Category: Finances

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You Go Girl!

My niece has always been very prepared for any physical threat that comes her way. I honestly can’t blame her tho, she used to assist in self defense classes with children and had picked up the habit of carrying a can of mase in her purse along the way, after hearing some terrifying stories of brutal beatings due to the lack of defense skills and mechanisms. Lately she’s been talking about possibly of purchasing a hand gun or even a stun gun for extra protection due to some peoples tolerance to mas.

So I thought we would search around on the net and try to find some affordable stun guns so that no matter what situation, nobody gets shot by a gun and possibly result in death. She thought it was a great idea, so we pursued the search. We came across a few standard stun guns that didn’t strike her attention. We kept on with the search, until she stopped me on a site that offered great quality and affordable safety girl stun guns. She pointed out one in particular that she really wanted so we ordered it and she is now constantly shooting the practice target poster board that came with her stun gun. She tells me she is feeling more confident of her and her loved ones safety now that she has her own stun gun. I’m down with that, you go girl!

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Custom Built Homes In Florida

Found an interesting article about mobile manufactured homes. Some people call them trailers. So I think you would probably want to call this futuristic manufactured home a “Jetson’s Trailer.” The home is manufactured and sells for much less than a stick built home. It has a few options, but the main design is for the home to be easily assembled on a prepared level home site and provides the basic functional rooms that a modern family or retired couple might need with a lot of modern touches and energy efficiency built-in.

If I were to have my dream house I would turn to a Fl Home Builder since there isn’t any other place that I would want to live out my life at. There are many ideas that I have been entertaining about the way I would want my dream house to be set up and with what appliances that it makes my head spin just thinking about them all.  I swear I don’t see how people are able to make the thousands of decisions that come along with the building of their custom-house.

I just know that I want a fireplace, the washer and dryer need to be on the main floor. The kitchen must be easily accessible to the bringing in of the inevitable groceries and other purchases. And my refrigerator needs to have a see-through door and have an ice maker. Those are just a couple of ideas that I’ve been thinking about, not that I ever plan on having enough money to build my own custom home, but stranger things have been known to happen, right?

 

 

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Setting up an Online Store

There is a lovely couple in town trying to make a living selling tie dyed tee shirts and they are hoping to use the internet to help increase sales. The problem is that they do not know anything about the internet and they know nothing about finding e-commerce partners to help them set up their online store.

I like to stop by their store and look around once in while because each piece is a unique design and they are always making new things. Tie dye makes a fun gift for someone, and every time I wear tie dye around town I get compliments from fellow shoppers and the cashiers. The remarks are always positive and I think the shirts make people smile. The bright colors and unique designs are like a little burst of sunshine on a dreary winter day.

Today I stopped by their store and asked them if they were going to be making any yoga pants in a tie dye design? She said they had not realized that customers would like that and I showed her online a few styles that I like. People are starting to wear yoga pants around town because they are so comfortable and I think we are just getting tired of always wearing jeans. When I showed her the colors that I want, she promised to make a pair for me and a couple of extras to put on the rack and see if anyone else would be interested.

Then she showed me their new web site that a friend was helping them create. It’s still under construction but so far it looks really good! She told me that it took about 4 months to design and write everything they have so far, because the brick and mortar store is only closed one day a week and they are always so busy helping customers and creating the tie dye items. She said that the eCommerce portion was the last part they are working on. They had to take photographs of all their tie dye designs and write out descriptions to create an online catalog, and then they have to figure out how to add the shopping cart and payment processing.

I am so impressed with all the work they have put into this – I just know their store and their online store will be a great success.

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A New Baby In The Family Expected in August

My sister Jenny is expecting their fourth child in August and she is just now starting to show her baby bump. You would think that since she already had three kids that being pregnant would be almost old hat by now. But this pregnancy was not exactly planned. It was a nice surprise. Jenny is a great mom and she loves doing things with her kids. After her last baby almost five years ago, she thought it WAS her last baby so she gave away all her maternity clothes. Now she needs to move out of regular clothes and into maternity clothes and money is really tight, so my family is going to pitch in and help her buy several things so she has nice clothes to wear to work.

As important as it is to have some nice work clothes to wear Monday through Friday, we also need to start looking for baby items as well. Yard sales and Flea Markets are always a great way to get a good amount of baby related items. But there are some things that are better off being bought brand new. And course there will be a couple of baby showers being held that will help out with numerous items as well. They will most likely through her one at work and of course friends and family will be planning on one as well, so that will help out with a lot of things for her and the baby. This is so exciting, we haven’t had a new baby in the family in quite a few years!

 

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Online Tutoring Needs

Where was the Internet was I was back in school. I can’t even begin to imagine how different my education would have been if only the Internet had come along just a decade earlier. Today’s students can find Physics help, Chemistry help and Science help, along with all the other subjects that had us tearing our hair out back then, simply by going online.

I remember my physics tutor that was hired by my mother in her effort to provide me with some type of Physics problem solver. The tutor was this elderly lady who smelled of old fake fur. I just couldn’t get past the smell in order to concentrate enough to make her efforts worth while, so my mother finally decided to let her go. Strange how we remember things like that. I can’t remember her name, but I remember what she looked like and that smell will forever be embedded in my memory banks.

My niece is finding it necessary to find a Chemistry tutor. She has turned to the Internet to find some help. She is in her first year of college and is getting very frustrated with the whole college scene, bless her heart. She is the first one in her family to attend college and is giving it all that she has in order to make her parents proud and to make something out of herself.  She used to love science ( one thing that we have in common) it wasn’t uncommon for her to email or call me with some of her Science questions that she needed help with in High School. I always enjoyed science and that was our common bond for a long time. But now that she is in college I’m afraid it’s all a bit over my head.

