Getting the Creative Juices Flowing

Hey there.  You know... it's been awhile since I wrote any poetry or composed a short story.  I remember a time, back during my elementary and JR high school days, where I would spend most of my free time writing.  Whether it be some pretty half assed poem or a quickly written story.  It was something that I liked to do during my free time and it's a skill that has definitely been placed on the back burner, along with writing music, drawing, and other things.  Well, I saw a pic of a friend today and captioned that she was handling her very first short story.  She commented on how she has these ideas but never had a chance to get them on paper.  That seems to be my story as well.

Well... actually... I do start some of them, but never had the time to finish them.  I've gotten to the point where I had the story planned out, I've had the characters mapped out, and I've actually had a chapter or two finished, but I never got over the hump of actually finishing the damn thing.  Well... this time I'm determined to get it done.  There are no excuses as to why it can't be accomplished.  No more are writers bound to pencil and paper.  There are laptops, computers, and mobile software that allows the potential poets and authors of the future to get those ideas written before they are lost to obscurity.  It's happened to me many times before where an idea comes to me but is gone before I've had a chance to write it down.

Today, I feel inspired.  I'll be posting a poem later today and hopefully, get started on a new story.  Starting from scratch.  We'll see how this goes.  Thanks D!  Later!

Lagging It

Hey there.  I've been lagging behind on posts.  I haven't had a ranking post in 2 weeks, I'm letting Funny Friday come and go today.  I'm just dropping a quick post to say that I've been busy... AS IN BUSY!!!  I've been up past midnight working on Mario Bros. decorations for the past month and half and the part is tomorrow and I'm still finishing them up.  I can't wait for Sunday... when there will be no need for cutting, measuring, coloring, pasting, painting, or any of that good stuff.  But you know what... It will be all worth it when it's set up.  If I'm not caught up in the moment, I'll take pics of it all and post them here.  Until then.  Later!

Youtube Video Hits

Hey there.  I've been playing around with the idea of posting Youtube videos that I create on this site.  Now... I'm all for the idea, but I'm concerned with how the view counter on youtube works.  If I embed a video here and someone watches it, will that view register with Youtube?  Hmmm...  I need to find that out.  Not that it matters a great deal but I want to be able to accurately see if my videos are being seen or not.  I do have a Youtube channel but just a mere 3 videos on it and they were done to test out some features here on Metallman's Reverie or the features on my phone.  I've been wanting to create some original stuff to embed but I want to assure myself that when I'm testing out this new material, the view counter will be accurate. 

It's still an idea that is in it's infant stage and I'm open to suggestions as to what would be in these videos.  Stupid stunts?  Funny jokes? (nah, that's why we have Funny Fridays)  "Metallman" sings the classics?  Answer questions a la Old Spice Guy? (which I think is great!)  I don't know.  I need to find the content that is right for me that would work in this segment.  I still need to put some more thought into that.  Until then... later!

Time for a Template Change

Hey there. I think I'm going to make a few changes to this template. Nothing too drastic, but I'm not to thrilled at the way it looks. I am thinking of getting one professionally made, but I'm going to take a crack at it myself before I go that route. I already have a twitter friend in mind that does an awesome job and if you want to check out some of her work, you can check that out at her site, Blogging Bella Designs. Now... time to get to work. Later!

Earn a Year Long Subscription of TrainingVOD ($399 value) and Improve Your Business

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of TrainingVOD. All opinions are 100% mine.

Hey there friends.  I'm made comments before how my blog, Metallman's Reverie, is now considered a small business.  I think it's great, but like all small businesses... I need to make sure that I'm on top of my game to protect and grow my business.  With more exposure comes increased critique and you want to put the best product out there when dealing with potential sponsors and clients.  This is where TrainingVOD has been an irreplaceable ally. 

With over 50 years of presentation experience (ranging from classrooms to fortune 500 companies), TrainingVOD gives you the look and feel of in person training in the form of 10 minute videos.  If put it in perspective, there are 7 minutes in between commercials when you watch TV so these videos are streamlined towards the common consumer.  By keeping things tactical instead of story based, the videos are perfect in giving us the information we need and how to apply those skills.

