Another Year Shot In The Ass...

Tomorrow is New Years Eve. In years passed I would either go out and party like a rockstar, or go over to the fams house and ring in the new year with some good times. This year, it's going to be low key. Nichole and I didn't get to spend a lot of time together for the holidays, so we are going to have a nice evening in. Some pork chops for dinner, taking down the Christmas decorations, maybe a few Christmas movies and a cold beer at the stroke of midnight. Happy 2008! Let's make it better than last.

They Pulled It Off

So they pulled it off. The New England Patriots took it all the way for an undefeated season, 16-0. The last time that was done was the 1972 Dolphins and they only had 14 games, I believe. Nichole and I went over to Aunt's place to watch the game. It was a pretty decent one too. There were some great plays an for a while there it was looking pretty rough for the Pats. But, in the end, Brady and the Pats pulled it off. You could tell that it was a highly watched game too. I was working in the mall and it died severely. For a Saturday night, it looked like a Wednesday. Congrats Pats. Now, let's not get too cocky in the post-season.

Christmas Re-Cap

Yay! Christmas is over. Now that it has come and gone, I'm pretty sad by how little time I actually had to enjoy the holidays. Growing up, I remember my parents having all kinds of time. We would go as a family shopping at all the different malls in the area. We would go to nice restuarants and have dinner where it's nice and warm and yet it is freezing outside. Nothing is the same anymore. Neither the time nor the weather!

I wish I had had more time to spend with Nichole. Go do a little outlet shopping or head out of town for the day. Or even just stay at home and enjoy a good Christmas movie. But, oh well. Maybe next year.

Christmas was good to us though. Santa brought Nichole a very nice (and expensive) Coach bag! She also got some clothes, ornaments and her elephant. I got some movies (Pirates 3, Superbad and Transformers), tons of gift cards, some clothes, a drill and a new razor. Nichole and I both got new pots and pans, a hand blender, a mixer, an indoor grill, kitchen knives to add to our set and a beautiful handmade afghan made by my mom. I believe it is my only handmade possession. Not too shabby! We got a lot of gift cards this year as well, which is awesome. We spent a little over $100 last night at Target getting things for the house like new lamps and a new shower head. Do I venture to say that I think we almost got too much?

On Christmas, Nicholes and I had to strap on the feedbag. We not only had a huge homemade breakfast at her parent's house, but we also had dinner with my family and hers! The food was fantastic all around (as always) and it was nice to spend time with family. Nichole and I were even talking about even though there was only my immediate family and my Grandma and her husband at my parents house, it was very pleasant, relaxing and great to be there watching the Pixar shorts and chatting.

Put on top of all this, going out drinking and playing Silver Strike at night, I think Christmas was great and everyone had a great time. I'm just going to have to make sure I allot more time for actually enjoying the holiday next.

News Post

I'm a pretty avid news reader. One of the first things I'll do when I jump online is head over to CNN.com and read the headlines. There is always something interesting going on. I came across one titled "For Bloggers, Online Ads Beckon". Sounded interesting and I could relate to that. So, I read it and it was good. I didn't really learn anything new from it, but it does mention Pay Per Post and there is also a quote from a Google rep. She mentions how a click from an ad on a corporate site or a click on an ad from an individuals site makes no difference. But, she fails to mention that by dropping everyone's pagerank they have squeezed a lot of us out of paid ads. Which brings me to my next point.

What's with Google's AdSense? Is that not advertising that many of us place on our blogs? Sounds kind of hypocritical to me. I think Google is pissed off because companies like Pay Per Post have butt in and have become the sole source for bloggers to go to and advertise to make money. Google wants AdSense to be top dog, but AdSense is your standard, boring and annoying advertisement. It's not the creative work of people that can relate to the advertisement. They try to relate the ad to your blog by crawling your blog. But, it's not always accurate. A little advice Google, stick with what you do best, crawling the internet for your search engine not my blog.

Help For Understanding Your Finances

Do you ever have those financial questions that you really need to know the answer to but you are not sure where to get that answer? I do, and quite often. Sure you can ask a friend or ask a family member. But, is their answer going to be bias? Are they even going to know the correct answer?

The Internet has become the best resource for such questions. One of the most intuitive sites is Finance Genius. It's in their name! Finance Genius explains financial obligations from Auto Loans, Insurance, Mortgages and even Student Loans. It does not just explain the basics, but they also talk about every type of insurance, refinancing loans and even how your credit score works. The auto section I find very helpful because it not only talks about choosing between a new and used vehicle but it also talks about getting a Used Car Warranty if you should choose a used car.

For those of us that are trying to get our finances in check, are just starting out or God forbid are in deep trouble, check out Finance Genius. It's a guaranteed help.

This is a sponsored post.

Were You Quick or Too Slow?

The link I posted last week for Pinecone Research is no longer available. For those of you that took advantage of this awesome oppertunity, congratulations. For those of you that didn't, sorry.

Stalled Shopping

I haven't even begun to think about what kind of Christmas shopping I have to get done. Yet, Nichole is almost completely done. As I type, she is wrapping up gifts she has bought for me today. But, it makes me sad because I have no idea where to begin. After the disgusting day at the mall today, which I wasn't even scheduled to work but I went in because I need the money, I don't know how much I am going to be able to afford this year. Seriously, it was supposed to be a Friday today and just three weekends before Christmas, yet it was as if it was a Wednesday in the mall. Absolutely ridiculous. Our goal today was $1,286 and we closed at a whopping $486. I wish I didn't have to still work at the mall, but I need that third job. If this is going to be a crappy December, I'll be looking for a new job after the 1st. 

Freebie Found

The freebies have become scarce and very hard to find, but when I find a good one, I jump all over it. In honor of our new puppy, Sammy, I give you this freebie:

Nature's Recipe Devoted Dog Parent Kit

Not only will you receive a sample of Nature's Recipe, but you also get educational videos, a diagnosis wheel, pet relaxation music and informational articles. My personal favorite was the pet relaxation music. I find it hilarious. Can't wait to get it so Sammy can relax to some cool tunes while we are at work.

