Archive for October 2010

Got a GREAT catch for you this week if you haven’t played Drawn.

Get an extra helping of caffeine with Coffee Rush 2. The evil Smokestack Coffee Co. is polluting the town with bad coffee. Open your own shop to bring delicious coffee back to your city in this match 3 game. You swap coffee beans, milk, sugar and other ingredients to prepare different variants of this fantastic beverage. Go on a roller coaster ride in Coffee Rush 2 through different neighborhoods, each with its own cast of characters.

PC Catch of the Week: Drawn: The Painted Tower: Enter the world of Drawn and unravel the secrets of the Painted Tower while overcoming challenging puzzles on your quest to save Iris. A curse has locked each floor of the tower, and only the most creative adventurer can find a way through. Travel to lush painted worlds and meet fantastic characters who will help you…and sometimes try to stop you, on your quest through the dream world of Drawn: The Painted Tower.

Catch the deal for your PC! Use coupon code CATCH299

Guess what? After you fall in love with the game and finish it, you can get more of Drawn in Dark Flight.

Mac Catch of the Week: Help Drawn: The Painted Tower.

Catch the deal for your Mac! Use coupon code CATCH299.

This $2.99 Catch of the Week runs through Sunday, October 17 at 11:59pm.

Remember Big Fish Games has a Daily Deal offering a different game for $2.99 every day.

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Driving the "A" train to nowhere

I used to repeat the Columbus poem over and over to tease my social studies teacher in elementary school. Really, I didn’t know the rest of the poem. I thought the next line was “In 1493, he brought back something-something and tea.” But I couldn’t find anything like it.

Anyway, sometimes I wonder why we have a Columbus Day in the U.S. other than to give a day off to government works and the U.S. Postal Service. Heck, America isn’t called Columbica, is it? There’s a lot of controversy surrounding Christopher Columbus and Amerigo Vespucci.

My family went to Plano’s International Festival last weekend for the first time. (And I had been trying to get there for the past few years.) The neat event has performers, art, food and children’s activities from a variety of cultures. My sons took a greater interest in the Interurban Railroad Museum located next to the festival. And of all things to pick for a snack, they chose ice cream. Then again, ice cream was the cheapest option.

We actually plan to go to the Texas State Fair this year! I think the kids will enjoy it more especially with the auto show. My older son loves all things cars. I will report on this later. Keeping this short as my brain’s circuits are in slow mode today due to a bad night’s sleep. It happens.

Brain food…

• You’re Already Perfect: I love Zen Habits’ stuff. It digs deep and helps you change. While I may not have ears that hear, I know I have eyes that see and couldn’t imagine life without eyes and ears. I’m appreciating the little things about myself better than I used to. How about you?
• Missing Frank: This sad, but important post teaches the importance of depression screening. If you know someone that can’t “snap out of it,” please get help. If you don’t know how to help the person, ask someone for advice. Don’t let it go on. You’d be surprised how many amazing people you know that have depression.
• How to Backup Your Social Media Accounts: Facebook now has an export feature. Don’t fret if you can’t find it. It’s not available to everyone yet.
• How to Handle Difficult Client Situations: Eight possibilities. Eight solutions. [Link: Leslie A. Joy]

For fun because we’re allowed…

• The new mobile Twitter: So all pay phones will turn into Twitter phones? [Link: Diana Adams]
• If you do this in an email, I hate you: Another winner from The Oatmeal. Only thing I wonder about are the three social network links. Hmm… that’s my call to action. To connect at one of ‘em. [Link: DJ Waldow's What's In Your Email Signature?]
• 6 Things Your Body Does Everyday That Science Can’t Explain: (Yawn) I know why I am yawning more today. I didn’t sleep well last night.
• Favstar: Popular recent tweets.
• 200 New Species of Frogs, [ick], Mammals and More Discovered: Gold mine of a find for scientists.

Who is your favorite explorer? Why?

Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2010 Meryl Evans

Today’s post joins the WOW-Women on Writing Blanket Tour for Healing with Words: A Writer’s Cancer Journey by Diana M. Raab, MFA, RN. The book includes Diana’s experiences, reflections, poetry and journal entries, in addition to writing prompts for readers to express their own personal stories. A survivor of both breast cancer and multiple myeloma, Raab views journaling to be like a daily vitamin — in that it heals, detoxifies and is essential for optimal health.

Diana, the author of eight books, spent 25 years as a medical and self-help writer before turning to poetry and memoir. She teaches creative journaling and memoir in UCLA Extension Writers’ Program. If you comment on this post you’ll be entered to win a copy of WOW-Women on Writing Blanket Tour for Healing with Words: A Writer’s Cancer Journey. To read Diana’s post about breast cancer and a list of other blogs participating in Diana’s Blanket Tour, visit The Muffin.

I received a postcard indicating mammogram time had arrived for the second time. I called the mammogram office, scheduled appointment and forgot about it until appointment time. The time came for the appointment. I headed to the hospital with my two boys and spent the waiting time making sure they stayed out of trouble and reading a book. The staff called me in, did the mammo and we left. No big deal.

A letter came within a week stating I needed to schedule a follow up appointment because the doctor saw something on my mammogram. The letter pointed out that the majority of women who have a follow up have negative results. I studied that sentence trying to force my brain to accept it and go about my day.

Instead, fear took over and took me back to my first apartment in Alexandria, VA. I had been married for a month and homesick. It was the first time I had lived outside of Texas and college didn’t start for a couple of months. Not long after we married, my husband received his first out of town assignment. The summer was an exciting yet lonely one. Married and living in a new place with nothing to keep me busy. I had been to Washington, DC a few times and didn’t feel the urge to do the tourist thing.

Mom and me, August 2010

My mom came to visit around that time. We sat down to catch up when she announced she’d be having a lumpectomy and radiation for a small tumor in her breast.

In spite of knowing many women, both survivors and dead, you think this will never happen to you or your family. It does. She has had clean mammograms since roller coaster of a year in 1989.

The technician took the spot check xrays, which don’t differ from a regular mammogram. Same machine. Same playing with the breast like it’s flour dough except with a human attached. Same squeezing it flat. Then I had to wait for the doctor to review the results. Wait. Wait. Cry. Wait. Think about something else.

The technician escorted me to another room for a sonogram. The xrays still showed a suspicious area and the sonogram would provide more answers. The sonogram lasted longer than a typical pregnancy sonogram, and this was one I didn’t want. Both the technician and doctor rolled the instrument all over the breast for at least 10 minutes. Watch screen. Wait. Cry inside. Look at ceiling when eyes tire of looking at screen. Wait.

At least an hour and 30 minutes passed by this point. The doctor pronounced me in the clear stating this would be a new baseline mammogram and I’d have to follow up in six months. Get dressed. Think thankful prayers. Appreciate the staff for being thorough even though it was an inconvenience. Escape the darkness of the mammogram clinic outside on a typical hot and sunny Texas summer day.

How have you been affected by breast cancer?

Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2010 Meryl Evans

Whoa, it be October! That means baseball playoffs begin and my team made it this year for the first time since 1999. That’s right — the Rangers and fans are partying like it’s 1999! I grew up playing sports and cheering on the Mavs, Texas Rangers, Cowboys, TCU and A&M. All teams have been up and down, but the Rangers rule them all in hanging around the cellar in the team standings.

I picked up my love of sports from my dad, the guy who’d have every Ranger game on. (You know baseball teams play a LOT of games… not like football.) Dad played football for his high school (James Madison) in Brooklyn, NY. I won’t bore you with this as I’ve collected lots of great links this week.

Need something fun to do and take a break from grind? Two awesome casual games have a new addition to the series! For the time management and Diner Dash fan: Cooking Dash 3: Thrills and Spills Collector’s Edition. For fans of mystery and hidden object adventures: James Patterson Women’s Murder Club Little Black Lies.

