Disclosure & Privacy Policy

PRIVACY POLICY

This blog is a personal blog written and edited by me, Christy K. James. For questions about this blog, please contact me at christykjames{at}cox{dot}net. Confessions of a Serial Do-it-Yourselfer found at https://www.confessionsofaserialdiyer.com/ (“Website”) is governed by the following privacy policy.

We respect your privacy and are committed to protecting it. The purpose of this Privacy Policy is to inform you what personally identifiable information I may collect and how it may be used. This statement only applies to this Website.

 

WHAT INFORMATION DO I COLLECT AND HOW IS IT USED?

Information You Voluntarily Submit to the Website: I may collect personal information from you such as your name or email address. For example, you may voluntarily submit information to the Website by leaving a comment, subscribing to my blog updates, or submitting a contact form.

Information We Collect from Others: I may receive information about you from other sources.  You may link your Facebook, Instagram, and/or Google accounts to your user profile.  If you choose to link your Facebook, Instagram, and/or Google accounts to your user profile, I will receive your name, email address and profile picture associated with that account.

Automatically-Collected Information: I automatically collect certain information about you and the device with which you access the Website. For example, when you use the Website, I will log your IP address, operating system type, browser type, referring website, pages you viewed, and the dates/times when you accessed the Website. I may also collect information about actions you take when using the Website, such as links clicked.

Cookies: I may log information using cookies, which are small data files stored on your browser by the Website. I may use both session cookies, which expire when you close your browser, and persistent cookies, which stay on your browser until deleted, to provide you with a more personalized experience on the Website.

 

HOW YOUR INFORMATION MAY BE USED

I may use the information collected in the following ways:

• To operate and maintain the Website;
• To send you new posts. At the bottom of each new post that is emailed to you, there will be information on how to opt-out of future mailings;
• To send you administrative communications, such as administrative emails, confirmation emails, technical notices, updates on policies, or security alerts;
• To respond to your comments or inquiries;
• To provide you with user support;
• To track and measure advertising on the Website;
• To protect, investigate, and deter against unauthorized or illegal activity.

 

THIRD-PARTY USE OF PERSONAL INFORMATION

I may share your information with third parties when you explicitly authorize me to share your information.

Additionally, the Website may use third-party service providers to service various aspects of the Website. Each third-party service provider’s use of your personal information is dictated by their respective privacy policies.

The Website currently uses the following third-party service providers:

Google Analytics – This service tracks Website usage and provides information such as referring websites and user actions on the Website. Google Analytics may capture your IP address, but no other personal information is captured by Google Analytics.

Mail Chimp – This service is used for delivery of email updates (new posts). I store your name and email address for purposes of delivering such communications.  Please refer to Mail Chimp’s privacy policy for further information.

This list may be amended from time to time in the Website’s sole discretion.

Except when required by law, we will not sell, distribute, or reveal your email addresses or other personal information without your consent.

 

ANONYMOUS DATA

From time to time, I may use anonymous data, which does not identify you alone, or when combined with data from other parties. This type of anonymous data may be provided to other parties for marketing, advertising, or other uses. Examples of this anonymous data may include analytics or information collected from cookies.

 

PUBLICLY VISIBLE INFORMATION

If you create a user profile on the Website or leave a comment, certain information may be publicly visible.  To create a user profile, you must choose a username and password and input your email address for profile confirmation.  Your email address will never be available publicly.  At your option, you may also add an avatar, a profile description, and a link to your website.

You may also choose to link your Facebook, Instagram, and Google Account.

Users may see your username, avatar, profile description and website information.

 

COOKIES

The Website uses cookies to store visitors’ preferences, record user-specific information on what pages users access or visit, ensure that visitors are not repeatedly sent the same ads, customize Website content based on visitors’ browser type or other information that the visitor sends. Cookies may also be used by third-party services, such as Google Analytics, as described herein.

Users may, at any time, prevent the setting of cookies, by the Website, by using a corresponding setting of your internet browser and may thus permanently deny the setting of cookies. Furthermore, already set cookies may be deleted at any time via an Internet browser or other software programs. This is possible in all popular Internet browsers. However, if users deactivate the setting of cookies in your Internet browser, not all functions of my Website may be entirely usable.

