May 2013
1 post
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Hungry for more: How to move Tumblr to another... →
ninamonz:
Now that Yahoo has bought Tumblr and despite the promises, Tumblr will eventually become as bad as Yahoo is (many of you might have already noticed that before Tumblr got sold, the company already decided to deindex your mature audience targeted blog from Google. For those of us who have loved…
March 2013
5 posts
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Save money by pumping septic tank only when needed
I have a 1,500 gallon septic tank in my home and we have just two people in the house. I did a quick check on the web to see how often should I get my tank pumped. This guide says that I should do it each 9.1 years. But I had a doubt in my mind so I got it pumped yesterday after 3 years.
The guys from Wind River are saying that I should get it cleaned every year. To me that sounds very...
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Save money by making yogurt at home
Let me confess. Yogurt is my weakness. I can eat it any time of the day. And it doesn’t have to be fancy. No sugar, no fruits - just plain, flavorless is the best for me. My favorite is the Stonyfield Full Cream Plain Yogurt that I often eat for dessert.
So the other day someone mentioned about making your own yogurt at home and I decided to give it a try. The recipe is all over the...
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Saving for retirement with the assumption that no...
I know saving is hard to do when there are such tempting sales everywhere. For instance, the other day I went to Target, and they had some things at 90% off. Ended up buying a lot of stuff that I don’t need, but well, it was cheap.
So have you thought of some retirement planning? Prudential Financial has some new tips on how to plan for retirement now that Social Security may not be...
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Save for retirement
So you probably hate to save as much as I do. Like most other fellow Americans, I hate to save. In other words, I love to spend. I just got back from Montreal and spent a ton of money there without even thinking about it and now I am afraid to even add up how much did it all cost. The folks at Consumer Reports actually have some great tips on how to save for retirement.
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Find a good contractor
We all have a horror story of being cheated by a contractor while getting some home improvement done or just fixing something that is broken. But there are ways to protect yourself. Here are a few tips on how to find a good contractor?
December 2012
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July 2012
59 posts
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Can anyone become a blogger?
After several conversations with non-bloggers who have asked me what I do for a living, and then when I say I blog, they ask, “What’s a blog?” I have come to the conclusion that everyone is not cut out for blogging.
Up until now I thought differently, and I said as much to each person who asked me. I said, “Anyone can blog,” as I explained how it worked, even showing one of my blogs to my...
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Review of the book The Lay of the Land by Richard...
I am an avid reader, but I had honestly not heard of Richard Ford until I picked this book up at the library. Well that just shows that I am not nearly as literary as I would like to think. Richard Ford is a Pulitzer Prize winning writer. After reading this book, I understand why. And I will be getting my hands on every book Richard Ford has written if I can. The theme of “The Lay of the Land,”...
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Review of book American Cookery by Laura Kalpakian
I just finished reading this book tonight and I absolutely had to come and tell you about it. When I first picked it up in the new book section of the library, I almost didn’t check it out. I thought it might be boring. Boy howdy was I wrong, and I am glad I changed my mind about taking it home. It is hard to explain the power Laura Kalpakian has over her reader. I became instantly engrossed in...
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Review of book Triptych by Karin Slaughter
Man! This book had me on the edge of my seat the whole time, and that is unusual for me. Hell, it’s unusual for me to even get into a psychological thriller these days. Most of them are so predictable, the story line done over and over. But I have to tell you, Karin Slaughter was a very pleasant surprise. It is the first book of hers I have read. What makes her writing so compelling is that she...
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THE TERROR by Dan Simmons book review
GOD! This book is so good that I have to make myself put it down at night and go to sleep! It is set back in the 1840s when Brits were trying to find the Northwest Passage. Two ships, The Terror and the Erubus, take off in 1846 and end up stuck in the ice for two years with something not animal, not human terrorizing and murdering them. I have only recently discovered over the last few years that...
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I might be codependent
I have only now realized that I am codependent. At the age of 52, that is quite the revelation. I stumbled upon a clue–denial is a strong weapon and often necessary for survival–when my ex said something about his mother being an enabler. I wondered where he’d heard that word, he’s not into psychobabble, so it was very odd to hear that word from him. And I got to thinking that he had probably been...
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Review of book The Memoir Club by Laura Kalpakian
Previously I read a book called AMERICAN COOKERY by Laura Kalpakian. I loved that book so much that when I went to the library last week I searched for other books by this author. I only found one. It is called THE MEMOIR CLUB and I finished reading it Saturday. Although I didn’t enjoy it as much as AMERICAN COOKERY, I did like the book. This has nothing to do with the value of the book, it has to...
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Book Review All He Ever Wanted by Anita Shreve
I have read every book Anita Shreve has written. Do you remember when Oprah had her book club and introduced the novel “The Pilot’s Wife?” That is when I discovered what a fantastic writer Anita Shreve was. I was not disappointed by “All He Ever Wanted.” Shreve’s writing is beautiful and the story heartbreaking. It is the tale set in the 1890’s, the story of a man bent on possessing a woman he...
