Archive for July, 2008

Plan To Say Farewell in 2080!

Monday, July 21st, 2008

I just took this quiz thing on The Living to 100 website, and apparently I’ll go when I’m 97 as long as my lifestyle persists. You answer 40 questions on your lifestyle, genetics, and medical history. The neat part is that you can ask for feedback on what would add longevity to your life. Things they recommended for me was better stress management, working fewer hours (amen to that), cutting out coffee (gasp!), taking aspirin once a day, flossing more, exercising more, and getting my blood sugar, blood pressure, and regular check-ups regularly. So, I can definitely work towards some of those things. But nixing the coffee? Forget it!

Source: Better Homes and Gardens, August 2008, p. 170

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Posted in Health, Life |

Miseducation at ‘Empowerment Night’

Saturday, July 19th, 2008

A subject that is very important to me is the matter of women educating themselves about financial empowerment. Not in the women’s liberation sense, but more of a matter of being responsible about your choices. It seems as though the stereotypical expectations are that women may or may not go to college, possibly establish a career, get married and live largely dependent on their husband while raising kids and enjoying a somewhat “easy” lifestyle. Going between committee meetings, appointments with stylists and personal shoppers, and having the nanny or housekeeper do the heavy lifting does sound pretty pleasant. But the question that always leaves these women stumped is: What will you do if you husband’s income disappears from your life? Whether it be by death, divorce, or job-loss, many women are unprepared to face this possibility. And it’s not just a shot in the dark. The statistical rates for divorce are well-known and also the mortality rate differences between men and women. We are also keenly aware of the economic situation that is going on which greatly affects our job market.

So this is why I was excited about a presentation put on by a financial services company called Primerica. (more…)

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Posted in Money, Women |

Coffee Lovers Rejoice!

Tuesday, July 15th, 2008

Browsing my Google reader this morning I came across this:

20. Coffee
The old cup-o-joe has been thrown on the stands for many a corporeal crime—heart disease, cancer, osteoporosis—but exonerated on all counts. In fact, coffee, which is derived from a bean, contains beneficial antioxidants that protect against free radicals and may actually help thwart heart disease and cancer. While it’s not going to fill you up like the other items on this list, it might make you a lot perkier. When made at home, coffee runs less than 50¢ cents a cup. Source

Huzzah! It’s always nice to have something that you enjoy every day to be actually healthful. Of course, caffeine isn’t always a good choice but it’s better in coffee than it is in soda.

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Posted in Food, Health |

Almost Slab-Pouring Time!

Saturday, July 5th, 2008

We got some good news on Thursday afternoon – the permit for our lot is in so they are going to start building our house before the end of the month. I still can’t believe this is all happening. It’s very exciting! We’re going to have a meeting with the builder before they start and we’ll hammer our all the fine details then. So it should be this coming Thursday or Friday and then pretty quickly they’ll start the house! We’re hoping it will be completed in November so we can move in before Thanksgiving and get the holidays going. We’re still waiting for some of the paperwork to be finalized but it’s pretty much just a formality at this point. Yay! I’m hoping to have pictures up on Flickr sometime soon, so keep an eye out for that on the sidebar.

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Posted in Dear Diary, House & Home |

Bookworm Eaten by Junebug

Wednesday, July 2nd, 2008

So I’m not even going to bother putting a jump (“more…” link) on this one. Three books, ya’ll. But hey, they were all great ones.

  1. PBS The Nanny Diaries – Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus [audio]
  2. LIB Does This Clutter Make My Butt Look Fat? – Peter Walsh [audio]
  3. GFT Sunday’s at Tiffany’s – James Patterson [audio]

I’m planning to start Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett soon which is a MONSTER of a book. 42 CDs. I can’t fit the entire audio book on my computer it’s so big. And it’s taking me a long time to transfer it to my iPod, so at the rate I’m going it will be August before I start it. If you check out my reading resolution page you can see I’m still reading the same books I was reading back in May. I’m really trying to get through GTD but it’s so boring. I read a few pages here and there, but it’s slow going. And no, I can’t just scrap it. It’s actually very useful and helpful, the writing just needs to be jazzed up (a lot). I actually put a hold on my Paperback Swap account because I not only have too much going on to mail books out, I’ve run out of room to house the books I’m receiving. And when a wish list item becomes available, I have no willpower. So I’m going to try and work down my book shelf but it’s harder than I thought. I don’t think summer is a good reading season unless you get to plunk down on a beach towel for several weeks.

This month’s recommendations:

  • Does This Clutter Make My Butt Look Fat?
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Posted in 2008 Books |