Bloggy Giveaway!!!

I decided to participate in my first Bloggy Giveaway. Most of you who are visiting are probably familiar with the Bloggy Giveaways, but if you're not, visit the link to see what it's all about. Basically, people post links to items that they're giving away - there are over 1100 items being given away right now. All you need to do is visit the link and follow the directions to enter each contest.

My giveaway is a stoneware plaque from At Home America. This plaque measures approximately 7 inches by 10 inches and has the popular saying "Everyday is a Gift, that's why they call it the Present".



It's very simple to enter my giveaway - simply leave a comment below this post and you'll be entered into the giveaway. For more entries, you can 1) follow my blog; and/or 2) leave a comment on another post on my blog. Please come back to this post and tell me you are following or have left a comment on another post so I can enter you into the giveaway. Winner will be chosen on February 1st by random.org and will be noticed by email. At this time, this giveaway is only for person residing in the United States. If your email is not available from your Profile, please leave it in your comment. Good luck and have fun!!

Catholic Schools Week

Every year my kid's school celebrates Catholic Schools Week with a lot of fun things for the kids. This year they actually have tomorrow (Monday) off for a teacher inservice day. Tuesday will be crazy socks and shoes day. Wednesday they will go to Mass at one of the other Catholic churches in the county and will be joined by the kids from all the other Catholic schools in the county (there are four of them). Thursday is parent's lunch, when the parents all come to eat lunch with the kids. The principal also brings a treat on Thursday. This year they are adding a new twist to Thursday - they are having a non-uniform day and the theme is "dress as your future career". Missy immediately said she was going to dress as a fashion designer! I asked Buddy what he was going to do, and he said he would probably just wear his uniform. I asked what he would dress as if he dressed as his future career, and he said he would dress as a pro football player LOL. Good luck with that career, Buddy! Friday is roller skating for the K-5th grade kids. The 6-8th graders go downhill skiing. I hope it warms up by then! It should be a fun week!

Mortage Loans - refinancing anyone?

The world of mortgages is so confusing these days. If you’re looking to buy a new home or refinance, it’s scary to think about the fact that the corporation you use for your mortage loan (bank, credit union, other lending association) may not be there for you in the long term. Of course you want to get the best mortgage loan rate you can, but do you accept other risks by taking a lower rate? Luckily for me, I have two reasons not to worry – first, we’re not planning to move or refinance in the near future, and second, my hubby is a banker, so I let him worry about all of the financial aspects in our household. But if I was in the market to learn more about mortage loan rates and home mortgages, I would look online first.

For matters surrounding mortgage loan rates and home mortgage loans online, Amerisave can help you comprehend the issues better through Amerisave's company profile here at Jobs Businessweek. These companies are reviewed and rated by people just like you and me, which provides some peace of mind during this confusing time.

It's Finally Warming Up!

Yeah! It’s finally warming up outside! Of course, you have to put that into perspective – this morning it is 9 degrees outside. For those of you who live in the South, that still sounds frigid! But considering that last Friday morning, it was 22 below zero, 9 degrees doesn’t feel so bad! Sometimes I question why we live here (in Wisconsin), but since I’ve lived in Wisconsin for all but 7 years of my life (when I lived in Minnesota), I don’t see us leaving anytime soon. I’m just hopeful that at some point in the future (retirement!) we can spend part of the winter in a warmer location.

Back to the cold weather – I know a couple of families whose furnaces have gone out over the last few weeks. I can’t imagine how scary that would be! Of course you have no choice but to get it fixed or replaced right away. All Year Cooling and Heating company would be a great place to start your search for a new heating or a/c system. It won’t be long before those of us in cold weather climates are turning off our furnace and turning on our air conditioners, and then instead of complaining about how cold it is, we’ll be complaining about how hot and humid it is!

Job Hunting

I have quite a few friends who have been let go from their jobs. These people have been working for large corporations for many, many years and were in fairly high ranking positions. The process of looking for a new job has changed a lot since the last time I was job hunting. My friends tell me that they are doing a ton of networking and going on informational interviews - interviews with key personnel at companies they'd like to work for, even though there isn't a job opening at the time. They even have Face Book accounts so potential employers can look them up and learn about them. Someone like Dennis Carey could assist my friends and others navigate the world of business networking and enable them to find new employment sooner, rather than later.

Dennis Carey is an executive search and recruitment expert and he discusses the nature of his profession in his online blog. Check out Dennis Carey's blog here.

Weekly Menu

I know many people plan their meals in advance and I always thought it was a great idea, however, I never seemed to have the follow-through to do it. So with the new year, I decided I was sick of the kids asking what was for dinner at 4:45pm and not having a clue. So I wrote down a month of meals - Monday to Friday only - and decided to jump right in.

The kids were actually really excited about the idea of having a weekly menu. I made a list and went to the grocery store on Monday. I have to say that it was SOOOO nice to have everything in the house that I needed for five complete meals. I really don't mind cooking - it's just deciding what to make that was the hardest thing for me. I even went so far as to look at the sports schedule and on the nights that Buddy has basketball, I made something simple or something that could be reheated, etc.

Last week was awesome - the kids didn't complain, I knew in advance what we were having, and we didn't eat out once!!

So we're on to week two - I looked at our menu this morning and made a list of items to get at the grocery store today. Interestingly, the list isn't even that big - we already have most of the items we need, so I won't be spending a ton of money at the store. And I even have a coupon for a free half gallon of ice cream that I got at the store last week!

I hope I can keep this up because it's really a stress reliever!

To Resolution or Not???

It's that time of the year - the dreaded New Years resolution dilemma - do you make them or not? I know quite a few people at the YMCA made them - I was there on Saturday morning and it was packed! I was happy to tell one of my neighbors that I had been going to the Y fairly regularly for a couple of months already - for once I wasn't one of those people who start up on January 1st and are gone by the end of the month.

This year I decided not to make any official resolutions. I need to lose weight, and I'm starting the diet tomorrow, but I do this every single year and I'm beyond calling it a resolution. I think I'd rather call it a goal. If I don't do something about meeting this goal, I'll have other things to look forward to (like blood pressure medication and cholesterol medication). I think for the first time, I need to lose the weight (about 25 pounds) so I can be healthy, not just to look good or fit into smaller pants.

Other goals I've set are to be a little more devoted to blogging. All three of my blogs are approaching the three month mark, so hopefully I'll get more chances to monetize them. I've also started cleaning out the basement. We'll have a garage sale in the spring and hopefully eventually find the money to finish the basement into a living area. I have a feeling that won't be happening this year though.

Happy New Year everyone!