How much life insurance do we need?

Deciding on a life insurance policy can definitely be overwhelming. There are so many different kinds, and also so many different factors that go into each one. Term life insurance is the most common, but, there are four other kinds, as well. They are whole life, universal life, and variable universal life.

If I were to insure myself for the period of time until my children graduate college, and I didn't die, when my children get out of college, the policy would expire and I wouldn't get any cash out of it. I don't think I like the sound of that one.

The one that my husband got is also some sort of savings account, so that we can cash it out should we ever need it. That seems pretty cool, unless you cash it out and then die a year later, and leave your benefactors with no money for all of the funeral expenses and everything else that would need to be taken care of.

Another thing I wonder about is if we need insurance on me, as I am a stay-at-home-mom. My husband thinks that we don't, but, I worry that we might need at least some type of coverage for me.

Speaking of insuring me, I learned something else at AdvantageOneInsurance.com - my weight would actually be an issue in regards to the premium. I mean, I've always known that being overweight is a health concern, I just never considered it in regards to life insurance. If we were to get me covered, however, the premium could be higher because of my weight. There is one more weight-loss motivator!

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My mom is back from Spain

I know I'm just a big 'ol worry wart, but, I am so glad that she is back! She was supposed to get in last night in Dallas at 10:30pm, but, she didn't actually get in until 2:30am! Yikes!

And she had quite an eventful journey home - screaming, crying babies -- vomiting children -- rowdy high schoolers - oh my! I can feel a migraine coming on just thinking about it!

She had a great time in Spain, though - she gave us a mini-rundown by email while she was still there, but, I can't wait to hear all about all the rest of it!

My dad and my sister-in-law took turns taking care of her little baby girl - you remember, this one: Tori-Olivia/Lucie

And then the two big babies got to go to 'sleep-away camp' - heehee! It is this really GREAT place out in the country north of Dallas, called Tailwaggers Country Inn. We took Lucky there and he LOVED it!! She just picked those two up tonight and they actually seemed kind of bummed to be home. I told her that Lucky did the same thing and that it is just like picking up kids from sleep-away camp! "Aw, mannnn! I miss camp!"

So, anyway - she's home, the dogs are all back where they're supposed to be - and all is right with my world again. Well, except for the fact that we're 700 miles apart! *sigh*

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My favorite holiday

Ya'll probably know my favorite holiday is Halloween! I just love it! It is so cool to get to dress up and 'become' someone else for a night - and all of the festivities are so fun - especially haunted houses!!! Well, I was looking at this website with Sexy Halloween Costumes and I found some super cute ones! I really like this sexy country girl costume:
Isn't that cute? I would love it if, by October, I had lost enough weight to feel comfortable in something like that! I just might get there! I think I might rather have a witch costume, though - I always loved dressing up like a sexy witch!

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A free CD burner would rock!

There is a great blog that I read daily, by a very cool internet marketer named James D. Brausch - and he has a groovy giveaway going on! (How's that for some 'awesome alliteration'?) Anyway, back to James...

He has found himself in possession of too many CD burners - and he would like to share the wealth with his readers - so, he is having a contest. We post our reasons for wanting it - and, the reason he likes best - gets it! Gah-roovy!

Those of you who've heard me whining about my computer, could surely answer this one for me easily! I suppose, however, that I better do that myself!

My hard drive crashed in November, and I have since been stuck on my sons' hard drive (about which they are none too happy!). And although I'm super grateful that it's kept me connected to all of you and to my online world, in general, it is a dinosaur running Windows ME. Eeks! I think I will scream if I have to read these words too many more times: 'this program does not support Windows ME'!!

And all of that whining is neither here nor there, the point is that my hard drive did not have a CD burner, so backups were very difficult - and I hope that once I squirrel away the funds for a visit to Dr. Computer, I will be pleasantly surprised to find out that he is able to recover all of my data! You are all welcome to cross your fingers for me on that one!

I am, however, firmly convinced that even if the good doctor is not able to recover my data, that he will be able to restore my machine to a workable state. It could be a pipe dream, I suppose, but, I have a strong feeling about it. Do you think one could be psychically in tune with their own hard drive? Hey! We were really close! It could happen!

