Monday, June 25, 2012

Monday Stuff on the Way to Other Stuff

 More heat...and more fires in Colorado, as well. The air has a definite acrid taste in your throat. We're lucky -- many people south, north and west of our area are being evacuated. Denver's all right, as well. But Fort Collins or Colorado Springs -- that may be another story. 
    Temps have broken at least two records, maybe more. And it's another scorcher today.

Beth Blevins, you've won the America's Glorious Quilts giveaway -- congratulations! Please contact us at my personal e-mail, cindyjbrick@gmail.com -- we've got a book to send to you. Beth was the very last person to register...which goes to show you that 'better late than never' sometimes wins it!
    Our next giveaway will start tonight or tomorrow.

Meanwhile, stuff found on the Internet:

 What it feels like to be a real princess -- Kate, on a camping trip, tells all.

Not that her life is much different, since husband William is now able to tap his half of the inheritance from his mom. It isn't much -- a buck or two less than $16 million. Happy Birthday, Will, by the way!

Jello Firecrackers -- These jello treats are way easy, but striking!



How revisiting your darkest hour is not a bad idea. Trent of The Simple Dollar calls it "the longest night," but it's the same -- a period when you were truly despairing. 


The next two are for writers...skip if you're not interested.

Writing for publication -- and how the writer feels about the publisher that's 'handling' them.  This girl switched to e-publishing her own stuff...and I can't blame her. I've been lucky to have reasonably good publishers. That means they showed a modicum of interest (which largely disappeared, once the book was done) to absolute indifference. Publicity? Snort -- my books wouldn't be selling unless I put the effort into publicizing them. That's been frustrating.
How some authors are being pushed to write two novels a year -- instead of just one. Doesn't the author have any say in this...or are they just too much of a weenie to push back? On the other hand, 'pushing' a publisher in anything is terrifying: you're scared they'll just rip up the contract and walk away.  

A cache of pirate treasure and other rare coins...bought for less than $1000 from a foreclosed storage locker! (Conservative value: around $500,000.)

A couple asked to stand up front while their military son stationed in Afghanistan offers a prayer via video...and what happens.


Want to get ahead? Act like the underdog, whether you are or not. (Financial Samurai's got some interesting ideas here.)

The school bus monitor who was bullied, Oops, the innocent little dears who did it were caught on tape! (They're now being investigated by school authorities. Not because the incident was reported by other students -- but because the tape went viral.) I have a soft spot on in my heart about this -- the Brick drove bus routes for years, and saw some incredible things, including kids who tried to set the back seat on fire. (Almost succeeded, too.) In many cases, the kids tried to argue that they hadn't done anything. Double oops, there's now video equipment on many busses!
      I used to substitute teach, and had many rude students, who saw me as an easy target because I was 'temporary.' Too bad they usually got sent to the office.
     One middle schooler filed a complaint because I refused to say I was pro-abortion. She said I was 'mean' and was forcing the class to listen to propaganda. Never did that -- I just said I was pro-life, and there were more sides to the issue. (And that was it.) I had a long meeting with the principal, who sternly grilled me about my actions. He never once called in the student, or asked her to prove what she accused me of.  (Really. Not making this up, folks.)
    Oh, for parents who might -- just might -- acknowledge that their little darlings may have done or said rude, cruel or destructive things. Parents like that are out there...just in the minority.

Frugal teeth-whitening tips, thanks to Money Saving Mom. (I'm going to try the hydrogen peroxide, will let you know how it works.)

Alec Baldwin drops his pants on national tv. David Letterman follows suit. (Only classy stuff on this blog!)

Twenty-one photos that leave a lump in your throat. Honest.

And just in case you didn't know they even had world championships for this:



Have a good week.



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