Apr 22 2009
Hello All. Just an FYI, I will be removing my EC widget on Friday, April 24. If you would like to be added to my blogroll, please leave a comment on this post and I will add you. It’s been a fun ride while it lasted. I hope I will still see you all around. Take care and Cheers!!
Apr 14 2009
I know this is off topic, but it made me so mad and I thought it was just dumb enough to be hilarious that I had to share it here. Some of you may or may not know that my husband is a German national, he immigrated here to the United States in 2001 to be with me. His family and friends are still in Germany and they often send us his favorite things, anything from magazines to chocolate. My 3 year old granddaughter loves these special chocolate eggs called Kinder Uebarraschungs Eier (Childrens Suprise Eggs), they are hollow chocolate, shaped like an egg with a plastic capsule inside (about the size of a small egg) with a small toy that usually requires assembly. We tell her that her great grandparents from germany have a chocolate delivery bird who brings them (we do this because we get about a dozen at a time and don’t want her to know that because she will want them all at once), she loves this, every day she asks if the “Chocolate bird” came LOL! Ah the innocence of children. 
Anyway, I digress. Well one of my husband’s friends sent my him some of his favorite german television shows on dvd and along with that, a small Easter package with Kinder chocolate, which included a chocolate bunny, some small chocolates and 2 of the Kinder chocolate surprise eggs–the kinder chocolate is great for small children because it does not melt as fast as regular chocolate and is a little firmer, not hard, but almost chewy. Well… I guess U.S. Customs decided to open this package of chocolate goodies and investigate them. We noticed that it had been cut open with a box cutter (the childrens package) and it was obvious that a few things were missing. Later in the day we recieved a certified letter from customs telling us that they had confiscated the Kinder Surprise Eggs because they were a “threat” to the United States!!! Are you kidding me?? Chocolate eggs??? There was no other explaination except that the value of the eggs was assessed to be $2.00 american. I am assuming it was the small toys inside that may have small parts, I can’t figure any other reason these would be confiscate but all the other chocolates, including some of my favorite german chocolate bars were ok to send. I guess you could put a small explosive device in an egg sized chocolate.. do you think?? Anyway, after we got over the surprise and the anger at the stupidity of it, we had a good laugh. Have any of you had any similar experiences? What do you think, could these innocent looking chocolate candies be a threat to US Security?? LOL!! Go Figure.
Apr 12 2009
Happy Easter to you all. I understand that some of you don’t celebrate easter, either for your own religious or non-religious reasons, and I respect that. In our household, we celebrate with the Easter Bunny bringing easter baskets full of jelly beans, chocolate bunnies and other goodies to delight any child. While this may seem sacreligious to some of you, it is how I was raised. On that note, we also celebrate the reason for the season, which is the day that a very special man rose from the dead after being persecuted and crucified for our sins. Jesus traveled a very long road with both faithful followers and enemies alike, spreading the word of his lord and father. His doctrine is the number one best seller for many many years, you may have heard of it, it is called “The Bible”. He died for our sins, only to rise again to sit at his father’s right hand to rule the kingdom of heaven. I have done some reading to understand how Easter is celebrated in some other countries because my husband is from Germany and we live in America. Since I was not raised Catholic as my husband was, I wanted to understand the way that his family celebrates and compare it to how we celebrate. The source for the following is from wikipedia. You can follow the link and learn more about how Easter is celebrated in other countries. I hope you find this as interesting as I did.
In Western Christianity, Easter marks the end of Lent, a period of fasting and penitence in preparation for Easter, which begins on Ash Wednesday and lasts forty days (not counting Sundays).
The week before Easter, known as Holy Week, is very special in the Christian tradition. The Sunday before Easter is Palm Sunday and the last three days before Easter are Maundy Thursday or Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday (sometimes referred to as Silent Saturday). Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday and Good Friday respectively commemorate Jesus’ entry in Jerusalem, the Last Supper and the Crucifixion. Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday are sometimes referred to as the Easter Triduum (Latin for “Three Days”). In some countries, Easter lasts two days, with the second called “Easter Monday.” The week beginning with Easter Sunday is called Easter Week or the Octave of Easter, and each day is prefaced with “Easter”, e.g. Easter Monday, Easter Tuesday, etc. Easter Saturday is therefore the Saturday after Easter Sunday. The day before Easter is properly called Holy Saturday. Many churches begin celebrating Easter late in the evening of Holy Saturday at a service called the Easter Vigil.
Eastertide, or Paschaltide, the season of Easter, begins on Easter Sunday and lasts until the day of Pentecost, seven weeks later.
Coloured Easter eggs in the United States.Throughout North America, the British Isles, New Zealand and Australia the Easter holiday has been partially secularized, so that somefamilies participate only in the attendant revelry, central to which is (traditionally) decorating Easter eggs on Saturday evening and hunting for them Sunday morning, by which time they have been mysteriously hidden all over the house and garden. Chocolate eggs have largely supplanted decorated eggs in New Zealand and Australia.
In North America, Australia and New Zealand, parents often tell their children that eggs and other treats have been delivered and hidden by the Easter Bunny in an Easter basket which children find waiting for them when they wake up. Many families in America will attend Sunday Mass or services in the morning and then participate in a feast or party in the afternoon; the food cooked for the feast and the customs practiced at the feast may be influenced by Jewish cuisine and the Jewish holiday of Passover.In the UK children still decorate eggs, but most British people simply exchange chocolate eggs on the Sunday. Chocolate Easter Bunnies can be found in shops. Many families have a traditional Sunday roast, particularly roast lamb, and some eat Easter foods such as Simnel cake, a fruit cake with eleven marzipan balls representing the eleven faithful apostles. Hot cross buns, spiced buns with a cross on top, are traditionally associated with Good Friday, but today are often eaten well before and after. In Scotland, the north of England, and Northern Ireland, the traditions of rolling decorated eggs down steep hills and pace egging are still adhered to.
