Probably not New Jersey bound

My nieces' birthday is tomorrow. I thought her party was planned for this Saturday. Unfortunately I got my days screwed up and her party was actually last Saturday so I missed it. That was the main reason for me to drive to New Jersey. Yes she's only turning 2 but I still wanted to be there.

Right now I'm totally exhausted. I have a lot on my mind and it seems like nothing is going right. One of my coworkers even remarked that I looked stressed, which I am. So I think I'm just going to use the next couple of days to rest and get myself together.

I still have some vacation time left later on this summer so I might drive down then. But tomorrow is definitely a no go.

I haven't decided if I'm going to New Jersey or not

I just don't feel like taking that long drive. But since almost no one in my immediate family in New Jersey has a car, I would be at a distinct disadvantage if I rolled down there without a vehicle. Did I mention that they like in the sho nuff ghetto?!?!? Umm yeah, I'm surely not trying to take a bus down there.

I also don't feel comfortable staying at anyone's home. It just feels weird if it's not my house or my mom's house. That means I have to shell out money for a hotel. I did find a hotel for 2 nights that will cost around $115 but I would have to leave Saturday. I was thinking about leaving Saturday anyway but I want the flexibility of being able to leave on Sunday.

Luckily the party isn't until the middle of July so I still have a while to think about it.

Skype

Author: Jonathan Suarez

My husband is in the military, and he’s currently stationed overseas. For obvious reasons, this is very hard on all of us. I know he misses me and our two children, and it’s hard for us not knowing what’s going on over there. We do our best to email back and forth as often as possible, and we have become dependent on Skype as well! It’s so wonderful to be able to see each other while we’re chatting, even though we’re thousands of miles away! We don’t always know when he’ll have the opportunity to use a laptop, so I’ve started taking mine with me everywhere, just to make sure I’m ready to talk when he’s available. We’re so lucky that with our new wireless internet I’m able to connect to Skype no matter where I am. That has been such a huge relief. I no longer have to worry about racing home from the grocery store to make sure I don’t miss his call—I just pop my laptop open while I’m sitting in the parking lot! It’s such a wonderful way for us to stay in touch, and there is nothing the kids love more than to see their Daddy’s face!

Grandma

Thanks for the guest post by Donn Schroeder

I have finally talked my grandmother into entering the world of technology! She is the lady that still pays her bill by writing a check and mailing them in through snail mail! The idea of using email is truly foreign to her. But, she said she would try it if I helped her get everything all hooked up. Thankfully, I found some great Wildblue packages to get internet hooked up in her house. Next was setting up an email account for her. I was bummed when groovygrandma@yahoo was taken as a username! We settled for GroovyGma. Now that I got her account set up and she is emailing, she is loving it! She is so sweet. Her emails are always like a novel and basically just consist of her typing out all of her thoughts. I also think it is hilarious how quickly she responds to my emails that I send her. I mean, how many times a day is she checking her email? It is nice though because I can easily email her and make sure that she is okay. Now, it is time to get her on Facebook!

Cleaning out my teenage daughter's closet

Guest post written by Shirley Cobb

My daughter is just as bad as I am about hoarding clothes that she's never going to wear again. Each time that I try to convince her to let me clean out her closet, she doesn't let me take away any fo her clothes. Even any of the stuff that she hasn't worn in years. But then again, I'm the same way. However, I can at least try to convince her differently and maybe I'll do the same with my closet.

I went online to see if I could find some cool way to organize her closet that would appeal to her. When I was doing that, I ran across the website http://www.cleartvbundle.com and after I looked through ti a little bit I decided to change over our home internet service to one of the packages that I saw on there.

It was a little hard convincing her to go through with the closet cleaning, but I was able to make it happen. It also motivated me to do the same with my own lcoset. I think that I may need some bet organizational stuff for my closet though.

Identity fraud can happen to anyone

I was talking to my cousin last week and we were discussing the fact that we're both in the market to buy a new home. I have to wait until I have a larger down payment but my cousin has to clear up her credit before she's eligible for a mortgage.

She had excellent credit until she became the victim of identity fraud. The person was vicious too. They ran up medical bills, bought all kinds of electronics and was even trying to buy a car when they were finally caught. Now she had to fight with credit bureaus, credit companies and who knows else until everything is cleared up.

