Construction Toys for Little Boys

Well, just wasted another entire morning working on my latest Squidoo article.

I am having just too much fun creating these pages.

So what did I write about? Toys for little boys! Particularly my three grandsons.

How does one spend so much time on these Squidoo pages? Well, I do LOTS of research. I try only to put top rated toys in my articles about playthings.

Go check it out:Top 12 Toys for Little Boys--Dozers, Trucks and More

While you are at it, visit Top Ride On Toys for Three Year Old Boys;Top Playhouses; A Beautiful Rocking Horse

Iron Bowl Challenge--Got Tickets?

Here is a really good charitable giving opportunity for Alabama/Auburn Football Fans!

Donate $5 and enter for a chance to win Iron Bowl 2008 Tickets, SEC Championship Tickets, AND Regions Charity Classic tickets--with food!

Got to Iron Bowl Challenge--Got Tickets to read all about it and find a Regions Charity Classic
link to participate!

By the way, Roll Tide

Why Do I Squidoo?

I have been away from home for six days. I did not have a computer to use; I did not get to watch my TV news shows; I was babysitting three of my grandchildren (4yrs, 2years, 1yr) and was pretty exhausted or occupied most of the time.

I did not get to work on my Squidoo pages for the entire time. No withdrawal symptoms-nothing. I was quite surprised at myself considering that I tend to fritter away my days on these lenses.

What am I doing when I am frittering away my time working on Squidoo?

Well, I update any information that may need it. I check and recheck the spelling and phrasing. I update ads that I run for companies with whom I have an affiliation. I do research for new pages. On and on.

So why is Squidoo so important to me and why is it worth it to spend my days working on the lenses (pages) I have created? Well, for the answer to that you can visit my lens Hugs and Kisses to Squidoo".

But TODAY a portion of my perspective about being involved with Squidoo has changed. Why? Because I read an article(on Squidoo, no less) about lenses that do nothing but sell stuff. They have no purpose except to sell. There are TONS of these kind of lenses on Squidoo. They offer no information, no real opinions, nada, nada, nada.

Recently, I have created a few lenses that seem to have the purpose to just sell stuff. One is about Ride-On Toys, another is about Playhouses, two others are about my favorite music. All of my lenses have Amazon links related to what I am writing about (IE, books, Christmas cards, pumpkin carving, candy corn), but recently my focus has been on finding ways to earn some extra mad money. Is making money the reason I do Squidoo now? Kind of.

The two lenses I created about toys evolved because my daughter wanted to save money on toys for Christmas. She wanted me to do research about the best ones out there and find the best prices. So I did. I shared the results of this research on Squidoo. I also thought it would not hurt to make a little $$ for my efforts.

Is there anything wrong with that? No and Yes.

We all are looking for ways to improve our finances during this crazy time; so, no, there is nothing wrong with trying to sell a product.

Initially, my Squidoo lenses were just a creative outlet for me. A way to express myself; to learn; to grow. Some of my lenses are just awful; some of the lenses are OK; some have turned out fine. I am still working and changing them--frittering.

Is the almighty dollar in charge of my life? In some ways, it is. Is the $ what life is all about? NO. So, yes there is something wrong with my newest lenses. Making money has edged its way up to the top of my reasons for doing Squidoo.

I need to get back to the real reasons I started Squidooing. Expression. Learning. Growing.

Beatles Covered: You've Got to Hide Your Love Away

Amazon Store: mp3 Downloads of my Favorite Beatles Song covered by various artists

I absolutely love the Beatles Song You've Got to Hide Your Love Away! When doing research for my Squidoo Page about Beatles Cover Songs, I discovered that it was covered by a number of artists. I found my favorites and put them in a "store". The clickable link is at the top of this entry.

Most suprising find: The Beau Brummels! I was told that John is singing on the track! Give it a listen and see if you can hear him.

You can also visit my Squidoo pages:

Beatle Cover Songs!

You've Got To Hide Your Love Away--covered!

The Best Ride-On Toys for 3 Year Old Boys PLUS The Best Affordable Playhouses

Created a Squidoo page about ride on construction toys I think my grandson and other little boys would Love! The Best Ride-On Toys for 3 Year Old Boys!

I spent an entire weekend researching the ratings and prices for these ride on toys. Keep checking back on that page as the prices seem to change daily! No Kidding!

I also created a page about the best Playhouses for the grandkids! Check them both out for some good ideas for Christmas presents from Santa!

