Work At Home Musings

My son loves Lego Sets but he always wants me to build them for him. I wish putting laptop memory in my laptop was as fun or easy as working with my son and his Legos, but I guess I will have to just buckle down and stop building and fix my laptop instead.

Lego is offering a free two year subscription to their Lego Club Jr. Magazine (for kids 6 and under). Just click here to sign up. You just need to give your name and address and its that easy!

Have you ever heard of FlyLady? She has a system that helps you stay on track with household chores. Her number one message: clean your sinks! There is nothing better than having a clean kitchen sink every day, it just sets the mood off right.

This year, I am going to try and Fly with the rest of the FlyBabies and hopefully start a new habit. This week, the focus is the kitchen. Yesterday, I dusted the top of my kitchen cabinets and straightened the knicknacks that I have up there. Today, the focus is on wiping down the kitchen cabinets.

If you need help setting a new schedule for cleaning your house, check out the FlyLady. You will be glad that you did.

I participate with a number of survey companies, but I must say that my favorite so far is Opinion Outpost. Joining is free and easy. You will fill out a profile and automatically be sent invitations to surveys.

Taking the surveys are fun and easy. You may have to fill out a few questions to qualify for the survey. I usually qualify for about half of the surveys. For each completed survey you receive a number of points. I have totaled up over 1000 points in short time and this has translated into a $100 check for me!

If you sign up for Opinion Outpost here are some tips:

1. Fill out your profile completely and honestly. This will ensure good survey matches.
2. If you take the survey immediately, you are more likely to be a match. The longer you wait, the more spaces are filled up and you may not be able to complete the survey.
3. Make sure that you have at least 20 minutes to take the survey. Most of the surveys take about 20 minutes.
4. Have fun! You will see new products and learn new information.

Friends of mine live in an apartment complex. Somehow the complex got invested with bed bugs. They think that someone might have brought them home after traveling. My friends tried everything to get rid of the bugs. They are the hardiest little creatures and it was very difficult for them to get the problem under control. It is too bad that they did not realize that there are some very good bed bug products that can help with bed bug infestations.

After hearing about their nightmare, I was concerned that I would encounter bed bugs while vacationing this summer. To my delight, I heard about come new products that can help you keep your things safe from these hitchhiking bugs. I tried one of the BugZip Bedbug Resistant Luggage and Clothing Encasements. These plastic bags are specifically designed to resist bed bugs and will encase all of your clothing and belongings in a zipper sealed bag. The BugZip fits nicely over your luggage and are disposable lessening the chance that bed bugs will travel from place to place. The BugZip should be left at the hotel room (in the trash) as you leave.

If you find that you have an infestation in your home, experts strongly recommend that you wash, dry and bag your clothes. BugZip Encasements are easier to use than plastic garbage bags because of the convenience of the zipper.

The BugZip encasement that I used worked very well. The zipper can be a little stiff, and two hands are needed to zip close the bag. However, this prevents bedbugs from entering the encasement.

If you want to protect your mattress at home from bed bugs as well as dust mites and other allergens, the Aller Zip™ Bed Bug Proof Bedding Encasements have zippers on three sides and totally encase a mattress and box spring. These mattress encasements are water proof, not hot to sleep on and are washable with a natural cotton surface.

Bed Bugs are a nasty business, but at least there are great products that will help!

The other night, we were fortunate to get tickets to the Somerset Patriots game. The Patriots are our local minor league baseball team and the field is only about 20 minutes from our home. The night we attended was “Star Wars Night” and my six year old son was thrilled! He got to meet some of the Star Wars characters and have his picture taken with them as well.

The Jedi Knight character was quite as believable and looked like he might have needed some top acne treatments, but my son was thrilled all the same. Plus, we had some great ball park food and watched the Patriots play some great baseball!

A number of years ago, I decided to go back to school and get my Master’s Degree. Before applying, each applicant needs to complete a standardized test. Fortunately, there are plenty of book and GRE, LSAT and GMAT prep classes to choose from.

If you are considering getting a graduate degree, make sure that you take the appropriate test for that particular degree. I took the GRE test, but I knew a few people who ended up taking the GMAT test when they actually needed a totally different test. Check with each school that you plan to apply for and get the requirements necessary for admittance. If possible, try and meet with the adviser for that major and go other the requirements with her.

I just finished a review of the Great Wolf Lodge on my other blog. Head on over and read all about it! In a nutshell, we had a blast, but it was a little pricey. I took a few pics of our fun time at the Lodge and here they are:

My Simple Woman’s Daybook for Today - March 9, 2009

Outside my window… should be warmer today.
I am thinking… I have a lot to do in three days!
I am thankful for… Life.
From the kitchen… Cleaning out the freezer is on my agenda.
I am wearing… My comfortable jeans.
I am creating… a mess.
I am going… To the Boy Scout Office sometime this week.
I am reading… Fablehaven. Second book in the series. Love it!
I am hoping… to get everything ready so I can leave this weekend to attend a funeral.
I am hearing… The television. My son is not at school yet.
Around the house… Lots to do and so little time
One of my favorite things… Seeing family.
A few plans for the rest of the week: Laundry, Freezer, clean house, eBay items, uggh!!
Here is picture thought I am sharing… My Dad has two brothers. One of them passed away yesterday suddenly. He will be missed!

The second book in my 100 Book Challenge is The Zookeeper’s Wife: A War Story by Diane Ackerman.

Summary: The book takes place in Poland and the story begins right before World War II. It is a history of Jan Zabinski, the director of the Warsaw Zoo, and his wife, Antonina. During the War, they shelter 300 Jews and Polish resisters in their home and in animal cages and sheds. The book is based on Antonina’s diary as well as interviews by Jan and others.

My Thoughts: I originally thought that this book was going to read like a novel, but it is more like a history book. I happen to like history books, so I found the story intriguing and the personal accounts fascinating. There was much that I did not know about Poland’s role in World War II and this book opened my eyes a bit. At the end of the war there were 500,000 residents left in Warsaw. Before the war, there had been one and a half million! I would not consider this book an easy read, so I read it in between reading a few other books. Don’t forget to look at the notes at the end of the book, there is some very interesting information hiding there!

I am always looking for a new way to stretch my dollar. I have tons of old CDs, DVDs and Books sitting around my house. Some of them are old children’s movies that my kids have outgrown. Some are books that I will never read again. These old products are like finding money in your pocket!

There is a new service called AbundaTrade that can help you and me get cash for those used CDs, DVDs and Books that we don’t need anymore or trade for items that I do want. It is simple to use. Just check online to find out if your item is acceptable for trade. If it is, you can box it up and ship it off and trade for new items. If you don’t want to check if you item has trade value, submit a list to AbundaTrade and they will tell you which ones to send in.

I thought I would give it a try. I have a CD, 25 Commercial Classics. I typed in the UPC number from the case and AbundaTrade automatically told me what value I would get for trade in.

Items must be in fairly good condition and those in the original cases get a higher trade in value.

The best part is that you can trade for items such as Flat Screen TVs, cameras, iPods, gaming systems and more. I checked two CDs online and I have a total of 3.55 credits. I just need to trade enough for the 47″ LCD TV for 960 credits!