Cheryl's Blog

I have been working on my house for the last few months, and you can bet there are a lot of things on my shopping list at this point.  I have been thinking about shopping for Notebooks instead of having my desktop.  I would love to be able to watch tv and do my homework at the same time, because I am not one of those people who have a problem multi-tasking.  I also need to research Cables & Connectors so I can get an adapter to plug my iPod into my new Mazda3.  I have been trying to clip all the loose wires along the molding so it looks better in my living room.  Hopefully soon I will move the TVs out of the house and be able to spend more time on productive hobbies.  By the end of the year I will have to do something because my TVs will apparently be obsolete and I would need to get digital TV, which I am pretty sure I will refuse to do.  So, that problem will take care of itself.  I love other electronics though.  One thing I love is my GPS & Navigation system in my car.  I love that you don't have to download new maps and it just gives directions by satellite, although sometimes in NYC it is a little tricky.

cheryl @ 10:54 | comments(0) | Permanent link

Last summer I decided to purchase a digital camcorder.  I wound up having to do a lot of research because I had no clue what I was looking for or where to start.  The reason i wanted a video recorder was to get footage of my pets as unfortunately they are getting older and I always want to have lasting memories of how adorable they are.  This was extremely important to me so even though I have had to watch what I spend, I splurged on this because the memories are so much more important.  I had used my friends video camera a couple times but I didn't like having to use someone else's equipment and not being familiar with it.  Not knowing the various features of it made it that much more difficult to capture that great moment before it was gone. 

So, whenever I do research I like to consult the various Top 10 lists out there to see which products are standing out from the rest.  One guide I found on camcorder reviews was at ExpoTV.  They even had my camcorder listed as one of the best!  I was really impressed that they mentioned all the best features of the Canon camcorder that I have, and it received 4.5 stars.  They have reviews by users, and where you can find the product at the best price. The reviews are in video, so you can really gauge the sincerity of the reviewers. 

While browsing the site, I found a great feature that I wish I had known about when making my purchase.  The Flip Video camcorder fits into your pocket so you can carry it anywhere with you.  That seems so much more convenient than having to pack a camcorder bag with all the equipment.  It stores up to 60 minutes of video recording.  This sounds really neat and its even convenient for getting in those tight spots that the ferrets hide in!

Today's posts were made possible in part by ExpoTV.

cheryl @ 15:41 | comments(0) | Permanent link

Last October I had a Carve-Your-Own Pumkin themed party shortly before Halloween.  It went really great and everyone had a ton of fun.  We went and bought pumpkins pretty affordably at a local store and brought them in for people.  I also bought a couple pumpkin-carving kits for my guests to use.  We spread newspapers all over the floor and went to town!  There was even scary music and treats for all.

This year, I am planning on having another Halloween party.  This time I think I will have a costume party rather than a carving party.  There is so much variety on which kinds of costumes to wear but I always seem to have the same old ideas.  A baby, an angel, a ghost (the old sheet over your head lol), a Spice Girl....

I was browsing for costumes on the internet and found a site that features Disney and Star Wars Halloween costumes.  This is really a great idea because these are really hugely popular themes for costumes, because so many people enjoy the Disney and Star Wars characters.  Of course they have tons of other Halloween costumes too,  so many it would take you a long time to look through them all.  i like the Disney characters myself, because I grew up watching the Disney Channel and know them all.  My favorite has always been Sleeping Beauty but Ariel from the Little Mermaid comes in a close second.  The costume for Ariel is really great for a grown up party!  I will have to pass this site along to my friend who absolutely adores all-things-Disney.

cheryl @ 14:28 | comments(0) | Permanent link

At work today I stumbled across a blog on mini-horses.  They are so cute!  They are often companion animals that can a lot of time indoors with you, but when they are not spending time with you they prefer to be outside in the yard.  They will even take naps with you and you can shower them in your bathroom!

I can't not believe how cute they are, whenever i get a dog I think I will get a mini-horse instead.

cheryl @ 15:53 | comments(0) | Permanent link

I recently decided to go to a dermatologist for my skin care problems. I did not much of a problem when I was a teenager, I could use great skin care products without having to worry they would make me break out. My skin was very resilient and I had a zit once in a while but that was pretty much it.

Now, in my twenties, I have had a problem with acne for a few years now. I don't have that many blemishes at one time, but once I do get a pimple, I am left with a red mark on my face after it is gone. I had seen a dermatologist once before for an acne cure, and she recommended I try Differin. I did not like this acne medication at all- it left me with dry skin and peeling. What I did after that was basically stop washing my face all together for a while and instead rinsed my skin in the shower and applied face moisturizer afterwards.

I tried going to a local spa for a facial and information on natural skin care. The esthetician recommended I use a Phyto cream to help 'calm' my skin.  I really liked using this green gel because it made my skin feel moisturized and cool.  I used it for a while but I didn't really see a difference unfortunately.  As you will see below, I think I had a skin condition that required more clinical intervention.

