It’s kind of weird that I went from talking about Christmas to Halloween but I just came across a really cool site that’s in full dedication to Halloween. They’ve got everything from Halloween costumes to decorations. I found a “Dog, The Bounty Hunter” costume and almost fell out of my chair laughing because it’s one of the same outfits that you’d see Beth wearing. It’s even got the big puffy curly white hair to go with it, I thought it was pretty cool haha. They kind of remind me of a Party City kind of store. I know they’re primarily just for Halloween based items, and that’s fine. The store I’m used to going to has nothing but Halloween decor but things are changed out seasonally for Christmas. All in all they seem like a fairly interesting resource.
Author Archive
Pick a holiday already, will you?
Wednesday, July 25th, 2007I think we just bought a Wii
Wednesday, July 25th, 2007I know it’s a little early to even bring it up but I also know that stores already have their Christmas items out so to me it would make sense to start thinking about what I’m doing this year. I know, from the get go, that Sean and I are just going to pool our money together and buy each other a gift for Christmas. We’ve wanted a Wii for quite some time now and now that we’re doing pretty well with money we’ve decided to just put up about $250 each and buy either a bundle or just the console and a few extras to go with it. That’ll cover our gifts to each other considering we both actually want the product we’re hoping to get.
Now, naturally we’re not going to have the ability to find one for Christmas but we may wind up buying it earlier than Christmas and just calling it a day. Right now he’s surfing around eBay to see what he can come up with and there’s a bid that’s currently at like $200 with $30 shipping that ends in about 29 minutes. However, this doesn’t mean that there won’t be a bid war in the next half hour either. So our thinking we can handle $250 will now turn into a $500 purchase, it’d be cheaper just to buy the Wii Bundle that Wal-Mart is offering.
We’re more than likely going to upgrade the television in the living room, this could mean either buying a larger one for Karen this Christmas OR getting it earlier on and again, just calling it a day. Right now the TV in the living room is probably 21″ and for multiple people playing on the Wii we’re going to have to upgrade. The TV that I got for free for my dad is 27″ and retails at around $300 so I know that it’ll be easy to find a nice one without an overly-expensive price tag. Karen has trouble seeing anything on an LCD screen so we’re going to keep the tube aspect, just a flat screened front for better viewing. I figure finding something in the 27″ to 32″ range should be more than suitable. I found a few on Sears that looked pretty good. There was a 30″ wide screen for like $549, that’s a current sale though but I know they really drop prices around November.
Sean is punching some numbers and wants to get one from an eBay seller that has the buy now, I’ve just heard of people purchasing consoles and only getting the box because they didn’t fully read the description. He did find one from a game store somewhere in the mid-west with 100% positive reviews out of the 600 some-odd transactions that feedback was left for so I think we may actually wind up purchasing it now, I’m sure I’ll have more feedback on this in a little while.
Moving back to NY?
Wednesday, July 25th, 2007Anyone who’s ever lived in New York knows how expensive it can be just to survive. If you’re someone who rents then you more than likely won’t get very far ahead on your bills and if you’re someone who owns their own home, unless it was passed down to you through generations you’re still going to drop a pretty penny on a regular basis.
I grew up in Glen Cove, while I’ll admit that getting out of there was the best possible thing for me, there are sections of the town that are absolutely gorgeous. Naturally, in order to live there you’re going to need to bring in at least $300,000 a year in the process.
Today I came across a resource in regards to Roslyn NY real estate. While I haven’t ever lived in Roslyn it’s only about 10 minutes away from my previous residence in Glen Cove. There are sections that are completely horrible, but for the most part it’s fairly gorgeous housing as well. Again, there are ritzy areas of Long Island and then there are what one would expect to see when they go to New York – slums.
So since Sean and I are working on buying our own home, I’ve naturally looked into where I’d feel the most comfortable. Unfortunately we don’t make enough combined income to be able to afford a mortgage up in New York therefor we’re going to remain outside of the Tri-State Area and either continue on our search here in Delaware, possibly move to Maryland or head out to Ohio, something I’m not too keen on but he’s persistent in trying to convince me to get out there.
