Tired of Running

I just want to stay home for awhile, rest and get some "me time" in for a change. This week, and last week and the week before, seem to have flown by because all I've done is run, run, run. Do you ever get that way? You seem to constantly be on the go so when you get the chance to stay home, you just want to park it and not move for 48 hours? I'm to that point now.

Last weekend, hubby and I started off Saturday morning with a road trip to IN to look at a truck for our business and ended up in KY. Well, hubby told me this morning that he'd really like to go back to Kentucky THIS WEEKEND to actually look around a bit more since we didn't get the chance to see a lot of things last weekend. What? Another 4 hour drive? So soon? Ugh, I don't even want to think about it. I just want to stay here and relax. I might have to see if some persuasion might help hubby get this silly little idea out of his head. I would like to go back eventually, but maybe next month or sometime this summer, but not a week after I've already been there. I might have to break out some of the heavy duty stuff to get him to change his mind. I'll let you know if it works.

Update: No Kentucky trip will be taken this weekend, however, there will possible be a Michigan trip taken to look at another truck. Hubby is calling about it right now to see if anyone will be there on Saturday. I don't think I will be going along on this one. I really just want to stay home and veg this weekend.

Stone Hawk

I have never personally known anyone who has gone through a drug rehab program and truthfully I hope that I never do. But nowadays, it seems like no matter where you turn there is someone dealing with a drug problem.

If I ever do end up in this situation then I would want to find the best place possible to get help. Stone Hawk is the most successful drug rehab program in the United States. They are located in Michigan. Stone Hawk specializes in drug free treatment, which makes a lot of sense to me. There are several treatments out there that utilize drugs in their programs, but Stone Hawk feels that it is contradictory to treat a habitual drug user by introducing even more drugs into their system.

After going through the program, 3 out of 4 graduates are capable of getting back to their lives and leading a successful and independent life. That's a really good success rate.

So, I hope I never had to look for a drug rehab program, but if I do then Stone Hawk will be one of the first places that I check out.

this is a sponsored post

Want some freebies?

I'm always on the lookout for some free things. Why pay money for something when you can get it for free is my motto:) Here are a few things that I found online today. Enjoy!

Travel USA tee shirt
Free sample of tea
Lacoste cologne sample
Sore No More Pain Relief Gel
Pepcid AC sample

Happy Hump Day

My days are finally slowing down a bit although yesterday I didn't think they were going to. My daughter ended up coming home from school with a stomachache. Luckily she is better today and did go back to school. Last night I also had to help my son with one of his projects for this week...building an island model to go with a book he is reading. It turned out pretty good if I do say so myself. Tonight we have to make an ancient Roman porridge recipe for his Social Studies project. Hoping it turns out well too.

Diet is still moving along although I've had several temptations lately. Working overtime hasn't helped and I must admit that I've not ate completely on program the past two days. I've had Subway though which isn't TOO bad for me:)

I've yet to start exercising. I just haven't had the time or energy to hop on the treadmill. I'm hoping though that since work is slowing down a bit that I'll get motivated to hop on and start. I know once i get going that I'll feel better and actually enjoy it. it is just getting started that I have the problem with. Hubby said he is thinking about joining our local gym, but I don't think that is something that interests me. Not yet anyway. Maybe down the road.

The weather is finally looking more and more like Springtime this week. Temps are in the high 60's, low 70's for the entire week. Finally! I'm so ready.

Bad Credit Loans

When I first graduated high school, I received all kinds of credit card offers in the mail. And being the naive soul that I was at the time, I signed up for every single one of them. For the most part, I paid off the balance each month on the cards that I did use.

Over time, however, I got to where I was charging more and more and paying less and less and that's how I eventually ended up in big trouble. At that time, I ended up filing for bankruptcy. I wish I had known about getting one of the Bad Credit Loans that are available now though.

Getting a loan to help pay off my bad credit would have been so much better for my credit record then filing bankruptcy was for it. If you are having problems paying off a credit card or have other bills out there, why not check on getting a Bad Credit Loan to help out.

this is a sponsored post

Just Say HI

There is a new dating website out there that will help you find that special someone. This Free Online Dating service is called JustSayHi.com and yes, you read that right, it is a FREE service. There is no credit card required to sign up.

Unlike other dating websites, JustSayHi.com has no gimmicks or tricks. It's just a great place to meet people.

Why not go to JustSayHi.com
now and see for yourself what it is all about.

this is a sponsored post.

Weekend Fun

After a cruddy Friday, my weekend turned into a nice bit of fun. Hubby and I took off Saturday morning to go check out a truck for our business. It was located in IN so we took off and figured we'd just spend the day out having fun afterwards. The day was very nice, sunny, but chilly. We got to IN and found the truck, but it was a total piece of junk so we left. Hubby decided that we'd just take off on the Interstate and see where it led. Ended up in Louisville KY!

We ended up staying the night there. It was so much fun! The entire city was celebrating St. Patricks day so there were several fun events going on. We ended up down on a place called Fourth Street Live. There are a collection of stores and restaurants there and that night they were having a concert to celebrate. There were several colorful characters out and about too. We saw several "leprachauns":) We watched a bit of the concert and just enjoyed the night. Afterwards, we went back to the hotel and crashed. the next morning we were up and on our way back home. It was a four hour trip, but well worth every minute.

Last night, we took the kids to see the movie, Norbit with Eddie Murphy. It was pretty good and the kids really enjoyed it. It was a bit of fun for them to have this weekend too since they stayed home while we were gone. That is the nice thing about having older kids. You can go out without them every once in awhile and enjoy adult things:)

This next weekend, I guess, hubby will be going to Arizona on business. I won't be going on this trip though. It will be more business then fun so I'll just stay here.

I'm so glad today is Friday

This has been one heckuva day today. Between trying to do my regular business duties, my household chores and helping move all of our inventory from our rental building to our own building, it's been super busy.

Fridays are usually pretty quiet here. I don't know why, but people just don't tend to call on this day of the week, which is why I generally try to do any errand running that I need to do on Friday instead of any other day. Today, however, the phone rang off the hook. Every time I'd leave, there would be at least 5 messages waiting on me when I returned. I guess everybody just knew that I was super busy and wanted to add to my grief.

On top of all my regular stuff to do, we are in the process of moving all of our inventory from the storage building we have in town to our building out here. I had the guys (our two employees) run several trips back and forth, but I still had to be here to help tell them where to put everything. In between their trips, I was also trying to get laundry done. Needless to say, I'm STILL working on that.

And to top things off, my kids got out of school early today. I had NO IDEA that today was a short day. They didn't mention it to me and I didn't think to look at the calendar so imagine my surprise when they come walking down the lane. Do you think they've helped me out today though? No way. Granted, I didn't ASK them for help so they sure as heck weren't going to offer it. Silly of me to even let that thought run through my brain for even a second.

So, now I'm just waiting on 5pm to get here so that I can close up shop for the day. I'm ready for my Calgon moment!

Cool Video Clip website

I like to watch videos on my computer. Sometimes I do it in my free time and I also do it when I really should be working. There are so many websites out there with funny video clips and I would love to watch every one of them, but I just don't have the time to sort through them all. That's where coolvideoclips.com comes in.

Coolvideoclips.com searches the web for the funniest, most entertaining videos out there so that you can watch the best ones without having to waste your time sorting through those boring videos that we all know are out there. Coolvideoclips.com picks videos from YouTube, Yahoo Video, Google Video, Clickfish and many other sites. They actually search over 300 other video websites to find the videos that will be most interesting to you.

