I have a bad driving record, lucky for me it ends in 2005, nothing since then. But in 2005 and 2004 there are a good 6 violations, everything from speeding to driving with no insurance, etc. I never fought any of them and I am paying for it now, instead of looking up a site that tells you how to fight a speeding ticket, I just paid them and went on… I was young and dumb.. now, years later and a much better driver, I have to pay nearly double for all of those tickets.

When we renewed last week she said that next year, when 4 of my tickets ‘drop off’ my record my insurance payment will go down by half. Add in the fact that my hubby will be over 25 and the discount for that, and next year we could be paying 40 dollars instead of 97 dollars! I am paying a lot for those silly mistakes I made when I was younger, if only I could go back and tell the dumb me what I know now!

Popularity: 8% [?]

Laundry can be found in; piles, mounds, baskets, and the good ole trail leading under the bed.

Someone said to me many years ago, “I want to stand my family naked in the living room for an entire afternoon, just so I am caught up on laundry.” I didn’t get it back then, but do now.

Not quite getting the disgust of laundry at a young age, I would venture to the Laundromat with my mother, sister or brother, only because 7-11 was next door. That meant a few hours with candy bars, pop and bubble yum! If only Mom would have realized that we were not on a septic system, like Dad said. Those trips would not be part of my childhood memories.

Gathering your naked family in one room is most likely not an option, but it sure sounds like a slice of coconut crème pie to me. How many clothes does a teen need, an outfit for school, one for after school and one for after nine pm. It causes a lot those piles.

There are things about laundry that drive me nuts; inside out and pocket goods. Well it’s good to be in charge, yet not thrilled at the policing of the cloths, there are some advantages. Pocket pickings, if it’s in there, it becomes mine; there are some valuable lessons in this from time to time. Teens can’t drive if they don’t have a license, and they think twice about that one. Money is the best, take a mason jar, glue the top on it, and cut a hole in the lid, display it near the washing machine and low and behold, in six months time, over sixty dollars may appear. The pocket posse can have a great “mom’s” night out or pamper herself with something else she wants to indulge in.

Inside Out, how long do we have to stand and right the balled up inside out socks, we could be blogging. T-shirts and boxers, I have found will and can be worn inside out, jeans those are a little tougher. I started implementing, the way it goes in, is the way it goes back!

You may not want to display the money jar though; they begin to catch on to that. The inside out is working well, and I am not spending as much time on that task!

About the Author:
I am a self taught artist, and started the Pencil Drawing Sketch Art Blog at http://soul-to-soul.com mid December. With almost 5000 hits since, and two orders for custom sketches, it seems to be going in the right direction. Art is my therapy and I enjoy sharing works in progress. I have been blogging since June 2007, when I started one for the company I work for, and it has become quite an addiction.

One of my favorite subjects to draw is the late great Stevie Ray Vaughan - http://soul-to-soul.com/2007/12/23/stevie-ray-vaughan-pencil-sketch-drawing/. I will be married 20 years this year, and am trying to get my computer illiterate husband into blogging, look out!

Popularity: 23% [?]

Now that we are expecting we are buckling down on the whole saving for a house thing. I have been looking into what all expenses involved and trying to figure out what it all means. One thing I learned in Real Estate school was about title insurance costs. Title insurance covers you against any losses that can happen if the title has defects or problems attached that you find out about later.

We have one title company in town and the cost seems reasonable, cheaper than in Gainesville from what I have read. And the title company is also the title insurance company, even though we have a separate insurance company from the title company. How confusing! Then adding in taxes, closing, mortgage fees, etc… I am hoping to find a real estate person that will not only do it but explain it. I don’t want someone that just expects us to sign at the dotted line.

It will still be about a year or two before we can buy a home but I want to be prepared and know what we are getting into before we get our hopes up. I am trying to save at least 10 thousand dollars to have as a down payment. at 416 a month saved it will take 2 years… I dont think that is gonna happen… maybe more like 3 years I guess!

Popularity: 5% [?]

This edition of the weekly 10 is all about home office organization tips!

1. A closet shoe organizer can keep a year’s worth of bills organized. Many organizers have 12 pockets and are meant to hold six pairs of shoes. Just label each pocket with a month of the year
2. Make neat work of computer, TV or lamp wires by attaching the wires to the back legs of desks and tables with a ponytail holder.
3. To organize loose office supplies, place them in plastic bags. For further organization and if you like to keep items in a binder, take the plastic bag and punch holes in the bottom of each. Place press-on reinforcements over the holes. Besides supplies, the binder idea is great to hold recipes in the kitchen or even fabric swatches if you sew.
4. Make sorting papers or filing easier by using a homemade finger grip. Simply cut off a fingertip from an old rubber glove and slip it on an index finger. Sorting through a stack of papers can now be done in a jiffy
5. Straighten desk at the end of the day and especially at the end of the week so that you can start each morning with a clear desk.
6. Determine what you can do yourself and what you might need help with. You may be able to paint and decorate the room yourself but could require technical help setting up the computer.
7. If your computer might be used by other members of your family, consider setting up a separate access for their usage so your files and settings aren’t jeopardizes by viruses or due to accident.
8. To prevent the home office from looking like a sterile, fluorescent-lit cubicle, it is best to let in lots of sunlight and make the space inviting with fabric accents, fresh flowers, and soothing colors that suit one’s décor.
9. Hide office clutter by stashing electronics in a closed cabinet, files in a stylish cube, and paper clips, and other small items in cloth-covered boxes.
10. There’s no need to dedicate a whole room in one’s house to office work. It just needs a little conversion, like a closet or corner turned small home office instead. Or let a seldom-used room such as a formal dining room perform double duty.