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I'm currently a subscriber to the "Business Skills" set of videos (197 courses) and I must confess that the courses are definitely for the average Joe.  There is no fancy gimmicks in the videos and they definitely feel as if actual trainers made these and not graphic artists.  If I can "get it" within 10 minutes, I don't see why no one else can.  With that being said, who wants in on TrainingVOD and learn the skills to improve your business and improve your skills of being a leader? That's right, my good friends at TrainingVOD has offered one of my readers a full year of the "Business Skills" set of courses and videos for free. FOR FREE! That $399 worth of training for free when fortune 500 businesses are paying up to a $1000 for similar training DVDs.All you have to do is leave a comment telling me how these videos would be beneficial to you.  That's it.  A simple comment and you're in the sweepstakes.  On August 1st, I will announce the winner among the comments (chosen by random.org) and provide them with instructions on how to obtain their free year subscription. 

Good luck to all you friends and don't forget to check out this quick tour of TrainingVOD.  http://www.trainingvod.com/content/tour It's just a taste of how to improve your business and leadership skills.  Later!

And the Writing Slump Continues

Hey there.  I'm still stuck in a writing slump...  I'm not so sure what's up.  I have Metallman's Reverie set up as my home page (cause I'm a little vain like that.  lol) and I see the site daily, but I just can't seem to find the will to write a new post.  I'm hoping this wave of uselessness passes by me soon.  I haven't been able to do much of quality content in a while and I'm not happy about that.  Later!

I Apparently Was A Jerk to my Future Wife when we First Met Club

Hey there. The ideas rush in, but you don't know, or simply can't put them down on paper... That's where I stand right now. I don't go several days without posting something, but I've found myself doing it more and more this past month. I don't know if it's because I'm not spending as much time on my site as I have in the past or because I over think my posts. I have many things that I would like to write about, yet I can't seem to find the way to express them. A friend's wedding on a boat this weekend was a cool event. Blogging gold for most, yet I can't find the right set of words to express that experience to the world. If anything, I do want to congratulate the groom for joining a pretty prestigious group of husbands. Welcome to the "I apparently was a jerk to my future wife when we first met" club.

When I heard the story during the wedding, I laughed to myself and I got a look from the wife. Similar story, slightly different situation. Nevertheless groom, you were a jerk in your bride's eye and that label will forever stick with you til your dying day. lol So right now, the club has two members, you and I... but I'm sure that wives across the world are saying that club members should be in the millions. Tell me your "jerk" stories. Here's mine.

When I first started working at my place of employment and met my wife, I was new to the office game. Never really worked in an office environment before (filing doesn't count) and I was still working my way on learning how to use the equipment. One day, while out at the copier... I was struggling to make what seemed to be a million copies. My soon to be wife approached me and asked if I needed help with the copier. And that point in time, I gathered all the romance in body and said, "I think I know how to use the copier." Bam! Sparks flying everywhere... So much so that the soon to be wife had to leave the room it was soooo electric! lmao! So yeah, I got the cold shoulder and the silent treatment for the next couple of weeks, if not months, but before you know it, we were on speaking terms again, living together, and then married.

Yup, that's MY jerk story. Would love to hear yours. Until then, later!

PS Congrats you two! Wish you guys nothing but the best!!!

Top Commentators for the Month of May

Hey there. Thanks for all you guys that stop by to read and comment on the nonsense that I post on a somewhat daily basis. I missed more than a few days in May but that didn't stop the comments from coming. For those of you not familiar, I run a monthly contest here were the top 3 commentators receive a cash prize (via PayPal) for leaving relevant comments. $5 USD for the #1 spot and $2.50 USD for the remaining 2. So, let's get to it!

$5.00 - Silvergirl
$2.50 - Enigmageek
$2.50 - Alison

Congrats, guys!  You win money!  You also get a month free on my blogroll so you'll get additional exposure for you site/blog.  Keep the comments coming friends and you too can be $5.00 or $2.50 dollars richer!  lol  Later!

