Amy Currioman

I don’t know about you, but I keep almost all of the Christmas cards that I get every year.  I like to re-purpose them for use as name tags, or using them as craft supplies.  I find that I like the personalized christmas cards the best for these types of uses; they tend to be a higher quality of paper than the ones that you can buy at the local discount store for just a couple of dollars for a whole bunch of them.

When sending out cards I like to start on them early so that they are out in the mail around Thanksgiving time.  If I get them all out by then I can relax and enjoy the Holiday season without the pressure of getting the cards mailed out.  It also helps to put me in the Holiday spirit, getting them purchased and ready to mail early!

I am embarrassed to say that I don’t have an MP3 player or an IPOD.  I’ve been reluctant to buy one simply because I’ve felt that this type of thing was a luxury, and that my money was better spent elsewhere.  But recently there have been times when I have been discussion particular songs with people and they have no idea what I’m talking about.  Those are the times that I wish that I had an MP3 player tucked in my purse so I could just bring it out, select the song and let them listen to it.

I have to say that I don’t have any clue at all what to look for in an MP3 player.  I don’t know how they work or anything!  I guess I’m going to have to ask my son to educate me on them!  I don’t want to pay a lot of money for one, but I don’t want to be disappointed in sound quality either.

I understand that payday loans are very popular in some states.  I also heard that they are not legal in other states!  That surprised me to hear that they are prohibited in some states.  I was searching on the Internet to find out if they are legal in the state that I live in, and they are, but they are illegal in most of the NorthEastern States.  I have to wonder why that is the case!  And I wonder if that is a trend that is going to continue, making them illegal.  I know that some law-makers are very concerned that some of the companies that run that kind of loan are predators and that the loans are designed to never let the debtor pay off the loan!

There has been a lot of news stories on the local television stations about how some companies have been sued over their predatory practices, and changes have been ordered.  I don’t know if the changes have actually been made or not!  I still see a lot of television commercials for that kind of loan.  I think that this kind of short term loan is ok if the debtor is in the position to pay it off with their next paycheck; but if they are not able to pay it off quickly then they need to carefully review their options because these types of loans are very high interest loans.

My sister Laura has a lot of blackberry bushes in her back yard. Last weekend she asked me if I liked blackberries and I said “sure!” She gave me about a gallon of them! Holy moly!  So now I’m eating blackberries every time I eat! Blackberries in my yogurt, over my ice cream, on top of my cereal, just a handful for a snack! I had forgotten how tart they are, just eating a handful is hard to do since I’m not a big fan of tart! It’s funny that now every time I brush my teeth, when I rinse and spit the water comes out blue!