Money Smart Moms

Enjoying the Night

We were just out sitting in the sun room for about 45 minutes. The air has a gentle breeze, the night is comfortable, and it’s gently quiet outside. Soft sounds come from the distance, like a train in the distance, a little boy laughing and a dog a few blocks over. It was delightful…I had a beagle on my lap, my Gracie next to me, and a cat next to me. What a nice way to spend some time with my husband and pets.

Dream Homes

Now that I’ve given you a tour of my back yard, you’ll see I live in a modest home that suits our family well. If you’re on the market for something exquisite, you’ll want to check out the million dollar homes at DreamHomesMagazine.com. They’re a little out of my price range, but I can just imagine living large. Take for instance the orange county homes for sale, they are million dollar homes, and if I could afford it, would make for beautiful living, but I’m just not ready to take on a mortgage of that size! Of course, who wouldn’t fall in love with all the sunshine and incredible weather out near San Diego! If you’d like to see more homes, go to DreamHomesMagazine.com and search through some of the dynamic homes. I was just looking at one in La Jolla, California for a little over $19 million! I’m considering it for a summer home. Okay, considering it in my dreams, but none the less, the homes are spectacular, and well worth checking out, even if it is just to dream! This post was brought to you by DreamHomesMagazine.com.

The Backyard Tour

The chairs and wheelbarrow on the side of the shed are to stop the dogs from going behind there. It was really muddy back there for awhile after some massive rainfall! I asked Buster to pose for you, but he was having none of it. He’s modest and not as much as a ham in front of the camera as my Gracie is.
We live on a corner lot, so most of our yard is on the front and side, not fenced in.

There’s the grill! The wood frame sitting above it, is for a porch swing we’ll be putting up outside. It’s one my grandfather made. We need to level the ground near the shed first. It’s on a list of things to do! Hubby cut the grass yesterday…notice the trees, some are getting leaves, while the one outback, not quite yet! We lost two trees in the last two years, because water pools, and the roots rot. I hope this one in the back didn’t die on us. I think it was okay last year. There used to be a large maple tree next to the shed!

This is the side that’s fenced in. I’ll shoot pics of the front and side yard another time…Notice the angle. That’s a good thing, because we live on a slight angle, it helps the water not pool as much and continue on it’s path. We get a pond effect sometimes in the back after a heavy rain, so we’ll be slanting it a bit, so it can continue to that slope. Landscaping in the back yard is not a priority right now. Though we may add some arborvites (spelling) to the back wall of the fence for a little extra privacy.

This is the dog’s domain! Next to the patio is our sun room.

What Should You Study?

Your Learning Style: Curious and Brilliant

You are a very abstract learner. You can grasp even the most complex theories. You Should Study: Astronomy Biology Chemistry Computer Science Linguistics Mathematics Philosophy Physics Psychology

Pressure Washing a Shed

We were doing clean up around the house the last few weekends. I’d love to get a pressure washer for around the house. Those things are awesome! I was watching them pressure wash a deck on a tv show on Saturday, and the difference was amazing before and after. I’d like to take a pressure washer to our shed.  We have a pretty large shed, and the one side of it, especially the shigles need a good cleaning. It used to sit under a large maple and was shady. When the tree died, we cut it down, but the effects of sitting under the tree show on the shed. How would you use a pressure washer? This post was brought to you by CarGuyGarage.com

Can I Eat?

I just had to call the doctor’s office. I have an appointment today, and I couldn’t remember if I could eat or not! I get blood work done every few months because of my thyroid issues and diabetes, but I just couldn’t remember! My appointment isn’t until after 11am, so my tummy was hoping we could eat! Good to know…

I’m so ready to be done with doctors, and should be done for a few months after this. You get used to doing blood work with you have thyroid and sugar issues! It’s like clock work every few months to monitor. At least it’s my last one for awhile! Oh, yeah, I do have to reschedule that dermatology appointment! One of these days…

Massive Database

If you’re looking for Mailing Lists, I’ve got something to tell you about! Sometimes finding the right contacts is all it takes to help you reach success, and with MartinWorldwide.net, you have access to a massive mailing list. If you’re in sales, I don’t care what division, having this kind of contacts can make the difference. Because it offers a multi-dimensional database, it means there are over 100 selections and variables. Decades of tracking went into this database!

They have one of the largest databases available, so there isn’t need to go elsewhere.  Are you sitting down? Their database has over 290 million consumers in it!  I told you it was large. They also have more than 14 million businesses in the United States on their database! These are the kinds of numbers that you can’t make up! Here’s the best part, they give you a guarantee in writing, so if you’re looking for mailing lists, look no more. You’ve just found your answer, MartinWorldwide.net! This post was brought to you by MartinWorldwide.net

Sticky Notes

With all this modern day technology, emailed notes, and online organizers…I just looked down at my paper organizer I use, and I have all these little sticky notes on it! They are pulled off as things are accomplished. They are my quick notes! I use a 2×2 square of sticky notes for quick notes, and as things are done, off them come! I laughed when I looked down, because I have 3 on one side of the organizer, and I flipped it over and have 3 more on the other side! Time to sort through and see what hasn’t gotten done yet.

Miniature Golf Sunday

We were going to head to the boardwalk today, which is about 90 minutes from here, but my son decided he wanted to go miniature golfing instead locally. The weather is supposed to be delightful, so I’m looking forward to being outside for awhile. Looks like 70 degrees and sunny skies for this part of New Jersey!

What I love is that he’s getting competitive, and he’s getting good. I used to always beat him in games, but now he’s beat me a few times in things like bowling, golf, and air hockey! He gets such a kick out of it. We make it a healthy and fun competition, because I think it’s important for him to understand sportsman like conduct when you win or lose. Okay, I let him go on a little bit when he wins with me, but he understands how to handle things better these days.

Keep Learning!

When I was in high school, all I thought about was becoming a wife and mom. College dreams weren’t that big for me. I got my wish to become a wife and a mother, but then I got divorced, and where did that leave me? It left me needing to find a good job, and without a college degree, it wasn’t easy. I was fortunate to end up working for a good company and made a decent living, but it was purely luck me falling into that job. I stress to my kids how important it is to have a good education to fall back on. I’m a true believer in continuing education, and I went back to school, not once, not twice, but three times as an adult! While I was working at my company, I took basic college courses. When I left, I went to school to get my license in skin care and nails. I again went back to school for massage, though I was unable to finish, as I ended up getting ill, which side-lined me for 6 months. What I discovered about myself is that I loved learning as an adult. There was a new passion to being an adult student, because I actually wanted to learn! When you are busy with work and a family, the biggest chore is finding time, and having a flexible schedule. That’s where e-learning comes in. When you choose a university like Capella University, they offer you the ability to take courses that can help you earn a degree from home. Distance learning has opened doors for so many people, and the courses are plenty, so there’s always something to choose from. If you’re looking to take your career to the next step, or maybe even change your career, consider Capella University. This post was brought to you by Capella University.