Making The Extra Buck

Many already know that both my Aunt and myself have quite a few ways of making some extra cash. Not only do we both participate in Pay Per Post, but we also do surveys for several companies. Many of these survey companies give you points to accumulate and once you hit a certain amount you can redeem those points for prizes and even cash. That's what most spring for, the cash. So yeah, I'll do surveys in my free time and get paid. I might be at work doing absolutely nothing, or I might be at home watching TV. Why not get paid? But, anyways, some of the more elite companies will pay you on a survey to survey basis. One of those companies happens to be Pinecone Research. They are one of the best to belong to because they not only pay you on each survey, but they also will send you free products to test! The trick is getting signed up with them. They are so elite that they do not take referrals and there is no signup page that is always available. The trick is finding a banner or link somewhere on the web and clicking it to signup. I happened to find one! So, if you want to make an extra buck, possibly test products and belong to an elite club go here and signup. But, go fast because the page will not be up for long!

Chilly Nights

Just like everyone else, I love this time of year. Two days ago we had a cold front charge through here (Florida). Now a cold front here, just means cooler weather not necessarily cold weather. But, it did get somewhat chilly that night. The first thing I did when I got home was, say hi to Sammy, turn on Christmas radio and light the candles. The air began to fill with the Christmas scents of Yankee Candle. By the time Nichole got home, I was in Christmas pajama pants and sitting comfortably trying to fix the lights on this fake tree we have. (Not our Christmas tree. It will be real.) As the lights on our patio twinkled, we took Sammy for a walk. He had his sweater on and we had our jackets and a cup of hot chocolate. What a pleasant evening it was.

Cool Map Thingy

Many of you may have noticed, and others of you may have not. For those that have not, you are oblivious to your surroundings. Anyways, I have this really cool map at the bottom of my blog that shows where your visitors are visiting from. It's just a cool thing to have and to see where everyone is at. It is interesting to see hits from other countries and makes me wonder if they even know what I am talking about. You can get your own at hip2map.com. 

Posting

Okay, the amount of posts and the frequency of them was all off last month. November was just a busy month for everyone. Now, December is here and we should be back to normal. So, stop by often and see what's up.

Happy Chill Out Days

So far, working the mall this holiday season has not be lucrative. I was hoping Black Friday was going to give me a nice boost in my pay. It ended up being just a bump. Not only Black Friday, but that whole weekend was not what it should have been or what it has been in years past. It's just a combo of gas prices, housing market and for the simple fact that there are no real "must haves" this year. There really isn't. Even though my paychecks are a joke, I'm actually kind of enjoying it. The holidays have always been and always will be a fast paced time of year. Everyone is usually running around trying to keep up with the Jones' and playing catch up, but this year I think people are taking it slowly and doing what they can. I, for one, am taking it each day at a time and I am in no hurry for it to get here. I'd like to kick back, relax and enjoy the season this year. So, who's with me? 

Decorating

Of course it is that time of year when everyone pulls out all the decorations for Christmas. Nichole and I did our place last weekend. Unfortuanetly we do not have a lot. 

Growing up, our house used to get completely converted for the Christmas season. All the normal day to day stuff would be packed up and replaced with all kinds of Christmas knick-knacks. Not to mention that the outside would take a whole weekend to get decorated. It was insane. My Dad and I had to put in a whole line of breakers just to power the light display. But, now that my Dad is converting and I no longer live at their house, the stuff just stays in the attic through the season. Although, I was over there about a week ago and someone was doing some light decorated. I was really surprised.

Anyways, Nichole and I do not have much, but we have some. We did go out and buy some lights to decorate our patio and windows. We will purchase a few things this year to add to it. For Halloween and Thanksgiving we were able to raid my parent's attic and take what we wanted so we had a pretty nice setup for those holidays. But, I dare raid the attic for Christmas because there are literally around 20-25 bins of Christmas stuff. Maybe as it gets closer, I might see what there is and take a few things.

Hey, I Want Those!

How would you like to get 100 FREE business cards that you can customize just to promote your blog? I would. This is a fantastic way to show off your blog to the random people you meet. Of course it is easy to promote your blog online. But, what about the people that you meet at a restaurant, a bar or even at work. Sure, you can write your URL down on a cocktail napkin, but how professional and serious would you look if you whipped out one of your cards. "You know, let me get you one of my cards. Hhmmm, I seem to be fresh out." (wait for it) "BAM!"

For the professional blogger, get over to Ooprint.com and get your 100 blogger cards for FREE!

This is a sponsored post.

Sammy

This is our Sammy. He is a 1 year old Jack Russell Terrier. We got him from an older couple that had moved into our complex and they couldn't take care of him anymore. I went to drop off the mail one night and I saw their flyer hanging on the peg board, "Sammy. 1 Year Old Jack Russell. Neutered and house broken. Loves children. Very playful." They also included some photos of him. 

Nichole and I were talking about getting a dog but we had never actively looked for one. When I saw this I felt like it was the perfect opportunity. I went home to Nichole and I said, "I know I shouldn't be saying this but, there is a puppy that someone in the complex is giving away." I could barely finish my statement before Nichole was jumping up and down and saying, "Can we get him?"

We were so excited that we called on him that night and went over to see him. He was so excited and wasn't too sure about us all at the same time. His previous owner was kind enough to let us take him home that night and see how he interacts with us and the apartment. 

He is the most perfect dog. Being house broken is such a plus. He has never made a mess nor even chew or tear up anything. He isn't a chewer. He hardly even likes Milk Bones. But, he does love his rawhide. My only complaint is he has to sleep in the bed with us and under the covers. Quite the bed hog at times. I'm still getting used to the fur as well, but it's not bad.

As for obtaining the dog we were blessed. His previous owner wanted nothing for him other than to give him a loving home, which he has. She even told us that she couldn't have found a better home for him. As with all apartments we had to put a $300 deposit down for him. No big deal, but we really felt bad for his previous owner. They had just moved into the complex less than a week ago, with the intentions of giving Sammy away, and they had to pay $300 as well. The complex would not give them any kind of refund whatsoever. They wouldn't even transfer the $300 to us. So, unfortunately the couple got screwed out $300 for 5 days. It's a shame.

But, anywho, Sammy is so great and loves attention. I know he'll be jumping up and down and so excited to see me when I go home!

New Addition To The Family

About a week ago Nichole and I added a new member to our family. His name is Sammy and he is the greatest dog ever. He is a Jack Russell Terrior, around 1 year old and already house broken. Can't beat it. Check back in for pictures and more details soon.

Holiday Shopping

We all know I work in the mall from time to time. I'm there right now. Yesterday was Black Friday and we did so so in sales. I'll be honest, there really wasn't that many people in the mall. Not like in years past. No one seems to be having any huge doorbusting sales this year to drawer the crowds. 

