I want my iPod and I want it now!

I am a huge iPod fan. I am also a fan of collecting new music that is not on the radio and giving new bands a break. Which is why I am updating my music collection so when I get my iPod (and can afford to buy it after the holidays) I will be all ready to go.

I am also a marketer and am entering all the contests I can to win an iPod! I love listening to my cable company's music channels commercial free and hearing cool, new bands. I think we are going to witness a huge change in the music industry and how people carry their music around. I still can't believe there are entire companies out there that just sell iPod accessories. I need to find a hot trend and jump on it sooner next time! Rock on, peace out.

www.apple.com
Did you know you can get free personalization on iPods? I have ordered two for my company trade show giveaways. It's pretty cool. Put your name on it so you know it's yours!

Top 5 Free Things to Do at Disney World

I married into a Disney family from Florida. They have a time share there so we have the luxury of visiting and staying at Disney for "free". Although we have this nice benefit, it has also been fun to experience Disney World from a frequent traveler perspective. My in-laws have stayed at all the resorts for years and have done it all. So what do we like to do for fun and FREE as we spend a week a year there to keep things interesting? (We also have park hopper passes and you can get those in multi-day increments that don't expire - it's recommended)

5) Walk the Disney Boardwalk, especially at night. It is just like the Jersey Coast. Games, taffy, people walking, noises, it can't get better than that unless you are at the real Shore.
4) Swim in the Yacht & Beach Club sand bottom pool. It is stricter now with wrist bands, but go after 5 and in the off season and you shouldn't have a problem. The water slide rocks!
3) Visit the Wilderness Lodge. Walk around the coolest real life Lincoln Logs building I've ever seen.
2) Ride the boats. From the park to resorts, from resorts to Marketplace village. Wherever. Free boat rides!
1) Take the monorail and do your own resort tour. Ride the monorail and visit each resort on it. Experience Hawaii at the Polynesian. Visit the gameroom at the Contemporary. Breathe in the splendor of the fresh flowers in the entrance of the amazing Grand Floridian. Ride in the front car and learn from the driver all about Disney.

There is so much to do and see there. It really is nicer when you stay on site. And a great place on a budget is the All Star Resorts.

Official Web Site
http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/wdw/index?bhcp=1

Disney Tips, Discounts
http://www.mousesavers.com/

More free and cheap things to do at Disney World
http://www.mousesavers.com/freestuff.html

Green Day takes over the earth. And why it is a good thing.

I saw Green Day last night and I'm born again. I was a big fan of theirs before I saw them live, and I admit I was entranced when I saw them perform on last year's VMA's, but until I saw them last night live, I wasn't truly aware of their awesome talent, energy and skill.

One of my favorite bands to emerge since my college days, they have risen above the one hit wonder bands of the early 90s and created their own earned space in music history as one of the most talented bands out there. I am in awe of them and I hope that they continue to give us what we want and need - music that not only provokes me to move, but also moves me to feel and think. You guys rock. Thanks for the memories in college, and for giving me therapeutic relief last night from my real life. I look forward to many more fun times moving ahead.

My daughter was doing the air drums with me just today in the car to the amazing American Idiot album. I am already educating my next generation on music that rocks and has true value. I love you Billie Joe! Keep on rocking in the free world!

Technology moment #452 happened at the concert last night - there was a glow during the ballad for September and I was like, cool, where did everyone get the glow sticks? Wrong. The kids are using their cell phones now in place of old school lighters. I'm officially old. Fortunately, my pal Leslie had an old school lighter so we represented our generation in full force. :) Do you have the time to listen to me wine...

http://www.greenday.com/greenday.html

http://www.mtv.com/onair/vma/2005/index.jhtml#/onair/vma/2005/nominees/category.jhtml?cat=528 Vote for Green Day for the VMAs!

http://www.greenday.net/

http://www.echoica.net/brainstew/

http://www.greendayauthority.com/index.shtml

http://www.mtv.com/bands/az/green_day/artist.jhtml

http://www.greendaymusic.com/

http://www.greendayvideos.com/

State of child care in the US Where is our money going?

After deep consideration and concern, I am currently in the process of moving my daughter from one daycare to another. Due to high turnover and lack of proper management among other things, my current daycare facility has totally changed in a year and a half and is no longer an acceptable and safe establishment to keep her in.

And as working parents, we are paying pretty hefty fees to have our kids in daycare. My friends and family are also having similar issues with their childcare centers and we have all learned that you have to manage the daycare center and stay on top of things. this is our child! There are babysitters there not even paying attention to the kids in the room when we pick her up. They are talking to each other through the door. They are not putting sunscreen on our kids when they go outside although we signed a form specifying that they do it. I could go on. My friend's son had bruises on his head two days in a row with no report or knowledge of what happened. It's scary.

