When the Universe Sends You a Message

 

"Shocked" by Christine Graves via NightCafe Studio

So, as I was working on upgrading the scenery around here, I decided that maybe I should look at some of the old pieces I left on this site. I knew there was a lot of stuff that had absolutely no reason for existing anymore, but I'm leaving it right where I found it. But here's the thing, I think I time-traveled.

Okay, let me explain. I found this blog on the 10th or 11th of this month...June 2026. I was excited and did a quick scan of the site, but didn't really look deep. I just knew I had to get something posted on this site and get it back into circulation. 

I posted my last post a couple of days ago, June 13th, 2026. I was so happy, and it just felt right. I didn't know why, it just did. But then, I got the shock of a lifetime. 

I was looking a little deeper at some of the stuff I'd posted in the past 19 years, then thought, "What was my first post???" It was just a little piece of fodder to get myself in the right frame of mind. But it wasn't WHAT I had posted that freaked me out, it's WHEN I posted it. The first post on this site was on June 13th, 2007. 

WHAT????

No, it wasn't on purpose. I had no idea I brought this site back to life exactly 19 years to the day after I'd first started it. That's when I knew I was on the "write" path. I've been saying for some time now that my calling is to bring back old-school blogging, and I think that was the Universe's way of saying, "No shit". 

In fact, when I created the image at the top of the page, I noticed the book at the bottom of the image said: "The Universe has a Sense of Humor". That sealed it. Now, mind you, the prompt I used in the AI image creator said nothing about adding any words. In fact, here's the full AI prompt:

A whimsical illustration of an older woman sitting at her desk, a look of shock on her face, and eerie wisps of mist surrounding her. 

That's it. That's the whole prompt. And this image is what came of it. Tell me that's not a sign. 

I now have 5 Blogger blogs up and running, the newest of which is about to turn a year old. I've been doing this for a long time. I remember the days of super bloggers. I have to admit, I made quite a bit of money blogging. I know that's not going to be the case this time around, but it wasn't just about the money; it was the creative freedom. But, yeah, the money was nice.

I've decided that this site will be geared toward the everyday stuff in my life, little op-ed pieces I find interesting, TV shows and movies I've watched, and stuff like that. Nothing fancy, just real stuff from off the top of my head. That's a little scary, if you think about it. 

I'm getting more and more excited about blogging again. Even if I only have a handful of readers, I'm still doing what I love. This is my calling and I think it's time to answer the call. Wanna tag along? Come on, let's see where we go from here.

Until next time,
Miss Chris!!!

~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~

Modernizing my life

I'm an old fashioned kind of girl. I've always been partial to the "log cabin" look of my home. But I've often thought about doing my home in a more modernized look. Something with a little more sophistication and class to it. So I decided to start looking at some modern furniture.

I found some pretty cool things, and a few things that were way beyond my taste. I'm not really into all that geometrical stuff, but I did see some beautiful leather beds that looked pretty nice. That's something I could definately get into. They also had a couple really cute nightstands that would look good in my house as it is.

I'm never going to be the kind of person who goes totally modern. But I now know that there are some really nice modern pieces out there that match my taste in furnishings. Maybe my taste is a little more sophisticated than I thought.

Springtime in Nebraska

Well, you can tell that spring is officially here. No, not because of the buds on the trees, or because my tulips have already broken through the soil. No, it's because it's snowing, AGAIN!!!

We have a saying around here. If you don't like the weather, stick around a minute, it will change. But, for those of us who have lived around here our whole lives, we also watch out for the annual Spring Blizzard. In recent years, we haven't seen as many, but it looks like we could be in for one this year.

Yesterday, it was 60* outside, and just beautiful. Today, it's only about 30* and there's snow everywhere. The good part is that we need the moisture. Our part of the country has been in a drought for the past 5 years or so. So, I have to look at the good side of this.

