Public Service Announcement

I was checking on the automated backup of my blogs today and thought of y'all. I wondered how many of you all out there back up your blogs.


So....how many of y'all out there back up your blogs?


I think it's an important thing to do. One of those "insurance" type things that you hope you never need. Kind of like the smoke detectors in your house. The airbags in your car. The surge protector on your computer. You get the idea.

I use blogbackuponline.com for my blogs. (No, I'm not a paid actor; this is a real unpaid customer testimonial)It's free and easy and was recommended to me by a rather techno-savvy friend. That's why I use it. I'm sure there are several others out there that are equally as good. I just haven't had a need to research any further.

It gives me peace of mind to know that if something awful should happen, I could restore my blog, never lose a word, never have to go back and re-upload a single picture. That kind of thing helps me sleep at night.

How about you? Have you taken care of your blog?

**END Public Service Announcement.
We now return you to your regularly scheduled reading.**

The House Smells Like A Rose Garden...

...thanks to Beverly.



I'm trying to use up my Yankee candles so I can make some totally cool ribbon holders like hers.

So far, this is a pretty sweet (smelling) little project. Thanks Beverly!

My First New Dishtowels EVAH!

The other day I went to Ross to look for a picture frame. I didn't find what I was looking for, but I did spy a little packet of kitchen towels lying haphazardly on a shelf. There were five in the packet, wrapped up in a green satin ribbon.



When I saw that they were pink and white, I snatched them up right away. I do not know if $5.99 is a good deal for 5 dishtowels or not. You see, I have never in my life purchased dishtowels. Never.

The dishtowels I have were handed down to me; they belonged to my great aunts. They are vintage, with cross-stitching and embroidery designs. I love them because they are vintage, have that family sentiment, and have that softness that comes from decades of washings. But they don't go with my decor at all.

So when I saw the pink and white ones at Ross, well, the price really didn't matter. But go ahead, feel free to tell me what a steal I got on them anyway. Lie to me if you have to. That's ok. It'll make me feel all the better. :-)

When I got home, it was all I could do to take a moment to take that picture. Then I unwrapped them, careful to save the ribbon. Hey, it's perfectly good ribbon. Cute, too, with its polka-dots and all. I'm sure I'll have a use for it someday.

Well, when I pulled all the towels out, boy, was I surprised. Pleasantly surprised. They're all different, yet coordinating.


One even has bunnies woven into the design. How totally cool is that?! Does this mean they're really supposed to be Easter towels? It made me think of Amy, of course. (you'll probably need to enlarge that photo to see the bunnies)

Then I notice they each have a loop in one corner on the back. Wow. Another swell surprise! Is that normal? Do all dish towels come with a loop nowadays?



It actually took me a few minutes to figure out what the loop was for. Well, I'm still not 100% sure I've got it right.


I know. I can't believe it either. Here we are in the 21st century...and I'm standing there in my kitchen, totally dumbfounded by a loop on the back of a towel. Color me humbled.






Isn't it funny? In this day and age, with all the techno-gadgetry out there...and Kim gets all excited over pink and white dishtowels with bunnies and loops. What can I say? I'm a simple woman.

Back to Work and Ebay v.s. Etsy

(Click to enlarge)

Yesterday I browsed some of the ebay discussion forums. I was looking for some insight on the Auctiva issue. According to the other ebayers, the problem was with Mozilla/Firefox browsers and Auctiva. Those using Internet Explorer were supposedly able to get into their Auctiva accounts with no problems.

I attempted to get in to Auctiva on my Mac and still encountered the warnings, even under IE. I did not attempt it on my PC...just in case. (Even with all the firewalls and virus protectors and whatnot, I still trust my Mac to ward off viruses more than my PC.)

This morning I tried Auctiva again, and it seems to be working fine, even under Firefox. So I put together an auction real quick. I've got it scheduled to post this evening. Better two days late than never, right?



