New England Patriots Perfect Season

I am not a Pats fan, but as a fan of the game, I appreciate the fact that the Patriots made history last night and went 16-0, knocking the 1972 Dolphins off thier pedastal and out of the history books. It was a good game too, I wasn't sure if they were going to pull it off, the Giants played as if their season was on the line...but Brady did what he always does, and they held onto thier lead to take the game and thier palce in history. Congratulations New England!

FREE - FREE - We All Want Some FREE!

Wow. It's been a long time since we had any free around here! It's about time we get back on that!

The tree hugger in me wants you to send for this FREE reusable shopping bag and rice coupon at Rice Select!

Get a FREE gift set of lipgloss, foundation sample and carry pouch on your next trip to Ulta with this coupon, NO purchase necessary, expires Dec 30th! (For those who live in my area, there is an Ulta across from Citrus Park Mall)

HA! Free Homer Simpson for President in '08 T Shirt here, hurry -supplies limited!

Free sample of Chicken of the Sea Ahi Tuna or Salmon here.

For my friend D, who is rocking in her new body and slimmer jeans! Here's a Free South Beach Living (formerly South Beach Diet) kit with an "on the go" drink mix and granola clusters snack!

For Sammy, Nephew & Girlfriends new pooch, here is a free sample of Yummy Chummies Gourmet Dog Treats!

Those should keep you busy for a while!

Weekend

I think I am going to take down the Christmas Decos today....I usually like to get them down before the New Year, and get the house back in order. I have laundry to do as well, and some errands to run. Other than that, Snoopy and I are free for the weekend! I have to work Monday, New Years Eve...probably a half day, we'll see how it goes.

Silver Lining

We were talking at work yesterday about the economy. With the recent unrest in the middle east due to the assasination of Pakistan's opposition leader Benazir Butto, it seems the price of gas has gone up again - one can only assume the 2 are related..... The stock market has not been doing so well lately either, I'm wondering if silver bars aren't a better investment right now? My Father used to dabble in gold pruchases, but never silver. You can purchase silver in coins or ingots as an investment product, and have them stored in a bank or depository for safe keeping.

Zilch

This Page Rank Zero sux, and I hope that things pick up around here after the New Year.....the lack of extra pocket cash through blogging is starting to make me crabby. And, you won't like me when I'm crabby.

The Aftermath

Christmas went well. We all gathered at Stepmoms Christmas Eve for a fine meal and gift exchange...everyone was partaking in the liquid libations which translates into a fun time!
Christmas day I hung out here at my place most of the day enjoying the quiet and watching Christmas movies..then headed downstairs to my neighbors for appetizers and coctails. Went over to older Sisters to exchange gifts with them, only stayed about 45 minutes - there was not much of a festive atmosphere going on over there.
Overall, I got some good gifts:
5 Victoria's Secret gift cards
Kohls gift card
DVD - It's a Wonderful Life
DVD - Pirate's of the Caribbean 3: At Worlds End
A NEW cereal bowl!
A Florida Gator Dustbuster
A few ornaments

Weekend Update

Well, it's the weekend before Christmas and you will NOT find me at the mall! In fact, other than hitting the gym, which is located in the corner of the mall parking lot - I am not going near the actual mall itself. Insanity.
I am supposed to do lunch and a movie with younger Sister and her kids tomorrow. And, Mom & her husband are here for Christmas, so I am having them, along with older Sister & family, over for dinner on Sunday. Making my white bean chili, it's easy, I can do it in the crockpot, and can feed a large crowd for a small amount of money, and it's damn tasty! Probably bake up some Johnnycake (cornbread) to go with it.

Holiday Trip

I have already announced numerous times that I will not be home for Christmas next year. I am going out of town. WAY out of town. I don't know where yet, but I am going to a faraway destination where I can relax and really enjoy the holiday, stress free - which translates to no family funtime! I need to start looking around now for deals and Hotel Reservations so that I can plan accordingly and ensure I have the time off. I can book a complete destination here that includes my travel, tours, and lodging! See me now, cause you won't see me later!

Matt Foley - Motivational Speaker

When I had my nieces this past weekend, we found a Saturday Night Live Christmas special on TV that included this classic sketch from when SNL was in it's heyday...nieces loved it,were quoting it all weekend.... and he never fails to make me laugh! I like to pass good comedy on to the next generation!

Pink Fan

No, I am not talking about Pink line at Victoria's Secret, though I am a big fan of those pretty things!
This CD has been transferred from my car to my house a zillion times since I purchased it the other day.

Love. It.
ALL of it.
Never been a huge fan of hers before, I do like a few of her songs...but never enough to make the entire purchase. Then heard who knew on the radio and really liked it...and already liked U & Ur Hand....love the attitude in that song. So, I bit the bullet and bought the whole CD, instead of just a few tunes for my iPod.
Sooo glad I made that decision.
I'm sold.
This album is awesome.
ALL of it.
I especially like Dear Mr President. I listened to it about 3 times, and thought that there was something familiar in the background...checked the credits - AH..."featuring Indigo Girls"..that was it! LOVE the Indigo Girls. Have all of their CD's and have seen them in concert twice.
I have the explicit version, and my girl can drop an F Bomb....but, I prefer to listen to the original, rather than the sugar coated version of an album.
Highly recommend it.

