Day 4: Favorite Book

Picking a favorite book is extremely hard. There are so many great books out there. Again, I am afraid I can't narrow it down to just 1. So here are a few.


I reread To Kill a Mockingbird last year. And it was just as great as when I read it the first time in high school.

Another book I love is the Odyssey by Homer.

And of course I cannot leave out Harry Potter. What great storytelling. I love Harry Potter so much that I even have it on my 101 and one list to reread. I have not reread them, but have listened to the audio books and still love them.



Another great book I read was The Art of Racing in the Rain. It is not on my all time favorite list but it was such a great read.

You can also check out my goodreads bookshelf to see what else I have read, along with ratings and reviews.

Day 3 - Your Favorite TV Series

How appropriate that today is the favorite TV series day. Currently, my favorite TV series is



I just started watching LOST this year. I was able to watch all the seasons through Netflix and I was hooked. Now, the real question is will all of the questions be answered. I kind of doubt. But it is still an amazing show.

Day 2 - Your Favorite Movie

There are a few movies I love, and will almost always watch when they are on TV. I am not sure I can pick just one, so here are a couple.

and

Day 1 - Your Favorite Song

Day 1: Your Favorite Song

I listen to a huge variety of music. Everything from oldies, rock, pop, hip hop. The only I don't really like is country. It took me a while to think of my favorite song. It was tough. I love so many different artists, from Britney to Jay-Z to Tom Petty to Black Eyed Peas to the Beatles. And then it finally came to me: Mary J. Blige. I have to say, that she has got to me one of my all time favorite artists.

So now to the song: Be Without You from The Breakthrough. Check it out here.

30 Day Blog Challenge

Since I seem to have problems keeping up on blogging, I decided that I would do the 30 day blog challenge. Below is a list of the challenge. Now let me warn you, there will probably be some that I will not care to answer and may change to be something else. Here I go, let's see if I can do every day for 30 days.

Here's the challenge:
Day 01 — Your favorite song
Day 02 — Your favorite movie
Day 03 — Your favorite television program
Day 04 — Your favorite book
Day 05 — Your favorite quote
Day 06 — Whatever tickles your fancy
Day 07 — A photo that makes you happy
Day 08 — A photo that makes you angry/sad
Day 09 — A photo you took
Day 10 — A photo of you taken over ten years ago
Day 11 — A photo of you taken recently
Day 12 — Whatever tickles your fancy
Day 13 — A fictional book
Day 14 — A non-fictional book
Day 15 — A fanfic
Day 16 — A song that makes you cry (or nearly)
Day 17 — An art piece (painting, drawing, sculpture, etc.)
Day 18 — Whatever tickles your fancy
Day 19 — A talent of yours
Day 20 — A hobby of yours
Day 21 — A recipe
Day 22 — A website
Day 23 — A YouTube video
Day 24 — Whatever tickles your fancy
Day 25 — Your day, in great detail
Day 26 — Your week, in great detail
Day 27 — This month, in great detail
Day 28 — This year, in great detail
Day 29 — Hopes, dreams and plans for the next 365 days
Day 30 — Whatever tickles your fancy

1000 Journals

One thing I love about netflix is the chance to get a variety of different types of movies. I just watched 1000 Journals. It is about some guy, that is what he wants to be called, that decided to send 1000 empty journals out into the world. It is interesting to see the images of what has been put into these journals. Originally, a website was set up to document the progression of these journals.

There was so much popularity, that there is now 1001journals.com It is pretty interesting to see the scanned items and where the journals have traveled. You can even sign up to receive a journal and add your own piece to the project.

Basement Organization: Storage Room

The basement in my house becomes a collect all place. There is so much random stuff in my basement it is hard to believe. As you can see there are chairs, boxes, toilet paper, paper towels, fans, clothes and so much more. There is just way too much stuff. I was starting to go through things and I kept finding things that I needed to put in the storage room.

The storage room was no better than the basement. I could barely walk into the storage room. My storage room is small to start with. It goes under the stairs so there is limited space. As you can see the storage room was like the basement. All kinds of stuff everywhere. Boxes stacked on boxes, light bulbs, shipping boxes, paint. Again everything.

So I needed to figure out a way to make it easier to walk into, and easier to find things. And once you find what you want, capable of getting the item. Lets just say, that I was not able to that the way it was.

If you see in the first picture there is a shelving unit. I was able to take the shelving unit apart and make it 2 small units to stack against the back wall. This made a huge improvement. Now there is room to walk in. And now things are organized in a much better. And there is also room to put more things in the storage room when needed.

