golf

I am not a golfer. Or, I guess I should quantify that statement: I am not a "pro" style golfer. I play a mean game of putt putt mini golf, but that isn't quite the same thing. :) But, I know it can be tricky for people who golf to get onto a course and get tee times, since I know they schedule those things, especially at the really famous courses. It would be awfully handy if they were able to get 48 hour tee times (or less than 48 hours). What about those mornings when you just want to get up and go? So check out www.48hourteetimes.com.

But, I suppose that's just one reason I'm NOT a golfer! I'm too impatient!

having a pet dog

Guest blog entry from Vanessa Lieberman.

One of the best ways I achieved security in my home was with a pet dog. It is almost like my dog serves as a home security alarm system, even though I have one of those too. A dog can be a companion that brings you joy and makes you feel safe within your own home.

Purchasing a dog was the best choice I ever made in my life. Perhaps you are like me, and you live in a city. As a young woman in her 20s, I moved to New York City for the first time. I had never lived in the city before, and I was very nervous about what to expect. I kept expressing my feelings to friends, and finally one of my friends advised me to purchase a pet dog. I had never considered purchasing a dog, but when I finally did purchase one, I realized it was the best decision I could make for myself.

Every day I come home from work, my pet dog is waiting for me by the door. Her name is Lucy, and she is beyond gorgeous. In addition, she cuddles up to me every night before I fall asleep. She makes me feel like I am not alone in a big city. If you want to feel safer in your home, I recommend getting a pet dog, or signing up for adt brinkshome security!

blogging

Lately owning a blog has been really tough for me. I'm getting negative reactions to my websites from people around me, and it's very frustrating. I won't be leaving it anytime soon at all, but I am definitely re-evaluating my approach. It's kind of surprising, really, to look back and realize how my blogging style has changed, and how blogging has changed me. What a world!

door mats

We don't really have door mats at our house. Part of it is our climate- we just don't live in an area with enough muck outdoors to necessitate a doormat. Part of it is our flooring- we have tile around the front door (easy to clean), and we have old carpet scraps in the garage that absorb any moisture if we come in through that door. Plus having a door mat is really just one more thing to clean!

energy

When we visit my sister on the East Coast, it is always funny to see the change in mentality over energy consumption. Not that I don't believe we should all save energy as much as possible... it's just a much bigger deal around there. They do all kinds of things to analyze their energy consumption and then save energy, like hiring energy auditors to check out their homes. Maybe we could all learn a thing or two from them.

lake house

Today I was talking with a neighbor who told me about spending the weekend at his lake house, in the Ozarks. It's a lot of fun if you can afford it, though like he said, it is definitely an added expense. You'd have to find your place and then find a really cheap house, like one of the Outer banks foreclosures, and even then you'd have to pay to maintain it. Crazy.

"99"ers

I read an interesting article this morning about "99"ers- people who have received unemployment benefits for 99 weeks and are no longer eligible for unemployment, and all the issues that go along with that. They tend to have massive financial problems- since they've been unemployed for so long, they have begged and borrowed to pay their bills, and their credit scores have tanked. Even a free credit score won't help- they know they have problems. Too bad, really... I feel for those people.

ebay

The other day, I was researching wholesale distributors online (for the thousandth time), to see if I could find a low cost distributor and open an ebay business. The most challenging part, in my opinion, is that the hot items on ebay are electronics- like ipods, iphones, ps3, some cameras... not cheap stuff to begin with, and probably not a good profit margin. Oh well!