Well, after a couple month hiatus, I’m dieting to shrink my waist line a bit. I’m not really subscribing to a strict diet but I have drastically reduced my food intake and am counting calories through the Weight Watcher’s method. To keep me honest I’m meeting my brother in law at his house to weigh in each Monday night. So far so good. If I
A Late 2009 Turnaround in the Economy Seems Optimistic
I’ve really been somewhat riveted by the current economic crisis. Each day seems to bring new twists and the numbers are getting worse by the month. Today they announced a 2.7% decrease in December retail sales. Isn’t December the month where everyone is supposed to go gangbusters and spend tons of money they don’t have? Apparently not last December. I’ve read more than a few
You Supported Me for 10 Long Years
Amidst all the noises of garbage landing in the pile and large machines working away I heard the sound of my long time friend being crushed in to a thousand pieces. I suppose it had to happen sooner or later. The couch that has been my comfort every evening for 10 years finally had it’s last behind on it yesterday. At first I thought that
Our Jenn Air Cooktop Range Died
It seems that the demands on my wallet never cease. Last week my wife decided to make something on the stove. We have a Jenn Air stove that just sits in a hole on the kitchen island in our home. Our oven is not connected to this and is on a wall in the kitchen. (It’s not a range/oven combo). Anyway, when my wife
Is It Just Me or Are More People Keeping their Heat Turned Down?
A couple of years ago my house was known as the “cold” house. Every time my sister came to visit she made sure she brought along sweaters and coats. At that point in time my thermostat was set at 69 degrees during the day and 62 at night. With the temperature at 69 I could easily walk around the house with a T-shirt on and
Mortgage Refinance is Almost Done & Other Ramblings
Happy New Year! I’ve had the last two weeks off from work and have enjoyed spending time with my wife and daughter as well as just relaxing around the house. We had a very interesting weather pattern here leading up to the new year so I also shoveled more snow than I ever have in my life. Christmas was low key and I think we
The Best Things in Life are Free
Today was one of those days that you remember for the rest of your life and I didn’t spend a nickel all day. Up here in the Pacific Northwest the weather has been a little abnormal. By that I mean that it snowed. It has been cold for a week and we even saw temperatures in the single digits overnight in a couple areas. With
The Things We Spend Our Money on
It sure is interesting to see the kinds of things people spend their money on. Safe to say I wouldn’t be putting this kind of money in to this ride…….
Decent Video On Consumerism
I liked this 2 minute video talking about why you should spend less on Christmas. It seems like an appropriate video to share during these harder economic times and my overall desire to tout the benefits of jumping off the Christmas present orgy express.
We’re Going to Refinance Our Home Loan
It was finally too much for me to ignore. We have been paying 5.75% on our mortgage for the last 6 years. We’ve always felt that was a great rate, especially when you consider historical rates. Well, the appeal of a sub 5% loan was finally too much to keep me on the sidelines. We were able to secure a new loan at 4.875% for





