Jeanette's Work At Home Corner: September 2006

Why do parents let their young kids answer the phone?

As a recruiter, I have had my share of young children answering the telephone when I make my calls. Just the other day I had an instance where a 3 year old little boy answered the phone and said, "Hi." I asked for his mother and he said, "Okay." He did not give the phone to his mother and just set it down. I was about to hang up when the little boy came on the line again and said "Are you still there?" Well of course I was, and asked him to give the phone to his Mom. He asked me "Why?" I was basically fed up at this point and hung up the phone. Where was his mother this whole time? Why do they let these youngsters pick up the phone? I found it quite rude. My youngest is 5 years old and she only answers the phone if she knows who it is (we have talking Caller ID). Other than that...we answer it. Okay I'm done venting.

Upcoming Art Show

I just came across a web release about an upcoming art show. How I wish I could go. It's the George L. Lindemann Art Basel Miami Beach . This is the American sister event of Art Basel in Switzerland, the most important annual art show worldwide for the past 37 years. The event in Miami Beach is regarded as the most important art show on the American continent. It is set to take place on December 7-10, 2006. It's a who's who in the art world who will be serving on the event's committees, so you can expect high standards in regards to this show. Oh well, I can dream can't I? I'll be just as happy looking at my kids' artwork on the refrigerator.

Looks like the real estate market is slowing up...

There are so many homes for sale in our neighborhood and they have been on the market now for several months. "Reduced Price" signs are slowly popping up as well. Three years ago a house that would go up for sale in our neighborhood would be sold in literally days. With the rates going down I know a lot of people who are doing a mortgage refinance . Now is the best time to do it. I sure am glad I don't have to go through the stress of waiting for my house to sell in order to get into a new one. My sister went through it a couple months back and finally just took her home off the market.

Focus Groups

I attended a focus group the other day...it was an all day affair. Basically it was a mock trial - we heard testimony from the attorneys representing each side of the case and then we were put in two separate groups and asked to deliberate. It was really very interesting. Unfortunately I can't divulge exactly what it was about. I made $200 for the day. Not bad. This has been a great month for me as far as my focus groups go. So far I have made almost $500. Can't complain. I'm already signed up to do another taste test next week. It definitely pays to get signed up for these companies. Do a search for "market research" companies in your area or visit craislist.org. In my area they are usually listed in the Etc. section.

Tags: market research, focus groups

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Cardinals lose...by a fumble

Hmmph!! I was so ticked yesterday that the Cardinals lost. We were oh so close!! 1:47 to go in the 4th quarter, we have the ball on just about the 30 yd line, Kurt Warner fumbles!! We were trailing 16 - 14. He has 8 fumbles so far this SEASON. I'm sorry Kurt...I think it's time to retire. Bring on Matt Leinart!! Okay, I feel better now.

Tags: Arizona Cardinals, Kurt Warner, Matt Leinart

Um....can I just vent a little bit?

Today we went to a local restaurant/sports bar for lunch with the kids. We've been there before - gone to Happy Hours and enjoyed the atmosphere and the food. It is quite "family friendly". We walked in and it was just packed!! The ASU football game was on and it was filled with fans. Needless to say, it was quite loud but no biggie. Here's the problem. Out of the whole restaurant there were probably only three waitresses working the whole place. Service was absolutely horrible - they kept saying they were sorry that they were busy, etc. but hello....the manager wouldn't think to have extra servers working, especially on a college game day? Our quick lunch turned into a two hour ordeal. We learned our lesson. We should have gone to McDonald's like the kids wanted to in the first place.

Now that all the kids are in school full time...

I have been toying with the idea of going back to school. I've thought about taking some classes at ASU but then I'd be away from the house again and I really don't want to do that. I've been looking into getting my college degree online . It's the one thing that I mostly regret. I only had a year left to go but chose to take a semester off and work - I enjoyed the money. Well, I didn't go back to school, then I got married, and started having kids. I've looked at different schools and found one that I liked, Capella University. Founded in 1993, Capella University is an accredited online university that offers graduate degree programs in business, information technology, education, human services, and psychology, and bachelorÂs degree programs in business and information technology. I like the fact that it's all done online. I won't even have to leave my house.

Christmas is right around the corner....

I am actually thinking ahead this year. I usually wait until the last minute but I get way too stressed out doing so. I saw a really cute site that had Gift Baskets and Christmas Gifts . God, they had everything you could think of. It can't get any easier than that. You know me...it's all about convenience.

