Now You Can Rate My Blog Posts -- That's Scary!

I've just updated this blog spot so those of you reading it can quickly "rate" each entry. It'll help me know what to write more about, or less about...

Your individual comments are also helpful, but I don't get nearly enough of them to gauge the overall "interest quotient" of my writing. What would you like to hear more about/less about?

Let me know how I'm doing when you spend time with me, will ya? Am I spinning my wheels, or actually communicating?

I'm ready to find out! Let me know!

THANKS!

Post-Thanksgiving Post

I'm not stuffed. I was a very good girl this year and ate appropriately. That's because my weight creeps up whether I eat a lot or not, so I figure the less I eat, the less it'll creep. That's the theory, anyway...

Lizzie, Casey and I just walked two and a half miles. They hung on me about a quarter of the way so I'm calling my walk a five miler. Lizzie weighs about 60 pounds and Casey weighs a little over 80. Lizzie is lean and lithe, Casey is thin, but a lot taller and with big bones. She'll grow into a six footer like Michelle Obama, I'm pretty sure.

Lizzie "imagined" a ghost in an empty house along the way - raising and lowering some blinds - so that's why they hung on me for the last leg of the journey, and why I decided we weren't going around again. I can't handle another encounter with the "ghost house" if it means I'll be carrying two half grown kids the last quarter mile...

The two are in my living room now holding the guinea pigs. I made the mistake of telling them there are guinea pig harnesses at the pet store, so they're all jazzed about that. I said, "Not 'til spring, girls, because it's too cold outside and I don't want them on the rug inside." The guinea pigs have to either be sitting on towels in laps, on towels on the couch, or in their cage until spring, then we'll get them a toddler wading pool for inside (when we can find one for a few dollars) and the harnesses and leashes for outside.

I just had my best Elance week ever -- made $500! Woo hoo! That isn't much, in the grand scheme of things, but it's pretty darned good for someone who started out less than a year ago as a freelancer at Elance. By the end of December, I will have made more than $3K. Lowering my price five dollars an hour seems to have opened the flood gates.

We have industrious moles in our yard now. We've tried Juicy Fruit and bubble gum to try to gag 'em (we heard it works), smoke bombs to smoke 'em out, and a water hose in their most recent holes to get them to either drown or pick another yard. Don't know who's gonna win the battle - them or us or an exterminator - but we're fighting the Battle of the Bulges at a rate of about eight to ten new bulges per day... I love critters, but wish my cats would take care of these subterranean troublemakers so we didn't have to. It seems cruel when we do it. If the cats would do it, it would seem more natural! (I can't help it. I love critters.) I notice they're pushing up some of the richest, best-looking soil. Maybe I should transport it to the garden... make some use out of their industrious labors!

What else? Billie Rae Walker sent me an e-card for Thanksgiving but the Hallmark cards website has been down for two days, so I'm still waiting to access it. "When you care enough to send the very best... it may take the recipient as long to receive it as it would take to mail!" hee hee hee I'm patient, though. One of these days Hallmark will get its act back in gear. I hope their webmaster is enjoying the holiday.

Oh! Just a heads up. I'll be horse-sitting three horses and dog-sitting six dogs from Wednesday morning to Friday afternoon this coming week while their owners travel to southern Oregon for a funeral, so I won't be able to blog on those days. I'll be making $65/day to critter-sit, though, and if I can land a typing or writing gig before then on Elance, I'll be able to work on that (on my laptop) while I'm there. (There's just no Internet connection, yet, where I'll be staying. There will be by the next time I critter-sit, though.) Most Elance projects have more than a three-day turnaround, so being away from the Internet that long is no big deal, except that I'll miss blogging to y'all!

Maybe I'll blog onto my laptop and transfer it to blogger when I get home. There should be a lot of critter stories after I've been there three days!

How To Give Even When You're Broke

Great ideas!

http://blogs.moneycentral.msn.com/smartspending/archive/2007/10/11/giving-when-you-re-broke.aspx

Gobble Gobble

HAPPY

THANKSGIVING

DEAR READERS

AND FRIENDS!

GOD BLESS YOU!

Busy, Busy Girl!