 

EMAIL

I may collect your email address, but only if you voluntarily provide it to me. This may occur, for example, if you sign up to receive an email newsletter, or enter a promotion. If you have provided your email address to me, I will only use it for the purposes for which it is provided.  I will not use your email address to contact you for unrelated reasons.  I will not share your email address with any third parties. If you are a resident of a country in the European Economic Area (EEA), please refer to the section below entitled “Additional Rights of EEA Residents.”

Additional Rights of EEA (European Economic Area) Residents

If you are a resident of a country in the EEA, you have the rights, among others, to:

(i)  access your personal data

(ii)  ensure the accuracy of your personal data

(iii) the right to have us delete your personal data

(iv)  the right to restrict further processing of your personal data, and

(v)  the right to complain to a supervisory authority in your country of residence in the event that data is misused

If you believe that my processing of your personal information infringes data protection laws, you have a legal right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority responsible for data protection. You may do so in the EU member state of your residence, your place of work, or the place of the alleged infringement.

You may exercise any of your rights in relation to your personal data by written notice to me addressed to the following:

Christy K. James

[email protected]

 

COMMENTS

If you leave a comment on my site you may opt-in to saving your name, email address, and website in cookies. These are for your convenience so that you do not have to fill in your details again when you leave another comment. These cookies will last for one year.

An anonymized string created from your email address (also called a hash) may be provided to the Gravatar service to see if you are using it. The Gravatar service privacy policy is available here: https://automattic.com/privacy/. After approval of your comment, your profile picture is visible to the public in the context of your comment.

 

ADVERTISING

Advertising

CMI Marketing, Inc., d/b/a Raptive (“Raptive”) is a service provider of this Site for the purposes of placing advertising on the Site, and Raptive will collect and use certain data for advertising purposes. To learn more about Raptive’s data usage, click here: https://raptive.com/creator-advertising-privacy-statement

Display Ads

By using this Site, you consent to the use of such cookies and the sharing of data captured by such cookies with AdThrive, Google, and our other third party partners.You can view, delete or add interest categories associated with your browser by visiting: https://adssettings.google.com. You can also opt out of the network cookie using those settings or using the Network Advertising Initiative’s multi-cookie opt-out mechanism at: http://optout.networkadvertising.org.  However, these opt-out mechanisms themselves use cookies, and if you clear the cookies from your browser your opt-out will not be maintained.

For European Economic Area Residents

If you reside in a country in the European Economic Area (EEA), then under the GDPR and applicable data protection laws you have the rights, among other things, to access your personal data, have me erase it, and/or restrict its further processing.  If you wish to access or delete your personal data (if any) maintained by me or Raptive related to advertising on the Site, you can contact Raptive at [email protected]. If you wish to see a list of the advertising partners I work with or change which of those partners track your behavior using cookies, click the ad preferences icon. (Available in the EU.)

Retargeting Ads

From time to time, the Website may engage in remarketing efforts with third-party companies, such as Google, Facebook, or Instagram, in order to market the Website. These companies use cookies to serve ads based on someone’s past visits to the Website.

Affiliate Program Participation

The Website may engage in affiliate marketing, which is done by embedding tracking links into the Website. If you click on a link for an affiliate partnership, a cookie will be placed on your browser to track any sales for purposes of commissions.

Confessions of a Serial Do-it-Yourselfer is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and links to Amazon.com.  As part of this Amazon Associates program, the Website will post customized links, provided by Amazon, to track the referrals to their website. This program utilizes cookies to track visits for the purposes of assigning commission on these sales.

 

SPONSORED CONTENT

From time to time I may be compensated to provide my opinion on products, services, websites and various other topics. All opinions expressed are my honest opinion and are my own. Even though I may receive compensation for my posts or advertisements, I always give my honest opinions, findings, beliefs, or experiences on those topics or products.  I  will only endorse products or services that I believe are worthy of such endorsement. These sponsored blog posts may contain separate tracking pixels that will be embedded into posts. This allows the marketer to see the success of the campaign and plan accordingly for future marketing efforts.