Took the Long Weekend Off

Hey there.  I stepped away from my online duties for the whole weekend off, which has it's good and bad sides.  Good because I needed to step away from a computer and not do any additional work during the holiday and bad because I know I missed out on several opportunities to increase my potential income.  Even my Twitter messages were extremely limited.  But, eh.  I needed to break so I decided to take it.  I will also post my top commentator winners later today and dish out some cash prizes so check back later in the day for that.  I'll have the rules for that in the post if you're new to the site. 

This long weekend had it's highs and lows.  I hung out with my bro on Friday to catch Boston take down the Magic.  I was expecting more fight from the Magic but they just didn't have it in them to take down a strong, veteran team in the Celtics.  I also was able to score on a new XBOX 360 for roughly $70!  Mine crapped out on my long ago and I grew weary of having to "fix" it every couple of weeks.  I just didn't want to do it anymore.  I plan on selling the parts on Ebay to make up some of the cash.  Anyways, since I'm part of this panel that takes online surveys and I cashed in my virtual money for GameStop gift cards and I was able to get a pretty damn sweet deal on an XBOX 360.  So I took advantage and grabbed the one that came with 2 free games.  The kids definitely missed it.  They immediately turned it on and started to play RockBand and Guitar Hero!  I as glad we got one cause now I can play FFXIII!!!

On Saturday,  we planned on checking out the neighborhood fair.  You know, the ones that they set up in the middle of the street that take up blocks of the neighborhood.  What we didn't count on was it being so damn hot.  Then it didn't help that the wife and I were in the middle of a "tiff" so we said screw it and went home.

Sunday was upsetting.  I did get to put in a few hours of FFXIII so that's a plus.  But as the day dragged on... we started to feel a little on the lazy side.  Being Sunday, we figured we'd just stay home and relax.  Then we remember that my mother was having some birthday "ice cream and cake" for her daughter.  It's just ice cream and cake, we figured so we'd go for an hour or so and then come home.  Well... it turned out to be more than that.  When we arrive, we see the grill on... oh man... this is going to be a "thing".  Once we get in the house, my mother says to me that my cousin is going to the store and that I should go with him.  He's only going to get some meat and chips to grill...  well... my mother decided that it's going to be a party type thing so as my cousin and I are at the store, we stocked up on chips soda, beer, meat, veggies, and all kinds of foods for the guests.  At this point, I was upset...  I called my mother and snapped at her for having all kinds of people over for "cake and ice cream" when it was just going to be "us".  She says to me, "Well, it's not like you were just going to come to sing happy birthday and then leave."  To which I replied, "Yes, actually, I was.  I wasn't even going to come today but I figured it was going to be quick."  I hang up and offer to pay for some of the stuff my cousin got cause quite frankly, it sucks that my mother sent my cousin to the store to pay for her party stuff.  So we got back, grilled it up, ate, drank, and hung out some.  A one our trip to my mother's turned out to be closer to 5 hours...  It was cool to see some of my aunt's, cousin's, and their little ones, so I'm not too upset about that, but I was peeved at the way the mother handled the whole thing....  Especially when she already has a birthday party planned for the following weekend!

On Monday, we try the fair thing again.  But this time, we wait until late afternoon, early evening before we head out.  The kids got on some rides, they won some stuffed animals and we enjoyed us some funnel cake.  All good stuffs that fairs have to offer.  lol  All in all, an enjoyable night.

As a bonus... we took the kids to see Shrek Forever After (or whatever it's called) in 3D.  I don't think I've even paid over $60 to take the family to see a film!  The 3D was pretty cool, but the movie simply isn't as good as the original.  Actually, all of the Shrek movies have diminished in quality since the first one.  Nevertheless, it did have it's moments and overall an enjoyable film.  If you guys have kids, definitely go and check it out.

So that was my weekend, friends.  How was yours?

