On Being Three Months Old

Jason, 3 months old - 8/10/11 (I took the video last week, but just now got it uploaded)




I'm not sure exactly what he's trying to say here, but he's sure cute saying it!  Telling us all about being 3 months old, I guess.  He'd just eaten and had a diaper change, so he was a happy boy.

Also, I think his great grandpa in Missouri will really appreciate this.  He hasn't met Jason yet, and since he's blind, he hasn't been able to see any pictures either - but hearing that precious little voice is something he can do!  And the rest of us can enjoy it, too.  I think it's impossible to watch this video without smiling.  I dare you to try.

Who Even Thinks to Ask This Stuff?

I'm anxiously waiting for the commercials to get over so I can find out which celebrity America trusts the most, and which one is least trusted.  Not exactly.  I'm just wondering who really thinks to ask this stuff?

Most likely advertising agencies, don't you think?  They've got to know the best celebrities to hire for their ads and endorsements.  There's a bunch of money riding on choosing the right celebrity to endorse everything from designer engagement ring settings to bathroom cleaners.  Of course, they need to think a little bit harder about who they choose to actually write their ad campaigns, because some of those commercials are just plain dumb and don't encourage anybody to buy whatever they're hawking. (Think that awful orchestra teacher Target commercial, and, come to think of it, I don't think any of the current back-to-school/teacher commercials Target is airing right now will actually make anyone run out and shop at Target.)

Anyway, the answer is Betty White.  She was chosen the most trusted celebrity, and also the most likely to boost business.  That part clued me in to who was actually asking the question.

Paris Hilton and Charlie Sheen both ended up on the least trusted list.  I guess I can agree with that.  Would you really buy anything Charlie Sheen is selling?  But Betty White?  America's buying.

Two Pairs of Mossimo Gauchos for $12 w/ Free Shipping

Today only at Target.com you can get 2 pairs of Mossimo Gauchos for $12 (Buy one/Get one Free) with free shipping.  That's $6 per pair.  There are several colors available.  I got some of these last summer, and I really like them.  They are so comfy, and look really cute with a t-shirt and flip flops.  With a nicer shirt and sandals, they can look quite dressy.

I got black and white last year, wanted brown, but they didn't have it in my size.  So, this time I grabbed a brown pair, and one in gray. To save even more, go through Shop at Home and get 13% cash back.

Hurry, though, because this deal is only for today and only while quantities last.  It looks like some of the sizes in some of the colors are already gone.

New Design

Since Avast suddenly decided that something in the code of my old template should be blocked, and since there was absolutely nothing I could do to change it - since I needed that code to make the template look right - I just changed the entire layout of the blog.  I was tired of being warned and redirected.

So, new design.  It was about time anyway.  I used Blogger's template designer, which is pretty easy - lots to choose from, and it's easy to change stuff with just a click.  I tweaked some stuff with html and css and made a new header using an image I downloaded from fotolia - a site I'm trying out and must review very soon.

So, let me know what you think!  Best of all - no 'Trojan Horse' warnings!!

Back to School Needs - Get More for Less

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

It's that time of year again - time to go back to school.  And that means shopping for school supplies and new school clothes.   Pens, pencils, crayons, notebooks, folders, lunch boxes, book covers, and so much more.  The costs can really add up.  Last year we had the added expense of furnishing a college dorm room.
 
The other day on Good Morning America, correspondent Becky Worley reported that one of the best ways to get back to school bargains is to buy the basics at the dollar store.  She bought the same list of 10 items at a pharmacy chain and a dollar store, and spent $35 less at the dollar store.  (Back to School: How Not to Pay Full Price)  That extra money could sure come in handy!  The GMA story said that the average parent spends $600 per child on back to school shopping.  This would be a good time to be below average.
 
So, if you're shopping for back to school supplies, be sure to check out the Dollar General Back to School sales for some deals on the supplies you need most.  $8 backpacks, Crayola colored pencils for $2, and pocket portfolios 3/$1 are only a few of the advertised items.  There's also a coupon you can print to save 20% off your entire purchase of back to school supplies and dorm decor.  That's my favorite way to shop - combine low prices with coupons so I can save the most possible.   There are several other coupons available to print on the DG website, and they take the manufacturer's coupons you get in your Sunday paper - and every little bit helps, 20%, 25¢, 50¢, etc.  Chip away at that $600 average!
 
