More F.A.P. Ranting or WildBlue SUCKS

30 days is going to be a really long time now that I have been FAPed. What is F.A.P. you ask? It stands for Fair Access Policy. It is a policy that the satellite company's put on your internet bandwidth usage. I went over mine. I have only had this service for a month. It will take a month of me doing no downloads to get my speed back. I couldn't do a download if I wanted to anyway. Speed now is slower than dial up. I can check my email and hopefully post this blog entry. That's about it. If it's peak hours I can do nothing.
I wasn't told about this when I signed up. Of course in their defense, when I called to INQUIRE about the service, the lady was talking fast and was difficult to understand. I had to ask her repeatedly to repeat things. I heard 2 year contract and when I said," So you mean I am now locked into a 2 year contract?" She said "Yes." So I was reeling from that bit of info and she may have went on to tell me about FAP and I didn't understand. Do they PURPOSELY hire people like this? I think so.
I asked another friend who also has this same company about what happened and she told me she had never even heard of it either! She will find out if she does one too many downloads or looks at 1 too many You Tube videos..
My son got an ipod for Christmas. He was excited to be able to put a movie on it. We had just gotten this high speed internet so he downloaded one. It took 24 hours to download. I believe it to be the main cause of my FAPing. Then of course I had some updating to do also. Things I couldn't do with dial up or I could but it wasn't worth the wait. We watched some YouTube Videos, I put on the Entrecard Bar, and did my drops. Then I downloaded Tweetdeck. It was a 3 minute download but I guess it put me at my 100%. So here I am paying 60.00 a month for nothing. I got rid of my home phone and dial up to pay for this satellite service so I can't even hook my dial up up. Satellite internet is a rip off and they lock you into a 2 year contract. Both Wild Blue and Hughes net have the F.A.P.. With Hughes net you only have to wait 24 hours to get your speeds back. Wild Blue has a 30 day rolling. I think that means I will be lucky to have it back in 30 days. (I went to the library computer to study all this after the fact) I have tried calling them to ask just exactly what a 30 day rolling period means and I can not get a straight answer. They just keep telling me I have to get my usage below 70% and don't do any downloads. They read from a script.
I told her, "Look..I couldn't do a download if I tried!"
She replies," Just do not download anything."
I said, " Lady is there another number I can call for complaint's?"
She said," I can give you an email address."
I said, " Lady, if I could GET to my email I could get the address for myself!"
When I checked my usage on the library computer it said 98%. I have had my router unplugged for 3 days!!!! So see? What the hell? Those of you who think Wild Blue is great, well it is when it is working. It's still not as fast as cable or DSL but it sure is better than dial up. Just don't download ( or upload) too many things. Believe me it isn't much and they will punish you like a 5 year old. Are you aware of the F.A.P.? Did they tell you when they signed you up?
I have my router unplugged now when I am not TRYING to use the internet or working off line. Why? Because what if my AVG (anti virus program) is updating? Is that a download? I don't know but not taking any chances. I'm scared now.

Truthfully, I am tired of this kind of crap. A 2 year contract with Satellite service? It's bad enough with cell phones. It has to be stopped. We should be able to be FREE to pick and choose the best deal/service without penalty. What if they run a cable out here next year?
I pay DOUBLE for Satellite service than everyone else pays for cable or DSL because it is my only choice next to dial up in a rural area. A service that is not even close to being comparable. You may have a FAP on cable or DSL but you will never notice it because it is more than enough to do what you need to on the internet.
I am worried about my drops and my internet business. What will happen to all the hard work I have put into them? I can only get to the library so much.
I am sorry for this long rant. This blog was not intended to be for this. I would make a new one if I had internet service. LOL. I have to vent this somewhere. I look forward to your comments.
Meanwhile, I am going to go bang my head against the wall.

