Cake Wrecks Now In Book Form

One of my favorite websites recently landed on the NY Times bestseller list. How can that be? The hilarious site that began its life here on Blogger has gone the next step and become a book.

Those of you who follow this blog - you know who you are - know that I wrote about Cake Wrecks some time ago and have had a link to the site on our sidebar for quite sometime. No, I'm not bragging in the "I knew her when..." kind of way - well maybe a little - I'm just sayin'....

In case you don't know who or what Cake Wrecks is, it is a highly entertaining website that welcomes user-submitted photos of professionally made cakes that end up being unintentionally humorous or down right funny.

Jen Yates is the mastermind behind the site and her new book Cake Wrecks: When Professional Cakes Go Hilariously Wrong was recently published by Andrews McMeel Publishing. There are also two weekly calendars from which to choose.

If you are interested in visiting the site, you can go to Cake Wrecks and have a good laugh while you browse.

Information is Beautiful - Website Review

Another great website has come to my attention. Check out Information is Beautiful for a great visual experience. According to the subheading, the site is about "ideas, issues, knowledge, data - visualized."

It is a blast looking at all the charts, visuals, and other bits of information in a colorful display of sight-seeing opportunities. If you click on the "play" at the top of the page, you can see some very cool interactive graphics.

One example in a recent graph is an illustration of a world map showing what every country is good at - or what country holds number one for each topic- for instance, the United States is number one for serial killers. Yuk!

Mexico is number one for televisions. Cuba is number one for doctors (who knew!), and Canada is number one for fruit juice drinkers.

As you can see you will find some interesting results around the world.

Another interesting post is the comparative results of the oil spill - it is a not-to-miss graphic that will get your oil burning!

But, be careful, you may lose many hours out of your day - it is that addictive.

Summertime Fun Out of the Sun

It is getting towards the end of July and another year is slipping by very quickly. How is it that the older we get the faster it seems the days, weeks, and years slip by? I've been thinking a lot about relatives who are no longer with us - my mother and both grandmothers have been on my mind a lot lately.

For some reason I am missing those women that were in my life so many years now more than ever before. I want to talk to them about being in my sixties, growing older, hearing stories of their childhood and growing up that I missed before. I want to see them, hear them, hug them! I miss those role models in my life that played such an important part of my growing up years.

I wonder what they would think of today's world - fast paced, electronic, high-tech. The fashions of today versus what they grew up with in the late 1800s and early to mid 1900s. The world has certainly changed over the decades and even centuries. It is unbelievable to me what life could have been like even a century ago, let alone 150 to 200 years ago. I think it would be interesting to at least visit for a few hours just to experience a different time, but I am sure I wouldn't want to live there.

Thankfully, I am living in the age I am. After experiencing the 1950s and all the changes in that decade and the 1960s, here we are in 2010 and I am loving everything I am learning about Internet marketing, blogging, creating websites, and so much more. I feel like I had the best of two worlds. Growing up on a farm in the country in the 1950s certainly gave me very different memories of a time of life that I will never see again,  and the complete opposite of how I live today.


My maternal grandparents lived in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan that many people would have called backwoods even in the 1950s and 60s. It still is to some extent. Compare that to my current world living in a suburb of the state capitol, and you can see what a contrast that is.

Life just keeps recycling itself as far as birth and death, people coming entering and leaving our lives during our life cycle. Some people I really miss, and others I could care less - even being very glad some are no longer in my personal sphere. But, on this day, I miss my Mom and my grandmothers. Looking at their pictures are not enough. If there really is an afterlife, I sure hope I get a chance to them.

How about you? Who do you most miss from the past?

Creative Kids Gift Baskets

As Easter approaches, it is a great time to remind everyone about the variety of gift baskets available online. Although gift baskets make a great present all year long, there is something special about receiving an Easter basket that makes a child's face light up.

Creative Kids Gift Baskets are full of fun activities including a coloring book, 24 piece Crayola crayon set, an activity book, numerous snacks, and toys.

This gift basket makes a great Easter gift as well as provides hours of fun for any child.

You can find a large number of Easter gift baskets online for easy shipping right to your door or wherever you want the basket delivered. You can also include a personalized message along with the package.

Take a look at all of the gift baskets available, and you will see what a wonder array of choices you have. Which ever Easter basket you decide to send to your favorite children this season, you will be delighted when you hear the profound thank you's you will recieve.

Have a Happy Easter holiday!

