Friday

 Thanks to Unknown Mami for taking over 

Fragmented Fridays this summer.  

(I tried 20 times to add the FF logo but for some reason Blogger kept spitting it out.) 

A very glamorous and successful lawyer friend of mine called me this morning to chat while she drove (hands free, of course) to work.  We both had a good laugh when we compared schedules.  Hers included a big client meeting, two depositions, lunch at Spago and another important meeting.  Mine included important meetings too... With the exterminator (ants!), plumber, painting contractor, and the guy who cleans our house gutters.  She said I was lucky not to be wearing a suit, panty hose and high heels on a 90 degree day.  I said she was lucky to have a meal she didn't have to cook herself.  It was one of those "the grass is greener on the other side" kind of moments even though we both knew we wouldn't want to change places.
 

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 I spotted this church sign the other day and it made me smile.

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I got "buzzed" and finished this quilt top yesterday.   (Get it?)  Quilting is a newer hobby for me that's cutting into my blogging time!  But, summer and warmer weather is coming so the sewing machine will be packed up soon until the Fall and I'll be online a lot more.

 (All fabric from my fave fabric store Sew Modern in Los Angeles.)

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And, you can still enter my GIVEAWAY for the Wizard of Otin's terrific book, In Blog We Trust.  Otin is one of the good guys in Blogland and getting his first novel published was a big deal.  YOU can win an autographed copy by Following me via Bloglovin'.  The button is on the top right of my page.  (Please Follow and leave a comment below that you did.)  Full Giveaway details are HERE.

And check out Otin's latest super scary novel 12:19 HERE.  It's a supernatural horror thrill that will have you sleeping with the lights on!  I'm in the middle of reading it now and loving it!  It's available on e-Reader.

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For more Fragmented Fridays, stop by and see Unknown Mami.

Have a great weekend!
Welcome to www.TheFiftyFactor.com - Joanna Jenkins 
Photo Credit: © peshkova - Fotolia.com and Michael Infinito

Blog Changes & a GIVEAWAY

The clock is ticking and July 1st, when Google Reader disappears, is fast approaching.  I was late to the party learning about this and have spent a long day trying to figure things out.  But alas, I've switched my RRS Feed to Bloglovin' and, if the buzz around Blogland is true, I've added the new "Follow Me on Bloglovin" button you see in the top right navigation bar just in case Google Friend Connect disappears too.

So, to kick things off and ask you to pretty please click on my Bloglovin' Follow button, I'm having a Giveaway!

But first--  If you haven't made an RSS feeder change yet, you need too or you'll lose all the blogs you follow.  Yikes!  Here's the helpful blog that assisted me in making the switch-- Jilly Be Joyful.  I found her instructions very easy to follow.  But one thing--  I was not able to make the switch on Foxfire, I had to go through the process on Safari-- why I don't know, but if the switch not working on your usual system, try another one.

So about that Giveaway...  Thanks to the generosity of the awesome blogger, The Wizard of Otin, I have an autographed copy of his novel In Blog We Trust.  I found it to be a fast-paced thriller loaded with suspense, murder and a little sex, all tied a very mysterious blog that had people doing crazy things...  It's terrific and I think you'll enjoy it.

All you have to do to win is leave a comment letting me know you FOLLOWED ME ON BLOGLOVIN'--  Just click that button on the top of my Nav Bar in the upper right corner.

I've been reading Otin's scary stories on his blog for the past nearly 4 years and LOVE THEM.  He's a blogger who followed his dream and was able to publish not one, but TWO novels--  How awesome is that!  

Otin latest novel, 12:19 is available on e-Reader format NOW and is so scary I can only read it with all the lights on and when my husband is home!  Here's a little tidbit about his new book 12:19...

12:19…The time has been set…
Violet and Johnny Dotson pull up stakes and relocate to the beautiful countryside near Asheville, North Carolina in an attempt at starting their lives over after series of miscarriages. Unbeknownst to them they have actually been summoned there by a higher power.
Locked away in a mountaintop mental institution, J.C., a mysterious man who was the only survivor found at the scene of a brutal murder/suicide, will only utter five words… “I am the son of God.”
Strange events centered around the unknown patient spur Detective Tom Drayton to connect several bizarre deaths to the time of 12:19.
Armed with an old priest’s advice and a touch of new found faith, Tom follows a path that could very well lead him to the destruction of all mankind.  But is he doing God’s bidding, or could he in fact be the dreaded serpent himself?
12:19…The clock is ticking….

One of the darkest things you'll ever read!  Order info is HERE.

See, I told you it was scary!  Even the cover with that snake gives me the willies. 

The Giveaway closes at Midnight PT July 4th.  Otin will ship In Blog We Trust directly to the winner.  You must have a blog to enter and make sure I can reach you via email if you win.

So come on-- Enter to win The Wizard of Otin's (aka Michael Infinito) In Blog We Trust.  Again, all you have to do is click on the "Bloglovin's Follow Button on the top right navigation bar.

What RSS feed are you switching to?
Welcome to www.TheFiftyFactor.com - Joanna Jenkins
Photo Credit: Michael Infinito
Photo Credit: © allapen - Fotolia.com

I yiyi

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Please hang in there with me while I figure out how to use Bloglovin...  Why oh why does Google Reader have to go away July 1st?  Oy.

I'll be back soon.

Fly

Four cross-country flights in five weeks--  Phew!  I'm tired, but even after all my years of flying, I learned a few things.

The "Friendly Skies" are pretty cold these days, especially if you pony up and pay extra for leg room in Coach Class seating, which, if I calculate right, is about $10 per inch!  But leg room on a nearly 5 hour flight makes a huge difference on my tired bones so I swiped my Visa for $69 (gulp!) and off I went.  Thing is, I thought I'd signed up for a ride on the Polar Express!

It seems the main Coach Class air conditioning unit is located directly over the "Priority Seats" making the premium pay passengers freezing cold compared to the cramped passengers towards the back who were boiling hot.  And I mean freezing-- even with a long sleeved tee shirt, a hoodie with the hood up and a cashmere shawl wrapped around my head and face.  It was C.O.L.D. and not fun.

One of my flights to Ohio left at 6:05AM-- a gawd awful hour, especially when you factor in getting up at 2:45AM so I could get to the airport in time and snake my way through the painfully slow security line.  I made it with 20 minutes to spare before boarding and would have traded my soul for a cup of hot tea and a bagel.  Unfortunately, airport food service doesn't open until at least 5:30AM, with many not opening until 6AM.  Translation:  No tea for me.

Another flight was extremely turbulent, as in the flight attendants were strapped into their seats for a full 2 hours!  But apparently violently bouncing around at 30,000 feet doesn't bother some people.  Fourteen passengers had to be told to SIT DOWN!  And these folks weren't even up to use the restroom.  Nope, these idiots wanted their fair share of the "free" soda pop.  Grrr.

But the travels were well worth it as each flight delivered me to family and happy occasions, like my niece and nephew's high school graduations.  Both are headed off to college in the Fall and we couldn't be prouder.

 She's my baby sister's baby.

 My brother and his oldest son.

And I got to snuggle with my just turned 3 years old great-niece too.  Talk about time flying by in the blink of an eye!  I can still close my eyes and see this little munchkin as a new born.

I plan to keep my feet on the ground for at least a few months this summer and look forward to visits from my niece K and my fave Aunt and Uncle in August.  I'll warn them about cold flights, packing a snack if they fly at dawn and hanging on for dear life on bumpy flights.  But mostly I'll be happy to see their smiling faces at the airport when I pick them up.  There's no place like home... unless home comes to you!

What are your summer plans?
Welcome to www.TheFiftyFactor.com  -  Joanna Jenkins
Photo Credit: © flydragon - Fotolia.com

Reviews

Mixed feelings is about how I'd sum up writing online reviews for businesses-- Yelp, Angie's List, restaurants/travel site and the likes.  I rely on these reviews to help me make purchasing decisions so I figure I should put my two cents in when I use a recommended company.... and I'm happy to do it when I have something nice to say.  But when I don't, well, I feel bad.

Maybe it's because my mom drummed into me as a child "If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all."  Or maybe it's because I tend to be a people pleaser and don't want to hurt anyone's feelings. 

Case in point, today I dropped off a rental car at Enterprise that I'd driven for the past six days.  My car was in the body shop-- thanks to a valet parking attendant who was driving at a high rate of speed, backwards-- the wrong way, and crashed into my car.  (No one was hurt.  Phew.) 

Despite having successfully rented countless times over the years with Enterprise, I was issued the nastiest, smelliest, dirtiest car ever.  And the gas tank was empty.  Not a good start.  But the real problem was that about 3 miles from the rental office I realized the car smelled like a big, wet, dirty dog, and the inside windshield and steering wheel looked like the dog had slobbered all over them.

Here's the thing-- This particular Enterprise office didn't see a problem with the car's condition, nor did they offer to fix it.  To me that equals a poor review on Yelp and after clicking the "post review" button with my unpleasant experience, I felt bad fearing I could get someone fired if the corporate office read it.

Or, on our recent trip to New York City--  We were upgraded to a big, gorgeous suite in our favorite hotel.  It was lovely and a real treat since NYC hotel rooms are usually the size of a closet. 

Problem was, upon our return home, the website I booked the room with sent me an email asking for my feedback and any photos of the room we might have taken.

This is the only photo of the room we took... because it cracked us up.

I sang the praises of the hotel and their generous upgrade and made a joke about the view making sure review readers knew I had the option for the upgrade or a standard room that overlooked the street (which wasn't much of a view at all).  But still, I felt bad, as if I was looking a gift horse in the mouth.  (Do people still say that expression or am I just old?)

How about the handy man I'd recently hired off Angie's List--  He was a disaster from the moment he arrived in our house.  That review was as polite as possible but not one that recommended him again.  With that review I felt bad and a little afraid since he knows where I live.  Should I have not written a review?

Make no mistake, I'm very generous with praise too--  My house painters were found off a website and my review highly recommended them.  The local coffee shop with biscuits to die for got a rave review too, so did the nice waitress at our favorite deli, and the great fabric shop by my house.

But it's the not so great reviews that keep me awake at night.  I just plain feel bad even though I don't believe I got the service or product I paid for.

So my question for you is-- To review or not to review?   What do you think?  Are the reviews worth the effort?  Do you read or rely on online reviews?  I'd love to know.

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And on a sad note...

My dear blog friend, Eddie Bluelights of Clouds and Silvery Linings recently lost his wife to cancer.  You may recall Eddie interviewed me for "The Sunday Roast" as while back.  He's been scarce around Blogland for the past several months while taking care of his wife.  It would be lovely if you would please stop by and send some cheer his way.  CLICK HERE.

Welcome to www.TheFiftyFactor.com  -  Joanna Jenkins
Photo Credit: © beermedia - Fotolia.com