Tag: Finance

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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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Hardwood Flooring Options For Kitchen and Front Room

Since I’ve been doing an awful lot of self-re-evaluation while upgrading my home and living conditions. I’ve been giving thought to possibly just ripping up the entire floor in the kitchen as well as the front room, so I’m not sure if it’s because I hate the stupid floors, or because I just want to change something. Not that it matters much. I was thinking along the lines of a type of Merengue Rustic Maple for the main front room and maybe a Surreal Washed Maple style floor for the kitchen.

surreal washed maple
surreal washed maple hard wood flooring
rustic maple floor
merenque rustic ic maple flooring

Once I found the right company, “carpetwiseflooringamerica” and saw the quality of their product and it’s installation, which is all guaranteed, I was convinced that this was where I’m going to get what I need! After seeing all the cool styles of wood flooring, I really liked the tone and color of the Hardwood Floors that I’ve selected. I’ve got some time still, so I’ll have it figured out soon enough to be sure. I may even put in a bigger bar, maybe incorporate into the hot tub area somehow. Hm, better stick to concentrating on the floors for now, otherwise I may wind up making a mess of things as well as getting a bit over my head.

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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.

 

 

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Reputable Surgeons at Realistic Prices in the U.K.

As I’ve mentioned on numerous occasions here, I have been experiencing a weight issue all my life. I have heard some great stories about some of the procedures that are now available for folks like myself and have decided to start doing a bit of research on Cosmetic Surgery. A few of my friends and co workers have had the lap band surgery that is all the rage, I don’t think that I would be a good candidate for that particular procedure, but I do think that I might possibly be a good candidate for some good old liposuction.

People are going over seas for a lot of their cosmetic surgery these days. You can get much better prices in the U.K., and I’d have no problem taking a quick trip over there myself. I have some relatives over there that have issued me an open door invitation that I could take advantage of, so I could kill two birds with one stone, so to speak. I would love to see them and be able to see where they live and take care of my weight issue once and for all. Something that I definitely want and need to look into possibly after the holiday season is over and done with.

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Love Me Some Kitchenaid

Not very often do I get what I call “good mail” since the majority of mail that finds its way into my mailbox is a bill or advertisement, neither of which do I enjoy receiving and dealing with. It used to be that once in a while a card or a letter could be found waiting for me to open, those days are long gone compliments of the Internet. LOL! The days are pretty much gone that I would get dozens of Christmas cards in the mail. I think last year I received a total of 3, with the majority of my Season’s Greetings being said and done online.

But today I got a piece of “good mail” not only was it a Christmas card but it had a healthy VISA gift card included in it that just about floored me when I opened the card and saw the amount clearly written on it. My Great Aunt Pearl, bless her heart, was feeling very generous this year and it didn’t take me long to figure out what I want to do with this particular blessing. Check out this sweet looking kitchenaid artisan mixer – candy apple 90th anniversary edition with free glass bowl that I think I will order when the weekend rolls around again.

KitchenAid Artisan Mixer
KitchenAid Artisan Mixer – Candy Apple – Low Res

I plan on spending a good part of this up and coming weekend online. While I’m at it I think I’ll be keeping my eyes open for the parts for the saucepan racks that I need to get that all installed and out of the way as well as trying to find a great deal on some lion sabatier stainless steel knives to complete the set that I’ve been working on for several years now. My kitchen is always a work in progress and I’m always wanting/needing something or another, but I do spend a good amount of time in there so my kitchen is important to me.

Thanks Aunt Pearl, you’re a doll!