Things are finally starting to move!
Wednesday, July 25th, 2007I’m not sure if anyone else heard about this yesterday but some drunken loony out in Cali decided to destroy a couple servers at a major data center that houses big-name sites/companies like Technorati, Six Apart, Netflix and CraigsList. This was before the huge power outage that they suffered as well so the last I heard there were a mob of people standing outside the building being very pissed off about the ‘breach of contract’ going on with the down time, guess they didn’t notice there wasn’t any power either – hm? I found the actual story itself on slashdot, a direct link to the article can be found here. I’m sure you’ll find some aspects of it both amusing and quite annoying – I know I did.
There were notifications up on a few of the sites that were experiencing downtime. I believe that Alexa (while it may not have been in this particular building) is also based out of SF and I know for a fact that they experienced some down time as well. This is why my site has been lagging for the last few days. And to think, I thought it was blogrolling being mean to me again (hrm…maybe they’re hosted on a server there too?).
My August theme is about 80% completed, I absolutely hate this blue monstrosity that I’ve got sitting up here and I made it a point to sit down and work on it this evening. It’s about 9am and I’m still awake. The template didn’t keep me up though, my eyes are crossing too much to even continue to move forward with it, it’s the fact that dinner was started at 5am (sauce needs to brew all day) and now I just have to give some things a quick stir before my head can hit the pillow.
I have a lot of work to do today, quite a few emails to get back to, and I need to make a phonecall to a dealership up in Jersey because we misplaced the ID number for our Sirius Satellite radio and now since I’m going to reactivate it for both car AND home use – obviously I’m going to need that number.
Long day, not enough hours – I’ll tell ya!
Total Body TransFIRMation System
Wednesday, July 25th, 2007As some of you may, or may not, know – I’ve been working very hard since April to drop the weight I’ve put on since high school. Now, I admit that I was always a larger girl but when I lost my daily activity and was only really going to work and standing at a register, I wasn’t getting enough exercise to really maintain what I was in school. Now that I’m working from home and don’t really leave the office unless it’s for the sake of doing things around the house, I found myself putting on even more unwanted weight. When I moved down here in January I was about 240. By April I’d shot up to 260. Now after a few months of working on it I’m back down in the 240 range and hopefully I’ll be able to reach my goal of 180 over the course of the next year – if that.
I’ve searched the net for many different forms of weight loss. From pills and food combinations that just don’t work to weight loss videos that don’t motivate me to do much of anything. Today I came across a website named getfirmtoday.com, which is the Total Body TransFIRMation System. I did some searching around their website and came to find that women have lost over 100 pounds on this system and considering it’s my goal to lose 80 (in total) I continued looking into more information with this system.
The FIRM CardioWeight System claims to work because it combines fat-burning cardio and body-sculpting weights to burn up to three times more fat than aerobics alone. They claim that this exercise will melt the fat and reshape your body for results that you can see in 10 work outs or less. The thing for me is, all weight-loss plans will work in the first 10 workouts, that’s why I don’t typically buy into slogans like that. Anyone who’s done their research should know that you’re going to lose weight just by getting off your butt. Anyone who hasn’t worked out in years, maybe even months, is going to see results within 10 work outs because your body has now been jump started. The problem is after those 10 workouts where your body starts to slow down when it comes to reprocessing how it works, then the weight naturally will come off slower than it did previously. In theory, all weight-loss systems work, it’s the amount of time that they work for you that’s the kicker.
The FIRM CardioWeight System is a series of total body workouts that combine cardio with weight training to sculpt your muscles and tone your body. By using the adjustable CardioWeight‚Ñ¢ hand weights, you gradually increase resistance as you become stronger and leaner. They also say that with this program you will be more confident in yourself as well. Their system includes a few DVD’s. The first is CardioWeight, followed by Cardio Overdrive, Hard Core Fusion, Hi-Def Sculpt and a bonus Cardio Party DVD.
Looking further into their program I came across one of their videos.