Well isn't this just a Fine Kettle of Fish

I live in the middle of nowhere as I am sure I have stated before. My option for any type of high speed internet? Satalite. I've had mine a month. I hate it. Not as much as I hate dial up but close. I suddenly have very little bandwidth. Why you ask? Because I violated the FAP. This is my message:
Internet access speeds have been slowed down in accordance with our Fair Access Policy (FAP), which can be viewed at this site. Please be aware that future occurrences, whether intentional or not, can result in the degradation of your service again. Your service will be returned to its previous operating levels once your cumulative previous 30-day’s usage has decreased to 70% of your Usage Level.
Repeated offenses will result in the slowing of services and restriction of access (to email and web services).
What a crock.
So to my dear entrecard droppers. Unless I can get to the library computer. I need to stop dropping for a bit until I can get my usage below 70 percent..whatever the hell that means. I could upgrade but no. Not gonna happen. This package is already too expensive. So yeah, I am not happy.

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

I must interrupt this regularly scheduled blog with some work/shop/plug announcements!

First of all: I received my bead work bracelet cuff that I won from ThreeFatesDesign. I absolutely LOVE it! It is so me! She does quality work I tell ya! Please give her my love by going to visit her etsy shop or her blog HERE or HERE.

Second of all: I ordered some soap from camsoaps the other day. It came yesterday. I wasn't sure what to expect but I will say, this is some of the best soap EVER! Nice large bars. Professionally packaged. The perfect hardness. I believe she told me she lets them cure for 6 weeks. Let me tell you about the scent! It is to~ die~ for~ wonderful! I ordered the Goats Milk Patchouli Oatmeal. I just want to carry them around with me all day! But that would be weird wouldn't it? ( At least I won't have to worry about any of my followers leaving me now because I smell bad) hehehe! Please visit her shop HERE

Last, but definitely not least, to my Cowgirl and Cowboy readers and the rest of you too! My online selling friend Papabear has run into some medical problems where he is unable keep up with all he needs to do. He crafts the most amazing leather work and it has practical uses! Like checkbook covers and such. I am hoping my financial situation gets to where I can order a checkbook cover or 2. ( I spent my money on soap this week) I love the barb wire one! His wife Carol is getting his shop running and you can find all of his wonderful leather work in CarolsCountryStore on etsy. Please go on over and give them some love! Just click HERE.

Please note that these wonderful people do not pay me to blog about their shops. They do not even know I do this! So BEWARE! If I buy something from you and I like it, I'm gonna write about it!

Update on Lost Followers or Silly Me

Everyone stay calm! No one panic! If you see your blog followers disappear don't dive into deep despair like I did. (see post below) Thanks to Lidian for pointing me to Blogger issues web page. This is what they have to say:
You may have noticed that the count of your public Followers has decreased over the last few hours. We are in the process of integrating with Google Friend Connect.

There are a few users that already use both Blogger Following and Google Friend Connect. To avoid linking the profiles of Blogger and Friend Connect users without their permission, we have set these users to "anonymous". They are still following privately and will able to make themselves public again.

Silly me.
Now on to more important things.

I am Sad! Don't Leave Me!

Wow! I just lost 3 followers of my blog in one day! Was it something I said? Do I smell bad. Is it my flannel PJs?
Did I scare you with my ghost stories? If so I am truly sorry. I just wanted to throw them out there to see if any others have had experiences like mine. I have lived in this house for 13 years now. No ghost has run me off. If I had to categorize my ghost it would be a class 1 harmless prankster. A child even. And Hey! It's not that I go around looking for this..it just happens here.
Is it my new Top Spots Tip jar? Hey you don't have to buy one! We have a terrible problem out here in the country. People dump their pets out here. Like they are disposable pieces of trash.
Just about all of us on this lonely stretch of road have taken some in. Our shelters in this area are full! I had 10 dogs and now am down to 8 as I did find homes for 2. It costs a lot of money to feed them all. Not to mention the vet stuff. I thought maybe the TOP Spots might help to fund some dog food.
I work hard on this blog. I update frequently. I post pictures. I try to keep it interesting.
Not that you will be here to read this..you left me. I am sad.
Maybe I shouldn't take it personally. But I do. I mean 3 IN ONE DAY???