Here are a couple of Easter Baskets for Kids you might want to check out:

My First Easter Basket - Baby Gund
Little People Exclusive Easter Basket
Elmo with Bunny Ears Easter Basket

What Happened on Your Birthday?

Your birthday year highlighted

Over the years I have run across books and cards that showed what main events occurred on my birthday or what "other" famous people had a birthday the same as mine. I have even sent cards to relatives that highlighted their birthday.

Now, there is a website we can visit that let's us know what was going on around the world the year we were born. Among the highlights are the pop culture sensations to the news of the day.

If you are bothered by the type-appearing-slowly thingy, just hit your refresh button and then hit cancel; everything will load at once.

To check out the site, go to www.whathappenedinmybirthyear.com.


Photo Blogs and Tips

Another group of sites I enjoy are those that are devoted to photos. I recently read there are at least 14,536,786 photo blogs to choose from. How in the world are we going to check out each one? Sound pretty confusing?

Well, there is a site that will help sort out all those photo blogs. www.Ilovephotoblogs.com. The site highlights some of the best from travel to fashions and weddings. There are also posts providing helpful tips for photographers,including studio lighting tips, how to pose for photographers and models and the top ten photos you can stop shooting.

Hope you enjoy these two sites. If you hear of any particularly interesting sites, please let us know. We are always on the lookout for the next best site. You can check out some of our favorite on the sidebar.

Minnesota vs New Orleans

We are in the midst of a hard fought game between the Vikings and the Saints. 3:00 minutes left in the 2nd quarter and it is 14-14. Brett taking a lot of hits, but is hanging in there so far.

Birthday weekend went well. Chinese dinner delivered to our door, phone calls and cards from family and friends, numerous birthday wishes on Facebook. All in all, a good weekend so far. Of course, the perfect weekend would have Minnesota winning tonight.

Spent several hours on Warrior Forum learning much about niche blogging, article marketing, SEO, and much more. So much to learn - not sure why I didn't go out to that particular forum before. They certainly have the information I need to make more money online than I am currently making.

I feel like 2010 is going to be a good year. I just need to keep plugging away at my websites and not giving up when times are tough. Being a caregiver and also having such a almost straight-up learning curve can be a bit daunting at time.

I have long been a positive, day-at-a- time, look-ahead kind of person, and that's the way I feel about this year. We don't know what is going to happen with Dad, now at 87, but I also have much to look forward to that is positive.

I love the blogs and websites I write for, and I am enjoying learning how to set up websites. Although I have a lot to learn, I know that keeping my focus on the prize will get me a long way.

I titled this post with the names of the two football teams who are playing tonight. Unfortunately, one team will lose and not move forwad. The other will continue to keep their eyes on the prize and continue to move forward. Much preparation for the Super Bowl. Both these teams are tough and this should be a good game.

In life, we quite often take a lot of hits as do the football players. But, we have to get up and keep moving forward toward the goal. That is the only way we will make it to our goal.

How is your game? What are you looking forward to this year? Do you have a game plan? Are you keeping your eyes on the prize? Are you on your way to the goal?

Birthday Girl Looks Forward

Today is the big day - my birthday. We are ordering Chinese to be delivered this evening. Every year since I was a child, my birthday usually involved some kind of special meal. Looking forward to seeing what my fortune cookie says.

As birthdays go, this day will be laid-back and quiet. I plan to work on my niche websites today as I have a lot to do, but otherwise no wild partying or anything like that. Now that I'm in my sixties, I can look back at my 20s and 30s with fondness, knowing I usually had a great time dancing the night away with friends.

Now, the day is spent more in reflection by honoring the past and continuing to look forward to the future. I believe as long as I have the desire to look forwad and move ahead with my life, I am okay. I love life. I love to see what is happening in the lives of friends and family. I am curious about the future, and want to stay around as long as possible.

Every January I write out my goals sometime during the month. I haven't formally written them down yet although I have jotted a few notes here and there. This would be a good day to get them written out.

I am glad I was born in January. It is great to be an Aquarian with the Age of Aquarius theme song rolling through my mind. The Age of Aquarius has kept me looking ahead when I see so many others dwelling on the past.

Today is a day for me to be thankful for all I have - a comfortable and peaceful place to live, my health is in fairly good shape although my body could do with a little fine-tuning, and my mind is still sharp enough to accomplish what I want in the world of freelancing and blogging. I should give a shout-out of thanks to the creater of the dictionary - helps out greatly when I need it the most. Spell checker on my computer is also an wonderful aid.

