For about four years, I have been an extreme pessimist when it comes to making New Year Resolutions. I decided to only set personal goals for myself instead of resolutions. Some goals are short-term (days, weeks and months) and others are long-term (months and years).

I will not make any New Years Resolutions for 2008 nor any other year.

Last years resolution was to go to the gym regularly and lose weight. I failed miserably and felt really bad about it. No more.

Now, I figure that if it happens, it will happen when I am ready for it to happen. Just like the new job. Previous years, I did a whole lot of talking about getting a new job, but no action. In July, I became determined and focused to search for a new job. My current (and soon to be ex-job on January 4, 2008) position is hell. I put a lot of hours into working on my KSAs (Knowledge, Skills and Abilities for the resume impaired) for a new position. I wanted to make sure that another agency would look at my paperwork and say, damn this is good. I want her on our team.

I do not know why, but for some reason when people find out that you got a new job, a common question is: How did you get that job? Or how did you do it? When you first hear that question, you just want to give that person a blank stare, what do you mean exactly? I am not quite sure of what they want to hear. That I slept with the manager and got an interview the next day? I stole your friend’s resume and put my name on it? Well no, I did not do that.

Read the rest of New Years Resolutions? Nah, I Pass

My current web host plan will be up in about 3 months. I purchased a one year plan with my host provider, Host Monster. I have really been pleased with their service over the last nine months. I will most likely stick with this company unless I can find a better deal. Searching for a web host provider can be frustrating at times. There are a several factors that I consider, but initially I look at cost (annual or monthly and set up fees), disk space (how many MBs of storage), data transfer (how many GBs) and database (must have MySQL). I like to use websites like http://www.webhostingchoice.com that have search tools for finding web hosts that meet your needs.

I have learned the hard way that a cheap plan does not mean that it is the best plan. Besides an affordable package with the extra features, I need quality customer service that is easy to access, responds in a reasonable time frame, shows patience and understanding and provides the correct answers. After dealing with at least six different web hosts over the years, another one of my criteria for making the final pick is that the company must have a toll-free number. And if the number is available 24-7 then that is even better. Dealing with a company via e-mail is fine, but I appreciate the convenience of being able to use my phone to call a sales, customer service or tech representative for assistance. Afterwards, I would have no problem with following up with questions in an e-mail.

My web host provider has helped me a great deal since March. At this point it is likely that I will stick with them. If something changes in the near future then I will definitely do some research to find the best deal available within my means.

Read the rest of Searching for a Web Host Provider

Have you heard about the new Knight Rider coming back to NBC? It will premiere on February 17, 2008. I am pretty excited about this because I was hooked on the original 80s series. See the second trailer at the end of this post.

Here is a 15 second teaser trailer that NBC aired during Sunday Night Football.

With only 15 seconds… I suppose teaser is an understatement. Regardless, I will be tuning in on February 17.

Second trailer:

Read the rest of New Knight Rider 15 Second Teaser Trailer

While hopping across links through Blogrush I came across a site that is offering a chance to win $25.

All you have to do is post a link on your website or blog to: http://theblogscape.com/ and leave a comment here.

To get multiple entries in the contest you can:

Subscribe to RSS feed: 2 entries
Add to Technorati favorites: 2 entries
Post about this contest with link on your site: 3 entries

Your blog needs to have at least 25 posts, and have been up since November 15th for this to count.

The contest ends one December 24, 11:59 PM CST, so hurry to participate if you would like an opportunity to win $25.

http://theblogscape.com/win-25-with-one-post/

Read the rest of Win $25 with One Post

Week 255

Say … and I think … ?

Health :: Overall, my health is pretty good these days. I have been drink lots of green and black tea as well as drinking Danactive and taking my vitamins. If I could get used to an exercise routine then that would be great. And speaking of health… the twins’ health is great. William has been doing very well since his surgery in September. He bumped his head at school the other day… scared the heck out of me. I called the doctor as soon as I found out about it. Dr. F. calmed my nerves a great deal. JT gave William some Tylenol for the pain and applied ice directly to the bump. The bump is nearly gone.

Tacky :: I think wearing boots during the summer is pretty tacky. The kind of boots that are meant to be worn in the snow.

Heels :: I wore high heel boots for the first time when I had an interview two weeks ago.

Yay! :: Regarding the interview mentioned above… I received a call this week. I got the job, yay!

Model :: I hope that am an excellent role-model for my children. When times are tough, it does not feel like I am. Raising children is the ultimate challenge in life.

Gather :: Friday evening, JT gathered all of the ornaments and Christmas decor. We decorated the tree before the children came home. They love the tree and all of the lights on the house.

Best gift ever :: Best gift ever? The birth of my twins. Best Christmas gift? The call I received this week for a new job.

