When is it going to warm up?????

I heard on the news the other day that we (in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area) are going to go through the entire month of January without it getting to 32 degrees. That hasn't happened since around 1890!! Unbelievable! It has been a really cold month. My kids even had school cancelled for two days because of the frigid temps. Sometimes I question why we live here (in Wisconsin), but since I’ve lived in Wisconsin for all but 7 years of my life (when I lived in Minnesota), I don’t see us leaving anytime soon. I’m just hopeful that at some point in the future (retirement!) we can spend part of the winter in a warmer location.

Back to the cold weather – I know a couple of families whose furnaces have gone out over the last few weeks. I can’t imagine how scary that would be! Of course you have no choice but to get it fixed or replaced right away. This heating and air conditioning contractor would be a great place to start your search for a new heating or a/c system. They carry all the major brands. Of course, it won’t be long before those of us in cold weather climates are turning off our furnace and turning on our air conditioners, and then instead of complaining about how cold it is, we’ll be complaining about how hot and humid it is!

Online Games

OK, I admit it - I'm addicted to playing games online. The kids even bought me a Webkinz for my birthday so I could have my own account and play games on there (that has expired, though, so if I want to go to Webkinz, I have to go to one of the kid's accounts). I really like completing puzzles at Jigzone. I've also been playing games at Pogo lately. I don't know why I have so much fun doing it - I know it's harmless, but it sure is a waste of time and once I start it's hard to stop! I could probably get a lot more done around the house if I would turn the computer off for a few hours a day!

Shoe Shopping!

A girl can never have too many Shoes!!! But I find as I get older that my feet don’t appreciate shoes that aren’t comfortable! In fact, I have plantar fasciitis in my left foot and I really need shoes that are comfortable and can fit my custom made orthotic inside. But that doesn’t mean I don’t want shoes that aren’t fashionable and good looking! The last thing I want is shoes that are frumpy! And I don’t want to walk around in athletic shoes all day either!

I found some great Women's Shoes here! I love Clark’s brand and all of the other brands look so comfy, but yet stylish too! And it’s nearly impossible to get Hubby to go shopping for Men's Shoes, so I might have to order some for him before his shoes fall completely apart! They also have kid's shoes, even though Buddy is already wearing men's size shoes. And in this economy, you can beat the price!

Lasik Surgery

Would you ever consider having Lasik Surgery? I've worn glasses since I was twelve years old. I got contacts when I was 17 and have worn them ever since. I've really never had any trouble with my contacts, but in the last year, I've started considering Lasik for a couple of different reasons. First, I notice when I'm outside in the winter (usually when we're skiing), by the end of the day, my contacts get dried out and I can barely see out of them. It's almost like they're fogging up when I got into a building (like glasses do) and when I go back outside, they clear up. Pretty strange. It's highly irritating though!

Second, I'm finding that I will probably need reading glasses soon. I'm 44 now and even though I've always been able to see just fine at close distances, things seem to be getting blurrier and blurrier when I try to read them. A friend of mine had lasik surgery and had one eye done for close vision and one eye for far vision. I had no idea that was even possible. I think it's something I need to start thinking about more seriously.

Have you had Lasik Surgery? Leave me a comment and tell me your story!

A Chance to be Discovered!

This looks like a lot of fun! Missy talks every so often about being an actress…or a rockstar! It would be her dream come true to be on a TV show! When I visited acting I saw that you can see all sorts of kid’s auditions for TV, movies, and modeling – many of the shows that Missy regularly watches are listed! It explains what type of actor/actress they are looking for – the age, whether they are looking for males or females, and what ethnicity you should be. You can even sort by location, typing in the city that you live closest to.

The internet is the way to go to market yourself and network with others. It’s the best place to get a chance to be “discovered”. Lots of people have left their testimonials on this site, so it really works!

A Historic Day

It's been a lot of fun watching all of the inaugural events today. Something struck me this morning when they were talking about a 'peaceful transition of power'. So many other countries don't have peaceful transitions of power - the current government or leader is overtaken against his will and the country is usually in turmoil or having a civil war. We're so lucky to live in the U.S. where we've never had to deal with that sort of thing.

