Christmas Spirit - Where is it?

So last night when I was at the local Meijer picking up some things for my apartment, I had a rare moment. It shouldn't be rare though. And it frustrates me that maybe I'm too naive.. but I still think that people are inherently good.

The Story:

Meijer is packed as it's only 3 days till Christmas. I'm buzzing around the store, trying to shorten my time spent in the store. I get to the check out line, and the lady in front of me puts down her stuff, and I"m waiting for a divider. She says "go ahead and put your things down, I'll let him know to stop." So I do so, saying thanks, and begin to unload. I eventually get the divider and am waiting for her to finish paying. As the clerk begins to check out my items, the woman grabs her bags and races off to the exit as most people are doing. I noticed she's left her purse though! I yell for her "ma'm! ma'm! excuse me! you forgot your purse!!" Luckily she heard me and came running back, out of breath, and a bit frazzled she had forgotten such an important item. She comes up to me and is overly thankful, saying that was really nice of me and she can't believe I told her! She is still breathing a bit hard from the running and panic, and is still jabbering her thanks to me, all while I'm telling her - "Don't worry about it. You've got it back, I just did what I hoped someone else would do for me." She said her checkbook was in there, wallet, photos of her grandkids, etc. Basically her lifeline. I'm glad I helped out that old woman at Meijer and as she was leaving she yelled back to me "Merry Christmas!!"

Now if that's not some Christmas spirit I don't know what is. I'm so happy for the woman, and she touched me just by wishing me a Merry Christmas in the most honest way. I could tell she really meant it and it warmed my heart.

The only part that bothers me is that she was so surprised that I let her know she left it. Really? Is our society so bad that if you leave your purse, you assume someone is going to steal it? That's horrible and it makes me sad. I really don't know why we only have the "christmas spirit" around Christmas time. Yes, I know it's tied down by it's name. But why can't we spread a positive, happy feeling around all the time? Why must it be limited by the holidays? What's my new year's resolution? Do random acts of kindness all year (ok so not so random to me, but to other's hopefully!) when I see the opportunity. Be it help pay for someone's groceries when they are a bit short, give someone a ride to where they need to go, bake cookies for people and drop them off, etc. Do you have some ideas? The best ideas should be shared for everyone to work at!

Thankfully I did experience some Christmas cheer this holiday, and I wanted to pass it on to you. So please, if you see the opportunity to spread some cheer, take it! Make the world a better place, one moment at a time.


Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

Ice Cream

From my poll... about 3 months ago, my one voter said they wanted me to talk about ice cream as a topic.

So I'll do just that - and I'll enjoy it as it is SWELTERING here at work. I need to remember to buy a cheap little USB powered fan so I don't fall asleep.

The History of Ice Cream
The origins of ice cream can be traced back to at least the 4th century B.C. Early references include the Roman emperor Nero (A.D. 37-68) who ordered ice to be brought from the mountains and combined with fruit toppings, and King Tang (A.D. 618-97) of Shang, China who had a method of creating ice and milk concoctions. Ice cream was likely brought from China back to Europe. Over time, recipes for ices, sherbets, and milk ices evolved and served in the fashionable Italian and French royal courts. (from about.com)


Baskin-Robbins
This was and still is one of my favorite ice cream places. Read a bit about them:

"It wasn’t until 1953 that the ice cream chain dropped the separate identities of Snowbird and Burton's and became Baskin-Robbins. A local advertising agency, Carson/Roberts, advised a uniform identity and image under the name Baskin-Robbins 31 Ice Cream. Their recommendations included the "31®" logo to represent a flavor for every day of the month, Cherry (pink) and Chocolate (brown) polka dots to be reminiscent of clowns, carnivals and fun and lastly, the use of cartoons to bring their flavors alive with personality to graphically highlight the name and delicious ingredients. With this over-arching branding, Baskin-Robbins' iconic pink spoons were created with the belief that people should be able to try any of their many flavors without cost." (baskinrobbins.com)


Flavors
There are hundreds of ice cream flavors - and even ones you can create yourself. The top 15 ice cream flavors are:

1. Vanilla - 29%
2. Chocolate - 8.9%
3. Butter Pecan - 5.3%
4. Strawberry - 5.3%
5. Neapolitan - 4.2%
6. Chocolate Chip - 3.9%
7. French Vanilla - 3.8%
8. Cookies and Cream - 3.6%
9. Vanilla Fudge - 2.6%
10. Praline Pecan - 1.7%
11. Cherry - 1.6%
12. Chocolate Almond - 1.6%
13. Coffee - 1.6%
14. Rocky Road - 1.5%
15. Chocolate Marshmallow - 1.3%

All others - 23.7%
(Source - International Ice Cream Assocation, 888 16th St., Washington, D.C., 20006)

My favorite flavor of ice cream is Mint Chocolate Chip. There is nothing better than two scoops of MCC in a waffle cone on a hot day. MMMM! I like other flavors, but my default when i doubt is MCC. The big runner up is Coldstones Strawberry flavor with mini chocolate chips mixed in. That is also super refreshing on a hot (even cold) day! I used to not like ColdStone, but since I found this flavor mix, I've enjoyed it much more!

