Write it Off

Since I've been talking about taxes, I was thinking a bit about the different write offs and tax credits that are available this season. One of the biggest I think will be the credit for purchasing a hybrid car. I know there has been a big change in what I see around here since we see a Prius just about every where we go. I think many people traded down and wanted to take advantage of the credits. There will be two credits this time around so that should be pretty decent to add to the list. DH wished we could have gotten in on this too but he kind of likes his Pontiac now and might be looking for another one after this one dies out.

DS really likes the 2009 Prius and would like to get one but he's gonna have to pay for it. LOL Now that hybrid cars are becoming more main stream, it's nice to have sites that provide information about them and reviews. I myself haven't read a whole lot about the Prius Hybrid and its competitors so this would really be helpful for me if I were looking for a new car.

Food for ?

I really feel for business owners of restaurants right now. I have no idea how they are staying in business. Not the big chains, but the mom and pops. I've heard a couple of great stories since the less than graceful swan dive has happened. I can't remember all the details but they are truly fantastic.

One restaurant has a menu of items that is set up for the patrons to pay as they see fit. They can even pay nothing for their food and come back again to do the same thing the next day. I think it would take a real jerk to just walk out without paying a single dime but that is a whole lot of trust on the owner's part for sure. He just wanted people to still be able to eat out, get a good meal, and come back to his place as much as possible. That's some kind of plan.

The second story is of a small eatery that is threatened and may close up. It is well established being around for a really long time. So, the employees have offered to stay and work only on tips until things start to turn around. Again, talk about trust that people will pull through. The patrons there heard about this arrangement and are leaving larger tips.

It's really nice to know that people pull through to help out where ever they can. At the same time there's the hoards of scammers out there waiting for the right sucker to come along in total desperation. I hate them and wish we could just catch them all.

Crunch Time

Ugh, speaking of money...taxes are coming up soon. I haven't received all of my paperwork yet so I'm hoping it gets here soon. I hate sitting on those damn things. This year is going to be quite different as our incomes have changed and such. I'm not sure how much we'll get back if any. Here's to hoping though. LOL I still need to try to dig up all and every receipt I might have too. I wish I was a little more organized. My idea of organizing is by throwing them all in one of a handful of general locations in the house. Yeah, not quite a system. I've really gotta get my stuff together.

Recovery Mode

I was thinking the other day and wondering if we as a country are really on the road to recovery. I mean, so many jobs are being lost and only more are going. I wonder how many investment banker jobs are being eliminated after the whole debacle. That really can't be a flourishing profession. LOL So many people have lost faith in the banking system they've pulled their money out to a safer option. God, how much worse is this whole thing going to get?!

L O V E

Okay, I'm about to say something that some may think as "wrong" or something along those lines. No hate mail please. LOL

Have you ever wondered if you've married the wrong person? What if you only THINK you're happy? What if you've never really been happy and only want to believe you are? Those are some really difficult questions and there are a lot of people that would say counseling would be the way to go, but what if you couldn't get the other person to go? What if...you knew that you just aren't in love with that person anymore?

These are not my questions but ones that a friend has asked me recently. I've come close to some of these feelings but I couldn't imagine how painful all that must be. I know my friend may not be "built" to be in a relationship and sometimes that's a hard thing to swallow. Sometimes we can be in love with the idea of being in love and think that what we are doing is love but it's not. Whatever the case is it's sure food for thought huh?

New PC

I was thinking about getting a new computer. I love my desk top but need a laptop to get jobs I want done, done. Some things are just hard to do on this thing. I need to be able to move around too. I'm just not sure what to get or how much laptop memory I need. I didn't even buy this one so I have no idea what I'm looking for. Oh well, it's not like I need it tomorrow...*knocks on wood*.

Green Thumb

Spring is just around the corner and I can't wait to clear out the weeds and get growing again. Every year I like to have a variety of flowers and vegetables. Well, with things the way they are now we kind of need to get out own food anyway.

