Scary Stuff Setting Up Online

I’m not really sure what I would need to do to start my own online store. Well, it’s really not an online business—it’s just that I have certain products to sell, and I thought it would be a good idea if I offered my products online as well as in a regular store. But the prospect is very intimidating!

First, there’s building the web page itself. I guess there are services out there that will do that for you, though; my husband’s page was built for him. Then there’s getting something like an asp shopping cart so that customers can order the product. But I think that there are all kinds of help out there for these sorts of things. I’m even vaguely aware of how to get my site some better placement on the net.

What scares me most is how I will process the orders and get them all sent out. It’s a scary step to take on this responsibility and commit yourself to a bigger business. It really is just so much more easy to work for someone else, but on the other hand you’ll never get rich that way. So I guess I just cross myself and leap!

IT Project Management Software: Worth The Money?

As I was considering the purchase of IT project management software, I decided it was best to talk to people who know about this product. I was happy to see that the prices of this type of software are not necessarily that expensive, though they are still a good amount of my budget. Because it is a good amount of money, I need to learn more about project management software before I make a purchase.

When it comes to using it, there are several things I have to think about. First, I need something that offers time tracking software. I need to know how much time was spent on a per project basis for accurate billing of clients. I also need something that is user friendly. While I am in IT, I have little patience for software products that take a long time to use or that are difficult to manage overall. It just does not help! If you are looking for a quality software product like I am, what other features would you be looking for? Ultimately, I want something that is reliable and bug free, definitely user friendly. Overall it needs to fit easily into my business so that I can use it regularly.

It's Cold Tonight!

I'm sitting up late tonight, and as often happens at this time of night, I'm feeling pretty cold. My husband is in the next room, snug underneath a nice, thick down feather comforter, so we always turn the heat down a few degrees at night. Unfortunately, since I'm often up late working (I am a freelance writer and work from home, and nighttime is a good, undistracted time for me to work), this means I get cold even when he is as snug as a bug in a rug.

It's times like this when I wish we had better windows. We have an old house with single paned, double hung windows, and the cold seems to come right through them. Seriously — if you hold your hand a few inches from the glass, you can just feel the cold radiating from them. I don't even think the patio doors at my parents' house let this much cold in!

I've often wondered where we would get new windows if we did replace our current ones. Because we have an old house, we would have to have them custom made to fit the appropriate dimensions, which would obviously be a bit more expensive than ordering a standard size. One old house I lived in, the landlady ordered custom windows with vinyl frames, and I can't even tell you how nice they were.

I've heard of companies such as Anderson Renewal, but I don't know much more than names. I guess I'll have to do some research and find out what companies are recommended for older homes!

Scary Time in Jail

It was pretty scary the first time I was in jail. I have a family, and my first thought was “how am I going to be able to make sure they are taken care of?” I knew there was no way I would be able to keep my job if I couldn’t post bail. I didn’t have ten thousand dollars on hand, and I wasn’t going to be able to take a loan with my credit. I had remembered hearing something about a Bail Bond. I wasn’t too sure about what it was, but I had my wife research a little.

After her second visit, my wife told me that she was looking into Bail Bonds Bakersfield. She told me that I could get a bail bond, and pay a percentage of the bail amount as a fee to the bail bond company. This mean that I could finally get out of jail and be able to go back to work so that I could feed my family and pay the piling bills. It was a very scary situation. Not only do you have to deal with the humility of being in jail, but also your family suffers without your presence.

Hey, Mr. Tambourine Man, You Need Some OT

Ladies and gentlemen, I now present to you the Bob Dylan of occupational therapy. (Not that Mr. Dylan was completely removed from the subject of OT, it's just that for this particular medical field, he's been beat.) Click here to enjoy the unique musical talents of Boaz and the Band.

This guy's pretty good on the guitar and he's a better singer than William Hung, but he spends forever (one minute and thirteen seconds) explaining why he wrote the damn song in the first place. Doesn't he know that the average YouTuber has the attention span of a seven-year-old with ADHD? The dramatic chipmunks, rabid English children, overweight Middle Eastern music enthusiasts, and sensitive Britney Spears fans of YouTube didn't achieve their fifteen seconds of fame through banal monologues, remember.

But this song is especially entertaining for me as I'm currently studying advanced occupational therapy online. And while I doubt that this particular songwriter also studies via the computer through the Arizona School of Health Sciences online programs, it's nice to know that art even follows the health sciences at times.

But now I can't get that song out of my head.

“It sounds like. . . You need some OT.”

I Had Pretty Good Diversification

I’m not completely thrilled with everything my financial advisor did with my money before she retired, but one pretty good plan she had was to have my buy term life insurance with a lump sum. I think the thinking was that although the lump might not grow that much, (and guess what? In this economy, it didn’t,) it wouldn’t shrink, either, and it would guarantee college money for the boys in case I died.

Well, both boys have started college now at CU Boulder, and I figure that if I die, they have their grandparents’ money to rely on. What’s been VERY nice, is I could just cancel that policy and get my money back with no penalty!

I had a mix of things including some other life insurance, a money market account and some stuff in stocks which of course have really tanked. But I think that diversification is what has really helped me not panic in these times. This and another account could be cashed in with no penalty, which enables me to leave the one that sucks alone for now in the hope that it will bounce back. So even though she listed my son’s main college account in my ex-husband’s ssn so he gets to write off the losses, overall she did a pretty good job.

An Option Usually Overlooked

When reviewing the benefits package given them by their employers, there are several things that people look for. They make sure that they have health insurance, life insurance, dental insurance, and they look over the 401k or stock investment program of the company. The thing that people overlook the most is disability insurance.

When considering your benefits, disability insurance should be viewed more as a necessity than an optional coverage. This is especially true if the person is in a high risk career. Careers such as a stuntman or Emergency Room Physician would be careers that could result in permanent disability. For the ER doctor, physician disability insurance would be ideal.

Disability policies are not just for permanent disability, but for short term disability as well. Workers compensation only covers an employee for a limited amount of time. If that person was disabled for a year or more, they would need long term disability insurance. SSI is not really a viable option either as the approval process is usually lengthy. You can buy a policy that can make payments over a month, 2 months, 6 months, or even a lifetime.

It should be a part of your benefit package. Think of it as a way to protect you and your family’s way of life.

I Finally Found a Great Place to Buy Toys for my Cats

I have three cats and two dogs. They often play with each other to keep entertained because it’s hard to give attention to all of them at once. The dogs are easy because they have many dog toys to keep them occupied, but I have been having a difficult time finding fun cat toys that my cats will take an interest in.

When I go to the store there are huge aisles of dog toys in great variety, yet when I check out the cat products I find that the selection is limited. My cats are young and playful and they have grown tired of the same boring four-pack of toys I bring home for them from my local pet store. Therefore, I started looking on-line to see if I could find a bigger selection and I found a great place to purchase some cat toys that I am sure will keep my kitties busy for hours.

I received my shipment really fast and the toys were great! It seems like my cats are partial to the mouse cat toys and its fun to watch them bat them around. For anyone who is looking for a better way to buy cat toys I would strongly recommend shopping on-line.