Wednesday's learn and earn...

~WORD OF THE DAY~

amanuensis  \uh-man-yuh-WEN-sis\ ~ noun

DEFINITION: one employed to write from dictation or to copy manuscript

EXAMPLES: Marco worked as an amanuensis for a judge who needed to compose his opinions orally while recovering from cataract surgery.

"As early as the 1840s and 1850s, the Ohio Cultivator published women's columns that spoke vividly for women's rights and honed the talents of two important abolitionist feminists, Hanna Maria Tracy Cutler and Frances Dana Gage, who is now best remembered as the amanuensis for Sojourner Truth's 'Ain't I a Woman' speech." -- From Frances W. Kaye's 2011 book Goodlands: A Meditation and History on the Great Plains

DID YOU KNOW? In Latin, the phrase "servus a manu" translates loosely as "slave with secretarial duties." (The noun "manu," meaning "hand," gave us words such as "manuscript," originally meaning a document written or typed by hand.) In the 17th century the second part of this phrase was borrowed into English to create "amanuensis," a word for a person who is employed (willingly) to do the important but sometimes menial work of transcribing the words of another. While other quaint words, such as "scribe" or "scrivener," might have similarly described the functions of such a person in the past, these days we’re likely to call him or her a "secretary," or maybe an "administrative assistant."


~THE REBATE~

From now until September 30th you can collect points from specially marked Kimberly Clark products and earn Cars 2 Prizes including $10 pre-paid Visa card, movie tickets to Cars 2, or fun Cars 2 toys.  Just check for the codes on packages of Cottonelle, Huggies, Pull-ups, Kleenex, Scott and Viva.  Points must be entered in the system by 9/30 and redeemed by 10/31.

Remember to come by and enter the swap, we are sharing a little bit of where we are from with folks from different states, it should be fun!
 
Have a great Wednesday everyone!

C.Q.

Saturday Sojourn...

I had a low turnout so I am gong to run the swap for another week to get a few more signups.  Here is the info on how it works:

Jst think about where you live and with a budget of at least $10 purchase something that represents where you are, package it up with a postcard from your city or state and mail it off to a person the pair you up with. I think this can be a lot of fun, I know a ton of sites are doing craft swaps, this is similar, except you don't have to make anything, unless you want to. To join just leave a comment and next Saturday I will pair you up with another reader. If this goes well I will do it again next month. If we end up with an odd number participating I will jump in and swap as well, so no one will be left out who wants to join in the fun. After you receive your package be sure to post about it on your site.

Have a happy and safe weekend everyone!

C.Q.

Wednesday's learn and earn...

~WORD OF THE DAY~

jalousie \JAL-uh-see\ ~ noun

DEFINITION(s) 1: a blind with adjustable horizontal slats for admitting light and air while excluding direct sun and rain

2: a window made of adjustable glass louvers that control ventilation

EXAMPLES: The rooms of the little bungalow were protected from the brutal tropical heat by wooden jalousies.

"The striated world visible through the slanted jalousies above the queen-size beds is bright and green." -- Donovan Hohn's 2011 book Moby-Duck: The True Story of 28,800 Bath Toys Lost at Sea and of the Beachcombers, Oceanographers, Environmentalists and Fools, Including the Author, Who Went in Search of Them

DID YOU KNOW? Etymologists are clear on the source of the word "jalousie" -- it's French for "jealousy" -- but the relationship between the emotion and the window treatments originally referred to as jalousies is not something they've speculated much about. Is it that those peering out through the original jalousie blinds were jealous of the people outside? Or is it more likely that the jealousy festered in the hearts of those outside, who could see the blinds but not the faces and lives of the people they hid? This excerpt from the October 23, 1766 entry in the Duchess of Northumberland's diary perhaps provides a clue: "Rows of Seats with Jalousies in Front that [the women] may not be seen."

~THE REBATE~

This is a great thing for both your home and your car, Johnson and Johnson is offering a free build your own First Aid Kit when you buy any (3) three products (in any combination) from these participating brands: Band-Aid Brand Adhesive Bandages, Johnson & Johnson Red Cross Brand, Neosporin, Benadryl Topical or Cortaid (except trial sizes).  Send in the rebate form together with the UPCs from the packages taped in place together with a store identified dated recipet with the qualified items prices checked. Request must be postmarked by 9/30.

Don't forget to check out the current swap we have going on, its a lot of fun!

Hope you have a great Wednesday!

C.Q.

Saturday's swap...

OK, I am going to do it again for July, think about where you live and with a budget of at least $10 purchase something that represents where you are, package it up with a postcard from your city or state and mail it off to a person the pair you up with. I think this can be a lot of fun, I know a ton of sites are doing craft swaps, this is similar, except you don't have to make anything, unless you want to. To join just leave a comment and next Saturday I will pair you up with another reader. If this goes well I will do it again next month. If we end up with an odd number participating I will jump in and swap as well, so no one will be left out who wants to join in the fun.  After you receive your package be sure to post about it on your site.