What's my beef?
The fact that all the fat free/sugar free/better for your ones never taste good. I love ice cream, but hate what it does to me. Boo that. I think someone should invent an ice cream that is good for you, but also tastes amazing. What's up with all these acai berry commercials - why not make that flavor, and throw in dark chocolate chunks. It's an anti-oxident lover's dream! I'm just throwing out ideas here.

What else can I say about ice cream? I love it!

If You Forget, Does It Go Away?

Forgetfulness. It get's the best of us.

Ok not everyone, but ME especially! I forgot I had this blog. I forgot I needed to update it. I forgot that I was leaving all of my precious followers (all 1 of them) without anything to pass the time with.

So first we shall ponder the age old question..... If you forget, does it go away?

Side A: (like a cassette tape)

Yes, it goes away. Because in your mind, your little slice of the world, you have dismissed the thing, thought, image, event away from you and have forgotten about it. Not until it is reintroduced to you will you remember it, and therefore it comes back into your life. If something comes back, it had to have gone away in the first place. Ok. Kind of a stretch, but you see my logic here.

Side B:

No, it is always there with you. Sure you may not have it top of mind, but it's stored away in your brain waiting for it's turn to surface. I think of the brain as geese. Why? Because of the pattern they fly - the flying V. When the front bird gets tired, he rotates to the back of the flock in the air, giving some other bird the duty of head/tip bird. Then as the birds continue to rotate, the original tip bird will end up back in front again. He is still part of the V, even though he's not at the front. Or in other words, not top of mind.

Ok that argument is done.

Now - some news!!! My friend Raggidy is coming into town tonight! Wooo! Everyone here has been super siked for his arrival. I wonder if I moved away if people would still be excited for me to come back into town... hummmm. haha. Anyway, we have so many plans from lunches, to dinners, to movies, to games, to more movies, to more games, to chatting, to biking and everything in between. Poor Raggidy is on a schedule for his visit, but at least he'll get to see everyone!

I'll blog about the rediculosness that ensues! Just you wait. I totally can't!

I also want to blog about the OSU Buckeye Football season - or my take on it (as I'm totally not a professional and I don't have the time to keep track of stats). The season opener is this Saturday at 12:00 PM EST against Navy. Dust off your jerseys, and stretch your arms for some O-H-I-O-ing! GO BUCKS!

Name the Character... If You Have a Good Memory

Alright - today I'm wondering if anyone else feels this way... really really bad at remembering things.

My friend is in charge of http://namethechar.blogspot.com (check it out all you movie buffs) and each day he posts a movie quote for people to guess the character who said it. I love this idea and he even tracks everyone's answers (with their nicknames of course) and posts it for all to see who is in the lead.

The downside of this is if you are like me and can't remember lines from anything except Harry Potter :)

I love movies, and I love watching them, but for some reason single lines don't tend to stick in my head. I try to remember them, and some really famous ones I obviously won't forget, but it's the little ones that get me. I am more of a visual memory person than a verbal one. I could remember a face, but not their name.

This problem also hinders me in triva games like Jeopardy! as I love playing it when it's the Kids Show. I feel smart then, only to realize I'm basing my smarts against a 12 year old. But they are all genius kids, so I don't feel too too bad. When I play the grown up version, well I know somethings if I get the right category, but mostly I just feel dumb. I don't have time to remember millions of facts about Ancient Greece or every line of Poe. Nor would I want to. If I don't know about something I usually will look it up and do a bit of research on it so I'll better be able to contribute in everyday conversations.

So knowing loads of tidbits isn't really my forte, and props to those of you who are very good at this. I wish I could, but in the overall scheme of things, I like where I'm at, the knowledge I have, and the capacity to continue learning my whole life. Sure I may not know who conquered some country in 1567, but I do know that I have the ability to learn and discuss it if it came up. That's what really matters.

Ok - short post, but I just needed to say that as I feel bad only having a few points on the Name the Character game!

Something Interesting About Ohioans

Ok, so I've been thinking about Ohio and my OSU Buckeye Football boys (I love them), and decided to scour the web for "You Know You're From Ohio If..." things. So if you're from Ohio, enjoy, laugh, cry, whatever you feel when reading these. And if you're not from Ohio, try living here and see if you can do it for more than a week!

