I’m sharing a closet with my daughter now. Before the move, I had a massive walk-in closet to myself, complete with shelves and drawers and all sort of space economizing organizational features built right into it.

Although the closet we share now has some great shelves up top and on both sides, we still need more room. I am looking into a shoe organizer and making a double row of rods for hanging items. We can certainly make the most out of this space an still both have all the room we need. In all actuality, it is a big closet.

I’m particularly interested in getting my shows up off the floor of the closet where they are currently laying in a tangle and disorganization. I’m looking at a product online right now on the NeatContainers.com site. You put shoes, and other items, in these individual pods that stack together and still allow access to each pod from the front of the stack. The pods are clear, come in various sizes and I actually think they would be GREAT for organizing Gigi’s Barbie dolls and other small toys. We’re dealing with a small space right now and I like it to be as tidy as possible.

From time to time I see a parent let their opposite sex child use a public restroom on their own. I feel sad for them. Usually, the child is just old enough that they should indeed be using the bathroom along with those of their own gender and the parent knows that taking them into their own restroom would be awkward.

I know Gigi’s dad still takes her along with him and that is fine. She is 4. Once she is older, though, it could pose a problem. I wish more public places offered family bathrooms. Most malls have them and so do some super and department stores.

Moms, don’t let your little boys go it alone if you happen to be at the Sears at Volusia Mall here in Florida.

Police just finished a sting operation where nine men are accused of lewd and lascivious behavior and exposure of a sexual organ. The suspects went into the Sears bathroom and tapped their feet or zipped their zippers up and down several times, sometimes even looking under bathroom stalls, seeking others to join in sexual misconduct.

Among those arrested Detectives arrested were former Daytona Beach city commissioner Michael Shallow; David Behringer, a teacher at Sea Breeze High School; and two registered sex offenders (including one sick freak who was caught pleasuring himself in the bathroom of a daycare center).

When are we as a society going to wise up and start requiring chemical castration for men who cannot control their sexual behavior? By engaging in sex acts in public places, they are endangering the public, our children, anyone who happens to walk in on them.

Do what you need to do to make sure your children are escorted to the bathroom by yourself or someone you know and trust. Know where the family bathrooms are at the mall before you even begin shopping.

When I graduated from college, finding a job was a true chore. A resume was easy enough. I just had copies made at the local copy shop. Cover letters were another issue. While my room mate was under the impression she could write one cover letter to submit to all her job prospects, I knew the best way to go about applying for a job was to tailor the cover letter to each position. So, I would sit for hours with my electronic typewriter and type each letter, doing my best to not make mistakes (since correction tape was SO obvious).

I wish I could post a picture of me sitting there with a giant pile of wadded up mistakes on the floor next to me. It was usually an all-day affair to get resumes out. I’d sit there in the living room with the newspaper and my typewriter and a stack of stamps. It was horrible.

Find the open positions meant looking in the paper every day, hoping to get a tip via word of mouth, or using a head hunter.

I was overjoyed when the internet made finding a job a breeze. I still tailor each cover letter, but I save my base in a Word document and send each version to the printer. Zip, zap, done.

I’ve not used an actual newspaper to look for jobs in years! There are online job sites that will rival any classified section. Monster is probably the biggest job network online. I’ve been using them for years now. You can look for jobs, search for employees, post a resume, browse hiring articles, and more. The site will even notify you via e-mail when a job listing you are suited for gets posted.

There is an entire section just for employers. You can post and manage your listings, search the candidate database, and learn how to make your listings more attractive. The more jobs you post, the more money you save. Monster even has services that allow you to totally outsource your recruiting and hiring efforts.

If you are looking for jobs, Monster is free to use. You presence is an important part of their database and because of that, they provide all the tools you might need to build the perfect resume and search for jobs anywhere in the world.

The pictures of the apples out back reminded me of anld family recipe. I found this not only in my grandmother’s recipe file, but also in my great-grandmother’s

1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 cups applesauce
1 box raisins
1 cup crushed walnuts
3 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 Tablespoons cinnamon
1 Tablespoon ground cloves or allspice
2 eggs
pinch of salt

Cream first three ingredients. Add remaining ingredients.