I know that an important aspect to losing weight is keeping your body active. For now until I’ve lost a bit more and there is less strain on my back, naturally I’ll continue with my daily walks around the complex. After I drop a few more pounds and am more comfortable with working out on a much higher level, I think I may consider getting involved with Total Body TransFIRMation System.
I’ve finally made my decision.
Wednesday, July 25th, 2007So after finally getting a chance to talk to Adam, I’m confident that I’m making a good decision about school. I’ve decided upon Westwood Online. In total it’s probably going to run me in the $60,000 range but at the same time (after talking to Sean and working with his knowledge of financial aid and grants) I’m also confident that financial aid and grants offered through the school and other outside resources that I’ve been provided with will more than likely cover about half of the full tuition. So instead of hoping to get a $65,000 loan (I’m factoring in supplies here) I’ll only have to look into about $25,000-$30,000 which isn’t as bad as I originally thought it was.
I did some playing around with numbers and noticed that if I keep on the path I’m on, I’ll be bringing in about $45,000 a year and that’s just good enough for me. If I put the bulk of it into savings I should have the loan paid off before I even graduate and then I don’t have to worry about an excess interest payments.
I was considering taking the Web Design & Multimedia course but after talking to Sean I’m not too sure because he told me about how his step mother made some pretty decent money working only 4 hours a day at $80 an hour doing graphics design. Westwood also offers a Graphics Design & Multimedia course.
Adam explained to me that even with his Bachelors I still know more about actual web design than he does. After a quick look at the over-view of the course I found out that it’s all basic introduction based courses and there really is nothing new that I’ll be learning through that course. So now I believe I’m just going to go straight for the graphics design course. It’s all still in the same price range and I’ll be able to utilize the upcoming iMac purchase I’ll be making.
I’ve been talking quite a bit about that on AGn Designs lately but I’ve decided to take about $1600 and get a 20″ iMac that’s fully loaded, to my specifications naturally. I don’t have to worry about any excess crap. But I could also take the route of taking out a loan for school and take $3,000 of that and throw some major components into the larger 24″ iMac that, as of right now, is base-priced in the $2,000 range.
So here’s where I ask you to help me out. Should I wait for the loan or should I just get it now?
New Resource: Thoof
Wednesday, July 25th, 2007 I came across a new site tonight named Thoof, it’s kind of a personalized news based website where you can submit articles you’ve written and are proud enough of them to want to share with a larger audience, it’s more than likely a great way for someone to pick up some hits as well.
I signed up and submitted a post I recently made about Bella, I’m sure I could have found something better but going through all of my archives can be a pain sometimes, especially considering Alexa and Technorati were down today and really putting a damper on my loading time. But anyway… back to the site.
It was pretty easy to submit my post once I was all logged in. You just copy the title and the URL into the required field, write up a very quick 300character description and then go from there. I found it pretty easy to use, maybe I’ll keep up with it and submit a few more articles from other domains. I’ve been writing a lot lately about technology and business on AGN Designs so I’m sure there’s an article in there that someone will find interesting. Most of it at the moment is iPod and even iPhone based so naturally there should be some interest there considering all of the hype surrounding these Apple products – right?
Either way, you should consider checking them out. Maybe you’ll find something cool as well.
What’s with all the boozers?
Tuesday, July 24th, 2007I logged into Myspace for the first time in a few weeks and I noticed quite a few friend requests from people I used to go to school with, or have just known over the years and lost touch with. The one running theme for maybe 8/10 of them were pictures of then being close to completely drunk and acting rather slutty in the process.
What is it about turning 21 and falling down-hill to a state of being a complete whore? One of them needs to admit she actually is a lesbian, I hate people who spend their lives in a closet and don’t actually admit to who they truly are. Another one is so wasted in about 100% of her pictures that she’s close to being completely unrecognizable and frankly, if no one wanted to see your chest back in high school – what makes it so different now?
Jesus!
Maybe we’ll rent…
Tuesday, July 24th, 2007 While Sean and I have been considering purchasing our own home for quite some time now, we’ve also looked into houses for rent in the area as well. In the long run it may actually be cheaper for the time being but this doesn’t discount the fact that we’d like our own chunk of land to own in the process – you know?