And so then, when it does happen, this restoration - I will most definitely need a CD burner, so as not to lose any more precious data, you see?

And that, my friends, is why I would love to receive this wonderful gift of a free external USB CD burner!

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About face!!

I knew ya'll would ask, so here's the flip side of that head! These were taken last night under the kitchen light - best I could get at night, so far - until I figure out the flash adjusting on this camera...

I will be making a video today, so you can check back in....

(Kinda funny that I used that title, since this morning Shawn and I ate breakfast on the balcony and watched the ROTC guys running. Heehee)

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Self Portrait Sunday

What's missing?

(Nope - it's no April Fools!!)

Head on over to Digicass.com and check out Cass' cute mug - and then you can check in the comments for the links to everyone else's self-portraits!

Check this page....Self-Portrait Sunday - to see how to join in on the fun with us!

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Yellow snow in Alabama

Yellow snow?! Ewwww! Ok, so it's not exactly snow, but, that is the first thing that comes to mind when thinking of trying to describe what's floating around in our air and blanketing our cars right now!
It's pollen! Massive, massive amounts of pollen! It's allergy central around here! It's unbelievable!

I have never seen anything like this in my life! And since we are new to Alabama, I don't know if this is typical, or some new weather issue. Things have been a little strange around the earth here lately!

And my brother back home in Texas said that the allergies are worse than ever this year, but, he said this long before the yellow snow arrived, so I don't know if they are getting it, too - or not.

I am telling you, it is crazy!! Mark is washing the car every day! And even for his Type A, let's-keep-everything-clean-all-the-time personality - that's bad! He's never washed a vehicle on a daily basis before!

I was driving around town the other day and I saw one car, that apparently hadn't been driven in a couple of days, and it was completely COVERED in yellow!

My dog actually slipped on the porch, because the yellow powder was so thick!

This is weird, ya'll! I want to know if ya'll are experiencing any of the 'yellow powder phenomenon', and if you are, is it typical?

Sound off - please!!

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Meet Mark, Mr. Prepared

That is one very impressive thing about my husband - he is prepared for just about anything! I'll never forget when my sweet and young and dumb self first saw his 'never get locked out plan' - I thought he was pure genius! He has the truck key in one of those key hider things - under the hood, no less! I'd never seen anyone put one there! And then inside that is the key to the truck - and inside the truck, hidden, of course - is the key to the house! I was 22, and a bit unworldly, ok, I still am that - but, I was just floored!

And he is that way about everything. Well, he is getting older, so that 'losing things' and 'forgetting things' is starting to set in a bit. (If that was there when I was young, what happens to me when I get older? Hmm...) He is, however, prepared for all kinds of things. We have an emergency kits for just about everything! Several for the house, one for each of our vehicles (when we still had two), and he is an avid outdoorsman and loves to camp, so, of course, there are several for that. You have your main one that you keep at camp with you. Then you need a mini one for dayhikes. He also has a watertight one for any canoing he might do.

I hate to admit it, (and ya'll better not tell him, either!) but, I have learned a lot from him!

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A fun way to get cash and goodies

...is by doing market research. The kids and I have really had fun with this over the last few years. I haven't really done any in several months, I've been too busy blogging, but, I am still getting emails every day from various companies.

And I haven't signed the kids back up to the kids one since we moved out here to Alabama, but, with summer coming up, it would be a good idea to get them signed back up. They were making more money than I was - getting $10 checks in the mail right and left!

We got all kinds of cool stuff when doing surveys, too! A few times they wanted us to try new cereal before it was released to the market, and so they sent us whole boxes of cereal. I've gotten free razors, toothbrushes, cosmetics, you name it! If you have a little time for it, it really is fun!

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Rotten, evil children

They've stolen all of my ink pens! All but one, that is! I found these really great pens one year, I think when we were school supply shopping. They are just so nice and smooth and I really like how it feels writing with them. So I asked Mark to get me some for Christmas. He looked at me a little sideways - "You want pens for Christmas?" And I told him, "Yes! I want pens for Christmas - I found these really great pens that feel great and write wonderfully, and I want some for my own, to be all my own, and to be owned by me!"

See? See how that works? I don't want them in the kitchen drawer to be carted off by little scalliwags, I don't want them to be among the vast array of pens in the big bucket on my desk to be absconded by little villains - I want them to be mine, and mine alone!