Finally!!

The kids' school sent home a flyer regarding mylunchmoney.com. It's basically a site that lets me put money in their school lunch accounts. This is going to help tremendously!! This will stop the phone calls from Kaitlyn saying...."Um, I forgot to tell you that I don't have any money in my account." Brandon will no longer call me and say, "Oh yeah, I got a stamp on my hand yesterday since that was my last day for lunch money and I forgot to tell you." At least now I have more control with their account and they don't have to go through the embarassing "cheese sandwich and milk because your parents didn't put money in your account" lunch. They sure have come a long way from hole punching your lunch ticket. :)

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Blog post sponsored by Make Money Blogging

A new investment opportunity

Bryan and I decided to change up some of our stock options in his 401k. I did some research to see what other funds we should invest in and I was surprised to find that silver is an excellent investment opportunity. Who knew? World demand for silver now exceeds annual production, and has every year since 1990. Above ground stockpiles of silver bullion are low, shrinking rapidly, and approaching zero. Maybe I’ll just convince Bryan to buy me some more silver jewelry - I’ll tell him it’s an investment. Ha Ha.

When am I going to get to go to Hawaii?

I’ve always told Bryan that I would LOVE to go to Hawaii for a vacation. He would always say yeah, yeah, yeah, we’ll go someday. I would always tell him what a nice 10 year anniversary present that would be...hint, hint, and alas, our 10 year wedding anniversary came and went. Over the summer we went to Rocky Point and stayed in this beautiful condo. It definitely was the way to go. I started to look online and did a search for Maui condo and wow, look what I found - a 2BR/2BA corner-unit condo located on the third floor of the Mahana at Kaanapali Resort in Maui. Here’s a picture of the view from the balcony.

Isn't it beautiful? Now if only Bryan would read this and get a hint.....

Tags: Hawaii, Maui

Just had to share....

We finally got her pictures back from her recital back in June...What do you think her favorite part of these pictures were? The fact that she was allowed to wear a little bit of lipstick and some blush. Boy, I'm gonna be in trouble when she gets older....

Say "Cheese"

This morning I was in a rush (what else is new?) to get the kids ready for picture day today. Maddie asked last night to have her hair curled in the morning...she was very prepared and knew exactly what she was going to wear - of course that is not a surprise for our girlie girl. Kait on the other hand (the tomboy) could not have cared less what she wore nor how her hair looked. I told her last night to pick out some of her favorite shirts and I would pick one from them. Well, surprise surprise...she brought out an ASU basketball T-shirt amongst all of the "nicer shirts". I picked out the T-shirt and said...."You want to wear this for picture day?" She replied, "Well...I want to but I know you're gonna say no but I just wanted to see what you would say." Yeah, like I'm gonna pick that one out and say "Kait - love this T-shirt..ya gotta wear it for your pictures.." NOT. We settled for a nice top and matching gauchos. She actually looked very nice - compared to the shorts and t-shirts she normally wears. Maddie even commented to her that she looked very nice today and that Kaitlyn should be wearing nice things like that to school everyday. Maddie did also point out to Kait - "Um, with that outfit you better not wear your Nike shoes - it would not match at all." Little Maddie...what are we going to do with her? She's 5 going on 16 I swear. It's so easy for the boys - just took a polo shirt out for Brandon and some shorts and boom that was it. They don't know how easy they have it.....Now I hope they smile :)

I hate this time of year.....

I always dread this time of the year. With the new school year comes the push for fundraiser after fundraiser. We're inundated with catalogs to purchase things - now it's not just one catalog, it's like 4 or 5 of them - there's a jewelry catalog, the ever popular wrapping paper, the cheese and sausage, candy, cookie dough tubs, etc...like I don't already have enough problems keeping up with the paper trail around this house. "Please Mommy buy something 'cause I'll be able to get a real cool prize." I love what they did this year to get these kids to really sell..."We have secretly randomly chosen 10 students' names. If these students sell at least 5 things, they will receive a mystery bag worth $100!!" Ummm...Kait already is thinking she's one of those lucky 10 people and has to now sell at least 5 things or she'll lose out on that glorious mystery bag worth 100 bucks. Brandon could care less. Maybe when you're in 6th grade it's just not cool anymore to try and sell the most. Oh, and don't forget to save your boxtops....*sigh*

Here's another thing...picture day. It's tomorrow. Now with all three of them in school I spend a fortune on these darn packages. These packages have really come a long way...you can now choose your background color or hey, if you want that soft touch look for sophistication well that's available too. But hey- if you wake up in the morning with a big zit on your forehead...remind Mommy to check the "Retouch Option" for $5.00. I guess that's cheaper than concealer. All right. My ranting is done. For now.