 

NEWSLETTERS

On the Website, you may subscribe to receive new blog posts, which may be used for advertising purposes. New blog posts sent may contain tracking pixels. The pixel is embedded in emails and allows an analysis of the success of online marketing campaigns. Because of these tracking pixels, I may see if and when you open an email and which links within the email you click. Also, this allows the Website to adapt the content of future newsletters to the interests of the user. This behavior will not be passed on to third parties.

 

RIGHTS RELATED TO YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION

• Opt-out – You may opt-out of future email communications by following the unsubscribe links in my emails. You may also notify me at [email protected] to be removed from my mailing list.
• Access – You may access the personal information I have about you by submitting a request to [email protected].
• Amend – You may contact me at [email protected] to amend or update your personal information.
• Forget – In certain situations, you may request that I erase or forget your personal data. To do so, please submit a request to me at [email protected].

Please note that I may need to retain certain information for recordkeeping purposes or to complete transactions, or when required by law.

 

SENSITIVE PERSONAL INFORMATION

At no time should you submit sensitive personal information to this website. This includes your social security number, information regarding race or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious beliefs, health information, criminal background, or trade union memberships. If you elect to submit such information to me, it will be subject to this Privacy Policy.

 

CHILDREN’S INFORMATION

The Website does not knowingly collect any personally identifiable information from children under the age of 16. If a parent or guardian believes that the Website has personally identifiable information of a child under the age of 16 in its database, please contact me immediately at [email protected] and I will use my best efforts to promptly remove such information from my records.

 

ACCEPTANCE OF TERMS

Through the use of this website, you are hereby accepting the terms and conditions stipulated within the aforementioned Disclosure Statement and Privacy & Cookie Policies. If you are not in agreement with these terms and conditions, then you should refrain from further use of this site. In addition, your continued use of this website following the posting of any updates or changes to my terms and conditions shall mean that you are in agreement and acceptance of such changes.

 

CONTACT INFORMATION

Again, this blog is a personal blog written and edited by me, Christy K. James. For questions about this blog, please contact me at [email protected].

By reading this blog you are doing so of your own free will. Any information received, instructions followed, are done so at your own risk. I am not responsible as I am not a professional, nor do I claim to be.

At any time, please contact me at at [email protected] for questions related to this Privacy Policy.

Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this myself, Christy K. James, Confessions of a Serial Do-it-Yourselfer, is strictly prohibited. ONE photo may be used, provided that FULL AND CLEAR CREDIT is given to Confessions of a Serial Do-it-yourselfer or Confessions of a Serial DIYer with appropriate and specific direction and link back to the original content.

 

TERMS OF SERVICE

Binding Arbitration (“Arbitration Agreement”)

a. Applicability of Arbitration Agreement. You agree that any dispute or claim against us, or our vendors or service providers(collectively, “We” or “Us”), related in any way to your access or use of this website, to these Terms, or to any aspect of your relationship with Us, will be resolved by binding arbitration, rather than in court, except that (1) you may assert claims in small claims court if your claims qualify, so long as the matter remains in such court and advances only on an individual (non-class, non-representative) basis; and (2) you or We may seek equitable relief in court for infringement or other misuse of intellectual property rights (such as trademarks, trade dress, domain names, trade secrets, copyrights, and patents). You agree that you must commence any arbitration or other claim within one (1) year after the dispute arises; otherwise, the claim is permanently barred, which means that you will no longer have the right to assert a claim regarding the dispute. This Arbitration Agreement will apply, without limitation, to all claims that arose or were asserted before the effective date of these Terms or any prior version of this Arbitration Agreement.

You agree in advance that you will not participate in or seek to recover monetary or other relief in any lawsuit filed against Us, alleging class, collective, and/or representative claims on your behalf. Instead, by agreeing to arbitration, you may bring your claims against any of Us in an individual arbitration proceeding (except for any Batch Arbitration, as described below). If successful on such claims, you could be awarded money or other relief by an arbitrator. You acknowledge that you have been advised that you may consult with an attorney in deciding whether to accept these Terms, including this Arbitration Agreement.