So, if you're tired of wasting your time sorting through all those video clips out there, check out coolvideoclips.com now to see the best ones available.

Fliptrack

Have you ever sent a cd of pictures to family or friends and thought, "Hmm, it would be so nice if I could add some music to these and make it more interesting"? If you have then Fliptrack.com is for you.

With Fliptrack.com, you can make music videos out of your pictures. How cool would that be to see yourself as the rock star you've always dreamed of being? You can also add custom effects to your photos to give them that professional look.

If Fliptrack.com sounds like something that you would be interested in, please click here to visit their website.

this is a sponsored post.

I forgot!

I just realized that I didn't post my meals from yesterday. Oops! I'll post them first then my meals for today.

Wednesday meals
Breakfast-NS apple toaster pastry (a bit better then the strawberry, but still not great)
1/2 cup skim milk
1/2 cup grapefruit juice
1 slice toast

Snack-fat free string cheese

Lunch-NS spicy oriental noodles
1 thai style veggie burger
cabbage slaw (no mayo)
1/2 cup grapefruit juice

Snack-1 cup strawberries

Dinner-NS chicken patty
1/2 cup cooked cabbage
1 cup strawberries
1 tsp. olive oil (this is what I sauteed my cabbage in)
1 slice fat free, low carb bread

Dessert-NS peanut butter cookie

Thursday meals:
Breakfast-NS cinnamon swirl granola bar
1 container fat free vanilla yogurt
1/2 cup grapefruit juice
1 slice toast

Snack-
17 slices of turkey pepperoni

Lunch-NS New Orleans Style Rice w/ chicken
1/2 cup fat free cottage cheese
salad w/ tomato and fat free italian dressing
1 cup strawberries

Snack-
1 cup mixed fruit

Dinner-
NS Macaroni w/ beef and cheese
1/2 cup steamed broccoli
salad w/ tomato and fat free italian dressing
olives
5 melba crackers

Dessert-
NS chocolate cake

Marathon

Ok, I am not quite there yet on my exercise venture, but some day I hope to be able to run a marathon. I know, people that know me are saying "What? You run a marathon? You don't even like walking out to the mailbox!" Well, that's all you know about it. I've always thought that I could be a marathon runner one day. I'm stubborn and once I have the stamina to do it, I know I would push myself to keep running even if my legs felt like they were going to fall off.

My cousin, who lives in Washington DC, has ran mini marathons in the past. Just last week, she was telling me that she is going to be running in the Wirefly National Marathon this month in Washington D.C.

This marathon benefits several DC area organizations and charities. Some of these are the Special Olympics District of Columbia, Fort Dupont Ice Arena, YMCA DC, Joy of Sports Foundation and Washington Tennis and Education Foundation.

Deb, my cousin, said that this marathon is only a couple of years old, but is growing pretty fast in popularity. They offer both a half marathon and a full marathon and they have already passed their goal of 4,000 participants this year. She was also telling me that Wirefly is the sponsor of the race this year. Wirefly is one of the largest online sellers of cell phones and got its start in business in the District about seven years ago so it's nice to see a local business sponsor this race.

This year's race route will feature a mix of famous memorials, landmarks and monuments along with Washington DC's emerging new neighborhoods. The race will start and finish at RFK Stadium.

Hopefully someday soon I'll be joining my cousin in one of these marathons, but for now I'll have to be content with watching her from one of the viewing stations along the route.

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And the number is......

Yes, you are reading that little bouncing number exactly right. I weighed in this morning to an official weight loss for this first week on Nutrisystem of EIGHT lbs!! I'm so happy! Now on to the next week and hopefully another great loss:)

Day 5...still going strong!

I am feeling pretty proud of myself. This is day five of following NS and I feel like I'm doing fantastically (now that the weekend is over. lol) Anyway, today is actually the first day that I've been stuffed! After eating my lunch today, I haven't thought about food one time, which is very unusual for me because the afternoon slump is when I tend to eat the most junk. Next week, I'm going to start in on the exercise. I'd planned on starting this week but came up with all kinds of excuses not too. Seriously though, I am super busy this week and although that's not a good excuse, it's what I'm going with. Next week, the billing period will be over and I wont' have any deadlines hanging over my head so that'll be the perfect time to get started.

My NS menu for today:

Breakfast-
NS scrambled eggs
1 veggie sausage patty (dairy or protein)
1 cup of strawberries (fruit)
1 slice toast (carb)

Snack-
17 slices (this is the serving size!) of turkey pepperoni (dairy or protein)

Lunch-
NS homestyle cheesy mashed potatoes w/ broccoli
1 thai style veggie burger (dairy or protein)
salad w/ tomato, fat free cheese, mushrooms, cucumbers and fat free dressing
1 cup strawberries (fruit)

Snack-
1/2 cup grapefruit juice (fruit)

Dinner- (haven't ate yet, but do have planned)
NS Wedged potatoes w/ sliced beef steak
squash (veggie)
salad w/ tomato, fat free cheese, mushrooms, cucumbers and fat free dressing
sprinkle of sunflower seeds (fat)
5 melba crackers (carb)

Dessert-
NS chocolate covered caramel corn (haven't tried this yet, but it looks delish!)

Christian Dating Website

My husband's friend, Quinton, is newly single and getting back into the dating scene. He's been looking at some of the dating websites out there, but nothing has really been what he is looking for. When I recently came across a website specifically for Christian Dating, I had to let Quinton know about it.

He checked it out over the weekend and said it is exactly what he'd been looking for. This website is specifically for Christian men and women looking to date single Christian men or women. And it is FREE too! He liked that part the best:) He's already emailing a few women and getting to know them. Who know? Maybe he'll find his lifelong love.

this is a sponsored post.

Spring has Sprung!

Finally, spring has finally arrived! Today it is almost 80 degrees outside! I just wish it was going to stay like this, but unfortunately tomorrow is supposed to be rainy and cooler then Thursday it's going to be back down in the high 40's/low 50's, which is normal for this time of year around here. Since it's so nice today, I've been thinking of my flowers.

My mom gave me a start to some of her black iris today. She bought them a few years ago and I've been begging for some to plant in my yard every year since then. Today she finally came through and dug up some for me. I wish they'd bloom this spring, but it will probably be next year before I get to see them. They're not really black. They're actually just a really deep, dark purple, but they look almost black at a glance.

I'm anxious for the flowers to start blooming and the leaves to start coming out on the trees now. See what a warm day does to me? I'll enjoy it while I can and once it cools off again then I'll try to wait patiently for another beautiful day like today to come along.

What's Going On?

Ever wonder exactly what websites your kids are visiting while they're online? Or wanting to make sure that your hubby is steering clear of those girly websites? Do you think that the only way you can know what is going on is to stand over everybody's shoulders while they're online? Wrong! Why not invest in spy software to find out exactly what websites are being viewed on your computer.

You can find software like this at eblaster.com. They offer several different versions of spy software. One version, called eblaster 5.0 will actually capture incoming and outgoing email messages, chats and instant messages then immediately send you a copy. This software also records websites visited, keystrokes typed, files downloaded and programs that are launched.

If you want to make sure that your family is safe while online, I highly recommend getting some spy software to keep an eye on things.

this is a sponsored post.

