Click on Me: The Truth about Internet Advertising

I want to own MSN.

I read somewhere that up to 90% of internet users have their home page set to MSN.  I can’t verify that statistic, but I know I use my MSN home page daily.

Why wouldn’t I?  I set up my MSN homepage to show me exactly what I want to see every day.  Weather forecasts, local and national news, movie times at my local theater, and even my favorite comic strip!

My home page also rotates a constant stream of interesting articles, just waiting for me to click and read.

Please understand.  Those tempting little snippets of information are designed for one purpose, and one purpose only.

Advertising.

Do You Choose the Red Pill?

Have you watched The Matrix recently?  Remember the scene where Neo is offered the red pill or the blue pill?

For those of you who are not Matrix fans, here’s the synopsis.  Computers have taken over the world and are using humans as living batteries to power their existence.  The computers found that humans waste away without something to live for, so they plug the humans into The Matrix–a computer simulation of everyday life in the late 1990’s, complete with cubicles, rush hour, and the endless rat race.

The only problem with the Matrix is that there are a small percentage of people who feel in their soul that this existence is a lie.  Neo, the main character, is one of these, and starts searching for answers.

Middle-Aged? What Fun is That?

I have been Mom for most of my adult life.

H was born when I was 23.  Since then, my life has revolved around kids.

Sure, we’ve had stages.  Babies and diapers, elementary school, now middle and high school.  In each of those roles, society has treated us Moms as special.

Once the kids leave home, are we no longer special?

Update on Senior Portraits

I finally got some time to research options on senior portraits.

The problem I have now is that I have no idea how many pictures I need, what type, etc.

But I found a solution!

I found a local photographer who does a flat fee photo session, indoor or outdoor with unlimited changes of clothes and looks for $125.  He creates an image disc of all the pictures, and I own all the rights.  That way, I can go through the images, pick my favs, and get them printed as needed!

Even better, we can get the whole deal for $99 if H brings a friend to do the shoot with him.

Sounds like a pretty sweet deal.  I’ll let you know how it turns out.  I guess worst case scenario, if we hate the pics, I can always schedule another shoot with a bigger studio at a later date!

What would I Do without Books?

I remember when H was a newborn.  I was terrified to sleep.  He slept in his cradle, within arms reach, and I listened for every tiny movement.  If he was too quiet, I would reach over and feel for the soft rise and fall of his little chest.

Small wonder I now wake at the slightest noise.

After eight straight years of babies and toddlers, I find myself still waking up in the wee hours, listening for my kids.

My one and only surefire method to getting back to sleep is books.  Needless to say, I read a lot of books.

Fantasy, romance, business, mystery, cookbooks, self-help, knitting books, classics–you name it, I probably read it.  I have enough books in my house to stock a small library.

I started knitting in the evenings.  Keeping my hands busy keeps me from nodding off when the TV is running.  I would sleep for ten minutes in front of the TV, then take hours to go to sleep at night. 

This helps, but I still wake up at odd hours, tired but unable to sleep.  Lately, we seem to have become the favorite late night stop for a raccoon.  Man, raccoons are noisy!.  Poor T–I woke him up in a panic at 2 am, and made him go outside to see what was causing all the racket.  Fortunately, he just laughed at me when he saw the scared little raccoon running away.  I guess I made it sound like Bigfoot was attacking!

T comes back to bed, and is asleep in seconds.  Me, I toss and turn for a while, then pad downstairs to read a few chapters.  Actually, about five chapters, until I am finally sleepy enough to go back to bed.

What would I do without books!