Spring Break

Our spring break is early again this year - we're off from March 2-6. Last year we were off on Easter week, which is pretty typical of school districts around here. We went to northern Minnesota to go skiing for four days. I just checked the resort website and the condo we stayed in last year would be $250 less for the week we want to go - probably because it's so early, it's not considered "spring break" yet.

Then again, maybe I'll talk Hubby into going skiing in Colorado. We've gone once before (long before we had kids) and I'd love to take the kids skiing. I just don't know if we'd be able to afford it, because we're definitely on a budget this year (we're always on a budget, but this year it's a lot tighter than normal)!

The Florida sunshine and the Gulf of Mexico also sounds awesome, but I don't think that's going to happen this year! We can always hope for an early spring here!

Budget Rent A Car Coupons

Inauguration Day

I'm really looking forward to tomorrow - it's going to be a historic day! I have to work at my "real" job during the swearing in, so I thought I might miss it. Then one of my email pals told me I should watch it online - what a great idea! I just checked CNN and of course they are going to have everything live, so I won't miss it!

Surviving in this Economy

For those of us who own small businesses or work for small businesses, we know that things have been tight for a long time already. I work for a non-profit organization. The entire staff had to cut our hours over 15 months ago, and we just got “some” of our hours back at the beginning of January, but not all of our hours. We were willing to cut our hours because most of the staff is passionate about what we do, and the alternative – not having a job at all – wasn’t worth it either.

Luckily, things are slowly but surely looking up for our organization. One of the things we did during this period of downturn is that we started accepting credit cards. Our clients LOVE it, especially since so many people are relying on credit cards now. I’m not sure why we didn’t accept credit cards before – I think our Director was worried about the fees associated with accepting credit cards. But I think we lost some clients because we didn’t accept credit cards.

Small Business Loans offers loans to small businesses, even to those businesses who are struggling to make ends meet during this downturn in the economy. There is a quick approval time on their loans, and the vast majority of businesses are approved for a loan, regardless of credit history.

A lot of small businesses need all the help they can get these days. We can only hope that the economy turns around soon!

School Closing

Baby, it's cold outside!!! It never got above zero today, and I don't even want to know what the wind chill is! The school district will be deciding later tonight whether they will have normal school hours, be delayed two hours, or have school canceled all together. If you ask me, it doesn't make sense to delay school for two hours - it's going to be almost as cold at 10:00am as it is at 8:00am. I feel like the kids should either go all day or stay home all day. I'm sure I could guess how Buddy and Missy feel about it LOL! I wouldn't mind a day off, although we are meeting for our holiday luncheon for my office tomorrow, so I would still go to that - can't miss a great Italian meal, even if it's frigid outside! Luckily the kids are old enough to stay home alone!

Dealing with Addiction

We are so fortunate that we don’t have anyone in our immediate family who has needed inpatient treatment for substance abuse. I know that it’s extremely easy to get addicted to any kind of substance. I hope that my kids don’t ever struggle with addictions of any kind. If anyone I know ever needs inpatient treatment, I think Promises would be a wonderful place to go.

This organization offers drug and alcohol rehabilitation (including Alcohol, Cocaine, Codeine, heroin addiction, Marijuana, Methamphetamine, Oxycodone, and many others), detoxification, programs in sober living, outpatient services, and co-occurring disorders like substance abuse and depression, bipolar, or trauma. They have two locations – one in Malibu, California, and one in West Los Angeles, California. They have 20 years experience in drug and alcohol treatment. They have a national and international reputation for quality, and each facility limits the number of clients in residential treatment to 18.

Promises also offers Family Counseling, so family members can gain and understanding and awareness of what their loved one is going through. And for alumni, they offer support groups and off campus activities to help patients transition back into their lives away from the center. Best of all, the facilities offer a home-like environment and beautiful location so a person would have the best chance at recovery possible.

I consider our family lucky that no one has struggled with addiction.

Baby, it's COLD outside!!!

I know it's cold everywhere right now, so I shouldn't complain! I guess I need to look at the positives instead of the negatives of this situation.

