Blog & Giveaway Business

Three items of blog business I need to address..........

* If anyone has any blogs they enjoy, please email me about it with a link to that blog so I can add it to my Blog Roll.  I always enjoy putting blogs into the roll so others can discover them too.  I try to remember when I happen across one to add it here but sometimes I get distracted and/or forget.  Even if it's your own blog, let us know about it, ok?

* The amount of spam comments has quieted down finally!
Some are most certainly spam, with links to everything from loan offers, to Viagara sales sites to sites on STDs. 

Then I keep getting comments from "people" who want to know what platform I use(Blogger, hello?...it's in the URL for this site lolz), to what apps, plugins and programs, etc. I use from how to keep folks from stealing my content to how to monetize my blog.

Then there are the commentors who want to share my blog with a F/B group or want to write articles for my blog who never leave an email addy so I can contact them.

Let's not forget the commentors who want to know how to write a blog.  Umm, go to a blogging site, pick out a name and just start writing! lolz

Or the folks who thank me for writing about "whatever the blog post title is".....this usually turns out to be a very old blog post or a blog title like "November Giveaway....Come Win Some Stuff!".

Or the comments that are obviously written by someone who doesn't know/speak English and are putting their comment through a language translator.  Usually those are comment left on weeks/months/or years old posts and few make any sense or say anything pertinent to anything I write about so they get kicked out to the spam folder.

Then there are those folks who just want to "help" me by letting me know my blog doesn't show up correctly in "pick a browser" and I need to fix that, the RSS feed is wonky(contact Google or Blogger not me)or they set up something on Blogger to receive notifications about my blog and they can't change it so I need to change it for them.  Sorry dude, I can't fix YOUR settings for you(contact Google or Blogger), especially if I can't see WHO YOU ARE. lolz

Or the readers who got my blog link from a father/brother/friend who want me to visit their site which usually turns out to be an online gambling site or want to sell me viagara.

Some days it's too many freaks and not enough circus when I go through the comments. 8-)))


* And lastly I now have a master list of everyone who has entered a giveaway with their name/non de plume and email addy.  I spent a long time going through 1.5 years of giveaway entries to compile this.  I did turn up a few folks whom I though I had info for that I don't, including someone known as MEG B. so if you are reading this Meg B. please email me so I can get you on the list.

I am going to now post this list of everyone I have email contact info for(without the emails listed however to protect their privacy).
If you like to enter my Giveaways and don't see your name on this list, PLEASE EMAIL ME to get on the list.(My email addy is under About Me" on the right side bar.)
I keep getting folks who enter but as they don't provide any contact info they can't win so do yourself a favor and make sure that you are on the list(and I may have left someone off inadvertently too).  It will be m go-to for giveaway info and will be updated monthly from here on out.  I am just tired of trying to hunt down readers who enter a giveaway but don't provide a way to contact them.

Here is the list............. it is arranged alphabetically by first name/non de plume.

Alice Williams 

Amanda 

Amber R

“American Dreamer” 

Amy Walter 

Annamarie Voss 

“Anne in the Kitchen” 

Barbara 

Barbara G

Barbara S 

Belinda R

“Bellasmom"

Bobbie 

Bonnie Swanson 

Carol Pavlick 

Carolsue 

Cheryl Soergel 

“chopf” 

Chris T

Coleen C

Crystal Hankey 

cskies 

CT MOM

Dana Matthews 

D.A. Vick 

Debbie 

Debbie S

Diane 

Donna F

Elena Pendell “Ellie” 

“farmgirl”

Gaby “violinista” 

Gayle Binkley

Gerry T

Grammy Goodwill 

Heather H Temp 

Heather McC

“j.rontal” 

Janet Mendonca 

Janie Junebug 

Jean Lange 

Jen G.

Jenifer Rigby

Jess

Jessica Fletcher-Fiero 

JoAnn

Joyce 

Jull 

Kathi Davis in FL 

Kathy Sheffield

“kat kaz” 

Kelly M. 

Kim H. 

Kimberly 

Laura H.

Laurie 

Linda “practical parsimony” 

Lisa C “ladybug” 

Lisa R

Lori 

Lorraine 

“Lucy-A Dime at a Time” 

Lucy 

“Making Cents of it All"

Marcia 

Marcia C “miserly mac”

Marie Galtier 

Mary G

Mary L

“McVal” 

Melissa Storms 

Meme “Ellen” 

Meredith M 

Michelle 

Michelle D

Michelle H

“nives” 

“pamintexas” 

Pamela J 

Patti

Patti or Precious People Preschool 

Patti 

Rachel D

Ranee Milliman in MN 

“Rhitter” 

“rivulet”

Rosemary Ford

“SAM” 

Sandi 

Sandie in CT 

“seyrey” 

Sheila Womack “Sheila”

Shirley 

“sparky136” 

Susan Lasker “Sue” 

Susan Steiner “SMS” 

Susanna Smith 

Tebble 

Teddie 

Tammy 

Terri S. 

”Urspo” 

“vaj” 

“wondrfluf” 

Wendi

Wendy Clark 

Also if you leave entries and you only supply a first name PLEASE leave at least the first initial of your last name too.

I currently have 3 each of Patti, Michelle and Barbara and not all have given me a last name or at least the first initial of which.

I can get confusing at times to say the least. ;-)

And with that I am outta here.

Got to get my butt up to "Ollie's"(Good Stuff Cheap!)before my 15% off flyer expires and then there are some house things to work on.