In the British Overseas Territory of Bermuda, the most notable feature of the Easter celebration is the flying of kites to symbolize Christ’s ascent.[48] Traditional Bermuda kites are constructed by Bermudians of all ages as Easter approaches, and are normally only flown at Easter. In addition to hot cross buns and Easter eggs, fish cakes are traditionally eaten in Bermuda at this time.
Flemish-speaking Belgium shares many of the same traditions as North America but sometimes it’s said that the Bells of Rome bring the Easter eggs together with the Easter Bunny. The story goes that the bells of every church leave for Rome on Holy Saturday, called “Stille Zaterdag” (literally “Silent Saturday”) in Dutch. So, because the bells are in Rome, the bells don’t ring anywhere.
Similarly, in French-speaking Belgium and France, “Easter bells” (« les cloches de Pâques ») also bring Easter eggs. However, bells in churches are silent beginning Maundy Thursday, the first day of the Paschal Triduum, as a sign of mourning. It is said that all of the bells depart for Rome and return on Easter Day bringing eggs with them to drop during their passage.
People watching the Easter fire in ‘De Achterhoek’ in eastern Netherlands
In the northern and eastern parts of the Netherlands (Twente and Achterhoek), Easter Fires (in Dutch: “Paasvuur”) are lit on Easter Day at sunset. Easter Fires also take place on the same day in large portions of Northern Germany (”Osterfeuer”).“
If you would like information pertaining to the history of Easter, and more on how it is celebrated in different countries, head on over to Wikipedia via this link. It is filled with more information than you probably ever wanted to know! 
Have a blessed day!
Apr 02 2009
Well not exactly, but we have been offered a reprieve. We can keep our widgets if we want to, as long as we don’t allow affiliate ads on them AND EC traffic will not count towards our unique views in the traffic reports. I suppose it’s a good compromise. I am still debating whether or not to remove the widgets. On the one hand, I might still get some new readers and find some wonderful blogs I would not otherwise find, but I can do that from my other blog. I will be extending the date when and if I remove it though. I will give it until the end of April and make the decision. Thank you all so much for commenting and adding me to your blog rolls. I’ve got a great blog roll of my own made now too, so I am armed and ready for the day I do decide to part ways with Entrecard, we’ll see how it goes. In the mean time, I wish you all well and Happy Blogging!!!
Mar 27 2009
If you are a Today.com blogger, you probably already know that Entrecard will be banned from Today blogs as of sometime next week. If you are NOT a today blogger, now you know. Please note that I will be removing my Entrecard widget on Friday, April 3rd. Please put me in your blog roll, if you would like to be added to mine, please leave a comment here and I will happily add you. I will still be dropping cards from my other blog . It’s really sad because I have found so many wonderful blogs that I really Continue Reading »
Mar 09 2009
Wow, I’m overwhelmed! I have received 2 friendship awards, one from Stephanie at “From Huskies To Husbands ” and another from “Following 31 “. Thanks you guys, it really means alot. Sorry I took so long to post this Stephanie but I’m on it now!
“These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers. Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award.”
Now if you’ve received awards from me before, then you know my philosophy. Please don’t feel obligated to pass the tag along if you don’t have time or dont feel like it, it is alot of work. Just please accept the award in the spirit in which it was given.
That said, I am passing this award to the following, in random order:
Fickle Minded About a mom, her kids and life
Spicy Bugz World Thoughts and stories
Girl Things Hints, ideas and just girl things-my friend
Lou’s Point Life with the railroad (excuse the grammer, but interesting to read)-my husband
Losing It-Getting Fit Living a healthier life
A Nut In A Nutshell Her quirky point of view
Patsy’s Words Of Wisdom Poetry and musings
Amy Oops Very funny stuff!
Jan 10 2009
I was nominated for 2 Lemonade Awards, how cool is that?!!Roxie at Recoveryrocks.today.com and JustJessie
at Beyond Bulimia nominated me. Thanks Roxie and Jessie! Sorry it took me so long to post this but it’s been a busy week with babysitting my granddaughter and all. Continue Reading »
Jan 05 2009
I have been taking inventory of my life. Yes, it’s a little different than most women my age. For one thing, I still enjoy watching cartoons. My granddaughter comes over and loves watching Sprout TV, which is geared towards preschoolers. While I enjoy watching Caillou Continue Reading »
Dec 26 2008
I got an award from Purple Cashmere !!
It’s the Spread The Love Award. Now I’m spreading the love to the following randomly selected bloggers : Continue Reading »
Dec 20 2008
In my previous post “Mystery Shopper? “, I described a scam mystery shopper that I inadvertently got involved in. Well the very next day I received yet another check supposedly to replace the previously received check that I had emailed them about that was drawn on an account that had reported fraudulent activity!!! I can’t believe the nerve of them sending me ANOTHER check after I told them not to contact me again!!! Wow! So I called the bank of this new check and asked to speak to the Loss Prevention department. I got a guy who really knew what he was talking about Continue Reading »