Tags: fundraiser, picture day

Here's a great wedding reception idea for the kids...

We went to a wedding reception recently where there were several children in attendance. I thought to myself at the church that these kids are going to be running around all over the reception and have nothing to do. Well, much to my surprise, they had one table that was reserved only for children - a place that they could stop by and play. It was set off to the side where there were toys available for them - Lego’s, cars, Barbies, blowing bubbles, as well as coloring books and crayons. I thought that was a fabulous idea to have an area like that just for them to keep them entertained. It was quite nice - probably over 300 people. They had those disposable wedding cameras on each of the tables as well. Hmmm, let me figure out the math - there were about 30 tables, 2 cameras per table....wow that must have been a hefty price tag to get all those pictures developed!! I sure hope they didn’t drop it off at Walgreen’s for one hour developing....

The picture says it all.....

Above: Neil Rackers - he missed two field goals today.

The Arizona Cardinals lost today to the Seattle Seahawks, 21 - 10. It really was not a surprising loss - we knew this was going to be a tough game for the Cards. Better luck next week against the Rams.....

Tags: Arizona Cardinals

An update on Bryan's Arthritis

With Bryan’s arthritis, his rheumatologist has been experimenting with different medications to help with the pain. He is still on the Remicade treatment, and responds well to it. He is also taking Celebrex - not a very high dose of it, and other pain medications as well. He recently started taking a new pain medication called Plaquenil. The side effects of this medication could affect his vision so he has to go the eye doctor every six months to make sure that everything is okay. That’s pretty scary. That’s one thing you don’t want to be messing around with - your vision. It made me think about all of the different medications that he is on right now and how one interacts with the other. Thank goodness for Epocrates Online. It’s a site that is available to physicians who can access to critical information about more than 3,300 drugs, including dosing, pricing, potential drug interactions from any computer. The information is available on a PDA as well.

You've Got Cash!!

I love getting emails from Paypal saying I've got money in my Paypal account. It's a nice surprise - they're mostly payments from Mystery Shopping, blogging, etc. I qualified for another focus group this week as well. It's Tuesday afternoon - 2 hours and $100 for my time. Not bad... My taste test group last week was interesting. It was about chewing gum. We had to chew 4 different types of chewing gum and answer a questionnaire about each piece. Fairly simple, it lasted about 40 minutes and I got paid $30. The next morning I coudln't figure out why my temples hurt so bad. I realized it was from all the chewing I did the day before. LOL.

Tags: Paypal, focus group

Oh man, was I ripped off?

Before Bryan bought his car, it was up to me to start calling all of these dealerships and try and haggle with these guys before we actually walked on to their lot. I narrowed it down to probably three dealers that I wanted to actually take the time to talk to. I did extensive research online on these dealers and through a message boards found a site called Ripoff Report. They were not too kind about one particular dealer so I scratched them off the list. I was bummed because they had the best price out of the three dealers I was interested in. Now I’ve learned that this website (RipOffReport.com) did not check to make sure that consumer complaints were legitimate and there were also allegations that the Ripoff Report was making false complaints about companies for the purpose of extortion. They used the ranking power of their website to rank for companies names and used those rankings to extort money. I’m wondering now if the complaints made against the dealership that had the best price were actually legitimate. I guess I’ll never know, since I chose not to go to that dealer because of the negative things I read about them on RipOff Report. Oh well, I still think we got a great deal on his car.

Ladies, have no fear, your instant male companion is here!!

Women worried about driving alone can now get an instant companion to ward off those road scoundrels. At the flick of a switch, they can have a blow-up male passenger that inflates right beside them. This concept is from a women’s car insurance company, Sheilas’ Wheels. They provide cheap auto insurance rates for all 50 states. A word to the wise though, I wouldn’t use this instant male passenger just so you can use the carpool lane. Hee hee...

Gonzo...going, going, GONE

It's a sad day for Diamondbacks fans today. One of their most beloved players on and off the field will not be returning for a ninth season. He was told Thursday that he will go into the off season as a free agent. I am completely appalled that the "powers that be" in this organization are willing to let go of such an incredible player. He has given so much to this team and to this community, it will be hard to go to a Dbacks game and Gonzo not be there. Okay, so he's 39 years old...is he washed up? I should think not. So far this season he has had 50 doubles...50...did you hear me? 50 doubles... Sigh...We will miss you Gonzo. Whoever snatches you up next season is one lucky team.