So - he bought me some pens for Christmas. And this was Christmas before last - and up until now, I've done a really good job guarding them. The guys at Fort Knox would be proud! Until now, that is...

See, there is a big bucket in my office, that used to be on my desk, which holds all sorts of writing utensils and various other office/school supplies, upon which anyone may lay their grubby, little hands. And then - on my desk, is my sweet George! George Strait! I have a big George Strait cup that holds all of the highlighters, pens, scissors, letter openers -- that nobody is supposed to even take two steps away from my desk if they have any of these items on their person!

And it would seem that Fort Momma has been breeched. The security system that was...

So sad.

When that school bell rings, there will be inquistions!!

Mark my words!!

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Losing weight can sure be hard

I know, I've been working at it for several years now. People who have never dealt with obesity often have simplistic ideas about what they see as a simple task. And maybe for some people it is simple - simple, but, not easy. Just like we say in AA. And sticking to something that is hard to do, but, simple - can be, well, hard. Especially when life throws its little curve balls at you. And then you don't feel so great, and who the hell cares about eating carrots anymore - gimme a KitKat! You know?

There are, however, certain factors that can actually have a profound effect on the 'simpleness' of losing weight. Did you know, for instance, that women often go through a pre-menopause state called perimenopause for up to 10 years, before they ever actually hit that cursed change? We're talking about like 20 years of hormone havoc! And then there can be basic age issues, there could be thyroid issues, or many other reasons that this losing weight thing just is not working for some of us.

A lot of people address the issue with their doctors, and enlist their help, as well. And, although it is not as common as it was twenty years ago, doctors do still prescribe diet pills for some people. One of those is Ionamin, whose common name is phentermine. Pills like that really scare me. There's even a warning on the Medbroadcast website in bold lettering, to not stop taking the medicine without first consulting your doctor. I wonder what it could do to you if you stopped taking it suddenly. A very long time ago, when I was young and stupid (Now - ya'll be nice!) I stopped taking a medication suddenly that I was supposed to taper off of under doctor supervision, and I broke out in a rash ALL over my body! I am not kidding you or exxagerating - it was even on the palms of my hands and INSIDE my ears!! It was crazy!

I am just going to keep working at rearranging my lifestyle choices, and hope that I don't ever need to have a prescription from my doctor to help me lose weight!

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Fruits, vegetables, and flowers...oh my!

I have got to get my act together on my gardening plans! I always plan to start in March, but then, somehow, March turns into April, and well - you know how it goes.

And this year, with funding low, and with no car - it's even harder! I have, however, found some great online deals that might just help me out!

There is this awesome online coupon from Spring Hill Nursery for $25 off a $50 order! That is totally amazing! That is such a great deal, I bet it won't last very long!

And there is another good deal from Henry Fields Seed and Nursery Company for $10 off a $30 order! These deals are unbelievable - I always wonder how companies can run such big promotions.

Oh my gosh - Home Depot has some patio furniture 40-50% off!! That is a deal I would expect to find in August or something. And I have been wanting new patio furniture for a couple of years now! I would love to have a beautifully colorful garden blooming and sit with friends and family in the backyard, just enjoying a lazy summer day!

Ahh...one day...

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How much of an environmentalist are you?

Would you be willing to have a composting toilet? That's right - I said ... composting toilet.

The company I have been researching today is called Envirolet. I just happened to stumble across this today while I was reading blogs - it was a Google ad. And the more I read, the more interested that I become.

Initially, it sounds uber disgusting, but, once you read up on it, you will see that it really isn't bad at all. And this is totally not a new thing - the earliest composting toilets actually date back to the 1800's! There were 'Earth Commode's' in the 1860's and the 'Earth Closet' in the 1880's. So this is not some freaky, new wave thing!

A few years ago, I began composting in the back yard for my garden. We're talking old food and such, people! LOL! My husband hated it! My sweet, old lady, next door neighbor, who was a Queen Gardener - was teaching me! Since Mark didn't like it, Mrs. Brown was letting me help and contribute and make use of her pile - which just happened to be right on the other side of our fence. It occasionally smelled, and it was almost always covered in a giant cloud of gnats.