I was reading some articles talking about how holiday shopping this year is going to be luke warm and how stores are strugling. I also read some articles, post Black Friday, that were saying some malls opened up at midnight! They are out of their mind. You wouldn't catch me here at that time. They go on to also say that by mid day a lot of shoppers had already left and the crowds started to dwindle because shoppers were burnt out on it. I would totally agree with that at our mall. By mid day it seemed just like a normal weekend. I don't know what's going to happen, but if the trends continue, I forsee a lot stores starting to pull out of the mall. I know we are getting close. Here's to a lousy holiday shopping season! 

Benefits Rock

Okay, I know I haven't blogged in forever. But, don't give me any grief. I've been so busy and tired with work I just haven't had the chance. But, on with my post.

I love Nichole's new job! The hours she works are not only great (banker for those not in the know), but her benefits are fantastic too. Both her and I now have medical insurance and dental (which I haven't had since high school). Time to get those eyes checked. But there's more! She also gets fantastic discounts on theme parks, movie tickets and more. Today, we discovered yet another perk.

A local restaurant manager came into her bank today and invited everyone and their families to a soft opening of their new restaurant and everything was to be complimentary! Not being one to pass up anything for free, we booked our time and went. FREE DINNER!

How fantastic it was. The place is called Flamestone: An American Grill. You can check them out here. The place is owned by a well known, local restauranteur. Not only is the atmosphere gorgeous, even the bathrooms, but the service was superb. Now, whether the service will change once they are officially open, who knows. But, I do know that our waitress was fantastic.

We had some Chardonnay, a watermelon Martini, calamari, both of us had 9oz filet mignons, and for desert we had their awesome "cupcake trio". The grand total came to $78, and it was completely free!

I was really surprised by what they had available for their soft opening. They had every kind of liquor and spirit you could think of, all kinds of wine and huge assortment of meats and entrees. And it was all free. If you live in the area, definitely go and check them out. Nichole and I will absolutely be going back.

Free Stuff

Playtex Personal Cleansing Cloth (lmao)

Degree Deorderant for Men

Huggies Gentle Care Baby Wipes

NutraSweet

Head & Shoulders

Arby's Milk Shake

Arby's Sandwich

Holidays

Everyone has heard it before, "Christmas is nothing more than a consumer holiday and an excuse to spend hoards of money". Some may believe this is true and others may not. But, if you read this, you will find yet another point of view that I find to be quite funny and in many ways , I believe, true.

Weather Or Not

Has anyone else noticed the cooler weather? I know anyone from anywhere north of Georgia has, but I'm talking Florida. It's been beautiful the last couple of days. This morning it was almost cold! It's about time it cooled off around here. Whether this is a fluke or it's here to stay I don't know. I have not had a chance to catch up on my news as of yet.

Speaking of the weather, I believe that the meteorologists in charge of predicting the hurricane season have lost all of their credit. They sucked last year and they continue to suck this year. I remember earlier in the year they were saying this is going to be the most active season yet. I call BS on them! I realize that the activity has been much farther south this year than it has in the past, but we are only on the letter N! N is for Noel. So, they can take their predictions and shove it.

Blog America Tour

The Blog America Tour meeting at the Hard Rock last Thursday was awesome! My Aunt Colleen was able to make but unfortunately my Aunt Cheryl was not. You can read why over here. We met up with Ted, Ashley and their "techie" Travis at the Hard Rock Casino. My overachieving Aunt Colleen brought 100 can goods for the event to give to charity and in return she won an iRobot Roomba automatic "vacuum"! Pretty cool stuff. We ate dinner, thanks to Ted, and gambled a bit. What else did you think we were going to do at a casino? We also talked some blogging business and got a sneak peek at Argus. There was a little bit of filming involved as well. We didn't leave empty handed though. We also got some really cool Izea and Argus swag to take home!

Halloween... At The Mall???

They did trick or treating in the mall again this year just like they do every year. There were tons of people here this evening. So many that most stores ran out of candy around 6pm and it started at 4pm and was supposed to last until 8pm. It's 8:15 now and there are still a lot of people here. Lots of little kids dressed up of course and a few middle school aged kids. But, one of the reasons the mall does allow this is to draw business to the mall. 

Obviously that doesn't work. The kids are too busy screaming, "candy, candy, candy" and mom and dad are too busy chasing after them. Therefore, myself nor anyone else makes any sales and it might as well have been empty in here. We counted how many people we saw with a shopping bag in hand and you saw maybe 1 in 30... maybe. I think I might have made 3 or 4 sales since 4 o' clock when the Halloween festivity started.

And who the hell brings their kids to the mall to go trick or treating anyways? Are parents that lazy now? I remember my Dad hand making all of our costumes as kids and then we would all haul down to Grandma's, meet up with our cousins, and go trick or treating in the neighborhood. Outside..., where it is dark..., with the moon overhead... It was always cool seeing all the different decorations people had and the different jack-o-lanterns, and passing other trick or treaters giggling at each other as the go from house to house. I remember a couple of years we even got full size candybars from the neighborhood. 

Let me tell you something, when I have kids, I will be carving pumpkins with them, making costumes and we will be trick or treating outside, in a neighborhood like it should be. To me, that is what Halloween is all about.

Blog America Tour

For the fellow Posties that are out there, you know what this is. The guys from Pay Per Post are heading out across America and their first stop is right here in Tampa at the Hard Rock Casino. I will be attending this event to meet other Posties and to meet the people behind Pay Per Post. Both of my Aunts, Basenjimom and Colleen, should be in attendance. It should be fun. I heard there might be some swag too! So, if you are in Tampa Bay, are a Postie and haven't heard of this, get in the know and get to the Hard Rock tomorrow night (Nov 1st) at 7pm.

Credit Got You Down

I applied for a new credit card with Bank of America on the 11th of October and I still have not received the card yet! Which reminds me, I need to get on the horn with them. They tell you 10 days and you will have your card. That's a lie. But, anyways, I got a really good interest rate on it because I have been careful and have good credit. But, for those that don't have good credit, getting a decent credit card, or loan for that matter, can be a nightmare. Enter Bad Credit Offers. This intuitive site allows you compare bad credit credit card offers side by side so you can see what is going to work best for you. They also allow you to compare bad credit loans whether they are home loans, auto loans or personal loans. I'm glad I have good credit. But, if you don't, check these guys out. I bet they can help.

This is a sponsored post.

