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ME AND MY CALORIE FREE ICED TEA
I admit it. I’m an iced tea addict. Not just any old ice tea addict but SOUTHERN style ice tea. I don’t drink many sodas and try to have only one or two cups of coffee a day, but I constantly keep a glass of iced tea close. I’d guess I probably guzzle a gallon of tea a day.
I became concerned about my weight. While I wasn’t outright fat, let’s say I was getting “fluffy.” WHERE could I cut some calories without actually dieting? All that tea……all that sugar……..hmmmm….. Continue reading ‘ME AND MY CALORIE FREE ICED TEA’ »
HOW TO CLEAN A KITCHEN SINK STRAINER BASKET
I recently read a post by someone talking about how difficult it was to clean the bottom of their kitchen sink strainer basket, epecially the rubber part that keeps water in the sink. Here’s how I make that sometimes gross chore easy! Continue reading ‘HOW TO CLEAN A KITCHEN SINK STRAINER BASKET’ »
SOCIAL MEDIA AND LACK OF COMMON SENSE
I am starting to thimk Facebook – and other social media platforms – are making people, well, for lack of a kinder way to put it – stupid. Or maybe it’s just exposing how stupid some people are, I can’t decide.
Social media is a good way to share things with friends and family (and depending on your privacy settings, maybe the entire world). It’s also a platform to share important information such as traffic alert, bad guys law enforcement are looking for and missing people. Unfortunately, Continue reading ‘SOCIAL MEDIA AND LACK OF COMMON SENSE’ »
MY VOIP SERVICE E911 INFORMATION MYSTERIOUSLY CHANGED
UPDATE 12-16-2019 BELOW
IF YOU USE A VOIP PHONE SERVICE, PLEASE MAKE SURE TO OCCASIONALLY CHECK YOUR CONTROL PANEL AND VERIFY THAT YOUR E911 INFORMATION IS CORRECTLY SHOWN
I don’t mean to be an alarmist but it only takes a few minutes to verify your information and better to be safe than sorry.
Imagine my surprise and dismay this morning when I logged into my voip control panel and saw that my E911 emergency information had somehow been changed to a name and address in another state.
At some point, although my billing and account information remained correct, the E911 address changed to another person located in an entirely different state. I don’t know how long it has been this way and the rep for my voipo provider said he/they didn’t know.
I was concerned that my account had been accessed but the rep said it had not. When my account was set up nine years ago, I had to set up the E911 info myself – it WAS NOT done automatically.
I have not, at this point, been given a viable explanation as to how this happened. The first excuse was that it probably had something to do with whoever had the phone number previously. This is unlikely as I have had this number through their service for nine years and my information had been correct.
The next reason was issues with “endpoint.” That tells me nothing – it could mean a lot of different things. I was told that it had to be fixed from their end (something about separating accounts is the wording I think they used.) The rep told me if I corrected the address from my control panel it would cause the other person’s E911 information to be incorrect.
For some reason my phone call to customer service does not show up in my call logs, although calls before, since, and a beep during are listed. I do have an email with a ticket number assigned and there is an open support ticket about this in my control panel. Hopefully they are working on this – my E911 information is currently blank. I was told it would be corrected by the end of the day. As I post this it has been almost 24 hours with no further response from them.
Regardless of how this issue occurred, it could have had serious consequences if I had needed to call for emergency assistance. I am concerned that other customers may have had the same thing happen and are unaware. Things like this could cost someone their lilfe.
As a consumer I deserve an explanation.
UPDATE 12-16-2019
I contacted the company Saturday via their Facebook. They claim to respond within a day, “typically replies in 1 day.
If you want to ask something just press the “Talk to human” button.” I did both. It is now 5:30 PM EST Monday and I have had no response from them and the ticket still shows as being open.
Since they removed the other person’s address from MY control panel, I have put my address back in. I am, however, concerned that if they haven’t done whatever they were talking about doing that the other person may now be able to see at least my address in their control panel.
Not only is it dangerous for an E911 address to change as mine did, THIS IS ALSO A PRIVACY ISSUE. If this strangers address showed up inside of my account, where might MY address show up and is it only the E911 address?
#voip #voipsecurity #internetphone
Christmas Shopping Ideas
The Christmas Season is once again upon us! Time to get ready for Santa, lots of food, shopping and all the hustle and bustle that goes along with the Holidays! But during all this, please don’t forget what Christmas is really about – The birth of Christ.