Bake for 1 hour at 350º in a bundt pan.

I would consider myself a moderately savvy person when it comes to all things tech. I’ve been on the boat since the beginning of the internet and had a personal computer in my home at all times since about 1984. Things move SO fast in this industry, though, so I reply an awful lot of reviews and word-of-mouth when I want to pick up a new product or some software.

More than anything else, I have trouble keeping up with the ever-changing prices on things like computers, software and peripherals. A top of the line computer might cost the same from year to year, but you have to know what top of the line is at any given time in order to determine if you are paying a fair price. I like to use websites that have a significant product database that can give me reviews and product comparisons when I initiate a simple search.

I like the Tech Bargains websites, because they keep the space updated 24/7 with coupons and online codes, as well as the latest price drops on hot products like notebooks and flat panel monitors. When I bought my last pc, I used one of the dell coupons I found online. So, right now I am using the Tech Bargains site to hunt down an online coupon code so I can get a deal on the USB hub I need.

I actually do not have my printer or scanner hooked up, becuase my Dell does not have enough USB ports. I use a lot of peripherals.

I did a search for the best price (make sure pop-up blockers are off or can be disabled as needed for the search results) and the site gave me literally pages of products sorted by price, with relevant user reviews and available rebates.

I can smell warm Star Fruit all through the house. I have a batch of the dehydrator as I write this and the scent is perfuming the air. We still have a tree full of ripe fruit in the back yard and I’m working my rear off to make sure we use them all. I hate to see any go to waste.

We gave a big bag to my daughter’s godparents when they were here last week and I think I’m going to start shipping them boxes a dozen at a time.

The yard is so full of life right now. Since I was born and raised in the DC suburbs, it seems odd to me that November would be so alive.

Here are some pictures of the star fruit tree. You can see that the branches are just heavy with fruit and that we have ripe, unripe and blossoms all at the same time. The lemons are also getting plump. I’m just waiting for them to turn yellow. And, the apple trees not only have small apples getting ready to ripen, but apple blossoms as well.

I love taking pictures. For the most part, I take digital pictures and I have become quit good at sprucing them up in Photoshop. There are a lot of nifty things you can do with a digital picture. Sometimes, instead of just using standard photo editing software I will find a tool that makes certain effects simpler.

One of my favorite tools is the Morpheus Photo-Morpher. I have used it countless times to morph one photo into another, sometimes a series of several photos. My favorite thing to do with the software is take pictures of Gigi over time and show how much she has changed. Or, in some cases how much she really hasn’t changed at all over time.

Here is one of my favorite morphs. I took a picture of Gigi from her first birthday and one from her third birthday and I morphed one to the next. Although she appeared to change SO much over those two years, the animated gif here shows you how she’s really just the same kid

I morphed a picture of me into a picture I took of this week’s jack-o-lantern, but it was honestly horrifying, so I will spare you the shock. E-mail me if you really want to see it.

Oh, and you can get your own copy of the software at Zoombli.com

Article sponsored by Zoombli

We, as a nation, should indeed be touched by the story of “Baby Grace”.

This week near Galveston, TX a plastic storage box washed ashore on a small island and inside was the body of a dead child.

Authorities have been unable to identify the girl based on missing persons reports and have finally released composite sketches in hopes that someone, somewhere will recognize the little girl.

The little one was two or three years old with long, blonde hair down to the middle of her back. She was dressed in a pink shirt and a matching skirt and white sneakers with pink flowers embroidered on them. All appearances would indicate she has been loved and cared for at some point. The Galveston County medical examiner has said the child suffered skull fractures, but that he found no other broken bones.

What happened to this child? Who is she and does someone miss her? Why was she hidden in the storage container and put into the water?

Tragic things happen to children every day and that needs to be a reality to all of us. We need to notice when a child is gone. We need to care that a dead child washed ashore.

I pray that someone offers a tip that solves this mystery.

Here is a link to ABC’s story with the pictures.

To offer tips, contact the Galveston County Sheriff’s Office at
409-766-2222 or
866-248-8477