Pagerank

I see Google finally did their pagerank update. As you can see by my widget I am a lousy pagerank 1. But you know what, I don't care. I'm really just here to share my thoughts, ideas and give my readers insight into who i am. My Aunt Colleen just did a post about the pagerank update and how too many bloggers are starting to be money oriented instead of content oriented. I'm with here on the fact that if I am going to read your blog I want it to be full of content and not just sponsored posts and reviews that you get paid for. Now, don't get me wrong. I love blogging for money, but I still have a higher ratio of unpaid posts to paid posts. Now the trick is to get a higher pagerank and get some better opps to blog about, yet still have plenty of unpaid posts about this and that.

Saving For Tomorrow

My Aunt has a very interesting post about an article she read in the newspaper. It is about a family that is in so much financial trouble that they are stuck. They have no running water, have had the power turned off multiple times and are afraid to leave the house due to foreclosure! The point my Aunt was trying to make, and I totally agree with her is, if this family had an EMERGENCY FUND they would not be in so much trouble. 

I feel very lucky to have such a wonderful family member that cares enough to encourage me and even help me set up an emergency fund for myself. Though I am young and it doesn't look like I will need it anytime soon, you just never know when you might catch that curve ball and need some money to get by. I setup my e-fund with ING Direct because they not only have an awesome interest rate on their savings, but they also gave me money to set one up with them! Free money, can't beat it. You can do it too! Get your emergency fund started now and get paid to do it. All you have to do is email me and I will send you a link that will entitle you to a free $25 bonus just for signing up. Email me now and start saving for tomorrow.

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween everyone! Unfortuanetly I am at the mall all day, but maybe I'll do something later with Nichole. We didn't get to watch The Great Pumpkin last night either. Maybe it will be on again today and I'll have Nichole DVR it. I thought I'd let you check out our pumpkins as well.

Here is last years.

This is this years!

Happy Halloween!!!

Freebies

Nestle Crunch Bar

Purina Naturals Cat Food

Purex Detergent

Science Diet Dog Food

The Big K-raphole

Nichole and I had one of those coupons for a free bag of candy from Kmart. Now, I never shop Kmart because it is probably the dumpiest/trashiest place to shop. Especially the one here in good ol' Tarpon. But heck, I was going to go get my free candy. So, we walked in and you are instantly immersed into that stale stench of Kmart. You know that unique smell that stores have? Walmart has it, the mall has it and unfortunately Kmart has it. Kmart has a really nasty, sour and stale odor. Anyways, We proceed to the candy aisle which is nothing but and few mounds of candy piled in the middle of an aisle. Was there even shelving underneath? Probably not. We walked around and looked for probably about 10 minutes and couldn't figure out the utter chaos. Nothing was labeled and if there was a label, it wasn't for the product that was there. So, we grabbed 2 bags of candy (1 which we would purchase), and went to the checkout. Not surprisingly the cashiers were some low-life, scraggly looking people that looked as though they sleep in the garden department. She proceeds to ring up our candy and just can't seem to figure it out. As she calls over this behemoth of a lady that can barely walk, the manager says this isn't the right candy. We need to get this other size and brand of candy. The candy we selected was $2.50, but we needed a $2.79 bag. Okay, it's cheaper, just give me my bag of candy. The manager proceeds to give me an attitude and I told her that they need to get their aisles fixed so I can find the correct bag and that they need to better explain what is to be the free item on the coupon. So, ten minutes later we have our 1 free bag of Snickers, they have their shitty coupon and none of our money. 

These types of promotions are supposed to generate business for them, but no one is going to spend any money with them if that is going to be the experience. Just give me my free candy and I'll see you next time you are giving away something for free.

Metal Everywhere

If I had a garage, I would definitely install lots of storage to keep things organized. It seems like the trend for those remodeling their garages is metal. Metal, metal everywhere. Diamond plate is one of the more common types used and my garage would be no exception. But, I do not have a garage. So, I am asked, "Would you put metal cabinets in your kitchen?". 

That would be a negative. Although the metal theme fits very well in the garage where there is an "industrial" feel, the kitchen is part of the home and I feel that the metal would not work at all. Stainless steel appliance is the extent to how much metal would go in my kitchen and even then I am not totally sure. I believe that not only would the metal cabinets, if they were in a kitchen, be obtrusive, but they would also be loud when opening and closing them. I'll stick with the more traditional wood cabinets, especially if they are deep and rich in color and we'll see about the stainless steel appliances.

This is a sponsored post.

Pumpkins Everywhere

We have been seeing the pumpkin patches sprouting up everywhere and they are all pretty well established. Nichole and I both drive by tons of them daily between our commutes. We can't wait to go get our nice size pumpkin and carve him up. What kind of face will he get this year? Last year it was a scary one. This year will it be a goofy one? Or perhaps a traditional one. Maybe it will be scary again. I don't know. We'll have to wait and see. For now we are going to go to the pet store and buy some new fish.

A Few More...

Fiber One Cereal

Garnier Nutri Pure Cleaners

Freebies

It's been a while since we have had some good freebies. I almost forgot what they look like. Here we go:

Tylenol Rapid Release Gels

Jergens Lotion

Gas-X Strips

Curel Healing Lotion

Cottonelle Fresh Wipes

Carmex Lip Balm

Enjoy!

Online Coupon Codes

Would you happen to be looking for a great place to find Online Coupons? I was, and I found the spot. Believe it or not, I found them at an unlikely site. NCNatural, which is a website all about North Carolina, has a great section just full of coupon codes that anyone can use while shopping for products online. Don't worry about these coupons being old and expired because NCNatural updates the coupon database on a daily basis so you are always getting the freshest deals. The site is so easy to navigate and find a coupon you might be looking for that you can be ordering your product in a few seconds. While on there I found some awesome BestBuy coupons and even some Amazon coupon codes. I know I can use these.

This Is A Sponsored Post.

USF Bulls!

I get updates, on my phone, for every quarter of the Bucs and USF games. Well, the USF Bulls played the UCF Knights today and unfortunately I didn't get to see the game, (I don't think it was aired anyways) but I did get the updates. I was amazed by the score. USF beat the crap out of the Knights with a final score of 64 - 12! I haven't seen a score that high in either NFL or NCAA in a while. That's just ridiculous. UCF is supposed to have a pretty decent defense as well. Apparantly they didn't show up today. If they keep this up, they might go all the way. I can't wait to go to the game next month. Lets keep up the momentum!

