Slow Down, Gym Shoe!

Commercial Break: Online Education

The following is a sponsored post! Enjoy!

Most of you probably know that I am going to school to become a special education teacher. You may not realize that I have been going to school for about six years now! The reason it has been taking me so long is because every time I switched schools, some of my classes didn't transfer, and each school had their own particular requirements and prerequisites. So I was forever hearing, "You need this class, but first of you'll have to take this class, and they only offer it this certain semester, so you'll have to do absolutely nothing this semester." Plus I was going part time for most of the time, so I could work. Some people might be able to go to school full time and work part time, but I couldn't manage it without getting overwhelmed. I need a whole lot of "down" time to stay in good spirits!

At any rate, I am almost finished with school, but only if I really push hard. I wish I could just take some classes online. An  online education program would be perfect for me, because I could study whenever I could find the time, instead of being obligated to show up to certain classes at certain times. I could even get a job in the evenings, so I could actually make some money, and do my studying when the kids are sleeping or playing. In fact, getting an online degree would be a great idea for any adults whose work and family lives make it difficult to attend a traditional college.

I'll probably continue going to my traditional school to get my special education degree, since I'm this far along... but maybe when I finish with my bachelors degree, I'll look into online masters degree programs!

Commercial Break: Car Repairs!

One of the biggest pains in my butt is my car. I love my little car... it was given to me by my grandparents, and is in better shape than any other car I've owned... but its old, and I'm not very good at keeping up it's maintenance. Just the other day, I was talking to my mom on the phone, and she suggested that my car might need a new battery pretty soon. Ugh... if its not one thing, its another! Every time I feel like I have some money saved up, my car seems to need something!

I found a website that makes the car repairs issue a lot easier! Its called Repairpal.com, and you can find all the information you want about car repairs, including price estimates of repairs to specific makes and models of cars, reviews of local car repair businesses, and much more.

For instance, imagine you live in San Francisco, and you find out that your Honda Accord needs a new timing belt.  First of all,if you'd like, you can read all about what atiming beltis, what it does, why it might need to be repaired, etc. You can also read questions and answers about timing belt problems that other people have submitted, or submit your own questions! Then, you can type in the make, model and year of your car, find out how much you might expect a newtiming belt to cost, and search for a San Francisco auto repair shop that can do the work for you. The star ratings and customer reviews will help you find a shop that you can trust with your car! 

I'm definitely going to use this site whenever I have any problems with my car... and believe me, I have bad luck with cars! I hope this site comes in handy for you, too!

Commercial Break: Could You Use a $6,500 Tax Credit?

The following is a sponsored post, which I think any of my readers who buy new homes!

Today I discovered a website that says that there is a $6,500 Tax Credit  available to some people who buy new homes this year. You may be eligible for this if:

• You are buying your first home.
• You are buying a home, and you haven't owned a home in the past three years.
• You have lived in a home for five years and you are ready to move on.

 I'm pretty sure this covers a lot of people right now. Maybe you're living in an apartment or a small house, and you've been dreaming of finding a home where each of your kids could have a bedroom, or maybe you're hoping for a playroom, or just a bigger backyard, or a better neighborhood. This may be the big chance you've been waiting for!

The only bad news is, you're sort of running out of time right now, because a written binding contract has to be in effect by April 30, in order for you to get the tax credit. (If you get the binding contract written by then, you'll have until June 30 to actually close on the purchase.

There is an income limit on this: $125,000 for singles, $225,000 for married couples.

I hope this info helps some of my readers! There is also a video you can watch for more information. 

Good luck!

Commercial Break: Blast Off!

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Allison Maslan, author of "Blast Off!". All opinions are 100% mine.

The other day Diana and I were talking about my goal of being a foster/adoptive parent someday. I have a lot of dreams, including foster parenting and also starting my own experimental school to help kids with learning differences. The school would help kids use their own interests and talents to learn about other things. For instance, lets say you have a kid who absolutely loves robots but hates reading  Instead of forcing him to read elementary school reading books and write reports and stuff, at my school the kid would just do what he loved the most... work with robots! If all he ever wanted to read was books and magazines about robots, so be it. Maybe he could build a robot, learning math and science in the process. Maybe he could become penpals with a professional  robot builder, learning writing skills in the process. Maybe he could help plan a field trip to a robot factory, learning social studies skills in the process. You know what I'm saying?

Anyway... Diana was pointing out to me that I'm really not doing anything to get closer to my dreams right now. I've sort of been in a rut. I'm not calling raising Little BEar and Pufferfish a rut, but, I could probably be doing more with this time as well!

I've been thinking a lot about what she said. Then I saw a website advertising this book called Blast Off!, which is all about getting closer to your dreams. The book teaches readers how to leap over the obstacles that get in the way of their goals. A lot of times, fear of the unknown is one of the biggest obstacles people need to confront! I know that is true for me!

Blast Off is written by Allison Maslan, a woman who, as a divorced, single mom, built nine successful businesses using a process she came up with on her own to get through the obstacles she faced. The book was released on January 19th, and is now available on Amazon for $24.00. It can also be found on the Borders and Barnes & Noble websites, and will soon be available offline in major book stores!

