s I’m good with between 6 and 8 hours of good sleep.

There are several considerations to a good night’s sleep and one of the most important is a comfortable, supportive bed. This becomes even more important as our bodies grow and mature, with our skeleton and muscles needing proper support and rest. The right bed can mean the difference between a completely relaxing and sound sleep, or a night of tossing and turning with fits of wakefulness. I have had my eye on certain pieces of new furniture that I would like to replace or add to this household. In my opinion, the most important room in the house is the master bedroom. Everything else in a house can be replaced or substituted outside of the home, but the one main reason a man comes home at night is so that he can climb into his own bed.

Shopping for a new bed is worth a little time and effort to find the right bed, considering how important the bed is to a good night’s sleep. I found a web site called www.time4sleep.co.uk with all kinds of bed types – a large variety of styles and different types of beds for every home or person. My favorite beds on this site are the storage beds. There are different types of storage options and they make the bed very practical. Since the bed takes up so much space in the room, it makes total sense to me to make good use of the space under the bed to store items not used often. These beds make storage either attractive or hidden, at a cost similar to beds without the storage features.