My head is spinning. I've been writing Elance articles just about non-stop for three days. Lots of different topics: medical tourism, design studio trumpeting, and finishing off the doctor's biography, which has really been fascinating! The doctor was 13 when Saigon fell and he and his family were among the "boat people" that the 7th fleet fished out of the water and brought to Guam, and thence to America in 1975. The funny thing is that he's so humble, he didn't think he had much of a story to tell... HAH! How does one go from being a teenage immigrant refugee to being an MD? He says he sort of "fell" into the profession after a couple of false starts. He thought he wanted to be something else a couple of times... but God had other plans for him! It's an amazing story and I was honored to be able to bring it to light.

Oh! And talk about putting cream on the coffee! He's getting married this Friday and Saturday (a Viet wedding on Friday, a Christian wedding at a church on Saturday) and it turns out that his bride-to-be is a huge, lifelong STAR TREK fan! He found out I'm a former DeForest Kelley fan and friend (while we were comparing and contrasting our life stories) and he's going to order the hardbound version of my book for his lovely new wife for Christmas! I've already mailed him a hand-written, personalized inscription (on a sticker) for him to insert into the book before wrapping it for her for Christmas. He says she's going to be thrilled.

Then today I got an assignment to reformat an interview into an article about a woman whose medical condition (spine) was deteriorating so rapidly that she was told she would have to undergo a complete spinal fusion. After trying out what life would be like with spinal fusion for six weeks (she was strapped into a full body cast 22 hours a day), she became desperate and started looking for spinal fusion alternatives on the Internet and found a German hospital that had been doing amazing things with artificial disc replacements for twenty years. She went for it. Her story is fascinating. And I get the honor of being paid to bring it to the attention of the general public!

It's all good!

Casey's birthday party on Saturday and her dinner on Sunday were well attended. I gave her all the aforementioned "writer stuff" that I wrote about several or more blogs ago, and she was thrilled.

Tomorrow Jackie and I will be at Casey's home again because her mom and dad host Thanksgiving at their place. It's a big place and multiple families show up for the afternoon. I've printed off a couple of holiday-appropriate quizzes from the Internet and will foist them off on the adults tomorrow afternoon at some time and see who knows the most about turkeys and Thanksgiving. It ought to be good.

Last night I sat on my bed and made some home made Christmas cards. The problem is, they're so pretty I don't think I'm going to be able to part with them!

They were super easy to make. I bought Christmas-related card making supplies at Wal-Mart and just cut some squares with fancy serrated scissors and glued them to a folded card and then glued the pre-made presents, trees, wreaths, angels and the like to the front of the cards. Then I took the scraps with serrated edges and slapped some glue on the back of them and laid them around the pre-made goodies. Instant Martha Stewart-looking results. It was embarrassingly simple. And I love them. And I have to wean myself from them so I can let them go at some point.

Now you know why I don't allow fecund cats, dogs or guinea pigs to come under my roof (everything's neutered!): I can't even part with freakin' hand-made greeting cards! Before a year was out, my place would resemble Noah's Ark!

It's a sickness, I tell ya!

More eHow Articles Are Online...

I wrote a couple more eHow articles today:


How to Supprt Your Favorite Charity or School for FREE

http://www.ehow.com/how_4615458_support-favorite-charity-school-free.html


How to Find Barack Obama Paraphernalia

http://www.ehow.com/how_4615405_barack-obama-paraphernalia.html



And I have three new Elance clients! WAHOO!

Things are lookin' up!

Amazing!

Eye of a needle art work...


http://www.maniacworld.com/art-in-the-eye-of-a-needle.html

Thanks to Bobbie B for forwarding this to me...

AMAZING!

Don't Be Silent! Let the Obama-Biden Team Know Your Thoughts!

Don't be shy! We're all in this together!

http://www.change.gov/page/s/energyenviro

Let's get 'er done!

Frugal? Save Time and Money -- Get Coupons Online!

Go to www.coupons.com, type in your zip code, and see what pops up in your area in the coupon department! This website has saved shoppers over $500 billion dollars just last year alone!

Why not join the crowd? It's fast, fun and FREE!