Although this is a sponsored post, I can honestly tell you that yesterday I was feeling so defeated, I was Googling "start a new life" for tips on how I could just escape. This book sounds like it may be an answer to my prayers! Instead of escaping, I can read this book for strategy and guidance on how to move forward to the life I really want.

I hope you'll check this out! I know I plan to!

Commercial Break: RepairPal

One of the biggest pains in my butt is my car. I love my little car... it was given to me by my grandparents, and is in better shape than any other car I've owned... but its old, and I'm not very good at keeping up it's maintenance. Just the other day, I was talking to my mom on the phone, and she suggested that my car might need a new battery pretty soon. Ugh... if its not one thing, its another! Every time I feel like I have some money saved up, my car seems to need something!

I found a website that makes the car repairs issue a lot easier! Its called Repairpal.com, and you can find all the information you want about car repairs, including price estimates of repairs to specific makes and models of cars, reviews of local car repair businesses, and much more.

For instance, imagine you havea Toyota Corolla, you live in Chicago, and you find out you're going to need a new water pump. First of all,if you'd like, you can read all about what a water pump is, what it does, why it might need to be repaired, etc. You can also read questions and answers about water pump problems that other people have submitted, or submit your own questions! Then, you can type in the make, model and year of your car, find out how much you might expect a new water pump to cost, and search for a Chicago auto repair shop that can do the work for you. The star ratings and customer reviews will help you find a shop that you can trust with your car! 

I'm definitely going to use this site whenever I have any problems with my car... and believe me, I have bad luck with cars! I hope this site comes in handy for you, too!

Commercial Break: Bidazzled

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Bidazzled. All opinions are 100% mine.

I keep seeing ads for this new auction site called Bidazzled.

I finally signed up for it today! Its an auction site, but its not really like eBay. Its different because , first of all, it is not a site where you bid on products that are being sold by other people. You bid on new merchandise, for up to 90% off the regular price. The proceeds go to a lung cancer charity,The Ruch Foundation. 

I'm still trying to figure out how it all works. but so far, here's what I know.

You have to buy your bids in advance. Its about a dollar per bid, but you get bonus bids thrown in. For instance, if you spend $25, you get 29 bids. If you spend $50, you get 60 bids. You then take thos bids, and go bid on the things you want. As far as I can tell, each bid raises the price of the item five cents. So, if there were zero bids, and you bid once, you'd get it up to five cents. If someone else bids after you, they'd get it to ten cents. This goes on for the duration of the auction. When the auction ends, whoever is the final bidder gets to buy the item for the final price. (The amount of bids you spent on the item are subtracted from the price you pay. So, if the final price is five dollars, and you bid four times on it, you'd only have to pay a dollar.

Also, I've heard that if you do win, the Bidazzled people often offer to buy the item back for you for either cash, bonus bids, or a combination of the two.

And if you don't win, you actually get rewarded with bonus bids anyway!

It kinda sounds like fun, doesn't it? The only thing is, I am so poor, I don't really feel like spending twenty-five bucks on bids. But... if you sign up, you get five free bids to start you out! I've already bidded on something using one of my free bids, and aince I'llg et bonus bids if I don't win the item, I figureI'll be addicted to this in no time!

You also get bonus bids for referring your friends... so I'm going to put a referral link in my sidebar, and I hope you'll use it if you want to sign up!

Alright. This actually sounds like fun, doesn't it? Remember, its free to sign up, plus you get five free bonus bids. And I've been told that if you enter this code at your registration... BBP1202A ... you'll get an additional fifteen free bids!

So... go sign up! I hope you win something! Wish me luck, too!

Commercial Break: Surprising Breast Cancer Treatment Research!

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of CryoCell International. All opinions are 100% mine.

Most people have heard of stem cell research, and the ways that banking a newborn baby's umbilical cord stem cells can potentially save the life of that child or a family member later on. I recently learned something even more amazing. Menstrual blood is a rich source of stem cells, and women now have the option of saving and banking their menstrual blood.

Yeah, I know, it sounds a little gross. But listen to this. Menstrual stem cells can turn themselves into heart muscle, cartilage, nerve and bone stem cells. Researchers believe these cells have the potential to treat diseases like MS, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, and breast cancer!

The people with Cryo-Cell International have partnered with the National Institute Of Health to do research on how menstrual blood stem cells can be use. Right now, menstrual stem cell research is in the pre-clinical phase, which means it is not quite ready to be tested by humans. But Cryo-Cell is very hopeful that menstrual blood stem cells will soon be used to help women and their immediate family members. They are already offering women the chance to bank their menstrual stem cells, using a kit that can be ordered through the mail.

In October, in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Cryo-Cell made donations, of $50 for every purchase of their “Protect Baby, Protect Mom” service (a combination of umbilical cord banking and menstrual blood banking services) and $25 for every purchase of their C’elle Menstrual Stem Cell service. The C'Elle Breast Cancer Donation and Cyro-Cell Breast Cancer Donation went to the Susan B. Komen Foundation.