I started to notice that my skin was flushing a lot more freuqently, especially after a glass of wine or a hot bath. You should see me at the gym! My face would get so red and inflamed I felt like everyone was looking at me. I did some research and started to think I had a condition called rosacea. What also led me to this conclusion was one of the symptoms of rosacea, where what you think are pimples are actually things called postules that stay for a while and then leave a mark behind. So now I am on medication for rosacea and I really hope it will work. It says to give it a month but already I think I can see the difference- maybe that is just wishful thinking!  My dermatologist also advised me on what types of sunscreen and organic cosmetics would be best for my skin condition. I was looking on the internet for skin care products that met these guidelines, and I found a line called Lavere.  This line of products looks really great because they are all-natural and are missing a lot of the harsh chemicals that drugstore brands contain.  As I continue to focus more attention on my appearance and looking the best I can, you can bet I will be trying out some of their products!

cheryl @ 09:39 | comments(0) | Permanent link

I have been spending a lot of time lately thinking about how I want to decorate my house.  I have a new cleaning schedule now and things are clean and orderly for the most part, so it is time to go beyond organization and cleaning, to decorating it to reflect who I am as a person and what I think looks nice.  Here are some ideas I have:

1.  Paint the kitchen so it is not an ugly mint green anymore. 

2.  Paint the living room so it is darker and has more ambience.

3.  Hang pictures!  My parents need to show me how to do this cause I have plaster walls and because of that, if I don't secure the pictures, shelves, or whatever, they will fall right out and I can just imagine them hitting me in the head!

The thing I need to do first, before any of this, is replace the shag rug from my office.  I had to get rid of this thing because it shed so much, there was shedded hair from it all over my house, all the time!  Also the ferrets were eating it inadvertently too, probably.  I already got rid of it and put it into storage, and now I just have to find an affordable rug.  I was looking at IKEA and Target, and saw some nice things, but I don't know, it just seems like you get what you pay for there.  I was looking for something where there was a little more selection and quality.    I googled some stuff and did some research online on where to find rugs online and I found this site on cheap area rugs.  Just what I was looking for! 

Now, to decide what kind of rug I want.  I don't think I want an oriental area rug because I don't think that would really match the style of my home.  I like how you can search by size of rug here too, cause you know you want to make sure the rug won't look silly in the room you have it in.  A rug can really make a room look smaller, bigger, or change the whole feel of the room. 

They have some really neat area rugs at this online store.  Designs I have not seen anywhere, and like I mentioned above, I have in fact been looking around for a nice rug that matches my decor but doesn't break my bank.  Look at how cool this one is:

I have never seen anything like it anywhere, but its so cool looking!  I searched for burgundy rugs, just to see what they have because my room is done in brown and burgundy, and found this really nice one: 

That is definetly something I may purchase!

cheryl @ 13:43 | comments(0) | Permanent link

At my last job, on our first day of orientation we were asked whether we wanted to purchase term life insurance  or not. At the time, I had no idea of the difference between term life insurance and regular life insurance. I had no idea if I wanted it, and if so, how much I wanted taken out of my paycheck in terms of the amount of coverage later if something were to happen to me. The human resources person had to spend a lot of time explaining to everyone in the orientation class, how to choose what we wanted and sign up. Since I don't have children, I wasn't sure whether to purchase any at all but I figured hopefully it could go towards taking care of my pets if something bad happened to me.

At the time, the company I was working with had contracts with a specific company but I am wondering if it would have to our advantage to shop around for life insurance quotes before just assuming this was the best deal out there.

Well this is not a problem I am facing anymore, as that company was not a good fit for me and I am having a much better time at my current company.  But if I ever do need life insurance again, I will make sure to research a lot more about it and make sure I am getting the best life insurance rates .

cheryl @ 13:19 | comments(0) | Permanent link

A few months ago, my parents went on a trip to Hawaii and I believe they stayed in Hawaii beachfront cottages.  Can you imagine how beautiful it must have been?  It is always better to rent a house for a week anyway because you can save so much money on dining and have the comforts of home right at your fingertips.  I would recommend this as a better alternative to anyone thinking of staying anywhere for a week or longer.  Besides the beautiful lodgings they had, this was also their first trip to Hawaii.  From Newark to Hawaii takes probably 12 hours or more if I recall correctly.  I have only ever been on a plane for 5 hours so I can't imagine how to get through a 12 hour flight. 

One of the first things I want to do when I get my financial planning in order is start to save up for my next vacation.  I would absolutely love to go to Hawaii, or somewhere where the water is beautifully clear and warm.  Ahhh.  I can just imagine it now.  I should post some pictures up from when my parents went to Hawaii, as a matter of fact!

cheryl @ 12:27 | comments(0) | Permanent link