Read My How To Articles at eHow.com

How to Bathe a Cat (No Kidding!):

http://www.ehow.com/how_4448440_bathe-cat-no-kidding.html



How to Discover Your Bank's Soundness Rating:

http://www.ehow.com/how_4451960_discover-banks-soundness-rating.html


How to String Words Together: The Art and Craft of Effective Writing:

http://www.ehow.com/how_4585698_together-art-craft-effective-writing.html


How to Give Great, FREE Gifts Without Appearing Broke or Cheap:

http://www.ehow.com/how_4605931_free-gifts-appearing-broke-cheap.html


How to Build a Small Animal Cage:

http://www.ehow.com/how_4606041_build-small-animal-cage.html


How to Decide What Kind of Pet to Get:

http://www.ehow.com/how_4609567_decide-what-kind-pet.html


How to Win An Argument:

http://www.ehow.com/how_4609484_win-an-argument.html


How to Find Out More About Frugal Living:

http://www.ehow.com/how_4609398_out-more-frugal-living.html


How to Make a Great Impression on Your Favorite Celebrity:

http://www.ehow.com/how_4609726_great-impression-favorite-celebrity.html


How to Give a Great Speech and Remain Calm:

http://www.ehow.com/how_4611068_give-great-speech-remain-calm.html



Now... write your own eHow articles and earn some extra money! Everyone should have three separate streams of income. This is a relatively easy, FREE way to bring in some extra cash.

Help SHAMBALA'S WILD ONES For Free!

If you don't know about Shambala, please take a virtual tour now: www.shambala.org


Just go to www.goodsearch.com and be sure to enter "The Roar Foundation" as the charity you want to support. Just 500 of us searching four times a day will raise about $7300 in a year without anyone spending a dime! And, be sure to spread the word!

Please Note: You can also add other favorite charities or schools that you want to support. This option isn't limited to Shambala.

Guinea Pig/Cavy Heaven

Casey's mom and dad gave her the go-ahead to get a guinea pig, so she and I went "hog wild" this weekend and built a large cage, stocked it with guinea pig essentials, and then tracked down two juvenile guinea pigs. They're happiest in pairs or small same-sex groups, so I got one, too. Casey's is shiny black with spiky hair (an Abyssinian); mine is a tri-color smooth coat.

Searching for names, I came up immediately with Barack and Joe, which Casey vetoed just as promptly. She decided on BJ for hers; mine is still Joe until I come up with something better, but he'll always be Joe to me! (I coulda lied and told Casey that Barack is Swahili for "Black Knight," but just couldn't bring myself to do it...)


We did the research (for Casey's benefit, as I've had guinea pigs before) so that she'd know her responsibilities and what her new little charge likes and needs. I printed out an ASPCA care sheet and had her read and then listen to it while I read it, and then asked her what she remembered from it. She remembered nearly all of it.

She has promised her mom to do an extra ten dollars' worth of work around their house per week (in addition to her usual unpaid chores) in order to pay for the upkeep for her guinea pig. (A single guinea pig costs about $400/year to feed, house and care for properly.)

The cost to set up the two came to $150.00. We saved money by making the large cage ourselves. I had two, 2' x 2' drawers that were left over from the remodel, so I nailed them back to back, cut out about three inches of the back ledge on both of them to provide a passage way between the two (then figured, DUH! I didn't need to do that since they could just hop over the ledge!), and then put cage wire around the whole shebang. We attached a large water bottle to one side, made "hiding boxes" for them, poured in the appropriate ground cover, and put them in.

They're pretty timid right now, but not overly so. They'll come out and bat around while we watch. They'll even whistle, chuckle and squeal as we watch -- but not to us, yet, just to each other. Mine's the overly-chatty one. When they begin to recognize us as their people and their feeders, they'll start "talking" to us, too. And when we scratch them, they'll "purr."

They're better'n tribbles, 'cause they're real!

Very Cute Article -- An Obama Baby Boom ???

http://www.newsweek.com/id/169073/?gt1=43002

700 Posts to Date -- OMG!

Are you tired of reading yet?

This is blog #701. Can you believe it? I can't.

I started this blog in late February of 2007, so it's possible I'm averaging a post a day, including weekends... but you'd have to do the math to prove it, because I don't do math to the degree it would have to be done in order to "prove" this claim. Or do I?

365 days in a year...

So from Feb 28th, 2007 to Feb 28th, 2008 would be 365 days...