You’re Invited to Experience Project Natal with Cirque Du Soleil‏

Hey there. Whoo hoo! I've been invited to the "unveiling" of XBOX's Project Natal. How bad ass is that? I received an Email from XBOX Live stating that I was on of the lucky few to be chosen to attend the event and that I can bring up to 4 people with me. I wasted absolutely no time to confirm my attendance. lmao I'm sure that our son will be the most excited to check it out since he's expressing a strong interest in gaming the way I did as kid (and to an extent, now) so this would be a cool event event to check out as a family.

For the those of you that are not familiar with "Project Natal", it's the latest in gaming technology. Many of use have enjoyed video games and have used all sorts of gaming controls. Simple ones with only a few buttons to monstrous ones with more buttons than our fingers can navigate through. Project Natal claims to be the first to be a "controllerless" system. Or in other words... You're body is the controller. How it works, I'm still not sure but while other systems, such as the Wii and PS3, offer motion sensor controllers, the XBOX 360 is taking it a step further by eliminating the controllers and have you use hand gestures and body motions to control the action. Sounds pretty high tech stuff and it's going to be great to be able to witness it in action first hand! Until then... Later!

You Gotta See This Contest Winners

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Incendia Health. All opinions are 100% mine.

Hey there friends.  Most people that I know do not have perfect vision.  They either have glasses or wear contacts.  I, myself, wear glasses all day, everyday.  I can't see a thing without them... and it frustrates me when I don't have them on, because, well.... I'm blind as a bat without them.  I've even contemplating getting the LASIK procedure done. I've wondered how my different my life could be by having near perfect vision. I'm not the only one who wondered and thanks to the iLASIK Video Contest, I've been able to see what others have thought of having their life changed by LASIK.

The iLASIK Video Contest is now over, so you can't submit your own video, but you can still check out the contest winners here. My personal favorite being the “Contacts Stink” video.

I'm still debating on whether or not the procedure is for me. I'm in my late 20s and I don't know if my vision will continue a slow decline or if it will finally hit a plateau. I'll talk it over with the wife some more to get a better feel of what we think is best. I know I'm not the only one contemplating this, as evidenced by all the videos that were entered in the contest! Until then, later!

Metallman's Reverie is a Business

Hey there.  I just recently found out that that my blog, Metallman's Reverie, is considered a business.  How great is that!  This site has existed for over 2 years now.  The first year was spent experimenting on writing styles that ranged from all sorts of topics.  It was also spent trying our many of the social media networks that welcomed personal blogs such as this one.  I also tapped into the stream of online revenue but was not very successful that first year.  And rightly so.  It takes time to build a name, an audience, and reputation as a dedicated blogger.  So for that first year, Metallman's online income was not very much.  However, year #2 is a different story.

It may not be an amount to live off of, but I managed to make over $1,000 last year in online revenue.  That averages out to under $100 a month, BUT it's good enough to pay a few bills and have some "fun" money to use.  Not bad for someone in their second year of blogging, no?  Once I received my tax forms and handled that whole process, I was advised that my blog is considered a business and it is allowed to have business expenses.  Who knew!  I surely didn't so I was advised that if I have certain expenses that my business needs, I would be allowed to deduct those for next year.

I'm actually excited about this.  First and foremost, because I'm a business owner.  My own boss!  Second, because I'm able to deduct certain expenses to reduce my tax bill next year.  Now, I still consider myself a rookie here.  I just starting my third year (Earlier this month) with this blog and it's the first time I encounter the "business expense" aspect of it all.  So I'm curious as to how it will work.  I was thinking out loud the other day with my wife and we came across certain items that may or not be considered business expenses.  If I were to get a laptop, would that be considered a business expense since I would use it to work on my site?  What about the FiOS internet that I use to log online?  Or my cell phone which I use to receive and respond to Emails in regards to my site?  I have plenty of questions and if you're on the experienced side of it all, I would love your input.  In the mean time, I'll just keep tabs of those expenses, just in case I'm able to chalk them up to, "Metallman's expenses".  =oD   Later!

I've Decided... I'm Going to Commnent!

