Donations for ALS- also known as Lou Gehrig's disease

Hello everyone out there in blogger world. I know I have been MIA for a very long time but I wanted to try to get this out there. Two weeks ago we had a death in the family. My brothers wife's father died of ALS. I know when I first heard of this I wasn't exactly sure what this disease was. Persons with ALS have a loss of muscle strength and coordination that eventually gets worse. This eventually makes one unable to do routine tasks such as going up steps, getting out of a chair, or swallowing. In ALS, nerve cells (neurons) waste away or die, and can no longer send messages to muscles. This eventually leads to muscle weakening, twitching, and an inability to move the arms, legs, and body. The condition slowly gets worse. When the muscles in the chest area stop working, it becomes hard or impossible to breathe on one's own. ALS affects approximately 1 out of every 100,000 people.
There is no known cure for ALS. The first drug treatment for the disease is a medicine called riluzole. Riluzole may prolong life, but does not reverse or stop the disease from getting worse. This is a horrible way to live and slowly die from. That is why I am asking for donations to help the ALS Association Greater Philadelphia Chapter. Anyone in the East Coast area can also participate in their 2010 Ocean City Board... Walk to Defeat ALS. Any donations will be grealy appreciated. As little as $5 makes a difference. Here is the link to donate or Sponsor a walker. Thanks!

Music Monday

I love this song by Lykke Li featured in New Moon.

Wordless Wednesday! Well Almost....

My daughter A with her best buddy A. They are only a couple months apart and some days get along great like this day and others not so great..... lol

Etsy Shop TheMelodyOf Review and Giveaway!

When I was in high school I took a photography class and loved it. I always thought I could be a pretty good photographer. Corinne from the Etsy Shop The Melody Of is a wonderful photographer. She has a way of capturing the pure beauty of nature. Her photos are breath taking. She really has an eye for the perfect shot. I only wish I could be as good a photographer as she is. She has also embarked on a 365 project. A 365 project is where you take a self-portrait everyday for a year. The purpose of this project is to improve your skills and to be able to have a way to see your improvements. I have seen her photos so far and you can already tell the improvement she has made in just a short time. I know she will continue to improve and be an incredible photographer. If you would like to see these pictures and others click here. I had a couple questions for Corinne and this is what she said.

Q. Have you always wanted to be a photographer?

A. Honestly, no! When I was younger I wanted to be a pop star, then a veterinarian, and then it was totally up in the air for a while. I didn't pick up a digital camera until 2003, and I didn't get a DSLR until 2007. It was around 2008 that some inkling of what I wanted to do with my life surfaced. I was snapping pictures outside of my house one day and just thought, "Wow, if I could do this forever, I would." and since then, I've been trying to make it as much of a part of my life as possible.

Q. I noticed that you major in English, do you plan on pursuing photography as a career or just a hobby?

A. Yes, I am majoring in English. So many people are dumbfounded when I tell them that photography is not part of my academic career, and that I'm majoring in English instead. At the moment, I do some side jobs, where friends and family will hire me to take portraits and photos for them. My big dream is to just be able to take pictures and sell them for a living, but if this portraiture thing takes off, I wouldn't mind doing that either! If it's a part of photography I want to be a part of it.

Q. What is your favorite type of photo to take?

A. This one is a toughie. I guess if I had to narrow it down, it would be landscape shots. If I had to narrow it down further, it would be sunrises/sunsets. I can see the sunrise through the trees of my backyard, so I'm always running outside or running upstairs to take a quick shot through the window (I'm usually up early for school & work). I recently purchased a wide-angle lens for my camera (great for landscape shots!) and I can't wait to get outside somewhere and take pictures of the sun. PS - I love lens flare, too.





Corinne is offering one of my readers a 5x7 of her Sunlight and Trees photo.
Here's how to enter.

I was not paid in any way by The Melody Of. I was given a product for review purposes only. The opinions stated here are solely my own.


