Fighting Bathroom Mold: a Persistent Battle, but Always Winnable

Tilex® has released a brand new Mold Stain & Mildew Stain Remover named Refereshing Breeze in an effort to help you/me/us keep your/my/our home stunningly clean and mold-free. In honor of this new product, Tilex's Facebook page is hosting a mega sweepstakes with great prizes. You can enter to win one of three 40" flat screen TVs or one of ten different Netlfix subscrptions. Each friend you invite to the Facebook page to enter the sweepstakes by 3/16/12 garners you an extra entry in the pool!

In our house, mold isn't a huge problem...at least not the naughty kind...except in our bathroom. We live in an older home that was apartmentalized and the small bathroom is prone to developing mold. It doesn't stick around long because my husband is a mold-killing bandit, but it pops up. There are a few different things we do to stay on top of the problem.

First, in the winter we keep the bathroom door open when the room is not in use to keep the room well-ventilated. In the summer time, we keep the window open to allow more fresh air to come in and encourage ventilation since we leave the room door shut in the summer to avoid cooling it. Keeping the room ventilated helps stop moisture from building up in the wall cavities and on other surfaces. Mold loves moisture and we don't need a bathroom-based love affair going on around here when mold is one of the participants.

The Mighty Macs on DVD: Enter to Win!

I've always loved a good underdog movie and a good basketball story. As a young girl, I would watch the TV movie about "Pistol Pete" everytime it aired! Needless to say, when I first saw a trailer for The Mighty Macs while watching The Grace Card, I wanted to watch The Macs because it looked like a great film and it was based on a true story. I ended up being a bit surprised at exactly how good the true story of The Mighty Macs was.

I originally saw the film in a preview screener in late 2011, but I missed a few minutes of the movie and watched it on my PC which is never quite the same as watching a movie on either the silver screen or a regular size TV (I have a generous computer monitor, but it is still a computer monitor...even when on the movie setting). When I first watched the movie, I found myself wanting to know more abou the real Macs and went in search of data but only found a few pictures and articles.

I was hoping that when the film hit DVD that a few bonus features would be included...and they were! In addition to deleted scenes, the movie contains a "Making of The Mighty Macs" documentary that lasts about 20 minutes and a "The Mighty Macs" ESPN segment that lasts between five and 10 minutes. I liked both because each contained footage of the real Cathy Rush and some of the team mates depicuted in the film. It was also touching to see exactly how invested in the film the cast and crew were. I also didn't realize that the nuns in the bench at Mass near the beginning of the film were actual Macs....that was cute to learn.

Past this new information, I want to share a few points from my prior review of the film:

The Guardian Duke by Jamie Carie: Enter to Win!

I just finished The Guardian Duke by Jamie Carie and am actually surprised at how much I liked this book! I will confess that I had actually looked at this book on Amazon before deciding to review it and read a review that made the book sound like it wouldn't be my cup of tea...but it was.

While I don't want to delve into what the Amazon reviewer said too far because it was a bit of a spoiler....suffice it to say that the reviewer didn't like the fact that the book derives from the standard Christian fiction formula to an extent. However, in this book it more than works because a mystery helps fuel this book. If a mystery book can't be a bit different than other releases, I don't know what type of book could!

In this volume, Lady Alexandria Featherstone is inhabiting her family's castle on the English shoreline when she receives word that her parents are presumed dead and that she has been placed under the guardianship of Gabriel, the Duke of St. Easton. She doesn't believe they are dead and travels off in search of her parents who left home to solve a mystery for a private client (yes, the husband and wife were apparently a sleuthing team...novel concept since a lot of wives were not allowed so much freedom in this book's time period). As Alexandria travels, she makes several acquaintances and acquires a couple of companions for her journey along the way.

Words Spoken True by Ann H. Gabhart - a Blog Tour

I finished Words Spoken True by Ann H. Gabhart on Saturday. I had been reading it off and on all week a chapter at time. I found that about page 100 was the point of no return in this book. I hit that mark Saturday morning and finished the book Saturday afternoon. Loved it!

I feel like I've been ultra-lucky lately because I have read so many Christian fiction books that have really good, decent male leads. Sometimes the love interest in a volume is a bit too stuffy or sanctimonious for my tastes, but I haven't bumped into one of those in a while and Blake Garrett in this book continued that streak. He was delightful...so much so that I feel him and Adriane Darcy were equal characters in this book instead of him being a convenient foil.

In this volume, there are two majorly competing newspapers in the town of Louisville, Kentucky (which I learned was actually a major city at the time when this book was written). Adriane Darcy is the daughter of the Tribune editor and has grown up in the press room. Blake is the editor of the Herald (though not the owner). Tension is supposed to ensue here, and it does....but it was the type of tension that tingles with sparks that let the reader know that it is not going to progress into Pride & Prejudice territory with both characters loathing each other until the end. Blake and Adrian only have a couple of terse exchanges before we learn that they are basically compatible people...but there are other problems.

