Today marks my final podcast for NaPodPoMo! I posted a podcast each day for the entire month of November and actually completed the challenge. I credit Utterz for making it possible, since before I found Utterz, podcasting was a little intimidating to me. Utterz makes it so easy to podcast that you can even podcast without power as I did earlier this evening.

PodcampAZ was another podcasting highlight this month that really crystallized the benefits of podcasting for me.

The ability to post Utterz directly to my blog also helped me jump start my posting habits on my main blog, although I did find myself neglecting my link blog a little.

Also this year, I sort of attempted NaNoWriMo again, but, like last year, never got the momentum going on my novel. I did double my word count from last year, but that's not saying much. I've still got an hour, maybe I can get to 10%...

NaPodPoMo was a great success, though. Thanks to Jennifer Navarrete for introducing it this year. Can't wait for next year!

Links:
NaPodPoMo:
http://napodpomo.ning.com/

NaNoWriMo:
http://www.nanowrimo.org/

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The power just went out for the second time today. I love Utterz.

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This evening, I noticed quite a few of my contacts had recently signed up on Plaxo Pulse. It seems that there are definite patterns to social media sign-ups. Since I sign up for so many, I generally don't let social media sites access my address books and send invitations for every social media site that I sign up for, lest my contacts think I'm spamming them, but when I notice contacts on the sites or they find me, I'm happy to connect. :^)

What do you think?

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Molasses and Chocolate Chip Cookies baked today

Today I received the first of this year's 12 Days of Cookies email messages from The Food Network. The 12 Days of Cookies have become somewhat of a holiday tradition. This year, The Food Network has added video and social media to the mix.

Although I haven't tried today's selection yet, I did make a batch of chocolate chip and a batch of molasses cookies this evening. :^)



Food Network 12 Days of Cookies Page (includes all the recipes since 2004):
http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/12_days_of_cookies/0,1904,FOOD_18276,00.html

Food Network 12 Days of Cookies Videos:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/12_days_of_cookies/text/0,1904,FOOD_18276_65616,00.html

Food Network 12 Days of Cookies Recipe Swap:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/12_days_of_cookies/text/0,1904,FOOD_18276_65628,00.html

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FlyLady conquers clutter with baby steps

Overwhelmed with clutter and short on time? Take fifteen minutes and go shine your sink! You'll find that taking baby steps from there will have you FLYing in no time with a little help from FlyLady Marla Cilley and her crew.

I first read about FlyLady.net in the Washington Post early in 2006. At that time, her list of "FlyBabies" was around

225,000 strong. In April, 2006, the site announced that it had passed the 300,000 subscriber mark. In October, FLyLady told

her podcast listeners that the FlyLady group is the largest on Yahoo! with more than 436,000 subscribers.

FlyLady's home page:
www.flylady.net
BlogTalkRadio link:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/flylady

Also, BlogTalkRadio CEO, Alan Levy, interviewed Marla (FlyLady) on his podcast, The Alan Levy Show, today:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/AlanLevy/2007/11/27/Rescheduled-Interview-with-Matt-Mullenweg

My Squidoo lens about FlyLady:
http://www.squidoo.com/flylady

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Meep poses with a few of our purchases

Recently, a new thrift store opened on 32nd Street and T-Bird in North Phoenix, in the space formerly occupied by Savers. We made a quick visit this evening and discovered some reading material, a few nice Pyrex pieces and a little FireKing bowl.


Links:

Thriftsmart: http://www.thriftsmartarizona.com

Charities Thriftsmart supports:

Phoenix Rescue Mission: http://www.phoenixrescuemission.org/
YoungLife http://www.younglife.org/
Food for the Hungry: http://www.fh.org
Hope Kids: http://www.hopekids.org/

Some links related to the stuff we bought:

Susan's LibraryThing Profile: http://www.librarything.com/profile/sheywood
Collecting Pyrex Kitchenware on Squidoo: http://www.squidoo.com/pyrex/

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Sunday TV a Mixed Bag

Shoppers drive increase in holiday sales on and off-line

According to ABC15 news, shoppers spent $16 billion in retail stores in the last three days, up 7% from last year. Additionally, Online sales were up 22% over last year, with another $700 million projected for tomorrow, sometimes called Cyber Monday, the "Black Friday" for Online merchants.

In other news, the Arizona Cardinals snatch defeat from the jaws of victory (again...)

Lyle Lovett and his large band capped off tonight's episode of "Brothers and Sisters" singing part of his song "No Big Deal" from the new album, "It's not big, it's Large" a title that refers to the name of his band. Great stuff!


