Happy Birthday, Cory!

19 years ago today - really early in the morning at 12:34am - we welcomed a baby boy into our lives.

It's hard to believe my baby is 19 years old.  How is that possible?  Time flies when you're having fun, I guess, and there's definitely been plenty of fun having Cory around!

Happy Birthday Cory, My Cory!  I love you, my favorite son!

- photo from his facebook profile in celebration of his birthday -

Extra Cash for Old Electronics

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of uSell for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

If you're anything like us, you've got some old electronics lying around - cell phones, MP3 players, digital cameras.  We have plenty of items we're not using anymore, but we never know what to do with them.  So they just sit around taking up space in our house and gathering dust.

Hopefully that's going to change.  I just found out about a site that helps you get Cash for Your Cell Phones and Electronics. Just enter the name of your device, model, or brand and then answer a few questions about the condition it's in to compare offers from top buyers.  If nobody is buying, they'll give you some suggestions for recycling or donating - so at least you get it out of the house and maybe even help someone in the process.
 
I entered one of our old cell phones, but I guess we've had it sitting around here too long, because no one wanted to buy it.  I'm thinking about donating it to Cell Phones for Soldiers.  That sounds like a way to help some very deserving people, and I know first-hand how hard it is on the family when a loved one is deployed.  Being able to communicate is so precious and important!
 
We do have some newer phones around here, so I'm going to have to try those, too.  After all, we're not using them any more, so we might as well get some extra cash if we can, right?  With a son in college we can use every bit we can find.  If it's not tuition, books, and housing, it's something.  Hopefully our newer phones will be worth something, and someone will want to buy them.
 
If you've got some extra electronics sitting around just gathering dust, be sure to check out uSell.  uSell finds the highest cash offers from top-rated buyers.  It's convenient and secure, and they guarantee you'll get the most cash for your items or they'll pay you the difference.
 

Your Other Left

Image via Wikipedia

I don't know why I let it bother me, but it still really, really bugs me when I see people out walking on the wrong side of the street.  And especially when they're pushing small children in strollers, or have ear buds in their ears listening to music while they walk.  I guess I should be happy they're out getting some exercise and not just relying on fat burners that work fast while staying indoors watching TV or something.

But, pedestrians walking on a street or road where there is no sidewalk should be facing traffic.  That means on the left side of the street.  As consistent as people are about walking on the other side of the street, with traffic instead of facing it, I have to believe they don't care - or no one ever cared enough about them to tell them which side of the street to walk on.  Either that or they think they're walking on the left side - though they obviously don't know why.  To that I say, Your Other Left!  Thankfully, our streets aren't very busy and are very safe, but it's good to get in the habit of walking where you're supposed to, just in case you ever have to walk on a busy road somewhere.  See Rules and Pointers for Pedestrians and Drivers from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation.

Oh, and you people on bicycles?  You ride with the traffic.  You have wheels.  And tell your kids.  It's even more dangerous when they don't really know where they're supposed to go, and two or more kids on bikes split up when a car comes toward them, going to either side of the street so that the car has to go between them.

I Love Fireworks

We went with Beth and Tim to the lakefront to see Milwaukee's fireworks last Sunday evening.  The family Tim lived with for a while goes every year.  They get there early, set up tents, bring the grill and lots of food, and spend the day.  We'd never gone before.  We didn't spend the day, just went in the evening - still with plenty of time to hang out before it was time for the fireworks.

The fireworks were awesome!  They shoot them off from three different barges out in the water, and they have something, usually several, continuously in the air for a whole hour.  I didn't get nearly all of it, but I just couldn't resist taking some video with my cell phone.  I would have used my other camera, but the battery decided to die.  Also, I really should have played with the camera settings on the phone, because the video is really small, I can only shoot 30 seconds of video at a time, and there was no sound.  Sound would  have been nice because we were hearing not just the fireworks, but the echos off the buildings behind us.  But, I used Windows Live Movie Maker to put the videos together and added some music, and they're still fun to watch, because they're fireworks, and I love fireworks.