I wish her all the luck in the world. It would be great to see her graduate and live a successful and prosperous life, then I could say that “I knew her when……”   LOL

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Safeguarding The Public’s Food

This peanut butter recall has been going on for a couple of weeks now and I keep hearing about how more and more people are getting sick from food poisoning and at last count I think I read that 18 have died from complications. All because a crappy manufacturing plant has been getting away with unsanitary conditions for months and selling contaminated peanuts and peanut paste to people who used it for hundreds of different products. All those products are now suspect and being pulled from the shelves. Who knows what is safe to eat now?

There is a recall list on the Government’s FDA site, but it keeps growing longer and the story continues to worsen. I can’t take any chances on tainted food, so I’ve thrown out anything in my pantry that has peanuts or peanut products in it. That was like $60 worth of food wasted – and I despise wasting food. But I can’t afford to get food poisoning and die from peanut butter. Now I heard that there is a second crappy plant in Texas that has been doing the same thing. This is outrageous and one more example of the failure of both the FDA and the state health departments to inspect facilities and safeguard the public.

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Pandora Charms Were A Total Hit On Christmas

My sister’s face was priceless when she opened up my gift of several pandora charms on Christmas day. I wish that I had been video taping that day or at least snapped a picture right at that moment, but in all the madness it just didn’t happen. It is always such a crazy day when we get over to my parents house for Christmas (or for any holiday for that matter) coming from a large family that keeps getting bigger and bigger each year, that it is just total chaos and extremely loud! I always get a head ache and end up having to take someone to keep me from turning into a total witch in front of everyone.

Pandora Reeds
Pandora Charms

Anyway, I knew that she really wanted some more charms for her charm bracelet but I wasn’t sure if she would like the ones that I picked out for her. So I’m really tickled that she fell in love with the ones that I finally decided on, bought, wrapped up and gave to her that day. Each time I have seen her since that day she has been wearing her charm bracelet and she has mentioned a few times how much she loves them. She isn’t the easiest person to please, never has been and most likely never will, so with that said I really don’t want to break my arm patting myself on the back for a job well done, but I am really very happy with the way it all turned out.

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Movies On Demand

For some reason I ditched regular TV last tonight and decided to find a movie “On Demand.” I’ve been using the On Demand feature from Comcast for a couple months and I have to admit that I’m getting really spoiled with the convenience of seeing a movie not only when I want to watch but it lets me pause and rewind, as if it was a VCR tape or a DVD. Very cool for when you can’t hear a mumbled line and you want to know what they said. The movie I chose was Semi-Tough, with Burt Reynolds and Kris Kristofferson as two professional football players in a love triangle with the team owner’s daughter. There are some great lines in this movie that reflected the social times and values of the early 1970s.

Most movies and TV shows that I watch from back in that era are so darned corny, and this movie did certainly have it corn balled moments but for the most part it was decent enough for me to get through the whole thing. Kris Kristofferson has always been one of my favorite actors and there are several of his songs that are really wonderful, such a unique sounding voice, that a lot of people don’t appreciate as much as I do. He is no spring chicken these days.

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Oregon’s Coast Line

Last year I discovered Oregon and fell in love with the state’s coast line. A good friend of mine from the internet has a lodge on the Pacific Coast, just outside of Portland, but after going out there and driving around discovering the Oregon coast, I found the Klamath Falls area and the Running Y Ranch resort. This area is perfect for southern Oregon weddings, family reunions and just a great getaway to enjoy the great outdoors. The Running Y Ranch has a grand lodge and conference center that is perfect for retreats, weddings and other large organized events. They are selling building lots, too, and the chalets have a great floor plan with either two or three bedrooms that makes a perfect weekend cabin. I am seriously considering a chalet and have looked at their floor plans that are posted online. There are large windows for enjoying the magnificent views, decks, fireplaces – everything a luxury yet rustic vacation in the great outdoors demands. I can own the chalet for my personal use and for friends or family who want to get away, or I can rent it out to tourists when I don’t need it for myself. This is the perfect place for me because not only can I spend my days fly fishing in the Klamath Basin, but I can play a round of golf just steps from the Lodge. The resort has also made arrangements with a variety of local outfitters and guides who can provide everything from a day on horseback to guided ATV trail rides. I’ve not done any white water rafting in years, but this might be the year to get wet again. There is so much to do and enjoy that just one week at the Running Y Ranch isn’t going to be enough time to fit it all in.

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Making A Fashion Statement

One thing that I have been reluctant to admit is that I have trouble reading now. Everyone knows that once you hit 30 years old you are facing the inevitable need for reading glasses. The problem is that if you have been wearing eyeglasses most of your life for correction of your distance vision, the need for reading glasses means that you will need bifocals. I’m having a hard time admitting that I need eyeglasses that are bifocals. It makes me think of my dad in his later years and wearing bifocals just seems to make you old.

So my sister told me that I just to need to “get over myself” and get my eyes the help they need to be able to read. She says I look a bigger fool for not being able to read a menu at the restaurant than being so vain about bifocals. She went so far as to suggest that eyeglasses can be a fun fashion accessory. That made me think about eyeglasses – even bifocals – in a different light. What if I could buy several pairs of eyeglasses and use them as accessories? They would have to be inexpensive – as opposed to cheap – so I could have several pairs in different styles and colors.