What I got for Christmas

As usual I gave out more gifts than I got back, this Christmas. I remember several bye gone Christmases when I did without getting any gifts simply because I was unemployed and money was not available for any extras. Relatives were understanding and knew that we could not afford gifts for them. Several Christmases before my mother passed away she even gave us money so we could afford to buy gifts for everyone that year. It was several hard years of tight living before we could afford Christmas again. I wanted to repay my mother for all her generosity but she passed away before our economic outlook got better. If your mother has done something great for you and you get a chance to repay her get some gifts for your mom. They don't have to be things, they can be a wonderful day out or just time together.

What I will say is that by having those tight money Christmases, I don't mind just getting one or two gifts, even stocking stuffers. It really is the thought that counts.

Are you sick of winter yet?

The one good thing about winter is that it gives us plenty of time to think about spring. The best part about spring for me is planting a money saving vegetable garden. I want to add some fruit trees around my vegetable garden this coming spring too.

Since our neighbor cut down a lot of his trees that were on the property, we can now see most of his house and he in turn can see most of our property. We have lost our privacy bushes too. I would like to plant some trees to shield us from prying eyes. Flowering trees would make a great addition to the yard since we lack flowers in our landscape.

Yes, winter gives us lots of time to think.

Sick and tired of advertising

It has got to be that time of year when everything seems to be "sell, sell, sell." I cannot seem to get away from commercialism no matter where I go. On my way to work there are several billboards along the highway advertising everything from banks, restaurants and car lots to best weight gain supplements and RV's.

Then I go online and every page has an ad on it. This little blog actually has less advertising than most blogs (I must admit that the Google ads do pay well) and I try to keep it at a minimum. One place I don't like to visit is the Wonderwall that MSN seems to link all of their entertainment news to. It takes a long time to load the page and then it has several pop-up ads.

To make matters worse, I find out that Shell (the oil people) have been putting people into several key positions in government to keep oil areas open to them (in Africa). I have come to the conclusion that this world is run not by governments but the rich and greed few.

Getting sticker shock while shopping

Oh my gawd, those prices!!! I really can't believe how much some things cost when we have a 10% unemployment rate and about 60% or more percent of the population are still just earning just a hair above the poverty level in wages.

The latest news is that items (except food) that sell to mostly mid to low income level people are not selling, but items that are priced and marketed to the wealthy are selling like hot cakes. That only makes sense since the rich are the only ones with liquid cash right now. The rest of us are just making ends meet.

Let's ban credit checking for insurance

I can understand the use of using a credit check for getting loans and even conducting one on prospective renters but to use your credit score as a basis of setting your insurance rates is outrageous. Did you know that car insurance companies use your credit score more than your driving record to set what they charge you for car insurance? Yes they do. In fact if you have a perfect driving record but a rotten credit score then you will have very high insurance rates and some companies will refuse to cover you.

We need to ban together and lose the credit rating system for anything other than a line of credit. They also need to stop using people's social security numbers as a method of tracking. The social security number is strictly needed for payroll taxes for SS and collecting SS and that is it. It was never intended as an all inclusive form of ID.

Maybe this recession was the shake up that the current system needed. Things need to be corrected now.

Phrases and words that are odd

Don't you just love reading stuff online and then come away from the article not knowing what you have just read? Welcome to the illiterate web. I originally thought that it was the effect of having everyone with access to a blog and their willingness to write about anything irregardless of the fact that they could write or not. Well, apparently that is not the case. After visiting CNN.com over the past several months, I have noticed more and more typos, misspellings and general poor grammar on the part of the writers on there. That does not include the very poor research they do on their subjects. My guess is that CNN does not pay very well for writers, if at all. So my theory does not pan out at all.

That brings me to the fact of websites using words and phrases that I simply don't understand at all. I consider myself rather well educated and news savvy so when a new word or phase pops up online I tend to check it out.....maybe. For the longest time I did not know what "htc" was. I thought it was a medication for ED when I saw the phrase "htc desire" then I saw "htc sense" and thought I had better check it out since it did not sound like a medication at all. It turns out to be another darn cell phone!

So what do I think now? I think that some writers are now writing for the search engines only and forgot that people also read their musings online. It explains why some websites make no sense and are using words and phrases that are odd or not familiar to me. 

Be careful what you wish for, you might get it

Years ago I always dreamed of having one of those fancy, big, corner bath tubs with enough room to really soak in, in style. Just a few years ago when I was house shopping, I found a nice home that had a large master bathroom with one of those corner tubs. It lacked the whirpool jets and whirlpool faucets but it looked just like I dreamed it would be. Along with the other nice features in the house and the property, we bought it.

Not long after we moved in, I planned on having my first long luxurious bath. As I filled the tub, at about the half way full mark, I noticed that the water coming out of the tap was getting cold. I was now aware that the tub was too big for the hot water heater to fully fill it. My dream tub now sits in our master bathroom filled with exotic orchid plants....the only use that I could find for it. Later I happen to talk to the former owner and they confirmed that they too did not use the tub because the hot water heater was not large enough to fill it. I suppose if we ever replace the hot water heater I might install a larger one but I don't foresee that happening in the near future.

I can't believe that this Christmas will be a good one for us

This Christmas will be the 3rd one in 6 years that I will not have to worry about money. The last 2 holiday seasons were absolutely terrible. This one is looking great so far. All of my monthly bills have been paid for the month and I have a nice little nest egg that I can use for gifts this year. I think it is high time everyone got treated to something nice. There are a few close friends that I want to return favors to for being there when the going was tough.

I just got my weekly payment of over $300 for my blogging efforts and that will go towards some nice gifts. Thanks to those blogging companies and to Yahoo who also paid me this week almost $90 for my articles on AC. Now if I can only figure out how to write an article on hgh supplements for a client, I have it made for the week.

And to think that all that money is only part time work. It was easy once I made a goal to make $30 a day just writing for the internet. Now I have passed that goal.

Sad news for the unemployed

Of course you have heard that the federal government has allowed the unemployment extensions to expire. At the end of this month approximately 4 million people will run out of unemployment benefits. Like it or not, those benefits did boost the economy for retailers and the service industry. Of course those benefits typically went for essentials and not stuff like weight gain supplements, in fact why would people buy a GAIN supplement!!! Just over eat.

Now for my $2 dollars worth (inflation since the .02 cents) ....... our lame duck government should be all taken out and shot. Just because some of them have not been re-elected, they refuse to do anything. How about we just don't pay them for the rest of their term? Or cut off their benefits? They don't work.....we don't pay.