Oh, well. At least I know it won't last long. It will probably be all melted away be tomorrow afternoon. And then we can all go muddin'. Whoo Hoo.

My First Google Payment

I am so excited. I just got my first Google payment. I'm doing backflips in my ergonomic chair. I opted for the direct deposit and when I went to check my Google stats for the day, I found the words "Earned Since Last Payment". Payment? What payment? So, I went to my bank account, and sure enough, I GOT PAID!!!

Ladies and gentlemen, I'm here to tell you that it takes a lot of hard work, a lot of long hours, and a lot of patience, but you can make money with Google Ads. And here's the trick. Don't put all your eggs into one basket. I didn't earn that money by dabbling with one or two sites, I did it by maintaining several sites. That's why I don't get over here to write all the time.

When I first signed up with Google ads, I thought I'd be old and grey before I saw my first payment. Well, that happened, but at least I'm still young enough to enjoy it. LOL

Just Babbling

I guess I hadn't realized just how long it's been since I last posted on this blog. I really can't believe that the days are going by so fast these days. Wow, I really am getting old. LOL

I think the main reason I never have much to say here, is that not much exciting ever happens to me. I'm a pretty basic person. I'm just an old married woman raising two teenagers. Other than normal everyday stuff, nothing much happens to me.

Plus, trying to keep up with all my other blogs, I usually run out of day before I run out of things to do. It's not easy trying to fold laundry with one hand and type with the other. LOL It can be done, but it's not easy.

I'm almost done with Boy Scouts. My son is so close now that it's not even funny. He'll be 18 in October, and that's it. I've been following him around for 10 years now. Who would have thought that a little mom would end up being a Boy Scout that many years. I didn't even make it to the second year of Girl Scouts when I was a kid.

Well, I'm done babbling for now. I will be babbling in the very near future, I'm sure. But that's what this blog is for, a place for me to babble. It saves my husband from having to endure the pain. LOL

My kid is so cool

Yeah, I know. You're probably getting sick of me talking about my kids, but this is something way cool. My son is a member of the high school choir. Now, our high school has specialized choirs for certain age groups. For instance, my daughter is in swing choir, which is for the Jr. High kids. Next year, she'll be in the group known as "Magic Rhythm", which is for the Freshmen and Sophmores.

Well, my son is in a group called "The 21st Century Singers", which is designed for the Juniors and Seniors. Also, each member must try out for the choir at the end of their Sophmore year and there is no guarantee that each student will be chosen to be in this group. This group has won several competitions over the years, and our choir director was chosen as Nebraska Music Teacher of the Year, last year.

Anyway, this group got to go to Denver today. They sang the National Anthem at a Denver Nuggets basketball game tonight. This is a huge honor for these kids, and this is the 4th or 5th year they've done this. After they got done singing, they got to hang out and watch the game. It's pretty cool for them. I watched the beginning of the game from home, as I wasn't able to go. I was hoping to get to see the kids sing, but of course, it was more important to show clips from previous games than to show a group of hard working kids sing our country's Anthem. (Drippy sarcasm intended).

I can't hardly wait until my daughter is old enough to be part of this group. She has an amazing singing voice and already excels in choir. The choir director gave her an award last year for having the best voice in the 7th grade. She's already said that if my daughter keeps up like she has been, she'll be one of the stars of The 21st Century Singers in a couple years. Which will be cool, as I can live vicariously though her. Why? Cause I can't carry a tune in a paper bag.

Great Advertising Offer for Bloggers

Ok, so anyone who's ever read this blog knows that I do a lot of work with Garry Conn. Well, now I'm going to tell you about a great deal he's got going on over at his site. He's selling 125x125 graphic ad spots for only $5.95.

I had to go back and re-read the post a couple of times to get the whole jist of the idea. Garry is offering some serious advertising deals, starting at only $5.95 per month. I had to jump on this deal, as I've seen what some other sites are asking for advertising dollars. It's crazy. Most sites ask for anywhere between $20 and $500 for a month on their site, but Garry is offering this deal for about the same price as a Happy Meal.

