Happy Halloween

Just think, boys and girls, in just a few short hours, your doorsteps will be the resting stop for all the little ghouls and goblins in the neighborhood. I have my bowl full of candy ready for the little monsters who will be peeking out from behind their little masks tonight. I'm kind of excited.

Halloween isn't my favorite holiday, but the rest of my family loves it, so I do this for them. We'll have the orange lights in the windows, the scary witch hanging from the front door, and the 4 ft. tall, blow-up pumpkin in the front yard. We'll pass out candy to all the kids in town and then I'll sit up and watch old monster movies all night.

Then, as of midnight tonight, I'll begin writing my novel. Yes, it's almost here. Time for me to finally get started on NaNoWriMo. I have lists and lists of ideas ready to be put down on paper/computer screen, and the main character and I have already had a disagreement on how she's going to die in the first chapter. I wanted her to die saving someone's life, but she's determined to die from a brain hemorage. I guess it's her death, she can have it how she wants it. (Yes, my characters talk to me. LOL)

So, as you go about feeding the spooky little critters in your neck of the woods, remember me as I set out on my own scary journey and start my Great American Novel. LOLOLOL

Gifts for Him

*This is a sponsored post*

I am married to the ultimate car guy. For as long as we’ve been together, my husband has spoken 2 different languages; English and Autoanese. With Christmas coming up fast, it’s time to find just the right gift for the car guy in my life. I’m checking out CarGuyGarage.com.

This is the one stop shop when looking at gifts for guys. If the man in your life already has every tool known under the sun, he’s going to need something special to keep them all in like a diamond plated cabinet unit. They offer several styles of tool boxes, and hundreds of sizes.

CarGuyGarage.com also has several styles of garage flooring, storage sheds, and even vacuum and washing systems. You can even find specialized refrigerators for his man cave. If it’s made for a garage, you can probably find it here.

It can feel like wandering through a strange world when trying to shop for the car guy in your life. With CarGuyGarage.com, you’ll have no trouble finding that perfect gift that will make his automotive dreams come true.

New kid in town

I was sneaking around the net this evening and had to stop by one of my favorite spots, Contest Blogger. Whenever I feel I've got nothing to write about, I know I can find something there, and I did.

I came across a new contest hosted by a new kid in town known as RookieBlogger. His (I'm assuming he's a he, don't ask me why) blog has only been active since the 15th of this month, and he's already sponsoring his first contest, where he's offering a cool $50 cash. Now, that's a way to bang your way into the blogosphere.

There are 2 ways to get your name entered into his contest. First one being to leave him a comment on any of his posts. That being said, I need to stress the fact that you can't just pick a post and say, "Hey, let me win your contest". Please leave a real comment to one of his posts. After all, we've all been there.

The other way to get entered into his contest is to give out a little link love. He's not really picky on how you go about doing this, but I've decided to write a post about his site. It's not required, but I thought I'd be nice. I remember being a new kid in town, and I thought this would be kind of like taking a plant to the new neighbors place. LOL

This thing is, his posts are pretty good. They're very informative, and a couple of them really made me think. Not something I'm prone to do on my own. LOL

So, run over and welcome the new kid. He'll be needing cookies, a couple of cherry pies, and someone might see if he's got enough blankets. LOL.

I'm a Nano

Before I get into today post, I have to give a big shout out to my favorite pink buddy, Dani Pink. Recently she held a contest on her blog for a stuffed pink teddy bear from the Build-a-bear workshop. Well, I didn't win the bear, but I did win the second prize which is a bag full of candy. Whoo Hoo. I love candy. Thanks honey.

Ok, now on to the topic at hand. I don't know if any of you out there know it, but the 1st of November starts a huge endeavor for thousands of people around the world. It's called NaNoWriMo, which stands for National Novel Writing Month, and I will be participating again this year. What it comes down to is writers from all over work on writing a novel in 30 days.

The goal is to reach a 50,000 word mark by the 30th of November. Writers can create all the characters, the plot line, and anything else around the novel for weeks before it all begins, but they can't write one single word of the story until 12:01 am on November 1st. That is what I've been doing for the past couple of weeks.

I had everything ready to go and was going to write a story about a young Greek lad who was going on a journey in search of his father. Well, that all changed about 4 days ago. I was lying in bed, not quite asleep, but not really awake, when the story just came to me. The characters, the plot, and everything. I now have a whole new story in mind and I'm going to call it, "My Life After My Death".