Brain food…

• Great Reminders for Writers from the Movie: The Prizewinner of Defiance Ohio: I never heard about this movie when it hit the theaters. Instead, I found it while looking for a movie to watch and it captivated me. Definitely one all writer’s should catch.
• SiteJabber: Consumer reviews of online websites and businesses.
• Manuals Online and Retrevo: Stop looking for the manual and get ‘em online. Well, some manuals aren’t available online anywhere like my Braun KF-187 Coffeemaker.
• Coordinating a book blog tour: Dotting your Rs and Crossing your… Rs: Worth saving so you can make the most out of them.
• Back to Basics: Why Am I Getting Rejected: Some of the time, it may not be you. Really. You can’t know what’s going on behind the scenes.
• How to Read Faster While Reading Well: Wish I had time to brush up on this as I’d like to read faster.
• Twitter Cheat Sheet: Excellent PDF file sorted in various categories. Not all are links to resources.

For fun because we’re allowed…

• How to Grow a Rainbow Colored Rose: Beautiful.
• Could have been love story: Facebook chat. Love the moral…
• Chewbacca’s First Day of School: That’s a keeper for his mom
• Rainbow Houses: 30 Pics: If I’d lived there, I’d need shades 16/7 (-8 to sleep).
• 10 Hilarious Looking Owls: Hoo knew they come in so many different looks? [Link: Paul Steele]
• Amazing Etch-a-Sketch Drawings: And all I can do is draw a box and weird shaped stick figures. [Link: Flipbooks]
• Carmen Sandiego IRL Win: “Years on the run have not been kind to her,” better half says. I LOVED playing “Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?” and watching the game show hosted by the awesome Lynne Thigpen. I have the theme song in my music player. Oh, and I was not a kid through all this. (Showing my age, aren’t I?) Well, actually, I was a teen in the first few game releases.
• Poet Venn Diagram: Brilliant. [Link: Guy L. Gonzalez]

Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2010 Meryl Evans

I enjoy playing the Cooking Dash series and #3 continues to entertain. What timing for the latest to come out at the same time as the Texas State Fair to get you in an amusement park mood. In Cooking Dash 3: Thrills and Spills, players juggle more tasks than ever as they prep unique theme park dishes with fun mini-games, serve sit-down customers and now manage a new “DASH-Thru” window service that transforms a typical restaurant into a true “Ride-staurant.”

Players bag up food for “DASH-Thru” diners as they ride through the Spooky Shack, fly through the Tree Tops, float through the Deep Dive, and more. New innovations will have players prepping, grilling and sizzling their way through 50 fast-paced levels and five especially themed “Ride-staurant” venues. Check out Cooking Dash 3: Thrills and Spills!

Catch of the Week: October 4 – 10, 2010

PC Catch of the Week: After having a strange vision, famous pilot Veronica Rivers finds a mysterious warning claiming that disaster is about to strike! Veronica’s vacation is about to end abruptly, as she has to travel across the globe to take on a brand new case. Discover who has been following Veronica, and what exactly they want from her, in Veronica Rivers – The Order of Conspiracy. Use your hidden object hunting skills to find the Gates of Destiny!

Catch the deal for your PC! Use coupon code CATCH299

Mac Catch of the Week: After having a strange vision, famous pilot Veronica Rivers finds a mysterious warning claiming that disaster is about to strike! Veronica’s vacation is about to end abruptly, as she has to travel across the globe to take on a brand new case. Discover who has been following Veronica, and what exactly they want from her, in Veronica Rivers – The Order of Conspiracy. Use your hidden object hunting skills to find the Gates of Destiny!

Catch the deal for your Mac! Use coupon code CATCH299.

This $2.99 Catch of the Week runs through Sunday, October 10 at 11:59pm.

Remember Big Fish Games has a Daily Deal offering a different game for $2.99 every day.

Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2010 Meryl Evans