1) I could live in Canada where all of this cold air came from in the first place (I wish it would go back to where it came from) LOL!
2) My kids can dress themselves for the cold weather.
3) We have no car seats that we have to stuff kids into anymore.
4) I have a space heater sitting 12 inches from me!
5) I'm not homeless.

The weather will change eventually - it always does! I'll be sure to re-read this post when it's July and 98 and humid!!

Looking Ahead to Halloween

I know it seems funny to be talking about Halloween in January, but I was thinking about it today, so I thought I'd blog about it. Halloween is Missy's FAVORITE holiday! She loves it, probably because she LOVES candy and Halloween is all about candy! (Interestingly, Buddy went trick or treating this year and gave all of his candy to his friends.) Missy told me about two days after Halloween last year that next year she wants to be a vet. I found a great site - Halloween Costumes - that has EVERYTHING you need for Halloween, from Kids Costumes to Adult Costumes to hats, wigs, accessories, and even make up! The prices are extremely reasonable, and I will definitely be bookmarking this site for later.

Personally, I think Missy should be a Hot Dog because she could eat hot dogs every day of the week! Or she could be a nun, which I'm sure would go over really well at her Catholic school LOL! Buddy isn't dressing up for Halloween anymore, but if he was, I would encourage him to be the Burger King guy. I've seen this costume before and I think it's hilarious!

I guess we have awhile before it's Halloween again. Missy will undoubtedly change her mind several times between now and then. In the end, it probably doesn't matter what she dresses up as, as long as she gets her beloved candy!!

Win a $50 Amazon Gift Card

Emily at Blah-Zay is hosting her first contest! Visit her site and leave a comment, post about her contest on your blog, stumble her, or start following her blog. You get entries into her contest for doing each thing. And better yet, spend some time at her blog - Emily is a great writer and I really enjoy reading her blog!

Nips and Tucks

As we get older, the thought of having cosmetic surgery enters our minds more often. I didn’t think I would ever have anything done, but I have to admit to thinking that having a little nip here or tuck there or there would be nice.

If you knew me personally, you would know that I would never be a candidate for Breast Enlargement Surgery, but several of my friends would love it! I would like to go the other way, and MYA offers that too!

My biggest concern with having cosmetic surgery would be using a practice that has been in business for many years. This practice has reputable doctors with years of experience who have done hundreds of surgeries. I don’t think I would feel comfortable using a practice that didn’t offer that level of expertise. I also love how their website lists out exactly what the steps are to having the procedure completed. An overnight hospital stay is required, which is the safest way to go.

I think that doing something to enhance your body, and in the end, your self esteem, is great. I’m going to spend some more time at this site looking at the other types of services that they offer.

Smaller Products for the Same Price

Has anyone noticed that you might not be getting the same amount of product in your grocery cart, but you're paying the same price? This happened to me recently. With the economy as bad as it is, I've been doing price comparisons on lots of the products we buy regularly. I noticed that Land 'o Lakes milk was 10 cents cheaper than the store brand. Great! I always buy Land 'o Lakes milk, and it's wonderful that it's actually cheaper than the store brand. (The first time I thought it must be on sale.) The next week, I looked more closely. Lo and behold, the price was 10 cents cheaper, but Land o' Lakes has a new "convenient 94 oz. package". I know from elementary school math class that 94 oz. is not a gallon (128 oz. is). I don't know how long ago Land 'o Lakes changed their packaging - I guess it's my fault if I didn't notice until now. However, even though the package is clearly marked, I think it's deceiving to shoppers who have been buying the same product for years and years. It left a sour taste in my mouth, like I had been cheated.

Today I bought the store brand. Oh, and why is 94 oz. considered "convenient"? It just makes you run out of milk sooner and go back to the store to buy more. That doesn't sound very convenient to me.

Here is an article in USA today that talks about the shrinking sizes on packaging.

