Carol's random babble

When I bought my current car, I was in a hurry. I didn't look under the hood because I don't know that much about cars and figured I wouldn't catch anything wrong anyway. I was wrong. There's this goofy thing going on with the radiator and overflow. At some point before I bought it, the hose to the overflow cracked or something, and it was repaired with some sort of putty or substance something like silicone glue but black. It didn't make a secure seal, though, so if it overheated, the coolant in the overflow couldn't go back in the radiator. So the low coolant light was on pretty much all the time and I learned to ignore it. I put coolant directly in the radiator from time to time (not often enough as it turns out). I even had an oil change last month and asked them to check the level and put coolant in the radiator. And yet ... On Saturday when the car was acting weird, I didn't notice the temperature until after I drove Cayla to church and was...

Yes, it's another Kindle Fire giveaway! This is an opportunity for bloggers to gain fans for Facebook pages or Twitter. There is no entry fee. Simply go here for more information (the link to the signup page is there) and make your post about the event. When the event is close, you will receive HTML to post on your blog. You must promise to promote the giveaway at least once a day when it is live. The giveaway runs from Oct. 10 to Oct. 24. There are also opportunities for bloggers to host pages and to win money. I've got a Kindle Fire and I use it every day. I like being a part of these giveaways. If  you sign up, please say that Carol's Random Babble sent you or use this URL: http://carolfoltz.blogspot.com .

Here's another giveaway! To be honest, although I love the idea and the look of the iPad, I can't justify the expense for myself. I am fairly content with my Kindle Fire. But if someone were to give me an iPad? I would probably pass along my Fire without hesitation. (Probably - the Fire does fit nicely in my purse, and I use it a lot.) And I've only held an iPad once, for a few minutes, trying to track down the owner at church when he left it behind. I have never really used one, so I don't have personal experience. But here's a chance for someone to win an iPad - no worry about the expense or whether it's better than a Kindle Fire or laptop. Just a lovely prize to enjoy. (I imagine watching videos and playing games would be much better on the iPad.) Good luck! Welcome to the iPad3 Holiday Giveaway Event! Hosted by Mom Blog Society Special thanks to our lovely co-hosts Mom to Bed by 8 , Thinking Outside The Sandbox , Moms Living Thrifty and Food ...

or a reasonable fascimile ... A "quick" rundown of the past few months: Around May 4, I learned that I would have to find a new place to live because the landlady planned to sell the house I was renting. On July 5, I signed a lease at an apartment. The next day Kent (future ex-husband) took Boo-Boo, our male cat, and my sister drove me to Des Moines to surrender our two girl kitties to the Animal Rescue League. I'm a firm believer that when you take an animal into your life, you need to be constant and not just pass them along on a whim. However, I had limited time and resources to find a place that would let us have any pets, let alone three cats. (The place we are living in specifically rules out every living creature other than human, except they allow one cat, with a $150 deposit and $25 extra per month, which I didn't know about until after we gave up our cats.) The next week, the girls and I moved in. We were in the process of getting settled and  unpa...