From Feb 28th of this year to November 12th of this year is how many days? If this wasn't a leap year (and I don't think it was), there have been 297 days this year so far between Feb 28th and today...

So...

365 plus 297 equals = 662 days.

Hey! I'm averaging better than a blog a day!

You must be exhausted.

Take a rest. I'll try to think of something else to do until you recover, you poor thing...

Thanks for sticking with me. It has to be a challenge!

My Portfolio at Elance is Now Populated with Writing Samples

I finally got the portfolio section of my profile at Elance to accept samples of my writing. Don't know what I was doing wrong before, but I never could get anything to load there and stay put.

But there's plenty there now, so if you know of anyone who needs a copywriter, please let them know about my profile and portfolio at Elance so they can check me out and actually read some samples.

Why not go there yourself right now (click on my photo, to the left) and take a look at the samples? That way you can feel confident (I HOPE!) that you're referring friends, business associates and others to an exemplary writer whenever you hear of them needing one to write letters, brochures, ads, blog posts, banner ads, speeches, web content, or anything else...

I need all the help I can get to put the word out about my Word-Smith-ing skills and availability. By this time next year I would love to be working from home full-time and no longer sweating every bill that comes due!

You can help me make that happen. Wont'choo be my agent -- whenever you can?

Thanks!

Cool Nostalgia WEBSITE

http://www.stinalisa.com/Nostalgia.html

Casey and I Walked... and Walked... and Walked Today

Casey and I walked five miles this morning while Jackie, Wendy and Jamie were at Home Depot getting paint for the area around Jackie's fireplace (primer and a lighter color). While we were out and about, she asked me to tell her some animal stories from my past days as an animal behaviorist, so I told her about an elephant that was afraid of chickens, and about the kinds of relationships a human being can have with different kinds of animals (mammals, reptiles and amphibians, birds) based on the abilities of the animals' brains to "bond" (or not) with their owners.

I told her that all mammals are capable of bonding and having close friendships with their owners, and that they miss us when separated from us, while amphibians, reptiles and birds don't have the part of the brain (the neocortex) that fosters bonding. I explained, "Even though you can tame a bird, a toad and a snake, or a salamander, so that it knows to rely on you for food, the attachment will be mostly one-way -- your brain will have an affection for the pet that the bird, toad or reptile won't share. They'll respond to you to receive favors, food, and adequate treatment, but they won't do anything purely to please you. They'll take from you and birds will 'trade' with you at times the way they'll trade with another bird, but they aren't givers in the same sense that mammals are. And if they get out and get lost, they won't miss you in the way a mammal will, although birds will sometimes try to come back to an owner if they get loose because they recognize that their owner feeds them, and because life in the wilds is no picnic."

That led her to feeling a little sad. She can't have any pets at home because Jamie has asthma and is allergic to all domesticated pets. I told Casey, "If your mom and dad agree to it, I can always keep a small pet here for you to own and take care of, since you love them so much and want to learn how to be a good pet owner." She lit up like a Christmas tree. We talked some more and settled on a guinea pig as her "starter pet" -- because I already have the proper habitat and I love guinea pigs, too.

When Wendy got back from the store, Casey stated her case and her desire to get a guinea pig, telling her she'd keep it at my house and that she would promise to read a book on the pet and take care of it every time she's in the neighborhood (which is usually at least three days a week); I assured Wendy I would take care of it the rest of the time.

So Wendy is going to talk it over with Phil and see if he agrees with the plan.

She's such an animal lover -- just as I was -- and the thought of her having to grow up without an animal makes me very sad. So this is a viable option. We'll see what her dad says...

Cross your fingers for her!

At VistaPrint I ordered Casey a t-shirt in two different sizes. It has a pretty horse on the front and I had them print below the horse, "Casey Hope McNiven... When I write, I'm not just horsing around!" I'll tuck the t-shirts inside the 3-ring binder I made for her and present everything to her in person on her birthday (if I'm not horse-sitting the weekend she's being feted).

Soccer Team Awards

Last night I helped Wendy and Phil at their soccer banquet. During the day I fetched the soccer awards from the trophy shop and then from 5:30 to 8:00 pm we were all at their little church in the reception room and kitchen while Wendy and Phil prepared a heap of taco fixins for the guests (moms, dads and kids) who were due to arrive at 6 for dinner and the presentation of the awards.