Clients :: I only have a handful of clients for my small business, but perhaps 2008 will bring upon more opportunities and money.

Stomp :: William and Keisha occassionally stomp their feet on the ground when they do not get their way. Mom definitely does not approve.

Read the rest of Unconscious Mutterings

Raiding ideas is a great way to make extra money in the game. If your overall value in the game is well in the trillions, raiding may not be appealing. I currently have an overall value in the game over B$ 125 trillion and I still enjoy raiding.

What is raiding?

From the help node: http://blogshares.com/help.php?node=14

Raid Blog: This move steals 20-100% of the idea commodities produced by a blog in the artefact’s industry. Max. 500. For raiding, most players simply select a blog from the drop down menu provided. These top blogs in the Industry will typically yield the most Ideas for a Raid.

For the artefact wielder, raiding is a positive move in that they acquire Ideas for zero price, raising their Net Worth by the value of the Ideas raided. They can convert these Ideas into cash by selling the acquired Ideas either on the Ideas Market or by issuing Bonds for those Ideas. A raid does not affect any other player in the game or their Net Worth, other than removing some of the supply of Ideas in the Ideas Market. However, if the available Ideas in an Industry drop to zero, the price of the next Ideas produced in that Industry may be significantly higher or lower than the previous price, affecting many players’ Net Worths.

In my bookmarks, I have the following page added:

http://blogshares.com/user.php?id=USERID&view=artefacts&sort=price&order=DESC

Read the rest of How to Raid Ideas on Blogshares

I first read about this free promotion tool at Entrecard.com through Shoemoney, but then was recently reminded of it by Eaglehawk. I recently signed up but decided to put up the code in the right column of this site today, after Eaglehawk told me how many visits he received because of Entrecard.

So far so good. The interface is simple but not too plain and everything is easy to follow. When I signed up, I immediately received the confirmation email.

My Entrecard is actually looking plain at the moment, but when I get some more free time then I will make one that is better looking. Now I will just sit back and wait for results on the dashboard.

If you have already signed up at Entrecard, what do you think about it so far?

http://www.entrecard.com/

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I read about Duels.com at TechCrunch and joined immediately after reading the article. This addicting game is free, so beware that is your warning. I have been playing it must of the day… yes I am a huge slacker.

From the homepage of Duels.com:

You are about to embark on a journey of great rewards - where your combat and strategy skills will be challenged and honed to a fine edge. Carve your name into the Record of Champions. Rise to the pinnacle of dueling immortality. Fame, fortune and glory await you!

I decided to create a female elf. Female avatars were just recently added to the game, so that is cool. My elf’s name is Yrinnea… and yes I made that up.

My character’s origin is:

Yrinnea is a moon elf from the surface of Toril who was orphaned from her family when they were slain during the Great War. She was at the innocent young age of 110 when she watched her father and mother tortured and killed by a great warrior soldier. Her twin brother was carried away (presumed to also be tortured and then killed). Now at the teenage year of 210 she participates in DUELS and goes on quest for power in hopes of finding that enchanted soldier (which she was informed still lives).

I am not that creative to write such words… JT wrote it for me.

Yrinnea’s profile: http://www.duels.com/yrinnea

Go ahead and sign up at Duels.com. Sign up, leave a comment and I will ally with you.

http://www.duels.com/users/register/yrinnea

Read the rest of Duels.com Have You Joined Yet?

Read the rest of Wordless Wednesday

I wanted to post this last night after reading Baxter’s post but I fell asleep earlier than expected. Yesterday, Baxter promoted Bloggers Unite Day by asking for vistors to his site to raise money for breast cancer prevention through LookPink. This is an excellent post and I would like to thank Baxter for this thoughtful act.

December 17, 2007 was Bloggers Unite Day and the theme is Acts of Kindness.

I decided to write about how we contribute to my children’s school fundraisers by making purchases at Schnucks grocery stores using an eScript card.

Sometime last year, JT and I first heard of this fundraising program that required a card at Schnucks. Whenever we go to Schnucks, we present our card in the checkout aisle. A portion of our grocery expenses in a given month is donated to William and Keisha’s school. There is no cost to you involved, other than what you are already spending on groceries. We activated the card by calling the toll-free number on the back. I spoke to a representative and completed the call without any effort

The screen capture above describes what portion of your grocery spendings is donated to the school.

I do not always have extra money in the budget to make purchases on traditional school fundraisers such as the pizzas, candles, candy and other items. This is one reason why I support the eScript program so much. We already are making grocery purchases (we seem to be spending more and more these days as the twins get older), so we may as well get our eScript card swiped at the counter, with no additional cost to us, and in turn, donate to our children’s school.

Read the rest of Bloggers Unite: School Fundraising with eScript