He's got a lot of other deals going on right now, too, including footer ads, 250x250 ads, and much more. I really think the man has lost his mind, but before he regains his sanity, you'd better get in on this. I've already purchased the Package #2, and will not only have my 125x125 graphic on the main site, but an ad in the footer as well. Now, that's a deal.

No emails all day

I had the strangest sensation come over me yesterday. One that I don't think I've ever felt before. Anyway, not since I got my first computer. I felt like the entire world had disappeared. Why? Because I didn't get one single email yesterday, at all.

Some people might think it's weird, but I felt like I was all alone in the world. I also wondered if my email was broken. Not because I didn't get any emails, but because I didn't get any spam mails either. For a solid 24 hours, I got nothing. There have been times when I wished I'd get a lot less emails, but this was crazy.

So, the next time you wish all those emails would go away, rethink that mindset. It's a weird feeling thinking that you're either the only person in the whole world that's online, or they've all abandoned you. Embrace you emails, at least you know someone out there is thinking about you.

Another short story published

I'm so happy. I just had another short story published at Triond.com. The story is called "Wild Rose" and is about a little rose growing in the middle of nowhere, and the prayer she sends up to God. It's a very short story. In fact, it's what is known in the writing community as flash fiction.

I wrote this story almost 3 years ago, and just left it sitting on my computer. I'd posted it in a free forum a while back, but got no response to it. I figured it meant that it sucked and removed it from the site and never really thought about it again.

That is, until last night when I decided to submit it to Triond.com and see if it would be accepted for publication. I'm very happy to announce that it was. Whoo Hoo. The best thing about Triond.com is that the story will earn me a small amount of money for years to come. The way the site is set up, authors earn money for each time the ads on their page are visited. I had 3 stories published a couple years back, and they are all still earning me a little bit of change each month. No, I'm not making large amounts of cash, but every little bit helps.

I was totally thrilled to find out that I had another story published. Makes me want to sit down and write a few more. :)

The greatest computer deal ever

This is so cool. My husband brought home 2 used Gateway computers today, that he found. Apparently, my uncle's neighbors had a garage sale over the weekend. All the stuff they didn't sell ended up in the dumpster and in the mix was a Gateway 2000 computer tower, and a Gateway 400c computer tower.

Now, mind you, my husband isn't one to go out dumpster diving. But, when there are 2 computer towers are sitting on top of the rest of the junk that got tossed, he's not going to just let them sit there. He brought them both home and hooked them up to one of our extra monitors. Sure enough, both computers worked. I think they're going to end up being used for parts. He's already taken one of the RAM chips out of the smaller computer and added it to our son's computer.

My husband has always been one of those people who could find gold in a pile of crap. He can smell a deal a mile away, and if something needs fixed, he's the man to call. There have been a lot of times when he'll fix something and not be really sure how he did it. It's pretty amazing, actually. LOL

Happy Leap Day

Hey ya'll. I just wanted to jump over here real quick and wish everyone a Happy Leap Day. It's not a major holiday, nobody's gonna be baking cookies or putting together a big family dinner over it, but what the heck.

For anyone out there who was born on the 29th of Feb., I wish you a Happy Birthday. How cool would it be to be one of the Leap Babies. LOL I always felt kind of sorry for the kids who were born on Leap Day, but now that I'm getting older, I think it would be awesome to only celebrate my birthday every 4 years.

Everybody have a great day, and if you're feeling froggy, just Leap!!!!!

I'm beginning to get wrinkles

As I get older, I’m finding that I’m beginning to notice the little wrinkles and laugh lines that are forming on my face. I’m not one of those people who get all uptight about such things, but they are beginning to bother me a little bit.

