WiFi Earns Hi-Fives

What a great technology progressive world we live in. Seriously, what did people do before they could run to their local coffee shop, or sit on their couch, or even ride down the road (not drive!) and be connected to the Internet via a wifi connection. Adding a wireless network to our house is definitely one of the best things we could have done. My husband would probably argue the surround sound is way cooler, and it is, but we absolutely use the Internet more often than the glass shaking, tremor inducing surround sound. I highly recommend for anybody with an internet connection to spend the extra $100 or so and hook yourself up with wireless and secure networking!

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This post is sponsored.

Where do Regular People Go?

With everything in the news about celebrities such as Britney Spears and Lindsey Lohan entering drug addiction treatment, one has to wonder where regular people can go when they face the difficult challenge of overcoming drug and alcohol addictions. Even though this post is sponsored by Stone Hawk, I looked around the website, and it does appear to be a nice and helpful place to seek help. The grounds are well maintained and the staff look friendly. If a loved one you know needs help, whether you choose Stone Hawk, or another facility, getting professional help is the best option for you.

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This post is sponsored.

Pay Per Post

If you've read my blog for any length of time, you know that I've tried a few different ideas to make money blogging. There were the greeting cards, which I actually spent money on to buy sponsored clicks, but made me absolutely nothing. Then I tried a new blog "Book Reviews by Me" and inserted Amazon links to try and make money, but I didn't keep up with it, and I doubted anyone would buy the books I recommended anyway. I've spent countless hours scouring the Internet for money making ideas.

I have finally found one that actually works. Pay Per Post offers advertisers the chance to post opportunities for bloggers to write about on their blogs. These "opps" range from 50 to 300 words and can pay anywhere from $5.00 to $1,000.00. That's right. One thousand dollars. To take advantage of an opp that big, a blogger would need to be pretty popular and have a high page rank (For example, mine is 3/10), but the chance is there.

To keep my readers (Hi mom!) happy, I try and only take opportunities that I can relate to and offer personal stories on. I don't want to look like a total advertisement blog, but I have to admit, I have been paid about $100 so far and I have another $75 or so coming to me. It's nice to look in my paypal account and see a little extra spending money there for the frivolous things in life. Also, Pay Per Post requires bloggers to disclose that the entries are sponsored, so you're not lying to your readers.

If you do want to check it out, help me out by clicking on my affiliate link to sign up. It's free. And just so you know, I just made $15.00 for telling you about Pay Per Post. :)

Roar!

I have to admit it, I am a hairy person. Over the course of my 29 years and 10 months (eek!), I have tried every kind of Hair Removal product on the market. For a time, I went to several different specialists in order to have Electrolysis treatments on my chin. They would work for a while, but I never had the money to keep them up long enough. Also, I would have to run home immediately afterwards to put a cold compress on my chin to keep down the redness and swelling. Plus, my hair is STUBBORN like the rest of me, and grew back eventually. I also saw a dermatologist, who wrote me a prescription for a Hair Inhibitor, but it broke my face out and I decided I would rather tweeze the hairs than pop the bumps. Every once in a while I will try a new Hair Removal Cream, but they tend to make my chin all red, and then break out. Double whammy! (More money, more money!)

Now I've settled on a routine of tweezing almost every morning and waxing occasionally. I purchased a wax heater a while back, one reason for my eyebrows and two because it's so embarrassing to ask someone to wax your chin. Look at me though, dangle some money in my face and I'm writing a whole post on it. Times are rough and my dignity is low. ha ha I purchase wax for sensitive skin and it works pretty well. I'm actually pretty good at doing my own eyebrows. (My mom even let me do her's once, but I think she just felt bad for me because I was pregnant and miserable.) So, if we ever meet in real person, don't gaze too long, because I'm sure you'll find a stray hair somewhere or another.

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This post is sponsored; however, the stories are all true.

And These Are the Days of Our Lives

Which apparently haven't changed much. I was checking out the section for Days of our Lives on Soaps.com and it appears the same events are happening to the same people in the town of Salem. It's funny, but it's also comforting. My life changes greatly, but not Sammi's. She's still pulling her same tricks. Remember so so long ago when she was trying to trick Austin into marrying her? Now, she's with the brother, who was as mean as she is. Bo and Hope were always my favorites, but not the new Bo, who was there for a while. I was so happy when the old Bo came back, but then Hope had died, or something, and he was with Carly for a while, but then Hope came back. ha ha But I think she had amnesia. Isn't that just convenient how these characters die and come back at will? Funny how those plot lines stick out in my head from watching the show when I was a kid.

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This post is sponsored.