It's a re-run of the first Rose Coupon Organizer I did, this time all decked out with pink ribbons and bow instead of white. I'm beginning to wonder if these particular rose graphics are wearing out their welcome. I've done several organizers with them now. But, you know, since I have to pay for the graphics, I want to get as much use out of them as I can. And people do still seem to buy them. So I guess they can't be too tired of them...yet. Right?



In any case, I'm feeling the urge to purchase more graphics again soon. I've had some requests for designs using reds, so I'm thinking of going in that direction.

On a side note, the ebay fees are killing me. Etsy is looking better and better to me all the time. I'm just hesitant about the lack of exposure at Etsy. I'm afraid there won't be as much traffic. Another concern is I notice things seem to sell ALOT cheaper there and the shipping rates are unreasonable. They don't cover the true cost of shipping. How are sellers making any profit?

Any thoughts from you Etsy'ers out there?

Ok, enough rambling for this morning. Got to get busy; I've got a whole day's work ahead of me.

Happy Monday Everybody!

Auctiva Attack Alert?

I use Auctiva to create my ebay auctions. It's a lot cheaper and I'm able to insert bunches of photos without added cost. I like that feature ~ being able to give the buyer several more views of what they're bidding on.

Last night I went to the Auctiva website to start some new listings. But this warning came up instead:


I have seen this warning before for other sites while surfing the web. I've never seen it on one of my regular, trusted sites. Usually I just leave the site immediately. But this is Auctiva, one of my regulars. They're my ebay proxy and have my PayPal information, etc. I'm a little alarmed.

I clicked on the "Why was this site blocked?" link and got this screen:

(click to enlarge)

Last night when I got that screen and clicked on the auctiva link, it told me the site had infected 3 computers, I believe. This morning when I clicked on the same thing, it was up to 90.

I'm thinking I'll hold off on posting any ebay stuff for a few days. I'll keep checking back to see if Auctiva has their site straightened out. Hopefully they'll take care of it soon.

If not, I'm not sure what I'll do. I don't know if there are other free services out there like Auctiva or not. Hopefully I won't have to go searching to find out.

Pink Saturday - Sweet Stress Reliever

Chemically speaking, chocolate really is the world's perfect food.
Michael Levine, nutrition researcher, as quoted in The Emperors of Chocolate: Inside the Secret World of Hershey and Mars

Pink + Chocolate + Saturday. Oooooh, it doesn't get much better than that!

I purchased this graphics set from Daisie Company. I made this little emergency chocolate kit for a friend who's battling breast cancer. I shipped it off to her yesterday. Hope it'll lift her spirits when she opens the package to find all the sweet treats inside.

I also made one for Blondie for Valentine's Day.

And larger, gallon-size cans for my mother and stepmother for Valentine's Day.

Every woman should have a secret emergency stash of chocolate somewhere, don't you think?

Of course, a woman's stash should be all wrapped up in pretty pinkness, right?

I hope your Saturday is full of Pinks and lots of sweetness.

Don't forget to check out all the other Pink Saturday participants over a Beverly's.

What Is It They Say About A Bird in the Hand?

We have a family of cardinals that make our backyard their home. We really enjoy having them here, even more so in winter. Their bright colors are so striking against the drab, bare branches of the trees. They always have a cheerful sound to share.

Recently one of the males found himself in our garage and unable to get out. Bless his little heart, he kept banging against one of the windows, trying desperately to fly free. He knocked himself silly and was panting.


John Dear picked him up and took him outside. He held the little fellow for a while so I could take pictures.

Mr. Cardinal was quite calm, other than his panting from his previous adventures of trying to slam through a window. He let John pet him without so much as a squeak.


Then apparently Mr. Cardinal came back to his senses. His instincts must've kicked in because he suddenly turned around and grabbed a chunk of hubby's thumb in its beak.


John yelped in pain and let go.

Mr. Cardinal did not.


We're all still friends though. The family of cardinals still lives in our backyard. We're trying to be more careful about keeping the back door on the garage closed.