Several of the items I saw at Costco. Their prices are wonderful and Grandparents are always shopping there! The toys frequently sell out! So the advice I give is: when you see it at Costco and you THINK you MIGHT want to buy it later, DON"T wait. Get it. You can always return it.

My Musings: A Poem by James Michael Nally

My Musings: A Poem by James Michael Nally#comments#comments

High School Yearbook Memories

The Best Ride-On Toys for 3 Year Old Boys

I worked an ENTIRE weekend designing my latest Squidoo Lens (web article)! I am really proud of it. I did lots of research for this one. Days of it! Below is just one of the modules (sections) in this "Top Toys for 3 Year Old Boys" lens:



The Excavator by Kettler is the toy that started my search for the best toys for my grandsons. Bubbie (he is almost 3) saw this Cat Excavator in The Homewood Toy & Hobby Store (in Alabama) and had to be forced to get off of it.

My daughter carried him out the door kicking and screaming. It wasn't because he wanted her to buy it, he just wanted to keep on playing on it. I consider that a Big recommendation.

At $199 plus tax at this particular store, it was pricey. The Excavator only does one thing and it is too heavy to push around the yard. However, its weight could be a plus because it won't tip over easily.

If you are interested and want to read more: KETTLER® Caterpillar Tracks Digger at MyToyBox.com.

The Ride-On Excavator below, looks perfect for Bubbie's 1 yr old brother, Coop, and his cousin Seth. And it is priced just right!




On Amazon the shipping is sometimes free!

One Way to Stop the Stress In Your Life - Concentrate on Other Boxes

Do You Have 16 Boxes? is the latest entry on a blog written by Seth Godin.

With all that has been going on in the Stock Market and the American Economy, I found this musing by Seth to be particularly appropriate. If all stock traders and pundits would concentrate on the whole grid and not just on one box (making a buck) maybe the market would quit being so volatile.

A Statement from Lung Cancer Alliance on the Death of Paul Newman

Please check out this link to a statement brom the Lung Cancer Alliance. My mother died over 6 years ago from this deadly illness.

A Statement from Lung Cancer Alliance on the Death of Paul Newman

THE ANSWER TO THE PAUL HARVEY RIDDLE

NOTHING
Nothing is greater than God. Nothing is more evil than the devil. The poor have nothing. The rich need nothing. If you eat nothing, you'll die.

If you send this riddle to ten people and press the shift key, nothing will happen.

This entry is the answer to a Paul Harvey Riddle that I received via email. You can see the riddle on my Squidoo Page Paul Harvey Riddle-yet another chain email!.

Author Laura Lippman

Great page with interesting facts about author Laura Lippman. Complete list of the Tess Monaghan series created by Ms. Lippman. Good pictures of Baltimore where Tess lives. Fun polls to participate in. Check out this page devoted to Charm City's famous lady.

read more | digg story

Could not resist!

Halloween Basset Women's Long Sleeve Dark T-Shirt
Buy this product at CafePress
Designed by Dogs Ink

How to make the BEST tomato and cheese sandwich!

Just what it says. Even gives brand name recommendations. This lady (meaning me) KNOWS how to make a great sandwich.

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A Closet for my Squidoo pages

Just what the title says--a place for my lenses on Squidoo to hang out.

read more | digg story

In other words, this is a page that lists all of my pages on Squidoo. If you want to see what I have been up to, check it out. If you click on the Blue " read more", that click will take you to "my closet".

I have become adicted to Squidoo in the last year. What is Squidoo? .

Excellent Review of the Audio Book LA Outlaws

Squidoo webpage featuring reviews of the audiobook L.A. Outlaws by T. Jefferson Parker.

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Yelp!

Visit this site; enter your city and/or zip. Cool place to find restaurants and such with reviews by real people.

Have Discovered a New Book Review Webpage!

I am always looking for new books to read a scour the WWW for reviews. Here is one I just found today that looks very promising: www.bookroomreviews.com. This site gives a short description of the book, reviews it, then gives it a letter grade. Its reviews are long enough to get the point across, yet short enough for you to breeze thru and not take up too much of your time. Each review has a quick link to Amazon as well. Click the blue title of this entry to go to the Book Room Reviews.

Love that Cajun/Zydeco Music

Dance Depot at City Stages in Birmingham, Alabama. A friend takes pictures every year. Click on the title of this entry to see photos from this year's Dance Depot. Notice how everyone is smiling. One cannot help but smile when dancing to Cajun/Zydeco music.