Shrinking Sizes

Scrapbook Saturday

Yeah - I get to go scrapbooking on Saturday! I belong to a group of women who get together once a month during the school year to scrapbook. We meet on five Friday nights and four Saturdays and have a lot of fun! My chance of scrapbooking this weekend was on the edge, because we have a lot of other things going on - Missy has basketball from 8:30 - 9:45 Satuday morning. Buddy has a basketball tournament out of town (about 40 minutes away) Saturday morning. Saturday night Hubby and Buddy are going to the Minnesota Timberwolves game. So I didn't know how I was going to fit scrapbooking into the schedule. As the week has gone on, however, my schedule has become more open than before -- I'll still take Missy to basketball, but I found out that Buddy's "tournament" is really only one scrimmage, not an all day affair, so I feel justified in missing it. I will probably have to bring Missy to scrapbooking with me for awhile in the morning, but a good friend of mine (who is also one of my scrapbooking pals) asked her husband if he wouldn't mind having one more little girl for the evening, so Missy will go to their house for a sleepover with one of her best friends. How cool is that!

The last time I attended an all day scrapbooking session (in November), my 80 year old mom had an accident and had to go to the hospital and our dog was hacking all day and I ended up taking him to the emergency vet at midnight, after I got home from scrapbooking. I think I'll turn my phone off this time so nothing can interrupt me!

Cute Baby Clothes

As my kids get older (they are 9 and 12 now), one of the sad things for me is not being able to shop for cute Baby Clothing for them. At their ages, all they want to wear is jeans, and t-shirts with either a logo or Disney character, etc. I really miss the days when they would wear whatever I put them in, right down to a bow in my daughter’s hair! I found a great site that has cute Baby Boy Clothes and adorable Baby Girl Clothes. My favorite outfit is the Anita G Little Girls Wild Blue Pucci Dress - I think it's adorable and matches my daughter's personality perfectly. Too bad it doesn't come in a size 8! I also love any of the personalized items, especially the clothing. My kids have pretty “normal” names, but so many people are naming their kids names with unusual spellings now, that I think this site offers a great service for those people looking for personalized items.

Luckily, I have a friend who just had a baby girl, so I can get my shopping fix by spending time browsing and buying for her baby! Now I just need one or my nieces or nephews to have a baby boy! I noticed that there are a lot of sale items on this site, and who doesn’t love a sale, especially for adorable kid’s clothes!

My Monitor Died

Computers and other electronics/appliances can drive me batty. Why is it that they don't make quality products anymore? My mom had a clothes dryer that was around 35 years old and still working. NOTHING would last that long these days. I bought a new Gateway computer two years ago. I upgraded to a Gateway 19" LCD monitor to go with it. I already had to replace the computer last May - after only 16 months - because the motherboard died and it would have cost more to replace/fix it than it did to just buy a new computer. Then the other day, I noticed the monitor was buzzing a little. Then it started slightly flashing, and today it doesn't work at all (I'm typing this at my office). How frustrating. Just when I'm hoping to save a little money, I have to fork out at least $150 for a new monitor.

And while I'm on a little vent, I might as well say that we had to replace our microwave after only 5 years; the first year we live in our house (we built it, so EVERYTHING was brand new), we had to have someone repair the refrigerator twice and the dishwasher leaked from the first day it was installed. We also had to have our hot water heater replaced - most of it was under warranty, thank goodness, because it was a hefty bill (we have in floor heat in our basement, so we need a BIG hot water heater). I guess manufacturers want us to be a 'throw away' generation, so they don't make things that last. If something breaks, we just go buy a new one, which makes them happy.

I will say, however, that my JCPenney brand TV that I bought before we were married is still working. It's over 20 years old! It only goes up to channel 41, because way back then, there weren't that many TV stations! But channel 41 in our area is HGTV, so I don't need anything else LOL.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year everyone! I can't believe it's 2009 already! Remember when we were all worried about Y2K and all of the computers dying when the clock rolled over to the year 2000? It's hard to believe that was nine years ago already!

Missy will turn TEN this year - not until September, but still, she'll be in double digits! She was born the September 1999, so just before the Y2K deal. She wasn't home yet - she was still with her foster mother in Guatemala - and I remember being worried that developing countries might have more problems than the U.S., but luckily, no one had a problem.

Buddy will turn 13 this year - we'll have an official teenager in the house. Hard to believe. I'm not old enough to have a teenager, am I? (Ha Ha - I'm actually old enough to have a grandchild!).

I hope the New Year is joyful for all of you!