Speaking of kids, it must be hard to be a parent of young children in today’s world. You have to be so careful with watching your children closely and making sure that they are safe. Even our own neighborhoods aren’t safe, with stories of sexual predators and child abductions from malls, schools, and even the child’s own bedrooms. It is hard to make children aware of these dangers without causing undue alarm, but I feel it is important to teach them about being careful with strangers.

I have been learning about the tools available for parents to locate sex offenders and there are lots of good resources online. I found a web site about Missouri Sex Offenders that lets you search any county, city or zip code to see who might be lurking in your own neighborhood or school zone anywhere in the state of Missouri. I hope that this is never a problem for any of us, but forewarned is forearmed.

Posted: September 9th, 2008 under Educational, Family, Health, Issues.
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What kid in America has never had a Twinkie? They are a part of growing up in almost every household. Of all the different bakeries and baked goods that you can buy all across America, I am sure that everyone – no matter where they live – will easily recognize the name Hostess and will have enjoyed eating Twinkies.

In the convenience store today I noticed a display of Hostess brand snack cakes and on the top shelf are the double packs of Twinkies. But what caught my eye was the pack of Banana-flavored Twinkies. What is that about?

Come to find out, the banana flavored Twinkie was the ORIGINAL Twinkie when it was invented way back in the days of the War. Eventually, the now common vanilla cream flavor was introduced and the banana flavor lost its popularity and was phased out. But in a wave of nostalgia, the Hostess company has brought back the banana flavored Twinkie. So of course I had to buy one and give it a try! It’s not bad!

Posted: September 9th, 2008 under Food and Beverage, Life, Shopping.
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The first time I bought a car on my own I guess I got lucky that I was treated fairly, because now all I hear are horror stories from friends about how they were cheated or taken advantage of by the car dealers.

I’ve learned a few things from everyone else’s mistakes, and now I know that before I go to the dealership to look at a car that I need to make the financial arrangements ahead of time. There is no way I would ever trust the dealership’s financial department to give me the best deal on financing a Car Loan . I will be much better off getting a loan online for a good rate, and I will be better able to negotiate the sale price of the car that I want to buy. Even people with credit problems should look for an internet source like Best Leading Lenders.com and apply for Loans for Bad Credit to make sure they get the best rates and the best terms.

Posted: September 9th, 2008 under Finances/Money, Shopping.
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Does anyone watch the “new” Price is Right show now that Bob Barker has retired? I have never been a Drew Carey fan – his comedy show that was on a few years ago was not very funny to me and I only watched one or two of those.

I wonder why the people running that show that was such a long time hit chose Drew Carey of all people to replace Bob? I think that a huge part of Bob’s popularity was his charm and suave manners. Drew does not have any of that.

I don’t like to watch The Price is Right because the whole concept is very annoying to me. I think people should have more self respect than to run down to a microphone and act so hysterical over the opportunity win the junky prizes that they never would have wanted to go out and buy for themselves in the first place. The only prize that I think is worth getting excited about might be the chance to win a new car. But I wouldn’t be willing to jump up and down and shriek on stage and act so trashy like most of the contestants seem to do.

Posted: September 9th, 2008 under Entertainment/Fun, Finances/Money.
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So many people have fallen on hard times lately, it is very upsetting to learn of all the troubles being heaped on my friends and even family because of the bad economy. I keep hearing of people getting their hours cut back or worse, getting laid off. It is especially hard to have that happen as winter is approaching, with all the extra expenses on a family for heating bills, sending kids back to school, Christmas, etc.

It is more important now more than ever to be smart about our budget and if trouble arises you must be proactive and take steps to protect yourself and your family. That is why I have tried to learn as much as possible about how to consolidate debt and what to do if we have to face a crisis. There’s a difference in the different ways to get financial help during a crisis, such as using a debt counseling service or even bankruptcy. So I’m reading up on the different types of help and trying to be smart about managing our money, with a savings account for emergencies and keeping our credit record in good standing so we can get the better interest rates. But if anything bad was to happen, at least I know that debt consolidation is an option for us and because of what I’ve read I know where to turn to help.

Posted: September 9th, 2008 under Educational, Finances/Money, Life.
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