I found a site called Skin RX Clinic Amazing Skin Care, that helps women with their skin issues. They carry a great line of anti-aging creams and other products that can keep the signs of aging at a minimum, and in some cases even reverse these signs.

In the sidebar of their homepage is a list of various skin problems to choose from. You just click on the problem, which in my case is wrinkles, and they show you a variety of products that will help with the problem. I was amazed at the fact that their prices aren’t that bad, depending on what the affliction is and which remedy you choose.

One thing I did find appealing about this site is that they will tell you exactly what is in their products, and what it does. They have a whole list of various ingredients and what their functions are with skin care.
They also offer a toll-free number you can call if you’d like to speak with a licensed esthetician, who will help you decide on which product and treatment is right for you. And finally, they will ship your products overnight, so you can start looking and feeling better right away.

I am such an old hippie

I've been sitting here all night, getting my posts done at all my other blogs and listening to all my favorite tunes I've got saved on my puter. As one song blends into the next, it dawned on me that the music I listen to is almost 30 years old. OMG, I'm so old.

In my opinion, they quit making good music in the mid 80's. My favorite tunes all come from the mid to late 70's and some from the early 80's. And yes, I know that's telling the world just how old I really am, but I've always had a thing for the music of the mid to late 70's. I'm the youngest of 3 girls, and I had a bad habit of stealing their records when I was a kid. LOL

I was listening to some of the things my kids listen to, and heard my father's voice come out of my face in the form of "you can't understand a word they're saying". I remember the first time my mom heard the song "Dirty Laundry" by Don Henley. She freaked. She couldn't believe that they were so hard up for songs that they were talking about playing with someone's dirty laundry. LOLOLOLOL

Oh well, I guess I'll just live in the past and revel in my music. So while you're all reading this post, I'll be shaking my groove thing and partying like it's 1999.

Nearly back to normal

Well, another month has come and gone since my last post. This year is already going by way too fast. However, things are starting to settle down around here. Wrestling season is officially over and I can get back to my blogging world.

As much as I love to watch my son wrestle, I was really glad to see it end. We've been doing this since the end of November, and I was really getting tired of running all over the countryside just to watch my kid go to war with other kids. I'm one of those moms that screams her head off during every match my kid is in, and it's all I can do to keep from slapping the snot out of a few of the other parents.

I almost had to beat up a dad this last match. Not because of what he was yelling at his kid, or mine for that matter, but because of the fact that he sat down next to my daughter and nearly punched her in the face. He was one of those dads that really gets into the match and was flailing his arms and legs all over the place. On more than one occasion, he almost elbowed my daughter and once, he actually kicked her. That's when I'd had enough. I physically moved my child out of the way and sat down next to the guy. In a very loud voice I announced "I can fight back". The next thing I knew, he up and moved.

The moms that were sitting behind me just laughed and patted me on the back. This dude was huge. I'll bet he weighed at least 300 lbs. I didn't care, I was gonna take him on in defense of my little girl. Hell hath no fury like a pissed of mommy.

Anyway, now that things are starting to get back to normal, I'll be posting here a lot more often. It will be a lot easier with my head in this game, instead of the one at the school. LOL

Holy Cow, It's a New Year

Hello boys and girls,

I am so sorry that I haven't posted before this. It's only the third day of the new year and I've already lost track of time. I do want to wish everyone a very happy new year. I got so caught up in other endeavors, that I dropped the ball.

Anyway, I'm hoping that the coming year is going to be one of my best ever. I've got a lot going on coming to this year. I'm currently running about 5 blogs, working on 6, and that doesn't include this one. I've been learning a lot about making money with Google Adsense, and I'm finding out that if you really work at it, it is possible to do so. However, it does take a lot of work, and a lot of writing. As of right now, here's what I'm working on:

Aircraft Deals--If you're looking to buy an airplane, I'll point you in the right direction.
Ancient History Facts--Just like it says, I write posts about all things ancient. I have always been a history nut, and this is just a place for me to put it into words.
BlogClassifieds--This is a site that showcases all kinds of items for sale from all over the Internet
Special Offers Blog--This is also a site about deals and sales, but this one is still in the works. There are a few posts on it, but I need to work on it more.

