Karens Road

While my daughter was home, we cleaned out closets, cupboards and the basement shelves. I should have had a garage sale and sold all the great things I gave away. I just couldn’t bring myself to mark all the items and put them out for sale. The main reason for not having a garage sale is exposure. Our newspaper is not subscribed to by all of our residents and many who might shop at my sale might not even know I was having one. There has to be a better way to get the word out and make all my effort worthwhile.

My family is dependent on our iPhones and laptops for information. We find restaurants while we are out and about where we used to have to find a phone book to look something up. We can find out the hours of the zoo or the dry cleaners. We love the information highway. Why isn’t there a way to tell our community and surrounding communities about my wonderful yard sale?

Lo and behold, there is a terrific way to get the word out to a large amount of potential buyers! Garage Sales Tracker gives all of us garage sales enthusiasts the ability to advertise garage sales on the internet. I am so excited to see this website. It is such a valuable resource for both the seller and buyer.

Advantages for Sellers:


*Huge amount of exposure
*More time. Get up to two months exposure for your garage sale. More time means more potential buyers.
* Add images to your listing for FREE.
* Increased visibility for your yard sale
* Unlimited word count. No limit on the number of words you can use to describe items in your yard sale.
* Rain out guarantee. If it rains on the day you are having your yard sale. You can change your sale date at NO ADDITIONAL CHARGE.

Advantages for Buyers


* FREE to use. Find garage sales using either the search or browse sales tools.
* Filter results. Use the “Items for sale” tool to find yard sales selling exactly what you want.
* Embedded driving directions. Driving directions to the garage sale are provided on the site. No more copying and pasting address to get driving directions.
* Automated driving directions. Create an account and get automated routing instructions to all garage sales.
* Contact the seller. Have a question about an item on a garage sale listing? Call the seller or use the contact form at the bottom of each listing to contact the seller via email.

What more could you as for, except maybe having someone else mark your items? The site also lists flea markets and consignment shops. All you have to do is put in the zip code of the area of which you are interested in finding a shop or event. The website found two yard sales near my house that have me chopping at the bit to visit! I also discovered flea markets in Indianapolis and surrounding towns that I never knew existed. I see a road trip in my future.

I am an online user for just about everything and now I can even advertise my garage sale and find garage sales to my hearts content! Woo hoo!

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of MyLife. All opinions are 100% mine.

During my time online the past few years, I have met many people through social networking sites. It always brings me sadness when someone disappears from a site. They have their reasons for not posting. Perhaps they discover that the group doesn’t fit their writing style or they have become too busy to post. Whatever the reason, they leave and we all lose touch. I hate to see it happen and wish there was a way to find them again just to say hi.

There is a fun website, MyLife.com, that makes it easy to connect with people. I tried finding a blogger that I felt close to because she has a sister that lives in Texas and I do too. Her husband was battling colon cancer and I often find myself wondering how he is doing. At MyLife.com, all I had to do was type in her name and approximate age. I got back a listing of 8 different people and was able to narrow down to two people, my choices to email. I can send emails to both people listed to find out if one of them is my long lost friend. Pretty easy isn’t it?

Check out mylife.com to reconnect with long lost friends! It is fun.

It began snowing here in Indiana in the wee hours of the morning. We are seeing very large flakes that have given us approximately 6 inches of snow today. The country schools closed for the day and I hear that the kids who have vehicles have headed for a local park to have fun sledding. The picture above is of a tree just outside our house. I love the way snow sticks to trees.

After looking up information about where the Super Bowl will be held this year, 2010, I ran across a bit of trivia that I found interesting.

The Miami Dolphins have a new naming rights deal with Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville and Anheuser-Busch InBev’s joint brewing project, Land Shark Lager, which renamed the facility “Land Shark Stadium”. The sponsorship deal is reportedly for eight months and the name will revert to Dolphin Stadium in time for Super Bowl XLIV and the 2010 Pro Bowl, possibly to be replaced by another sponsor name if a deal can be secured before that time.

The stadium serves as host to the Miami Dolphins, the Florida Marlins, the Miami Hurricanes, and the annual Orange Bowl college football game.

Land Shark Stadium was the first of its kind in the NFL to be constructed entirely with private funds. Joe Robbie led the financing campaign to build Joe Robbie Stadium (JRS) for the Miami Dolphins of the NFL. JRS revolutionized the economics of professional sports when it opened in 1987. Inclusion of a Club Level, along with Executive Suites, helped to finance the construction of the stadium. Season ticket holders committed to long term agreements and in return received first-class amenities in a state-of-the-art facility.

Since its construction, the stadium has hosted four Super Bowls (XXIII, XXIX, XXXIII and XLI), two World Series (1997 and 2003), and three BCS National Championship Games (2001, 2005, 2009). The stadium served as host for the second round of the 2009 World Baseball Classic, and will host Super Bowl XLIV and the 2010 Pro Bowl.

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of 2000 Flushes. All opinions are 100% mine.

Ever since the Colts won the Super Bowl in 2007, I have been drawn to watching the game each year. Let me just say that when I say, I watch the Super Bowl game, I mean that I watch more than just the commercials!

This year’s Super Bowl will be held in Florida. On Sunday, Feb. 7, Super Bowl XLIV will take place in Miami at the Dolphin Stadium. The 2010 Pro Bowl marks the first time the event has been on the mainland in 30 years and the first time in South Florida in 35 years.

Can you imagine how exciting it would be to attend a Super Bowl game? My daughter was able to watch the Colts play the Jaguars in Jacksonville, Florida last month and said it was an amazing and fun event.

I will have to be satisfied with going to a friend’s house to watch the game. We ladies always meet at her house to watch the game and eat snacks. It is so much easier to visit and watch the game now that our kids are grown. Our husbands descend on another friend’s house where they can get loud and eat ungodly hot food. Can you imagine how much the bathroom gets used at that house?