Walking For Breast Cancer

My Aunt just finished the 3 Day walk up in Philidelphia. This is her 2nd year in a row and she says it was fantastic. She called me yesterday to let me know that she had finished her walk and her toes were all scraggly and nasty. Lol. Glad she thought of me. Run over to her blog and congratulate her on her amazing feat all for the support of breast cancer.

Insurance

Auto insurance is a necessity in the state of Florida as well as many other states. I'm currently paying a higher premium than most because I am a guy under the age of twenty five and I have a few tickets on my record. Luckily, I haven't had to make an insurance claim so far and don't plan to anytime soon either. I'm thinking about switching my auto insurance provider to see if I can get a better rate as well as to see if I can get a bundled plan. I've been looking for renters insurance for our place and I would like to have it from the same company as my auto insurance to keep things simple. Secureinsurancequotes.com is a great place to go to get free insurance quotes from multiple companies instead of having to go to each providers website and entering in all your info a million times. They not only do auto insurance quotes, but they also do homeowners insurance, term life insurance and health insurance quotes.

This is a sponsored post.

Real Ideas

We have a conference at Van Dyke Methodist this weekend. It's called Real Ideas. It started today and I am waiting for the next session. It's really cool. What we are doing is we invited Pastors, Volunteers, Tech Teams and Worship Leaders from other Tampa Bay churches to come have service with us then take some of our classes about operating a ministry. The majority of the people that come are from smaller churches looking to see what can help them gain a larger following. We'll be talking about everything from having a great leader to having a visually stunning service. I think it is a really cool idea and definately shows that the possibilities are endless. That's not saying that Van Dyke has reached the end either. Just today we received three palettes of brand new lighting! Some really cool "toys". I love this gig.

Making The Buck

Leave it to Apple to squeeze every last dollar out of you. Their computers are awesome. I really love the sleekness and ease of use of the operating system. Plus, they look cool. But man, they cost a whole bunch. The one I really want is $2,400! But, it is nice. Thankfully, the Macbook I use now is the churches and I get to use it as if it was mine absolutly free. 

I was on the Apple website today just looking at what's new and I came across a bit of software in the store section. Apparantly all the current Macbooks have 802.11n (the newest wireless standard) built into the hardware! So, cool. I can use the newest and fastest WiFi and I didn't even know it. I thought this book was b and g only. Here's the little catch. The Macbook has the capability, but Apple wants you to pay $2 to use it. The $2 is for what is called the 802.11n Enabler which is a piece of software/firmware that while enable the "n" capabilites. $2!!! I know it's nothing, a drop in the bucket, but come on Apple. We already bought the computer, now you want us to pay for the software too? What the hell are they going to do with $2? That's just their way of pinching every penny out of your wallet.

Decorating

Nichole and I decorated our place for Halloween. Ooo spooky! We have quite a bit of stuff for Halloween thanks to my Dad not decorating anymore. We took the stuff we liked. There's a lot of it, but not so much that it is not tasteful. I think it looks good. I decided to clean the carpets before we decorated and were tossed into the holiday season. They were filthy. Gray water to say the least. But, they look so good now. We got just the right amount of Halloween in every room of our apartment. Even the bathroom. We also decorated our patio, front door and bedroom window. Lights, garland, ghost and pumpkins. I guess we are kids at heart. 

Football Town

Looks like good ol' Tampa Bay might be somewhat of a football town this year. Still early of course, but it sure is looking good. Not only are the Bucs on a winning streak, now 3-1, but so are the USF Bulls! 

This year the Bucs are looking pretty strong. We actually have a running game, which we have hardly ever had. I'm seeing protection for our QB from the offensive line as well. We had won 2 homes games the past two weeks and I was feeling ify about this week at Carolina (the Bucs usually do not play well away), but we kicked ass. Let's keep up the momentum.

The USF Bulls have been a huge surprise. I do not follow college football too much, especially the newer teams such as the Bulls. They are only in their 7th season and and are already in the top ten! 4-0 I do not want to sound like I am jumping on the bandwagon, but "Go Bulls!"

Fixing The Car

I'm finally getting the front wheel bearing replaced on my truck today. Everywhere I went they wanted to charge me an awful lot of money just to put a part in. I already bought the part online and it has been lying around for almost a month. I just need it installed. Nichole's cousin's husband has a shop at home, but he has been really busy with another project. But, as of yesterday he has cleared the lift and is ready to do my truck. I'm pretty excited about this because I just get a weird feeling every time I drive knowing that one of the parts is bad. So, yay for fixed truck.

Heaven...

I came home from work today and decided to stop and check the mail. We have those standard apartment mailboxes where they are all together and you have key to get in it. When I opened it up I was blinded by a bright light and the sound of angels chanting. Once my eyes adjusted to this light I saw what it was that had blinded me. Packages and packages of FREEBIES! It's like we hit the jackpot. Today we receive 4 total freebies but one of them was a three pack. We got: Clean and Clear face wash, a Simply Nutrilite nutrition bar, Ziploc's new Zip N Steam bags and a 3 pack of Pledge surface wipes! How cool is that? It made me think of all the other things we have gotten for free. We have: 4 tubes of toothpaste, more Ziploc bags, Nichole hasn't had to buy deorderant in a year because we have gotten so many Dove samples, stacks of shampoo packets, we have done at least 10 loads of laundry with free laundry detergent and fabric softener and Fresh Wipes just to name the stuff that comes to mind. The other day we got a really good one too. We received a 25 count, yes 25 count, of Pledge Multi Surface Wipes! I love the free stuff. Thanks Cheryl!

I Want To Win

Do you want to win an 8GB Video iPod? I know I do. I love people that give stuff away for free. A fellow blogger showed me this new blog It's Write Now. The creator, Emma, posts quite a few useful tips about writing. That's what her blog is about. She has started up a new contest to win a video iPod and it's red! Pretty cool. The contest ends on Halloween... also pretty cool. It'll be like Christmas on Halloween. All you have to do to enter is do exactly what I am doing. But head over to her contest post to get all the details. So, what are you waiting for? Get over there and enter or else I'll have a better chance of winning. Wait...

Wasting Time

As you can see I am not working. Hence the blogging. But, believe it or not I am at work. Working the mall gig today. On days like this, I wonder if it is even really worth it. I have made a whopping $32 for myself today. I'm strictly commision and I haven't really sold a damn thing all day. But, Saturdays is what makes up for it. When I am here all by myself, allday (11 hours). That's where the bread is at. I can't even people watch on a day like this because all there is are people in wheelchairs, with walkers or zipping by at 50mph in a motorized cart. Sometimes I think it would be cool to see a motorized cart accident. Two of them collide leaving one with a flat tire and a bent rim. The other with a torn off fender. Maybe the geezers will even start to beat each other with their canes. Then, Tuesdays would be interesting. But, that never happens. At least I have some blogging to catch up on.