The Federal Arbitration Act governs the interpretation and enforcement of this Arbitration Agreement.

b. Process. To begin a claim, you must first send a letter describing your claim in detail, including your name and contact information, your legal claim, the specific facts giving rise to your claim (including the date(s) and amount(s) of any relevant transaction or interaction with us), and the requested relief, to 2709 Rex Lane, Virginia Beach, VA 23456. You and We agree to attempt in good faith to negotiate an informal resolution of your claim. If a resolution is not reached within thirty (30) days, you may commence an arbitration action as set forth herein. The arbitration will be conducted by JAMS, an established alternative dispute resolution provider. Disputes involving claims and counterclaims under $250,000, not inclusive of attorneys’ fees and interest, will be subject to JAMS’s most current version of the Streamlined Arbitration Rules and procedures available at http://www.jamsadr.com/rules-streamlined-arbitration/; all other claims will be subject to JAMS’s most current version of the Comprehensive Arbitration Rules and Procedures, available at http://www.jamsadr.com/rules-comprehensive-arbitration/. JAMS’s rules are also available at www.jamsadr.com or by calling JAMS at 800-352-5267. If JAMS is not available to arbitrate, the parties will select an alternative arbitral forum. You may choose to have the arbitration conducted remotely, based on written submissions, or in person at a mutually agreed location. We will be entitled to make an offer of judgment in the arbitration proceeding. If the offer of judgment is not accepted, and the award is not more favorable than the unaccepted offer, you will be solely responsible for all costs incurred by Us after the offer of judgment is made to the extent permitted by applicable law. Any judgment on the award rendered by the arbitrator may be entered in any court of competent jurisdiction.

c. Fees. If the arbitrator finds that you cannot afford to pay JAMS’s filing, administrative, hearing, and/or other fees, and you cannot obtain a waiver from JAMS, we will pay them for you. If the arbitrator determines the claims are frivolous, you agree to pay Us our attorneys’ fees and costs in the arbitration, to the extent permitted by applicable law.

d. Authority of Arbitrator. The arbitrator, and not any federal, state, or local court or agency, will have exclusive authority to resolve any dispute related to the interpretation, applicability, enforceability, or formation of this Arbitration Agreement, including, but not limited to, any claim that all or any part of this Arbitration Agreement is void or voidable. The arbitration will decide the rights and liabilities, if any, of you and Us. The arbitration proceeding will not be consolidated with any other matters or joined with any other cases or parties. The arbitrator will have the authority to grant motions dispositive of all or part of any claim. The arbitrator will have the authority to award monetary damages and to grant any non-monetary remedy or relief available to an individual under applicable law, the arbitral forum’s rules, and these Terms (including the Arbitration Agreement). The arbitrator will issue a written award and statement of decision describing the essential findings and conclusions on which the award is based, including the calculation of any damages awarded. The arbitrator has the same authority to award relief on an individual basis that a judge in a court of law would have. The award of the arbitrator is final and binding upon you and Us.

e. Waiver of Jury Trial. You and We hereby waive any constitutional and statutory rights to sue in court and have a trial in front of a judge or a jury. You and We are instead electing that all claims and disputes will be resolved by arbitration under this Arbitration Agreement, except as specified in Section (a) above. An arbitrator can award on an individual basis the same damages and relief as a court and must follow this Agreement as a court would. However, there is no judge or jury in arbitration, and court review of an arbitration award is subject to very limited review.

f. Waiver of Class or Consolidated Actions. Except with respect to Batch Arbitration (as defined below), all claims and disputes within the scope of this Arbitration Agreement must be arbitrated on an individual basis and not on a class basis, only individual relief is available, and claims of more than one customer or user cannot be arbitrated or consolidated with those of any other customer or user. In the event that this subparagraph is deemed invalid or unenforceable neither you nor We are entitled to arbitration and instead claims and disputes will be resolved in a court as set forth in these Terms.