I snuck a peek

I really figured after all the junk that I'd eaten this weekend that the scale would be cruel to me this morning, but when I hopped on I was pleasantly surprised to see a loss. My official weigh-in day isn't until Thursday so I'm not going to post the exact amount that I'm down just yet, but let's just say it is looking good.

My son is feeling much better today and is back at school, which is good because although he wasn't bad to have home (he slept for the most part) I needed my alone time today. I've gotten a lot accomplished this morning and I know if he'd been home that I would have delayed doing any of it for fear of either waking him up.

Today has started out well diet-wise. I'm back on track and feel that today I will stick with the NS program for every single meal even if it kills me to do it. This is where I had problems last time on NS, going out and not eating on program. I just can't do that this time if I want to reach my goal. I've got to have more willpower and more brains when I do go out to eat. And if I can't eat sensibly when I'm out at a restaurant then maybe I just don't need to be eating out at restaurants!

Ok, meals for today:

Breakfast-
NS cinnamon granola bar
1/2 cup skim milk (dairy/protein)
1/2 grapefruit (fruit)

Snack-
5 crackers (carb carried over from breakfast)
1 pack of fat free string cheese (dairy/protein serving)

Lunch-
NS black beans and rice
fat free cottage cheese
salad
1/2 cup strawberries

Snack-
1/2 cup strawberries

Dinner-
NS Hamburger w/ lettuce, tomato and mustard
green beans
salad w/ tomato, olives and ff dressing
1/2 cup butter beans

Dessert-
NS double chocolate almond cookie

Sunday

Ok, I really stunk at following NS today. With having to set our clocks ahead an hour, I started out later with my day so I just had the NS peanut butter granola bar, 1/2 c. milk, 1/2 c. grapefruit juice and a slice of toast. Figured I'd just eat a light breakfast since it was only about 2 hours until lunch.

Well, hubby decided that he wanted to go shopping so off we go. He swore to me that we'd eat somewhere for lunch that I could eat sensibly. Where do we end up at? Taco Bell! Now, I know that you can order pretty much any item off their menu "al fresca" style which lowers the fat and calorie content, but still. I ended up just ordering two of their soft tacos and a diet cola. It didn't fill me up at all. We went to a few more stores then brought everything home. Hubby then says for me to go back out to the car. He had a surprise for me. Ok. The kids stay home and off we go again. This time we end up at the movies. Great. I've no problem with going to see a good movie (We saw Wild Hogs...so funny), but I'd not brought my NS snack and I was still hungry from not eating much at lunch. Hubby ordered popcorn and I ended up eating 1/2 of it before I even realized it. Movie Popcorn=No! No! in Lisa's book. After the movie, Hubby said we'd go get something at Subway. Ok, I can handle Subway. I can eat healthy there and this will also fill me up. good. So, we drive down to the Subway that is closest to the theater. it's packed. Hubby doesn't want to wait so we drive across town to another Subway. It's closed. Grr!!! By now, my stomach is growling loud enough for hubby to hear it and I'm also getting nauseous from being too hungry so I growl at him to just stop at the next restaurant that comes along. Well, that just happens to be RALLY'S. Ok, not the best place to eat, but I'm going to pass out if I don't put some food in my body soon! I order the spicy chicken meal, small, with diet cola. When I get it, I toss the bun out, scrape off as much of the mayo as possible and inhale the chicken patty. I feel better after that and slow down to eat the small fries. Well, didn't have to worry about me eating too many because after only the third one, I bit into something that was just awful! it was so bitter, I still don't know what it was. I immediately spit it out and dumped the rest of the fries. I guess that's one way not to go overboard on eating junk. By now, I realize this is just a bad eating day on my part and I should just stop and not even try anymore. So, once we got home I just drank a big glass of water then go to bed, telling myself that I'll do better in the morning.

NS...Day 3

Well, weighed this morning and am actually down a pound already from my start day so I guess the pizza and cappuccino didn't do too much damage. I'm back on track today.

Breakfast-
NS blueberry pancake (delicious)
1 egg, scrambled
1 slice toast
1 serving blueberries on top of pancake

Snack-
1/2 cup fat free cottage cheese

Lunch-
NS chicken stew w/ barley (it didn't look the greatest, but tasted pretty good. I added a couple shots of tabasco sauce to give it some kick)
salad w/ ff cheese (dairy/protein serving)
1/2 cup grapefruit juice

Snack-
1 pear

Dinner-
Ate out again tonight, but I ordered off the kids menu and had no dessert or alcohol so feel pretty dang good.

In about an hour, I have my nephew's birthday party to go to. I'm going alone. My son is still not back to 100%. His fever came back today so he's just laying around. I don't blame him at all. I just hope he's feeling better by Monday so he can get back to school.

Deal or No Deal

My favorite game show on television right now is Deal or No Deal. I just love Howie Mandel and all of the fun and excitement he brings to the show. I call in every week with my guess to which case has the $10,000 in it too.

I love this game and have always thought it would be fun to play it online. Well, imagine my excitement when I found out that Winzy.com has a free version of the Deal or No Deal game on their website. Granted, you don't win any prizes with this game, but they do have several others on there that you can win prizes by playing. I'm going to go play a game right now. Open the case!

this is a sponsored post.

NS...Day 2

Alright, day one is behind me and it actually wasn't too bad for the beginning of a diet. I wasn't hungry except for one time and that was just because I waited too long between meals. Once I ate, I was stuffed and fine the rest of the evening. Today has started out great. I've gotten in two glasses of my water, ate my NS breakfast and walked on the treadmill. Here's my menu so far. I'll update later on:

Breakfast-
NS scrambled eggs w/ veggie sausage crumbles (yummy!)
1 egg (protein, I added it to my ns entree to give more bulk to them)
2 spiced apple rings (fruit serving)
5 small melba crackers (my carb serving)

Snack-
1 container vanilla fat-free yogurt

Lunch-
NS mashed potatoes w/broccoli (had this last time and still just as yummy)
bumblebee tuna fillet, teriyaki flavor (protein serving)
salad
2 spiced apple rings (fruit)

The rest of the evening was a total bomb. We ended up going out and although I didn't eat like I usually would, I did end up having 3 pieces of supreme pizza then stopped for a mocha cappuccino afterwards. I'll weigh in the morning to see how much damage I did. Hopefully not a lot.

What's going on?

Ok, there is something going on over at PayPerPost and I've been wracking my brain trying to figure out what it is. I've read a few different blogs out there and there are some pretty good rumors floating around as to what this big announcement of PayPerPost's is going to be, but here is what I think it is.

So, since PayPerPost deals with online advertising maybe the big announcement is going to be that they will be offering more opportunities for us smaller bloggers. I know I wish there were more opps out there for me to take. Since my blog doesn't have a whole lot of readers (hence a lower PR) I don't qualify for a lot of the opps that are posted now. Or maybe it will be that the advertisers will be paying even more money to us little bloggers who type our fingers to the bone to help advertise their products. That would be sweet! Hmm, maybe Ted is announcing his retirement and they are appointing Colleen the new head honcho! Cool, a fellow postie in charge. Awesome!

Well, whatever the big announcement is, I'm sure it will be fantastic news. I look forward to hearing what it is soon. Hopefully they won't be keeping us in suspense much longer.