October

October is right around the corner and before you know it Christmas will be on our doorstep. A lot of stores have dragged out the Halloween gear and are now pushing it towards the back to make room for the Christmas caboodle. Nichole and I are pretty excited because we recently raided my parent's attic and took what we wanted. Since moving out, the house doesn't get decorated anymore so all the stuff will just sit in the attic and rot. So, we took what we liked for our place. Now we have all this cool Halloween stuff to put up, plus our old stuff. Day 1 of October it's going up. I'll be sure to post some pics. We'll have to go back to my parent's house to raid once again for Thanksgiving and possibly Christmas. But, there is so much Christmas stuff that it would be near impossible to go through it all. Let the decorating fun begin!

1 Year

Okay, so it's a whole year from now, but I'm still excited. Nichole and I are going to Colorado this time next year for her cousin's wedding. Should be a fantastic wedding. Lots of time and money are being spent. Plus it is in Breckenridge which is right in the mountains! Last night we got a glimpse of the lodge and it is awesome. Very scenic and outright beautiful. The rooms are fantastic. We'll be geting a two bedroom premium suite that we will share with Nichole's brother and wife. It will have a full kitchen, fireplace, living room, big bathrooms and everything. Of course we plan on making the trip of it and plan on staying for 4-6 days. Too bad we have to wait a whole year.

Monavie

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More Free Stuff!

Science Diet Dog Food

Sunsilk Hair Care

Snausages Dog Treats

Tide 2X Ultra Detergent

Purex Detergent

Q-Leaf Tea

I also saw this coupon for $3 off New Oust Candles. I thought that was a pretty good deal.

Say Cheese!

I'm not much of a photo guy. I understand that capturing the moment in a photo means a lot to some people, but for me, not so much. If I had kids it would be the other way around, but I don't. I have seen some fanatics such as the ones at Disney that have the whole family pose at every ride, sign and building to get that picture. I've even seen them do it at the mall in front of the Disney store! Like they are at Disney or something. I find that kind of behavior ridiculous. But, I still would like to have a decent digital camera for those few moments you do want to capture. The really good ones. 

My digital is nothing special. It's a FugiFilm. It takes decent pictures, has all kinds of settings for light and speed and it also takes video. Nichole and I use it most often when we are at a special event at Disney or for those random funny moments. We have even made goofy faces and taken photos of them! I also use it to capture our events that we put on with Full Wave Sound Live. But, I do have some family and friends that are really into the digital photgraphy thing.

My good friend Diego works for a promotions company and uses a very nice camera every night to take photos at clubs. I often have to upoad the photos for him. Easily hundreds of photos from one night. I also have an aunt that works with photography and has always had a really nice camera. I remember when she used to use film, but she has gone digital as well. If I wanted a high end camera, like what they use, I would probably check out Canon cameras. I know they have been around forever and make a really nice product, yet is reasonably priced. But, for now I think I will stick with my Fugi that takes great pictures and didn't cost me a dime.

This is a sponsored post.

CFLs

The other day Nichole and I went grocery shopping. We always do our shopping at Walmart (like everyone else on this planet). So, we can also shop the home wares and all that fun stuff as well. We decided to start changing out all our incandescent bulbs to CFLs. Walmart's are decently priced so we bought a couple of packs. They are different...

We changed out or bedroom and living rooms first. I wanted the "natural light" ones which are supposed to have a truer light and will not give things that yellow look you get quite often from incandescents. Like I said, they are different. They have a bluer tint to them. Which is fine. I really like them in the bedroom, but the living room I have to get used to. 

One thing I really like about them, besides the money saving and environmental effects, is they do not bother my eyes as much as incandescents did. They are a lot softer and don't cause as much of a glare either. We liked them enough that I ended up going back to Walmart and bought another pack so we could change out our den and closet. The closet is really cool because now we can actually see the color of our clothes and they do not look all dingy and yellowed like the incandescent did to them. 

The only thing left to change our some top hats we have in the hall and dining room. They make CFLs for these as well. They look like a standard flood light, but are CFLs. So, I think we might give those a try as well. 

SOLD

TV and wall unit = SOLD!

We sold our old TV and wall unit last night for a not too shabby amount of $160. We just wanted to get rid of it. I was sick of having a 36" TV sitting in my dining room. So, when this guy said he would pay $160 and take it that night, I said, "SOLD!". I hope they enjoy it because I know I enjoy not having it lying around anymore.

Tuesday Freebies

Arm & Hammer Toothpaste (Go to the toothbrush)

Sunsweet Dried Fruits

Purex Detergent

Simply Nutrilite Snack Bar

Sundays

Sundays are probably my favorite day of the week. Those are my church days. Granted I have to be there at dawn's butt crack. But, I really enjoy doing what I love. The setup and production of the service is always interesting. Like, this week we do not have a main screen, so by throwing us this curve ball, we have to use our side screens and back up HD. The last couple of weeks Cole was able to come and participate. She really enjoys it and loves working with everyone. I do too. The worship team we have is a great group of talented people and fun to work with. I really like having her there. Unfortunetly she will not be able to make it this week. But, hopefully again soon. 

Pay Per Post

I've only been with Pay Per Post for about a month now and I love this program. For those of you that are not in the know, Pay Per Post is this company that has all kinds of sponsored content available for their bloggers to... well, blog about. In turn, Pay Per Post pays their bloggers a commission for their posts!

Now, like I said, I've only been with them for about a month, but I have already made some decent residual income. It's great for gas, lunches or those small trips to the grocery store. I'll also use it to have a nice night out with Nichole. To me, it's like having free money. Blogging, for me, doesn't really take much energy or mind power. It's cake work.

Of course the money is fantastic, but as for the program itself, my favorite part would have to be the selection of posts I can blog about. There is always a decent amount of topics I can blog about and there are always new ones being added. But, you have to snatch them up fast or someone else will. 