Why can't the owners pay benefits for the teachers? It is one of the hardest jobs on earth. I don't know if I could do it. Also, why can't they pay them more to keep them? Her best teachers have come and gone to better places. I do feel bad leaving one daycare to another but why am I feeling bad? They are the ones who couldn't keep their commitment as a respectable daycare center. They are the ones losing multitudes of families due to lack of responsibility and proper management. Then why do I feel guilty? Because it is a relationship and these people are my daughter's caretakers when I'm not there. But I am starting her on Monday at a new school with more structure and a better learning environment.

I tried to research these centers on the Internet and was surprised that parents basically cannot find out if complaints are made on a center unless a formal report is written, meaning it has to be a really bad injury or negligence before a center's record is marked. Parents have a right to know what is going on, good or bad, in their center. Owners owe it to everyone to communicate and build a relationship with their community. Parents talk. Rumors can be worse that the truth. Oh well. I am done venting. Onward and upward I say.

To moms out there looking for resources, check out your state division for licensed daycare - they do have reports from site monitoring visits. Know that daycare centers are franchised, so one can be excellent and the other sub-par but have the same brand name. But also please talk to parent with kids at the school, talk to others in the community and do as much homework as you can. And even if everything looks good, things can change quickly, so stay on top of your center and be sure to get involved so you know your child is in the best care he/she can be. Follow your instincts and if you don't feel right about leaving your child there anymore, then don't.

http://www.decal.state.ga.us/ Child care licensing reports in Georgia

http://www.daycare.com/georgia/ Georgia licensing standards for day care centers

http://nrc.uchsc.edu/ National Resource Center for Health and Safety in Child Care

Georgia

Tommy Lee has a new single...and I like it. Yikes!

Yes, I liked the Crue in the 80s in high school. Anyone with any knowledge of piano keys had to know how to play home sweet home to get any cred in my age group. I was driving home from work today and I heard a neat summer - sounding new single on a top-40 Atlanta radio station. I even listed to find out who it was, so I know I liked it in retrospect.

Well crap. I heard the artist and almost drove off the road. Good Times by Tommy Lee. What???? Who?????It's Tommy frickin' Lee's new single on his album! I didn't even know he sang. It is really pretty catchy. I don't know why I'm more upset. That I feel duked that Tommy made a song that I like because I think he's not a singer, just a drummer plus the fact of his tabloid past, Pam, tattoos, the video, etc. I could go on. But then I have to remind myself that Dave Grohl was iin the background in Nirvana and he emerged in the music scene as a lead singer and is really talented.

Although I don't think Tommy is as talented as cool Dave, he just earned some respect on my part! Maybe I'm partly shocked but happily surprised. Mr. Tattoo drummer upside-down has some talent! Rock on. Crue out. you surprise me, mr. lee!

http://www.tommylee.tv/

http://www.joysmayhem.com/

http://umusic.ca/tommylee/index.php

http://www.vh1.com/artists/az/lee_tommy/artist.jhtml

http://www.vh1.com/artists/az/lee_tommy/artist.jhtml No Wedding Bells for pam and tommy

http://www.foofighters.com/

http://www.mtv.com/bands/az/foo_fighters/artist.jhtml

http://members.tripod.com/~ultim8_foof/

Reasons Why Cousins Rule

What an appropriate weekend to have my sister and her kids over for a weekend visit. It's the opening of the Dukes of Hazzard movie remake! Not that we compare directly with it, we are northerners, they are southerners. We know the war was won, they don't. Haa haa.

Other than that, the neat comparison for pop culture is that family and cousins rule. It is so neat seeing my daughter play with her cousins. As a current only child, she absolutely adores her cousins and cannot wait to see them so she can play with them and they can run through the kitchen with reckloss abandon. Now if that isn't a literary term, I don't know what is. Anyhoo, I just wanted to put a note in my blog about how cool it is to have close family nearby for fun visits to bring out the childlike wonder in all of us.

My nephew absolutely had a fab time with kayaking, jet skiing, boating and riding on a ski biscuit. It has been so neat to watch him grow up and experience the lake life. Although he has few words, I know he is so excited and happy to be here. And my niece and daughter visited and chatted away like long lost friends. It is good to see my sister and I know I need to visit her more as it seems she visits us here more. She is such a good mom and works so hard. We need to visit them next.

