Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Did You Know About Changes Coming to Google?

Did you know about changes coming to Google?

I got an email about pending privacy changes coming to Google. I have not spent much time looking into it yet. They say it will provided the user with an easier interface using each of Googles sites. On the other hand I have heard it likened to the Orwellian Big Brother. You can read the policy and see what you think. The changes go into effect March 1, 2012.

Monday, January 30, 2012

Did You Know About the 365 Day Photo Challenge?

Did you know about the 365 day photo challenge?

Well, seeing as the first 30 days are gone now, it would be a 335 day photo challenge. But my friend marathon bird has been sharing her photo challenge and now with my iPhone I think I am going to participate. There is a list of prompts, one for each day, so you can take your photo from that list and then share them in what ever way you want (blog, facebook, etc.) It sounds like fun and I think a fun way to journal through the year.

Did You Know Folks are Starting to Spruce up Their Yards?

Did you know folks are starting to spruce up their yards?

I know we likely still have some winter left, but this past weekend many folks were out with their lawnmowers and doing lots of yard work. (Well, not us, which might explain why the weeds in back are as tall as my nephews!) I am not sure if anyone has started to do any planting or gardening yet, but some have started to check on their pools and pool heat pumps to make sure all is ready for spring break in about six weeks!

Did You Know Running With Music Might be Better?

Did you know running with music might be better?

Since I've gotten my husband's old iPhone now I thought I'd take it with me running so I can listen to music. It does help the time go by faster. It gets my mind off the run. But I also think I might have gone slower (which is not a good thing since I'm already slow!) and I was distracted by trying to find the songs I wanted. I think though if I develop a playlist it might make my runs better....

Saturday, January 28, 2012

Did You Know I've Already Started Thinking about This Year's Christmas Gifts?

Did you know I've already started thinking about this year's Christmas gifts?

I have been known to start buying Christmas gifts as soon as the post holiday sales start! I have recently seen some good deals that I am considering for this year's Christmas. Things like plastic model car kits might work well for my nephews. And I found wind suits on sale today, which could be a good gift. I always love a good deal and it's never too soon to take advantage of good prices for Christmas gifts!

Did You Know It's FAFSA Time Again?

Did you know it's FAFSA time again?

For incoming college students, the beginning of the year means it's time to get your FAFSA paperwork in order so you can apply for financial aid in the fall. And for students already in college getting financial aid, it's time to renew the FAFSA forms; they have to be done every year. Getting taxes files as early as possible also helps in this area.

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Did You Know We Have to Redo Some Recently Done Remodeling?

Did you know we have to redo some recently done remodeling?

We were just about completely done with remodeling our front bathroom. We had stripped wallpaper, sanded, painted, put in new everything from switchplates to toilet. We had a new shower curtain and accessories. We even put up the wall decals and decor. All that was left was to paint the doors. But....

we had a pipe burst and ended up having to have to whole house replumbed. My husband already did the sheet-rocking. Which means now not only are we having to redo some of the recent remodeling in that bathroom, we have to paint the whole house!

Monday, January 16, 2012

Did You Know Some Dishes have Metal Trim?

Did you know some dishes have metal trim?

I learned the hard way! We celebrated my son's birthday a little early before he had to go back to college. When everyone left, I found my son's plate with cookie cake left on it. I decided to heat it up and eat that last bit warm. We had eaten on our good plates that night and that is how I found out that these dishes must have some sort of metal trim on them. When I took the plate out of the microwave, it scorched my fingers, quickly leaving blisters. I had no idea but when I looked up on line about non-microwaveable dishes, there was mention of dishes with metal trim. Since these plates have a silver trim, I've decided it must be some sort of metallic trim.

Did You Know College Dorm Essentials?

Did you know college dorm essentials?

Most college dorm lists look pretty similar to what mine did years ago. Sheets, towels, photos from home. But things I never dreamed of way back then are now considered dorm essentials...computers, led tvs, microwaves, and video game consoles all seem to have become standard essentials in many college dorms!

Friday, January 6, 2012

Did You Know I Reached My End of Year Goal?

Did you know I reached my end of year goal?

Since my husband was training for an Ironman last year, I wanted to do something big for myself too. I decided I wanted to run a marathon. But they are all mostly on Sundays, which I am unable to do. Or they are expensive and it's pretty cheap just to run. So I decided on New Year's Eve 2011 I would run a marathon around our town.

I found an online training plan and began training about 3-4 months out. I was pretty successful with following the plan though some weeks not all the miles got run. Come the last week of the year I mapped out a course or two I wanted to try (using mapmyrun.com) and went out to drive the course. It's a good thing I did since some places were under construction. So after some tweaking of the course, I was ready to run.

New Year's Eve woke up to lots of fog. I was worried, but my husband urged me out the door, but not before he played the National Anthem for me! Then he stood in the driveway cheering me on, telling me he would meet me in an hour with some "aid" (food, drink, etc.)

And he did. He met me all along the way with water, electrolyte drink, chips, flat coke, even hand sanitizer after a pit stop! He got some friends to come out and cheer me on, with a small group there at mile 20, complete with chalk messages along the sidewalk! It was lots of fun and I am so happy for his help that day. He even greeted me at my finish with a banner he had made for me! It was tough but I was happy with my time and happy that I met my year end goal of 26.2 miles!