Is Your Child 'Gonna Be'?

Do you have a beautiful child? Okay, do you even have an ugly child with a lot of talent? I mean, seriously, could Willem DiVo have been all that cute as a child? He is a fantastic actor though. It doesn't really take beauty, it does take great desire, and the earlier they start developing their talents, and abilities, the more likely they'll be to succeed. If your kid truly is one of the 'beautiful people', or if they're just a big 'ham' for the camera, they may be potiential superstars in the making. Brook Shields and Jane Seymour were both baby models.

Whatever your child's particular talent, check out Gonnabe, a production company headquartered in Emeryville,California. Gonnabe was created to be a springboard for young talent into the world of entertainment. With youth oriented television shows appearing in over 61 million homes every Saturday morning, they are a showcase for your child's acting, singing, dancing or modeling.

You don't even have to live in California. They have online classes to help your child grow in his or her desired field of entertainment. You'll also find up-to-date job and 'call' listings, and an area where your child can have the chance to be seen by casting directors, and agents all across the country.

Check out the Gonnabe Studio where you can even get a screen test started.

Get your little budding actor/singer/dancer/model started right. My daughter started modeling when she was six. She loved it, and it really created some great memories for the two of us as we traveled to the shoots. I know she's going to want to see the Gonnabe page for her own daughter... She's a real cutie (okay, I may be biased.)

Greener Grass On The Other Side

The grass is so long around my house at the moment that a visiting nurse for my mother-in-law asked me if it was 'prairie grass' -- therefore, I guess, some sort of special variety to be cherished, not cut. (I'm still trying to figure out if she really thought this, or was just being polite).

Actually she had some validity to her question. I'm not sure what it is though. See when we first moved out here some 13 or 14 years ago, the dates are getting fuzzy, there was a sign on the lawn that said something to the effect of being a 'natural prairie grass preserve'.

Here's the reason I'm not really sure if that was serious, or a joke. Maybe the previous owner (they had died prior to our purchase, so couldn't ask) was just too lazy to cut the grass, and thought the sign was funny.

Or maybe their lawn mower was busted. Who knows?

Or is there really such a thing as a priarie grass preserve? Some special species of grass could be growing right under my feet and I don't even realize it! Oh the horrors of the idea that I might have been cutting it down all these years, and not seeing it for the beauty it really held.

It is kind of cool looking, but I'm sure my neighbors just think I'm lazy.

My lawnmower is broke.

I need a sign.

Squatting Monkeys

Over the weekend I watched (and taped and watched again later) the new HBO comedy show Dana Carvey's 'Squatting Monkeys Tell No Lies'. I never laughed so hard. I think it's partly because Dana is about my age, and has been married about as long as my husband and I, so the subject matter covered hit really, REALLY close to home.

My favorite: It's great getting older! I can get hurt doing NOTHING!

Oh brother can I relate.

If you haven't seen this, catch it on a re-run. It's absolutely worth it, and just as funny as can be. His observations on Andy Rooney, and Scientology had everybody in the house rolling on the floor, not too mention his political jokes. It is an hour-long riot.

I'm so glad I taped it. Sometimes when the more 'seasoned' comedians have new shows, and are built up promoting them as HBO has promoted this, the actual shows are a bit disappointing--not this one!

Cure All?

Wouldn't you just love it if all of your most common complaints could be cured with one pill? Lipovox is a new 'wonder pill' that claims to control weight loss, wrinkles, and even cure acne, but can it really do all that? Check out the lipovox reviews to see what others have said about the effects of Lipovox. It's nice that both pros and cons are listed in the review, and I agree that it makes me a little uneasy when a company doesn't list a phone number to reach someone about their product being a con. Green Tea extract seems to be a prime ingredient in regards to weight loss, and I've heard that it's an effective tool in diet control. It seems like Green Tea extract really is a 'magic herb' that has benefits in a lot of areas of our bodies, so perhaps Lipovox really is close to that magic pill women have been searching for all these years.

Content is King, but Traffic is Trump

I may have made a lousy metephor for a title. I'm not really all that good at playing cards, but the thing is, you can have the very best content to be found on the web on your blogs--if no one sees it, what does it matter?

There are a lot of ways to 'drive traffic' to blogs. Some good, some not, some even downright unethical, but one new one that has come to my attention that is not only completely above board, and very effective, it's also FREE is BLOG RUSH.