After copying the video from my phone and playing with it last night, I adjusted the settings on my phone.  Why I didn't think of that before, I don't know.  I knew how to change from camera to camcorder, but I had never looked beyond that to realize there are lots of other settings I can play with.  The settings were optimized for sending from my phone and sharing on other phones, which I guess makes sense, but I don't really do a lot of that.  I'd rather have better quality videos - maybe they'll even go longer than 30 seconds at a time and have sound.  I haven't tried it yet, but we'll see.

BabyOnTime App - ad

How about this? iPhone app for new parents, to remind them when to feed baby, change diapers, etc - http://lx.im/1dFav?v=08HvXzS9TQUrpGoGXwVEL5O4Me0qhYiWuSV1bL_rVPM

Edit: I was playing with MyLikes and just wanted to see what it would do if I let it post to my blog.  It just posted that short part at the top there.  I'm not thinking this is a good thing, though maybe it's just supposed to be a start - and then I'm supposed to do like this and edit the really short post it makes.  And maybe change the link?

Anyone use it?  I like it for tweeting, not so sure about posting to  my blog.

And, yes, I actually thought this app was interesting.  Beth has something like this for Android.  It helps her keep track of when and how much Jason eats, how much he sleeps, etc.  They didn't have anything like this when I had babies.

Do You Upromise?

Image via Wikipedia

I signed up for Upromise ages ago. It's a free rewards program that helps you earn money for college. Sounds like a good idea, right?  But only if you use it.  Unfortunately, I rarely remember to use it.  Now that our son is in college, it would really be nice if I had, 'cause we'd have a little extra money to help with those college expenses.

When I log in, Upromise tells me, "We think you're missing out on the EXTRA college savings you could be getting when you..."  And then they give me suggestions for how I could be earning more money.  There are still 3 years left of college (at least) so there is still time, right?

I just need to remember to check Upromise when I'm shopping online, because lots of stores offer cash back.  For instance, when I ordered the crib for Beth, I could have gotten 10% back if only I'd gone through Upromise when I ordered.  But no, I didn't think of it.

In addition to cash back savings, there are coupon codes to save even more money on online purchases.  You know how much I like saving money and using coupons.  You'd think I could remember to search for pottery barn coupons before I check out.  Oh, and remember those glasses I ordered yesterday?  Could have gotten 5% back.  5%!  But I didn't think to check.  I hate when there's money for the taking, and I don't take it!

It's not really Upromise's fault.  They have their TurboSaver browser add-on that's supposed to remind me when there are college savings available, like if I could earn cash for college or get williams sonoma coupons.  I've just never installed it.  Like I said, there's still time, right?

How about you? Do you Upromise?  How much money have you saved toward college?  How do you remember to use it?

Bifocals?

Cory and I got our eyes checked last week, so it's time for new glasses.  I can still see with my current glasses, but my prescription has changed a bit - and it just might be time for bifocals.  I don't have to do it, but I find myself looking under my glasses more and more when I want to read something up close.  That gets a little hard on the eyes after a while.  Of course, I could just take my glasses off or push them up...

The eye doctor suggested the no-line progressives, but I'm not sure how that's going to work.  After our eye exam, Cory and I went to Walmart to look at glasses - which was good because they were running a  $29 special on glasses for kids 18 and under.  Since he's still 18 until the 15th, he qualified for that and found a pair of frames he really liked.  We added the anti-reflective coating, so his glasses ended up costing $49 - which is really good.  I looked at some frames, but all the ones I kind of liked were too small for progressive lenses.  I might have to go with the lined bifocals, just so I can get glasses that are small enough for my face.

First I just need to go out looking at some of the places that take our vision insurance, to see what I can find and how much they're going to cost me.  I don't think it will be too bad, actually.  The insurance covers frames and basic lenses, and it also covers a percentage of the upgrades for the thinner lenses I need (which were automatically included in the $29 kids' glasses - how unfair is that?) and even the progressive lenses - unlike a couple years ago when we last had vision insurance.  It's just a matter of finding something I like.

Even with the insurance, it will probably cost more than I'd like.  You know me, I like to save on glasses and contacts by ordering online.  However, for the first time getting bifocals, I really want to get them locally - so I have somebody to turn to if I need help getting them adjusted, in case I have a hard time getting used to them.  But, because I just couldn't resist, I went ahead and ordered a pair of single-vision glasses this morning.