I'm not sure what Cory needs for school this year since he can use the same stuff for his dorm room this year as last.  Besides pens, paper, and his laptop, I'm not sure what else he needs for classes.  And he is 19 and should be paying for his own stuff now.  Should be is the operative phrase there, but I will point him toward Dollar General and tell him you can Get more of your Back to School needs for less at Dollar General.  Now that he's spending his own money, I know that will be important to him.

Saving For Your Child’s' Future Education

It's easy to forget, or sometimes just put off, the long-term costs of having a child. We're often faced with the overwhelming day-to-day expenses of getting by and forget about things like education. Not saving for a child's college education isn't uncommon by any means, but a college education will become essential to find any job in the coming years. You might ask yourself where the money is going to come from after you're done paying all the bills and feeding a family, but there are ways to accomplish this without having to radically change your life.

Before you do anything else, you'll first need to figure out how much you'll need to save up. This is pretty tough considering that the rate of tuition increases greatly every year and can go up several thousand dollars for online college and universities. You can go to a page supported by CNN and you can factor in many of the costs you're likely to see when you child comes of age. With this you can factor in multiple children and many of the side expenses you child is likely to see. It's important to not let these figures scare you. College is expensive, but you have time to save.

Consider the options available to you before you start packing money away into an account. One option that has become a very popular avenue for parents is the 529 Savings Plan. This was devised as a strategy for parents to start saving early for college. It's available in every state and it's named after the same federal tax code that allows significant tax benefits. There are two different options with this plan: the prepaid tuition plan and the 529 savings plan. With both options, you'll be able to earn tax free interest with your investments and will cover anything education related. Check the program out to see which 529 option works best for you situation.

Another popular option is the Coverdell Education Savings Account (CESA), traditionally known as the Education IRA. This option allows parents to save up to two 2 thousand every year, which is completely tax free. One of the biggest benefits of this program is you can pay for elementary and secondary school tuition. One of the problems with this program is that they are considered holdings, and when you child applies for financial aid later on, they might not get very much because this money will be factored into their government financial aid award.

There are many other programs out there designed to help parents save for their child's future. You just have to do some research. You don't have to be wealthy to put money away for you child. Everyone wants the best for their child and investing in one of these programs is an investment in your child. Give your kid the best possible future and look at ways you can help them later on in life.

I'm a Hypocrite

OK, maybe that's not the exact right word...

After all my talk about saving money and buying glasses online (Zenni Optical!), I actually paid almost $200 for a pair of glasses.  Crazy, huh?  But I saved $360!  Or, at least, that's what the receipt says.  If we didn't have vision insurance, those same glasses would have cost over $500?  I don't think so!!  There's no way, no how I ever would have or could have done that.  I had a hard enough time with the (almost) $200.

But, I did it.  Jeffrey and I went to a couple places that are 'in-plan' for our insurance this evening.  Things are changing at work; insurance is changing, and we need to use our benefits, before the end of the month.  The first place we looked at didn't seem to have any frames under $200.  We didn't even ask about the lenses.  The second place had more reasonable frames - the insurance covers the first $120 and then 20% of any overage - so we actually found some that would be mostly covered by insurance.  Except that the first pair I picked out wasn't actually covered, or only about $45 would be covered.  I'm still not sure what that was about.  But then the girl we were working with found me a pair that I only had to pay $20 for after insurance.  And then we added the lenses...

The main reason I went ahead and got them was that I wanted to get the progressive lenses.  Well, I didn't actually want to get them, but I'm getting tired of looking under my glasses to read things, so I thought it was time.  Since I've not worn progressive lenses before, I thought it would be best to get them locally.  Later, if/when I get used to them, I can order some online if I want.  But this first time,  I think this will be best - even if it hurts to spend so much on one pair of glasses, when I know I could get them so much cheaper online.

So, don't do what I do - listen to what I say!  Save money, and buy your glasses online.  Unless, of course, you have a good reason.  Or lots of extra money.

Related articles

• Save Money with Zenni Optical (alwaysbcmom.com)
• Paying $1000 for glasses is just nuts (table4five.net)
• Bifocals? (alwaysbcmom.com)

Stock Trading and Interest Rates

We've been talking about it for a while, and we're finally going to re-finance our mortgage tomorrow.  The rate on a 15-year fixed mortgage had been at 3.75% for a while.  Occasionally, it dropped to 3.625% and then went back up.  The day we went to the bank to sign papers for Beth's car loan, the rate dropped to 3.625% again, and we decided we better grab it - so we locked the rate in.