Blog Wheels--This is a site I worked on a few months back, and am looking into reworking this site too.

Discounts-Online--And again, a site for finding the best deals and bargains around the Internet.


Plus, I'm trying to get my site, ChristineSenter.com, up and running smoothly. I've got a lot of plans for the coming year on that site, but I just hope I haven't over-extended myself. LOl
I wrote a post over there a few days ago, thanking the many people who have been there for me this past year, and have helped me get to where I'm at today. I tried to get everyone in the list, but soon realized that there were just too many to mention in one post. However, there are a few I'd like to mention in this post.

First of all, I have to thank the amazing Dani Pink, for being an inspiration to me and giving me something to express my creative side. Through a simple comment, she helped me create an amazing character.

I also need to thank a guy who's been more of an inspiration than he knows. One of the first bloggers I met a year ago in a social blogging site, ManoDogs. This guy knows more about the comic book industry than I knew existed. He's also a very good writer, and has an interesting sense of humor.

And of course, I have to thank Adsense Tracker. This chick is so cool. She can be completely serious in one post, then totally silly in the next. She is truly one of a kind.

As I said in my other post, I'm sure there are tons of other people out there that I need to thank, and I appreciate everything they've said and done for me in this past year. I wish you all a very happy new year, and I hope that this is your best year yet.

Do you believe in God?

I do. This was one of those days where I should have just stayed in bed. I had to have my son at the school at 6:30 this morning as we were going to a wrestling tournament in a little town in the middle of nowhere.

After dropping him off, I got back home to find out that my neighbor's dogs had gotten loose, so I was helping to chase dogs around in the snow even before the sun had come up. Got the dogs all pinned back up, and started getting myself and my daughter ready to go to the meet. On the way, my truck started making a strange sound. Instantly I knew that we needed to get a quart of oil or we were going to be in trouble. Got that taken care of and headed down the road. The sky was clear and the sun was shining.

Once we got to the meet, I noticed that it was starting to get cloudy and the wind was picking up pretty bad. But, that's Nebraska. LOL Anyway, I watched my son wrestle and was a proud mom. Even though he lost his first match, he pinned his second opponent. I was screaming and jumping up and down like a crazy woman. I checked the weather once again, and it was now snowing and the wind was blowing at around 20 mph.

We decided to watch my son's last match, which he won in points (20-9). By this time, it was starting to get dark and it looked like a blizzard outside. We decided to head out and try to make it home. Keep in mind, I'm 50 miles from home. Conditions were severe, visibliity was zero, and my tires suck. We did pretty good for the most part. That is until my daughter noticed a light in the darkness and said that it looked like someone had run off the road. I looked over for just a moment, then looked back at the road to see that we were going sideways down the road.

I didn't panic. I wasn't driving very fast anyway, because of the blinding snow. So, I very carefully tried to correct the problem only to find that I was riding on a sheet of solid ice. I just let things flow, and we ended up in the ditch without injury or damage to the truck. I sat there for a few minutes, trying to get my daughter to calm down and not to show how scared I really was. Finally, I put my truck in reverse and got right back on the road. That's when I really got scared. I put the truck in 1st gear, and the whole thing shut down. The motor died, I had no lights, no flashers, no nothing.

I went back into neutral and instantly, the lights came back on. I hit the ignition and the truck started right back up. There were other cars around us by then. The bad part is that there was no car off the road, other than mine. We ended up following the other cars and finally got back home. I've never been so happy to see my house.

I truly believe that God was watching out for my daughter and I tonight. He kept me from panicing at the wrong time, He got my truck running again, and He brought my family all together again. I thank God that I can write this post tonight.