We’ve been doing some poking around rentals.com and even though real estate is hot in the area at the moment, this doesn’t mean we’re going to be leaving during the summer season either. There’s currently homes for rent in the area that are about $500 a month which is a big discount from the $2500 a month apartment I was living in, in New York. We’d have to pay our own utilities and what not but at least we’d be in a home instead of worrying about apartment living and all the dumb rules and regulations that go with it.
I personally think we should just pool our income and get a home in the complex, but that’s based on whether or not we’re looking to spend about $50,000 on a house and then $1,000 a month in the bills. Either way we’d be spending about $1,000 a month on bills it’s just the question of dropping the big cash on the house itself…heh.
What would you suggest?
New Resource: WebCockPit
Tuesday, July 24th, 2007I found something pretty cool today it’s called WebCockpit 1.0. It’s a pretty large article in regards to how the 1% of the worlds richest people get more done by working less and less hard at the same time. They consider it to be a simple brain hack that allows you to accomplish 300% more work in the same amount of time. Figure you work for 8 hours a day and still feel as though you accomplish nothing. This article, and free site, teach you how to triple your daily accomplishments in 8 hours, and maybe even less.
When you sign up for a free account you’re sent to a page that houses the quick hacks. The first one states that we burn over 10% of our available ‘fuel’ every day just digesting our food. If you chew every bit of food 30 times before swallowing you use less energy – which gives you more towards accomplishing your daily work efforts.
Another hack is in regards to the water myth of drinking 8 glasses a day. It’s actually a wives tail or to be more blunt, it’s a well established urban legend. There’s no scientific support behind the popular 8-glasses-a-day theory. None of the scientists at the American Journal of Physiology state that we don’t actually NEED water, because naturally you need water in order to survive, but as far as 8 glasses a day, it’s truly not helping anyones health.
While you do not need 8 glasses a day, drinking water regularly throughout the day is important. Because most of us are chronically dehydrated – this then causes fatique and it then effects your overall performance. Many people who simply take up the habit of drinking a glass or even half a glass every hour notice that their energy levels skyrocket.
Dehydration making you tired? Dizziness, Chronic Fatigue, Impotance, Hair Loss, Headaches, Low Back Pain, Constipation and more are all linked to dehydration (Resource: Merck Manual of Health).
I found this article to be quite interesting, I think you should check it out. Note that from the get-go you’re only given two of these and you do have to pay in order to gain access to the rest but knowing that you’re going to learn quite a bit, I’d say it’s worth the money.
New Resource: BBWRomance
Tuesday, July 24th, 2007 I know I’ve been speaking about dating quite a bit lately but trust me, I’m very happy in my relationship. I will say that for those looking for a relationship, I’ve found a great resource for you. I know that a few of my visitors are larger women and of that percentage I know a few of you are still single. Today I came across a website specifically for bbw singles.
Like other sites that I’ve listed it is completely free for you to sign up to. You create a profile, list your picture and then fill out general information about yourself and the rest goes from there. I know a few people who have spent a lot of times at local BBW nights where larger women are the bells of the ball and men are falling all over them. I’m sure you’re reading this thinking “Eww” but seriously now, get a life. Big girls need love too you know?
Many men find larger women more attractive than the stick figures we’ve got walking around. Yes, I’ll be the first to admit that obesity in America is at an all time high but this doesn’t mean that a love of food and lack of exercise doesn’t mean a woman deserves a lack of love in return.
If you’re considered a BBW by any means and are looking to meet someone who loves you for YOU, all of you, then check out bbwromance.com
A quick note
Tuesday, July 24th, 2007Three emails have been sent to you in regards to your account issues. Two bills have been sent in regards to your past-due payments. It’s not my fault you haven’t received anything. Why don’t you try checking YOUR email.
Misinformed
Monday, July 23rd, 2007 I’m someone who’s pretty big on the environment so when I come across anything that’s going to disrupt it in any way shape or form I tend to pay close attention. Today I came across an article on the Chicago Tribune stating that BP oil refinery in Whiting Indiana is planning to dump significantly more ammonia and industrial sludge into Lake Michigan. This, in turn, would counter act the years of effort it’s taken to clean up the Great Lakes.
Now, there are a few articles in regards to this and BP is claiming that the public is being misinformed in this article. If you do some searching you’ll find a few other articles on the internet, one of which BP claims is a fair and factual article which I assume is based off BP Whiting Refinery Fact Sheet.
No matter what article you happen to read, however, you’re still being told that this company will be dumping chemicals of some form into the lake and there has been quite the uproar about it. I don’t limit myself to just a few articles, I walk around to other ones as well and the two I found on Google, one of which was a direct blog entry, went on to say that there’s no reason to dump anything into the lake and this company should consider taking their waste and using it for other things. Why make anyone surrounding this lake suffer because of their irresponsibility.
I say that this guy has a good point, but at the same time the actual news articles have their good points as well. BP claims that they’re well within legal limits, no harm is being caused to people or the environment, there will be more feul for the Midwest and jobs both now and in the future. So basically speaking, they’re going to need someone to dump these chemicals and they’ll pay you to do it. Sorry but that’s just how it sounds to me.
Not real purple!
Monday, July 23rd, 2007I got an email from someone asking me why I’d even consider dying my hair purple. It’s not completely purple. For many years I did blue black to cover up the gray and give my hair an interesting kind of twist. One light was a navy blue the other was black – see. This one just happens to be a deep purple instead of blue. It turned out really nice and I actually look younger now that I don’t have all of the gray sitting on the top of my head.
Trust me, I’m content!
Talk about UNIQUE!
Monday, July 23rd, 2007 Today I came across a company that offers everything from standard couches to home theater based setups. For a while now I’ve been talking about my dream home and everything I’d like to include. Knowing that from the get-go I’m not going to have any mouths to feed other than my fiance, I know we can spend some decent money here and there on things that we’ve both wanted for quite some time.
A kicker for me, naturally, is getting myself a pretty nice setup for when we have friends and family over. So of course the main concerns for me are the dining room, kitchen and living room being the setups of my dreams. Being as I’m turning into a movie buff and you can only lay on the couch for so long before it becomes annoying, I kind of want something different and what would be better than some kind of a home theater?
There’s a furniture store a few miles up the road that’s pretty big in Delaware, so big that people from Pennsylvania and Maryland even take the drive to shop there. They have three rooms setup with different theater seating based formats and I absolutely fell in love with one of them. It’s completely sound proof and loaded with surround sound capabilities. At the time there was a huge 40-something inch LCD screen playing some random movie that didn’t interest me but I do remember sitting in the chair and being able to feel every single rumble as though I’d just spent $10 on a movie ticket and was inside one of those larger theaters. Now, I know I’m never going to have enough money to get myself a screen as large as a movie theater but this doesn’t mean I won’t convert a basement into a major tourist attraction – heh.
Anyway, the site I found today has a pretty interesting store themselves. With parrots flying around, a play center for children and what Sean wound up drooling over was a 450″ television that is always playing in the background. They also have theater setups and what not but based on the parrot and the television alone – I’d seriously consider taking a trip down to Texas just to walk around this place.
A little late
Monday, July 23rd, 2007Even though our anniversary was on Saturday, tonight we’re actually going to celebrate with dinner and what not. Saturday would have been a bad night considering everyone is out and getting anywhere near a restaurant just isn’t possible. We figured on a Monday, even though it’s a summer vacation, it would be easier to get anywhere near some place. We’re more than likely going to The Olive Garden up in Salisbury.
It’s kind of strange though, even though it’s in the same price range as the restaurants we go to on a regular basis, we associate TOG with celebrations, something I’ve done for years now. My first time going there was with Joe, he took me on my birthday. Since then I’ve gone there on my birthday almost every year and now with Sean it’s an anniversary / birthday kind of a treat.
Does anyone else have a place that you associate with special occasions only?