The Glories of an iPhone

Last October my husband purchased an iPhone.

The reasons to buy one were quite good:

1. His old phone had expired from an illness -- old battery.
2. We were about to embark on a three week vacation and we were contemplating the purchase of a new laptop to take along.
3. The iPhone is cheaper than a laptop.

So, we bought the "new gadget".

Here is a excerpt from an article by Drew Carey from the November 18, 2007 Parade Sunday supplement that sums up the feelings my husband has for his new toy:

"I'm obsessed with my iPhone. I love being able to whip it out and show people pictures. I never carried a photo in my wallet, but now I understand why it's fun. Getting a new phone is like having sex for the first time: You figure it out and then spend the rest of the evening just playing around. 'Hey, I can do this. And I can do that. Let me show you again. Look how great this is.'"

Oh how true. When I cannot find my spouse, I call his iPhone. He is never without it. He is always using it.

As it turns out, the iPhone was a great purchase for our trip. I used its mapping feature to find our hotel in San Francisco. I used the Safari feature to look up reviews of restaurants. My husband used it to keep up with his stocks -- which was the reason HE said he wanted to buy the phone.

One added reason the iPhone turned out to be wonderful for the trip -- it takes great photos!

No need to carry a camera. That is a plus with the new regulations about the weight of your luggage on airlines.

The last long flight my husband made, he used the iPhone to listen to an audio book (Randy Wayne White's Black Widow). He highly approved of this use for his phone.


Just be sure you update your phone's programs at least once a week. Do it, you will not be sorry.

Just found this book: The Deal. It is a book written in the 90s about an "apple"-like company trying to develop an "iPhone" type product. Fiction can be amazin'!

To Repair or Not to Repair

I invite you to visit a website that seems to be unique. Most sites offering "book repairs" are aimed at those patrons who have an antique book or a precious family Bible that needs to be rebound. Well, what about the rest of us who just want a favorite book made usable again.

For example, your mom gave you her well used copy of The Joy of Cooking, but the cover is coming off. It is a pain every time you try to use it--bits of old glue keep crumbling away from the binding--pages come loose and get lost. What to do? You don't want it rebound in leather, you just want to use it.

Well, go visit Little Red Wagon Book Repair; send the business a picture of your broken book, and see if it is worth being mended.

Talladega Dollars, Dale, Sr. & Author Sharyn McCrumb

Unique Squidoo Lens about Dale Earnhardt Sr. and the NASCAR dollar confetti collected by my professional photographer husband. Contains trivia about Dale, Sr. and some fun links. Also find information about author Sharyn McCrumb and two racin' books she has written.Clicks from this website earn money for NPR and the National Humane Society. Thanks!

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Does Babycakes need her own blog? Aisle'll Be Back!

Here is another Babycakes tale:

On a recent trip with my 4 yr.old granddaughter, I tossed a snack to her in the back seat. It was a pack of Thin Addictives cookies.

"Gigi, I love these cookies. Where did you get them?" "At my favorite store." "What is your favorite store, Gigi?" "Oh, you can guess it I bet!" "Costco!" "That's right!" "What aisle are they on?" The wheels are turning so loud in her head that I can hear them. "Are they on the aisle with the 'nola bars?"

Four years old and she already knows the aisles at Costco. Mom must spend as much time there and Gigi.

News Flash! DOT Closes All Travel on Local Deck

Due to the inclement weather on Saturday, March 8, 2008, the DOT has suspended all travel on a local backyard deck. Swinging is cancelled until further notice.

Kids say the darnedest things, again!

My oldest grandchild is presently four years old. Every Wednesday I pick Babycakes up from Mother's Day Out and take her to a gymnastics class. After the class we spend some quality time together either getting a hot chocolate at Starbucks or a milkshake at some local fast-food emporium. Mostly, we go to Starbucks.

In addition to "shooting the breeze" with my precious grandchild, I have been teaching her the names of coins. She gets to keep what she learns (I use the Montessori "Three Period Lesson" method - "this is a__", "show me the__", "what is this"). All money goes in her wallet or piggy bank. She told me that her bank has a stopper in the belly so she can get money out when her wallet is empty.

"Gigi, it just pours out. I put it back in, but I get tired and Mommy has to finish." I told her that a long time ago, the piggy banks didn't have stoppers and asked if she could guess how someone got money out. "I don't know, Gigi." "Well," I said, "you take a hammer and break it." Babycakes replies, "What a waste! You shouldn't break something you love."

How true.