Well I must run. Here are some neat family links for keeping in touch.

http://www.kodakgallery.com/Welcome.jsp Post Albums free and email to your friends

http://www2.warnerbros.com/dukesofhazzard/ Official Movie site

http://www.dukesonline.com/

http://www.cootersplace.com/

Peek into the world of Pop Culture Gossip Blogs

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Small Business Marketing Help is Here

Jen Marketing is a great resource for small businesses looking for part time marketing help. Available on a project basis, this company is an extension to your marketing team without the overhead. If you are a small business owner and are handling all the marketing, it might be time to seek out some help!

http://www.jenmarketing.com

There are also some great small business and marketing, advertising and PR links as well.

Small business equals owner doing all of the work, in all of the departments, which equals exhaustion. Because you have work to do. Let's get started. Jen Marketing.

Water safety for jet skis - Lake Lanier, GA

Today while taking our friends and their kids out on our pontoon boat, we were approached by a teenage boy on a jet ski yelling for help. We followed him to another jet ski where two kids fell off and the second jet ski had hit the girl while in the water. We transported the injured girl and the kids to the public boat dock where an ambulance and fire truck met us after a 911 call. The girl, 15, has 6 broken ribs, a punctured lung and a lacerated liver. She was lucky.

Please remember to exercise caution and stay at least 50 feet away from other watercraft. The person that hit her was her brother, and he was devastated. She will be in the hospital for a week and should fully recover.

Please be careful out there.

Personal Watercraft Boating Rules Lake Lanier, GA
http://www.georgiaoutdoors.com/watersports/PWC.asp

Harry Potter and Reading like PB&J

It's amazing what Harry Potter has contributed to our recent reading phenomenom. It's proof that a good story can compel anyone to read, even those who have not historically read before - adults and kids alike. This story and the DaVinci Code propelled my husband from non-reader to sometime reader, and I'm thrilled.

Good job Scholastic, JK Rowling and all those excellent authors out there and future ones with a story in their heads. Dream big and keep writing!

Harry Potter
The official site of Harry Potter! Movie trailers, film clips, behind the scenes at Hogwarts. JK Rowlings' wizards and witches.
http://harrypotter.warnerbros.com

JKRowling Official Site - Harry Potter and more
Official site about the author and the Harry Potter books. Includes book rumours, biography, movie information, FAQs, news, and links.
http://www.jkrowling.com

Scholastic.comHarry Potter
Go inside the best-selling series to learn more about Harry Potter and his world through wizarding games, a discussion chamber where you can share ideas.
http://www.scholastic.com/harrypotter/home.asp

MuggleNet.com The ULTIMATE Harry Potter Site
Features interactive forums, Potter profiles, and information about the books and the http://movie.www.mugglenet.com/

The Official Web Site of Bestselling Author Dan Brown
The Official Web Site of Bestselling Author Dan Brown, author of the novels Digital Fortress, Angels and Demons and Deception Point. Dan Brown is published.
http://www.danbrown.com

Tom Cruise is Nuts

I just heard about this web site and it's classic.

http://www.tomcruiseisnuts.com/home.php

Where are the Saturday morning cartoons?

How do? Bugs Bunny, Speed Racer, the Wonder Twins, the Banana Splits, Captain Caveman, the Laugh Olympics, Schoolhouse Rock. Where are they now? All I see on Saturday mornings now are mediocre cartoons filling in the slots that once had creativity, music and comedy rolled in to one wonderful short.

I bought the Looney Tunes DVD set and it's great. I have yet to find the Laugh Olympics and I think there is a Mickey Mouse one out now, but it's sad that our children can't share in the great memories of our childhoods if they had to depend on what is aired on TV today.

Bring them back! You won't be sorry!

Looney Tunes
www.looneytunes.com

Ed's 10 Best Saturday Morning Cartoons List
http://www.cinemapprentice.com/potpourripocrypha--Cartoons--ED.htm

Saturday Morning: Cartoons' Greatest Hits
http://home.earthlink.net/~jenolen/cartoons.htm

80sCartoons.net
http://www.80scartoons.net/

TV Party
http://www.tvparty.com/vaultcomsat.html
http://www.tvparty.com/dvdC.html

Saturday morning cartoons trivia - but this in your back pocket!
http://wso.williams.edu:8000/orgs/trivia/smedley/hours/cartoonsans.html

Remember When?
http://www.marriedinminnesota.com/2005/06/remember-when.html

Feeling Retro
http://www.feelingretro.com/cartoons.cfm

Class of 1989

I just had my high school girlfriends and their families visit for an overdue reunion. I have come to the realization that good girlfriends are hard to find the older you get.That is why I am so thankful to have the friends that I have found in high schoool and college. We can always pick up where we left off, even if we haven't talked in months. That is the sign of a true friend. We rocked out to old Prince, Echo and the Bunnymen, Meatloaf, Grease, you name it. And who else can you act like an entire idiot with (drunk or sober) and they still love you for it? :) That said, here are some great web sites about friendships formed in school and college. Rock on, my sisters. You rule. We have come so far from the BK Lounge, yet so much remains the same.