Hey there. So, I've been on the fritz about commenting on my own blog. Not my own posts, since that would be kinda stupid. I mean commenting on my the comments you guys leave behind. I've seen some blogging friends that comment on each and every response, while others wait for a few before addressing them in their comments. I'm not sure which route I'll take just yet, but I figure that I need to be more involved with my readers. I've enjoyed reading the comments, but I don't see as much interaction as I would like. Maybe I'll add that "Email me" thing when an Email shoots out at you when you receive a response from your comment. But then again, I don't want to clutter you inbox with comment responses. Maybe I'll try it out for a bit and ask for feedback, but I'd would rather stay away from it since, let's be honest friends, we receive all kinds of stuff in our inboxes already. Especially if you're active in the "blogosphere". Pros and cons... Gotta weigh my options. Until then, later!

I Have an Issue with Spam Comments

Hey there.  One goal of writers everywhere is get feedback on their work.  Whether it be constructive criticism or a pat on the back.  As a blogger, I love to see comments.  It tells me that someone out there actually took the time to read the stuff I put up and was more than willing to throw their two cents in.  My problem?  Spam comments...  I HATE receiving Emails letting me know that I have received a comment but when I read it, it's completely unrelated to the post.  Case and point...  I started Funny Fridays here this past Friday.  I posted a video that I thought was pretty hilarious of people being punched (SNL skit).  Here's the gem of a comment that I received on that post:

"I was in college this was asked of my class, I said I would be "Legolas" from Lord of the Rings, another girl answered that she would be "Aweryn" from Lord of the Rings."

WTF?!?!?!  Someone please explain to me what people getting punched has to do with Lord of the Rings?  And that's not the only comment I received... If you browse through the comments of posts, you'll see some pretty long comments on unrelated crap.

The bad part is that Firefox will not allow me to delete the comments (for unknown reasons), but Internet Explorer will.  I refuse to use Internet Explorer...  I just can't go back to that atrocity of a web browser...  So my question to you, friends, is how can I eliminate, or at least minimize my spam comments?  Is there a widget?  Some kind of script that I should add?  Do I need to alter my blog template? I would rather get feedback from fellow bloggers to get a better understanding of how you guys get rid of or eliminate spam comments.  Suggestions?  Thanks.  Later!

Valentine's Day

Hey there.  Valentine's Day was this weekend and many of us were off buying our significant other stuff or celebrating in our own special way.  My wife decided to go to the gym that morning and I surprised her with a bouquet of purple roses and heart shaped french toast.  I know, I know...  I try.  lol  Later that day, we went off to see our godson.  We haven't seen him for a few years.  There's some issues between his parents and at the time he's living with his mother up north so it's a rare occurrence when he's in town.  So we spent most of the afternoon at Chuck E Cheese to spend some time with him.  Afterward, we dropped off our kids at my mother in laws and I took my wife out to dinner. 

I've been wanting to take my wife out to someplace fancy, but I fear that she may not like the cuisine.  I just don't see us hanging out having caviar and escargot with some wine.  lol  I just don't see us as that type of couple.  However, I would like to find a place that is considered "fancy" AND meet our culinary needs.  lol  Anyways, so I asked her where she would like to go and without hesitation she says Red Lobster.  Now...  I know that my wife cannot stand seafood so I know for a fact that it's not really a place she wants to go and it's more of a place that I would like to eat at.  I love me some seafood but it just doesn't seem fitting for Valentine's Day.  To appease her, we checked it out.  We walk in and I see a crowd.  Wow....  I ask the woman what the wait time is for two and lets me have it straight.  2 hours to 2 and half hours.  Oh man... Hell with that... we're not going to wait that long.  I guess I was wrong about it not being the spot for Valentine's Day, huh.  lol

So we hopped in the car and we decided to check out the Elephant Bar.  A restaurant that offers "exotic" cuisine.  Stuff from the orient, seafood, steaks, burgers ( I think) among other choices.  We've been to the Elephant Bar a handful of times and I can't quite remember what I've had there.  So I walk in and ask for the wait time for two.  An hour to and hour and 30 mins...  Not bad, I guess.  So I she takes my name and my wife and I decide to walk to the mall and get us some frozen yogurt.  I kid you not, the moment we stepped out, getting ready to return to the restaurant, that pager thingy that they hand out to you started lit up and started buzzing.  Oh crap!  We had to hurry to the restaurant to make sure they didn't give our table away cause we didn't answer the call.  What a way to spend part of your Valentine evening... running through a parking lot getting to the restaurant!

