Vacarious Play

Something else they didn't have when I was a kid, or my kids were kids. When I was growing up the only kids of backyard play equipment we had were those metal pipe ugly things. When my kids were little that was our option too although they were bigger and better. As they got older, a little too old for backyard play equipment more options were available and I loved the looks of the wooden swing sets and play equipment. I found myself wishing I had young kids again just so I could have an excuse to buy some... well almost anyway. However, the great thing about grandkids (yep, now have those) is that I can buy these great toys and watch them play with it, even play on it with them in some cases, and not have to have the kids myself to do it!

Skin Problems

acne treatment is so much different now than when I was a teen. In fact it is so greatly improved now from when my own kids were teens that it is amazing. My son has adult acne although it is not as severe as his teenage acne was. He keeps it under control using a variety of products that are available over the counter that I think are even more powerful than the expensive prescription stuff we used to get when he was a teenager. It works better too. It seemed like he would never get rid of his problem and it caused him a great deal of stress as a young man. I'm glad he finally got it under control. I don't know how it hit him really. My daughter never got acne. Barely got a pimple. Pretty weird I know, it probably should have been the other way around. I know my husband had acne problems as a teen, but not as bad as my son. I had the normal kinds of acne, a pop up here and there, but not the extreme case my son had. He was the lucky straw I guess. He dealt with it, and deals with it still. It's nice to know they've made it so much easier for him though.

Giving The Holidays a Treat

With all of the holidays coming up after Halloween and the expanding family with grandkids and having to once again buy toys for the kids I think the adults in the family are going to be getting gift baskets. They make for really nice gifts that can be taylored to whatever they like best while making shopping much easier and faster.

I like receiving gift baskets too. One of my favorite gifts from a former employer was a coffee gift basket complete with 2 mugs and other additional coffee sides like chocolate and biscuits. They make great gifts for fellow workers and business associates.

Halloween Cometh

Can you believe it's almost October? Wow the year just zoomed by. It's time to start thinking about Halloween costumes already. When my kids got passed the teen years I thought I was done with those types of preparations but since my daughter can't sew, guess what? Yep, that's what grandmas are for. That's cool though. I love it.

I've made costumes ranging from 'Uncle Fester' for my son when he was in junior high (including shaving his head--yeah he really wanted to get 'in' the character) to the typical angels, demons, and cats. It's a little nicer now to just go out and buy most of the costumes. I can still be 'grandma' and get them their costumes that way and save myself the time sewing.

Perfect Shopping

I love the convenience of the Internet. I work online. I shop online. I buy everything from music to auto insurance online and if there were the option around here I'd buy groceries online. It is the best way to shop in my opinion and with things going the way they are with fuel prices I think even those people who have been holding out will come to see it as the best way to go.

Besides saving time and gas money it is also a smarter way to shop. With the auto insurance for instance you can shop around easier, get more information, and all without the pressure of a sales person just by going to websites.

The perfect shopping method. I can't imagine a better way to get the things I need.

The Car That Fits

When you are looking for a new car the first place most people look now is online. Sands Brothers Chrysler in Pennsylvania has a great website that will guide you through the car buying experience and give you a great sense of what you have available to you and the prices you can expect to pay.

There are great articles availble on the site to help you understand the buying process and you can search for cars by make/model/price/location and it is easy as a simple click. You can find out about auto loans, apply for a loan, even see what your current credit score is. There are forums and a blog to give you all the information you need to make an informed decision and talk to other car buyers about their experiences and desires.

Buying a car whether it is new or used is a big investment both in money and in personality. Our cars become a part of our lives and we not only expect them to match out individuality but be reliable and ready to serve us. Getting the best information before you buy is the best way to insure you will get the car of your dreams at the price that is fair and reasonable.

Emotional Pictures

I have a new carrying case now for when I travel. It will hold my 17" laptop computer, all its accessories, my Canon camera, and all the files and other things I need for working away from home. I use the camera a lot to get pictures of places to keep in my memory for locations in stories, or for examples in non-fiction. I like to just take pictures in general of the places like we all do too and I have seven scrapbooks bursting at the seems that regale travels and events over the past 10 years. You wouldn't think a simple stationary picture could evoke such emotional responses when you sit down to analyze it, but some things go way beyond any analytical thinking. They just move you. The memory is a powerful thing and pictures evoke those memories and jog the parts of your brain that hold precious feelings from events of the past. There have been times when my daughter would look through the books at pictures from her youth and be moved to tears or laughter at the memories they bring. For me as a writer words are a powerful source of emotion, but even I have to admit that pictures trump words a hundred fold. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and that saying is as true today as it was when it they were first uttered. I have volumes of 'words' in my scrapbooks and they are stronger than any library of books.

Save Your Money

I hate applying for life insurance. Any kind of insurance for that matter because you usually have to have a health exam. I'm not real fond of doctors, and even though I've always come away with a clean bill of health when I go for a checkup, I still dread what they 'might' say. It doesn't help that they charge a small fortune for a simple visit that may last 10 minutes. I had to go to the doctor last year for something that was worrying me. It turned out to be nothing. I was in the office for about 10 minutes talking to the doctor and being examined. Although I was actually there for almost an hour and a half, but that was MY time, I can't bill the doctor for how long it takes them to get in there and talk to me for 10 minutes can I? Which is a rip by the way. Anyway, that 10 minutes ended up costing $150.00 yes, $150.00. I had some tests done too but that was at the local hospital not the doctor's office, and that was an additional several hundred dollars... gesh. So you see, if I need more insurance of any kind including health insurance I want no exam life insurance policies. They are getting my money already, and I have no need to spend a ton of money for the priviledge of paying them more.