Riverside High School
http://www.greenville.k12.sc.us/rsidehs/

Classmates
http://www.classmates.com

Save Ferris - The 80s Server
http://www.80s.com/saveferris/frames.html

The John Hughes Files
http://www.riverblue.com/hughes/

We are the children of the 80s
http://www.tc.umn.edu/~hahn0053/

80s tees
http://www.80stees.com/

In the 80s - 80s trivia questions
http://www.inthe80s.com/mtvtriv.shtml

80s music lyrics
http://www.80smusiclyrics.com/

Don't Wake a Sleeping Baby

My daughter was up at 5:00 am today ready for the world. She had her balloon and was gold. After a few hours of mischief and cereal, she went back to sleep at 7:30 am. I took a nice hot shower and rejoiced. Now we have to go to work and daycare and I don't want to wake her! Yikes. I wish I could be a stay at home mom. This work stuff keeps getting in the way of my life. There has got to be a better way!

So as I ponder waking her and thinking of a million dollar idea, here is my favorite baby resource web site:

www.babycenter.com

Do all moms feel as guilty as I do?

Yard Sale Sign to End All Yard Sales

I am a law abiding citizen and I live in a lake community. It may be an oxymoron, but we have a variety of people in the neighborhood.

Here is the latest news from our subdivision in Forsyth County, GA.

I am not one to point out other people's dirty laundry, but when they air it for everyone to see, I had to take a picture and send it to my friends and family. Regardless of how our neighborhood looks after it, a picture is worth a thousand words. And my husband keeps asking me what "fodder" is - this is truly fodder. Enjoy!


A Saturday in Forsyth County, GA
Sign #1 - Cheating Man's Stuff 4 Sale
Sign #2 (after cheating man rips Sign #1 down according to an eyewitness) Scorned Woman Selling Cheating Man's Stuff

Abe Froman, Sausage King of Chicago.

Abe.

Heaven on Earth! 

The Cubs - Red Sox Series - Amazing

My husband and I went to the Cubs - Red Sox game last weekend with friends and family. What an amazing event. The energy in the crowd was electric. From the midway airport to the jam-packed elle, the fans were all adorned in Cubs and Red Sox jerseys, hats and other licensing adornments. My husband made fast friends with fellow Red Sox nation and I was at home with the Cubs crowd. High fives were made all around as our favorite teams played each other for the first time since 1918.

I even saw Abe Froman, the Sausage King of Chicago at Wrigley Field! With an Old Style in my hand and a toast to my grandpa in heaven, it was a day I will cherish forever.

See Paris Die and other thoughts on being a Hilton.

I married into a Hilton family. I was very happy to have an easier last name - I thought, I won't have to spell it out or explain it at all. Boy was I wrong. Now this namesake is carrying something special. People just love to make jokes and ask if I am one of The Hiltons. I wish I could answer "No, slutty mc hoho is not my cousin, sister or distant relative. I wish she would stop trashing the family name." Instead, I politely smile and say "No, I'm not. I wish I had the bank account but not the scandal." Now I'm ready to gather all of the other Hiltons in the world and start a backlash. I already ordered my "See Paris Die" House of Wax t-shirt and wear it with pride. It reminds me of the poor guy named Michael Bolton in Office Space. "Why should I change my name? He's the one who sucks." I agree. Rock on, Hiltons of the world. Fight the power.

http://www.shopkitson.com For those with money

http://www.ebay.com For those with less

http://www.ebaumsworld.com/officespace.html Office Space sound board

http://www.socialitelife.com/

A list celebrities and their fake dates

I was trying really hard to avoid this topic but with the media screaming about certain new couples, it kills me to think that the studios think the general public is as gullible as it used to be.

First of all, with access to gossip columns online and everywhere, I find it surprising that people are still in the dark with certain celebs and their romance claims.

Secondly, I really don't care what their preferences are, but don't play the general public out to be fools anymore.

With War of the Worlds and Batman releasing, it's no surprise there was a big PR spin there with two stars I will not name. Plus, the male star is battling gay rumors for over a decade and supposedly had "try outs" for his new girlfriend. Nice.

And let's chat about the actress who recently married the supposedly gay country singer. They have only been dating what, about a month?

Oh well. This is the business and these are the times that try men's souls. I hope that these people are happy at the end of their day. Money can't buy love or public admiration.

Watch the meltdown:
http://www.tvgasm.com/archives/miscellaneous_tv/000824.php

http://www.tvgasm.com/archives/miscellaneous_tv/000829.php

I used to like him, now he just freaks me out.