FYI...Yahoo! Photos Closing

Just a heads up for anyone out there who has a Yahoo! Photos account. They are closing the Photos section on September 20, 2007. They've set up a program that makes it easy to transfer all your pictures to another photo hosting site like Flickr or Photobucket. I hadn't heard anything about it until today when I visited the Photos section.

Thanks, But No Thanks

Geof and I were outside this evening pulling up the spent sunflowers around the yard. Our neighbor stopped by to ask for some seeds for a friend who mentioned she'd like to have some. I collected enough to fill a small container and gave them to her. She said she appreciated me giving them to her but that she couldn't thank me. Something about an old wives tale that you're not supposed to thank someone for flowers or the person will die. What?! I chuckled and thanked her for not bringing about my death prematurely. She said she heard that as a child. She's an older lady, set in her ways and ornery as hell, but I like her a lot.

I'd never of heard that old saying before. It reminds me of one my grandmother taught me. She always says that you're never supposed to return a vessel empty. Like if you give her a pie in a reusable pie plate she always returns the plate with something else in it. Wives tales are funny I was trying to think of some others that I know of, like...

• If you drop the dishrag that means that company's coming
• Never kill a spider in the house because it's bad luck
  
• Never take a broom along when you move, throw it out and buy a new one.
• Pulling out a gray or white hair will cause ten more to grow in its place.

...etc, etc, etc. Old people are awesome!

Pop Quiz!

Bored? Why not take a quiz or add your two cents to a silly poll? Quibblo.com is the latest user-generated quiz, survey and poll site. I'll admit that I have been known to spend more time than I should on sites like Quibblo, I'm partial to the online quizzes. I just did one called, "Are you smarter than Paris Hilton?" Fortunately I passed...can you?

Are you Smarter Than Paris Hilton?

Have you ever made a sex tape?

	Yes
	No

Question 1 out of 8

Personality Test by Quibblo

Feel Like Whoring Yourself Out?

I cannot say enough good things about Pay Per Post. And no, I am not being paid to say this, that's how much I like it. There's nothing to lose and only money to be gained. Christmas is coming up, start stuffing your stockings now! Eh, ok now I sound like a commercial. Seriously, I do not regret signing up with them one bit. Go ahead, click the button and hop on the bandwagon!

Pounding The Pavement

Why didn't I listen to my parents? It's tough finding a decent job that doesn't require more than a high school education. When I left college, I didn't realize how badly I was shooting myself in the foot. Well, I didn't realize at that point that my life was about to take an unexpected detour either. I knew I would return to school eventually, I just didn't think it would be too far in the future. I'm still a couple years away from going back at this point. I guess this is what happens when you lay on the fast forward button in life!

I've been "pounding the pavement", as they say, in search of employment. Sure, I could go to my local national chain burger joint but the pay wouldn't cover a third of the cost of daycare. I'm beginning to see why single parent families depend on public assistance. I guess I'm one of the lucky ones. I printed out my very first resume today. It took me about 2 ^1/2 days to type up, not because of any abundance in education or work experience but because I found it so damn hard to tout my strengths. I really need to work on my vanity or at least my self esteem. Tomorrow I will hand in my resume and application for a position at the local tax collectors office. It would be perfect for me; Monday - Friday, 8am - 5pm, and it's salaried. I'm not going to get my hopes up, but I am crossing several fingers and toes. I'll just have to wait and see, I guess.

I've gone a couple places and had on-the-spot interviews. I would have been hired both times if I didn't want to make any money! I've done some number crunching and I have to make at least $9/hour to cover my expenses along with daycare and half a car payment. $8.50/hour is my break even point, and any more than that is icing on the cake. Not so easy to do with only some college under my belt and living in a small town. Things are better here than where I grew up at least, but not by much. I'm sure I'll find something eventually, I'd just feel a lot better if it was a little sooner than later.

*photo courtesy of corbis.com*

Christmas

Have you checked your calendars lately? The Christmas season is fast approaching and in order to beat the crowds, it's time to start planning your attack! I'd always heard the term "Black Friday" referring to the day after Thanksgiving and that it is the kick start to the Christmas shopping extravaganza. Last year I discovered Black Friday websites that listed all the deals to be had and the sales papers before they went public. That way I was able to plan way in advance which stores I wanted to visit to get the deals I wanted. I saved a lot of time and a lot of money.

This year I found www.black-friday.net. They have the option to join their mailing list to get the heads up whenever new Black Friday deals are added! They even have discount codes for tons of online stores so I can start shopping now. I saw on there today that Chefs has a great deal on shipping. I bought a few things from them last year for Nathaniel and he was very pleased with the quality...while I was pleased with the service and price. This year I've been searching for toys for Geof. He getting older and his toy preferences are getting more expensive. I want to get him something he'll actually play with and that will serve as a learning tool. I've been checking out the deals at the Discovery Channel Store. I could spend a fortune on just stuff for myself there! I could really get used to this shopping in my pajamas thing!