Monavie

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Freebie Tuesdays

Todays load of freebies includes:

Free 20oz Coke when you sign up for MyCokeRewards

Biore Skin Products

Friskies Cat Food

Jergens Skincare Products

Freebie

Okay, before you get too excited, this isn't a freebie that you can partake in. Nichole and I have some wonderful family and friends that have helped us get to where we are. Yesterday we had the wonderful opportunity to receive a free 36" flat screen TV! Well, of course we took it. Corey's parents had just gotten a new TV and didn't have any use for their old one. It's a big 36" Sanyo with a great picture and tons of options. There is absolutly nothing wrong with it. So, after we fought with it getting it into the car and got it home, we decided to make sure it would fit in our unit. Nope, that's a big negative on that. The TV we had before was a 32" and the wall unit would not fit the new one. We ended up travelling all over the countryside looking for some kind of TV stand and we ended up finding one at none other than Target in Trinity. So, now we have a nice, black TV stand and a black audio cabinet for all the equipment. We do have to find another matching cabinet for the other side to fill up the space and make it look even. My dad was a great help getting this ball buster of a TV up our stairs last night. Thanks Dad. I do not think I have ever moved something heavier or more awkward than this TV. But, it's worth it. A bigger, better TV and it was completly free (minus the TV stand)!

Busy Sunday

Tomorrow is going to be a busy day. This is how it's going to go down:

1. Go do the church thing

2. Go get lunch with the Worship Team

3. Go to the Schob's and check out this FREE TV!!!

4. Possibly have the car worked on at Nichole's cousin's place

5. Take a fish back to the pet store

6. Run up to the mall to do a little Monavie presentation

7. Wash the cars

8. Try to fit some football in there somewhere

Free Time

"Do you know what time it is? It's everyone's favorite host... MICMAN!!!"

"Thanks Ray. Let's see what wonderful freebies we got for you today. Ray, let's show our guest what we got behind door number one."

"For the ladies that know Shania Twain we have her wonderful new fragrance Starlight."

"Behind door number two we got a sample of Dunkin Donuts Coffee!"

"Those are some fabulous gifts Ray. Let's see what is next."

"Coming up next, for those smokers that want to quit, we have Nicorette Cinnamon Surge Gum. The candy that will make you quit."

"If you loved our last gift, you will die for this one. If you quit smoking using our last prize and your teeth are dingy yellow. Why not give Listerine Whitening a try."

"Want some cereal? Why not try new Curves Cereal."

"That's fantastic. Why not show our guest our last prize."

"Last, but certainly not least, we have Aveeno Positivly Ageless."

"And the winner of these fabulous freebies is..... YOU!"

"Be sure to join us next time for some fantastic giveaways."

Pavarotti

Luciano Pavarotti, the world famous tenor, past away this morning in his home in Modena, Italy. He had been battling with Pancreatic Cancer since being diagnosed with it in 2006. He only had one year since being diagnosed until he lost his battle. Unfortuanetly, my Grandmother was diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer earlier this year. We do not know how long this will last. But, she is in good spirits, fighting hard and we are all praying for the best. You can keep up with what's going on at my Aunt's blog.

News

I read the news on a daily basis and multiple times a day. You never know when something new, exciting, tragic or important is going to happen. Most of the time I am reading on the web. There is this one great news blog that I enjoy. It's called Gimmie The Scoop. It's a marketing blog. I like a news blog over a news site because there are comments that are left by people and you can get a nice little debate going on. Everyone's opinion counts. What I really like about Gimmie The Scoop is the navigation of it is simple and smart. The news is broken up into categories. My favorite category would have to be the Internet & Technology category. They have some great product reviews and even posts about products that are not completly available yet. The top post at the moment even talks about search engine optimization which all of us bloggers know a lot about. This has been a great source of news for me so far. I think I'm going to go read the news right now.

This is a sponsored post.

Monavie

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Labor Day Weekend

Nichole and I had a really nice weekend. After church on Sunday we went over to the other coast to visit my Grandma. She is doing great and was so excited to have us there. So was her husband and their dog! We didn't do anything too exciting. Just watched a little classic TV with them (Andy Griffith, Mash and Gunsmoke). For dinner, my Grandma made wonderful cornish hens with asparagus, rice and corn.

On Monday, Nichole and I left and headed over to Disney. Why not. We went to Animal Kingdom earlier in the day and just mulled around. We saw the Nemo show, which was okay. In the evening we went over to Epcot (my favorite). A lot of stuff was being refurbished. Plus, the Food and Wine Festival is coming up. They redid the Canada show! It now has Martin Short in it (of course, he is everywhere in Disney). I think they did a really good job with it and kept it close to the original. They also kept the original "O Canada" song. They couldn't get rid of that. Later, Nichole and I had a nice dinner at the Biergarten and enjoyed the Illuminations fireworks show. It was a very enjoyable weekend to say the least.

Labor Day Weekend

Nichole and I are going to go over to the other coast to visit my Grandmother for Labor Day. She has been through a lot recently and I haven't seen her in a few months, so we thought it would be nice to go over and see her for a bit. I have the church thing tomorrow morning, but we are then leaving right after and going straight over. We'll be coming back on Monday and since we are over there, you know what that means... Disney! We'll stop over there for a bit on the way home and enjoy a nice relaxing Monday. A little Animal Kingdom and then Epcot fireworks!

Need New Software

So, I love the Macbook. But, it is really starting to bother me that I can not add links or photos to my posts nor can I change the font without writing HTML. I had an offline program on my HP that I used from Microsoft. What I am looking for is a program I can run on a Mac that allows me to write posts and edit them with links and photos and the fonts. I want to be able to run this program without logging on to Blogger withen the browser. Any ideas? Oh and it has to be free.

People Who Think They Can Sing

So, I was at the studio yesterday and it was time to get started on a new session. This older guy was going to be playing some acoustic guitar and laying down some vocals. Should be an easyand quick session. First, we layed down the guitar. Not too bad except for the fact that he couldn't play to a click track to keep it in time. But, not a big deal until I have to add drums to it from the keyboard. But, it's really the singing that made this a difficult session. It really wasn't even singing.  Since he was an older guy that smokes, it was just horrendous. There were no notes and nothing was sung in a key. It was everywhere. But, by the end it was decient. I then listened to some of his other stuff he had recorded years ago, and it was just as bad. So, it will match.

Superbad

It was superbad! Yeah, we saw it a few days ago, I just haven't got around to blogging lately. My Aunt, Nichole and I went to the movies like we always do and wanted to see Superbad. We knew it was going to be good when they were checking ID at the door to the theatre! It was the funniest movie I have seen in a long time. In the end, McLovin steals the show! Go see Superbad. It's fantastic rude and crude comedy.

Finally Some Freebies

Aquafresh Toothpaste
Full Size Bottle of Neutrogena
Pork Chomps Dog Treats
Kashi GoLean Bar
Pantene Expressions

Paintball!