Links:

http://www.abc15.com - ABC15 Phoenix

http://www.usatoday.com/life/television/news/2007-11-13-actors-strike_N.htm - USA Today on Brothers and Sisters cast support of WGA strike

http://www.showbuzz.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/11/07/people_crusades/main3464274.shtml - CBS News on Brothers and Sisters cast support of WGA strike

http://spoilertv.blogspot.com/2007/11/brothers-and-sisters-episode-208_12.html - Brothers and Sisters Episode Synopsis

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000U0Z1T0?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&linkCode=thesfhhomepage - It's not big, it's Large -- Amazon

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IBM Uses Buzzword Bingo in US Ad (Sorry, the audio breaks up a little on this one.)

Watching college football today, I saw an IBM ad that caught my attention because it featured Buzzword Bingo, a concept that originated with Dilbert and was popular in the 90's. Could only find the German version on YouTube (linked below.)

Also linked are one of the original Buzzword Bingo generators and a short history of the game which includes links to numerous sites that relate to it.

Just remember, calling Bingo out loud may not be advisable in all situations. ;^)


Links:

Buzzword Bingo:
http://isd.usc.edu/~karl/Bingo/
http://isd.usc.edu/~karl/Bingo/about.html

IBM Spot:

German version: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAKxJbcec8U

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Buy Nothing Day

Buy Nothing Day was the brainchild of Vancouver artist Ted Dave in 1992 and has become a day where anti-consumerism sentiment is demonstrated in various ways to counter the escalating shopping frenzy that follows Thanksgiving Day.

"Four Horsemen of the Shopocalypse" riding down New York's Madison Avenue promoting "Super Size Me" director Morgan Spurlock's new documentary, "What would Jesus buy?" were among the performance artists celebrating simplicity in holiday celebrations during Buy Nothing Day, 2007.

Links:

http://adbusters.org/metas/eco/bnd/

http://www.wwjbmovie.com/

http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/Music/11/23/buynothing.day.ap/index.html

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Happy Thanksgiving -- On your marks, get set, SHOP!

Post-feast thoughts (some might say rants) touching on a disappointing performance by ASU, "reality" TV, awesome asparagus, $2 newspapers and out of control retail...

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Pre-Thanksgiving cooking spree

Burst of domesicity (is that even a word) results in actual preparation for T-Day feast.

Pies, stuffing, sourdough rolls, deviled eggs, salad, cookies and oh, yeah, dinner.

Pictured is the sourdough "mother sponge" that I started this week.

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Liking the Zune, listening to Utterz on the feed. Anyone else on Zune.net? Need to add more feeds. Now that the writers' strike means no more good TV, I'm listening to the Zune and working. TV is still on in the background, stuff like the Travel Channel, which should help in identifying those wayward gemstones that might show up in my yard, or on a trip to the desert.

Francine's blog on leaving printed books behind: http://blog.stealthmode.com/2007/11/are-books-dead.html

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Turkey Tips and Thanksgiving Ideas on my Squidoo lenses

Here are some of my Squidoo lenses you might find helpful in planning your Thanksgiving holiday.

Host a Happy Thanksgiving Feast
http://www.squidoo.com/thanksgiving_dinner/

How to Cook a Turkey
http://www.squidoo.com/cook_a_turkey/

(Be sure to check out the Arlo Guthrie links at the bottom of the Thanksgiving Feast page.

Create a Squidoo lens about whatever you want to tell people about. It's fun and free.
http://www.squidoo.com/lensmaster/referral/sheywood

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More on the WGA strike: Talks set for 11/26; John Edwards joins the picket line today

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Quick and Easy Brownies

These brownies are quick and easy to make without a mix--Plus, you probably have the stuff to make them in your cupboard and fridge right now!

6 tbsp melted butter
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup cocoa
1/4 tsp baking powder
dash of salt
1/4 cup nuts (optional)

Just melt the butter in a saucepan, turn off the heat, add the sugar and vanilla, stir until smooth. Add the cocoa, salt and baking powder, stir until blended. Add the eggs, stir some more. Stir in the flour. Pour batter into an 8 * 8 pan (line with foil sprayed with Pam for Baking for easy cleanup.) Bake at 350 for 14-16 minutes. Chow down!

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Does promoting "mobi-sodes" show that there really is profit in online shows?

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Radical Buy App for Facebook

My predictions on first look:

Radical Buy will be a wonderful way to leverage the power of personal referral in selling items online.

Referrers will earn commissions for their efforts, while keeping control of what they recommend.

Sellers will find that Radical Buy's easy to use interface, integration with Facebook Marketplace and powerful promotional model changes and improves the game of online selling exponentially.

Buyers will find cool stuff at great prices.

What's not to love?

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In-N-Out Burger

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Sally Strebel of BestPartyEver.com at the AZ Entrepreneurship Conference

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