Mary Anne Carter » Mary Anne

Modern furniture gaining popularity

Mary Anne — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 02:22:54 +0000

My hubby has suggested that the next time we shop for furniture, that we look at modern furniture. He likes the clean look of the modern styles, and I have to admit that they look like they would be easier to keep clean when compared to many of the other styles of furniture. When I look at modern furniture, it makes me think of Scandinavian countries, and of a Danish friend that I had when I was a child.

My sister’s basement floods

Mary Anne — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 23:31:01 +0000

My sister called me today and told me that she is sick and tired of her basement getting wet every time it rains. A few years ago she noticed some cracks in her foundation and she has been asking her hubby to fix it. Well, it hasn’t been fixed yet, and she is frustrated.

She told me that she is at the end of her rope! I told her that what has worked for me in the past was to tell my hubby that if it was not done in a certain period of time (usually 30 days) that I would call in a professional to have it done and tell them to send him the bill. Works like a charm! Admittedly there were a couple of times when I DID call a professional and my hubby wasn’t too happy about it, but the job got done, and now hubby pays a little bit closer attention to my repair requests.

Wrought iron

Mary Anne — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 18:17:07 +0000

My sister knows how much I am enamored by things that are made of (or look like they are made of) wrought iron, she has sent me the link to a website that makes a variety of wrought iron items. The link is www.wroughtironhaven.com. I have just gone to the website and found that they sell just about everything imaginable out of wrought iron! I especially like the curtain rods that have shelf brackets built right in! I have ALWAYS wanted to have shelves above my windows, and have begged my hubby to install them. But my pleas have always fallen on deaf ears! Now I see that I can buy curtain rods with shelf brackets and install them myself!

My son broke up with his girlfriend

Mary Anne — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 17:10:54 +0000

My son called me from college last night. He was sad because the girl he had been seeing has decided it would be wise to break off their romance. He had seen it coming, because they were going to different colleges with a large distance between them. When they first started dating they had talked about how this might happen, and they agreed that they would still be friends afterwards. But that is harder to actually DO than SAY!

So, we talked about some different strategies on surviving the break up. We talked about how he needed to take some time to heal emotionally, and avoid any kind of rebound romance.

Running a cleaning business

Mary Anne — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 09:17:57 +0000

My sister used to clean houses in the past to make a little bit of extra money, and she was really good at that. She had quite a few customers. She hasn’t done that for several years now, but she is still getting phone calls from people asking her to come clean their house!
Where we live, more and more families are two-income families, which leaves them little time to clean house. The demand for cleaning services is on the increase, and I think that this would be a good opportunity for her to make some money running a business that she already is familiar with!

Swimsuit season is just around the corner

Mary Anne — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 14:00:43 +0000

The past several days have been very warm. The warm weather has teased me into trying on my bathing suits. I know that we’ll be going boating and swimming later in the year, so it is time to be thinking about what to wear while doing that!

I’ve gained a few pounds since last year, so none of my bathing suits fit! I’m going to have to buy a new one!

Changing cell phone companies

Mary Anne — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 11:40:03 +0000

I have not been particularly impressed with my cell phones since we got them when we moved here. Our contract with them is going to be expiring soon and I plan to change to a different company. I just haven’t quite decided which one! A lot of my co-workers have been telling me that I should check outAT&T but I’m not sure what kind of coverage they have in the area around my house. If it is at all possible, I’d like to get a plan that includes free phones for the entire family.

Gift baskets

Mary Anne — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 04:13:39 +0000

One of the many gifts that I like to give is a gift basket. Sometimes I like to make them up myself of lots of little things that I’ve made, either crafting or cooking, or a combination of the two. Doing that pretty much ensures that they are not getting a duplicate gift that someone else has given them.

Sometimes life gets hectic, and an unexpected gift giving occasion arrives and time doesn’t allow the luxury of making the gifts. That’s when buying a gourmet gift basket comes to the rescue. There are so many gourmet gift baskets on the market, it is pretty easy to find one that will suit almost any occasion and please any recipient.