From Comedian Jeff Foxworthy on Ohio:

You may be from Ohio (pronounced ah-hi-uh) IF -

1. You think all Pro football teams are supposed to wear orange!
2. You know all the 4 seasons: winter, still winter, almost winter and construction.
3. You live less than 30 miles from some college or university.
4. You know what a buckeye really is, and have a recipe for candy ones.
5. "Toward the lake" means "north" and "toward the river" means south."
6. You know if other Ohioans are from southern or northern Ohio as soon as they open their mouths.
7. You can spell words like Cuyahoga, Olentangy, Bellefontaine, Tuscarawas, Wapakoneta and you know which letter is doubled in Cincinnati.
8. "Vacation" means spending a day at Cedar Point in the summer and deer hunting in the fall.
9. You measure distance in minutes.
10. Your school classes were canceled because of cold.
11. Your school classes were canceled because of heat.
12. You've had to switch from "heat" to "A/C" in the same day.
13. You know what should be knee-high by the Fourth of July.
14. You end your sentences with an unnecessary preposition. Example: "Where's my coat at?"
15. You install security lights on your house and garage and leave both unlocked.
16. You think of the major four food groups as beef, pork, beer, and Jell-O salad with marshmallows.
17. You carry jumper cables in your car.
18. You know what 'pop' is.
19. You design your kid's Halloween costume to fit over a snowsuit.
20. Driving is better in the winter because the potholes are filled with snow.
21. You think sexy lingerie is tube socks and a flannel nightgown.
22. The local paper covers national and international headlines on one page but requires 6 pages for sports.
23. If you actually get these jokes!

Alright, so not all of them are true to me, but I'd say about 93% of those above I can relate with. Oh Ohio. How we love thee.

On another note, I'm super PUMPED for Ohio State Football to start! It's just the best when you get all geared up, head to someones house with a HUGE TV, grill out and watch the game (while either getting super excited or super angry) with a bunch of friends. I cannot wait. I am hoping to save enough money to actually go to a game this year -- tickets are REDIC expensive. I have family who get seasonal alumni tickets, and will offer tickets they can't use to family, but I never am alerted of when this happens until AFTER the other family members have claimed them! UGH. Oh well. I'm getting tickets one way or another!

"It's Round on the ends and hi in the middle
Tell me if you know
Don't you think that's a cute little riddle
Round on the ends and hi in the middle
You can find it on a map if you look high and low
The O's are round, it's hi in the middle
O-H-I-O that's our riddle
Round on the ends and hi in the middle
Ohio!"

You Say FINALLY, I Say OKAY!

Ok, okay. I'm back on here after much yelling at me to post something.

So today I am going to post about...(wait for it...)... OUTDOOR EXERCISE! ::cheers::

Yes, now that it is officially summer, there are so many more thins to do outside exercise wise! I don't really like gyms, unless I'm playing volleyball, basketball, raquetball or aerobics in them (which is hard to do by yourself!) so I need to find more interesting ways to get my exercises in. Having a desk job is not complimentary to ones figure.

So here are some of my favorite things to do outside:

1. Bike Ride - this is an easy way to enjoy the outdoors without injuring your knees & feet. Though it may injure your butt if you have a bad seat. I recently rode my bike to the library (woo books!) and I plan on going on the bike trails with my parents on the July 4th weekend. Everyone can ride a bike, so why not go out and do it! It's a great way to look around and get in exercise at the same time.
2. Rollerblade - haha yes flashback to 1982, with the sweatband, oversized Tee and sports bra hanging out. That's what I look like. Ok no. I don't. But I do like the rollerblading part! While many side streets around me are getting re-paved, I've had to re-work my route a few times. But it's a great way to also relieve pressure from knees while working out. I usually don't rollerblade alone, my BF comes with me too! It's nice!
3. Sand Volleyball - I love indoor volleyball, but something about getting sand everywhere and in places you didn't even know you had = a great time. Every Friday I head to Delco to participate in a 2-4 hour game of volleyball. Some days I hate going (I'm always tired after work on Fridays), but when I do go, I always have a good time. I get to see friends, talk to them, and smack a volleyball around! What could be better? Just remember to bring water!
4. Dance Classes - On Monday's I head downtown to the Rhythm in Shoes studio to take Clogging and Tap classes with the one and only JANET! haha I have been tapping since I was a baby, and it's so nice to be able to learn new steps, keep my feet trained, and just groove to the music. GREAT way to work up a sweat! I am taking the clogging class because Sharon from RIS told me I have to learn how to clog before I dance with them in September. PS - I'm dancing at Carrillon Park on September 26th, 2009 if you want to come see the show! If you like to dance, and don't have experience, or just want to hone your skills, I suggest looking up local studios and taking some classes! They are a wonderful way to stay active.
5. Evening Walk - I like these on really hot days. If you wait till later in the evening, it's usually cooler. Plus walking 30 minutes a day can really help you out. I enjoy walking on Fraze concert days so I can enjoy the music as well :)
6. Sports League - If you want something that you can really have fun with while socializing, join a sports league! I'm on the UD Alum softball team and love every minute of it. Of course we probably ruin any benefit from working out when we go out to bars after the game... but it's still a good time.
   

And that's what I do! I am looking forward to going putt-putt soon, and maybe canoeing?! YES SUMMER!

What are some ways you work out in the summer??

"Life" Is Just Piling Up In My Inbox

So I have been planning since Sunday to go see a GREAT local band "The Menu's" tonight at a concert venue about a block away from my apartment. It's also my parents anniversary tonight (yay them... umm 30+ years, I don't know the exact figure) which was reason for them to come into town for the concert as well.

We went last year and had a wonderful time. You know, it's funny that as you get older the more fun you have with your parents. Or at least I do. So anyway, about the rain.