In a nutshell, it's going to be about a woman who's true journey begins after she dies. It's not a horror or a mystery type story, but more of a sci-fi/fantasy type thing. I'm going to take my passion for ancient history and religions, and my Pentacostal upbringing, and mix them up into a hodpodge of possibilities.

Since it first came to me, I've done nothing but think about how it will all play out. Of course, if all goes as it always does, my characters will take on a life of their own and will take the story in their own direction. That's ok, though, as that usually makes for a better story in the long run.

So, as of the 1st of November, I will be working on my newest piece of fiction. I will keep everyone updated on my progress as the month wears on. I've got it figured out that if I can maintain a minimum of 1,700 words a day, I'll make my 50,000 word quota by the end of the month, and then some.

Who knows, this could lead to something wonderful. LOL

It's about time

Whoo Hoo!!! Yes, boys and girls, my PR went up along with many others around the Internet. I'm so happy.

I was at a point where I really didn't care anymore. This little blog had been branded with a big fat N/A for so long, that I was beginning to think that there was no hope. I finally decided that I wasn't going to let it bother me anymore, and just went on about my business.

Then, of course, after reading that so many have seen an update in their blogs, I just had to go see if I had gone up or not. Happily, this little blog went from N/A to a PR2. My other blog, The Sapheyerblu Review has also gained a PR2, and I'm very happy to announce that my blog, ChristineSenter.com, has earned a PR3. I don't know how I did that one, but I'm not complaining.

So, I'm in a much better mood than I have been the past few days. I needed a little boost and I think this did it. LOL Well, that and the fact that PayPerPost has also finally accepted this blog. LOL Go figure.

Turned a post into an article

Hey boys and girls. Sorry that I've been gone for a couple days, but we had family in from out of town, and it was a family weekend.

However, I got some really cool news today. A few days ago, I wrote a post about the Nebraska athletic director being fired. It was a post I had become very passionate about, and rewrote it and found it to be quite a long article.

So, being a member of Associated Content, I submitted the article. I was only offered $5 for the article as payment, but I went ahead and accepted it as the whole article only took me a short time to write. Everything just kind of flowed and I felt much better when I was done. LOL I got the message today that the article is published.



Anyway, I'm thrilled that I had another article published through this site. It's been almost a year since I last submitted something to them, as I spent more time focusing on getting my blogs up and running. It was nice to once again see my name applied to a wide audience.

Medical problems end football hopes

Well, it seems that my son's football team may be done with the game for the season. The team they were supposed to go up against tomorrow has forfeited the game, and the season.

It seems that there is a nasty case of staff infection going around these parts, and several members of the opposing team are either infected or doing everything in their power not to end up that way.

Tomorrow was to be the last game of the regular season, however, that will not be the case. The only way our boys will be going on to districts is if 3 other teams lose. If even so much as one of them wins, we're done. Needless to say, we didn't have a great season. However, we didn't have a bad season, as we did win our homecoming game. That always make things seem better.

I am praying for the other team and hoping that they all make a speedy recovery. I feel bad for those kids for not getting to finish their season, but I'd hate to see them end up sicker. I'm also praying for their families in hopes that this infection doesn't end up becoming an epidemic.

Maybe I should stop being a football fan. Seems all the teams I root for are going down in one form or another. Naw, I'll be a football fan forever.

Nebraska Athletic Director Gets Sacked

Oh boys and girls, I've got some funny, yet useless, information to pass along. For anyone who's read my blog over the past few months, will know that I'm a die-hard Nebraska Cornhusker fan. However, over the last few weeks, that's not something to brag about.

It seems that due to the losses the team has taken over the past few weeks, and the fact that many of the school's biggest financial backers are walking away, the school's athletic director, Steve Pederson, has been fired. Not asked to step down, not given the chance to resign, just plain out fired.

Steve Pederson isn't a well liked man in this state. First of all, when in Nebraska, don't mess with our kids, don't mess with our tractors, and don't mess with our football team. We'll cheer for all different teams in the pros, but there is only one college team to root for in this state. Steve Pederson messed with our team.

First of all, he fired the former coach, Frank Solich. This coach had 9-3 season going, but was fired because Pederson didn't like where the coach was going with the team. He brought in Bill Callahan, who was fired from Oakland Raiders. Since then, we fans have watched our team fall further and further behind in the rankings and the scores.