That was right about the time the government was in a big mess because of the whole debt thing, and nobody could really tell us what that might mean for the the interest rates.  Well, it turns out we should have waited, because the rates went down - to 3.25%.  I guess it's all a gamble, like Stock Trading and playing the market.  Some people have a good feel for the direction things are going and know when to buy and when to sell.  I don't think we have that talent - at least if you're going to judge our financial savvy on how well we hit the interest rate at the right time.

There's quite a bit of information about Online Trading available, information that we'd definitely need if we decided to get involved in investing.  With all the turmoil in the stock market recently, I'm a bit worried about how that's going to affect Jeffrey's 401K.  I've heard that people who are in the market for the long-haul should be OK - meaning, if you aren't planning on retiring right away, it should be all right.  So, maybe...

Or maybe we should look into IRA Accounts.  Probably should.  I think I'm going to have to do some reading and learn a bit more about investing and trading.

New Hangings for the Deck

Image via Wikipedia

Besides watching the horse pulls, one of the things we really like about the Fair is looking at all the stuff people have to sell.  Sunglasses, boots, jewelry, hot sauces, archery equipment, patio spinners, hats, dresses, you name it, somebody's selling it.  The hard part is deciding what to buy, because of course, it's the Fair, and we have to buy something.

This year I got a wind chime and a mobile type thing to hang out on the deck.  We've always looked at a lot of these things, but we never had anywhere to hang them, so we waited.  Now, we've got the deck and the pergola, and I've got someplace to hang them!  I got a wooden wind chime because I love the sound of the wooden chimes better than the metal tinkly ones.  And this one just happens to have a frog on it.  And then I got a decorative hanging with copper and colored balls - kind of like the ones pictured here.  It kind of reminds me of a solar system, and I really like the way it catches the light.  We just have to decide where we really want to hang them.  For now they're hung on the hooks we have for the citronella lanterns.  I'm really enjoying listening to the frog when the wind blows.  I ought to get video or at least audio of that - and some pictures too, huh?

Tuesday Tidbits

Another Tuesday.  Oh, these weeks, they go so fast!

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Jeffrey and I went back to the State Fair again on Sunday.  We didn't get there until about 5pm because Jeffrey had some work to get done first, and then we had some shopping to do at Kohl's and Sam's.  We had some free money to spend at Kohl's so we checked out the clearance racks, and we hadn't been to Sam's in a while, so we needed all kinds of basics - toilet paper, sugar, cheese, etc.  I wanted to buy flour because last time we were there I was pleasantly surprised to see they had unbleached flour instead of the usual all purpose bleached stuff.  This time - no unbleached.  So I had Cory grab me some at Walmart, since he was there anyway.  I just get a bit antsy when I'm getting low on flour.  And toilet paper.

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We didn't really do a lot at the Fair - walked around, got something to eat, bought some summer sausage because the guy at the fair always has the best, and then watched the horse pulls.  We really enjoy watching those.  We saw some of the middleweights last weekend, and this Sunday we watched the heavyweights.  I don't even really pay attention to who wins.  I just love watching how hard the horses try.  And they're gorgeous.

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Beth had a Tupperware party on Sunday, which I forgot about.  She called me when we were out running around asking where I was.  Oops - forgot to write down when it was.   I can't think of anything I actually need, but she's supposed to send me a link so I can look.  I can order something online and she'll get credit.

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I mowed the yard today.  We've been getting rain, and the grass is actually green and growing now.  Jeffrey maybe could have done it when he got home, but he's been extra busy with work, and Cory had to go to work, so I figured I'd do it and get it over with.  Besides, it's good exercise.  Never mind that I had plenty of stuff to do in the house - vacuuming, cleaning bathrooms, washing dishes - how do things get into such a mess, and will I ever get caught up?  Speaking of cleaning bathrooms, I really want to try this cleaner when I do get around to doing it.  What happened to those days when I cleaned bathrooms every Thursday?  Yep, I used to have a schedule!

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Speaking of schedules - tune in next Tuesday for another edition of this regularly scheduled post.

Oh, and I tried a new recipe for dinner, which I will definitely have to post. It was really good.