I'm making my plans for a great layout as I type. We don't have a lot of room so planters are a must. I like to keep my herbs and some flowers in pretty decorative planters since some can be so ugly that they take away from the beauty of what's in them. The only problem that I have with outdoor planters is all of the icky bugs and slugs that live underneath them. I hate moving those things and make DH do it. lol

With all of the newer materials coming out now garden planters are more affordable. There are tons of sites that make it easy to find what you're looking for. That makes things a whole lot more easy when you go to your local store and find they have nothing but plain terra cotta or green plastic.

Getting LOST

I'm so glad that I got to watch the entire three hour season premier of LOST. Woohoo! I'm am SO stoked about the rest of the season! Of course, I got my Sawyer fix too. *phew* is he hot or what?! The whole thing was so awesome. They did a great job of answering some questions and making everyone still want more. I'm so glad that I don't look for spoilier types of things because of how anxious I was all these months. I came really close though and could have ruined the great surprise. I am looking forward to renting all of the seasons and having our own family LOST party. I miss sitiing down and watching a bunch of movies with a big supply of popcorn and snacks. We actually have more than one series of shows we want to catch up on so this is going to be a lot of fun. ;o)

Work at Home

Working from home has more than likely had a huge surge since the economy has fallen apart. There are many ways to make money online and I'm sure Google is getting a work out. I would say that the best places to look for leads is going to forums and sites that may look promising. However, you have to remember to research the company that you are interested in and it is really helpful to get a few opinions from others with experience with them also.

I know first hand how difficult it is to make money from home. I had been looking for years for the right job(s) for me. Unless you are lucky enough to get a telecommuting position as an employee with a company, you more than likely will be doing some sort of freelancing. In this case, my advice on checking sites and forums stands strongly. Make sure you research the companies and ask questions to others and even the companies if necessary. Be careful who you give your information out to and of course, NEVER pay for a "position". There are lots of people looking to take advantage of others and fees are never needed to gain work of any kind. Depending on your own situation you should be able to assess the right "job" for you. It takes quite a bit of work but it surely isn't impossible to make money online.

Diet Crazy

Why is it that almost all women (including myself) will talk about dieting and exercise and then not do it? I know we're all busy trying to be superwoman but come on, are we sure it's not just plain laziness?

I'm reaching burn out again and one way that I end up raising my energy is by taking diet pills. The high levels of caffeine and stuff has always helped keep me going as long as I need to. I know, it doesn't sound good but hey, we do what we've gotta do. Work is finally picking up again so I've gotta get ready to go some how. ;-)

Rude People

I officially am a big loser. I've never been a person who's liked big crowds or ever wanted to have any attention focused one me for a good reason...no one ever seems to care anyway. Sometimes it amazes me how insignificant I can be to so many people. I guess it started with my family and kind of just worked it's way out.

I had joined a community a while back and just really started talking to people on there. Yeah, well...so I thought. One person was SO nice to me and offered to send me some sample stuff. Okay, I was SO not expecting to actually get it and assumed that it was just some crap they decided to say. I talked about ordering some stuff from them since I liked some of their styles...that is SO not happening now. This person not only will not respond to my order questions, they won't even answer me when I say something in response to them. One day I'm sure I'll name that person but for now...talk about ruining my day. What a you-know-what!

The Printing Press

A while back I was thinking about starting a home business making all sorts of advertising stuff. I looked into buying all of the equipment but found how incredibly expensive it all really is. A bunch of people I had talked to about it made it sound so easy, just get a printer that uses a certain ink (which I already have) and I could print T-shirts and tote bags (and the press of course). Get a bunch of vinyl and I could make signs for cars and other things. Yeah, which also includes the cost of the gigantic cutter and other stuff. No thanks.

I knew that my product would never be as good as professional stuff since I've never had any decent training or anything. It would have been fun though. There is countless opportunity in that business making decals and banners. The one thing that would get me is making posters. For some reason I have problems with anything big like that. I guess it's because I know my mistakes would stand out more. LOL!