Shopping Online

I'll be pretty honest with you, things are really slow here at work. At least on my end. With the lack of hurricanes last year, we are cleaning up our workloads, and starting to market new work. As such, I do some shopping online to pass the time. I love looking for deals. There's are several websites you can go to to receive discounts and coupons and ebates.com is one of them. Love shopping at Target? Ebates offers Target coupons. Also, they offer 25% cash back on your purchases for the over 800 stores on their website. Registration is free, plus you get money back! Who can beat that.

The New Valentine's Day Gift

If you are reading this post, then you are at least somewhat Internet savvy, and very many of you spend incredible amounts of time on the Internet, and by association, your computer. Couple this with the impending holiday of doom love, what better gift to give your sweetie than personalizedthumb drives. These nifty little portable drives come in cool colors and have free custom laser engraving. You can store photos on them, your important files, term papers, and even music. In fact, the possibilities are endless. Imagine being able to bring photos from your home computer to a friends house for an impromptu display without lugging your laptop around! Cute and functional at the same time. There are several Internet specials going on now at the link above, so hurry, order one for your Valentine today.

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This post is sponsored.

Daily Drama

Like many people, I grew up catching Soap Operas whenever I was home sick, or during the summer if mom happened to be watching them. My favorite, or maybe it was my mom's, was always Days of our Lives. It's funny, how even when I catch it on now that the same characters are there, going through the same emotions and events. It's almost like going home. There is a website, Soaps.com, that was born 5 or 6 months ago, that details the daily happenings on the soaps, including Days of our Lives, Passions, Guiding Light, Young and the Restless, etc. The site is well designed and easy to navigate. One each of the recounting of the daily shows, they offer stills from the soap opera to add to your mental picture. They also offer news, and places to add comments. For those of us who can't catch our favorite Soap Opera every day, but are still just as addicted, Soaps.com is our answer.

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This post is sponsored.

A Buyer's Market

When Larry and I purchased our townhouse in 1998, it was a buyer's market. Interest rates were low, sellers were motivated and we got a good deal. By the time we sold it in 2004, the tides had changed and it was a seller's market. We made a good amount of money on the sale and were able to put a nice down payment on our Mortgage for the house we live in now. The tide has swayed again and it's once again a buyer's market. There is one thing that doesn't change though, and that's the need for mortgages. Whether you need a New York mortgage, California mortgage or a Florida mortgage, like us, the general population needs a mortgage. Even though, most of us need mortgages, there is a difference in the one obtained in New Jersey, as opposed to a mortgage obtained in, oh, Virgina. Before deciding to relocate, one should always check the market and nature of the mortgage where you would like to move.

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This post was sponsored.

Advertising for Local Businesses

About a month ago, my hair stylist invited me to her house to try out a new facial mask. Her husband and she had gone to Panama and discovered this volcanic mud that was great for the skin. Now they are promoting it here in the states. When her website is up and running, I'll post it here. I'm also going to let her know about search engine submission by servicewrap.net. Submitting your websites to search engines and getting high rankings is one of the best ways to bring clients to your business. This is especially useful for new business owners who don't have the means to launch a huge advertising campaign. If you can list it, Servicewrap can promote it.

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This post is sponsored.

Oh, the Fun that Could be Had

There's a new calling card in town, it's www.SpoofCard.com. Oh, the trouble we could have gotten into if this was available when I was in high school. The Spoof calling card allows you to hide your phone number from caller ID as well as disguise your voice. All you have to do is call the 800 number on the back of the card to be connected to the phone number you want to call, then you choose a voice disguise, and let the fun begin. As with all gadgets of this nature, I would recommend caution, but if used nicely, this could be a lot of fun.

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This post is sponsored.

A Different Type of CSI

If you didn't know, or guessed by now, Larry and I work together for an independant adjusting firm. This means, when a loss occurs at your business, or house, we are sent out as liasons between the insurance company and the insured in order to estimate the damages and report the findings back to the company. Sometimes, we can determine the cause and amount of loss on our own, sometimes, we need the help of Civil Engineering Firms that use their expertise to find the exact cause of loss. The above noted company actually recruits the engineers that work for the various companies throughout the nation. It's always good to know that when you utilize the services of an engineer, that they are educated to perform the job required. By using the services of CSI, the chances of finding the right engineer for the job go up.

Not just Supersized, but LifeSized!

It never fails that when we set up a conference call to discuss a new account, certain people aren't able to be heard, the phone lines fade in and out and the reception is horrible. If our company had access to a life size phone with high definition, we wouldn't have that problem. Also, how awesome would Video Conferencing be in high definition! If we could afford it, my parents wouldn't have to visit, we could video the kids to them! I'm sure any company could benefit from the latest inovations developed by Lifesize.