What makes Blog Rush so special? It's a lot like a few others in the widget application they use, BUT what makes them really special is how very well you can 'target' not only where your insertions are seen, but also what is seen on YOUR widget inside your own blog.

That brings taylor made traffic right to your doorstep.

That makes them the King of Traffic control.

Wiki World

I make no secrets about how much I love to shop online. Now there's a new way to do it that's even better for us online shopping addicts than before. Instead of going to each individual store front where you only get the offerings for each product that they have vailable, or to places that only show you offerings from clients who pay for their service, now there's ShopWiki.

Whether you're looking for movies, books, or x-boxs, or computers, clothes, or wedding gowns, you can find it and lots more on ShopWiki.

The pages are fast loading, and really easy to scan. The layout is easy on the eyes, and the selection can't be beat. Yet another Wiki wonder for us to enjoy the benefits of. It's a Wiki Wiki World.

A Heavy Thought

Ever wonder why no one ever breaks their thigh? That may sound like a strange thing to think about but it was one of the trivia facts this morning as I cruised through myy home page. 'The human thigh bone is stronger than concrete'.

So apparently other than getting it crushed, or mangled in some extreme way, it's pretty hard to break a thigh. Lower leg, yeah (you think the design there would be a little better), but not a thigh. For some reason I found that pretty interesting.

If only our designer had thought far enough ahead to make all of our bones that strong, we'd be pretty hard to break.

Then again, We'd probably be pretty heavy too.

Tough Dad To Buy For

I'm trying to decide on a good gift for hubby for father's day. He does so much all the time, I'm thinking 'time' would be a good thing to get him, plus with him working in the medical field, having a good watch is a definate advantage. He goes through them fast. They're always getting banged up on something. If it isn't a stretcher or some item at work, it's something around here on the farm. Sector watches are beautiful, and come in a great variety of styles. I like those the best of the ones I've looked at just recently. He's a hard guy to buy for because he really doesn't 'need' anything. I think with this I've hit on something he can really use, and he'll really like.

What Can You Trust?

A headline today talks about how the Florida tomatoe industry is in complete collapse. Thanks to the new salmonella scare, everyone is avoiding tomatoes. I personally think it has less to do with tomatoes, or any other food, as it does with our obsession over cooking things to death, and raw food. We have killed all the beneficial bacteria in our systems that are supposed to fight such things as salmonella. We have left ourselves wide open to bugs of all sorts. We take penicillin (a wonder drug yes, when used correctly) for every little sniffle, and destroy our bodies own ability to combat the little things, much less the big enemies that those drugs should be used for. On top of that we build up resistance to those very drugs so when we do need them, they're useless.

Give tomatoes a break, and eat a bloody steak once in awhile... stop babying your system until it can't fight off even the smallest of invaders and we'll end up much healthier.

Funny Fact

I have 'Igoogle' as my home page. I love how you can create so many interesting things on it with widgets. Most of the search engines have that capability, but I like Google's. On it I have a 'facts' widget that gives me little tidbit trivia. yes, I'm a trivia buff. One of the one-liners on there is that a woman can consume up to 6 pounds of lipstick in her lifetime.

I'm sorry, that's funny.

I know it wasn't directed at me, who rarely wears lipstick--I may consume about an ounce in my lifetime, but either way, it's just gross. I'm sure no one thinks about digesting lipstick when they apply it. I doubt anyone even thinks about the possibility. Think about it though--it's obvious. Scary isn't it?

There's Always Next Year

I've missed out on traveling to several conventions this year so far because I had to stay home with my mother-in-law. That's okay, I love being able to do it for her, but I do miss going to the conventions. I even miss doing the pre-convention stuff like checking out the hotels in various parts of the country. Checking out laughlin hotels, and what there is to do in the surrounding areas during the 'off convention' times makes the anticipation for the actual trip even more exciting. I love going to conventions for a number of reasons and only a small part of it is the business side. I'm a social person and living in the boonies doesn't give you much social opprotunity.

Most of the people I see at the conventions that are there like me to promote, or learn their craft, are people I talk to all the time online, so seeing them in person for the first time, or again, is a thrill. Meeting all the people that come to the conventions as spectators is an even bigger thrill, and most of all, learning all the new things makes it all worthwhile.

There's always next year.