Ghost Stories Part 4

Before I continue on with my true ghost stories, I would like to thank all my commenters on previous posts. Thank you for your stories and interest! I really enjoyed reading them! I am so glad I am not alone in having these experiences.
My 2 sons and I have each had our own ghostly experiences in this house together and alone.
When my youngest reached an age and maturity where he could be trusted to be left home alone, he was anxious to try it. We left him alone for the first time knowing that we would return shortly. When we came home he met us outside on the deck wide eyed. "
What in the world is the matter son?" I asked
He said, " Mom, I was watching TV and there was loud knocking at the back of the house. I thought it was probably a woodpecker on the side of the house so I ignored it. So I was sitting on the couch still watching TV and Mom, there was a LOUD knocking right in the stairwell that goes downstairs! It went like this...." ( He proceeds to demonstrate ) Dum da da dum dum Bam! Bam! ( You know the knock? It is tough to type a knocking sound but it is that old familier rythmic knock)
"So Mom, I was scared and waited for you here outside the house!" he said still shook up by his experience.
I believed him because I know what it's like to have LOUD unexplainable noises happen here.
I believed him because I have had my own experiences alone in this house.
My oldest son believed him as he has also had HIS own experiences.
My boyfriend rolled his eyes because at that time he was still Mr. IDont BelieveinGhosts. He had yet to have his awakening.
To this very day neither of my sons will stay alone here. They will stay if they each stay together but that is it. Neither will stay by themselves.

On a side note: That stairwell is not scary by itself. It is carpeted, has a handrail, is well lit and the family pictures hang on the wall. BUT it leads down to the finished basement. You can see it if you are sitting in the living room. Many many times I have caught movement out of the corner of my eye by that stairway. Quick and fleeting. I have always put it down to turning too quickly even if I wasn't. Many times I have just been sitting there reading a book and something makes me look up to that area. The boys have told me the same thing. Once I had some friends staying with me for a couple of weeks and guess what? They also noticed that same thing! Quick and fleeting movement right there by the stairwell. Also, they said my basement was scary..hmmm go figure.
So yeah, I believed my son.
I ought to take some pictures of that stairwell and see if anything shows up.

I Love to Entrecard!

I really love Entrecard. I learn new things everyday. I learn things I didn't even know I wanted to learn! I try to be faithful about my drops. To be truthful, my drops border on addiction. Yesterday I had my very first 300 drop day! ( Insert " Happy Dance" Here) That is almost impossible in my world because, you see, I like to actually look at and read other people's blogs! I am not a drop and run entrecarder. I can hardly live a day without visiting Daisy the Curly Cat and her brother Harley. If you you haven't been to this blog and you love cats it's a must see! Makes me smile everyday. Of course I love to drop in on all the talented jewelry makers, crafters and hobbiests! There are some amazing artisians out there. So many great contests and givaways to find too!

THE MAIN THING THAT HELPED ME REACH 300 DROPS:
One of the things that really helped me with the speed of my drops is simply this. I ditched Internet Explorer. I use Foxfire now. I love Foxfire. It's faster and more dependable. More secure too. I don't like change and I have used IE for years. When I found Entrecard, IE started giving me more than my usual problems when doing drops. I had heard great things about Foxfire so I decided, what the heck, I'll give it a try and I have not looked back since. It takes me 1/2 the time to do my drops with out all the IE crashes. So if you are hedging and him hawing about switching, don't be scared. Just do it! Still keep your IE, but just use Firefox as your browser. (My techie geek friend told me this) He also told me that Safari is great too!
Happy Entrecarding and a BIGThank You to all of you who drop in to visit me!

Vintage Sterling Silver Spoon

I just love this little sterling silver spoon with the copper Indian Chief head on top. Wouldn't it make a great sterling ring or some kind of pendant? I am not a jewelry maker but I KNOW there is some awesome talent out there that could do this. You can find my listing for it HERE
I am hoping someone buys it before I misplace it again. Nope, can't blame misplacing it on the ghost this time. It's all me. I have too much going on.
Ghost stories to continue soon.

I Won A Great Prize From ThreeFatesDesign

I must interrupt my ghost stories with an announcement! I feel so honored to have won a beautiful beaded cuff by ThreeFatesDesign. She ran a contest on her blog to name one of her outstanding beaded cuffs. She chose my name, " Eternal Daydream" out of some really fantastic entries! I love to visit her blog and etsy shop. She makes some of the most incredible beaded jewelry. I am just awestruck by the beaded cuff she has named, "Latte at Hotel Mercedes." Please take a moment to go see it HERE. Scroll down her page a ways to see this cuff. You won't be disappointed!
Thank You ThreeFatesDesign for this opportunity! I am just thrilled!

Haunted House Part 3 and the Potato Peeler

At one time I was a Tupperware Dealer. I bought this wonderful potato peeler from there. It had special steel blades and a hand friendly shape. It peeled like no other. I loved it. One day I accidentally set it down with a pile of potato peelings and threw it out. Luckily I was able to order another one from Tupperware before they discontinued them. This time I was much much more careful and particular about this peeler. This all happened when I lived in Az. before coming here to Missouri and the haunted house. What does this have to do with the hauntings?..well let me tell you. I moved to Missouri and my precious peeler came along too.
I was making stew and had peeled some vegetables. I set the peeler on the counter when I was finished. I went about cleaning up. When I went to get the peeler, it was gone! Now I involved the whole family. My special, German steel bladed, hand friendly, made by tupperware, irreplaceable potato peeler was gone and I wanted it found! We looked everywhere! In the trash, the sink, on the floor, in drawers, the refridgerator, just everywhere! I knew I had left it on the counter. The counter was clean and it was nowhere! I was begining to think I had lost my mind. I thought the family was playing a joke on me. They weren't. They were quite perturbed to be taken away from what they had been doing to help find Mom's stupid potato peeler. They didn't take it and they wanted to find it so they could get back to what they were doing. It was just ... nowhere. We all continued to look for it on and off throughout the day. I finally resigned myself to the fact that it was just gone. I mean I couldn't spend the rest of my life looking for it. It was "just a peeler" after all.
The next day we all went to town. We needed a few groceries and had a couple errands to run. When we got home and we all went to the kitchen. There it was. The peeler was sitting right there on the counter near where I thought I had left it. In plain sight. It wasn't glowing but it should have been! We all looked at the peeler and at each other with our jaws dropped in disbelief. We all laughed nervously and cracked jokes about how the "Ghost" must have needed to borrow the peeler.
This is one of the experiences in the house that has really bothered me. At that time I was still getting used to strange noises and my kids being frightened of the basement..and me too for that matter. (I still hate to admit that because I do laundry down there.) It just bothered me that the ghost could take something physical and make it disappear. I mean CAN THEY DO THAT? Is that allowed in the ghost rules of conduct? Weird! Bothersome! Scary! Glad it gave the peeler back though. Thanks.

More on My Haunted House

Alright. I have a little interest in my ghost experiences now so I will continue with more incidences in my home.
I have a finished basement. My kids never have liked going down there. I teased them about being scared when the truth is, that there were times that I felt a little creeped out down there myself. Being one to poo poo the whole ghost thing I refused to let it get to me. I fixed it up real nice down there for the kids. They have a place of their to play video games, watch T.V. or just mess around. It's fairly nice for a basement. Carpet, drywall and a bathroom. The people that built the house supposedly lived down there while they were building the upstairs.
Things go along. The boys play down there and watch TV, etc. for a couple months with no incidences. Then one night my oldest son comes running up the stairs scared as heck. I ask him what in the world is the matter. He looks at me ready to cry and says, " Mom, I was just shutting the light off to come upstairs when I saw someones arm go around the corner of the bathroom.!" He was seriously frightened! I was like "What the heck?" We were all upstairs and my youngest son had just come up minutes earlier.
So BF and I go down to check things out and of course there is no one. BF puts it down to my son's imagination. I am not so sure. I know my son. He is level headed and not prone to an over reactive imagination.
BF absolutely did NOT believe in ghosts. But let me tell you my dear blog readers, he does now. He recently had his own personal experience with our ghost/ghosts. He doesn't tease us about our ghost experiences anymore! ( More on this later ) I still have several more incidences to tell you about before we get to my BF's big awakening..
Please comment if you want to hear more...