Nutrisystem....Day 1

Even though today has been pretty hectic (had to take my son to the dr. Fever of 102. Diagnosed with tonsillitis), I started following the NS program. So far, so good although I've not gotten much water in. I was afraid to drink too much while out running around for fear of not making it to a bathroom in time:)

Anyway, this is my menu so far for today:

Breakfast-
NS strawberry toaster pastry (this is a new product and although it isn't bad it's not the greatest. Very dry and not sweet enough)
1 hard boiled egg (my protein serving)
1 piece of toast w/ spray of ICBINB (my carb serving since I have more then 100 lbs. to lose)
1/2 cup of grapefruit juice (my fruit serving)

Lunch-
NS cheese tortellini (very good. I don't remember them having this when I was on before, but the menu said it isn't new. Maybe I just missed it)
1/2 cup ff cottage cheese (my dairy serving)
salad w/ mushrooms, tomatoes, cucumbers, ff cheese (my snack dairy serving) topped with ff ranch dressing
2 spiced cinnamon apple rings (my fruit serving since I have more then 100 lbs. to lose)

Afternoon Snack-
2 spiced cinnamon apple rings (I should also have a protein/dairy serving now, but used it at lunch)

That's it for now. I've not thought much about what I'll be having for dinner yet, but that's the nice thing about the NS program. I dont' have to worry about what to have. It's already made for me, all I have to do is heat it up, add some veggies and salad and there ya go. Voila! Now, I DO already know what I'm choosing for my daily dessert and that is the new NS chocolate chunk almond cookie! The picture of it looks just yummy and from the feel of the package it is a fairly good size cookie at that. I'll let you know more once I have it, but I'm really hoping it is as good as I'm hoping.

Update:
Dinner-
NS meatloaf w/ mashed potatoes (another new item, very good although could have been bigger)
1/2 cup green beans (my veggie serving)
2 spiced apple rings (my fruit or salad serving)
5 green olives (my fat serving)
1/3 cup butter beans (my carb serving since I need to lose more then 100 lbs.)

Dessert-
NS white chocolate chunk cookie (I was right, it was delish! Again, could have been bigger, but that's the whole point of NS, isn't it? Portion control!)

My food is here!!

My really nice UPS guy just delivered my new shipment of NS food. I've not opened it up yet, but will here in just a few to make sure all is there and then try to find somewhere in my already crowded kitchen to put everything.

I've been debating on when to start the program and I think I'm just going to go ahead and start tomorrow. Even though it is a Thursday, I'm afraid if I wait to start on Sunday or Monday that I'll have lost all motivation that I have now. Besides, I'm anxious to taste some of this "new and improved" food that everyone on the NS boards have been raving about. From my last stint on NS, I know some of the food was delish while other things weren't so good. I'm sure this is how it will be again, but I'm hoping that it's more good then bad. I want to have the biggest majority of food possible so I don't get stuck in the rut of eating the same things over and over again.

Ok, off to unpack everything.

Dad's birthday

The month of March is full of birthdays in my family. My mom, my niece, my nephew and my dad's birthdays all fall within the first two weeks of the month. I've taken care of gifts for everybody on my list except for my dad. He is very hard to buy gifts for because he has pretty much everything he'd ever want to have. I've been searching though and think that I finally found the perfect gift for him. He doesn't do it often, but every once in awhile he'll get to invite his guy friends over for a game of cards. So, I thought why not get him something poker related and then it clicked. How about some personalized poker chips? E-Pokerchips.com offers all kinds of poker products from the nation's top manufacturers at discount prices. I think this will be the perfect gift for my dad. Who knows, maybe with these cool poker chips, his guy friends will want to come play cards with him more often.

this is a sponsored post

What a day

What an eventful day this has been. I'm glad that it is almost over and hopefully tomorrow won't be so busy. Like I said in my earlier post, I got my new car today. It's awesome, btw. But let's start from the beginning.

My list of things to do today was 1)take the kids to school, 2)go to the bank and get the check for the car 3)go pick up my car. Sounds simple enough.

It didn't end up that way. First, I did get the kids to school, came back home and started in on things I needed to do around here. then hubby called and said that he wasn't going to make it home in time to go pick up my car and I needed to find another ride over to the dealership. Hmm, ok, I'll call my mom. She's always home and would gladly give me a ride to pickup my car. I call, but unfortunately my brother has already hit her up to babysit my nephew. Darn. No ride from her. I call my sister-inlaw, but she was called into work today. Strike 2. then hubby calls back and says that his mom would take me over, no problem. Great. That's taken care of. I call the bank and let the loan officer know that I'll be in around 1:30 to sign the papers and pick up the check. I get his voicemail and leave a message only to have him call me back later asking if I could come in an hour earlier instead. No problem. So, I finish things up here and get ready to head into town when the phone rings. It's my son's school, he's sick, can I come pick him up? So, another snag in the day. I go pick him up, calling the bank on the way to let them know that I'm going to be a little bit late. No problem. Pick up my son, take him back by my mom's so she can watch him while I get all my running done then back into town to the bank. When I walk in, the receptionist tells me that now the loan officer has a customer in his office and it's going to be a good twenty minute wait. Great again. I patiently wait and finally get in to see him. Afterwards, I call my mother in law to meet her and drive over to the dealership where I sign all the papers and then officially drive my new car home. Get back to my mom's, pick up my son, and come home. My son immediately comes inside and goes to bed. He's got a fever of 101 and a headache. I really hope it isn't the beginning of the flu. he's been in his room all afternoon and evening. We'll see how he feels when he gets up in the morning, I guess.

So, after several delays and unforeseen events, my day is pretty well done. Tomorrow will be a new day and hopefully a more relaxing one.

Teeth Whitening

After many years of drinking coffee, tea and sodas, my teeth aren't the whitest that I'd like them to be so I've been debating on having one of the Dentists in my area do one of the whitening procedures they do now, like the in-office whitening procedure. With that procedure, the dentist puts a bleach gel on your teeth then shines a bright light on your teeth. This causes a chemical reaction to occur allowing the gel to penetrate the teeth and get rid of the stains.

Some Dentists also offer at-home whitening too. With this procedure, the dentist fits your teeth with a tray and sends you home with a milder bleach solution which you use over a period of weeks or months. This procedure does take longer though and has less noticeable results.

I'll be checking into the different options out there to find what will work best for me.

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Chargin' On

Over this past weekend, I found my new car. If you don't remember, we were looking for something for my daughter but after several test drives of junk, hubby and I finally decided to just give her my car and get me a new one. Anyway, over the weekend we test drove a Dodge Charger. After just a couple of miles, I was hooked! Hubby even liked it and that is a big thing because ever since we've been married, he has despised every single one of the cars that I've owned. They're either too small, not enough power, wrong color, etc.

Anyway, after the test drive we played it cool, took the car back and got some numbers from the salesman. We told him we'd think about it and left. All evening, we discussed how much we were willing to give for the car and was it something that we really wanted. It sure was! I have driven a "mommy car" ever since my kids arrived on the scene and I'm ready to get back to my fun, sporty cars that I love so much. So, Monday morning I called the dealership and talked them down almost $1000 from what they'd originally quoted, called the bank to get my loan in process and now am going in today to pick up my new car! I'm psyched! As if you couldn't already tell:)

The pictures I have posted are pretty close to what my car will look like. It's a 2007 R/T and the color is TorRed, a very shiny, bright red that looks awesome! I've already told my daughter that she probably won't be driving my new wheels and also told hubby that the only time he'll be driving is when we're all together. I know what he'll do by himself (hot rod!) and he doesn't need to be doing that. We'll see how long this lasts, but as of now I'm holding my ground. I also had to explain to my son why it was OK for mom to drive such a cool car. At first he wasn't too thrilled by the idea of his mom in a sporty car. He argued up and down that I should stick with a mini van or family sedan. Even when I told him that I used to drive a Mustang before he came along, he just wasn't seeing me in a car like that. Thankfully after much discussion, he caved in. plus the idea of his possibly learning to drive in it when he gets older helped a little bit too.
So, I'm back to a sporty car (even if it is a four-door, it still seems like a sporty car!) and I am going to be lovin' it, lovin' it, lovin' it. Now to go pick it up. If you don't hear from me for awhile, it's because I'm out driving my new toy!

Shipment is coming!

I checked online today and NS says that my food should be here tomorrow. It's coming via UPS instead of FedEx this time around which is good. I don't have anything against FedEx, but my UPS driver is just the nicest guy around and I love to have him deliver my packages. He's not too bad to look at either, but don't tell my hubby that I said that:) Anyway, I don't know if I'll start NS as soon as my food gets here or if I want to wait and start out a fresh, new week that way. My nephews birthday is Saturday and I know I'll have to at least eat a small piece of his cake so I don't hurt his feelings. When I start NS, I'd almost rather go at it 100%. Not saying that I'd eat a ton of cake at this party, but I think in the back of my mind, I'd be telling myself that I already screwed up and then just go hogwild on food the remainder of the day. Hmm, the more I think about, the more I will probably just wait until at least Sunday to start the program.

Starting Over.....Again!

Ok, I've been debating this for several weeks now, but finally took the plunge over the weekend. I placed another order for Nutrisystem and as soon as I get my food, which should be some time this week, I'll be restarting the program.

If you don't know my story, two years ago I started the NS program and lost 43 lbs. within six months, but then the holidays came along and somewhere along the line I lost all my motivation and went right back to my prior bad eating habits. I eventually stopped using NS and promptly put those pounds back on.

I've tried losing weight on my own, but just haven't gotten it right so I'm hoping that by restarting NS that will be the extra motivation that I need to get back on track. I think just knowing that I'm paying my hard earned cash for their food will help, but they also have an awesome bulletin board that lends some excellent support when needed. My hubby is also eating healthier so hoping that helps me defy the temptations of junk food too. As far as getting back on the exercise bandwagon, that might be a little bit harder to do. I went to the mall this weekend and wasn't even able to walk around the whole thing. I only made it halfway before my legs were burning and I was gasping for air. So, I'm NOT in the best shape. Not to say that I won't be exercising, it just might not be as full speed to begin with as I'd like. I will just start out small and work my way up. Seeing progress will be a good motivator, I'm sure.

So, wish me luck in my new, no my renewed, endeavour! I'll be listening for your cheers:)

Visual DNA

I found this while surfing online tonight. I thought it was interesting so decided to post it here on my blog.

Read my VisualDNA™ Get your own VisualDNA™

Run Away

When my kids are yelling and screaming at each other, I like to daydream and pretend that I'm a ski instructor on the slopes of a far away mountain range. I picture myself teaching kids how to go down the bunny trail without falling or instructing teens how to catch some air on their snowboard. Then at the end of the day, I am enjoying some hot chocolate by the fireside. Today is one of those days. Maybe I should start looking for some property in bansko in Bulgaria. It is located in the beautiful Pirin mountain range and is the most popular ski resort in Bulgaria. Of course, it would probably help if I knew how to ski beforehand.

In Like a Lion

I meant to post yesterday on this, but it was so stormy here I was afraid to plug my computer in for fear it would get struck by lightning. Stormy, stormy beginning to March so guess the saying In like a Lion held true for the day. I always wondered where that saying came from, but after searching online for something it seems nobody really knows. It seems to just be one of those things that parents, grandparents and great-grandparents said and passed down. In like a lion, out like a lamb. I hope the latter holds true for the end of the month. I'm ready for some lamb-like weather:)

Internet Access

Many of you know that I recently switched to wireless Internet service. This just means that my Internet service is now provided by a local area network that uses high frequency radio waves rather then wires to communicate between nodes.

When I first started using the Internet, I had to deal with dial up service because it was the only option here in my area. It was super slow and I lost my connection at least once every time I logged on. When I learned that there were finally other options to choose from that would work in my little corner of the world, I decided to start researching which would give me the best High Speed Internet Access. One of the websites that I found some great information on was www.dsl.vc. This website talks about all the different types of Internet access available and explains a lot of the things that you need to know to make an informed decision on what service will work best for you.

As for now, wireless is about as good as I can do, but there is a local company who says they'll be starting up satellite service in our area this summer. I don't know if I'll switch over to that once it becomes available or not. I'd definitely want to do a bit more research on the subject first.

Nervous Breakdown

I thought I was going to have one last night. For my son's birthday, he received an IPOD and ever since he has been online each evening, downloading songs onto it. Well, last night something went wrong and he completely froze up his IPOD AND my computer. After rebooting, my computer didn't want to come back on. Not good since all of our business information is on this computer! I sat in here and messed around with it for about an hour. When it finally came back on, the screen was blank! No programs showing up at all! I could just feel my stomach knotting up because all I could think about was having to try and remember our over 2000 customers, their addresses, billing information and our inventory. Sure, I have the program backed up on disk, but my head wasn't thinking about that at the time. I was just peeved that my computer was on the fritz. Thankfully, after several tears, screams and frustrated yells, my computer finally came back to life, all programs exactly where they should be. My son, who has sworn to never touch this computer again, was very thankful that he hadn't made his mom have a nervous breakdown too. We still don't know what happened, but do know that from now on the music downloads will be done from my laptop instead of this computer. That way if something goes wrong, I've not lost vital info. Whew!

Decorate for Less

I have been searching for the perfect oil painting reproduction to hang in my family room. Today I came across the website Paylesshomestyle.com during my search.

Paylesshomestyle.com has beautiful pieces of art for sale along with glass vases, clocks, statues, iron art and pottery. They have been in business online for about a year and want to help you, the customer, decorate in a way that fits your style and budget. Whether it be the "perfect" painting for your family room (like what I was looking for) or affordable artwork for your office, Paylesshomestyle.com is there to help.

I really recommend that you go check out their website. You'll pay less for the artwork itself and they offer FREE shipping!

Snoring

Our cat snores sometimes, but not nearly as loud as this little dog in the video. Had to put this clip on my blog. It is just too cute!

Short Story

In his new book, Hunger and Other Stories by Ian Randall Wilson, you will find several spell binding stories. One story, in particular, that I found interesting was called The Wire Man. This story is about a son who can't stand his father, a self-made entrepreneur. The son, divorced from his wife and separated from his son, decides to strike out and go into business on his own. He ends up getting deeper and deeper into debt, all the time hearing his father's taunting words of his failure in the background. He soon realizes that he is starting to act just like his father, causing his own son to look at him through different eyes as well.

Ian Randall Wilson is a very talented writer and has a unique way of colorfully approaching the human dilema. I highly recommend this book and hope you enjoy it as much as I have.

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Wednesday Woes

Last night our furnace started messing up. It would try to kick on then shut off, kick on then shut off. It did that a good ten times before finally kicking on enough to heat the house. It did this all night long, every 20 minutes or so. I called the repair guy this morning and thankfully he was able to come out this afternoon. He looked the furnace over and all it needed was a coil or something cleaned. it had carbon buildup on it and wasn't reading the temperature of the flame or something like that. Anyway, it's working fine now. Just glad it didn't decide to mess up when it was super cold outside. Today it is in the 40's so I've not had to worry about bundling up to keep from freezing.