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This post is sponsored.

Hi, Hello and Salutations

With all of the various dating sites available online, starting out can be overwhelming. If you have no idea where to go, and aren't sure you want to invest any money on the dating game yet, Justsayhi.com may be the site for you. With their Free Dating, there's no initial risk, except for maybe your heart. With all dating sites, or meeting internet friends at all, please be careful!

So, if you're ready, maybe you should

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This post is sponsored.

Sproose up Your Life

With most search engines, it's difficult to determine the formulas they utilize to rank websites. When you enter a keyword, the results may not be relevant to your needs, which is often frustrating. There are new social search engines arising that will help customize Internet research to the users. This is accomplished by having members rank websites from 1 to 5, which in turn will immediately raise or lower a website's standing. Each website will have a group ranking and a personalized ranking. When you visit the Sproose home page, the directions and a more detailed explanation. To me, it just makes sense. Let the people decide rather than the computers!

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This post is sponsored.

Gearing up for a New Year

Now that the holidays are finally over, I have to get myself back on track and start exercising again. I'm planning on starting my Master Cleanse fast next Wednesday or Thursday, and then cutting out refined sugars. I'm going to try and look at this more from a health and fitness aspect rather than just losing weight, although that will be nice too. I think if I can work to incorporate some ways to squeeze exercise into my schedule, I will be successful. I enjoyed walking and training for the 5k, I just need to get back into that mindset again. It's so funny, how when you regularly exercise, you can't imagine not doing it, and now that it's been a couple of months, it's hard to get back in to it. Hopefully, some of these trends will help me in my endevour.

I can tell such a difference in my overall attitude when I'm not taking care of myself. I feel so blah and tired. Also, my clothes are getting tight. EEK! I think Larry's going to jump on the bandwagon with me too. He's talking about getting a watch that will help monitor our heartrates and mileage, so we can train more effeciently.

Here's to a Happy and Healthy New Year!

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This post was sponsored.

Only 11 and a Half Years to Go

Even though I have a while before my boys start driving, I still worry about how my car insurance rates will soar when they do hit that golden age. I'm sure at that time, I will conduct a lot of searches on cheap auto insurance. Geico advertisements are all over the place, and while browsing on their site, I saw they offer guides for drivers. One of their new ones is titled "Teens and Trucks" which was developed with the American Moving and Storage Association. The brochure offers guidelines for dealing with large trucks while driving, such as staying out of their blind spots and being careful of their wide turns. Ideas that are common sense to seasoned drivers, aren't as clear to those with newfound freedom in their hands.

If I'd Only Known

Peyton was home sick a couple of weeks before Christmas, so that afternoon, we ran to Target to look at toys. He pointed out a few things and helped me pick toys out for Shey. Later, when he wasn't with me, I went back to buy some toys for him from Santa. If only I had known about coupon codes from Couponchief.com, I could have shopped at Target online and saved myself some time and money.

Finding Love Online

When Larry and I met online almost 10 years ago, we did it the old fashioned way. We started chatting in a chat room, appropriately named Friends First, we met in private chat rooms and sent e-mails after that, then we eventually spoke on the telephone and started visiting each other. Today, though, there are so many options for people who want to try online dating.

One free option available on the web is iamfreetonight.com. They offer a wide variety of unique tools, including a special wingman feature that allows the user to set up double and group dates to keep the pressure of meeting someone new for the first time down.

Meeting someone on the Internet was a great experience for me. Larry and I were able to truly get to know one another and would talk for hours online and on the phone. As with any online dating experience, please use caution and make smart choices when meeting people for the first time.

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This post is sponsored.

Are Credit Cards for You?

If you spend any amount of time on a college campus, sooner or later you will run into a credit card company offering a free gift in exchange for signing up for one of their credit cards. But should you? It seems that so many young adults, especially those from the ages of 18-23, are piling on the credit card debt. Imagine being out of the house for the first time and having someone offer what appears to be free money. "Buy now, and take years to pay it back!" What sounds too good to be true, most often is.

However, should you choose to carry a credit card and use it responsibly, they can come in handy. If you do your research, and remember some credit card advice, you can use credit cards to help you. A professor of mine was also a financial planner and he paid with a credit card for all of his purchases. BUT, he made sure to pay it off at the end of the month, every month, and for the full amount. By doing so, his money stayed in an interest yielding account, while he used the credit card company's money for items during the month. You must be very diligent to do this though.

It also helps to stay abreast of credit card news by using sites specifically dealing with credit cards UK.

My suggestions is that if you apply for a credit card, only get one, and keep your limit low.