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.