Forums

You've probably seen the commercials on tv, like the one where the blonde woman is wanting to go into the ocean and play with the "dolphins" (they're really sharks). She then gets hit in the head with a box from Vonage and the announcer says One smart decision among many many stupid ones.

If you're wondering what Vonage is all about, there is an excellent website that will answer pretty much any question you might have about them. Just click HERE to visit. The Vonage VoIP forums have categories that discuss the technical aspects of Vonage as well as the pros and cons of using their service. You can visit these forums as well as sign up for their newsletter.

40th Anniversary Pictures

I FINALLY got the anniversay pictures back that I took during my parents open house. Thought you might like to check them out.

Friends of the family

the table runner that was on all the tables

the serving table

more guests

the picture collage of my parents throughout their years of marriage

The happy couple

more guests

more guests

the cardinals we set in with the greenery to give more color to the decor

floating candle centerpiece that was on each table

the anniversary cake

Let's Save Some Money!

I love to shop online and anytime I do, I try to find the best deal out there. Sometimes that means finding the website that offers the cheapest product, but my favorite way to save money online is by using coupon codes. This way I can shop at my favorite online store, Brylane Home, and save money even if the price is a bit higher then other websites.

CouponChief.com is my favorite place to find coupon codes. And right now, Brylane Home has several deals listed, such as 20% off your favorite item! Just in time for me since I'm redecorating my master bedroom and am in need of several new items. I'm sure I'll be able to find my "favorite"!

What a Whopper!

While out fishing this past weekend, this humongous fish jumped out of the pond and into my son's fishing net. You should have seen the one that got away!



And if you believe that fish tale then I have some swamp land in Florida to sell you:) Actually, this is a pillow. It was one of several things that he received for his birthday over the weekend. WHY on EARTH anyone would want a fish pillow is beyond me, but he seems to be enjoying it and it is kind of comfy.

I'm having withdrawal symptoms!

My email program has been down all afternoon and it is really starting to cause me grief. Email is my lifeline to the outside world and my friends. I don't know what the deal with it is either. I've called our service provider and the tech guy said to give it a bit then try again, there wasn't anything wrong on their end. So I did that, but still nothing. Argh! It's amazing how much we rely on technology now and how quickly we go insane when it's not available.

Mint Credit Cards

If you live in the UK and are looking for a credit card, the Mint Credit Card could be just what you are looking for. Mint offers credit cards with 0% on purchases and balance transfers until December 1, 2007, 0% bonus offer until August 1, 2008, on balance transfers done in February 2008, typical 16.9% APR, up to £7500 credit limit and several other fantastic options.

MINT introduced the Mint credit card in 2003. The card was offered as two versions, a standard credit card and the MC2 card which has the bottom right-hand corner removed. This was the first change to the shape of credit cards in the UK for 37 years.

Mint also offers gift cards, which were first launched in September 2006. It is basically a pre-paid credit card that you can give as a gift. Giving this card as a gift gives the recipient the option of shopping in whatever store he or she chooses rather then being tied down to just one particular store. Gift cards can be given in amounts ranging from £10 to £250, can be personalized with a special message and the recipient can keep track of the balance by signing up for text message alerts.

If you are interested in learning more, visit the MINT website today.

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Son's Birthday

Tomorrow is my son's birthday. He'll be twelve years old. My baby is no longer a baby:( But then he hasn't been for awhile. This boy, well, young man is already taller then me and has been for at least two years now. No longer a baby in appearance, but he will always be my baby at heart.

International Phone Calls

Do you like to talk on the phone or possibly have a teen who likes to chat the night away? Have you recently moved to a new state or country and would still like to stay in contact with your friends and family? If you have and hate the high long distance and international calling rates, I have the website for you. Pingo looks to be a great company to buy your calling cards from. The best part is that just for signing up with them they will give you 4 free hours of international calls. Talk about awesome. Or join Pingo's affiliate program and receive $15 for each new customer that is referred. On average, mobile phone users will save 90% or more on their international calls.Guatemala calling cards online are currently going for 11.5 cents per minute. Sounds like a great rate to me. Why not check them out for yourself.

this is a sponsored post.

Is Your Boss Psycho?

Your Boss Isn't Psycho, but Your Boss Stinks

Your boss is probably not mental. Still, your boss is not competent or professional. You may want to transfer departments or get a new job, before your boss sucks out your soul.

Is Your Boss Psycho?

I just have to laugh at this one because my "boss" is my husband and I've told him pretty much the same thing as this blog thing has said for the last couple of years. It's not that he is a bad boss, he just has a bad temper and doesn't think before speaking so that gets pretty old, pretty fast. Ok, maybe he is a bit psycho:)

RockStartUp

I love to watch the new payperpost reality tv show, Rockstartup. Rockstartup is just another awesome addition to the payperpost family where you get to see behind the scenes at the payperpost headquarters and actually feel like you are there with them. You will get to know the “staff” and cheer on Ted as he tries to make payperpost the best that it can be. If you don't know by now, Ted is the guy behind Payperpost. He started it all.

My favorite episode by far this “season” has been the episode where Britt and Veronique head to Vegas for a convention and decide to have a postie patrol wedding while there! Some of the scenes from this video are just too funny! I loved the part when the bride and groom are trying on tuxes and dresses. The poor guy just looked so bored.



I would have liked to see the actual wedding in this video, but I know that they have to save something for another episode. I think it would be cool if Payperpost were to get some video footage of their actual posties too so that we could get to know some of the other people who write about these awesome payperpost gigs.

Truthfully though I'm just happy that Payperpost exists. It has given me a fantastic opportunity to add some moolah to my pretty empty checking account. Thanks Payperpost!

Fun Website

Have you ever been told that you look exactly like a certain celebrity? Ever wondered if you could pass as being related to one? I was surfing the internet the other day and came across a website called www.myheritage.com. It's really cool in that you can download a picture of yourself and the computer will then "match" you with celebrities who have similar facial features as you do. I downloaded my pic and ended up being told that I shared facial features with several celebrities. My best match was with Goran Visnjic (Dr. Kovack from ER). I had a 71% match with him. Other celebrities were Jodi Sweeten (Stephanie from Full House) with 62%, Patrick Swayze with 49% and Nicole Richie also with 49%. I, personally, don't see a resemblance with any of these celebrities, but it was still fun to try it out.

Vacation Homes

Have you ever went on vacation and thought that, even though the hotel you are staying in was nice, it would have been so much better to stay in an actual home? Well, now you can!. There are several vacation rentals by owner out there. Why not check out www.vlbo.com? They have several listings on their website of homes all over the United States, Mexico and the Caribbean. Or do you have a vacation home that you would like to rent out? They also let you list your home for rent on their website.

We are planning a vacation to Corpus Christi, TX this summer and I've already checked to see if there are any homes available and sure enough there are. Several, in fact, and all within our price range. If you're planning a vacation, why not check out vacation rentals by owner to see if there is anything that you might be interested in.

this is a sponsored post.

It's cookie time!

