Although I find many interesting sites by researching tech related terms, I’ve found just as many - maybe more - while researching things related to my kids. I’m not talking about kids’ TV shows or games but everything from health to law to psychology.

A few days ago I noticed that my 12 year old son had a spot on his cheek that could have been the first sign of adolescent acne. Something about it, though, made me think otherwise. It just seemed too big and too red to be a first pimple.

When in doubt, I turn to the internet. In this case, I did some research on this type of skin eruption which led to talk of irritants and bites and eventually spiders. That part of the search led to a very nice page detailing venomous spiders. (The eruption on my son’s cheek turned out to be a spider bite.)

The Spider Identification page has excellent graphics of each spider featured. Even more, the site offers free spider identification and First Aid charts to keep on hand for emergencies. I just love a site that provides great information as well as a freebie. Don’t you?

Now that I’m approaching the half century mark, I’m even more concerned with my health and fitness. I’ll soon be eligible for AARP membership so I’ve been looking over their site. What a wonderful resource for those interested in staying healthy and active!

AARP’s fitness section covers topics like staying hydrated, Diabetes and Exercise, and even mental attitude. Their tips for following a more active lifestyle are excellent.

I’ve debated whether I should join a fitness club that offers fancy machines like electronic treadmills and ellipticals, or if I should just keep up my daily walks. After reading a little at the AARP site, I’m thinking that I should probably add some weight training, at the very least.

I know that AARP is for those over 50 but the tips and information on the site will benefit any age group. Do check it out!

I’m a Baby Boomer. I’m at the late end of the era, but I’m there. Just a few more months and I’ll be eligible for AARP membership. I used to think of 50 as old but now it just seems like another year. I don’t feel as old as I perceived my mom to be at 50. Is that all perception? Or has 50 really changed over the years?

I’m sure perception plays a part but I also believe that the buying power of the Baby Boomer generation has influenced companies to develop products that appeal to our quest for a long and healthy life. There are new companies popping up every day but the tried and true companies that served my parents and grandparents so well are still in the game, making amazing advances.

I was looking around the Johnson & Johnson website, expecting to find those familiar items like Q-tips, baby shampoo, and Band-Aids. I found those but I also discovered that my favorite sweetner, Splenda, is a J&J product. In fact, I never even realized that my contact lenses come from J&J. No doubt Johnson & Johnson has been at the forefront of healthcare innovation over these past decades.

As with any successful company, J&J has focused on quality products and customer satisfaction. Caring about their community of employees and consumers means different things to each of us. I was especially moved by the personal stories of those whose lives have been improved by J&J products. I know about this first hand. As I type this post, I’m in my mom’s home caring for her as she recovers from knee replacement surgery. When I watched the video of Mark who was bicycling again after hip replacement, I fought back tears. It is this kind of innovation that is giving my mother another chance to live a pain-free life.

I know that the healthcare industry in general gets a lot of criticism in the US; I know it’s a hot topic during this election season. Nevertheless, no one can deny the great strides that private companies like Johnson & Johnson have made in providing treatments and products that improve our quality of life so much that 50 today is more like 30 was in the 1950s. I can’t wait to see and chronicle the advances that are yet to come.

I’ve got 6 kids, a grandkid, a soon-to-be “step” grandkid (”Step” is just to be technically correct. He’s already my real grandkid in my heart) and a brand new grandbaby on the way. The family just keeps growing.

We try to make each kid feel special on birthdays and Christmas but sometimes a kid wants to be special on non-special days. I used to keep little gifts around, things I’d pick up on sale like a little race car or a family of babydolls, just to give to a child who might be needing a little extra love. I still do that for the grandkids.

Sometimes I want something special, too. Being a mom with kids, I don’t usually spend money on myself. I just found a way to get a special treat for no money at all. And what is that special thing? A free t-shirt!

Now, I’ve just discovered this site so I can’t verify that you’ll actually get the shirt you request. I’ll definitely let you know if the shirt comes in or not. If it does, then this is a site that I’ll be checking at least once each week.

Apparently, these t-shirts have printing imperfections. The one I ordered stated the logo was the wrong shade of blue. Ordering requires just your mailing info, no payment information at all. They didn’t even ask for an email address.

The site states that stock changes often so it’s a good idea to keep checking. There is a limit of one t-shirt per person. If you order and receive the shirt, please let me know.

I grew up in a quiet, middle class neighborhood. We didn’t lock our doors. We borrowed milk and butter from each other. We kids called the grown ups “Mr.” or “Mrs.” but we all felt more like family than many families today. It was (and still is) a great place to live.

And yet. (You knew that was coming, right?) There is always a neighbor - sometimes more than one neighbor - who transforms a wonderful neighborhood into a nightmare. Some neighbors are unpleasant and others are just downright rotten. When you’re dreaming of luxury vacations but would settle for a hospital stay just to get away from an obnoxious neighbor, you know you have a problem!

Now, thanks to the internet, anyone can report rotten neighbors in order to warn others. That means that if you’re thinking of buying a new house, you can check out the neighborhood for any problem people. Pretty cool, huh?

The site is the brainchild of Brant Walker and is owned by @ttenunit.com. They’re not real estate agents or brokers; the site is simply there as a service to those who are considering a move to a new area.

I entered my own zip code and found no reports of bad neighbors so I guess I’m in the clear. (Or my neighbors don’t know about the site yet.) I entered my mom’s zip code and found 4 reports: 2 bad, 2 good. Knowing the area as I do, I admit that I agree with the reports I found.

Whether you’re looking into a new neighborhood or you just want to give your opinion on your own neighbors, this is an excellent resource. Give it a look.