If you think about it, it really is ironic, isn't it? Many women resent getting their period each month, and birth control is even available to keep menstrual blood down to a minimum. But now, that same monthly routine we've had to deal with most of our lives may soon be able to save our lives!

What do you think of that? 
 

Commercial Break: Daily Deals From Charter

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Charter Communication. All opinions are 100% mine.

If you're anticipating being broke after the holidays, this may be a good time for you to think about switching to Charter for your cable, internet and/or phone services. Here's why... not only can you save a lot of money, but there are actually ways for you to come out ahead on the deal! Charter prides itself on offering lots of deals and sweepstakes for it's customers. In fact, over the past two years, Charter has set a new precedent in their industry by offering amazing sweepstakes for things like an HDTV-a-day, Toyota Prius, a new 2010 Chevy Camaro 2SS, and Xbox 360s!

To kick off the holidays, they're hosting their best event ever! Starting on Black Friday, and continuing through Cyber Monday, Charter will be offering gift cards, worth up to $200, for online stores, when you order certain services. For instance, if you sign up for three services through Charter, you'll get a $200 gift card! The gift cards are to online stores such asBest Buy, Kohls, Old Navy, Macy's, Walgreens, Game Stop, and even restaurants! You can buy a treat for yourself, or use the gift cards to get some holiday shopping done. You'll also get chances to win cool prizes.

But the fun doesn't stop after Cyber Monday. Beginning the next day, Charter will host 38 days of gifts, prizes and deals. Every day will be something different, so be sure to check out 

Charter's Daily Deal Web Site

on a regular basis! Look for deals and giveaways involving iPods, camcorders, TVs, GPS units, webcams, photo frames, etc. They'll even be giving away merchandise from your favorite Showtime and HBO series! (You're probably going to want to become a fan of Charter on Facebook to keep up with the latest giveaways from Charter!)

In other words, right now is the perfect time to switch to Charter for your cable, internet and phone needs! Good luck... I hope you win something great!

Commercial Break: Dirt Devil Holiday Buying Guide!

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Hoover and Dirt Devil. All opinions are 100% mine.

The following is a sponsored post. Enjoy!

Obviously, the holidays are coming up. Right now it seems like there's a little while left to prepare. But Thanksgiving is looming in the immediate future, and do you know how quickly the rest of the holidays will follow?

Everyone knows that I'm broke as of late. And, due to the economy, even if you aren't completely destitute like me, you're probably looking for ways to cut back on spending while still making the holidays great.

The people with Dirt Devil have created the Dirt Devil Holiday Gift Guide to help you do just that.

When I first heard about it, I thought it would be, like, a whole bunch of coupons or advertisements for Dirt Devil products. But its actually a downloadable guide with over three hundred ways to save money online, on all sorts of products, including Dirt Devil products.

It really is amazing. You're going to have to block in about an hour to read through this guide, try all of the tricks, visit all of the recommended websites, etc. Not only does this guide lead you to a bunch of different sites where you can find information on Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales, but it teaches you how to search for coupon codes and promo codes to save as much as possible on the products you want, and how to find cheap or even free things all over the Internet. They also teach you how to find sites that offer free shipping on Free Shipping Day. (On that day, which is in mid-December, many sites offer free shipping and a guarantee to have the product delivered to you in time for Christmas!)

Of course, the guide does also point you towards some special Dirt Devil deals, including "Gifts for Her," "Gifts for Him", and "Family Favorites."

They even have a section that tells you where to find printable coloring books and games to keep the kids busy while you get ready for holiday parties! 

I'm going to check out a lot of the sites in this guide. It is free, and easy to download, so I really suggest you check it out. You'll definitely find at least a few ways to save money!

Commercial Break: Get A Head Start On Your Holiday Shopping!

The following is a sponsored post! Enjoy!

One year, when i was a kid, my brother and I got bean bag chairs for Christmas. Mine was pink, and his was blue and white. We loved them and thought them were the most comfortable chairs ever... We used to run and plop ourselves into them!

I've been thinking it would be cool for Little Bear and Pufferfish to have bean bag chairs. It would be neat to set up a corner of the playroom as a cozy little reading corner with some bean bags and blankets. Maybe right by their book shelves. Maybe I would get a big basket and keep any current library books and puzzles in it, too.

I was checking around on SHOP.com, and apparently there is a much wider variety of bean bag chairs these days! You can buy soft, furry ones that look like they'd be so comfortable on cold winter evenings, or bean bag chairs covered with sued or corderoy. You can get them with your favorite team's emblem on them. You can get giant, love-seat sized ones. You can get them with different types of filling, from virgin urethane foam to  recycled polystyrene to plastic pellets to stuffing to... well, beans, I suppose! You can even get the kind that is durable enough to be kept outdoors. They are shaped like traditional bean bag chairs, or like regular chairs, or like animals or even lips!

It seems like the choices of bean bag chairs are endless... and I'm starting to realize that you can find just about anything on SHOP.com! Be sure to check out their Wine of the month club, if you need a super easy gift for someone over twenty-one!

I know I'm going to try to start my Christmas shopping early this year. I know its not even Halloween yet, but time sure goes fast lately, and before we know it it really will be Christmas! Good luck with your shopping!