My sons want to learn how to surf

Mary Anne — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 13:30:46 +0000

Yesterday my sons approached me about making plans for the summer vacation. School will be letting out soon, and they want me to sign them up for one of the surfing summer camps that their friends have been telling them about, where the students are taught how to surf.

Surf Camp offers surfing programs for kids, teenagers, adults, and families. They offer day camps and overnight camps. My sons are too old for the teenager’s camps, so they want to sign up for the overnight adult camp. The overnight adult camp would be for one week, off the coast of North Carolina. The camp takes them to several different islands for them to learn how to surf, and includes side trips that includes a boat trip to an undeveloped barrier island and a trip to the new 84,000 square-foot Fort Fisher Aquarium.

Great review site for gadgets

Mary Anne — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 12:05:07 +0000

The publishers of Stuff – a leading magazine dedicated to reviewing gadgets – have created a website that is also dedicated to reviewing gadgets. So now everyone that is interested in learning more about the existing, or upcoming gadgets out there in the world of commerce has a place to turn when they want to learn more about them. They cover just about everything you can imagine in the gadgetry world, leaning heavily on the electronics such as digital cameras, cell phones, televisions, and computers (just to name a few!)

The website has lots of different sections that you can go to. My two favorite links on the website are the Top Tens and the Reviews pages. In addition to those links, it has blogs, news, videos, and it has forums. It even has contests to win prizes; the only hitch is that you have to register as a user of the website. That’s shouldn’t be a problem, registration is free!

Buying specialty shoes

Mary Anne — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 04:58:21 +0000

My sister called me to tell me that she needed to buy some new cheer-leading shoes for my cheer-leading niece, but she was having a hard time finding what she needed.

I told her I’d help her look online for them. Seems to me I’ve seen them before online when I wasn’t even looking for them! I’m pretty good at finding things on the Internet. Maybe I just use better keywords, maybe she just is too busy to try it herself and knows she can count on me for help when she needs it! Regardless, I’m always glad to help!

Family gatherings are matches of wits around here!

Mary Anne — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 22:30:24 +0000

We have a large family, and we like to get together for big family reunions and meals. My mother recently married (after being widowed) a man who lives for teasing people and making sarcastic remarks.

Well, my entire family is quick witted, and we have a great time sharpening our teeth and using sarcasm right back on this man! He tries so hard to get the “upper hand” but he doesn’t have a chance against us! It’s very funny to see how hard he tries, and yet always ends up licking his wounds. It’s very ironic because he is always the one who starts the “match of wits!”

Maintenance plans/extended warranties

Mary Anne — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 11:40:15 +0000

A lot of people tell me that maintenance/extended warranty plans are a gimmick and a waste of money, but I have found that when I pay for when, I usually end up using the service and it ends up paying for itself several times over. In this day and age of “planned obsolescence” I find that most products die within a week of the warranty period being over! So, I buy the maintenance/extended warranty if it is available and the item is expensive.

Credit reports/identity theft?

Mary Anne — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 15:19:18 +0000

A short while ago I filled up my gas tank at a Texaco station. I saw that they were running a special rebate promotion for new Texaco credit card holders, so when I got home I went online and applied for a new Texaco credit card for myself, and a separate one for my hubby.

I got my card a few days later, but I noticed in my email in-box was a rejection letter for my hubby’s card. It turns out that he was rejected because they don’t think he is him! They said that they rejected him based on information from a credit report company. So I printed it off and gave it to my hubby and told him to call the credit report company, which he has been trying to do all morning long. I am concerned that this may have something to do with an identity theft attempt!

Apparently didn’t get the new job I applied for

Mary Anne — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 15:14:40 +0000

I applied for a different job this week, and was hopeful that I would get it. It would have meant more money, and better working conditions, which would have been nice. They told me that they would call me back in for a second interview this week, but it is the end of the work week, the end of the work day and I haven’t heard from them, so I am assuming that someone else was given the job. I’m disappointed.