Feel free to look around the other corners of my little shop while you are there – you’ll find something for everyone. Please excuse the mess – it’s rather disorganized and needs some serious tidying up.
POLITICALLY NEUTRAL T SHIRT DESIGN
Without doubt, the political climate in the USA is volatile. Things have come to a point where some people think it acceptable to harrass or even attack someone wearing political attire that reflects a different opinion from their own.
Since I sell graphic designs on several print on demand sites, I decided it was time to created a POLITICALLY NEUTRAL design for shirts and other products. It’s a perfect way to let the world know that you ARE involved in the political process but who you plan to vote for is nobody’s business but your own.
Feel free to contact me with any custom requests – I can be contacted at carolinafinds DOT com AT gmail DOT com or through my Zazzle store, www.zazzle.com/vanilla_primrose
COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT BY SELLER ON AMAZON PROBLEM
DMCA SENT, TWO WEEKS LATER ITEMS STILL UP FOR SALE
MY STOLEN IMAGE
In a matter of hours it will be TWO WEEKS, 14 days, since I sent the first DMCA notice to Amazon notifying them a seller on their platform is selling multiple items which infringe on my copyright. Amazon has never taken this long to resolve an infringement report I’ve filed before.
I received their auto response stating:
“Hello,
We received your email. Amazon respects the intellectual property rights of others. After we process your notice, we will notify you by email. This usually takes 1 to 2 days.” So the notice WAS received by them.
Amazon has now been notified of this issue multiple times. As of June 8th all seven listings I included in my DMCA notice are STILL up. Continue reading ‘COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT BY SELLER ON AMAZON PROBLEM’ »
WHY I’M DUMPING CLUMPING CAT LITTER AND WHY YOU SHOULD TOO
WHY I’M DUMPING CLUMPING LITTER
Some years back I switched from regular cat litter to clumping thinking it would be less expensive and make it easier to maintain multiple litter boxes. I’ve used different varieties – brand name, store name, generic, scented, unscented, lightweight. Looking back I don’t know that I saved money since it’s more expensive than non-clumping. It was less work in that I got a little more time between total dump and clean of the boxes. I t seemed to break down and become less absorbent. Urine would get to the bottom of the box and turn into a nasty, smelly goop.
The pee clumps solidify a lot more litter than you would think and they’re heavy. I scooped into a plastic grocery bag. If you dispose of these in your regular garbage it only take a few bags to make your garbage too heavy to easily manage. Living on a farm I was able to designate an out of the way ‘cat compost’ area. (You need to keep cat waste away from any food growing areas.) This clumping stuff doesn’t break down well. The entired pile has now turned into the “goop” I mentioned that sticks to the bottom of the litter box and is sitting there and hasn’t dissolved much even after days and days of heavy rains, which brings me to this thought:
I’d see clumping litter tracked all over my house, literally. It can, will, and does stick to kitty feet/fur. Cats groom themselves – without a doubt some of the cat litter gets ingested. Could this eventually cause problems since it clumps? Could it clump in your furbaby’s intestines over time and cause issues I don’t know the answer but I know what I saw when I scooped it and where I dumped it outside. I’m thinking clumping cat litter may not be very environmentally friendy.
Continue reading ‘WHY I’M DUMPING CLUMPING CAT LITTER AND WHY YOU SHOULD TOO’ »Regal or Royal Moth
Regal Moth citheronia realis
We found this large, beautiful moth hanging out under our carport this morning. It’s a Regal or Royal walnut moth, citheronia regalis. In Larva stage it is known as a hickory horned devil. I wish I could have gotten a picture with his wings expanded.
UPDATE: SHE has been in the same spot all day. It’s definitely female because she’s laying eggs. The eggs are falling on Continue reading ‘Regal or Royal Moth’ »
SHADY TELEMARKETERS 803-244-0371 and 813-343-6500
This article is to alert my readers to calls from the above two numbers.
I’m on the ‘do not call list’ but on June 18th I started getting robo calls about mortgage refinancing from 803-244-0371 – which showed up on my caller ID as Bamberg, SC. Each time I disconnected the call. When the calls continued on June 19th I decided to go into my voip control panel and block the number.