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Review of book Rise and Shine by Anna Quindlen
I read this book in two days. It was that good. But Anna Quindlen cannot write a bad book. The first book of hers I read was called BLACK AND BLUE and was made into a movie. It was a story of domestic abuse. I think I have read everything she’s written. RISE AND SHINE is the story of two sisters, one who is a very famous newscaster, world famous as well as rich. The story is told from the...
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Push not the River by James Conroyd Martin book...
I have only recently acquired a taste for historical fiction, and I am here to tell you that this is one of the best of its kind. When I read on the book jacket that is was comparable to Gone With the Wind and Dr. Zhivago, of course I had my doubts. But the comparison is apt. Push Not the River is the story of a Polish family of aristocrats during the late 18th century. The main character is...
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UNDER A CRIMSON SKY book by James Conroyd Martin
A few weeks ago I did a review of a book called PUSH NOT THE RIVER by James Conroyd Martin. Well, would you believe that when I went to the library to return that book I was fortunate enough to find that there was a sequel to this great book? It is called UNDER A CRIMSON SKY and it follows the journey of Countess Anna and her evil cousin Zofia as the Polish people of the late 1790s continue their...
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The Linnet Bird book by Linda Holeman
I have acquired a taste for historical fiction for the first time. It is strange, how your reading taste can change like that. I used to be hooked on psychological thrillers but it really takes an excellent one to hold my interest these days. I have done the same thing with foods I have loved, eaten them so much that I lost my taste for them. Oh well. Anyway, I want to tell you about this...
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Richard Powers THE ECHO MAKER book review
As I was throughout the reading of this National Book Award winner, I am still not sure whether I liked it or not. But I was strangely compelled to keep reading, almost to the point of aggravation that I couldn’t even consider stopping until I was finished. This is not like me. Usually if I don’t like a book I have absolutely no problem putting it down. It was as if this book had some strange kind...
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Mark Arsenault GRAVEWRITER book review
It is the story of a former star reporter who loses it when his wife is killed in a car wreck and ends up on the night desk, writing obituaries. Billy is a father to Billy Jr, who is left in the care of his disabled grandfather due to his father’s hours and his emotional numbness. What I really enjoyed about the writing of Arsenault is that he hasn’t created a character who, though is suffering...
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THE YEAR OF FOG by Michelle Richmond book review
It is the story of Emma, a six-year-old who suddenly, in seconds, disappears while in the care of her future stepmother. The book is told from the viewpoint of the stepmother and that is what makes it so damned heart breaking. You really feel like you understand the meaning of true guilt and grief from the viewpoint of the one who lost the child. I won’t tell you the ending because I want you to...
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Book review Helpless by Barbara Gowdy
This book is hard to describe to you, without sounding sick or perverted, what a good book it is. The reason it is hard is because parts of it are told from the perspective of the child abductor, who is a pedophile at heart. I guess the reason the book is still good is that he never gets the chance to act on his impulses. A view into the mind of someone this sick was interesting, to say the least....
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Balancing reading and writing
I have always been a bookworm. But to my dismay, once I decided to study the craft of writing and become a full time writer four years ago, something terrible happened to my ability to enjoy reading. At first, when I was newly in the throes of being bitten by the writing bug, I had no desire to read at all, I just wanted to write. However, after a few months I longed for the escape and relaxation...
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The Fifth Vial book by Michael Palmer review
I haven’t read a medical thriller in a very long time and was surprised when I was taken in so quickly by this book, THE FIFTH VIAL, by Michael Palmer. When I picked it out at the library I was skeptical. Maybe Robin Cook did that to me. His medical thrillers I used to love, but then they started all sounding the same and I pretty much lost my taste for that genre. Anyway, this renewed those taste...
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THE WOMAN IN RED by Eileen Goudge book review
This is a story of tragedy,vengeance, romance, redemption, and the healing power of love. On Gray’s Island everyone knows everyone’s business. And the business of Alice is that her son David was hit and killed when he was nine while riding his bicycle. The person driving the car who hit David was drunk, but he was also one of the richest, most influential people on the island, Owen White, son of...
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Review of the book The Savage Garden by Mark Mills
I have to say that I am sad to have seen the book end, always a sign of a great book for me. When I selected this book at the library I did what I always do before deciding to try an author I haven’t previously read. I check out the blurbs on the back of the book jacket and read the synopsis on the inside of the book flap. What instantly sold me was 1. the story line. 2. the fact that The Los...
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Review of book Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth...
I can only say that this book has changed my life. I have been having a spiritual crisis for some months now, a crisis of the heart may be a more accurate description, and was directed to this book as a way to help, and man has it ever. I can’t say enough good things about “Eat, Pray, Love” by Elizabeth Gilbert. It is her story, the story of her one year traveling to Italy, India and Indonesia on...
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Exit Ghost by Philip Roth book review
I don’t think there is an award for writing that Philip Roth hasn’t won. In 1997 he won the Pulitzer Prize for American Pastoral. He has won The National Book Award twice and received the National Medal of Arts, among many other prestigious awards. And I can see why. Exit Ghost is the story of a writer in his seventies who has spent the last 11 years in seclusion, in a house in the woods. Mr. Roth...