It just goes to show that you can never be too vigilant in maintaining your credit.

I think my cousin lied

He claims he's getting this settlement. Everyone in the family is falling all over him because they want a piece of the pie. Of course if he asks someone to do something, they do it thinking of the reward that they're going to get.

I don't think he's actually getting anything. I think he's playing on their greed. They're all getting played! As long as he doesn't call me and ask for anything I'm not worried about it. I can pay my own way, tyvm!

My cousin is about to get a large settlement

And I hope he invests the money properly. He had an accident in a store when a shelf fell on him. The store refused to even pay his medical bills so he sued them. He has great lawyers like you would find from a Austin Personal Injury Lawyer. They handle cases like serious injuries, slips and falls, and other business lawsuit litigation's.

He was lucky that his wife has good medical coverage or he would have been in serious trouble. Like I said, I hope he invests his money wisely. With that much coming in it would be a shame to just waste the money and not put it to good use.

I saved money at the reunion

We didn't go out a lot during the time that I was home. We basically went to the reunion and came back home. There was so much food there it's ridiculous. The only problem I had was that there was a lot of repitition. We had a ton of pulled pork and beef but no corn on the cob. We didn't have a lot of ribs but we had a ton of desserts.

At least I know to save more for next years reunion so we can have more of a variety of foods.

It's too bad I won't be in Florida in April

I was supposed to go visit my aunt and uncle in Florida but I don't have the money to go. The last time I went to visit them we went to a lot of local activities and things. April 5th is the 5th annual Dark Sky Festival in Harmony.

The purpose of the festival is to help promote the benefits of a night-sky free from the effects of artificial light. It's a environmentally friendly atmosphere aimed at stopping light pollution. It's believed that artificial light wastes energy, disrupts the surrounding natural environment and has the potential to cause health problems.

There are activities for the whole family including a Kids zone with a speaker talking about Myths in the Night. Look up at the stars through the telescopes, listen to speakers talk about light pollution and how to prevent it, or even enjoy the free concert by Motown artists Rare Earth. While the purpose of the festival is to introduce environmentally intelligent lighting and lifestyle practices, the event also encourages the development of scientific interest in Florida youth.

If you happen to be near the Harmony Town Square on April 5th, stop by for the kick-off festival. After all, it's free and open to the public.

I'm flying home for Christmas

I was gonna drive but then I changed my mind. I tried to drive 50 miles and I had one of my little episodes. There's no way I'm gonna make it 300 miles. So I decided to fly instead.

I got my ticket on Southwest. I luv Southwest airlines! lol. I know that sounds like a cheesy commercial but I do. Before they came to Pittsburgh I only had USAir or Greyhound to choose from. USAir was extremely expensive. From Pittsburgh to Philly was easily $200 roundtrip which is ridiculous. My airfare home was $125 and that's because it's Christmas and there was no sale. I've gotten a fare for as low as $75 roundtrip.

I just wish I had someone to pick me up from the airport.

I can't wait to go home

One of the first things me and my mom are gonna do is hit the casino. We usually only go to one of 3 casinos in Atlantic City. We also play at online casinos while I'm at her house. I take my laptop and we both play at the same time to see who can win the most money.

One of the ways I decide where to play online is to go to a site that reviews online casinos. I prefer to go somewhere like Online Casino Topic that provides new articles keeping me abreast of the latest news. I can also find out other information that players need to know.

Things like payout percentages, and screenshots of the sites that are being reviewed. That way if I go to a site, I can tell if it's the one I read about. A lot of times, there will be 2 sites with a very similar name. By seeing a screen shot I will immediately know if I'm on the right site or not.

That won't be the only thing we do while I'm home. But I do know it will take up the majority of our time. We'll go to Atlantic City for a good 2 days. Plus play online another day. It should be fun.

I know I shouldn't apply for more credit

But my friend just told me that he's moving out of state pretty soon and wants me to come visit. So now in addition to flying home to see my mom, going to FL to see my aunt and uncle, I also be going somewhere else. I'm not sure exactly where he's moving yet but he said it's out west. I'll be racking up the frequent flyer miles so I might as well apply for one of those Airline Miles Credit Cards. There are several that I could apply for so I need to see what's out there.