Imagine my surprise when I looked at the call log and saw that the call was made from 803-244-0371 but TO, instead of MY number showing up, a number in Florida, 813-343-6500. How shady and sneaky is that? Googling the 813-343-6500 number shows up two types of results – a marketing company and loan companies. What a way to hide who and where you are.
I doubt most people would be able to see that information but my voip service logs everything for me. Hopefully this will be helpful to the FCC Do Not Call people because I’ve reported all their calls.
Eleaf Aster 75W Mod User Review
This is a simplified, end-user review of the Eleaf Aster 75 watt mod. It doesn’t cover specifications and all the technical things – only an opinion of a consumer who has used the product. I ordered the product on August 11, 2017, received it several days later and used it until around November 28, 2017, slightly over three months.
As far as the PERFORMANCE of this mod, I was pleased with it. The single battery life was pretty good, the mod small and comfortable in my hand. I could easily wrap my hand entirely around it. The adjustment buttons are above and below the screen, the fire button on an angle above. I did run into an issue with accidently changing my wattage, but I think that was more due to the way I held the unit than anything else.
I’m sad to report that I am NOT happy with the durability of the mod beyond the actual performance. Within two days of receiving it, the bottom magnet on the door fell off. I superglued it back in but it fell out again within a week – I guess I was too stingy with the glue. I reglued it – and dumb me put the magnet in backwards so the bottom of the door wouldn’t close. Unfortunately I’d used enough glue that time it refused to come out. I should have sent it back the first time the magnet fell outsince it was under warranty, my mistake.
Next comes the quality of the paint finish. No, just no. Look at the picture below the fire button. (More pictures at end of article) The finish is worn down to the bare metal where my thumb rested when I fired the mod. The mod hasn’t been dropped or abused.There is also a picture of the bottom and sides. The sides have a lot of scratches, the bottom shows wear as that under the fire button. For the most part, the mod sat on my computer desk. Oddly, the battery door finish is almost blemish free…… and that poor battery door HAS been dropped many times – it tended to easily fall off since only one magnet held it. Some wear is expected, but not this much, not in under four months use. I have other different brand mods that have been used a lot longer and subjected to rougher conditions that show none of this wear and tear.
Would I buy this unit again? I have mixed feelings about that. As far as the mechanical part, it’s a good little mod, in my opinion. I can reason with myself that the battery door was one of those things, not that big of a deal. The finish, though, that might be a deal breaker for me. I feel it should have held up better no longer than it was used.
I’d advise anyone considering this mod to make sure there are silicone cases or at least decals available before purchase.
Black Snake In Tree Surprise
After a long, hot and humid summer in the south, cooler weather makes me think about doing some yard work. On a cool but damp and cloudy day I decided to make plans to trim back some limbs on a lopsided tree that annoyed me all summer.
I was walking around it trying to decide where the best places to prune would be when I something caught my eye – at first I thought it was a vine then I realized it was a SNAKE. We were, literally, nose to nose. His head was maybe six inches from my nose. I will say at this point I probably set a new record for a backwards broad jump if there is any such thing. Continue reading ‘Black Snake In Tree Surprise’ »
TO AVOID POTENTIAL CONFUSION…..
I’m posting this in order to (hopefully) avoid potential confusion.
I’ve had this domain for almost 10 years. I just found out that in July 2017 someone started using “carolinafinds” on Twitter. It looks like this person sells used items through a site called poshmark. I want to make it clear that the person IS NOT ME and that I do not know or have any affiliation with them. @carolinafinds #carolinafinds
A Little Bit About Copyright Infringement…..
Artists and designers fight a never-ending battle to stop copyright infringement – thieves love to steal other people’s hard work and slap it on counterfeit products to make a fast buck. Many but not all of these thieves are in China – the description plainly says ships from China and even including the shipping costs (which is supplemented by the Chinese government as well and the US) sells for a fraction of what the legitimate product sells for. Buyers can probably expect to get a shoddy product – since the most of the time the images used for the print has been greatly enlarged and likely wil be fuzzy and drab.
The above situation has to be handled by the abused party in specific ways. HOWEVER, there are other situations that can be handled in other, ummm, creative ways. ***NOTE I am not telling or even suggesting you do this – I am putting this information out for educational purposes***** 🙂 Continue reading ‘A Little Bit About Copyright Infringement…..’ »
COOLER WEATHER MEANS TIME FOR LEGGINGS
With a hint of fall and cooler weather in the air it’s time to enjoy wearing leggings. Think football games, cozy fires, brisk walks, any occasion at all.