Get Going

So...I haven't been keeping with my "promises" of the daily things that I would keep up with. I am kind of disappointed in myself but I know it's for all good reasons. One of the things that I said I would do would be to get on my mill and walk for at least half an hour a day. That certainly hasn't happened even once and that was the one thing that I really had my mind set on doing. Actually, I think one of the reasons that it hasn't happened is because I hat the one I have like crazy. I've really been wanting a new one and keep eying the treadmills in advertisements. Mine is a cheap manual one which I got thinking that manual may be better than automatic as it would make me move it and not another power source. Well, it doesn't really matter since when I moved it last I broke one little piece that controls the meter thingy which monitors how far you've gone. Without having that I hate the thing even more. It's certainly time for a new one!

One More Day

Tomorrow is the big day and I'm sure I'm not the only person talking about it. Millions have fled to D.C. to witness the historic event. Boy, I wish I was one of them. I am SO excited about the inauguration that I'll probably be jumping all over in anticipation.

This whole thing really does give me a whole new sense of hope, as if we are going to get one last fighting chance after such a ridiculous last eight years. Even more excitingly is that I will have this to look back on as my account of it. I do feel change and renewal coming. I just know that things are finally going to get better!

Feel the Breeze?

It's been SO cold in our house. Like many other people, we are always nervous about turning the heat up too high unless we absolutely need to. One thing that is keeping our room so cool is our change in window coverings. We used to have those light blocking shades that were cut wrong and ended up having to be pushed into the window. I'm sure this helped a lot to keep the drafts out. The irony is that we got new windows a little over a year ago and that was supposed to help with the drafts but apparently it didn't. Now for treatments we have some really nice wooden Discount Blinds that we picked up but the draft comes through still. I guess we won't be hiring the window company that did our windows again. LOL

Euro Travels

When my friend was like 18, her dad took her to Europe to see different things since they couldn't afford the whole travel package that so many parents spoil their kids with. It was a really good bonding trip for them since he is Dutch and he was able to show her all kinds of places around where he grew up. Of course they did find cheap hotels in Amsterdam to stay in because he and his family don't quite get along. Her boyfriend at the time was supposed to go with them too but she didn't want to tell him that she wanted it to only be her and her father.

This was quite upsetting to him after he had picked out, what he thought, was a great hotel in Amsterdam. He was really looking forward to the trip for obvious teenage reasons. I'm really sure she wanted her boyfriend to be there getting drunk, looking at girls, and smoking with her dad there too. That will definitely make an impression. LOL! He ended up going later with a friend and they stayed in a really cheap Amsterdam hotel. Good thing they found a site to compare prices and get ratings from. Otherwise they would have ended up in some sort of icky place for what they could afford. So much for the luxury pad he was thinking of. LOL!!!

Help Me Cure Insomnia!

OMG...I have had THE worst insomnia lately. I'm SOOOOO tired! I think it's a combination of PMS, stress, and more stress. I will get incredibly tired and be able to pass out but then 2-3 hours later I'm up and not able to go back to sleep! Talk about frustrating!

I have all sorts of approaches to insomnia, the devil of any sleep disorder there is, but I can't seem to knock this one down. Normally I would get up, get a drink, and get back in bed when it had cooled off a bit from my body heat. Now for some reason I can't seem to get back in bed comfortably. On top of all the trouble just getting to sleep, I've been having freakish nightmares too! I'm not eating before bed so I know that's not it. It has to be stress. Now if I could only find a way to cope with stress. That's a whole other post. ;o)

Get Out of It!

I'm SO tired of my credit cards and their fluctuating interest rates. I have been super good and cut my cars down to two...I used to have tons. I finally paid off a few and consolidated a couple into a low interest rate credit card. I still have balances on them and can't wait to get them paid off. At least when I did that there was a balance transfer no fee deal that I used. Otherwise I would have had fees out my ears.

At least these things are much easier to find online. I remember when I was trying to get my first credit card. There was no internet like there is now and I had to rely on advertisements and the newspaper to find a deal. OMG, how old does that sound?! LMAO!!! But now you can just get on the computer and go to a site like comparecards.com and others that have an entire list of credit cards, information about each of them and applications all in one. That's SO much better than hoping you got the best deal since you could only compare so many ads on paper at once.