Save money and give to charity at the same time?

You all know how coupon happy I am - I don’t just get six papers on Sunday because I love to read. I have found this awesome website that has online coupons as well. They are a shopping site that gives consumers cash back every time they shop online. They just announced that members can automatically donate the cash back they earn by shopping through Ebates.com to their favorite charity. How cool is that? Ebates gives you up to 25% Cash Back at more than 800 popular stores including Barnes & Noble (my personal favorite), Target, and Circuit City, to name just a few. Why pay retail when you can use Ebates.com to save money, get cash back, and contribute to your favorite charity as well.

Happy Friday!!

TGIF...It's been a long and stressful week for me. I need a drink. A STRONG one. We're going to Happy Hour this afternoon so it will be nice to unwind. Cheers :)

Are you thinking about refinancing?

With the real estate market slowing here in the Phoenix area and interest rates dropping, now is a good time to maybe refinance your home or consolidate your bills. I did some research online and was surprised to see how many different types of mortgages there are out there. There are the mortgages with a fixed rate, mortgages with an adjustable rate, or mortgages with an interest only rate. I used an online calculator and was able to estimate what our monthly mortgage payment would be if we refinanced. There are several different types of home loans as well. Home equity loans are home mortgages that enable homeowners to free up cash from their original home mortgage in order to make additional investments such as remodeling your home, college education, or consolidating some of your bills. The rate on one of our credit cards is currently 22%. I have called the creditor to see if they can lower the rate and they just won't budge. I told them that we've been with them for over 15 years and they simply did not care. If we consolidate some of our bills, we’d be saving so much money per month and not be drowning in finance charges. Wow, if I could just pocket that extra money that I potentially would save per month I just might be able to hit that Coach store once again.

Planning your next vacation?

Get Connected with the Best Travel Deals! When was the last time you strolled along a sunset beach? (For me it was just this past June.) I have already been planning our next trip. It's been three months since our last vacation and I already need another one!! If you're like me, you like to plan ahead. I found this great website that had some Family Vacation Packages that were really affordable. They provide weekend getaway trips, family vacations, and travel packages that include hotel accommodations and more. Don't miss out, book your package today!!

I Don't Think Steve Irwin Would Be Too Happy

It seems at least 10 stingrays have been killed since Steve Irwin was fatally injured by one of these fish. This has prompted a spokesman for Mr. Irwin's animal charity to plead with people not to take revenge upon these animals. Stingray bodies were found on two beaches on the east coast of Australia. Two more were found Tuesday with their tails cut off. The executive director of Steve Irwin's Wildlife Warriors conservation group said he was concerned that the stingrays were being hunted and killed in retaliation for his death. Those idiots out there that did this, ask yourself, "Is this what Steve Irwin was all about? Killing innocent animals?" I think not and poor Steve is probably looking down on those callous humans just shaking his head in confusion.

Tags: Steve Irwin

Reflection on September 11, 2001

I think back to when I heard about what happened on that fateful day. A friend of mine, Tim, had called me early that morning to tell me that a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center. I was half asleep when he called and all I could say was, "What?" He then told me that another plane had hit the other tower. I really did not know what to think. I said my goodbyes to Tim and immediately turned the TV on. God, it was on every single channel. You could not escape it. You wanted to know more. The vision of that second plane hitting that tower is forever etched in my mind. At this point I am trying to get Brandon ready for school - he was in 1st grade at the time. I wondered if school was going to be cancelled? I called and they said school will remain in session. I was surprised. I wanted him to stay home. I did not know how this day would unfold and whether or not I should keep him home, safe with me. I can remember him asking me what had happened and all I remember telling this 5 year old boy was that two planes had crashed into the World Trade Center in New York. He just looked at me innocently and said, "Why?". I remember not knowing what to say to him. I drove him to school and turned the radio on. I was switching from station to station trying to get any new information I could. I don't even remember driving him to school. I got back home and called my parents. My mother said she had been trying to get a hold of her brother who lives in Staten Island, New York. She wanted to make sure that they were okay. I thought about my brother, who just earlier that year had come home from being in the Army for the past couple years. Was he going to be called to Active Duty? I had so many questions swirling through my mind. I can remember having that awful feeling in the pit of my stomach wondering what was going to happen to us, what was going to happen to America? I've always felt safe here and now in an instant you feel vulnerable, unprotected, unknowing of what will be...Here it is five years later, Brandon now in 6th grade, how somber this nation is today, and how my heart goes out to everyone who lost a loved one on that day. We will never forget.