My clams are steamed. Yes. I'm angry at mother nature. She always seems to get in the way.

As I'm typing this, I can see out the window. The sky is clearing only (because I checked the forecast) to bring more intense storms and rain. BOOOOO. I usually don't mind the rain, but when it literally makes my plans go down the drain, it is a bother.

But on another note - it was raining about a week or two ago, and Brett was driving and I saw a rainbow! I have a picture of it on my phone, but I don't have a connecting cable for the computer. Whoops. Maybe I'll email the picture to myself. Oh technology.

That brings me to another topic - gadgets and technology. Now let me start off by saying, I loveee this stuff. I get super excited about new gadgets. I get jealous of others who can afford to buy them right away. :o( But recently I've been pretty anti-technology. Here are my recent peeves:

1. PHONES - ok if you have read my blog before you know that I'm not the biggest fan of cell phones for teens as it makes them have this weird thing called "I don't know how to call people, so I'll text instead" syndrome. Yea. I'm all for texting if you are somewhere where you can't talk - like at work, in a noisy bar, in your apartment where you don't want people overhearing your convo, etc. But not when you are walking, driving, having a conversation with someone else, at the mall, on you bike, in church, at a restaurant (unless it's like Wendy's or something), plus more. You get my drift.
   But it's not just texting that angers me currently. It's all the things phone do that make us forget to actually interact with one another. Now I have a pretty good phone now with lots of capabilities, but before that I had 1 phone that lasted 4.5 years (and could have gone longer but I got jealous of those fancy phones and wanted one, so I caved in and bought a new one). My first phone did these amazing things -- MADE PHONE CALLS, limited texting (my parents had purchased the 10 messages per month plan back in the day and still had it when I got a new phone), and I could change the background to a dog walking in black and white, or a race car "racing" ... more like falling... down the screen in black and white. Yes. That phone was near and dear to me. I still have it! Its not active, but you know, I'll get around to recycling it. Overall this is the first thing that has taken our generation and the one after us out of reality and into internetality. We are more awkward around other people, we can be reached basically anywhere in the world with the click of a button (although we pretend we cant be), and kids are getting cell phones at the age of 6!!!! SIX years old! I was playing in dirt then and happy doing it! What does a 6 year old need with a cell phone? You just learned the alphabet! Bah. So that is my beef with cell phones. Too fancy, make us awkward, and take away childhood.
2. EMAIL - I love email. Don't get me wrong. I'm that girl with a computer a work, 2 laptops at home, and an email enabled phone. But in the past few years, with the help of the above technology and the fact that everyone on earth has a computer now. I enjoy email because it's a quick way to talk to a LOT of people. It can be fun! But in the past few years, I haven't enjoyed it so much. It has turned into a form of instant messengar. I love the speed of email, but I'm not always on it. But that doesn't matter. People assume you are on your email 100% of the time, because people own crack-berrys, iPhones, mini laptops and everywhere offers free wi-fi. So if you don't respond to someone within the hour, or even half hour, they get offended and start questioning your loyalty. JUST CALM DOWN. Is what I have to say. Speed is well and good and it's a nice luxury, but I really just want to say sometimes - Slow Down. Sometimes we spend so much time online, email, texting, IMing, twittering, blogging, commenting, rating, etc that we forget to live our life. Time just ticks on by with us infront of a computer screen. It's really been bothering me lately as I've wanted to go out, do things, ride my bike, take a walk, watch the ducks, visit friends and just be outdoors. But then I get back to "reality" and I have 50 emails waiting in my inbox, all marked urgent! and I just throw up my hands in despair. Usually I just put it aside to delete them later. I thought I was out living my life, only to realize that "life" has just been piling up in my inbox.

Conclusion: I decided to stop writing this post and go walk around. I have more gripes about technology, but today I'm choosing to get over it, go enjoy today, and hope that you will do the same.

Enjoy using the techno gadgets for keeping in touch, but don't let them take over what is real.

Credit Cards, Loans & Everything In Between

Ok, for the past week my friends have been debating Credit Cards, Scores, Reports, Loans, and basically anything having to do with that topic.

Since I work in the financial industry (WOOT Credit Unions!), I felt I would have some good insight on the topic. I mean, I am not the best at understanding what is on my credit report or how it works. But I know the basics, and I have access to those who know the details.

So with that being said, I'm going to post an email I wrote responding to various comments made by friends. I may need to clarify in a few parts, but please just go with it :o) Also, sorry for the length!

EMAIL:

Well, I was forwarded this extremely long convo to me at work, but I'm going to reply through here so my work email doesn't fill up. SORRY IT"S SO LONG! I had a lot to say!

I have a "few" comments, since I work at a financial institution. But I don't know everything, as this is not my forte. I'll start with Brett and work my way backwards in time.

What we really need is a debit card that will reward you for keeping a certain balance or spending your money well without overloading on credit cards.