Have a great weekend everyone!

C.Q.

Thursdays picture perfect deal...

The picture...

In honor of my anniversary I am posting a picture of the church we were married in 25 years ago. I took this picture as we drove by the church on our recent visit to St. Paul. Its in Minneapolis and we went right by it on our way to dinner. I love the way it turned out, it gives you a feeling of how large it is.


The deal...

I usually post a sale on Thursday's but this is even better. There is a new site called Swap.com, and they are creating the world's largest swap market. Here you can list things you are looking for and things you have to swap for them. Its a great way to find a CD, video game or DVD you really want and find someone who in return would like to take yours off your hands. While your there be sure to check out the iPhone application as well, with it you can scan bar codes, email your shipping labels, and instigate Paypal to pay for your shipping, a great feature. You can even keep it local at the Shop Local section of their site. This allows you to find people in your area wanting to swap, this saves on your shipping and keeps things in your community. Still can't find what you are looking for still? Check out the Swap Events section for specific categories of goods, like baby clothes, jewelry or toys. The thing I love about swapping is it is inexpensive and wonderful for the environment!

One of the programs within Swap.com that I really like is the Swap4Schools program. Swap4Schools is an initiative designed to match swappers' Haves with schools' Wants. It’s that simple, and in these tough economic times can be a classroom life saver.

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of CarlSwap.  All opinions are 100% mine.
I hope you are all having a great week so far!

C.Q.

Friday's freebie...

I love to read and when you can do something you love for free that's an added bonus.  Today I have two great freebies. The first is the Kindle version of A Stingray Bit My Nipple!: True Stories from Real Travelers and it is available for download to your Kindle or iPad app for free.  This book is put out by the editor of Budget Travel Magazine and is a look at readers stories of the weird and funny things that have happened while on vacation.  It also has photographs that readers have sent in as proof that going on vacation really can be stranger than fiction.

The next book is by one of my favorite authors, Jess Lourey.  You may recognize the name from the post I did for her new book last Sunday.  Because her series is called the Murder-by-Month Mystery series Barnes and Noble has made her book June Bug as one of the free Nook download books for the month of June.  "Local legend claims that a diamond necklace was lost nearly a century ago in nearby Whiskey Lake, not far from the present-day Shangri-La resort. Mira, a part-time reporter, goes fishing for the story behind the legend. Diving into the lake only gets her into a terrifying tango with a waterlogged corpse. And so begins the treasure hunt. Buoyed by frozen Nut Goodies and a diminutive circus performer, Mira embarks on an exhilarating search for the jewels that puts her face-to-face with menacing forces that threaten to tear the small town apart."

Today is also the last day to get in on the Swap: think about where you live and with a budget of at least $10 purchase something that represents where you are, package it up with a postcard from your city or state and mail it off to a person that I pair you up with.  It should be a lot of fun!

Have a great day everyone!

C.Q.

Sunday's media madness...

One of my favorite fun authors to read is Jess Lourey, and she has a new book out called October Fest.  This is the newest book in her Murder-by-Month series; previous titles are May Day, June Bug, Knee High by the Fourth of July, August Moon, and September Fair. All the books are a great read and the newest is no exception.

From Jess' own web site: "Beer and polka music reign supreme at Octoberfest, Battle Lake's premier fall festival. To kick off the celebrations, the town hosts a public debate between congressional candidates Arnold Swydecker and the slippery incumbent, Sarah Glokkmann. But the festive mood sours as soon as a well-known Glokkmann-bashing blogger is found dead. When Mira's best friend's fiancé becomes a top suspect, she wades through mudslinging and murderous threats to find the political party crasher."

All of the books in the series are fun and full of wry quick wit, and while you don't have to start at the beginning of the series it does help give you more insight to the characters.  I was able to find October Fest for the lowest price at Bookdepository for $11.10with free shipping, if you are a member of Amazon Prime or order more than $25.00 you can get it for $10.17 at Amazon with free shipping.  The Kindle version is available for $9.66.

Have a wonderful and safe Memorial weekend everyone!  Be sure to check out our swap and join in the fun.

C.Q.

Saturday's swap...

I am mixing things up a little bit and doing a swap this week.  I think this is something fun and if we get enough folks to participate we can do it monthly.  Here is the plan, think about where you live and with a budget of at least $10 purchase something that represents where you are, package it up with a postcard from your city or state and mail it off to a person the pair you up with.  I think this can be a lot of fun, I know a ton of sites are doing craft swaps, this is similar, except you don't have to make anything, unless you want to.  To join just leave a comment and next Saturday I will pair you up with another reader.  If this goes well I will do it again next month.  If we end up with an odd number participating I will jump in and swap as well, so no one will be left out who wants to join in the fun.

Have a great weekend everyone!

C.Q.