Please include you e-mail address if I'm not able to contact you by clicking on your profile.
CLOSED
~*~ Mandatory Entry~*~
Visit The Melody of and leave me a comment telling me which photo you like best



Extra Entries - Please leave seperate comment for each that you do

1.) Follow my blog ( 1 entry)

2.) Subscribe through e-mail (1 entry)

3.) Follow me on Twitter (1 entry)

4.)Tweet about this Giveaway can be done 3x daily (2 entries)

"Win a 5x7 Sunlight and Trees photo from The Melody of at Half Crazy Mommie http://bit.ly/97YXlX PLS RT"

5.) Become of Fan of The Melody Of on Facebook (2 entries)

6.) Follow The Melody Of on Twitter (2 entries)

7.) Heart (favorite) The Melody Of on Etsy (2 entries)

8.) Purchase something from The Melody Of (10 entries)

Winner will be chosen from Random.org. Winner will have 48hrs to respond or a new winner will be chosen.

Spoiled Sweet Review and Giveaway!

Have you ever seen anything cuter than a girl in her tutu? I received this beautiful tutu for my daughter. As soon as I put it on her she started dancing all over the house. She refused to take it off saying "No my tu, my tu" It was too cute. So do you want to know where I got this adorable tutu? I know you do.. Ok, I will tell you. I got it from Spoiled Sweet by Repunzelsbowsnclips. They make these beautiful tutu's along with a variety of bows. They make the perfect birthday outfit or gifts and they are very resonably priced. You can get these great items from Spoiled Sweet Etsy shop. Spoiled Sweet also offers a color chart so you can design your own custom tutu and bow. They also treat every bow to prevent fraying, and use the highest quality ribbon for a long lasting bow.



My daughter has been obsessed with her tutu, she doesn't want to take it off. So I can without a doubt tell you that their tutu's hold up against the daily torture given by a 2yr old. They withstand being stuffed in a car seat, taken off and put back on a million times in one day, sliding down a slid, landing on the ground when she fell. Spoiled Sweet by Rapunzelbowsnclips really make incredible products that are meant to last. But you don't have to believe me because one of my lucky readers is getting the chance to win a custom tutu and bow.

I was not paid or compensated in any way by Spoiled Sweet. I was given the item to review. The opinions stated here a solely my own.

ENDS- 03-06-10- CLOSED

Please include you e-mail address if I'm not able to contact you by clicking on your profile.

~*~ Mandatory Entry~*~ Must be done first

Tell me what colors you would choose if you won



Extra Entries - Please leave seperate comment for each that you do

1.) Follow my blog ( 1 entry)

2.) Subscribe through e-mail (1 entry)

3.) Follow me on Twitter (1 entry)

4.)Tweet about this Giveaway can be done 3x daily (2 entries)

"Win a Tutu from Spoiled Sweet on Half Crazy Mommie! http://bit.ly/cZCZCX PLS RT"


5.) Follow Spoiled Sweet Blog (3 entries)

6.) Favorite Spoiled Sweet on Etsy (2 entries)

7.) Purchase something from Spoiled Sweet (15 entries)

Winner will be chosen by Random.org. Winner will be notified by e-mail and will have 48hrs to respond. New winner will be chosen if 1st winner does not respond.

Friday Follow!

Here's how YOU can join the celebration:
•* Link up your blog name and URL using the MckLinky below. Only need to add on one blog to be seen on all the blog hops.
•* Follow the Friday Follow hostesses listed in the first 3 slots.
•* Follow as many blogs as you like
•* Comment on the blogs telling them you're from Friday Follow
•* Follow back when you get a new follower through Friday Follow
The Blog Hop is the same at each of our three hosts blogs so you do not have to add your blog at each site. Just one - but you can follow each blog. Follow a few or follow them all

Caution!

So a few days ago my husbands friend was on our computer. He was on facebook when something came up on the screen for Security Tools. I guess he looked at it and then clicked off it when it wanted you to pay. Well it embedded itself in my computer. It's malware. It basically said that everything in my computer was infected with a virus and that I couldn't access anything (and I mean anything) unless I put in my credit card number and paid for the program. My husbands friend is a computer guy and he said it is the hardest thing to remove from your computer because it hides itself so well that you can't find it anywhere. The only way to get it off is to wipe the hard drive. Thankfully when we got the computer we had our friend go through and program everything, so he put on Malware Bytes. This program is amazing. I had to go in and start my computer in Safe mode and run the Malware program several times but it saved my computer. It's a free program and if you don't have it you should seriously consider getting it. I run it atleast once a week. But word of wisdom stay far away from Security Tools. Do not put your credit card number in because my computer guy said one of his other clients did and Security Tools drained their whole bank account. So that happening further delayed my posting so I apologize. Tomorrow I will be posting a giveaway!!