I want to compare fees and more importantly how many miles I can earn. I don't want a card that's going to limit me in any way. Between taking all of those flights every year, I figure I could get a free ticket every two years. Can you say free ticket to Aruba.

Is there a stigma associated with having a tutor?

If there is I don't see why. My niece is having trouble in math and her mother wants to get her a tutor for the upcoming school year. I know what it's like to struggle with math. I had a innovative tutor when I was in 7th grade for my algebra class. I just didn't understand it at all. I worked with my tutor for 2 quarters and my grade went from a low C to a solid A.

I told my sister-in-law to go ahead with the tutor. If my niece is not happy, she can just introduce the person as her study partner. But if she's struggling with math now, it will only get worse so she needs to act on it before it becomes a bigger problem.

A welcome gift for our cruise

I'm looking to buy a gift for my aunt for our cruise. Me, my mom and my aunt are all going. My aunt and uncle are paying for it. It's a birthday present for me and my mom. I'm thinking of buying breakfast gift baskets so she will have something nice when we get there.

If I decide against a breakfast basket, I can send a chocolate or sweets gift basket. I can only imagine her face when we walk into that room and she sees it sitting there. I'm going to make sure there are some balloons too. I know she'll love it.

I'm not really worrying about getting my mom a gift. Her gift from them is the cruise. Her gift from me was new clothes for the cruise. This is gonna be so much fun.

High school graduations

Sigh, the season is upon us. I'm happy that my cousin is graduating, I'm not happy that I'm getting ready to pay out of the wazoo for his present. He wants an ipod shuffle. When he said ipod, I thought I was going to pass out. Then he threw the shuffle in their and I breathed a big sigh of relief.

I still have some other small stuff to get him too. He's a twin and they don't have a lot of pictures from when they were smaller. I have a boatload of them, so I'm getting one of the nicer ones framed. His twin isn't graduating this year because of health problems. So next year a present and the following year the baby graduates. Now if I can only talk them into college.

I'm not going home

I went to two different websites, the cheapest ticket I can get right now is almost $200 or double what I want to spend. I'm kinda upset but not really. It would be nice to go home again but at the same time, I hadn't had anything planned so it shouldn't matter. I just really didn't want to sit in the house all weekend. None of my friends are doing anything or their going over other peoples houses so I really don't have anywhere to go. I guess I'll figure something out.

This holiday snuck up on me

I totally forget that next week was a holiday. I don't have any plans either. I might go visit my family again, if I can get a ticket for less than $100. I highly doubt it since it's so close to the travel date but you never know. Sometimes you can get a last minute deal. If I don't go home I have no idea what I'll do this weekend. Probably just hang around the house.

Gimme an A

My niece is a cheerleader. It's almost a year round responsibility anymore. During the school year they cheer during games and school functions. Now that summer is coming, they have competitions and summer camps to get ready for next year. It's mind boggling how much time they put into practice.

It's also more expensive than a lot of people realize. There's a lot of travel involved. Plus the cost of pom-poms, uniforms, and shoes. The school does provide some financial support but for the most part the kids have to do a lot of cheerleading fundraising. The most popular item this year was the customized flip-flops. The flip-flops are purple and gold, our school colors. They're not gaudy. They're purple with gold weaved throughout. The students love them, especially since they spend a lot of time at the beach. The flip-flops have the school logo on the bottom, so when you walk on the sand, the school logo shows up behind you. It's a neat concept.

I gladly support their efforts. I know it gets expensive and most parents can't afford to pay for all of their kids' activities. I consider this a small price to pay to have the kids in positive after school activities.

I really enjoyed my weekend

I haven't updated my blog in almost 5 days. I went home to visit my mom. I had a great visit. It was really weird, I didn't get exasperated with my mom like I usually do. We were pretty cool the entire time.

I didn't see any of my family. Everyone kept saying they were going to come visit, but they didn't end up showing up. My mom cooked a ton of food, as usual. I always tell her not to cook a lot but she doesn't listen. There was way too much food there. We had two neighbors come over and eat and there's still a lot of food left. My mom is going to freeze some of the food that's left over.

I can't wait until August for my next visit.