The Blob

Here's another thing that's crappy about being at home...being fat! I'm SO tired of it. I used to be up running around each and every day. Now I just sit here on my butt not moving at all. Even worse, I'm not at all regimented with trying to get myself on the treadmill or moving so I just keep getting fatter. I've been looking for the best weight loss pills but everyone seems to say the same thing of course...they don't work. Well, pfft. They will for me dang it. I'm just going to have to set my mind to getting off my lazy bum so they will.

I'm Not Home!

I think I've turned into some kind of hermit. I never could stand people but now it's even worse. Maybe that's a drawback from working at home. I never want to be bothered with any kind of crap. Believe it or not, I used to have friends and some kind of social life but now...nothing. I can't even get off my rump to go the the damn store when we're out of something. It will take me like 3 hours just to get into the stupid car. It's pretty pathetic. Now I can't stand anything. God, how old am I?! This seriously cannot be healthy. LOL!

A New Tomorrow

Have you noticed that almost everything is becoming automated now a days? It's really starting to be pretty crazy. You can find just about everything you want online now and it's pretty amazing that people are even needed for phones sometimes. I mean, you can get travel stuff, products, food, just and just about any service like car insurance online. If things keep going like this, what are people going to do besides fix the systems? Even that's being outsourced!

MIA

You know, sometimes I really need to just gt away and disappear. I'm feeling like that today. Working form home gets SO stressful because there really isn't ever any kind of separation between home, family, and work. It is kind of hard to explain unless you do it and I certainly didn't understand it before I started doing it. Now I'm totally overwhelmed and just want to be left alone. I keep forgetting to have "me" time and just relax for myself. Always "playing" a role is wearing on me. What would be nice would be a trip to Outer Banks where I could just relax and do absolutely nothing. Did I mention going ALONE? LMAO!

Olive Garden Tiramisu

(sorry for the grainy pic!)

One of my favorite things to make is tiramisu. I LOVE this Italian dessert and found it one of the best things to make for a family gathering. We have tons of people in my family and I normally make a good sized pan. It's great because I can just let them scoop it out on their own. Nothing fancy and not much work on my part. ;o) I thought I'd give out the recipe I use since it's SO good and tastes just like the tiramisu at Olive Garden (not the actual recipe). Yum!

*Note: This is the recipe I use so it makes quite a bit. You can cut this tiramisu recipe in half if needed.

Ingrediants:

• 24oz Marscarpone cheese
• 8oz Cream cheese
• 5 packets Dream Whip
• 1 1/2-2 cups Milk
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 1/4 envelopes Unflavored gelatin
• 2 tablespoons Instant Espresso
• 1 1/2-2 cups Water
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons Kahlua liqueur (optional)
• 3 trays Ladyfingers (the softer ones not the rock hard ones)
• Cocoa powder
• Chocolate shavings or curls

Directions:

To make the filling of the tiramisu, take 3 tablespoons of the milk and combine with the gelatin. Let sit for 5-10 minutes then microwave at half power for 2 minutes until the gelatin dissolves. Stir and place aside until cool, about 15 minutes.

Take the remaining amount of milk and pour into a large mixing bowl. Add the Dream Whip mix and beat with a mixer until it is light and fluffy. In a separate bowl beat together the Marscapone, cream cheese, and sugar with the gelatin mixture until combined. Go back to the Dream Whip bowl and add about a third of this cheese mixture at a time into it while beating to

For the cake part of the tiramisu, pour the water into a small heat resistant bowl and heat the water for about a minute in the microwave and add the espresso powder, 2 tablespoons of sugar, and Kahlua until they all dissolve. Let this cool or place the cup in an ice bath to cool it more quickly.

For ease of clean up, cover a baking sheet with foil. Separate the lady fingers and line them on the pan spacing them enough so that you can pick them up. When the espresso mixture is cooled, use a pastry brush and brush the liquid onto each lady finger. Then flip each lady finger over and brush with the espresso again. Don't over do it on either side making them soggy or you won't be able to pick them up and you will have a mushy, liquidy tiramisu. A light tanish brown color will do, not a dark brown.