I watched Casey, Jamie and Zachary (one of Wendy's wee wards on some days) while Phil and Wendy worked in the kitchen. We hauled a bowling ball and three pins (all real, not kid toys) out into the reception area from the back room and they "bowled." I was the pin girl. The main part of my job was to stand behind the pins (after setting them up each time for the next bowler) and be sure the ball (which was rolled, not thrown) didn't hit the wall behind the pins. No, my shins aren't black and blue this morning; I deflected the oncoming 12 pound ball each time with the heel of one foot.

As the moms, dads, and more kids arrived, I put the bowling ball and pins away and repaired to the kitchen to see what else I could to to get the prepared foods, utensils and plates placed on the tables.

Not long after there was a general rush for the food and lots and lots of laughing -- and a couple instances of spilled food. I helped Jamie get her food after her first attempt landed on the floor -- very early on (She had a tortilla with a little cheese on it that went ker-flop). (Jamie likes to do things by herself, but sometimes she discovers she needs a little help!)

After dinner, Wendy awarded each of the soccer girls with a small trophy, a certificate showcasing their special, most outstanding talent (Most Improved, Best Left Foot, Real Go-Getter...) and spent at least three or four minutes explaining to the audience of moms, dads and a few bigger brothers how much the player contributed to the game this year and why they were being singled out for a special certificate of achievement as well as the trophy. Wendy is FABULOUS at this, as she is as a coach. She genuinely cares about and loves every one of these kids (ages 6-7) and it shows every minute. She's a blessing without limit. One of the moms presented her with a special album (very professional) of the kids playing soccer this year and a gift card to a restaurant so she and Phil can go out and have a dinner "on the team."

Just an aside that needs mentioning: Wendy could be making real money coaching high school and college soccer players, but while her kids are young, she's sticking with teaching the younger set because she loves them all so much and loves watching them grow as players under her tutelage. Because she is, they'll be among the top players as they get older. She teaches them right, and expects them to play by the rules... but she does it with such love and patience that it astonishes me. I'm awfully patient with kids, but Wendy is close to sainthood with them, in my eyes. All they ever see out of her is love.

After the banquet and awards ceremony, dessert was served consisting of three kinds of special treats (ice cream, striped delight, and cookies). Most of the kids and adults enjoyed at least two of the three options, so the room became very boisterous afterward as dads watched kids racing all over the church and moms cleaned up in the kitchen.

It was a good evening.

This morning when I got up, Casey was standing at the doorway to my side of the house (Wendy, Casey and Jamie stayed overnight at Jackie's) with a folded piece of paper behind her back, grinning. I asked her, "What'cha got there, girl?" and she handed it to me. It was a huge *aaaawwwwwwwwww* to me.

She drew borders around the piece of paper and then, using colorful splotches of color intermittently, she wrote an ode:

5 Reasons Why I Like my Auntea Kris

1. She likes animals like I do.

2. We read books together.

3. Sometimes we spend time together.

4. She has two cats and there very nice.

5. My aunt is very nice.

My Aunt is Cool!

I'm putting it in my den so I can see it all the time. When a kid loves you, you know for sure you're loved -- especially when that kid is an AWESOME WRITER!!! (We'll work on spelling later. Her teacher says "Not now" and I get that.)

Prophecy Comes True

I was right. I'm very sore today. It's a good thing I had to get out and walk around at some stores today or I'd be even worse off than I am tonight. Tomorrow morning I'll take a hot bath with some salts and see if I can walk off the rest of the sore spots...

Didn't do a lot today. After I got home from the store, I fell asleep in the recliner for a couple hours. That wasn't the plan (I planned to read for a while) but what the hey!

I got grand niece Casey a pink three-ring binder for her upcoming birthday (November 22nd) and created a cover for it that reads, "Casey's Creations." I put subject dividers in it and added 100 pages of lined school paper. It looks really cool. I think she'll be pretty thrilled to get it.

She is the talk of her class because she has started to write original stories and the teacher and her classmates are getting drunk on her cork. She brought me her most recent story. It pretty much blew me away! It had a beginning, a middle, and an end and went on for a good twenty pages!