I'm not much of a paintballer. But, I have some good friends that are seriously into it. One of them owns three guns, tons of gear and even watches it on TV! That is how much he is into paintball. I've watched some of the shows with him as well as seen him play and it looks like a lot of fun. Just to see how much it would cost and what kind of gear it would take to get involved in paintball, I did a little searching.

Ultimate Paintball is a great source that has absolutly everything you could possibly need for paintball. Of course you can buy all your gear from them individually, piece by piece, but they also have these really fantastic packages put together that have everything you need to get started in the game. They not only have the guns, of course, but they also carry all the masks, safety gear, air systems, ball hoppers and even the cleaners and oils for your guns. Pictures as well as all the pricing is right in front of you so you know the bottom line. All you got to do is pick what you want, put it in the cart, pay for it and it'll be shipped out to you. I really like the easy navigation of the site and the ability to search their stock by maker. To get everything you need for paintball online, head on over to Ultimate Paintball.
This Is A Sponsored Post

Halloween Is Coming

Halloween is coming and I can't wait. I loved Halloween as a kid and I still do. The decorations, the costumes, the stories, the candy and most of all the events. I was in Albertsons last night and they already have all the Halloween candy out on an aisle with Halloween signs. I couldn't believe it. Of course Yankee Candle has had all the Halloween stuff out for weeks, but now the candy! Sheesh. 

But, as for the events I can not wait. Nichole and I want to go to Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party this year. Then, I know I want to go to Halloween Horror Nights at Universal this year. I'd like to get a group of people to go this time. I was checking it out on the web today. They do not have much information available yet except for the theme of this year and of course the dates and ticket info. They actually have a really good option this year. (they might have had it last year, I don't know.) For the same price as a 1 night ticket you can go back for 13 nights! Those nights are Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday. Friday and Saturday are not included, but I have been there on those nights before and it is ridiculous. The lines are so long. So, I think that would be a pretty good option. I don't know whether Nichole would want to go or not. I'm sure she will voice her opinion when she reads this. So, if you are local and would like to go, give me a shout and we will figure it out. 

NFL and Vick

I hope this man goes to jail for a long time and has to pay out so much money in restitution that he will never have the lifestyle he used to have. This bastard committed cruelty to animals and he should be treated as such in jail. I hope the NFL gets all of his $22 million signing bonus back.

Window Blinds

Nichole and I live in an apartment. Unfortuanetly there is only so much that we can do to modify the place and make it nicer. One of the first things I would want to change are the window blinds. Of course we have those cheesy, white plastic venetian blinds that block out absolutly no light. We even have one in the den that is metal. It doesn't even match the others! Terry's Fabrics has a really nice selection of venetian blinds and they also carry vertical and roman blinds. If I had a choice I would be replacing them with some nice wooden venetian blinds.
This is a sponsored post.

Another Cool Widget

Another cool widget I have is the whole 2007 NFL schedule with standings. It even has preseason. I really like this one. I can see the dates and times of all the scheduled games. I can even see the score for all the quarters and player stats for individual games! It's pretty cool.

Blogger Widget

A couple of posts back I was talking about this new widget I got for blogger. It's pretty cool. I like not having to bring up a web browser and logging into blogger and all that. If I want to post, I want to do it NOW. So, again I am using the widget. The only thing I really do not like about it is I can not format the font. But, I looked at the font that it posts in by default, and it doesn't look bad. So, I don't think it will be a big deal. What do you think? Is the font okay? Can you read it? Oh, you also can't post a link either. I'm sure you can with html, but that's not a big deal.

Apple

The Macbook I was given is a used Macbook. But, it's in pretty good condition. The biggest problem is the deck/palm rest on a WHITE Macbook gets dirty easily and if you do not clean it on a regular basis it will stain. Well, the person who used it before me never cleaned it and therefore it is stained. Luckily, the church has a service agreement with Apple and I can go get it fixed for free. So, I set up an appointment, because you can't just show up, and drove all the way out to International Plaza to get it fixed. Yeah, big negative on that. They have to keep the Macbook for 3 days to put on a part that probably takes 5 minutes! Apparantly they get backed up on the weekends. Needless to say, I didn't leave it there since I need it on Sunday. Some other day I guess. If most people that own Macbooks tend to be productivity users, I don't understand how Apple can expect you to live without it for a few days. 

Pay Per Post

Both of my Aunts have been blogging for Pay Per Post for quite some time. When, I started up my blog they told me about this opportunity to get paid to post. Once I read about Pay Per Post and found out that it was a form of blog marketing, I knew I wanted to do it. Then it was just a waiting game. I couldn’t wait for the 3 months to be up so I could start making money. Those 3 months are finally over and now I can make some bread.

I’m proud to say that my Aunt Colleen is Pay Per Post’s largest money maker. Now, I don’t plan on making that kind of money. But, it will be nice to have that residual income. A little money here to pay for lunch and a little money there for gas.

What I really like about Pay Per Post is they work for you. Advertisers pay Pay Per Post, to have their bloggers post about the Advertiser’s product. All you have to do as a blogger is pick the opp that you want to take, create a post about it, include all the requirements and Pay Per Post then sends you the money. Easy peasy. So, do you want to do it? Click on a link and get your Pay Per Post on.

New Widget

Just trying out a new widget for Blogger on the Macbook. I love these little widgets. The only thing I do not like about this one is I can not change the font. But, I can't change the font in Safari either. Get with it Blogger! 

Sundays

Another perk of working at the church is my Sundays are fantastic. Yesterday, after church and lunch, Nichole and I went to Disney. We haven't ben able to go all summer because our passes were on block out. But, now we can go again. Yeah, we didn't get there until 5:30, but they were open till 11 so we got plenty of time in. It was nice to just get out of the house and ride some rides. We did some things that we haven't done before such as the Astro Orbiter. That was pretty cool. All in all, it was a nice day trip with Cole. Can't wait to see what I'll do next Sunday afternoon.

Macbook

Just a perk of being an employee of Van Dyke Methodist, I get a Macbook to use! If you had a chance to see my HP laptop, you would have noticed that the OS looks like a Mac. That's how much of a Mac fan I am. Now, I have one. Though it is used and I need to take it to Apple to get the deck replaced, it is great. I also received a portable Pro Tools Mini as well. How cool is that? So, not only do I get to work in the field, hang out with great people, but I also get a free laptop and recording rig. Sweet!