Brett - to this point, that would be nice for all of us Debit card users. But what you're forgetting is that a Debit card is basically just a check in plastic form. Purchases still take time to "clear" your account. Like a check, it sits there for a day or to then takes it from your account. It's the modern day check. That's why they are also called "Check Cards." So basically what you are talking about is rewarding you for keeping money in your checking account - which they already have these products. They are supreme checking (which earn dividends), rewards checking (where you get rewards), round up checking (where it rounds up your purchases to the next dollar, and those extra few cents get automatically put into a savings account).

What if I pay off my card three times within a month? Does it still show that I used 1000$ on my car that month, which is like 50% of my max? Hopefully that doesn't hurt my credit score.

I'm not 100% sure on this one, but I think it basically lumps the payments together to make sure the card is paid off by the payment date. I also pay off chunks at a time just so I don't see a bigger number at the end of the month. Thanks internet banking! I think I have a rather high limit on my credit card, and I use about $100-300 any given month. That's a low debt ratio, and since I pay it off it works in my favor. Since you use about 1/2 of your credit limit it's going to hurt your score just a smidgen. Not a huge bit, but creditors/lenders will see that you are using a large percentage of your available credit which lowers your revolving credit (lots of big words to say you're using a lot of "fake money"). This only makes up 10% of your score, and if you have loans or another card that you pay off in full or have lower limits on, you should be okay.

To everyone, your credit score is made of up 5 parts:

1. 35% - Payment History
   
• On time payments or delinquencies
• Basically saying - PAY BILLS ON TIME!
  
2. 30% - Capacity
• Do not go over your credit limit. Capacity = credit card balances in relation to the credit limit
• lower balances on your card = a better score
• This is here because creditors like to see that you have unused "temptation" (this is a dumb one, but it weeds out those who think money grows on trees)
  
3. 15% - History
4. 10% - Accumulation of debt in the last 12-18 months
• Number of Inquiries - basically how many cards, loans, any line of credit you apply for
• Opening Dates
5. 10% - Mix of Credit
• A healthy mix of credit includes (for example) a mortgage, credit card or two, car loan and a retail card.
  

As the lender, you're providing a service. You have something that the student needs. You're willing to provide it, but you obviously expect some compensation. And I think you'd deserve it.

I agree with this. Being on both sides of lending (having student loans, and working a smidgen in the lending dept at work), it's a need that has been provided with a solution. The reason there is interest attached is yes, because it's a service the lenders are providing, but because you really don't know if you are getting that money back. When you approve someone for a loan, regardless of what their "credit history" says, there is a risk that you won't get that money back, and you'll be out X thousands of dollars. For example - someone has a score of 750 (A+ by most standards) so they'll get the lowest rate on their loan (the worse your score, the more your risk goes up, and in turn increasing your interest rate). This person needed a car loan for 22,000. They wanted to put a down payment of 2,000 down, so the loan amount would be for 20,000 really. Everything is going fine, and they have the car and make payments on time for 5 months. Then the person gets fired from their job. They can only scrounge up enough money to pay for their mortgage/rent. They skip the car payment. This continues for 5 months. They go delinquent. Then it gets send to a collection department (for example the two people who work here). They work with the person to try to get the money, suggesting ways to pay it off, what they can put up for collateral (the car usually is but some people don't like that and decide to go to court over it). Eventually the person just can't pay it ever, and the credit union is out around 13,000. They won't get that money back. The interest rate reflects not only the service they provide, but the risk of the money not returning.

The bottom line is this: profit. It is not in the interest of the credit card companies to have people paying off all of their credit card debt on time every month anymore than it is to have people borrowing money and ending up in bankruptcy without enough property to pay off their debt. So it is unsurprising to see the web of rules and regulations they weave in order to put them into the best position.

See above. It's not all about profit. No one WANTS someone to go into debt. We even offer free seminars, sessions, reports to our members to help them learn how to not go into debt. Credit cards from my perspective help you establish that credit HISTORY that you need to get a loan. Otherwise (to the resume comment someone made) we'd have to go off of peoples word. And there are too many dishonest people out there to trust that. That is why the credit system was invented. Yes it has gotten out of hand the past few years because people were allowing ANYONE to get a credit card/loan/line of credit. This was the bad thing that happened. Then they couldn't pay off those loans or make payments, went into debt and lost everyone thousands of millions of dollars. But is original purpose was to have a non-biased way of calculating the risk of default of people. Its still on a case to case basis here at the CU, but a lot of big banks have just now done a flat "if you don't have this number you're not getting a loan." So they can't get into too much trouble anymore, but it doesn't provide that service that it was also created for.

“How is spreading your medium sized debt over multiple cards more responsible than only spending the money which you have in the first place?”

It is not more responsible. Instead, it is more akin to putting lots of band aids over a gaping wound.

The reason this helps your score - not necessarily more responsible, is because it helps your capacity. Which makes up 35% of your score. If you only have one credit card, and you use a substantial amount of your limit, that lowers your capacity and lowers your score. You want to have a larger capacity - such as a credit card or two, student loan, car loan, and or retail card. This gives you 1-more capacity and 1-helps with your mix of credit. I think that's a very natural thing to have, so it's beneficial to you once real life starts. You just naturally get those things, and then in turn it increases your score. No problem there for me. Of course, the kicker is paying them off, keeping track of your finances, and being responsible with your money.

