Howdy, y'all!

Although I have lived all over the United States, my husband and I have finally settled in the great state of Texas. We have three very active, very fun little boys.

Likes: my family and extended family (yes, I actually LIKE my in-laws!), the outdoors (including hiking, swimming, camping, skiing, etc.), computers, travel, reading, movies, music, cooking, geology, photography, astronomy, home improvement and do-it-yourself projects, and life in general. In other words, I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up! Fortunately, having kids means that I still have a good excuse to play.

How I Rate, if you care...

Basically, length does not matter. Although I like long, detailed reviews, if you can explain everything in a few words, you are a talented writer and will earn a high rating! However, this is rare, as most reviews of few words tend to be due to laziness!!

Also, it's fine with me if your opinion is different from my own -- that's what makes America so great. Even a differing opinion can be very helpful and informative and still get a great rating! Also, I DO NOT rate epinions based on any info contained in your personal profile. I don't care where you're from or what religion you are or anything like that. I rate strictly on the helpfulness and quality of each individual review.

My basic guidelines:

Very Helpful = If you are pretty thorough and answer all my questions, and if your review explains things clearly even to someone who has never seen or heard of the product before, you'll deserve one of these.

Helpful = If your review is pretty thorough and explanatory, but I still have a question or two, you'll get this rating.

Somewhat Helpful = If I learned a little something about the product but still have a lot of questions, you'll get this rating.

Not Helpful = If you are offensive, crude, go off on a tangent or I didn't learn a darn thing... I won't hesitate to slap this rating on.