My Haunted Missouri Home

I love to drop in on Haunted Missouri's Blog. I thought perhaps you would find it interesting to read about MY Missouri haunted house. I have always poo pooed the whole ghost thing. I am not scared to be alone or anything like that. I am more scared of people than I am of ghosts. So yeah, I live in the middle of nowhere. The first event ghostly occurrence that made me realize all was not what it seemed here, went something like this: I was on the phone near the front door. Kids and puppy were playing in the same room as myself. It was towards evening but not quite dark yet. There was a sharp KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK on the door. Puppy looked at door and barked. Kids looked at me. I told person on phone to "Hang on. I had to see who was at the door." I was right there. I looked. I opened door. ( stupid me) There was NO ONE! Before you put this down to the ole Ding Dong Ditch trick, remember I live in the middle of nowhere. Where are you going to go? For that matter where did you come from? Wait. Don't answer that. Writing that just gave me goosebumps. So Yeah, I am a little more scared of ghosts now than I used to be. I will tell you more of this story in a later posting. Yes there is more... Stay tuned.

New Etsy Shop is Now Open!

I did it! Settled into a name and opened my new Etsy shop. The name picking was agonizing. A huge thank you to all who saw me through that! I would finally decide on a great one and it would be taken! Do you like the name I picked? HouseMouseAntiques. I am slowly but surely filling it with treasures. Now..I need a banner! Another mind taxing creative endeavor!

Etsy Shop Name

So yeah, I'm going to open another Etsy shop for all my cool vintage and antique treasures. Problem is I need a name before I can build it. I agonized over a name for my first shop. I knew the feeling I wanted to convey. The name had to be simple, easy to remember and one that would stick in your mind. Days went by. I went through every primitive, crow, country type name I could think of. They all felt so " already been done". I wanted unique.

I was sitting on my front step one morning, drinking coffee. I looked over at the old antique horse drawn plow that serves as a yard decoration. BINGO! That was it! Horse and Plow! (I have 7 horses too.) That didn't sound as smooth as I would have liked so I played with it a bit. That is how my shop came to be named The Plow and Pony.

Now I am traveling this road again. In brain agony over a name. I believe your shop name needs to reflect your work or whatever it is you're trying to convey. You then build everything else around that. Your banner,your avatar,your business cards. You want to put your mark on everything you do relating to that shop. You want people to remember you.

A Big Thank You to My Entrecard Top Droppers

A big huge THANK YOU to my entrecard top droppers! MUAAAAAAAAAHHHH!
BeadedTail
Youniquely Chic
Three Fates Design - Beaded Jewelry
Favorite Online Shops Blog
Mu-Yin Jewelry
Spicybugz World
Silver Sachet
The Cat / Dog Log
Robin's Nest: Scrap out loud
Daisy the Curly Cat

Computer Issues

So yeah, I've had some problems as of late. I've been sick. Not just a little sick either. Bronchial pneumonia sick. Am on antibiotics so hopefully soon I will be back to myself. I've had computer issues too.
Living in the middle of nowhere USA gives you only 1 choice for high speed Internet. Satellite. While it is is faster than dial up it is still slower than DSL. You are also at the mercy of your satellite signal. There can be weather issues and such. I chose Wild Blue as my provider. So like I was saying I started having computer issues. I was unable to connect to any websites. I had the signal but sites would time out before I got there. I called Tech Support. They are awesome! We were on the phone for a couple of hours going through every possible thing it could be.
To make a long story short, the problem turned out to be on my end. You see, I am paranoid about computer viruses, spy ware and nasty computer bugs. I had 2 anti virus programs, 3 spy ware programs and a couple of registry fix-its all keeping watch over my computer. Tech guy was laughing every time I mentioned a program I had. " Oh you have that too?!" he would ask, chuckling.
So yeah, you only need one of each. 2 anti virus programs are NOT better than 1. They fight with each other. Have conflicts and such. They totally slow down your comp!
After getting off the phone with nice tech guy, who is probably still laughing as I write this, I proceed to uninstall a few of my computer condoms.
It worked! My comp is faster than ever now. It's happy. It still has good protection.