I was also able to throw a lot of things away. I also found something that I can sell on craigslist to get a few extra dollars.

So now it is time to tackle the basement. I have a feeling that may take longer than an evening like the storage room.

Feeling Like an Old Lady

Lately, I have been waking up feeling like an old lady. My back hurt so much I felt like I had slept on a log or wood plank or something. So the time had finally come to start considering looking at mattresses.

Shopping for a mattress is not an easy task. Laying on a mattress for 2 minutes in the store is not the same as sleeping on a mattress for about 8 hours a night for 8 to 10 years, approximately 1,401,600 minutes to 1,752,000. Obviously, 2 minutes does not compare. I started looking at the weekly ads and online for what I think I would want and need. And I got the Consumer Reports issue that discussed mattress and talked to some people about it. Let me tell you, that just created more ideas and confusion.

Finally, I started looking at memory foam, latex, and air camber beds. I figured it would be nice to get a bed that would last longer that then 7 to 10 years, that traditional mattresses are reported to last. I ruled out latex pretty quickly because from what I read on the internet, they are just starting to become popular in the US and can be harder to find. That left memory foam and air camber mattresses. I was really interested in trying memory foam, because I have a memory foam pillow and love it. But I was worried that the bed would be very different from the pillow. After trying it, it is much like a traditional mattress, different firmness and comfort levels. After finding the right comfort and firmness it was just like my pillow and felt great. I also tried the Sleep Number bed. I saw some great reviews of the product saying it was the best bed they have ever had, and some saying it felt like they were sleeping on a blow up air mattress. After trying it, I really liked it. I liked that is can be adjusted with the way you are feeling that day as well as over time. I also liked the fact that you can add more padding to go on top of the air chambers to make it feel like a more traditional bed.

Now came the decision. Both beds had a try at home guarantee. If you don't like the bed they will take it back. Both beds have a 20 year limited warranty. However, the prices varied dramatically, the memory foam bed I liked was about $3600 before taxes and delivery and haul away, and the sleep number bed was $1600 before taxes.

I will not keep you in suspense any longer. I decided to go with the Sleep Number bed.

The price was a big decision maker for me, and I love the fact that I can adjust the bed to my comfort level. I also figured if I was to add in the memory foam feeling, I can buy a decent topper and put that on the bed.

And I am happy to report that I no longer feel like I am an old lady when I wake up. No more back pain!! And for the record my sleep number is currently 40.

Organization: Part 1

When I got my new laptop, and I needed to install some of the software I had on my old laptop. This sounds much easier than it actually was. It meant time to go on a software search in the office. I try to keep all my computer stuff, (ie. hardware, software, cords, etc.) in totes to keep them organized. Well, it seems that only some stuff was in the organized totes, while other stuff was all over the place. That means it is organization time!!

The office and basement in my house seems to be the collect all areas, which is apparent from the pictures. When I clean the house the stuff that I no longer want to look at that is the main living area or master bedroom either goes in the office or the basement. I can always close the basement door and the basement is not completely visible from my living room. The really is no preference between basement and office, it is just based on size which is closer. So, that makes cleaning and organizing a bit confusing.

I decided to start with the office. When the office is packed full, I usually just close the door. Poof, I no longer need to look at it. This past week I decided I would start with the office and then I would do the basement. I decided I would do a little each night during the week. Some nights 10 minutes, some 30 minutes. By doing a little each night, it left the office a bit chaotic. As you can see, there is stuff everywhere. Shoes, boxes, paper, CDs, clothes, and so much more.

So it took some time to clean, and some of it went down to the basement, the other collect all place. But in the end I got the office clean, and the door can now stay open. There is still some stuff piled up, CDs, some paper work and some clothes. But I know what this stuff is, it is organized and I have plans for the stuff to be moved.

Now that the office is clean, that means it is time to move on to the basement. And that is not going to be nearly as fast or easy for me to complete.

It really does amaze me how stuff just piles up.

Step It Up!! (Part 2)

So, I said I was going to start stepping up my blogging again on Dec. 30th. Considering it is now March 12, and I have not blogged at all, I have not stepped it up at all. So, it is now time for part 2.
We all know it is the dreaded tax season. I know a lot of people recommend that you set up your with holdings so that you pretty much break even and do give the government a interest free loan. However, I like getting that nice extra payday this time of year. And in all honesty, with the current interest rates where they are and the amount of my return, I really would not have earned that much interest.

So with some of my tax return I decided to give myself a nice little present, a new Toshiba laptop.

This will be replacing my 2006 Dell laptop.

And the rest of my return will be going to savings and bills. Not nearly as exciting, but logical.