g. Batch Arbitration. You and We agree that, in the event that there are fifty (50) or more individual requests for arbitration of a similar nature filed against Us within an approximately (30) thirty-day period (or otherwise in close proximity) regardless of the state(s) in which such claims are filed, JAMS will administer all such similarly situated arbitration demands on a collective basis as a single, consolidated arbitration (subject to a single set of fees, proceeding schedule, and, if required, hearing) before a single arbitrator in accordance with the requirements outlined elsewhere in this section, provided that – in the event that the arbitrator deems it impracticable or inequitable to administer all such claims collectively in a single arbitration – (s)he may group demands for arbitration into groups of not fewer than twenty (20) matters, plus a remainder group as needed (or as otherwise deemed by the arbitrator to be practicable, equitable, and in best keeping with the spirit of this provision) and arbitrate each group of matters as a single, consolidated arbitration (either structure a “Batch Arbitration”). You and We agree (1) to work with JAMS in good faith to facilitate the resolution of disputes on a Batch Arbitration basis and (2) that requests for arbitration are of a “similar nature” if they arise out of the same event, agreement, or factual scenario and raise the same or similar legal issues and seek the same or similar relief. Disagreements over the applicability of this Batch Arbitration process will be settled in a single, consolidated arbitration proceeding that includes all affected parties and is resolved by a single arbitrator subject to the requirements of this section. This Batch Arbitration provision shall in no way be interpreted as authorizing a class or collective arbitration or action of any kind, or any suit or arbitration involving joint or consolidated claims, under any circumstances other than those expressly set forth in this section.

h. Severability. If any part or parts of this Arbitration Agreement are found under the law to be invalid or unenforceable, then such specific part or parts will be of no force and effect and will be severed, and the remainder of the Arbitration Agreement will continue in full force and effect.

i. Survival. This Arbitration Agreement will survive the termination of your relationship with Us.

j. Modification. Notwithstanding any provision in these Terms to the contrary, We agree that if We make any future material change to this Arbitration Agreement, it will not apply to any individual claim(s) for which that you had already provided notice to Us.

 

Consent to Data Collection.  These Terms of Service incorporate our Privacy Policy [above], which discloses how we, our vendors, and our service providers collect and use data when you use the Site and/or mobile applications.  You hereby consent to the collection and use of data by us, our vendors, and our service providers as described in the Privacy Policy (including any links to other policies therein).  You can revoke this consent at any time by following the opt-out instructions in the Privacy Policy or clicking the provided links on the Site.

 

Limitations on Liability. YOU UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT, TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, WE, OR OUR VENDORS OR SERVICE PROVIDERS (COLLECTIVELY, “WE” OR “US”), SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR ANY LOSS OF PROFITS OR REVENUES, WHETHER INCURRED DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, OR ANY LOSS OF DATA, USE, GOODWILL, OR OTHER INTANGIBLE LOSSES, RESULTING FROM YOUR ACCESS TO OR USE OF OR INABILITY TO ACCESS OR USE THE WEBSITE.  IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AGGREGATE LIABILITY OF ANY OF US EXCEED THE GREATER OF (A) THE TOTAL AMOUNT PAID OR PAYABLE TO RAPTIVE BY YOU FOR THE WEBSITE DURING THE SIX-MONTH PERIOD PRIOR TO THE ACT, OMISSION, OR OCCURRENCE GIVING RISE TO SUCH LIABILITY; OR (B) ONE HUNDRED U.S. DOLLARS ($100). THE LIMITATIONS OF THIS SUBSECTION SHALL APPLY TO ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER BASED ON WARRANTY, CONTRACT, STATUTE, TORT, OR OTHERWISE, AND WHETHER OR NOT THE PARTIES HAVE BEEN INFORMED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF ANY SUCH DAMAGE, AND EVEN IF A REMEDY SET FORTH HEREIN IS FOUND TO HAVE FAILED ITS ESSENTIAL PURPOSE.

 

This policy is valid from October 10th, 2025, and is subject to change without notice.