My Blog

While we were at Jim’s reunion a few weeks ago, we met a Realtor who was a former classmate of Jim’s. When we mentioned where we live, he knew our subdivision, and is actually working on selling a home on it’s way to foreclosure right now. Oops! I know of the house, but we don’t know who lives there – it’s been rented out since it was built, and honestly? I’d love for someone other than an investor to buy it, so that the grass will be taken care of, the trees will be watered, and the bushes will be trimmed. I do think it’s a shame that someone is so far in debt that they have to sell a home at a loss though. When we had money troubles, we (thankfully) avoided that. Could a bill consolidation loan have helped our neighbors save their investment? Who knows, but I know it saved my hiney. Going through debt consolidation early in my marriage probably SAVED my marriage. It’s no fun being stressed about bills and how you’re going to make ends meet, and I know people who couldn’t hack it and always fought about money. Setting financial goals has really helped Jim and I to see what staying out of debt can get us – vacations, a new house, and no stress each money when it’s time to pay the bills! This site has some great articles on saving money, sticking to a budget, setting financial goals, and credit repair – it’s a good read even if you’re NOT in debt!

As you may have read here last night, I signed up for a 2nd walk for charity. I’m doing the Memory Walk in Orlando (3 miles) and the Breast Cancer 3-Day in Tampa (60 miles) this October. That’s a lot of walking for a girl who mostly sits in front of the computer or a television. While I don’t think I’ll ever participate in a triathlon, all of this walking certainly has boosted my interest in physical fitness. And with the extra pounds that being 31 has brought me, there’s no time like the present to bone up on fitness and nutrition. That’s where USA Sports Training comes into play. This site is dedicated to those who swim, cycle, or run, and those who participate in the melding of all 3 – the triathlon. The store has a dedicated area for each sport, as well as another section for fitness, and one for recovery and massage. (That’s the second I refer to as “wear and tear”!) In each area, you’ll find sport specific gear, training DVD’s, instructional books, and accessories. I found a few products in the massage and recovery area I had never heard of, like the power stick and foot wheel. The latter definitely looks like something that will come in handy for me in October, as it claims to sooth tired, achy feet in a matter of seconds. The foot wheel can also be used for warm ups, which the 3-Day people are very big on. I think I’ll be back to order it!

I was Stumbling tonight and came across this article on why nice guys usually finish last. If you’re a women, it’s one of those things that you’ll read and nod along with, because it is RIGHT on. I was terrible to the nice guys I dated! And it starts young too…one of my main reasons for dating a guy in the 10th grade was because he had a car and could get me to and from school. I was a horrid little bitch to him. Guy who took me to homecoming and who was my first boyfriend in high school? Same story. I wanted the asshole who wanted to make out under the bleachers at the football game and then ignore me on Monday. The guy who had a crush on me at work and brought me flowers? Nice guy…creeped the hell out of me because he was into me too much, too quickly. Women can sense desperation like dogs can sense fear, and women like me don’t like it.

When I met Jim, and he didn’t immediately fall head over heels for me, I was into it. I loved the challenge! We’d date, break up, get back together…and through it all, I was completely into it. He didn’t need me to find something to do on a Friday night, he didn’t put me on a pedestal, and he didn’t tell me he loved me for MONTHS. He was a nice person (not an asshole like some of the guys I’d been with), always treated me well, and he was a great guy to be with, but he wasn’t a “nice guy” like those other guys!

So fess up ladies…if you’re married now, did you settle for a nice guy? Or did you take the challenge, like I did? I’m interested to see how many of you agree with the article above.

The incident this morning with my crazy neighbor makes me want to sell my house and buy a few acres of land in the middle of nowhere, so I never have to deal with clowns like her again. Sadly, the market here in Tampa is horrible, so we’re not going anywhere for a long time. I wondered if it’s the same all over the US, and the Austin market is going gangbusters for some reason. This Austin realtor says he’s seen 10% appreciation in this year already! I spent a few minutes browsing his website, and yeah – that market is HOT. A home the size of ours is selling for double what we built outs for, which tells me that the market can bear that price. Hopefully Austin won’t see the same slump we’re experiencing now. I could actually spend hours looking at this – I’m such a real estate geek. The homes are quite a bit different from what we’re used to here in Tampa.