Google Smacked

Everyone else has been talking about it, now it's my turn. I've been Google-Smacked. This blog went from a Page Rank 3 to a big fat ZERO, and my other blog never got a chance to get out of the zero ranking. So, thanks to them, I am now making "NO MONEY-NO MONEY-NO MONEY". I am grateful that it was just "side" income...a little extra pocket cash....and not what I was using to pay the bills. I feel bad for those who were using their blogs for bill paying money. Because there have been NO OPPS on Pay Per Post/Izea for a while now...or, maybe it's just me that's logging in and seeing the same 3 available opps all the time. Izea introduced Real Rank a few weeks back, and the jury is still out on that....because my Real Rank seems to be REALLY RANK...maybe I just don't understand completely how it works, or maybe it's just because I do not have the time to sit here every day and do various things to try and increase my ranking...I am a busy woman people, with a career..and a life!
I'm hoping it's a Christmas slump, and things will pick back up again after the new year..cause that extra pocket money was nice to have around.

Merry Christmas

Insurance

It's about the time in my new position where I start choosing up my benefits, and I am lucky enough to be offered free life insurance through my company. If I had a family, I would look into getting an additional term life policy of some sort, but since it's just me and the pooch, I don't see a need for it. I do need to talk to my Mother about hers though, not sure what kind of policy she has, and with her terminal illness we will not be able to get additional coverage for her, but may be able to get her Husband taken care of if that's something they haven't thought of.
This is a sponsored post.

O Christmas Tree

We decided to "Tree" .....it's a small Charlie Brown tree, but it's ours. I put it up last night while watching "A Christmas Story", one of my favorite Christmas movies, right behind "It's a Wonderful Life"..

Snoopy keeps going over there, and gazing at it, and looking under it....as if he already expects something from Santa!

Tim Tebow Wins Heisman Trophy

Our own Gator QB, Tim Tebow, made history last night by taking the Heisman Trophy - the first Sohpomore to ever win the coveted trophy.
Even thought the Gators were out of the national title race early this season, finishing 9-3, His stats spoke for themselves. In his first year as a starter, he completed 68 percent of his attempts for 3,132 yards and 29 touchdowns and continued to run with reckless abandon, Tebow led Florida with 838 yards rushing and set an SEC record with 22 touchdowns.
What I like about him is that he is HUMBLE. The son of missionary parents, he speaks to local schools and prisons about his faith, he puts his teammates first..and he is always trying to better himself. Reminds me a lot of Danny Wuerffel, only bigger, stronger, and faster! This is the kind of sports figure we want our children to look up to.
This kid has 2 more years of college ball people.....look out!

Offers of Money

What is the deal about this time of year? Since Thanksgiving I have gotten no less than ten offers in the mail for cash advance on a credit card, signature loans, Payday loans, and credit line increases! Personally, I have no need for such a thing, and have shredded every one of them. I think these companies spend extra time this time of year advertising for these offers because they know people are vulnerable..they want to provide a nice Christmas for their family, and either did not budget properly..or just are not making the money they once were. Please do not fally prey to any of the hype, Christmas isn't just about store bought gifts....there are other things you can do for someone. A coupon for a nice home cooked meal, an offer to work in their yard or on the house, or some nice home baked goodies. Think about giving away your time and talents to loved ones, rather than that expensive gift at the mall.

To Tree, or not to Tree.

Once again, it is the time of year when I wrestle with the notion of putting up a Christmas tree. It's just Snoopy and I....do I really want to bother with it? I have a small 3' artificial tree....I usually take a picture in front of it with Snoopy, hae done it for all of his 8 years.....hate to break tradition. I am not a Grinch (though, that has been a subject of debate in some circles), I like Christmas...and I do have decorations up....stockings are hung, etc. I just am not sure that I want to deal with the actual tree this year. I may go to Lowe's and get one of those small table top live Rosemary trees that they sell this time of year. I LOVE how they smell...and after the holiday I can plant it in Stepmother's yard, I'm sure she would love that. I'll keep you posted on how this all plays out.

Shopping

Speaking of shopping, I did a lot more online shopping this year than I have in the past. It's easy, it saves gas, you can do it in your PJ's, and..there are SO many coupon codes to be found! I am all about a deal, and never do any online purchases before searching for a coupon or discount code of some sort! All of the stuff I ordered is here, so I saved time, money, and it's all ready to go! Oh, except for the wrapping part....I guess I have to wrap it, huh?
This is a sponsored post.

Busy

I haven't posted over here in a week. Sorry about that kids, your girl has been very busy with the new job...there's hardly been time for me.
Christmas preparations are moving along nicely...I am about done with my shopping, with the exception of Older Sister,who is the single hardest person to buy for.Ever. Ask anyone, they will tell you the same thing. Even her SON is clueless as to ideas. Younger Nieces and Nephews get wrapped gifts, and they are done. Older Neices and Nephews get gift cards or money. I have to get a Secret Santa gift card for our Sibling Secret Santa, and a gift for my work exchange.
I have NOT done any cards, nor have I taken my annual Christmas pic with Snoopy.
I need to start my baking, I may do some this afternoon to get a jump on it, as some of it has to be shipped north and will need to get in the mail.
Next Sunday is my Metropolitan Ministries volunteer event.
Busy. Your girl is very busy.