Sluggy

A Few Blog Things

* I'll be adding some blogs and deleting some from the side bar.  If you have blogs you'd like to see on the side bar that I don't have already, please let me know which one(s).

* I moderate ALL comments so don't try to leave a nasty comment on this blog.  Just a fair warning for all you nasty comment leavers out there that you won't get anywhere here.

* First off I will no longer post comments from "Anonymous" users where the person doesn't include their name on the comment. I know there are real readers out there who for some reason can't post a comment except under the anonymous setting.  This is not directed at y'all.
 I have either a serial spam comment leaver or a couple of them.  If you are a spammer and you leave a comment full of bad grammar/structure(I am talking horrendously bad!)leading me to believe you aren't a native English speaker and/or a bot or you leave comments on old posts and/or comments that have nothing to do with the post you are leaving it on, just go away please.  I am tired of deleting spamming comments.  Even if  you add a fake name to these types of spam comments they will still be deleted and not put through.

I've had a real bad day here and I am about ready to just delete this blog.  Some times life is a lot harder and putting up with this sort of stuff(meaning the second two bullet point items)is just not worth it......

Sluggy tired of the crap

Tuesday Chit-Chat & Randomness

Hubs and I have solved the IRS/Brown Family dilemma.....
Kody and wife #1 file as married with 7 dependents(their kid and his and wife #3's 6 kids).
Wife #2 files as Head of Household(as she has a job)with 6 dependents(her and Kody's kids)
Wife #3 does not file a federal return(don't know if she has to file a state return or not in her state)...she has no income, child support or alimony so Kody take the kid deductions
Wife #4 doesn't file either as she has no job/income...unless she gets alimony and/or child support.  If her ex-husband pays child support, he takes the deductions on their 3 kids probably.  If she gets the deductions and receives alimony and/or child support then she does file as Head of Household.

Now next year(meaning for 2011 returns), Wife #4 with have a new kid with Kody, so he gets another dependent deduction. 
But since the moved to Vegas none of them have jobs....well except for the money TLC is paying them to be on the show, their tax stuff all changes for 2011.
 
Which brought up another point in Hub's mind. 
How is TLC paying them?  Since only 1 Sister Wife is legally married, they can't just pay Kody or Kody and wife.  They would have to pay each of the adults separately, which means they ALL have income now, even the SAHM ones.  So all but the 1st wife files as Head of Household now?
Ack....I need a Tylenol.....

At the suggestion of Sharon I have moved the Follower Button/Feature to the top of the blog.  She said it might encourage more people who drop by here to actually follow.  I feel like Sheldon a bit when I look at the blog because something just seems 'off' to me with it there.  No matter what I say to the contrary, I guess I don't adjust to change well.......

I do believe that half of France is shopping for the Holidays on eBay this year.  I am getting multiple inquiries each day about the shipping costs of this or that to France.  I've sold a thing here and there in the past to someone in France, but nothing like lately!  I thought France was in an economic crisis?  Seems the folks there with money still didn't get the memo.

And another observation about eBay......I get questions about shipping outside of the US frequently because I am one of the few US sellers who welcomes international customers.   I have learned over the years a few things.  One thing I'm going to say is going to sound sort of bad.  I'd call it a stereotype except that sometimes those have a basis in fact when you get down to it's core.  Here is my Un PC observation from many years on eBay--If you get a question about shipping to Netherlands, you might as well just ignore that person.
Why?
Because if they live in Netherlands they won't pay whatever the shipping cost is.
Why won't they pay it?
Because it will always be too expensive to them.
Yes, people from Netherlands are tightwads frugal shoppers.  I got it into my head that these people were cheap back in the 1980's.  My mother-in-law(one of the most frugal people I have known)had a book of money saving ideas.  One of those ideas was to cook beans under your mattress.....well, heat them up, then turn off the stove and put the covered pot under your mattress....the residual heat plus the insulation from the mattress would 'cook' your beans without using any additional energy.  I thought that tip was unique and strangely bizarre as a 20-something.  And that tip came from someone from, you guessed it.....Netherlands!  In face quite a few frugal tips were from persons from Netherlands.

Not too long after reading that book, a college friend went to visit someone who lived in the Netherlands.  What fun and exciting activity did her friend entertain her with?  They went walking.....walking for miles out into the sea in the muck left behind when the tide rolls out.  It's even got a name-Wadlopen or Mud Walking.
Wow!.....now that's living large.

I guess in my next life I might want to find myself located in the Netherlands.  My frugal butt would be much smaller and I would fit right in with that culture.
Except that mud walking thing.  I'd confine my exercise to biking or walking around town.

Here's something that I don't get.  Well I DO get it, but why anyone does it is a mystery to me.
I have a moderate feature on comments here on the blog.  Yes, I am a control freak that way.
The only thing that will get your comment banned is grossly inappropriate comments(slander, vulgar cursing, etc.)and spam.
I am constantly getting comments to moderate that are spam.  People who leave comments that are SORT OF innocuous and SORT OF say something on topic but have either 1-hyperlinked words in the text of the comment to sales sites or 2-the person's User Name, if clicked on, takes you to a sales site rather than their Blogger ID page.  Now you KNOW they are just trying to get either page views on their sites or trying to get people to buy stuff.  I don't appreciate being used nor does my teensy tiny blog.
If you are out there, doing this and reading now, KNOCK IT OFF!
Everyone else keep calm and carry on.....

I am off for some last minute Turkey Day food shopping.  Then to start digging out the dining room, baking pies and brining the bird.

Sluggy