Arizona Cardinals win!!

Our Arizona Cardinals won our first season opener. I was surprised to learn that it was the first time in franchise history that we opened the season at home since they moved here in 1988. I'd like to be an optimist, but in reality I think we're headed towards a .500 season. I hope I'm wrong.

WTG Cards!!

Bryan was happy as well...he has Kurt Warner as his quarterback in his Fantasy Football League.

Tags: Arizona Cardinals

My rant about email addresses

As a recruiter working from home, I get resumes sent to me all the time. I am shocked at the number of resumes whose owners have email addresses that are a tad bit on the unprofessional side. For example, I got a resume the other day and it was from imtoohotforu@______. Had I not seen the fact that she was sending in a resume, I would have deleted it immediately thinking it was spam. Here's another one... brownandfoxy@______. People - get yourself a professional email. It's a big turn off to people looking to hire you. Okay, I said my peace.

"It's cold outside...."

It was raining this morning. A nice break from all the heat. The girls opened the front door and said, "Oh my gosh it's so cold. I think we'd better wear a jacket." Now for those of you who don't know, we live in the sunny state of Arizona and by gosh it gets so freakin' hot here. To hear my girls say they want to wear a jacket to school when it's only 70 degrees just cracked me up.

What? Order your blinds online?

I have been thinking about updating my window treatments in my bathroom. They’ve been there since we moved in and to be honest with you, they’re truly outdated. I’d love to put some nice wood blinds like we did throughout the rest of the house. I don’t know why we didn’t just change them at the same time as our other windows. I called our “blinds guy” and he went out of business!! I was shocked. I went online to find another company and found www.guaranteedblinds.com. I was really impressed with their site. They don’t just offer blinds, they have other window treatments as well. They give you step by step instructions on how to measure your windows before you place your order as well as how to install your blinds once they arrive at your home. They ship your blinds within five days of you placing your order. It couldn’t get any easier. I love Guaranteed Blinds’ slogan - Guaranteed Price, Guaranteed Quality, Guaranteed Delivery. You can’t go wrong with that! Check out www.guaranteedblinds.com and see what I’m talking about.

Computer Eye Strain

Now that I have two blogs, get paid to post on forums, and do my actual transcribing, I find myself staring at this computer screen a little bit more than usual. My eyesight has remained relatively the same for the past three years, have not had to get a stronger prescription for my glasses, but I’m thinking that just in the past month it has weakened a bit. I don’t want to admit it...I’m in denial...I think this signifies I’m getting up in age. Ugh. Last week I could feel a little twitch in my left eye. No biggie. My eyes started to get really dry and red. Visine did the trick for that. At night while on the computer I found myself squinting a little bit more - never had a problem before, always had ample lighting - and ended up putting an actual light on my desk. Hmmm. I did a search online and read the obvious things to do to ease your eyes like focus away from your screen every hour, adjust your computer screen so that it’s 20 degrees slightly below eye level, adjust the contrast and brightness, blah blah blah. I found a really cool tool through Microsoft called ClearType Tuner. It makes it easier to read the text on your screen and it walks you through the wizard so that you can adjust it to your preference. I downloaded it and so far, it has made a difference...or maybe I just need a new pair of glasses.

Click here to download ClearType Tuner from Microsoft.

Tags: computer eye strain, ClearType Tuner, Microsoft

My newest blog....

I have started a new blog titled, "jeanette's celebrity corner". You all know how much I love the celebrity stuff and what's going on with them. Enjoy!!

http://jeanettes-celebrity-corner.blogspot.com

Tags: celebrity

Get Paid to Post on Forums

Here is yet another extra income opportunity that I have stumbled upon. I was perusing through www.wahm.com (awesome work at home resource site) and saw a post about being paid to post on forums. I had never heard of the idea before and starting doing some research on it. What I found was this was a way to kick-start a new forum or give a little boost to an inactive forum. The more activity on a forum, chances are one would register with them as opposed to one who has little or no activity. I get paid .20 per post. I choose forums that I am interested in and have knowledge of. I have met so many different people from around the world and actually enjoy posting. Once I have finished my posting duties, I still find myself going back to those boards just to chat. Check out www.postonmyforum.com.

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