My brother delivered my girl scout cookies yesterday. Yummy! I'd actually forgotten that I ordered them so it was a nice surprise to have them show up. I'm trying to behave and not sit down and eat an entire package, but it really is hard not to devour them all in one sitting. What is the girl scout motto? Courage, Confidence. Character. Well, I think they need to add Cookies to that list:)

Sunglasses

We are having a swimming pool installed this spring. In order to really enjoy it, I am going to need to pick up some new sunglasses. This way the sun reflecting off the water won't give me a migraine. I know that I can get some really nice RayBans at BestBuyEyeglasses.com


BestBuyEyeglasses.com is the best place to buy RayBan sunglasses, the world's leading sunglass brand. BestBuyEyeglasses.com carry the largest selection of RayBan's at the best possible prices. And they have an easy return policy too. Right now you can also get an extra 5% off their already low prices by using this discount code...ETP5P...at checkout.

this is a sponsored post.

I took the plunge

After several years of debating and saving our money, I finally went and ordered our swimming pool today. I'm excited! We've been thinking about getting a pool for several years now, but something always came up and we'd either have to spend the money that we'd saved for it on something else or we waited too long and didn't get on the installation list in time. That's what happened last year. We were going to get the pool then, but waited too long to order it and by that time it was going to be the end of summer before they would have gotten it here. So we just waited...and this year we're finally going to have one. WooHoo!

It is going to be an above ground pool and by the looks of the outside wall design and the liner we picked out today, it's going to really fit in with our landscaping. We are also going to build a deck around it so that it'll look nice that way too. I can't wait. I wish it was spring now! They are supposed to have it installed by Memorial Day so that is something really fun to look forward to. Yay!

Music

I like all types of music. In my CD collection, you will find rock, pop, country, alternative, even Metalcore Artists. I have recently discovered a website dedicated to the music of unsigned artists. It is called unsigned.com. On this website you will find artists of any type of musical genre you can think of. Unsigned is "dedicated to providing individual artists from solo, trio to bands, the best possible outlet to be heard globally on the Internet."

Unsigned.com allows listeners to build and manage a play list of their favorite artists. It gives artists the chance to be discovered! Visit unsigned.com today to check them out. You will be glad that you did.

this is a sponsored post.

More Snow

Is winter never going to end here? We were just getting rid of the ice build-up on the roads and now today we are getting another 4" of snow on top of that along with high winds. Yuck, Yuck, Yuck! I am actually dreaming of spring weather, listening to the birds chirping, seeing the new green grass, buds on the trees and flower blooming. I know it will get here eventually, but I'm impatient and want it here NOW! Oh well, my kids are enjoying the weather. They are outside now, as I type, riding the 4-wheeler and pulling the taboggan behind it.

New Cell Phone

I'm searching for a new cell phone. Right now I have a plan with Sprint, but am seriously thinking of switching carriers because I don't have the best reception from Sprint out here in the country. There are several carriers out there that I've been looking at but Cingular has caught my eye.

I really like the looks of the Motorola RAZR V3. It is the thinnest flip phone around and is packed full of the latest technology. Bluetooth, video, digital camera, it has it all. Plus, the quad-band GSM lets you use it all over the world on compatible networks. That's what I'm looking for!

I think the best place to buy a new phone will be at Wirefly. They have several different phones and carriers to choose from at very low prices.

this is a sponsored post

Big Money!

Payperpost has been going through some growing pains lately, but they are implementing several changes that will result in more money for a lot of their posties. One such change is their segmentation of available opportunities. This just means that if you have a blog with a higher page rank and more traffic or that contains posts in specific categories (such as computers, automotive, or gossip) then you will be eligible for higher paying opportunities. I actually saw an opportunity listed today that said it will pay out $1000 for a post! Wow! That's a big chunk of change just for writing a blog entry.

Many people also think that those of us who get paid to blog should let our readers know that on our website and so does Payperpost. All payperpost bloggers are required to disclose that they are being paid for what they are writing.

They are also offering several new ways for us posties to make more money and drive more traffic to our websites. One of these is their Review My Post buttons, which can now be placed at the end of each of our posts. They also have a new referral button that can be placed on your website too. These are just a few of the new changes that are taking place at Payperpost. Anything that helps me make more money is good in my book.

Back to School

My kids went back to school today. It was a slow drive into town, but we made it. The roads are all pretty much cleared, but there is still a layer of ice in several areas. Thankfully we didn't slide off the road, but I did see two vehicles that did. My daughter wanted to drive today, but I said no. She needs to practice in driving in this junk, but I am not good at driving in it without stressing out so really doubt I'd have been a good passenger either. She'll get her practice in, just not with me:)

Today it is supposed to be super cold. High of 16 degrees, but a windchill of -10! Brr! It's hard to believe that normal highs this time of year for our area are in the low 40's. Boy, what I wouldn't give for those temperatures right now.

Talked to my dad last night and I guess he fell yesterday while leaving work. He slipped on the sidewalk and landed flat on his back, hitting his head on the sidewalk. Thankfully he didn't hurt anything but his pride. He said his first thoughts were "who saw me do that?" Ha! What a goofball. I'm just glad he didn't hurt himself. He's done that too much in my lifetime and I don't care for it to happen anymore.

Insurance

Are you in the market for new auto, home, or life insurance? You should check out Insurance portal online. Insurance portal online is your leading source for all your auto, home, and life insurance needs. Their award winning customer service can help you every step of the way to find the right plan to suit your insurance needs.

I know from experience that it can be hard to find the right life insurance plan. Not only is shopping for life insurance a hassle but it can be down right frustrating having to choose between all the different type of plans that are out there. This is where Insurance portal onlines knowledgable customer service staff comes in handy. They will help you choose the right auto insurance to suit your family’s needs.

Not only does Insurance portal online offer excellent customer service in life insurance but also offer the same great assistance in their auto and home insurance departments as well. Everyone should have insurance. Insurance portal online is a great place to get started in finding out what insurance you should have.

this is a sponsored post

Let's Make More Money

As everyone who reads this blog knows, I am a payperpost affiliate. I write sponsored posts and get paid for them. I totally love payperpost and the money it makes me.

After reading one of the many blogs that I frequent, I came across another company similar to payperpost called blogvertise. They are pretty much the same as payperpost, same concept, just a different company.

If you are already a payperpost postie, I'd strongly recommend checking out blogvertise so you can make even more money.

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day! I hope you all have a special day with your loved ones.

I'm planning on making a nice dinner for my hubby since the weather will probably keep us from going out tonight. His favorite meal is meatloaf, mashed potatoes/gravy, green beans so figure that's what we'll be having. I'm going to make a yummy angel food cake with strawberry's to go with for dessert. It should be good.

As far as gifts, I did get him a chocolate gift basket and a card. He said he ordered flowers to be delivered to me as my gift, but I don't know if I'll see them today or not. I totally understand if they don't make it today though. I wouldn't want to be outside in this weather.

Ford Mustang

As you all know, we are looking for a car for my daughter, who will be turning 16 in just a couple of months. She has been looking through magazines and checking out commercials, but still hasn't come up with her ideal car yet. She has, however, made a list of several different cars that she wouldn't mind test driving at some point. One, in particular, caught my eye when I was reading over her list...A 2003 Mustang.