On a personal note, I think Americans in general need to take so much more financial responsibility than they do. The lack of interest in personal finance is astounding. If people cared half as much about paying bills, saving money, financial planning, and responsible spending as they did to what fashion trend is coming up next, what Lindsay Lohan did last night, or that there is a 5 hour TV marathon on, then we would be in much better shape. But that's just me. I take responsibility to educate myself and to make sure I have enough to cover in an emergency. I may be frugal at some points, but ultimately I'm being smart with my money. I'm also not afraid to splurge when I can afford it. If you want something, set a goal, save for it, and then get it without going into debt.

“It seems that credit scores are based on some arbitrary set of factors which are counter intuitive to logic and you have to pay one of three major companies to even see this arbitrary score. That sounds like a giant scam if I've ever heard of one.”

See my above breakdown of a score. You also don't have to pay. You can go to annualcreditreport.com for a free report/score once per year from EACH agency. It's also free if you were denied credit or a loan in the past 60 days or if you're a victim of Identity Theft. Also, if you are a member of the CU, I think it's free (maybe? not sure on this... ask for details) to set up a credit enhancement session where you can call in, set an appointment, and an associate will pull your credit report and score and sit down and go over everything with you on your report. What you can do to improve your score, whats hurting it, and any questions you have. I think it's a great product offering and I'd encourage you to take advantage of it. I'm doing it sometime next week myself.

She is more or less right, but there are ways around the rules. For one thing, just because you do not have a credit card doesn’t mean you can’t get a car or home loan one day. Having a stable job and paying off your student loans in two years is more than enough to justify a future loan. There is someone out there who would lend you money on fair terms.

I agree, while it is good to establish that credit history (re: above paragraph from me) and a credit card is the quickest and easiest way to do that. Having student loans and paying them off in full + more each month establishes some history. Also, paying rent or bills on time can help your score. Using a credit card like a debit card, for small purchases, say your gas purchases only, and paying those off in full each month is also a great way of establishing history and increasing your score. Picking one small thing you do every month really helps. Like I've said, it's the length of time you've had the good account that also boosts your score - a 15% boost!

“Liberty not only means that the individual has both the opportunity and the burden of choice; it also means that he must bear the consequences of his actions. Liberty and responsibility are inseparable.

Right on. You get the responsibility, you also get the consequences.

The only real problem I have is credit cards and the credit score. Getting loans usually doesn't have as many loopholes and fine print.

Not necessarily true. Loans have A LOT of paperwork, especially mortgage loans. Also, they can take away the thing you are getting the loan for :o( so no house, car, boat, bike, computer since it's collateral. Just be smart about where you get a credit card from, read the terms and conditions. And remember, credit cards are there to help you build your credit score, not to supplement your income. :o)
What to look for in a credit card:

• Low interest rate (APR)
• Long grace period (time you have to pay off each month)
• No annual fee
• Low penalty fees
• No inactivity fee

It also seems you have to find the perfect balance of using your credit card to charge just the right amount of money or your credit score will go down.

The perfect number isn't that hard to achieve. Just pick one thing per month that you always purchase, use your credit card for that and pay it off after you purchase it. Simple as that. You're using it to improve your score.

Sure credit cards are great for making big purchases too - but you can break them down like I do and pay off a little over the month, so the one you see on your bill isn't quite as big. Just remember to pay them off. I have a 25 day grace period from the time my bill comes out to when I have to pay the amount. That's a great grace period!


So that is my post for this week. Hopefully you learned something, and if you have anything to add, just comment!

The Un-Post

Today I really don't feel like writing. I'm super tired and my brain can't quite handle the complexity of organizing a post today.

So instead, I detour you to http://failblog.org for your enjoyment.

Enjoy.

Dive into the World of Cooking

HAPPY JUNE FIRST!

And now that that is out of the way... I was going to talk about Harry Potter today, but instead it was suggested that I write about the topic of FOOD. And who doesn't like food? I know I do (although I have had a stomach bug and only able to eat graham crackers, dry cereal, triscuts, and other bland boring foods. When I try something more than those, my stomach rebels and gets angry at me. It's not your usual tummy ache, as it's been with me since last Tuesday).

Ok well that's enough about my stomach woes... sorry about the tangent!

I recently have been cooking more than normal, with 2/3rds of my stuff being my usual delicious baked goods. Yum! The first thing I made, with the help of Brett :), was 2 Derby Pies. If you have never had one, I suggest you ask me to make you one. Delicious. Yum. MMmmm Mm! I made them for Brett's group of friends who were having a cookout before our trip to Cedar Point. They were so good. I wanted to eat them the night of. And they turned out better than I thought, although next time I'll add more chocolate to them! Again, if you have never had one of these, it consists of sugar - white and brown, chocolate, pecans or walnuts, corn syrup, eggs, butter (mmm) and of course Burbon! All baked in a flakey pie crust. I believe my next pie creation will be Pecan Pie - my grandma's recepie! I'll let everyone know when I make it. Add a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream and ahhhh perfection.