Joke Of The Day That Is Sadly Appropriate

This Joke From Funny Jokes is really funny. I read it this morning on my Igoogle page and had to share, I'll tell why after:

Old Man - Aging Jokes
“I’ve sure gotten old,” said Maury the Snitch. “I’ve had two bypass surgeries, a hip replacement, new knees.

I fought prostate cancer and diabetes. I’m half blind, can’t hear anything quieter than a jet engine, take 40 different medications that make me dizzy, winded, and subject to blackouts.

I have bouts with dementia, such poor circulation that I can hardly feel my hands and feet anymore.

Sheesh, I can’t even remember if I’m 26, or 62, or 86!
Plus, I’ve lost all my friends….

But thank God, I still have my driver’s license!”


See, funny. Now here's why it is sadly appropriate. My mother-in-law is living with us, and fighting cancer. She's going through chemotherapy. That's not funny, it's very debilitating at her age. At 77 even before the cancer treatments she was taking fistfulls of pills twice a day, and had all the other ailments listed above, but she still had her driver's license. Now, she's really upset because her license is up for renewal (although she hasn't been able to drive in weeks, even at the beginning of the treatments she was driving for awhile-scary right?) anyway, she's way too weak, and dimentia is 100 times worse, but she's upset she won't be able to get her license. OH man. I realise it must be hard to lose your independance, but common sense and reason have to sneak in there somewhere. I'm sorry to say I'm grateful she isn't going to be able to get her license again. She's not alone. She's not trapped. She has family who love her and will take her where she needs to go. Yes, that is a hard thing to swallow for an independant person who is used to being able to go where they want when they want, but it isn't like she won't have transportation.

The High Price Of Living

I was cruising around the Internet this morning and saw this on a fellow blogger's space. It really helps put the gas crunch we are all feeling into perspective:

Lipton ice tea: 16 oz. at $1.29 = $9.52 per gallon.
Evian water: 9 oz. at $1.49 = $21.19 per gallon.
Peptol bismol: 4 oz. at $3.85 = $123.20 per gallon.
Printer ink = $5,200 per gallon.


We pay a lot of money for a lot of things, but we don't even realize it sometimes. The only real difference between the price of gas, and those above, is that the above items we can usually choose to go without if we don't have the cash, or think it's too expensive, and it won't vastly impact out daily lives. Unfortunately, just choosing to do without gas can really cause a snarl in our day.

Online Sales Source

I am constantly on the lookout for online ways to make money. Many of the jobs available on the Internet are sales jobs. It's a great way to make money if you're good at selling things. I have a friend who can sell anything to anybody. It's just her nature. She's not a bad person. She's not a lying person. She's in fact, very genuine, caring, and compassionate... I just stand in awe of her though. She can convince someone they need whatever it is she has to sell them, and MEAN it. That's the ticket. She truly believes in the things she sells. I thnk if you find a product you feel strongly about that you're halfway home. Not all the way though. I've tried. I've had products I thought were the best things since sliced bread... I'm just not a great sales person. I wish I were. With the time I spend online, I could be rich.

You Never Know When You'll Need Insurance

I'm glad before we got our truck we'd done a car insurance comparison to make sure we had the best insurance we could get. I know our old company wouldn't have allowed for a rental car, it wasn't in our policy. You just don't think you'll need something like that when you just bought a new car. Our brand new truck got side-swiped in the parking lot of a store just a few weeks ago. With my husband's schedule he just got it taken in to the body shop, but the insurance company assured him they would pay, even though the 'swiper' didn't have insurance (!) and they would take the other driver to court. They also pointed out that he had car rental in his policy so he was able to get a rental car for the three days it will take to fix the (crying) brand new truck. Even with good insurance on your side, it hurts like crazy to have something you just bought like that damaged when it wasn't your fault. It sure is nice to have a good company when you have to go through it though.

Back In The Saddle

After a very long hiatus, and a lot of soul searching, I've gotten back to my true love and finally gotten two of my last novels in print... or in the case of Big Money, BACK in print. It had been published only to have the publisher close up shop a few weeks after it went live. So now it's happily back in print and I'm happy to be back in the swing of things once more.

Click on their names to visit the websites for BIG MONEY, and HELL'S OWN and read a sample chapter, or click on the covers below to get your very own copies either in print, or ebook

download.