Speaking of all the flushing that will be going on, I thought I would enlighten everyone about the sweepstakes “Is Your Bowl Ready for the Big Game?” I think it is fitting that 2000 Flushes, a WD-40 Company, is offering a fun sweepstakes during the time when approximately 90 million toilets will be flushed during the super bowl halftime.

2000 Flushes keeps your bowl sanitary and clean– flush after flush, for up to 4 months. I love the way it smells and makes me feel like the toilet is really clean when I use it. If you are wondering where to buy 2000 Flushes, you can find it at most grocery, drug, home improvement, mass merchandiser (e.g., Target and Wal-Mart, etc.), and other retail outlets. It is also available at their online retailer.

To Enter to Win, visit the microsite and fill out a form. How easy is that? Oh, and you can enter daily to increase your chances of winning. Winning a weekly prize does NOT effect chances of Grand Prize selection so be sure to visit every day!

• (1) Grand Prize – $10,000 Bathroom Makeover
• (99) Weekly Prizes of free product (coupon for free 2000 Flushes product)
• A $1 off coupon is also available to download from the sweepstakes site

The contest runs from Nov 30, 2009 through Mar 1, 2010. Grand Prize and Weekly winners are randomly selected.
Grand Prize winner will be awarded on Mar 15, 2010.
Winning a weekly prize does NOT effect chances of Grand Prize selection.

Distribution of products by 2000 Flushes, a WD-40 Company, to Participating Parties (media, bloggers, or other third parties or individuals) for the purpose of review and/or endorsement are done so in faith that the Participating Parties will be in compliance with FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION 16 CFR Part 255 Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising and other related regulations, applicable statutes, regulations, or requirements of any government authority as they relate to subsequent posts or promotional material featuring 2000 Flushes or any of its products resulting from distribution by 2000 Flushes.

What better way to get through the cold winter months than to enjoy winter sports! I absolutely hate to be cold but when I am outside doing something I love, I don’t even notice how cold the air is. I love to ski and each time I go down the slopes is an adventure. I am not one who loves to reach the bottom of the slope as quickly as possible. I like to take my time to sashay down the hill. I like to feel like I am in control. It involves less falling and enables me to avoid injury.

Since it is not possible to ski year around, at least where I live, it is important to prevent sore muscles by keeping them in shape all year round. Maintaining an exercise schedule that uses the muscles used when skiing will help you enjoy the sport. You will also need plenty of cardio endurance to enjoy your day of skiing. If you don’t build up your cardio endurance, you may find yourself tiring midstream. Exertion causes mishaps. You don’t want to get hurt because you lack the stamina to ski as much as you want.

So, find something that helps you get through the winter months. It might be reading a book or playing card games. Whatever it is, have fun with it!

We traveled over the Bay Bridge in California many years ago. It is huge and has a vast amount of traffic traveling over it each day. I cannot imagine what hassles the commuters in California feel while waiting for the bridge to be repaired. Investigators said the two metal rods and a 5,000-pound beam that came tumbling off the Bay Bridge Tuesday was likely caused by high winds. The pieces that fell off had been recently installed — on Labor Day weekend — after workers repaired yet another problem on the Bay Bridge, which first opened in 1936.

During our visit that year, we also traveled up the coastline to Carmel and Monterey. If I was able to choose a new place to live, one of these coastal communities would be my choice. The views are spectacular and the year round temperate climate sounds appealing.

While visiting Monterey, we had a strange thing happen. We were eating in a restaurant when the waitress asked if we were someone she knew from her home town. She even knew our names! It just goes to show that you have friends in many places, even if you are unaware of them. Are there friends you have lost contact with? MyLife.com is a wonderful site for finding old friends.

I have been searching for a former classmate for a long time. MyLife has made my search easy and fun. Who might be looking for you? Check out MyLife for a fun and easy way to find out.

I am so sorry for not having updated this blog in so long! We have been busy traveling on the weekends.

We visited Louisville, Kentucky so that my husband could attend the knife maker’s guild show. The show was held at the Seelbach Hilton Hotel. This was the most beautiful and historical hotel we have stayed at in all our years of travel.

Appearing on the National Register of Historical Places, this 4-diamond luxury hotel is considered the premiere hotel in the state of Kentucky. Built in 1905, it is considered a landmark to “the golden era” with its grand ambiance inspiring author F. Scott Fitzgerald to use The Seelbach as a backdrop for Tom and Daisy Buchanan’s wedding in The Great Gatsby.

If you ever visit Louisville, be sure to tour or stay at the Seelbach. You won’t be dissapointed.

Hubby and I spent the weekend near St. Louis. What an awesome city! We plan to return and check out some of the sites. I would like to visit the St. Louis Zoo. We passed a few signs for casinos that I am sure hubby would like to check out.

How many of us love to visit the gift shops when visiting areas along our travel route? I usually think of such shops as full of cheap junk. They usually have the standard items and the only thing that is different is the name of the location stamped on them. That said, there are some interesting and collectible items found in gift shops.

Museum gift shops always have cool stuff. Take for instance, the Institute for Contemporary Art in Boston. They have a fold-up bicycle you can purchase! Quilt museums have many books that are written about the historical aspects of quilting. I am guessing that the Corvette museum has models of cars that are waiting for a young person to put together.The US Space & Rocket Center gift shop in Huntsville, AL offers freeze-dried astronaut ice cream!

Aquariums have gift shops indicative to the creatures shown in their giant tanks. You want a stuffed dolphin? You got it! I am fascinated when I see a seahorse or a starfish encased in a round ball of glass known as a paperweight. Now, these are souvies worth taking home!