So the next thing I took on was making a Barbeque Chicken Pizza, also with Brett's assistance. We like to make stuff together! It's just more fun because you can make more than a single serving. In our case, we made two pizzas! Start off with some crust, add bbq sauce on the bottom (OH and we totally used Buckeye BBQ Sauce, it was meant to be), add your chicken, and other topings if you like, and finish with freshly shredded motzarella cheese! Very yummy as well. I think it was one of the simplest and fast meals I've made in a while, minus cook time -- which was only 7-10 minutes so not bad at all. I suggest making this in college if you want something fast and that will last you longer than an evening. Cut it into squares so it DOES last longer though :) It's also a good party food, as who doesn't like bbq chicken pizza?!

And finally, last night, in a craving for chocolate, I decided to make a German Chocolate cake with whipped white icing. MMM. I haven't taken a bite of this yet, I had to wait for the icing to set on the cake before I sliced it. But I made two square layers, filled with the icing in the middle. I think tonight I will swing by the grocery store and grab some mint chocolate chip ice cream to add to the side of this dish. I'm excited to try it because I know it's good. German chocolate is one of my favorite flavors because it's lighter than the usual chocolate - so you can eat more!! Oh I want to eat it so badly, but I have dance tonight, so it will have to wait until after 9:15 pm.

If you have any recepies that you really like, or if you want any of my recepies, let me know! I've been wanting to make a really good grilling recepie - so I'll take those too!

Happy Cooking!

The Dangers of Texting

So I'm sure your mind went straight to "Don't Text and Drive." Yes. We all know that one. But I'm talking about real dangers of texting. The dangers that lurk deep in the shadows. The dangers that only come out when in a public place. Ok - I'm talking about the dangers the teeny boppers face from me while I'm in a public place and they are walking and texting and running into things and me and my friends and have the audacity to get angry at ME. Yes. Those dangers.

While at Cedar Point this past Tuesday (yay!) I had to submerge myself into the world of all age ranges yet again. This doesn't happen often, as I was recently in College, and everyone there is the same age, now I'm working, and everyone is around the same age (minus me and 2 other people :D), but when I go to amusement parks, the movies, a festival, etc, I am exposed to the entire range of homo-sapiens. Yes. From newborns, to 30 year-olds, to the elderly. And the only age group that gets on my nerves 100% of the time? Yes you guessed it -- the tweens and teens. I don't remember being so obnoxious when I was that age. Maybe I was, but I know for a fact that I didn't dress, text, or be so blatantly rude. No I was scared of older people. My parents could ground me, my grandma could spank me, and my sister could beat me up. No I respected those who had been on this earth longer than me.

So anyway, back to the texting. While walking around, I don't think I could go a foot without seeing some teenage girl walking blindly with her group of friends and texting on her QWERTY keyboard. Now I'm all for texting if you need to get a quick message to someone, or are somewhere you can't use your phone, but if you are with all your friends, and your parents, and your cousins, and your boyfriend, and your dog, who else do you need to text?! Oh yes, Text L-O-V-E to 69691 to find out if you and your boyfriend were destined to be together. Only $999.99 a text! UGH.

After getting thoroughly annoyed at being bumped into by these thumb crampers, my boyfriend said "we should just hit the phones out of their hands when we see them." Heaven forbid their phone is detached from their limbs. While the thought of smashing their phones on the hard concrete did enthrall me, I didn't want to be hit with the teenage verbal venom that would follow. So I'd just dream about it and hope when I had kids they wouldn't be this way... man oh man.

Well, throughout the day, I got less and less concerned with the walking texter teen. Which was good because they seemed to multiply! It wasn't until we were back at the hotel in the hot tub did another flame of fury creep up inside of me. We were chilling relaxing in the hot tub, after a long day of walking around, only to be bombarded by 15+ teeny-boppers, all with cell phones, because common, if you are 2 years old without a cell phone you're a total loser!; Well they decide to get into the hot tub ... WITH THEIR CELL PHONES. Like come on! How dumb do you get?! I wanted one of them to drop it soooo bad. But we left before they did. Which was good because my teenager quota had been met for the day.

I guess the moral of this post was:

A) to vent about teenagers and
B) to PRAY that my kids don't turn out this way.

A Week of my Life

Well it's finally FRIDAY! Yay! I love how on Monday I can't wait for Friday to come. It seems so overwhelming, a whole week of work to get through before the glorious weekend. But when Friday comes, it takes for-ev-VER. Yes. You know what I'm talking about. Here is how my week goes:

Monday: Wake up and realize it's Monday, so I have to go to work. Hit the snooze button once, but unable to fall back asleep as the cat is scratching at my door waiting for her food. Dumb cat. Get to work, down 3 cups of half-caf half decaf coffee, check my emails, and start looking around for the projects I didn't finish the week before. I get dragged into a project that takes me through till noon and I rejoice as it's time for lunch! After lunch I work on a few more little projects until the end of the day, while updating Twitter and checking out industry news. 5pm - go home!