Enter to Win a Words Spoken True Prize Package

In honor of her new book Words Spoken True, Ann H. Gabhart is hosting a giveaway featuring three different prizes.

First prize gets a gift basket of breakfast goodies from Kentucky. Second prize gets a Louisville Stoneware mug featuring the Louisville, KY skyline. Third prize is a yummylicious box of chocolates!

Enter the contest here. Ann is running the contest until 2/29/2012 at midnight EST. She will announce the winners the next day. I've already entered and hope many of you will as well. If you win, you can share the candies with me! ;)

P.S. I will be reviewing Words Spoken True here on MiscMayzee on the 19th or 20th. I am approximately 1/5 of the way through the book right now and am enjoying it greatly!

Going through the Golden Girls on DVD

For the past several weeks, I have been working my way through the Golden Girls on DVD as I work through late night postings. I am currently part of the way through Season 4 of 7 seasons. The comedy in this show thoroughly picked up after the first season, and I have really been enjoying the program.

I usually plug in for three to seven episodes at night when I'm typing up articles and blog posts. Some of my articles and posts allow for such a stream of consciousness that the words flow forth from my fingers without a great deal of thought so that I can catch the high points of a show while still getting my work completely done without error. I actually think I end up working a bit better with the TV on as it easier for me to focus on typing with a slight distraction.

Free Kindle Copy of The Keeper by Suzanne Woods Fisher: Free Amish Fiction Today Only

Do you love Amish fiction? Do you have a Nook, Kindle, iTouch, iPhone, Android Phone, Tablet, or even a desktop computer? If you do, then you have approximately 9.5 hours left to grab a free copy of Suzanne Woods Fisher's latest Amish novel, The Keeper, from either Amazon.com or Barnes & Noble. Both companies offer a handheld eReading solution as well as downloadable apps for smart devices or the desktop that will allow you to read the book.

Before I had my Kindle I read more than one book on my desktop and on my iTouch, so I know it is more than possible to enjoy a satisfying novel this way!

I reviewed The Keeper here on MiscMayzee back in January as part of a Revell blog tour and really enjoyed it. I think the next couple of books in the series will be wonderful as well...you can read my original post for more about that.

Watching the Winter Waft By

I wasn't looking forward to this winter from the start, and the later the snow waited to arrive, the less I wanted to meet the cold weather. Here in northwest Illinois we didn't have snow until early January and I don't think any of it is left outside now.

Minus a brief dip for a day or two, we are going to have at least ten days or so of weather a few degrees above freezing according to the Weather Channel. I love it. I love being able to wear my sneakers instead of my snow boots when I go for a walk. I love having a bounce in my step versus a cautious shuffling slide.

I hope it keeps up. The days pop by, and at night here lately I have been cuing up the Golden Girls while typing articles and blog posts and getting my other affairs in order. I am over halfway through the series at this point. It makes the evenings fly by. Before long spring will be here in all of its glory, and I may be back in my hometown with my dear husband at my side. So many wonderful things are on the horizon for 2012, and this round of beautiful, easy weather only makes it all the more evident.

My First Electric Oral-B Toothbrush: I Have Entered the Space Age

In a way it's kind of funny that I am a blogger and freelance writer who depends on the internet and technology for her very livelihood because in many ways I buck certain attempts at modernization.

• I have an iTouch but I use an antique MixMaster Junior with an broken handle because I love it.
• I have a laptop and a netbook but not a flatscreen TV or cable or even a digital converter box (though technically that can be lamed on cruddy reception)
• I salivate on cue at the idea of having a smartphone (without the monthly bills) but I prefer not to drive unless I have to and would rather not leave home 9 days out of 10 because my work is here and I love to work.

Until recently one of my feeble protests against "the man" was never having owned or used an electric toothbrush. My little brother had one, but the idea of having a little rotating stick in my mouth seemed overrated...odd. Of course, to my ancestors the idea of a daily shower probably sounded odd, so I'm not really sure what I was silently protesting.

2011, 2012 Prestone Antifreeze Rebate Information

If you purchased a specially marked (marked with a stick-on rebate label) container of Prestone Antifreeze coolant, either 100% or 50/50, between June 6, 2011 and February 29, 2012 you have until March 31, 2012 to get your mail-in rebate postmarked. After that you may need to wait 6 to 8 weeks for the rebate to arrive.

To get the rebate do the following:

• Keep your original receipt, the sticky bulletin about the rebate from the bottle, and the antifreeze bottle seal.
• Fill out the form on the back of the sticky bulletin
• Send in the bulletin, your original receipt or a photocopy (with the purchase price circled and the store name clearly printed), and the imprinted foil seal to the following address: