September 7th, 2009

We all know that my hubby and I run real close when it comes to making ends meet…and sometimes they just don’t meet. It’s not for a lack of trying, that’s for sure. A couple of months ago we talked about selling some of our old gold jewelry for cash. All we had to do was send it in and they’d send us the cash. How easy can that be? Very easy. So, my hubby got together a couple of necklaces that he hadn’t worn and a bracelet and I had some chains that were bent or broken. You know how some chains can kink and you can’t wear them anymore? That’s how a couple of mine were. We mailed them into the cash for gold and a few days later…cold hard cash in the mail!!!!! OMG…it was so easy! The best thing, I don’t miss the chains but used the cash…to make all our ends meet! Awesome deal! This is one of the chains I sent it…just isn’t “me” so I never wore it…but I turned it into cash!

August 24th, 2009

I’m ready! We’re moving in a couple of days and I’m ready to put all my photos up on the walls now! So excited! The mounts I’m using I’ve searched high and low for because all the walls are concrete and concrete nails just aren’t fun to deal with. We went today to get black picture frames only to find out they were out of stock but…I can use others. I’m going to arrange the pictures on the wall in a way that creates a larger photo and the mounts will help me keep the pictures sturdy but not ruin the walls. Both are my goals.

August 24th, 2009

My hubby’s laptop is driving him crazy! He needs a new battery and has shopped around for them only to find…they’re reallye expensive. He isn’t an online auction person but I always look at free online auctions for great prices and…price comparisons. I love to search the auction sites to see if I’m getting a good deal on products or not. I also look at them to find out if a product is still available or if the one I’m looking at someplace else is out of date and they’re selling it cheap because they think I don’t know. Thank goodness there’s the free online auctions sites…great guides!

August 24th, 2009

My hubby loves the pool and the sun. He’s excited about our new villa because he’ll have the pool and sun right in his own backyard! I know him, he’ll get up real early just to get his work done by 9am so he can be in the pool, in the sun with his ipod on. He’s been looking at new ipods but thinks the one he has still has a few legs left. Well, let’s hope his ipod doesn’t end up at the bottom of the pool when he falls asleep. He could sleep all night in a pool if the sun was on him…thank goodness the sun takes a break - it gives him a break from the pool ;-)

August 24th, 2009

A couple of years ago my hubby and I thought about setting up a coffee bar with some cool trinkets. Here I didn’t think we could get things that we’d be able to buy for the business, like barcode scanners, but - who knew - they have them everywhere! All the department stores have them and they do inventory just like we do in the US. It’s very cool to know that even in other countries, everything is being counted. But then, why is it cool since I’m not doing the counting? Because…if a clerk is scanning a product she can also look up the cost of a product that I can’t find - and - tell if they’re in stock. Oh joy!

August 24th, 2009

As long as I was in insurance and as much as I learned, my hubby gives the best annuity explanation of anyone I know. He was excellent in his field and although we both were in insurance at the same time we were in different fields of insurance. So, when it comes to advice, what I need help with - he helps and with what he needs help with - I help. Still, it’s very strange we never met being in the same field in the same town for so many years.

August 20th, 2009
I have a dear friend, “Sharon”, that’s mother works for Wal-Mart. She’s a wonderful and kind person that wouldn’t hurt a fly, so when she took the job as a store clerk a couple years ago I was a little concerned because of how I’ve heard Wal-Mart treats employees…which, to say the least, is not good.
“Sharon’s” mom has been pretty unhappy working at Walmart for a while.  None of us had any idea it was as bad as it was.  Her bosses dodn’t treat her well.  She told me about the time her blood sugar dropped; she usually keeps something on her, but this time her food was in her locker, and she knew she didn’t have time to get to it.  Next to her were crackers, so she grabbed a package and ate a couple.  She kept the uneaten crackers and was going to pay for them.  I don’t know if they saw her on camera, or what but very quickly she was being tattled on as stealing, and they wanted her fired.  It didn’t happen, but it was still a tough thing for her to go through.  Her mother doesn’t steal. This was understandable on both parts knowing that employees do steal but also that she needed somthing to keep her from fainting.
 
Anyway, I found out it’s way worse than this.  “Sharon’s” mom has 2 younger managers that call her stupid old white lady all the time (they are both black and she is white, if that matters). Is this reverse discrimination? Either way, it is uncalled for in this day and age. She’s been at a point now where she comes home from work, goes upstairs, sits on his bed and cries because of the verbal insults from her managers. 
A while back there was an issue at the house with a bee hive.  “Sharon’s” mom was stung like 15 times just before leaving for work.  She went to work anyway (something I’d never have done!) and soon after getting there, felt like she was going to pass out.  She wound up losing control of her bodily functions and falling to the floor.  Her managers told her she had to clean up her own mess first, then she could drive herself home … which she did. (OMG!!!)
 
It was about a week ago when “Sharon’s” mom started feeling ’sick’ at work. Because of the torment she’s received from her managers she said her shift. It was just a few hours later when she had a heart attack. She flat-lined 8 times within the next few hours. There is a happy ending to this story in that she was not expected to live, there was no brain activity and her family was asked to sign a DNR. They waited for “Sharon” to arrive from out-of-state.
The fact that employees do steal is one thing but the brow-beating/emotional/mental abuse that “Sharon’s” mom has taken from her managers is horrible. Can she report them?  From what I understand, employees live to regret reporting superiors…BAD WALMART!!!!!
If you have family or loved one’s that work at Walmart - GET THEM OUT OF THERE!
August 10th, 2009

As anyone who knows me knows…I love the show Two and A Half Men. I laugh and laugh and laugh. There’s one where Allen and Charlie talk about one of Allen’s dates and do colon cleanse reviews from Allen’s date. What a hoot. So far, we have the first 4 seasons and another season on it’s way. Yes, like children often do, I’ve watched each show at least 10 times. It’s so fun to watch or read something that makes you laugh from deep inside. It’s good for the soul too.

August 10th, 2009

Remember when we were teenagers and looking around for acne products, and there were so few to choose from? We had no idea how to choose or what to choose. Now, when we want to use medication or any product we can look it up on the Internet and do all the research we want. Today, with the typhoon in China I couldn’t think of what a typhoon really was. I’ve lived in areas that have hurricanes for quite a few years but never been where there’s a typhoon. Well, now I know why. A typhoon and hurricane are the same thing! The difference is the ocean where they occur. Isn’t that something? Learn something new everyday. Thank you Internet!

August 10th, 2009

Now that I’ve lost 30 pounds I’m wondering where I lost it…not where it went but where it came from? How to lose belly fat is a big one for women, and many men. My friend Jeanne also lost 30 pounds…which is so cool!!! For Jeanne and me - we’re both supporters of the smaller portion diet…eat what you want just eat smaller portions ;-) We get all the fun of enjoying our food yet don’t have to give any of it up. So far so good on us keeping it off for a few months now too. I still get on the scale almost everyday…just to be sure I’m not heading back up. Still, my shorts are good for telling me my weight as well.