Mary Anne Carter » Shopping

Learning to play a new game

Mary Anne — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 22:29:07 +0000

I used to enjoy playing games as a child. But when I got married (the first time) my hubby was so highly competitive that anytime we played a game, if I won the game we never played it again. There came a time when I finally just stopped playing games, it wasn’t worth living through the trauma of his poor sportsmanship, and I was tired of spending money buying games that only got played a few times! My new(er) hubby says he enjoys playing some games, but I don’t know if he’s ever tried backgammon. I don’t even know if we have a backgammon board – I know we USED to have one, but I’m not sure if we still do.

Shedding a little bit of light on the subject

Mary Anne — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 00:14:08 +0000

We’ve only been in this house for about two years now, and money has been tight, so we take the changes a little at a time, when we can spend a few dollars to buy something to fix it up, we do. I’m a nut for saving energy (because it saves us money) and I have been asking my hubby for months to buy some of those timer light switches that you turn a dial and the light only stays on for a few minutes and then shuts off. Most people use those for bathroom exhaust fans, if they use them at all. Well, I wanted one for each exhaust fan (we have two) AND one for the light to the back deck. I wanted that one because people are always letting the dogs in and out through that door, and they forget to turn the light off. So that light stays on almost all the time for no reason at all.

Finally my hubby installed the timer switch on that light today! You can’t imagine how thrilled I am that he finally did that! YAY!

Maybe I should just stop eating

Mary Anne — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 00:27:00 +0000

I am getting tired of turning on the news and hearing about recalls! Don’t get me wrong, I’m really glad that we have more people “on the ball” and catching these things before it gets out of hand and thousands of people get sick and die, but I do wonder if there is more unhealthy things out there now, or if the improvements in the information technology is simply making us more aware? It is getting so that I’m a little bit worried about eating any kind of produce or meat! I’m afraid I’m going to starve! Salmonella and e-coli are in the news so often that it no longer surprises me.

He really has the blues

Mary Anne — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 23:12:25 +0000

There seems to be quite a controversy surrounding a man named Paul Karason, nicknamed “The Blue Man” whose skin has turned a purple-blue. The media has covered the story, claiming that it was caused by him consuming and topically applying Colloidal Silver to his skin. Apparently Paul decided to make a homemade concoction that he thought was colloidal silver, but was not colloidal silver. He created a dangerous, toxic substance called ionic silver by mistake. His resulting consumption of the homemade concoction caused him to develop a skin condition called argyria that makes the skin turn a blue-gray color. Apparently there is no cure for argyria, so he has to live the rest of his life as a blue man.

Even though his homemade concoction turned his skin blue, he continues to use it, so he must not be too upset about the situation!

A great fuel alternative

Mary Anne — Mon, 10 May 2010 10:23:23 +0000

I was sitting in a doctor’s office Thursday, reading a very old Time magazine dated March 24, 2008. There was a very intriguing article about how a scientist named Blen Kertz from Vertigro Energy is developing a way to turn algae into biodiesel fuel that can be burned by cars, trucks, and airplanes. According to the article, if this process is pursued we could develope enough fuel from algae to meet the transportation needs of the entire United States! Wouldn’t that be WONDERFUL! I found an article on the Internet regarding the same story, you can read it by clicking here. They also have a video about it, you can watch that by clicking here.

Greetings

Mary Anne — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 04:44:51 +0000

I have a very large family due to deaths, divorces, and remarriages. I have two sisters and five brothers who’ve pretty much all married and had kids. So I have a lot of nieces, nephews, and cousins to consider as family members! I’m married, so I have in-laws as my extended family! And for some reason, my family looks to me to keep track of who has what special occasion when. So for several years now at the beginning of a month I email out reminders as to who is having what special occasion that month. In addition, I US mail out greetings to mark those occasions. You can imagine that I send out a lot of birthday cards during the year!

It really works

Mary Anne — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 02:51:58 +0000

I like this automatic shower cleaner a lot. It does a good job of keeping the shower clean, if the user remembers to turn it on and use it after they shower!

Here is how it is supposed to work: You put batteries in it, and put a bottle of cleaner in it. After you get out of the shower, you press the blue button on the unit. It beeps between fifteen and twenty times, then it dispenses the cleansing fluid in a fine spray that rotates around the shower stall.

The only problem that I’ve had with this product is that twice now, after having the product for a short time, (while it is still under warranty) it stops working. It will beep, but it won’t dispense the cleansing fluid. So that has been a source of aggravation for me.

To the company’s credit, however, I have emailed them regarding this situation, and they have sent me a coupon for a free replacement shower cleaner. The next time I go shopping, I will pick up a new one.