The style is called Anna, so I figured they were supposed to be mine.  Black is not exactly my color, but I like the pink on the inside, and I'm thinking it softens the black a bit.  And, yeah, I think they're cute.  They'll be good for those times when I don't need to be reading small print, and the plastic frames are easier to get on when I've got the motorcycle helmet on.

If you need new glasses - bifocals or not - check out CoastalContacts.com.  They have all kinds of styles, and contacts too.  They promise to beat any price, so you can get the best deals on designer glasses.

Back to Work

Beth went back to work yesterday. Maternity Leave is over.  Well, it wasn't exactly Maternity Leave.  It was more like time off without pay.  Thankfully Tim has been working enough to pay the bills while she was off learning to be Jason's Mommy.  By the way, she's a good mommy!

Now she's back to work, taking care of 3 kids every day - her own and the two she watches every day.  She works as a nanny for a really nice family, and she gets to take her baby to work with her.  From what she posted on Facebook, it sounds like her first day back went well.  Eight weeks is a long time to be away from two adorable kids she loves.  I think she's happy to be back with them, and I'm sure they're happy to have her back.  Jason even helped out by being a happy boy and taking his naps.

So it sounds like everything is going well.  Of course, there will be ups and downs, but I'm sure everyone will adjust and settle into a routine that works for them.  And now that she's working again, Beth won't have to come to her dad for a cash advance when she needs something - and she can pay us back for some of the things that came up while she wasn't working, like gas for the car and an air conditioner.  The bad part is that we probably won't see Jason (and his mommy) as often as we did while she wasn't working.

How Much Do You Know About America's Independence?

Happy 4th of July!

When the 4th of July rolls around, everyone thinks of cook-outs, fireworks, and red-white-and-blue, but how many of us know what we're really celebrating?  America's birthday?  Independence?  Freedom?

One of my friends on facebook shared a link to this article - 10 Things You Might Not Know About America's Independence - and I thought it was really interesting.  There were several things I didn't know before, or else I had forgotten.  It's been a while since I went to school!  Did they even teach this stuff in school?

I especially love that the very first resolution brought before the First Continental Congress, and immediately passed, was the declaration that they would open every meeting with a prayer.

About those fireworks - have you ever wondered how fireworks came to be part of the 4th of July celebration?  I didn't know that fireworks have been part of the celebration since the very beginning, back in 1776.  That's a tradition I  really like!  along with the prayer.

Related articles

• 10 Things You Might Not Know About America's Independence (foxnews.com)
• Fun Facts and Educational Websites on all things 4th of July (unlocktheteacher.wordpress.com)

Somebody Close the Garage Door

I stayed up way too late the other night. Beth and Tim (and Jason) were here.  About the time they were ready to pack up and leave, Beth changed Jason's diaper so she could put him right to bed when they got home if he fell asleep in the car.  Well, that woke him up, and he was so happy just laying there, talking and smiling, and we just enjoyed him for a while.  Still, it was getting late.  It was definitely time to turn off  with the Direct TV and retire for the night.

I suppose I could have gone to bed, but I was thinking that Beth came in the garage, and she'd need to go out that way - and somebody had to make sure the garage door got closed for the night.  When Beth lived here, she was notorious for not closing the garage door when she left.  And then, the other morning, we found the garage door wide open when we got up.  Cory had friends over, and we went to bed while they were still here.  They'd all come in through the garage, but he sent them out the front door, and didn't check the garage door before he went to bed.  So, when Beth wasn't leaving, it just seemed I needed to stay up until she wa finally ready to go so I could make sure the garage door got closed.  It's one of those things where I feel like  if I don't do it, nobody's going to do it.

Really, it's not a matter of life or death here where we live.  Those who live in Benton, may feel a need for home security benton, but here in Eagle we're pretty safe.  We don't often hear of break-ins or robberies.  It's still a good idea not to leave the garage door wide open overnight or the front door hanging open, just in case someone can't resist such an open invitation.  I'm just going to have to get everyone else in the habit of double-checking it so I don't have to be the one who stays up.