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The Post Birthday World book by Lionel Shriver
When I first picked up this 500 plus page book at the library I had doubts about whether I would like it or not. I read so much and have for so long that I can often decide pretty much whether I am going to like a book by reading the teaser on the inside of the front jacket and the reviews on the back. The story line was tempting enough, but what sold me were the reviews of Lionel Shriver’s...
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Life Sentences book by Alice Blanchar
If you like psychological thrillers as much as I do this is a book you’ll love! It is the story of two sisters, one a scientist, one a mentally ill wild child. Daisy Hubbard’s life revolves around trying to find a cure for a rare genetic disease that killed her young brother. Anna Hubbard’s life revolves around trying to keep her sanity and often failing. When Anna disappears yet one more time,...
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The Double Bind book by Chris Bohjalian
This is a strange and frightening story with a shocker ending. Laurel Estebrook is a college student and avid bicyclist who is attacked by two men on a dirt road in a secluded section of the woods in Underhill, Vermont. But that was seven years before the book’s beginning, though Laurel’s personality is shaped by her terrible experience. Laurel works at a homeless shelter called BEDS. There she...
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Keeping The House book by Ellen Baker
In “Keeping the House” Ellen Baker takes us back in time to the days when women turned to The Ladies Home Journal for marriage advice, the 1950s. Each chapter starts out with a archaic quote from the magazine about the importance of pleasing your husband. Now I am not against pleasing your husband, but the mindset back then was that he seemed to have no part in the whole thing, there is nothing...
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Down River book by John Hart
I finished reading DOWN RIVER by John Hart and wanted to tell you about it, or more so tell you about this wonderful author. I love discovering a writer that I haven’t read before that I like. John Hart has such a wonderful writing style and his prose sing. This is not a small feat, being able to tell the story of a mystery and make it literary, but John Hart pulls of this seamlessly. The book is...
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Lottery book by Patricia Wood
After finishing Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult and The Senator’s Wife by Sue Miller, I read this one. It is one of the sweetest, funniest, smartest books I have ever read. I couldn’t stop smiling. Perry L. Crandall is a man just on the edge of being retarded, but don’t ever use that word around Perry! He is not retarded. His number is 76 and you have to be under 75 to be retarded. But for...
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The Senator's Wife book by Sue Miller
After reading 19 Minutes by Jodi Picoult, I wanted to read something different and a political thriller sounded good. This is one of the best books I have read in many years and there is hardly anything about politics in it. Politics is simply the backdrop for the awesome story of two women, one young, one old, the older woman the long time wife of a US senator who is a big time philanderer. What...
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Nineteen Minutes book by Jodi Picoult
This is a book that is both disturbing and thought provoking. Tackling a tough subject, a school shooting, this book delves into the mind of the killer, a seventeen year old boy who has been bullied his entire life by the popular kids. But what Jodi Picoult does so well is give us a neutral view, as a narrator is always supposed to do, of then mind sets of all the players; the killer, his parents,...
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Why did I become a frugal person?
Sometimes I wish I WEREN’T so frugal! I am almost a tightwad. Well, actually, ok, I AM a tightwad. But I came by it naturally. I was raised by the queen of tightwads. My grandmother raised four sons by herself in the 1930s, all of them picking cotton, her sewing for neighbors and trading eggs and chickens for milk because she couldn’t afford a cow. Now THAT’S poor. But she did it. After her sons...
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How to decorate my home on the cheap?
After my son went away to college, like many empty-nesters I decided to simplify my life. I sold everything I owned, except for family photos, objects of sentiment and my personal belongings. I moved in with a close friend, never realizing that two years later I’d marry a man with equally sparse living quarters. What do you do with an almost empty apartment and lean pockets? You bless the heart of...
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Cheapo Caesar Salad recipe
A single person, unless they are a rabbit, has a hard time eating a whole head of lettuce before it goes bad. But there is a way to enjoy salad at home anyway. If you check at your grocery store–or in my case, the local 7-11–they carry individual salads, at 7-11 they are $1.99. They even have about three slices of chicken breast in them, a few cherry tomatoes, along with a dollop of Caesar...
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Patty melt recipe
This is so simple, cheap and delicious. The only thing you need to remember when cooking a good patty melt is that the secret is in the details, as with so many other things in life.
Melt a pat of butter in a frying pan. Cook two slices of rye bread in the butter until they are golden brown on one side. Remove from pan. In a separate pan fry a very thin ground beef patty then drain. In that same...
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Skillet fajitas recipe
Skirt steak is very inexpensive, but most people assume it’s not good unless it is cooked on a grill or in a restaurant. That’s not true. If you will let the skirt steak marinate overnight you will find that you can slice it thinly, fry it over a hot fire, and have some tender great tasting fajitas. All you need is the tortillas. I like to add a dash of sour cream, a sprig of cilantro and a dash...
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How to jazz up any outfit?
Girlfriend, accessorize, accessorize, accessorize. So you want to look like a million dollars but you barely have a dime for accessories. Let me fill you in on a little secret, well, it may not really be a secret, but what I have to say I don’t think many people consider, how about that? Accessories are different than they were when I was growing up. Back then, everyone knew if you had on cheap...