Her teacher asked her to illustrate it, so she did that, too. I was SO proud of her that I thought I'd get her a binder to keep all her writings in.

She says she loves to write. A girl after my own heart, I tell ya!

Guess I'd better tell her she's related (as I am) to the lady in Germany who told her stories to the Brothers Grimm two or three centuries ago (which they wrote down when they grew up and learned to write), so she knows it's in her genes. I'm not sure she knows that yet...

What else? Nothing much, I guess. That's pretty much it for the day.

One flat news flash, huh?

Better luck on the morrow!

Ciao for now!

I Was a Swinger Today!

Hey, if the title of this blog didn't get your attention, you must be dead!

HA HA HA HA HA

I went to the soccer field at Central Avenue School this morning to watch grand niece Casey, almost 8, in her final game, but ended up pushing her sister Jamie (you met her in yesterdays' blog) and another wee one named Addison (a total stranger whose parents were watching another soccer game in a different field) on swings. I stood between the two swings, more or less, and pushed first one, then another, leaning back and forth each time either of them came my way. Tonight my arms feel like they've been tweaked pretty significantly -- by tomorrow I may be in the throes of serious regret for pushing them both for over 45 minutes. "Higher!" "Higher!"

When I well and truly wore out, I told them I had to stop, so they decided to go to the play area with different kinds of slides, where both girls -- and a third, older and heftier girl -- began to slide down a fireman's pole. All three were scared at first, so I had to reach up and be sure they were firmly attached (hands and feet) around the pole before I allowed them to slide down by letting go of their rear ends. We did that a good 25 times each (at least I was using different muscles for this new task); then Addy's dad came for her (introducing himself, thanking me, and asking me how much he owed me for babysitting! Funny guy!).

Then Jamie and the hefty girl wanted to swing from the monkey bars. Both were too little to make it from bar to bar without some serious help, so I was back and forth with them, holding them by the heels so they could do their thing.

After the other gal was taken home by her parent, Jamie decided we should play "keep away" in a soccer field that had been relinquished by another team. So we did that for a while. I had to keep chasing Jamie down... only managed to get the ball from her about three times, because she has been well-trained (already) by her mom, Wendy (a great soccer player and the girls' coach). Because I couldn't get the ball from her, I didn't have much chance to control it and slow down, so I was all over the bloody field, wondering when Jamie would get tired. She never did. T'was me who got tired!

So if I need help getting out of bed tomorrow, it will be no surprise! I spent an hour and a half playing with kids who wanted to get things done -- with lots of help, of course!

This afternoon I sat in the recliner to watch a little TV and within three minutes was fast asleep!

If I'd just do this kind of thing every day, I wouldn't have a weight problem, would I?

The weather was sensational today. It was 62 degrees... almost a record for this time of year up here in the Pacific NorthWet. (The record is 64 degrees.) It felt like a Chinook wind was blowing most of the day.

I fear we're going to get some serious rain and cold soon, though. These are the waning days of fall. It's pitch dark by five at night and doesn't get light again till close to six. On December 21st (shortest day of the year) we'll only get eight hours of daylight in this latitude. Not a lot of fun, but during the summer we get sixteen hours of daylight, so it all balances out. It's just hard to remember this time of year. Jackie has SADS (Seasonally Affecting Disorder, or whatever it's called), so I have to keep her spirits up by acting like a silly lunatic whenever I go over to her side of the abode. She started playing Christmas movies and plays Christmas music in the car starting about mid-October as the sun sets earlier, to keep her mood up. She loves Christmas and said if it didn't come in December she doesn't know how she'd get through winter. So we're fa la la la la'ing and laughing all the way... and walking when we can. It's helping us both, although I don't have SADS. I have the HAPPIES because Obama will be our President in less than three months and until then I can just watch his young family and grin, and grin, and grin... and house sit for critters and their people, and write... and... play with the grand nieces whenever they come within range...

If I wasn't so broke, I'd be the happiest lunatic on the planet! So here's proof that you don't need to be well off to be happy. You just need to be in the thick of things and count your blessings!

If I started counting my blessings right now I wouldn't reach the end of my list until May 18, 2010! You, too?

Happy days are here again!