It's wrestling season

Whoo Hoo!! It's high school wrestling season, and I'm already without a voice.

My son had his first meet the other night, and though he only had one match, I screamed myself right out of a voice. He pinned his opponent in 59 seconds, and I found out later that I need to have my daughter video tape the matches while I scream. It's hard to watch a video of somebody's feet and listen to me screaming "hold him down, hold him down".

I love this time of year, because I can release a lot of pent up frustrations at a wrestling meet. By the time the season ends, I'm the most calm woman on the planet. I've just spent 3 months screaming at the top of my lungs, watching my kids tie other kids into knots, and now I can just sit back and relax. Oh, what a life.

Once wrestling is over, my voice comes back, I feel like a new woman, and it's time to start getting the flower beds and gardens in shape for the planting season. Yes, in my house we only have 3 seasons; football season, wrestling season, and gardening season. LOL

Well, that's all for now. I just had to get over here and make a post so you didn't think I'd run away or managed to leave the planet. I'm usually in outer space, but that's another story. LOL

Ready for Christmas?

I was just curious as to whether any of you are ready for Christmas yet or not. Me, not at all. The hubby got the outside lights hung and few other little things, but for the most part, we're not at all ready.

I tried to get some Christmas cards written out today, but I couldn't even get into that. I'd like to get the tree up before the week is over, but I'm not even sure where I want to put it. Or should I say where I can put it without having to totally rearrange the house. LOL

However, I do have almost all my shopping done. I only have a couple more things to get and then that part is out of the way. Of course, I still have to wrap everything, but that's ok. My kids can help, and if I work it right, I'll get them to do it all. LOL

Hopefully, I'll be getting more into the spirit before to much longer. I know I will once I get the tree up, it never fails.

Bo Pelini Named Nebraska Head Coach

I'm writing this as the news conference is being held. It's official. Bo Pelini has been chosen to be the new head coach for the Nebraska Cornhuskers. Pelini is leaving his position as defensive coordinator at LSU to taking on the daunting task as the replacement for Bill Callahan.

Bo Pelini was once the defensive coordinator at Nebraska under former head coach, Frank Solich. When Callahan came in, Pelini was sent out and went on to help LSU get to where they are today.

As a die-hard Husker fan, I'm thrilled to hear that Pelini will be coming back to Nebraska. Bill Callahan had no idea how much we Nebraskans love our football, and when he came right out and said that he was doing away with the old Nebraska playbook and bringing in a West Coast offense, we knew our days were numbered.

I don't expect Nebraska to be the #1 team in the nation come next year, I do know that it's going to take a little time to get things back to where we're used to them being. I do know that with Bo Pelini heading the team, we're going to fight our way back to the top, and it's only a matter of time before the Nebraska Cornhuskers are #1 again.

I won the NaNo challenge

I can't believe it, but I actually did it. I wrote a novel of more than 50,000 words in 30 days. Well, I was actually done on the 29th, with a total of 50,184 words. There were a few times that I didn't think I was going to make it, but I finally finished and I got to put this really cool icon on any and all of my blogs, sites, or whatever.

I joined the NaNo challenge last year, but didn't even come close to making my goal. This year, however, I worked my little fingers off and finished with time to spare. My story is called "The Mask of Other Lives", and is about a young woman who dies and finds out that the real journey of life begins on the other side.

I now need to go back and edit the whole thing, check for inconsistancies, and see what I can do to make the story more interesting and maybe a little longer. If you'd like to read an excerpt of the story, I've posted one on my other site. I hope you enjoy.

I've also started writing another blog called Ancient History Facts. It's just a simple little site where I write short posts about all things ancient. I've been a fan of ancient history most of my life, and I thought this would be a great place to let go of all the weird facts that have been collecting in my brain for the past 3o-something years.

Hopefully, now that November is over and I don't have a deadline to meet, I will start posting more often again. It seems that the harder I try to keep my blogs up, the less I actually get done. LOL