Leggings might be considered by many to be tight fitting pants, but to me they are a version of footless tights and can be worn with our without a skirt, as pants or under clothing for extra warmth. Think dressing in layers when it’s extremely cold. I think they look really cute worn with little boots that come past your ankles.
For myself, I prefer longer tops that cover at least most of my backside, but that’s just my preference for ME. These days anything goes. If you’re looking for something in your own unique color choices give me a shout and I’ll see what I can come up with for you.
Check back as these were recently added by Zazzle and I will be adding more to this collection. Also check out the other items for sale in my Zazzle store, Vanilla Primrose
Obama Appointee Attacks Religious Freedom Rights
I haven’t posted in awhile, and I’ve tried hard to avoid being blatantly political on this blog, but NO MORE. It’s time to speak up and speak out.
If you are a Christian, if you believe in religious freedom, you need to wake up fast and don’t even consider voting for Hillary Clinton. She has made it clear that she wants to continue Obama’s legacy – and he has stated he will consider it a personal insult if people don’t vote for her. In addition to other damage he has done to the United States and her citizens he has consistently chipped away at Christianity while appearing to support some people who seem bent on terrorism.
Consider this: In January 2011 OBAMA APPOINTED Martin Castro as Chairman of the US Comission on Civil Rights. In September of this 2016 they have finally released a report which was due out in 2013. At least one member of the commission has stated he didn’t agree with the report but voted for it in order not to hold up the report any longer……This report says:
RELIGION IS A CODE WORD FOR DISCRIMINATION, INTOLERANCE,
RACISM, SEXISM, HOMOPHOBIA, ISLAMOPHOBIA, CHRISTIAN SUPREMACY
OR ANY FORM OF INTOLERANCE.
That seems to me to be an attack on the CHRISTIAN religion.
Clinton’s said (From her speech, 6th Annual Women In The World Summit)
“Laws have to be backed up with resources and political will,” she explained. “And deep-seated cultural codes, religious beliefs and structural biases have to be changed.”
I do not believe for one moment that this comment pertained only to women’s abortion rights but instead to ending religious rights and freedoms of Christians.
The way things are going Christian’s won’t have any rights. Lyndon Johnson forced a law years ago that threatens to take away tax-exempt status from Churches that express their political views. Donald Trump is right – this law, amendment or whatever you want to call it needs to be overturned.
People, PLEASE do some homework on this. Christians cannot afford for Hillary Clinton to become our POTUS. Corruption, lies and dishonesty, deceipt, etc. already swirl around her like flies on, well, poop, but if that isn’t enough to make you give up supporting her consider the fact that she’ll go after your Christian beliefs and 1st and 2nd amendment rights. After all, in the minds of some, everybody BUT Christians have rights.
And don’t forget, she wants to increase the big numbers of so-called “refugees” Obama demands by at least 550% – you know, those “refugees” that terrorists have bragged about infiltrating, who want to murder Christians.
SAVE THE US – VOTE TRUMP.
LINKS TO ASSOCIATED ARTICLES. For tons more google “martin castro and religious freedom” without the quotes.
foxnews.com
bpnews.net
breitbart.com
washingtonpost.com
erlc.com
christianpost.com
ncregister.com
Beware Counterfeit Items On Amazon Using Stolen Artwork
I’d like to give shoppers a “head’s up” about a problem graphics designers are having with some 3rd party sellers on AMAZON. If you are shopping for any product with a design/artwork on it and it’s from a third party seller, be sure to check it out very well before ordering.
There are a lot of graphics thieves operating on Amazon as 3rd party sellers. They steal images and offer them for sale at prices much cheaper than the legitimate products. Can we say counterfeit? A lot of these don’t bother to simply take the image and slap it on something – they are such sorry pieces of humanity they take the actual image from a Zazzle store – the article for sale with the image on it, then slap it up for sale on Amazon. Most of these little scumbags say the item will ship from China and their stores will say “just launched”, although I have seen some that have managed to stay in business for a long time in spite of their thieving ways and at least one thief was in the US.
It doesn’t help that Amazon has some kind of catalog/database they store everything in – even products no longer available. It seems that once something is in there it is hell to get it out. They seem to want to lay claim to anything that gets uploaded to them – even if it was uploaded illegally by a thief. According to the e-mail I’ve pasted below, they make it available to all their sellers.