To assemble your tiramisu, line the bottom of the pan with the soaked lady fingers leaving about half an inch or so in between them. Spoon on some of the cheese mixture just enough to cover about a quarter of an inch over the top of the cake. Smooth with an offset spatula. Layer with the lady fingers going in the opposite direction as you did the first layer. Top again with the cheese mixture and smooth. If doing the whole of this recipe you should have enough to make one more layer. Dust with the cocoa powder using a sieve.

Place your tiramisu in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours. Overnight is best for it to firm up. When you are ready to serve you can cut your tiramisu into squares or garnish with the chocolate curls and serve out of the pan (which is much easier in my opinion).

Where You At?

So, I have a question for you...if you felt like your spouse was cheating on you, would you track them using a GPS tracking system? I know like this might be a silly question but I'm sure there are a lot of people that would go that far. There is a TV show called "Cheaters" and they monitor and follow the suspected cheater using all kinds of devices and people who follow these people around. Of course they don't show anyone who turns out NOT to be cheating since they would want all and any dirt they could get. I wonder if they ever use a GPS tracking system on them. Technically they couldn't unless that person was using the other's vehicle...

Well, anyway...I could only imagine the desperation a person might feel if they didn't have any resources to find out. I wonder where they would put one. Can you get a GPS tracking thing small enough to go in a shoe? LOL Maybe they would stick one under the person's car like on a TV show. I mean, people can get pretty darn crazy when it comes to something like this. They go and confront the other person at work and sometimes plan out the whole convorsation before they even talk to them. I''m sure this isn't that far off and we'll end up hearing more about this in the years to come.

Get the Picture

Okay, did any of you know that in other countries, like England, when they switched to a digital broadcast signal any equipment they needed to upgrade was FREE? Yup, free. So why is it that we Americans have to go out and find ourselves that damn coupon and run around trying to find the best converter box? So yeah, the government coupon is $40 bucks off. Woo Hoo. The boxes aren't so cheap that we can get them for free and then we still need a damn antenna to get more than 5 channels that aren't all foreign languages. I think this is a load of crap and another example of the ties between the government and the big companies. Damn greedy Americans. And yes, I was thinking about this last night when I was trying to hook up one of these boxes that my parents insisted on buying to no avail. No it's not that hard we just have really old stuff. LOL Thank god I have the skills to do it since DH hasn't got a clue. He can't tell a laptop from a Rackmount monitor.

I'm getting so fed up with the crap that this "free" country does. I mean, no health care for all and if you need it you're outta luck. Yeah there are things in place but if you've ever needed it, good luck tryin to get it and in the end, you're still gonna end up owing the feds your estate once you die. I'm sure many people never even read that fine print. It's funny how a country founded upon freedom of religion turned out to be such a crock. Religion is in everything, taxes are rampid, and people aren't being taken care of by the stupid officials that we elecet because of their closed door greed. Everyone's just in it for the money. Now with all this crap who suffers? The people that trusted the jerks, that's who. Ugh, I can't talk about this anymore but you get the picture.

Rise and Shine

I have NEVER been a morning person my entire life and have found it a painful reminder sometimes that this is reality but this morning I tend to feel different. Sure I hardly got any sleep, and normally I'd be kicking and screaming that I wanted to stay asleep but I'm actually okay today. I feel like it is going to be a good day...which can be quite rare although I do admit that I am on my way to lying down again. LMAO

Hmmm...I thought I should write down my goals for today to kind of engrave them into my head but I can't really decide on what I want to accomplish today. I try to be as realistic as I can as not to disappoint myself if I end up missing something. One of my friends keeps trying to get me to put down more but then I'll get all pissed off and end up not focusing on what it is that I DID do but what I didn't. It's all about energy and this year I am not going to make myself negative. Sure I'll still be sarcasitc and off in my own ways but I really don't want to set myself up for failure. Well yeah, I don't think that any of us do but I'm making the concious effort not to self destruct. LOL

Clear Me Up Here

Since I was a teen I've had THE worst trouble with acne. It's painful and embarrassing. Sometimes it can get so bad that I would rather just cut it off than have to wait for it to go away. The worst is that there really is no way to hide it. No matter what you do to your face it's always still there until it's gone and once that happens, in no time I've flared up again. I tell you I can't win.