I hate this time of year. I love summer and would gladly never look at another snowflake again. I know, it’s still technically summer. But it’s also the end of summer for my kids.

School begins for my youngest son on August 20. Can you believe that? It’s just too early. I’m not ready to send him back yet. Doesn’t matter, though. Levi waved his school list in front of me every day this past week and I finally relented. We went School Shopping.

After we piled the cart with loose leaf paper, spiral notebooks, pens, pencils and a couple hundred other things that the teachers want the kids to have, we headed over to the electronics section. We walked past the digital cameras, lingered at the Lenovo Thinkpad display, checked out the release date for Madden 09 and finally stood in front of the jump drives.

This is significant because I can remember when kids (in other words, me) did not need electronics. I remember when I thought it was quite a leap the first time one of my kids was required to pay a school fee for a 3 1/4 inch floppy.

(For the record, it irked me that I couldn’t just send one of my own since I bought them in bulk. The teacher thought she had to buy them from their supplier or they wouldn’t work in the school’s computers!)

Anyway, our kids are now required to come to school prepared with a jump drive. The paper said that 1GB is a minimum requirement but the 2GB was marked down so I got that one. I wonder how long it will be before kids are required to have laptops at school.

I need some advice. Or instruction.

My cell phone has been misbehaving lately. Sometimes when I flip the phone open to answer a call, it just keeps ringing, as if I didn’t flip it open at all. If I then hit the Send button to answser it that way, it still keeps ringing. The only solution is to then shut the phone and wait for the person to call back. Or I can just call the person back myself.

It doesn’t happen every day or even every week. It’s random. Sometimes, it happens several times in a row, then it won’t happen again for days or weeks. Having had cell phones for over a decade, I know that when these things start, they just keep getting worse. They never get better.

Every time my phone has needed to be replaced, the Alltel salesperson tells me they can download my address book. When they try, they say it can’t be done. I never know why. They don’t know why. It’s happened at least three times and it’s very annoying. It’s going to be even more annoying this time because my daughter added oodles of phone numbers to my phone for me a few weeks ago.

I do not want to have to add all those numbers back into another phone.

My current phone is an LG AX8600 . It has a micro sd card. What I want to know is how to put my phone book on the card so I can transfer to a new phone later. I need simple instructions using little words.

Don’t laugh at me. I can do all kinds of things with a computer. I can fix them and tweak them and even build them. Cell phones frustrated me. They’re too small for one thing. I’m old and my eyesight isn’t what it used to be. And my phone does not have a keyboard. I get annoyed with the keypad.

So, how do I do this? Anyone?

I know most people would rather just walk into a store and buy a cosmetic or toiletry that works for them. And many people simply enjoy the whole buying experience when it comes to beauty products.

And then there are those of us who would rather formulate their own beauty products.

I initially became interested in formulating because everything I used seem to make my face break out. I discovered some really wonderful mineral makeup that helped my skin tremendously. At the same time, I began to experiment with skin care that utilized Essential Oils and a few other simple ingredients. One of my favorite resources for Essential Oil information is the Index of Essential Oils

If you’re looking for information on hair care, sore muscles, acne treatment or even how to mix up a “sensual” blend for romantic evenings, you’ll find just what you want here. The site offers many of these oils for sale but provides information even for those oils they don’t sell.

Please be sure to read all the precautions as well as the benefits of each oil. Yes, they are considered “natural” but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be careful with them. Some are quite potent.

If you’re wondering, my very favorite Essential Oil is Helichrysum. Feel free to send some my way.

Anyone who writes for the public, whether as a traditional journalist or as a blogger, knows the importance of an attention-grabbing title. The headline grabs the readers and draws them in. It doesn’t matter if the headline is misinterpreted, as long as it entices the reader to read.

I mention this because when I read a headline about curtains for Desktops, my first thought was something that would cover a computer monitor. If not an actual curtain, then perhaps the article was about some type of software, like a screen saver.

In reality, the article is a prediction that desktop computers will soon be replaced by laptops. Ha! I sure did read that wrong. But the article is thought-provoking and even more interesting than I’d initially thought.

I admit that I know many people who are buying laptops as their primary computer today. Kids want laptops so they can take them when they visit friends or travel from school to home. Business people want laptops so they can work from home on weekends or in the evening. Even older people are looking at laptops, possibly because they’ve downsized their homes and space is limited.

On the other hand, I don’t see laptops completely replacing desktop computers. Dollar for dollar, a desktop is a much better deal. With identical configuration, the desktop will always been less expensive than the laptop. Although I’ve upgraded my laptop a few times, I’m still more comfortable working on the inside of my desktop than on a laptop. Replacing a desktop is even more of a bargain since the monitor doesn’t necessarily need to be replaced at the same time as the tower.

I’m blogging right now on my laptop because I’m at my mom’s instead of at my house. When I’m home, I’m almost always on my desktop simply because it’s faster and I like the keyboard better. I see laptops taking more of the market, especially among those who use their computer mostly for the internet. But laptops will never totally replace desktops. That’s my prediction.

One of my favorite things about the internet is the free stuff. I love that people share their creations with others. I love that people share their knowledge.

I learned to build web pages by looking at other people’s code. I’ve also tried very hard to learn about graphic design. For some reason, I just don’t get that. No talent, I guess. Not to worry, though. There are people who offer free graphics that are really good.

One of my favorite sites for free graphics is vecteezy. Vecteezy is a collection of free vector graphics for everything from web sites to Halloween invitations to school projects. Naturally, you’ll want to read the license information for anything you’d like to use since some of the free graphics are for personal use only. Still, free is good.

Go ahead and take a look around Vecteezy. And tell me what you think of it.