This particular car caught my eye because of the fact that the Mustang was the first car I ever owned. Granted, my first Mustang was a 1974, not a 2003, but I loved that car with all my heart. I helped my dad fix it up and truly made it my own. Unfortunately, I wrecked that one only after about a year of driving it (hit a deer) and totalled it. That didn't stop my love of the Mustang though. As soon as I graduated high school and started working at a full-time job, I saved up enough money to go out and buy a brand new Mustang. This one was a 1988 GT, cherry red and loaded. I loved it and drove the wheels off it every weekend. I even shut up a few of my male friends when I'd beat them in a race. Who says girls can't drive?

My Mustang days didn't end with that car either. My future husband also drove a 1974 Mustang when we first met and then after we were married, we bought another 1988 Mustang GT, this one black with red pin striping. Of course, after the kids came along, we had to give up our little car and go to a bigger 4-door sedan. Those car seats just didn't fit too well in the back of the Mustang. But, now that the kids are older, who knows. We might just have to go out and buy another Mustang of our own. And you can bet money, if my daughter would decide to go that route, that I would, of course, have to help her test drive it.

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The Storm is Over

We made it through the night. I'm so glad that this winter storm is over. Last night, the winds started whipping around so bad that we had white out conditions! I heard at one point there was a wind gust of 48 mph! Wow! I was worried about losing our power, but thankfully it held up. The lights flickered a few times, but never went out. This morning, the sun is out full blast and making all of this ice and snow look beautiful, but it is really cold. Temps are supposed to be close to ZERO and the wind chill is going to be below that. I heard possibly 15 below at some times. Hubby is out working today. I don't envy him at all. I'd much rather be here, in my warm, safe house. Kids are out of school again today, but we all figure they'll be back in session tomorrow. I have had my fill of winter weather now so come on spring! Get here fast!

Earning through PPP

If you are new to blogging, did you know that you can make MONEY off your blog? When I first started writing my blog, I didn't know that. But get this, after just a couple of months of being a part of Payperpost.com, I have made almost $300!!! Can you believe that? I love to blog about what interests me and the thought of getting paid to do that just makes me want to yell from the rooftops how great Payperpost is.

When you advertise on blogs and make all this extra cash, what do you do with it? Well, I have been saving part of mine and spending the other half on fun things that I normally wouldn't buy. For example, I recently went out and bought some new clothes. That probably doesn't sound like much, but for the people who know me, that is a big thing for me to do. I am the type of person who will wear blue jeans until they literally fall apart. The next fun item I plan on buying is a new flat screen computer monitor, but I'm going to need to make a bit more money to do that. And I can do just that with payperpost.com!

Nasty Day Today

This is what the tree in my front yard looks like this morning! Covered by ice! Right now we have about 1/4" of ice out there on trees, vehicles and power lines. On the ground is about 1-2" of sleet/snow mix. However, they are forecasting up to 8" of snow to fall throughout today along with 30-35 mph winds. Yuck!

The kids are out of school today, which we figured they would be once we heard the forecast, and we figure if it does what they are saying it will that they will be out of school tomorrow too. I am just hoping that we don't lose power. It will get mighty cold in here if that happens.

Review My Post

I am sure that everyone reading my blog has by now started wondering what the little "get paid to review my post" badge at the end of each of my posts means. Well, it is just another way that PayPerPost, the website that pays me to write posts, has set up for us to make extra money. When someone clicks on this badge then signs up for Payperpost, a special opportunity is created just for them! This opportunity asks them to write a post in THEIR blog reviewing a post that was on MY blog. They will earn $7.50 for writing their review and I will also earn $7.50 for having a review written about my post. Cool, huh? This is a great opportunity to earn some money and you can generate thousands of links back to your site all the while earning money for each link!
For the next few days, I'm going to review some of the blogs of the PayPerPost ad network and I am sure there will be several people who will be reviewing some of my posts too. I look forward to it. It will give me insight as to how to better my blog and my writing as well as see what others have to say about things.

I'm Wireless Now

FINALLY switched over to wireless internet and all I can say is WOW!!! Why in the world did I wait so long to do this? I'm loving how fast the pages load now. Before with my dial-up, I would sit for half an hour or longer sometimes just waiting for a page to load. There were several times that I would just give up and shut it down because it was taking way too long. My kids are going to be in heaven now that their online games will load in seconds too. I'm sure I'll be fighting them to get on the computer for awhile now because of it.

Home Lighting

We've lived in our house for over five years now and I think it is time for an update on a few things. I would like to repaint a few of the rooms, update the Home Lighting Fixtures and maybe even get some new carpet.

Shoppremier.com has a huge selection of both indoor and outdoor lighting. They also offer free shipping on orders over $100.

I found some really pretty fixtures for the bathroom lighting. I think they would really update the look in that room. I also found some really cool patio lights that would look awesome around our pool. If you're looking to update, upgrade or are just ready for a change in your Home Lighting Fixtures, stop by their website to see their available products.

Car shopping

We've started looking for a car for my daughter. she will be getting her license at the end of April and has already said that she wants to get a job this summer. So, she will be needing some wheels. Today we test drove a 2004 Ford Explorer. It was sweet and really wasn't too expensive, but she decided that she really wanted something smaller and that got better gas mileage. I don't blame her. With gas topping $2/gal. again, she would have been spending all of what money she earned on a car payment and gas. She wouldn't have had any extra money left over for fun. So, we're still looking. She is now saying that she would like something like a Ford Focus or maybe a Honda Civic. I'm sure we'll find something. Especially since we still have a couple of months to look.

Student Loans

Anyone who has gone to college or have kids furthering their schooling knows that student loans can become almost overwhelming. Students might also run up a credit card buying "necessities" for school that a student loan might not cover. This can lead to major credit problems over time.

Did you know, however, that you can relieve some of the pressure from debt through Student Loan Consolidation? Consolidating your loans means a lower interest rate and lower monthly payments.

Secureloanconsolidation.com provides instant access to debt consolidation management, payday loan, student loan and home refinance lenders nationwide. Secureloanconsolidation.com is not a lender but a marketing service provided on behalf of actual lenders and bill consolidation companies.

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End of the week ramblings

The week is over and today I've been sitting here, contemplating what I did, and you know what? I can't think of a dang thing that I accomplished this week. Other then the regular daily grind, I don't think I did anything. Is that bad? I guess not when you think about all the normal things that I do get done around here. I guess with the hubbub of last week's anniversary party, I just feel like I should have been doing something extra this week that needed planning and details worked out. Not that I WANT another party to plan. My son would say differently since his birthday is coming up on the 23rd, but he's getting the ordinary birthday bash with a couple of friends and that's it. I guess I will just sit back and relax. I'm sure at another point in the not so distant future I will be caught up in another super hectic event.

Wash your mouth out with Soaps.com!

I've talked about this site before and you know I just can't get enough of it. Soaps.com is the best new soap opera site out there. Some websites just deal with one or two soap operas or they just feature one network of soap operas (CBS, NBC or ABC, but not all three) Soaps.com features Soap Opera Updates on the soaps from all three networks! Truthfully there isn't anything that I would fix on this website. They provide daily updates, message boards and spoilers along with other interesting news about your favorite soap. If you like soap operas, I highly recommend you check them out.

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Conversation Hearts

Since V-Day is coming up, I thought it would be a cute thing to have this quiz on my blog. What valentine conversation heart would you be? Take the quiz and find out.

Your Candy Heart Is "BE MINE"

You've got your eye on someone, that's for sure And you're hoping for a little spark to erupt Make it happen on Valentine's day by going from friendly to flirty Or if you're shy, at least play Secret Admirer

What Candy Conversation Heart Are You?