I used to use these sticker type of dots that would have them down and gone in no time. They were one of the most fantastic products I have ever used. Of course, such a good thing had to end. The company discontinued them and I could ever have my miracle dots again. I even wrote the company begging them to bring them back. LOL Guess I was the only one. Soon their competitor had stopped their version as well. Now I was really screwed. I tried Pro-active but I must be one of those few in the 10% that it doesn't really work for. Then I heard about Acne Complex. I saw it, like everything else on late night TV and since it had to do with acne I had to watch. The commercial was for the Murad Acne line of products. I hadn't heard about them before this but I had to try it. It was fantastic. The cleanser is my favorite product and if nothing else, that alone will help clear the skin. My favorite part about using it is that after you wash, it feels like a spa for your face. There must be some menthol or something in there and well, it's hard to describe but your skin feels like a breath of fresh air really. I know, I sound really cheesey but it's the truth. I just saw that the price dropped on their kit and I'm out so I know what I will be buying next. No joke, this stuff is great! Trust me.

Pearly Whites

I was looking at my smile the other day and I really need some work done. It's not all that bad but I'd love to have whitening and some other stuff done. When I was little I had braces and they really didn't work the way they were supposed to. By the time I had them off my teeth were only almost straight and one of my teeth was broken. This stupid girl was scraping off the cement from the tooth that the bracket wouldn't stick to and she wasn't paying attention at all. I tried to tell her and she basically told me to shut up...or "stop your whining it doesn't hurt". Yeah, she was not right at all. So the idiot broke off the end of my tooth, my gums bruised and turned black and blue, and I forever have to have it re-bonded as I age.

I've been thinking a lot about fixing my teeth since cosmetic dentistry has come a long way since then. As all those make over shows on TV really must have helped out dental veneers a lot. Almost every person got them as part of their make over. I was thinking about getting those instead of trying to go through more braces or something but I wasn't keen on having my teeth shaved down... if the veneer ended up coming off somehow then it would be really painful. But I heard about this new procedure where you don't have to shave your teeth down at all and the veneers are the thickness of a contact lens. Talk about amazing!

Howz It?

Yeha we speak a bit of pigeon english here sometimes. LOL So I hope that the year is beginning well for everyone. Here it's slowly coming along. Although it seems to be passing rather quickly.

Tomorrow is dd's birthday. I can't believe that she's growing up so quickly. It seems like only yesterday I was giving birth to her. God, what an event that was. I misshaving a tiny baby to hold and care for especially since she is such a wild child now.

I haven't quite been keeping with my goals but I'm sure I will settle down and do them soon. I went shopping unexpectedly yesterday and got myslef some new jeans seeing as how I only have one pair and there's holes in them. I was happy to find that I needed a smaller size so maybe there's a hint of good fortune being thrown my way. LOL

An Optimistic Year!

So I hope that you all had a very happy new year's. It was a very welcome change in this house I tell you. We are SO ready to just throw out the last of last year like the plague. And so it has gone. I rang in this new year semi quietly, DH slept as DD screamed, and DS tried to get a grip. Okay, I guess it wasn't THAT quiet LOL.

So I have decided not to make resolutions this year since I never follow them but to hold expectations of myself so that the only disappointment that would come would hold me accountable for those actions. So far it's been okay, I haven't done everything that I wanted to do everyday but I have been more accepting of the trade offs that I have made.

One thing I know that I want to do this year is to get my own website going and hopefully end up with a pretty good store. I am actually very excited about this new project although I haven't had that much time to do anything with it. The thing that concerns me is getting the right web hosting for it. I have used a couple of companies in the past that really weren't too good at all and not at all user friendly. I have come across some web hosting articles that I know should be really helpful...once I can actually get to read them. Since some time has passed since then I know that there are a ton of web hosting tutorials out there now too. I have also found that a lot of web sites are being more honest about their web hosting directories and not only providing information based on getting paid to advertise them so that is helpful too. I think this will end up being a whole lot easier than I except it to be and can't wait to get started.