Monday, January 31, 2011

Music Monday: Adele's "Rolling In The Deep"

Saturday, January 29, 2011

Super Bowl Fun

It's almost time for the Super Bowl! Which means that sports radio, football fans, online sports betting sites, advertisers, and buffalo wing makers everywhere are in full swing. My team didn't make it to the Super Bowl this year, but of course I'm still going to go to a Super Bowl party to watch the game...and the ads, which seem to get even more attention sometimes.

I'm rooting for the Packers, because I'm not a big fan of the Steelers. (I'm also not a big fan of Brett Favre, so I think it would be extra funny to see the Packers win for that reason.) But I don't think I'll be betting on the game this year, since my predictions so far this season haven't exactly been right on. But if you are going to be, be sure to brush up on your sports betting tips and tricks first. (And also check to see what's legal where you live, of course.) I remember being blown away by all of the sports betting action going on the first time I went to Las Vegas.

So who do you think it's going to be? Packers or Steelers? Give me your predictions!

Friday, January 28, 2011

Becoming A Merchant

A friend of mine is in the process of starting her own small business, and I've been helping her out a little and listening to some of her stories about the issues that she's been having. Obviously there's a lot that goes into something like this, but there are also things that pop up that most people probably wouldn't anticipate until they actually get into it.

Right now she's working on setting up a merchant account for her business so that she can process payments from her customers. Her business is web-based, but she's realized that not everyone has a PayPal account or is comfortable paying for things the same way, even online. So she found a company that works with home-based businesses and can help her handle this end of things. She's planning on going with an ACH merchant account because it gives her customers as many options as possible. (It even lets her process direct debits and convert paper checks.)

I'm not really an expert on financial stuff when it comes to small businesses, so I'm glad that my friend has found a company that can handle all of this so that she can focus on building a successful company. (Of course, the fact that they offer 24/7 customer service doesn't hurt either.) Hopefully when she's rich and famous she'll remember the help that I gave her in the early days.

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Going Gold

So I went to one of those gold parties the other day. You know the ones, where you're supposed to sell your gold jewelry for cash? After the party I got curious and I decided to do a little research on the subject of gold in general. I admit that I don't know a lot about economic issues, but I'm trying to learn more.

One thing I do know is that everyone is making a big deal about gold right now because of the economy. More people are investing in gold because they feel that it's a safe and reliable long-term investment. What I didn't realize was that you can actually have a gold IRA or gold 401k - like, you can have physical gold in your IRA or 401k account. (I told you I'm still learning where this stuff is concerned.) You have to have the right kinds of gold that are accepted by the government as IRA gold or 401k gold, so it's not like we're talking about accounts full of old earrings or anything.

It's something that I'm definitely going to keep researching, but I think there may be a gold IRA transfer in my future.

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Brightening Up The Winter

It's been a cold and snowy winter here so far, and it's getting to that point where you feel like the freezing weather is never going to end. So I've been thinking about what I can do to brighten up the rest of the winter a little bit.

One of the things I decided to do was bust out the indoor planters and get some new house plants. It's nice to bring a little life and color into the house during the winter - it's a good reminder that we will eventually see some green outside too.

Of course, a side effect of all of this indoor planter action is that it makes me start thinking ahead to when I can get the outdoor planters going again. And that makes me want to shop for new planters and garden accessories, because I'm one of those people who believes that you can never have too much garden stuff.


After doing a little "window shopping", I'm thinking that I might just have to look into getting a new evergreen or some winter flowering plants so that I can bring an outddor planter or two out of the garage early. I'll just pretend it's spring.

Monday, January 24, 2011

Music Monday: Avril Lavigne's "What The Hell"

Monday, January 17, 2011

Skin Care Resolutions

I don't really obsess over New Year's resolutions, but I do choose a few things that I want to try to work on throughout the year. This year one of the things that I want to do is improve my skin care regimen. It's something that I'm usually pretty lazy about, so I figure that now is a good time to try to change that, especially since cold winter weather can be hard on your skin anyway.

Of course, one of the issues with a project like this is just figuring out where to start. There are so many different lines of skin care products out there that it can be hard to decide what to choose. And some of them can be on the expensive side, but you don't want to waste money on something that isn't going to work. So I've asked a few friends and done a little research to find something that might work for me.

One of the companies that I've heard good things about is Murad. One of my friends raved about their acne products, which interests me since I still get occasional breakouts. (I've also heard good things about their gel for age spots - that's not really an issue for me but it's still good to know that people have good luck with their products.) They've got some good special offers going on right now for the new year, so I think I'm going to go ahead and order some products and try them out. Maybe I'll update after I get my stuff and let everyone know what I think.

Has anyone tried Murad? Did you like their stuff? Or just have any general tips or recommendations for me? I need all the help that I can get.

Sunday, January 16, 2011

Bea Arthur

Guest post from: Denver Stephens

I have been watching the show Golden Girls for years now. It's one of my favorite shows to watch and I have every single episode on DVD. In fact, my family purchased a DVR kit for me the last time it was my birthday. I used the DVR to record all of my favorite shows and am now able to watch them whenever I like. I especially love watching Golden Girls on my DirectStarTV and recording it again to watch over and over again. I've seen almost every episode hundreds of times and I can never seem to get tired of them. Most people would more than likely get tired of a particular show after only a few episodes. But for me, it's just one of those things that I love watching all of the time.

Golden Girls has to be my all time favorite show to watch. I can normally be found watching it almost every single day. My favorite character on the show has to be Dorothy. She's just one of those characters that is completely fun and entertaining. I can never get tired of watching episodes where Dorothy is apart of the fun. She's just fantastic to watch in almost anything that she stars in. I was still upset to hear that Bea Arthur passed away a few months ago since I adored her as an actress.