So I began researching and shopping around for compost bins. Mark was still not convinced - he just can't stand the thought of it. LOL "Just go buy some fertilizer and peat moss at the store!"

He just doesn't get the whole earth to earth point of it all. So I would love to see his reaction to these toilets! HA! No way, no how!

Well, at least my mother-in-law still has one horse - we get all the compost we need from that big boy! When we muck out the stall, we just dump all the refuse in one, long, snaking line on the far side of the pasture. She says that once planting time comes, neighbors come right and left for a pile of it! Priceless manure! Gotta love it!

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Low bid auctions

Low bid auctions? What are you talking about? Sounds odd, doesn't it? Well, I'm talking about Bid4Prizes.com, a very cool new 'auction' site where you can win prizes! And you do so by having the lowest bid! You actually have to have the lowest unique bid, but, this is a fun new concept that looks like a lot of fun!

If you have the lowest unique bid, and win the item you've been eyeballing, you don't actually even pay for it! You do have to pay to have it shipped to you, and any taxes that might occur, but, as far as actually paying for the item - you don't!

And I found the coolest thing on there - a three-person air hockey table! I love it - that would be so perfect at our house! It was won by someone yesterday!

Also, for all of the actions that you do on the site, you are earning points. And with these points, you can shop for cool stuff in the Bid4Prizes store!

I can tell that I'm going to have a lot of fun on this site!

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Didn't I tell you that dogs ROCK?

I just love my sweet Puppykins so much, and after reading about this sweet boy:

I had to go give Lucky some extra lovin' and kissin' and belly-rubbin'!! This boy's name is Toby, and, according to Yahoo News, he is a hero!!

From the article:
"CALVERT, Md. - Toby, a 2-year-old golden retriever, saw his owner choking on a piece of fruit and began jumping up and down on the woman's chest. The dog's owner believes the dog was trying to perform the Heimlich maneuver and saved her life."

What a sweet and beautiful and wonderful boy!! I love all animals, and I used to really be more of a cat person, to tell you the truth, but, over the last several years, I have become a hardcore dog person! I still love cats, but, I am telling you - DOGS ROCK!!!!

You've got to go read the whole story:
Owner Says Dog Saved Her with 'Heimlich'

It never ceases to amaze me how in tune with humans dogs are - you know, like how they can detect cancer and stuff like that? Amazing! And Mythbusters had a great show last weekend on hound dogs hunting people down - it was awesome - I mean, TOTALLY AWESOME!!

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The slippery slope

My rotten migraine is back - ugh. It is absolutely so ridiculous. I walked Patrick outside to wait for his bus this morning at 7am, and while I was standing on the front porch, I attempted to look up at the sky. Yes - attempted - only. That's it. It was that simple.

Upon tilting my head up and sending my eyes upward, I instantly realized that that was a bad idea, and averted my eyes, and returned my head to its normal position.

And now I have a migraine. Poo. You see, in the morning, the first few hours that I am awake, is when I am most susceptible to my headache triggers. And it was bright in a glary kind of way this morning, and the clouds were probably moving. I'm not sure, I just know that I immediately felt discomfort and put my head back down. So between the glare, and the movement of the clouds, my day is blown.

And you see, what is really tricky about all of this, is that - like I've stated before, I am a recovering alcoholic and drug addict. And living with chronic pain and having to take medicine for it is a tricky operation. It's a bit like walking into the lion's den and not getting bitten. You know you've got to go in there, often daily - but, be careful! You don't want those buggers biting you!

Prescription drug addiction, I think, can often be the trickiest to deal with, recover from, or to even admit, because, you see - "The doctor ordered these for me!" "I'm in chronic pain!"

Which is often, if not always, true. And which gives a recovering drug addict - basically - a hall pass!

It is definitely a slippery slope!

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And sweet neighbors, too

Our new neighborhood is heavily populated with seniors, many of whom have been here since the 60's, when the houses were all built. (Well, besides John's - whose was built in the 1840's.) I really like communities like this because they have some heart to them, you know? The kind of 'revolving door neighborhoods' where people constantly come and go just don't have the same feel to them. In fact, some of these new neighbors eye us skeptically, being newcomers and all. Lucky and I encountered a man like that yesterday on our walk - but, most people are just as kind and welcoming as they can be!