Popularity: 3% [?]

Last week I posted about my daily routine and asked for everyone to let me know thiers. As this is the follow up post, have fun reading everyones daily routines!

Mine:

7-8am ~ Entre Card dropping, advertising, and commenting.
8-8:30am ~ Checking and responding to email. Taking action where needed.
8:30-9:30am ~ Trying to write one pillar article for both blogs.
9:30-10am ~ Commenting, I make a goal of commenting on 10 blogs for each of my blogs (2 blogs = 20 comments)
10-11am ~ make another pot of coffee, do a pick up around the house, start a load of laundry
11-12pm ~ visit favorite forums (Bloggeries, entreCard, PPP)
12-1pm ~ Research and write a post or two for later posting. I like to keep at least 2 in draft for a day I am sick or something.)
1-2pm ~ Change laundry, have lunch, clean dishes and take a break
2-3pm ~ Marketing actions, depends on the day, sometimes I submit, buy advertising, update theme, social media, it varies. Checking email
3-4:30pm ~ Entre card dropping, stumbling, leaving more comments, mainly browsing at this point, while partaking in social media and having a bit of ”down time’
4:30-5 ~ dusting, cleaning, vacuuming, starting dinner for hubby
5-6pm ~ Any theme changes, check stats and get any last minute work done.
6-7pm ~ finishing up dinner, checking email, checking schedule for tommorow and waiting on hubby to get home.
7-10 ~ TV, working out, dinner, relaxation, cleaning…
10-7am ~ ahhhh… sleep!
Then the whole process starts over!

Rob from my favorite Forum, Bloggeries:

5AM-8:25AM: Wake up depending on how I am feeling, what I”ve done the night before and how motivated I feel
9-5 9AM Work Starts! Woohooo Work and a whole lot of shallow surfing.
Noon or 1PM : Lunch
5PM - Indepth Web Surfing w/ a Smoke
6PM - Dinner
7-11 - Computer - The Forum and obsessively chasing new money making ideas. Sometimes I feel like my future should of been in my rearview mirror!
11-2AM Mess things up and spend hours rebuilding mistakes I made.
Yes I’m a web junky but I wouldn’t have it any other way! I love the internet for the sake of the internet. I love having all the info I ever wanted and more at my finger tips and I love meeting fun new people to collaborate with.

Blogging Tips:
His is awfully long, see it here!

Inhibitor:

Whoooo-boy. Okay, you asked for it.
4:50am - alarm goes off
5:30am - arrive at radio station to get ready for my show
6:00am - start my show
6:02am - start cussing because something’s not going right
6:03am until 10am - continue cussing when mic is off for same reason
10am - start working on commercials and administrative duties
noon - go to lunch
noon until 2pm - work on writing, blogs, forums, IM, answering emails and trying to drum up business
2pm - return to radio station to finish up administrative duties, commercials and dealing with clients
4:30pm - return home
4:30pm until 6:00pm - help with homework for my 7yo boy and 14yo boy, work with 7yo on his baseball
6:00pm - dinner
7:00pm - spend time with my family, get my behind whipped by my kids on Wii and XBox
9:00pm - return to writing, blogs, forums, IM, marketing and promotion and answering emails, along with prepping for tomorrow’s show
midnight - realize what time it is, get a head start on the next morning’s cussing, stubbornly refuse to stop yet
somewhere between midnight and 1am - finally drag off to bed for a few hours
(Repeat until bills are paid…hasn’t happened yet, but I can dream.)

Susie:

3:00 am listen to husband shower and get ready for work - QUITE loudly I may add
3:40 - sometimes fall back to sleep (if not read)
4:30 - if not asleep - hopefully fall back to sleep(if not meditate)
5:30 - if not asleep get up - if asleep - the alarm wakes me
1 cup of coffee (big cup) that leads to an entire different story of husband making 1 cup of coffee with 4 scoops of grounds.. YUCK
5:40 wake boy for school
5:45 - check personal email
6:15 - shower and dress
7:00 - talk to mother check if her and my dad are good also talk to sister to make sure mother and dad are telling same story. *they are both brats and get into trouble*
7:30 - leave for work
8:00 - sort through email, prioritize service tickets, analyze web leads,
9:00 Analyze web traffic, blog traffic, write newsletter, write articles, argue with the receptionist
that goes on til lunch
12:00 lunch or shop or errands
1:00 - back to writing, back to database maintenance, work on graphics for newsletter, analyze, analyze, work with web developers, organize portable site - that goes on until end of day
5:00 leave
5:10 arrive home
5:11 - WHATS FOR DINNER
6:00 finally decide whats for dinner - order out 2 times a week
cook others
7:00 email, sketch, or read
8:00 catch house on tuesdays or some other mindless program
9:00 go to bed and get ready to listen to husband take shower !

CardioGirl

My older two go to school full-time, it’s me and the baby from 8:30 am until nap time at 12:45 til 2:45 pm I try to write my post for the next day during nap time and I use 4 am til 6:30 am to do the Entrecard gig, answering comments, leaving comments, etc.
I’d like to have more time but those darn kids keep showing up at the most inopportune times, you know?

I will be doing features like this more often, so subscribe to my feed to keep up!

Popularity: 3% [?]