So, it is currently 32 degrees F when I am living and it is 8:20 a.m. Looking foward to a wonderful day. I hope you are too. Take care and enjoy the day for what it is and for whatever it brings into your life. I know I will.

Take care,

Facebook is Alive and Well

We have a growing number of friends and family joining us on Facebook and we are having a blast. So far, it is the best Social Media source for keeping in touch with family. I love most everything about the site, including the photos, all of the old friends and new that I am connecting with, the ease with which I can communicate with family, and did I mention photos?

I have photos of my grandson, my brother and his family and my sister all have their photos, and it is an easy way to see how each person has changed. We all live in different US states, and don't get to see each other all that often. Having such an easy availability of photos and the ability to comment is great.

If you haven't checked out Facebook as yet, why not give it a try. After all, you may connect with an old high school or college friend, relative you haven't heard from in quite a while, or meet new friends who have similar interests as you.

If you are reading this, go ahead and friend me. I would be glad to get to know you. If you do stop in there, please let me know what you think of the site.

Take care and have a great weekend.

Football Season in Full Swing

With football season well underway, and my football chick shirt available every Sunday (all day) and for Monday Night Football, I found this year my loyalties changed. For many years I have strongly supported certain teams. Not just because they were winning, but because I liked certain players or the coach, lived in the area during that season and supported the local team (Lions, Redskins, Cowboys, Cardinals - I've moved around a bit).

But this year, back in Michigan but not fully loving the Lions just yet, my heart moved towards Minneapolis. For one thing, it's not that far away from Michigan. But really, for some reason, I have taken a liking to Brett Favre for some reason. Not sure why, but there it is.

The other team I am keen on is the Arizona Cardinals. Prior to returning to Michigan in 2006, I lived in Arizona. Although I live in this sometimes freezing cold Northern state, my heart is still in the Southwest. I am so excited that Arizona is playing as well as they are. The win last Sunday was a highlight of this season.

I love fall! Not only for the beautiful fall colors as the leaves change and the great holidays that are associated with this time of year, but for the football games and camaraderie that comes with watching games with or at the same time as other family members no matter where we live. Numerous phone calls are sometimes exchanged when games and rivalries are getting hot.

Football season still has a couple of months to go, and of course the Super Bowl is the culmination of the season, but the week to week frenzy is a joy and continues on for a while longer. I am definitely looking forward to this next Sunday and will avidly follow my favorite teams.

How about you? Who is your favorite team or player? If you don't like football, what are you doing instead?

Fall Is On It's Way

It's that time of year again. This is Labor Day Weekend, every one's last chance to spend quality time at their cabin up north, and hours trying to navigate through the traffic compliments of their fellow travelers.

How do I really know that fall is on it's way? Here are the signs:

1. The temperatures in mid-Michigan are beginning to hang in the 70's nearly every day.
2. The Lions and Tigers are overlapping.
3. Michigan State football fills the pages of the Lansing State Journal, with extra sections detailing who the players are and how MSU will go about earning a winning season.
4. Local high school football also fills the pages of the State Journal and local papers.
5. Not to mention all the sports news on the various local TV stations.
6. Coaches Mark Dantanio and Rich Rodriguez (MSU and U of M, respectively) fill the airwaves and print.
7. Rich Rodriguez is again in some kind of trouble, somewhere.
8. The neighborhood has emptied out now that the kids are back in school.
9. The big orange school bus goes rumbling by, much to fast for our small side street.
10. The local athletic students, male and female, run in packs or alone up and down our streets.
11. Farmers Markets are closing down.
12. Ads for holiday goods are increasing.
13. Organizations are starting their monthly meetings once again.
14. Local Swiss steak dinners, spaghetti dinners, chicken dinners, and pancake breakfasts are once again in action.
15. Politicians are robocalling.
16. Fall is in the air. In some areas the leaves are beginning to change, already!
17. Ox-roasts and beer fests are on the agenda for September and October.
18. Summer music festivals are events of the past.
19. Networks are not only announcing their fall schedule, but viewers are inundated with promos.
20. David is coming from SE Texas to visit his Grandma this month.

All in all, it should be an interesting Fall. As the leaves change and the temperature drops, the air is filled with the promise of Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas. The stores begin to fill up with shoppers, and the world seems to pick up its pace once again.

I hope all of you have a great Fall and your favorite sports team wins! Let the tailgating begin!