Once we were seated, we ordered our drinks and glanced at the menu.  I'll admit that I can be pretty blah when it comes to ordering food from a place that I'm not that familiar with but recently, I've been a bit bold and tried something new wherever we go.  My wife knew exactly what she wanted while I had to skim through the menu several times to find something that seemed enticing.  I was settled on some chicken something covered in mushroom sauce.  Look good, but never had it, so I decided to try it out.  At the last second, I changed it to a Philly cheese steak sandwich.  lol

After having a few laughs, enjoying our meal, and feeling slightly tipsy, we headed off to pick up our kids and head home.  Not too bad for a day where we told ourselves "no gifts".  =o)  My wife enjoyed her gifts of roses and two white bears sitting on a love seat and I love her gift to me, her 10 reasons why she loves me.  Check it out:

In honor of Valentine's day here are the top ten reasons I love my husband: 

1) His sense of humor-never fails to make me laugh my ass of. Even when I'm mad at him. 

2) His intelligence- it's so sexy. 

3) How he'll ask me to dance even if there's no music, he'll hum a tune.

4) That goofy voice he does when I'm upset or had a rough day all to make me laugh. 

5) How he tells me im beautiful when i wake up in the morning 

6) How he knows just what to say- baby you look tired, go take a nap I'll take care of dinner.

7) How he loves me even when I'm unlovable 

8) The origami flowers he leaves on my desk for me when i come out of a meeting. 

9) "Skittles" 

10) His butt lol 

I'm a VERY lucky girl =) 

I love you too babe.  Later!

Hitting the Gym

Hey there.  I started working out again.  As evidence by my belt, I've put on a few pounds since I've gotten with my wife.  I used to be a stick figure thin 118 lbs and I wasn't too happy about it.  Now, I'm sitting at 178 lbs which isn't so bad, considering that I'm 5'8.  But you know what... like I told my brother yesterday, I noticed my "guns" getting smaller and my gut getting bigger.  lol  I kid you not, friends.  There have been a few times where I'm sitting on the couch or whatever and the button on my pants snaps and flies across the room.  Yeah, you read that right... "a few" as in, more than once.  =o)  Now, I don't mind being bigger.  In fact, I like it.  I don't look sickly and the fact that I struggled to gain weight sucked.  I love all kinds of foods and I've always been one to eat until you're full.  This is mainly why I love buffets.  You need to put a lot of food in me to feel full. 

Well, a few weeks ago, when my wife and I started talking about renewing our gym membership, it got me thinking...  I'm a lot slower than I once was.  A LOT SLOWER.  I realized that my cardio fitness is nowhere near where a young man at 27 years should be.  There are times where I can't walk long distances, stairs suck to climb, and if I push myself a little too hard, I get shortness of breath.  I needed to get my endurance and stamina back.

So last night it happened.  I finally went to the gym on a mission to get fit.  I'm hoping that I won't lose weight, but that I'll be able to increase my physical fitness, focusing on endurance and strength.  I ran for a little over 2 miles yesterday on a "hill setting" on a treadmill and since I haven't done any kind of running since forever, I felt like I was ready to fall over dead.  So much for easing into it, huh.  I like the hill setting since it fluctuates the incline level.  Running at a constant 4 mph may not seem too tough but once you start hitting the inclines, it raises the difficulty.  I made it victorious.  I wasn't carried away in a stretcher and no one called for a wheelchair so I would call that a pretty successful run. 

I then did some butterflies, bench pressed, and curls to work on my arms and chest, but trust me, there wasn't much weight on those.  I was still feeling pretty tired from that run.  Before long, I headed home.  So my question now is what kind of "program" should I set for myself?  30 min cardio followed by 45 of strength training?  15 min cardio, 45 min strength, 15 min cardio?  As of today, I plan on going daily (except Sundays), is that considered too much?  I mean, it's only been one day, but I do want to be able to stick to a schedule to make sure that I build up those key stats. 