My sister wants to start a new business

Mary Anne — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 07:35:58 +0000

About three months ago, my sister told me that she wants to start a new business with her hubby. They have been participating in selling in flea markets for many years, and think that they have found a niche that would be successful in a retail environment.

The biggest problem in starting any business is financing. It is hard to start up a business, you need capital. The best way to have capital is to have rich relatives that are willing to “front” you money, but that is NOT the case with our family! Those that have the money are unwilling to part with it.

So, that leaves Small Business Loans. Most banks require detailed business plans, tax returns, and lots of documentation. I took a lot of business courses in college, and I have run a small business myself, and I know what a lot of difficult work that is!

Incredible rechargeable flashlight

Mary Anne — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:49:36 +0000

My brother loves to collect gadgets. He is always spending his disposable income on the latest and greatest gadget he can find. He came over today to show off his new flashlight that he just bought over the Internet. This new flashlight that he bought is a LED flashlight that is rechargeable, requires no batteries, and runs for an hour on just one charge.
What a showoff he is!

Cool conversion software

Mary Anne — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 03:17:46 +0000

My kids have been telling me that they found a website that converts audio and video files from one format to another. They said it is a new program that is quick and easy to use, and that the company is offering a free trial download of the program. They lost me when they started talking about video encoding. I’m embarrassed to say I don’t even know what video encoding is! I feel so old!

Modern bedroom furniture

Mary Anne — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 12:03:51 +0000

Modern Bedroom Furniture is what my niece says she wants for her new apartment. She is moving out of her parents’ house for the first time in a few months, and she is looking for modern furniture for her new place. She came over yesterday to rummage around my basement and see if I had any “hand me down” furniture items she could have. She says her biggest hope for her Modern Bedroom Furniture is to have a really great Modern Platform Bed.

She says she has been looking at furniture from the eroomservice.com website and has found several different platform beds that she likes a lot. She hasn’t yet made up her mind which one she wants, but has narrowed it down to four favorites. She said that the website sells some really nice bedroom sets and that she is trying to decide whether to buy the complete set, or just the bed and then try to do some mix and match with the rest of the bedroom furniture.

She found a couple of modern lamps in my basement that she liked that I wasn’t using – my house isn’t decorated in the modern style, and these lamps were given to me by a friend. I told her she was welcome to take them, and she was thrilled.

Outlet store vs discount store

Mary Anne — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 18:40:14 +0000

I was reading an article on Businessweek’s website that was talking about how a lot of the big “snob” companies like Sak’s Fifth avenue is opening more outlet stores, in the hopes that they will attract more customers to the outlet store’s lower prices. The article confused me a little bit because I had read many years ago that “outlet stores” were not necessarily a “discount store” and that when people shop at outlet stores looking for a “bargain” they usually are not really getting a “bargain.” What they are often getting are closeouts, over-runs, or factory seconds.

After I had learned that “outlet stores” were really not “discount” stores I pretty much avoided them. So now I’m wondering if “outlet” stores are changing their strategy and really ARE offering bargains now!

Sun shield for my car

Mary Anne — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 08:25:28 +0000

When we bought my Lumina I told my hubby that one of the first things I wanted to buy for it was a quality sun shield for the windshield. I bought a “universal” sun shield at my local big box discount department store but it does not fit well and keeps falling down. But this week I finally smartened up and realized that I can not just put my visors down to help keep it in place, but I can take them out of their little holder brackets and put them down at an angle, and that works perfectly!

Maple syrup shortage?

Mary Anne — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 18:44:08 +0000

I remember reading last year that there is a maple syrup shortage from Canada that is effecting the price of food. I did not realize that Canada makes 80% of the world’s maple syrup! Many consumers have been switching to maple syrup as a sweetener in their baking products so the demand for maple syrup has been increasing. Canada had a mild spring this year, which lowered their maple syrup production. New England, however, had a banner year and had lots of maple syrup.

As I was reading this story I found myself wondering why it took so long for this story about Canada having a mild spring (effecting the maple syrup supply) to enter the news media – their spring was six months ago for crying out loud!

And I was surprised to learn that so much syrup came from Canada because when I buy maple syrup at the store it always says it was from a New England state!

I wonder how the supply is this year!

Shark steamer cleaner

Mary Anne — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 15:22:35 +0000

I like it – it works well. I saw it advertised on television a few months ago and I ordered it. That’s unusual for me; I don’t usually buy things I see advertised on television! It was pricey, but it really does clean the floor very well. I have put away my regular mop and don’t plan to use that again!