And some of them are just adorable! A little while ago, I was in the kitchen, looking out the side window and two doors down, a sweet, older lady was going to get her mail. I think she must've gotten a new mailbox, because, I often see her going to get her mail, and have never been quite so amused by it before. You see, the lady is quite small, and thin, too - and she has one of those fancy-schmancy new hard plastic mailboxes. (I've been wanting one of those for a long time!) And what was so amusing about it was that the mailbox was bigger than her!!! It was so cute!!

I've never seen those mailboxes as overly gigantic, so it was really funny to see her dwarfed by it!

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My new, sweet little town

I really like our new, little town in which we live. I have wanted to live in a small town pretty much my whole life and now I finally get to, and I love it!

We run into the city librarians at the grocery store, teachers at WalMart, and we even ran into teachers out on Halloween!! It is such a cool feeling!

I live across the street from a really sweet, older couple who live in the coolest freaking house! It was built in the 1840's - I just love it! And they run a used bookstore on the town square, in which they also sell some amazing antiques, one of which being an old toy truck, that is about a foot long. That is so amazing - combining two of my very favorite things in the whole world - old stuff and trucks!! Awesome! He's selling it for about $175 - I haven't been to the shop in a while, I'm not sure if he still has it. I do have a birthday coming up....

There is a lot of really neat history in this town. There are old cemeteries, old houses, and historical markers explaining a lot of how this town came to be, and who some of the major players were.

One of the old houses is even a Bed and Breakfast - how cool is that? I live in a town with a B&B! I just love staying at B&B's! The last one we stayed in was in Canon City, Texas and my brother, Mic, and I had a blast poking around all its nooks and crannies!

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Men and their toys!

Good heavens! I don't know if it is truly a male thing, because I have known some women with strong 'needs' for expensive toys and gadgets, and, truth be told - when it comes to computers, there is quite a bit I do want.

Anyway, right before we moved to Alabama, Mark got one of those big screen, flatscreen, weirdo TV's that the kids can't touch the screen or they'll wreck it, and if you turn it off, you have to wait 15 minutes to turn it back on - you know, one of those TV's? I don't know what the heck they're called.

So then we move out here, and we set up our 'living room' in the basement. We put the new, big TV in one corner, and the old, small TV in the other corner for the kids to use with the gaming systems.

And then we called the cable company and scheduled our setup day. And guess what? This new, fancy schmancy, way too expensive stupid TV - CAN'T HOOK UP TO THE CABLE!!!!!

I had to have them hook up the cable to the small TV! So now we have this big 'ol TV upon which we cannot watch TV!

How do you like them apples?! I can't even remember why the guy said it wouldn't work, and what exactly these new TV's are intended to be for, or to do, or whatever, but, I do know that he said that we could pick up some cable at WalMart - I think it was an HDMI cable, that we can use to hook the TV up to the cable box.

And me, being the precious, sweet wife that I am, surely did not throw this in my husband's face. Nope, not even once.

(Ok, like maybe ten times!)

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Think Spring

Spring is officially here and I am so excited! I think I've already said this a few times! LOL

Well, Jim is excited, too - and he wants to spread a flower-giving spirit throughout the blogosphere!

Check this out:



Isn't it beautiful? All you have to do to keep the flowery, springy happiness flowing is click on the flower and get your own!!

And for me, it's not just about Spring-love, which I am highly excited about right now and have been constantly carrying on about it - but, it is also a God-deal for me, because I actually have two of the above flowers on my desk right now! They have passed on to greener pastures, but, I haven't been able to get rid of them for a couple of reasons. You see, these two flowers are very special to me and I have been wanting to blog about them, but, I didn't know what they were and I wanted to know what kind of flower they were before I - number one, blogged about them, and number two, let them pass on peacefully to the next world. Like - as opposed to sitting on my desk getting browner by the minute, with fungus on their stems... ewww....

So - thank you, Jim! Thank you for this LOVELY meme that I would've loved anyway, but, love even more because it is helping me find out what kind of flower this is!!!

Totally groovy!

Now ya'll go click on the flower, visit Jim, and get your own beautiful flower!!

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