Winter Fun on a Budget!

By now, your family has been cooped up together for a few days.  People are getting whiny and so are the kids.  You are broke from the gift giving and planning to put an extra $500/year into your 401(k) (see blog from 2 weeks ago), so you need some cheap entertainment and quickly.   Here…

garage sale

How to Throw the Best Garage Sale

That last blog made me think about the best way to get rid of that old crap, er, I mean valuable collections.  Remember, what you get rid of now, your kids won’t have to later.  Plus, it’s summer.  The perfect yard sale weather.   I’ve said before, I perversely enjoy putting on a yard sale. …

summer fun for seniors

Summer Fun for Seniors

Around this time every year, I usually list some fun summer activities for families with kids.  Why should kids have all the fun?  Here are some fun ideas you older-and-wiser friends to brighten your summer!   Take a water aerobics class – try to find one outdoors now that the weather is nice. See a…

new website

Check out my new website!

I am so excited to announce my new and improved website!   Thanks to Laura Bean of One Stop Ops for designing and making the new site work. Willy Wilson of Life Unstill Photography did her best to make me look attractive.  And, as ever, Catherine Tidd of Social Seed Marketing  provided invaluable advice on…

April Showers

April Showers – yada, yada, yada

It’s time to start thinking about your summer garden plans.  Here are 3 tips that are easy and inexpensive to beautify your outdoors.   Recycle for outdoor art “Unwanted light fixtures, wooden barrels, hat boxes, wicker baskets, beer crates and wash basins can be easily converted into unique and eye-catching containers for plants. Scrap pieces…

Easter quotes

5 Funny quotes about Easter

Easter shopping tip: When buying your daughter that frilly new Easter dress, try to visualize how it’ll look with chocolate and grass stains all over it. ~ Melanie White   Easter is the only time of the year when it’s perfectly safe to put all your eggs in one basket. ~ Unknown   My mom used to…

cheap retirement

Cheapest Places to Spend Retirement

In a recent article by ABC7Chicago.com, Spring, Texas retiree Terry Robison details his plans to spend his retirement living at the local Holiday Inn.  He cites regular cleaning, someone to check up on him (in the form of the regular cleaners), free maintenance, and amenities included in the daily room rate as reasons for his decision.…