I just wanted to make a quick announcement here and let you know that I’m giving away a copy of the Danny Roane: First Time Director DVD over at my Reviews and More blog. This is a comedy starring Andy Dick, and features a bunch of cameos from Hollywood A-listers, so it’s at least worth a look. And if this isn’t the type of movie you like, you can just give it away as a stocking-stuffer or something.

Go take a look at the giveaway details, and get your entries in soon!

I had a bout of insomnia last night, so I was up from about 1:30am until it was time to wake my husband for work. There wasn’t much going on online, so I turned on the TV for awhile and ended up watching infomercials. I actually like those because I’ve discovered lots of cool little gadgets that help make my life easier.

Anyway, I saw an ad for an automatic jar opener that I really want! I hate having to wait for my husband to get home to open a jar of pasta sauce or whatever, so I would definitely put this gadget to good use.

I don’t want to order it from the commercial because it was a bit overpriced, so I’m going to look for one of those as seen on tv websites that sell the same products for much lower prices.

What do you think? It looks pretty handy, doesn’t it?

Do you get on a roll when you read, so that one book leads to the next, which leads to the next, and so on and so on?

I don’t so much mean something like reading a series from beginning to end, but, say, a string of books that all take place in Paris. Or that have anthropologists as the main character. Or were written in the same year. Something like that… Something that strings them together in your head, and yet, otherwise could be different genres, different authors…

I always read one book after another, but there’s rarely a true connection between them (unless I am reading a series). I like to keep a list of the next 10-15 books that I want to read, so once I finish my current one, I move on to the next. But they don’t necessarily have anything in common.

I suppose the closest I’ve come is when I read a work specifically because it was referenced in something else that I read. For example, when I read Camille by Dumas, I believe there were many mentions of Manon Lescaut, so I made that my next book. Usually the string stops with just one additional work, so I would hardly call that “rolling” along!

My brother was diagnosed with diabetes about nine months ago. We were all pretty shocked by the news, especially considering the fact that he’s just 35 years old. The silver lining here is that my brother’s case was detected early, and is still very manageable. Along with making significant changes to his diet and adding 30 minutes of exercise to his daily routine, he’s on some oral medication to regulate his blood glucose levels. He’s doing fine now, and has very few bad days.

I’m just very thankful that my brother doesn’t have Type 1 diabetes, which would require constant monitoring and attention, as well as the use of diabetic supplies such as blood test strips, syringes, and insulin. Without even talking about the health implications of Type 1 diabetes, I just think it would be extremely difficult — and expensive — to live like that. Those medical supplies need to be replaced very often, and even when you buy from a discount website like AllegroMedical.com, I’m sure the expenses really add up.

At least my brother’s diagnosis has served as something of a wakeup call for our family. We’re all trying to eat a little better and be a bit more active in the hopes of improving our overall health. I guess it’s never too late to start.

If you’re a sports fan, then you’ve probably heard by now that Sean Taylor, formerly a safety for the Washington Redskins, died yesterday from complications resulting from a gunshot wound he sustained in the early morning hours of November 26.

The story being reported in the news is that an armed gunman broke into Taylor’s Florida home, headed straight for the bedroom, and fired two shots at Taylor. One missed, but one caught him in the femoral artery, which caused him to lose massive amounts of blood at the scene. The gunman then fled immediately, while Taylor’s girlfriend dialed 911 from her cell phone.

This is a tragedy, of course, as Taylor was just 24 years old and leaves behind an 18-month-old daughter.

But at the same time, the story is just… weird. It sounds more like an old-fashioned hit than anything else. I mean, the gunman went straight for the bedroom, ignoring everything else in the house? That makes it sound like he was familiar with the layout or something. Also, the gunman fired only at Taylor, completely forgetting about his girlfriend and baby? Again, that makes it sound like it was a hitman with a specific agenda.

I’m sure more details will come out as the police continue their investigation, so it’s pretty useless to speculate here. Nevertheless, I’m willing to bet that this turns out to be more than just some random attack, which is what authorities are calling it now.

RIP, #21.

(Getty Images)

Earlier this year, my husband and I made a commitment to improve our home both inside and out. Towards that end, we hired professional landscapers to redo our backyard, brought a painting crew in to touch up the gutters and trim, and had a bit of work done in our kitchen. What I’d really like to focus on next is improving the living room by adding some quality blinds that are both beautiful and functional.

There’s no way I’m going to go to a mall at this time of year, so I’ve been checking out online stores instead. I visited a website called shadesshuttersblinds.com over the weekend, and spent a lot of time looking over their vast selection of window coverings.

At first, I was just planning on buying some plain old vertical blinds, but now I’m leaning towards getting something a bit more exotic. For example, I think Roman shades would look fantastic with the decorating scheme we’ve already got in place. Shadesshuttersblinds.com has Roman shades available in more than 200 styles and colors, so I’ll obviously be able to find something to match our room colors.

While I was on the site, I also noticed some very nice roller shades that would be perfect for the master bedroom. We just have curtains in there now, but they don’t keep the room dark enough in the daytime — which is a must for my early afternoon nap. I think the addition of roller shades would take care of that problem and allow me to finally rest in comfort.

Anyway, I’m happy to have found a website that offers great blinds at affordable prices! I’m going to show off my choices to my husband later on to see if he likes them. I can’t wait to see what my living room will look like once we have everything in place!

I don’t have very many favorite bands, and there aren’t many artists that I would actually pay money to see in concert, but Linkin Park is definitely one of them. I missed out on seeing these guys when the Projekt Revolution tour came through Tinley Park back in September, but if they do another U.S. tour to promote Minutes to Midnight, I will do everything I can to buy tickets!

“Numb” is one of my favorite Linkin Park songs, and even though I’ve heard it hundreds and hundreds of times, I never get sick of it. Here’s the video from YouTube…. man, I just love it when Chester belts out the chorus — so awesome!!!