_______________________________________________
“Hello,
Thank you for your message. Based on the information you have given us, we must respectfully decline your request to remove the listings of your Pillow from our website. Currently, Amazon.com does not offer the item(s) for sale. Rather, its catalog contains bibliographic and other information about the materials.
Continue reading ‘Beware Counterfeit Items On Amazon Using Stolen Artwork’ »
Do It Yourself Cheap Heat Reflecting Curtains
I have a VERY old house. It’s always needing something – nothing lasts forever – and hiring someone to do anything can be a lot more expensive than hiring someone to do the same project on a newer home. Some of it I can see – old houses aren’t plumb – they’ve settled over the years, and who would look forward to crawling under a building that’s been standing there for a hundred years or more? Still, some overpricing because a house is old is ridiculous – say to have a pane of glass in a window replaced – things like that.
Needless to say, I’m always trying to find ways to save a little money when I can. Sure, the house is paid for – and due to it’s age property taxes aren’t near what they would be on a newer home of the same size. On the other hand, not having good insulation and things like that, my electric bills are higher, and something is always breaking or needing repair. The consolation in that is I’ve seen a lot of newer homes that have more issues than my old place does.
My latest experiment/project is to try to save a little on electricity while keeping myself from completely roasting. The local power company is whining for (another) 3% rate increase because the nuclear plant they’ve been building for years is still behind schedule. Gotta love paying for something ahead of time we’ll probably never see any savings from (but you can bet the power company will eventually see a profit in their bottom line.) Continue reading ‘Do It Yourself Cheap Heat Reflecting Curtains’ »
It’s Christmas Shopping Time Again
Christmas is fast approaching and I’ve been busy designing Christmasy products for my Cafepress and Zazzle Stores. I’d love to have you visit them – My Cafepress Storeand My Zazzle Store They are a little unorganized – most visitors reach items through the respective marketplaces – but both have most Christmas items in one spot. If you have time, browse around – you may find something that will make a good gift for those hard-to-buy-for people. And, if you are looking for something specific and can’t find it anywhere, or want something unique, get in touch with me and I’ll work with you to design something just for you! Remember, though, I do have to abide by copyright and trademark laws. For example, I can’t use a Disney character, and there are some common, everyday phrases that greedy people have trademarked. Some things trademarked are simply ridiculous.
When shopping on Cafepress or Zazzle, once you see an item you like in the marketplace, if the designer has a “store”, do check the prices there. Sometimes they will be cheaper. For example, Cafepress sets the Marketplace prices. Designers only have control over item prices when they are listed in their stores. It doesn’t always work out that way, but it is worth checking. Everybody would like to save a little money.
Recently I’ve sold some products through e-commerce. That’s where an online retailer sells products through their business. I have no way of knowing what retailer my items sold through, though. These sales only pay me half of what I’d make if it sold through the POD and at first I was a little bummed out about it until I got to thinking that the buyers may not visit the POD’s and I may not have made the sale at all otherwise. Half IS better than zero, lol.
I’ve been designing now for both Zazzle and Cafepress for a year and a half. I don’t make much, but even the little pocket change I do make is helpful.
Happy Holiday Shopping To All!
Quick Easy and Yummy Cheese Enchiladas
These directions are for four enchiladas. Simple to double, triple, etc. the recipe. I was in a hurry so I skipped some of the steps a lot of recipes call for and they turned out fine.
Chi-Chi’s Whole Wheat Fajita Style Tortilla Wraps
1 can Medium Chi-Chi’s Enchilada Sauce
Velveeta Casa Blanco Cheese
11×7 glass baking dish. Heat oven to 350 while preparing.
Pour about half the can of sauce into the baking dish. Place chunks of cheese in center of tortilla wraps. * Fold one side over the cheese , then roll up into a tube. Roll in sauce, then leave it there with the edge side down. *Repeat for all.
Pour remaining sauce on top of enchiladas. Bake in 350 degree oven for about 15 minutes. Place on plates, then spoon sauce from cooking dish over them.
This is a basic recipe which could easily be expanded on, fast and easy to whip up and are filling.
Other things could be added – chicken, more or less cheese, burger, etc. I used what I had on hand, but the next time I think I’ll try adding some bacon bits to the cheese. For a fancier meal, you could add sour cream, salsa, diced tomatoes and onions, etc.
Enjoy!