So now, I'm feeling a little sore in the legs.  I can't run the way I used to when I was in track and field (back in JR high!!!!) so I'm feeling the pain right now.  I guess as long as I don't topple over, I'll be alright.  Until then, later!

Where Did Metallman Go???

Hey there. I'm so so sorry that I haven't had a post in about 2 weeks. I'll be honest, I've gotten to the point where I opened up a new post, but no words were written. Canceled the post and figured that I would do it later. It just never happened. I still owe my readers cash and credits to the top blogs of the month and top commentators of the month. I just haven't gotten around to it. I also have some pizza coupons that I will be giving away soon so make sure that you stay tuned for that.

Work has been hectic, my cousin was in and out of the hospital due to a mental condition, which I have checked in on, I have now become a Lost addict (I know I'm about 6 years late to the party) and our son's birthday was this week. So there have been topics available for posting, it's just that for whatever reason, my fingers refused to write them down. Well, I guess that funk is over. We got the Motivational Sunday coming back tomorrow, as well as the Super Bowl! Valentines Day is on it's way and today, we're off to John's Incredible Pizza for our son's B Day celebration. Nothing big, but a place where I know he'll have fun. I'll make sure to keep you guys more filled in than I have in the last few weeks.

My son just got up. I'm helping around the house so it's my time to feed the baby. I'll catch you guys later!

Google Gods Have Blessed Metallman with a PR2

Hey there. A PR2! I've been staring a giant 0 since the birth of this site. I even stopped caring about Google Page Rank since I figured I would always be a 0 and should not even bother to check it anymore. But then, yesterday I read on another blog, that Google was planning on rolling out updated page ranks around the first of the month. Since I haven't checked in awhile, I decided to give it a go. To my surprise, I received a 2/10 ranking. That's pretty bad ass. Some pretty awesome news to start the new year. I haven't really been doing anything different so I wonder if it's the fact that I am now under my own domain. Either way, a PR2 is a low score, but it's better than a 0! Later!

Blogs of the Month and Top Commentators of December

Hey there.   I know I'm a little late on announcing winners this month.  Things have been needing some fixing at home and I've been busy with that. Nevertheless, we have winners that need to be recognized!  3 blogs have dropped off this month allowing 3 new blogs to enter the blogroll.

Art Shout
Buy-Tees.net T Shirts
All Stace, All the Time
Laane on the World
The Way I See It

Thank you friends to continually check out my site and drop your card.  500 ECs have already been sent to you and you site is now on the blogroll.

Now, for our first set of Top Commentator winners.  It's been a great run and hope to continue this trend.  I planned on disclosing the number of comments that determined the winners but have decided that it would be a little more suspenseful if they were not disclosed.  So, without any more delay, here are our winners.

$5.00 Prize - Ann
$2.50 Prize - Silvergirl
$2.50 Prize - ZXT

Winners have 5 days to contact me with their PayPal address so that they can be paid.  If a winner does not contact me with a PayPal address, the prize will be forfeited. 

Thank you for all the support.  Keep visiting, keep dropping, and keep the comments coming.  Who knows, maybe you'll come out with a cash prize just for speaking your mind.  Later!

Top Commentator Contest is Here to Stay

Hey there. So I've decided, the top commentator contest will run on this site until I no longer breathe (or get shut down, whichever one comes first) lol I've gotten many comments from many readers that I've decided that we'll keep it going. The race has been tight with over 26 participants so far. Many of whom have made multiple comments. So... what are standings? Here they are so far:

$5 1st Place: Ann
$2.50 2nd Place: Silvergirl
$2.50 3rd Place: Underfloor Heating

Just outside the winner's circle: Buggys, Susie (Comadre), and Ally

If the contest ended today, those would be our winners. I won't disclose how many comments but trust me, the participants leading up to third place are many and are only separated by a few comments. The contest is not over so you still have time to put in your comments for a chance to knock the above readers out of the top 3 spots. Handle your business friends and comment away. Later!