This year, however, we started the season out with a bang, winning the first game 52-10. Cool! From there, it was just an embarrassment. We were barely beating teams that nobody had ever heard of before, and bigger schools were just stomping the team into the dirt. 2 weeks ago, they played against Missouri and got beat like a kitchen rug.

This last week was a home game against Oklahoma State. The team's former head coach, Tom Osborne was at the game. He led the Cornhuskers in back-to-back National Championships in 94 and 95, then again in 97. Also at the game was the entire 1997 team. We lost 45-14, the worst loss at home since 1958. It was also the first time in the school's 118 year history that they allowed 4 opposing teams to earn 40 or more points in a single season.

As of right now, Bill Callahan's job is still intact. There are a lot of fans who are calling for his firing as well, but the school has decided to let the new athletic director make that decision. Ironically, he also just signed a new 5-year contract with the team, but that may not matter in the coming weeks.

I'm very interested to see how the season is going to end up now. I'm sure there is more than one nervous person wandering the halls of the University of Nebraska in Lincoln.

My latest endeavor

You'd think I'd have enough to do , but I've once again started a new blog. This is one I've been working on for a while however. Not in the actual writing of it, but I've had it in the works for a few months now.

About 3 months ago, I told you about doing some work for my cyber buddy, Garry Conn, and in exchange, I would be getting a brand new domain name, PopularBlogger.com. Well, boys and girls, it's up and running.

Here's the whole gist of this new blog. With the name PopularBlogger.com, I've decided to make this a blog that discusses the bloggers behind the blogs we all read on a daily basis. There are so many wonderful bloggers out there, and very few of them are considered to be A listers.

My goal is to let the world see just how cool these people are outside of their little blogs. So, I'm asking you, my readers, who would you like to see featured on this new site? I have a list of bloggers I'm going to showcase in the next few weeks, but I'd like to have a whole notebook full of names. I'm not talking about bloggers like John Chow, or Darren Rowse. I want to show off the bloggers that we know are super people, but don't get the recognition they should.

Also, if you'd like to be featured on the site, let me know. The more bloggers I can show off, the better. We all know the blogs, now it's time to get to know the bloggers. So, I invite you all to come on over and find out who's a Popular Blogger.

Blog About Your Blog

I won another contest, however, this one was pretty simple. Every Friday, BlogAboutYourBlog.com has a "comment Friday" and one winner is chosen from all the comments from that week. That winner will have a link to their site listed on the site for one week.

I've been posting on comment Fridays off and on for a couple months now, but I've always been up against some stiff competition. So was the case this week, but the lady who should have won has already won once before, so I was the next in line. But that's ok, I am still honored to have won.

The best part about this contest is that it occurs every Friday. Anyone who leave a valid comment on that week's topic has a chance of winning. Matt, the site's owner, has always tried to choose a different winner each week, so if you've never commented on his site, or if you have and have never won, now would be a great time to give it a shot.

BlogAboutYourBlog.com is more than just a comment Friday site. During the rest of the week, there is a ton of very useful information posted by several different authors. I've learned a lot of blogging stuff that I didn't know before.

I encourage everyone to check out BlogAboutYourBlog.com, and be sure to leave a comment on Fridays for your chance at having your link displayed at the Blog of the Week.

Out of the blue

I got the suprize of a lifetime today. And it was actually a good thing. LOL

This past July, I ran across a blog contest and went ahead and entered. I wrote up a post about a site called Cranking Widgets and sent it in. Well, I never heard anything back a figured that they picked someone else as the winner and I somehow missed it. Well, I didn't miss anything.

As I was going through my RSS feed reader this morning, I noticed that the site had a new post announcing the winner and to my surprize, it was me. I nearly passed out. What did I win, you ask? I won $50. Yes boys and girls, I'm 50 bucks richer than I was last night. And I didn't even have to set up an illegal poker room in my basement to do so. LOL

I want to thank Brett Kelley, owner of Cranking Widgets, for sending my winnings so quickly. I had the money in my paypal account within only a few minutes after seeing that I had won. The best part about winning this contest was that everyone who entered were placed in a randomizer that chose the winner. I never win anything like that. I was blown away.

So, boys and girls, remember, never give up. Even when you think that all is lost and there is nothing left, something good can always come out of nowhere and wrap itself around you.