For Christmas this year, the kids each ended up with a little stuffed animal called a Webkinz. At the time, I was clueless and thought it was just another stuffed toy, but apparently not. There’s a whole virtual world, and each of the toys comes with a special code that allows the kids to log onto a website and make a virtual pet there too. My girls love playing with the toys, online and off. Now there’s another site offering virtual pets, and this kind of webkinz doesn’t require purchasing a stuffed animal offline to have fun online! If faux pets aren’t your thing, the site has 800 virtual dolls you can dress up, or pick to represent you online. The site is popular enough to have been featured in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal Online, the Today Show, and ABC news. It’s the virtual pet sensation sweeping the nation!

I’ve got a lot of blogs tucked away in my Google feed reader, and recently started the daunting task or organizing them into sub groups – daily reads, less often, and so on. One of those blogs is at scribblescratch.com, and it’s the home of Teresa’s semi-daily ramblings. This is one blog staying in the daily reads list! Teresa’s blog has a nice design which makes it eye catching and easy to read. It’s girly and fun. I love how so many of her entries contain pictures – she’s got an artist’s eye, I think! And her personality comes through on each and every post, too. It’s a very personal look into her life, without being too much information. From reading her posts I see we’ve got similar tastes in music, movies, and TV, as well as a lot of other things in common. She also offers free wordpress themes on her site as well, and they’re delightful! Check out one called “The Night” – it reminds me of that children’s book about the little house in the country that becomes the city and then the little house is moved? You’ll know what I mean when you look at the theme.

Oh – I mentioned she had an artist’s eye, didn’t I? Check out her photography site, TeresaMaree.com to see what I mean!

Getting the radio show off the ground has been challenging, to say the least, but once again, the blogging community has come out to support and help me in every way imaginable. I’ve had great luck getting guests on the show, from CEO’s of paid blogging companies to bloggers I enjoy reading. Others have helped by calling the show in to speak with the guests, and still others IM me during the show on a regular basis.

Lisa of My Thoughts, Ideas, and Ramblings has been a frequent contributer to the Colleenie Weenie show since it’s inception, with her weekly comments via Yahoo IM. Lisa is just that kind of person – she is willing to help other bloggers, be it by supporting a radio show or plugging someone’s charity for the Blogathon this week. Even though she’s home with 2 small kids, one of whom is a newborn, she always seems to make time for her fellow blogger. Thanks, Lisa!

I went through a time in my life where I had sleeping issues, because I couldn’t turn off my brain at night to get a good night of rest. I know – me, of all people! I’m the queen of sleep, the master of the snooze, the keeper of naptime. I asked my doctor about my sleeping problems, and the first thing I was offered was medication. Yeah, that’s just what I needed, some nice prescription meds to get hooked on so that I can’t get to sleep without downing a few pills. And I tried one sleeping pill that knocked me out for 16 hours! Never again! I’m not a big natural health person – I’m certainly not against prescription meds, I just didn’t think they were right for me in this situation. This site has information on natural sleep aids, from things like Melotonin, or Valerin. Natural sleep aids like this don’t have the nasty side effects that come with prescription medication. The site also allows users to buy buy sleeping pills (all natural of course) and has information on the types of healing, from Shiatsu to Myotherapy. It’s an interesting read for people interested in exploring options your local doctor can’t offer you.

This is a sponsored review.

My son was asking me about fast cars the other day. Specifically, he was interested in Ferraris and Corvettes. I think he was trying to figure out why we didn’t have one…heh! It’s funny how little boys are…he wasn’t thinking about how many people I’m usually trucking around in my SUV, or the groceries I need to haul home – he was just thinking it would be fun to have a fast car!

And little boys like that grow up to be the men who drool and lust over fast cars. But not everyone can grow up to afford such a ride, of course. Some men are destined to drive a compact car, like my husband, and others gravitate towards a pickup truck or , because it’s useful in real life. If you lust after a Lamborghini, but your wallet and lifestyle don’t allow for you to buy one, you can make do in the meantime with these Lamborghini wallpapers for your computer desktop. Just try not to get any drool on your keyboard, mmmkay? If hot cars resembling sex on wheels aren’t your think, the site also features used cars and motoring news for car enthusiasts. The site is actually a network of vehicle manufacturer’s that allows you to compare prices to find your next ride – be it a Ford, or a Lamborghini

This is a sponsored review.