Tuesday: Wake up before the alarm goes off or the cat is up. Debate going back to sleep for a few minutes, but quickly decide to just get up and start my day. Maybe today is the day I have time for the newspaper AND a bowl of cereal. It's not. Rush out the door at 7:55 am and get to work at 7:59 (yes, benefits of living close to work). Spend the first few hours of work checking up on industry news, researching new technology for the CU, and just brainstorming ideas that I may get to talk about sometime in the future. I usually check the clock once an hour.. waiting for lunch.. then waiting for the end of the day. 5pm comes faster today, although I have checked the clock. Maybe all that counting of seconds made it speed up?

Wednesday: Pretty much like Tuesday, however, since it's hump day, after noon, I feel myself sliding on the downhill part of the week. Woo afternoons go quick!

Thursday: This is the second hardest work day to get though! I wake up, hit snooze 2 times, put the cat in the bathroom so she'll stop mewing at me and skip breakfast all so I can gain 15 extra minutes of precious sleep. Good thing I keep granola bars at work :) Get to work, and have a project that has a morning deadline, so I get to work straight on that. Finish that, take a late lunch since the project took longer than expected and return sleepy and full from the delicious food I went out to eat! Since I'm in this food coma, I tend to just do mind-numbing work during this afternoon, such as stuffing and folding letters if I can. That takes all of 20 minutes, and I spend the rest of the afternoon fixing up projects that aren't quite right, perfect, make sense, etc. It's 4:57 and it's time to log off and go.

FRIDAY: "I don't wanna!" is my response when my alarm starts screaming at me to get up. I hit snooze 3 times, or halfway through the night I set my alarm to 7:20 or 7:30 just to sleep in. I get up eventually and throw on the outfit I laid out the night before because I know I don't get up early on Fridays. Get to work, and get busy. Fridays usually go fast because I have so much work I have to get done before the weekend begins. I work on any and all projects, sometimes doing half of one while simultaneously working on 2 others. I get more done if the sun is out, because I know getting caught up in designing a flyer/webpage/insert makes time race by. Lunch comes and goes without much regard from me. And once the 2nd half of my day comes, I hit a wall. It's 3pm on a Friday! Why do I have to work? This is when I start wondering what it would be like to own my own business and work from say 10-3 on Fridays, just because I can. And then those little logical men in my head say "oh but how would that be convenient to anyone but you. what about the customers? They need your products on Fridays too." So I try to put it out of my mind. Doesn't work. At least it killed 30 minutes of time while I was re-organizing my email inbox. I check the clock. 3:45. 3:55. 3:59. 4:12. 4:13. 4:28. Ah so close now. I feel my feet itching to get up and walk around. Take a stroll around the office to get the blood pumping so I don't clot up on the way down the stairs. 4:39. Ok time to organize the desk so it looks neat and clean on Monday. 4:45. Are all of my programs open? Did I get everything done that was due today? Double checking on that. 4:51. Send out a few emails about having a good weekend. Wash out my coffee cup. 4:58. Ok. Grab my purse and GO!

That's my typical week - give or take a few things. I sometimes work events, which totally changes my schedule. Now don't get me wrong, I L-O-V-E my job and what I get to do and the fact my schedule is so flexible. I like designing things and re-working them until I have 5 versions of the same thing. It's what I do. I just thought it would be interesting to let everyone get inside my head on a slow week. Not every day at work is "wam-bam thank you ma'm" filled with things to do. Sometimes you have to create your own work - like researching the competition, monitoring new websites for potential member segments, viewing other artist's work for inspiration, and much more.

Sure I may look at the clock a lot, or really enjoy when a week is over, but I also like the journey to it.

Naming a Kid? Try nameing a BLOG!

You know, I've had Xanga, LiveJournal, and Facebook, but never an "official" blog. It's that time now!

So picking a name for my blog became the hardest part of this whole experience. I know I have random stuff I can write about, as my life is totally interesting.... right... but a name to sum up everything I will be talking about? Harder than you think. I was amazed at how hard this task really became. I used name generators for inspiration, looked all around my cube for random words I could put together, and came up with squat. I wasn't sure if I'd ever get to blog at all since you can't blog without a good blog name!

In a last effort I posed this question on my G-Chat Status: "I need a name for my blog. Suggestions welcome." and within 5 minutes I had several responses from my friends. YES! What great friends - who instead of actually working at work decide to hang out on G-Chat all day and answer my status questions. Yes. Great friends indeed. :)

A few of the failed names include:

• Monka Bang!
• Random Encounters with my Brain
• Monica Bean
• Rhythm in my Shoes
• The Boring Blog
• And more...

Then, finally, with divine inspiration, my friend Joe or Chinchilla, (see left), came up with the genius name I now call blog home -- Moni-logue. Now for all of you slow thinkers out there, it's a play on the words Monologue, as the long speeches given by a single person in a play, much like what this blog will be to all of you - the theatrical view of my life.

So thank you Joe for naming my blog - as I take no credit in coming up with it. You rock. Now go roll in some dirt.



**EDIT** I was told Chincilla's roll in dust not dirt. Sorry about that Mr. Joe.