Dear Santa

Dear Santa,

I sending you my Christmas list now, so as to avoid the rush. This year, the only thing I want for Christmas is the chance to see my whole family together. I want that traditional family dinner, where all the adults sit in around the big table, while the kids all sit as the card table.

I have jewelry to last me a lifetime. Each year, I’ve gotten at least one piece of jewelry that I’ll never wear in my lifetime, but because of who gave it to me, I’ll never get rid of it either. I love all the bracelets that my daughter has given me, I adore the necklaces my husband has gotten for me throughout the years, and I’ll always cherish the rings my mother-in-law has passed down to me.

I have all the gizmos and gadgets that any kitchen can hold. I don’t need another piece of machinery that will slice, dice, puree, or flambeau. The products I use on a daily basis while cleaning my house are just fine. I don’t need a fancier iron for my clothes, or a robotic vaccum that chases my cat around the house. I’m very happy with the ones I have.

I just want to remember the little things that make the holidays so important. I want to watch the next generation learn the traditions that have been passed down through the years, and help in the creation of new traditions they’ll take with them.

Dear Santa, I just want one day with all those I love and cherish in my life.


P.S. A laptop would be cool too.

Another New Blog

I just wanted to let everyone know that I am working on yet another blog. Ironically, 2 years ago I never thought I'd end up working on this many blogs. I never really saw the importance of blogging, but now, it's become my life's ambition. LOL

Anyway, I've been working on a blog called Plant Helpers. I will be offering advise, tips, and other bits of information about house plants, gardening, and whatever else I can come up with as far as plants goes. The reason I'm telling all of you this is for 2 reasons.

1.) I need some ideas as to what you'd like to see on this site. I have a lot of my own ideas, but I'd love some input from my fabulous readers.

2.) I need to get the word out about this site. I really think that this site could be a huge help to a lot of people out there, but if nobody knows that it's out there, what good is it?

I would love to have some other ideas for this site. If you're one of those people who happen to have a green thumb, what would you like to see on the site? If you're new to the whole planting thing, what kind of information are you looking for? I want to make Plant Helpers a great place for flora information.

A few of the things I will be adding are plant indentifications, advice for indoor and outdoor plants, and even some legends and stories about different plants. I want to give a little something to everyone out there.

Let me know what you think, and what you'd like to see. Help me to make this site a super plant center.

When did the 80's become the oldies

I felt like an old woman today, or should I say yesterday. My daughter came home and said that they were having oldies dress up day at school today and she was going to need my help. Hey, no sweat.

Then she told me that she wanted to dress like they did when I was a kid. When did the 80's become the oldies? I was in high school during the mid 80's, and most of the clothes I wear today are still the same things I wore back then. T-shirts and jeans. What's so oldies about that??

Well, I helped her look as "80's" as I could. She did the whole Madonna look, minus the black lace tutu. I stood there and looked at my daughter and thought to myself, "Holy crap, she looks like me 25 years ago". That's when I knew I was officially old.

I now know how my mother felt when I dressed up for oldies day. I did the whole 60's look, and thought I was the biggest geek ever for wearing those clothes. Yes, I called her tonight and apologized. A lot!!!!

Place your bets

*This is a sponsored post*

I am totally hooked on watching poker on television and playing a little online, though I’m no high roller. I’ve been playing poker since I was a kid, but I never thought it would become the phenomenon that it is today.

There are tons of sites out there that offer online gambling of one type or another, but there is one site out there that not only lets you play poker, you can also place bets on many different gaming options. Bet365.com lets you bet on everything from football to horse racing, and in a number of different countries. You can be living in the United States and bet on a football game being played in Australia.

They also have a great casino room where you can play cards, the slots, or keno. The possibilities are endless. There system is set up so that you only need one account in order to enjoy all of their gaming choices. Bet365.com is a one-stop shop for anyone who enjoys the world of sports and online poker.

Some much needed rest

I want to apologize for my long absense. My awesome hubby took me on a spur-of-the-moment vacation. Whoo Hoo!!!!!

This past Friday was my bestest buddy's 40th birthday, and we partied it up like we did when we were kids. However, our bodies decided to remind us that we weren't as young as we used to be. LOL

We had a great time and I did get some much needed rest. I got away from home for a few days and now I'm ready to get back to work and act like I know what I'm doing.

It's great to be back and I can't wait to see what everyone else has been doing the past few days.