It was that flooding that made us realize how vulnerable we are in our own homes, and that we are not really prepared for an emergency that might result in our being stranded here with no electricity and no way to get out to the store. So we started stocking up on food and basic items so that we can survive here with no
fresh groceries for at least 10-14 days.

Not having electricity would be an inconvenience in the spring, summer and fall, but it would be a crisis to go without power in the winter. So we are looking at Generators and have decided to buy a good one no later than October 1. We want something that would not only keep the heat one, but would be enough electricity to heat water for a shower and to cook with. I am mostly worried about the heating aspect of it, so we are having the chimney cleaned and inspected for safety and then stocking up on firewood from some local firewood sellers.

The weekly trash collection service will not pick up yard waste. By that, I mean the bags of raked up leaves, the pile of fallen tree limbs, sticks and twigs and the bagged grass clippings are not eligible for the weekly pickup. Instead, we have to hold it back for 3-4 months and only put it at the curb the one week that the county sends around their truck.

They used to collect yard waste 4 times a year, but with budget cutbacks county -wide, they have reduced it to just 3 times a year. Thankfully, our scheduled pickup is coming up this month. So I will be busy doing yard work this week and getting everything bagged and dragged to the curb.

My dogs go to the groomer every other month and part of their service is to brush the dog’s teeth. But with expenses creeping up on me, I’ve had to cut back on the groomer to every 3 or even 4 months instead of just 2 months. So it occurred to me that I might need to start brushing their teeth for them myself, as proper dental care is important for a dog’s health. This site had a step by step article with pictures on how to brush a dog’s teeth. It looks do-able, so I’ll give it a try next weekend.

Strangely, it is very difficult to find any kind of sampler boxes with an assortment of flavors. The stores and online distributors want you to commit to buying a box of either 16 or 18 and sometimes even 96 servings of a single flavor. Well, what if you don’t like that flavor? You are stuck with 15+ extra servings of a flavor you don’t want!

What a stupid way to sell coffee. You have to give people a reason to try your product and remove the barriers from their attempts to give you that first try. Frankly, I am not going to spend $12 – $16 on a box of coffee that I’ve never tasted before, because if I don’t like it then I’m not willing to just toss $12-$16 worth of unused coffee in the trash.

I think that as our economy changes and our energy needs change, there will be a renewed demand for people who know about alternative energy sources and auditing homes and businesses for ways to save money on their energy costs. I read about energy auditor training and think that anyone who can find the time to take classes and train for a new job will find it is money and time well spent.

I wonder if a home energy survey professional will be something added to existing businesses, like heating and air conditioning companies? Or will it be a whole new field? I know that I would love to save money on my electric bill every month and would hire a professional to come inspect my home and give me suggestions on how to save on our energy bills.

Like yesterday, she posted that the Hooters restaurant near her sucks. But she didn’t go into any details and that got me really curious. First, why did Cameron even go to a Hooters? That is where guys go to get a beer, maybe some chicken wings and to stare at the waitresses who walk around in skimpy hotpants and tank tops.

Second, what happened that mad her so mad that she wanted to trash them on Facebook? So I wrote back a comment and asked her what’s going on and what happened?

She said that she and a friend had gone to Hooters to get some lunch and that the food was awful and the service was practically non-existent. I wonder if the waitress ignored them because it was two women at the table instead of a horny guy that she could work over for a better tip?

I find it interesting that my niece had no problem going into a Hooters expecting to eat lunch and had no concerns about the wait staff walking around half naked. With all the movies and TV shows and music videos, this younger generation has a whole different set of values and idea of modesty.

My other niece, Cameron, who works for a car dealership in Virginia is on the front lines of a social network advertising push. She was explaining to me about Dealer SEO and working to gain market share in the competitive Northern Virginia automobile area. I’ve been talking with her a lot recently because of our search for a good used car for Rachel. But most of the cars on their lot seem to start at $10,000 and they sell the good ones quickly.

She told me about a new Facebook app for car dealers that lets her company list new used car inventory right on their Facebook page and still gain page rank for the links. Whatever marketing program they are doing seems to be working, because I have been looking for a car for Rachel for over 3 weeks and even Cameron can’t come up with one for her.

I don’t really understand the page rank mumbo jumbo, but she is on top of it all. She says that the Facebook app for car dealers is something she has tried to explain to her boss and teach him the value of social media. He is a old school type of business owner, but everyone is going to have to learn to adapt and embrace social media.

I told my sister that I would come up with the down payment for her if she can find a good used car under $8,000 for Rachel. Since it is just the two of them together (my brother in-law passed away suddenly about 2 years ago) at least they will have a backup vehicle in case something goes wrong with my sister’s car, and at least Rachel will know how to drive if there is every an emergency.

The challenge seems to be finding a decent used car under $8,000 – which I think is a generous amount of money. It seems to me that just a few years ago you could pick up a decent used car for only about $2,000 but I think the bad economy has forced ,ore and more people to give up on buying new cars and they have all turned to keeping what they have for a longer period of time and if they do have to buy a car they are buying up the used cars out there instead of the new ones.

My thoughts and prayers go out to the good people in Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska today. There is extreme weather moving quickly across our Midwest states and the weather forecasters say that the storms are going to be extremely dangerous.

This is one time that I hope the Weather forecasters are wrong. The forecasters are wrong so often that I am tempted to erect my own weather station like the one in this photo. At least it would be accurate.

In fact, if you want to help people with their taxes, you can quickly become a tax preparer, but the next step up is becoming an Enrolled Agent, which means you have taken more courses and learned a lot more about working with the IRS. Once you become an enrolled agent, it is only for 3 years, during which time you need to take enrolled agent continuing education to keep your certification.

That might sound scary to some people, but there are good courses you can take that are nothing like the classes you took in high school. The professional classes teach you what you really need to know and they help you with enrolled agent practice exams to prepare you for the actual exam. These classes were the first time anyone actually helped me study effectively to prepare for an exam and it makes a huge difference when you take classes as an adult over the classes that wasted so much of your time in high school.

So, don’t let bad high school teachers stop you from continuing to learn what you need to earn a living and to better yourself.

But I think there is a lot of truth in that unsophisticated level. We don’t always have to use big, politically correct words to describe what is going on. The Texas words work just fine. And strangely, the Texas words are pretty much the same as Tennessee words.

I’m fine with the Texas and Tennessee explanations and the California immigrants to our states can just get over themselves if they want to live here and fit in.

We have been fortunate to enjoy mild weather this year, but I think we’ve been lulled into a false sense of Spring. The botanical experts at Cheekwood told my son that we should not plant anything until the end of April, which seemed ludicrous because we have had warm days and nights since late January. But it appears that they were correct, as there are frost and freeze warnings again tonight for most of the state.

I told her to get a lawyer and put the word out to see if anyone else has had the same problem. But in the meantime, she can get direct tv hooked up at her house so her family an watch their favorite TV shows and movies.

Her husband had suggested the new dx3 direct tv, which is a really good deal and the most technologically advanced service available. They have a whole home DVR package that even the cable company cannot touch.

Of course, he is interested in the sports packages and now that baseball season has started, I’m looking forward to watching some Cardinals games with him. We checked out the different plans on www.dx3.net and found that they start at about $30 a month and you can lock in the rates you get for two years without any price hike.

The problem is that we still have the old TV. It must be at least 10 years old, still works and has a good picture, but the on/off switch is broken. You have to use the remote control to turn the TV on and off. That is not a problem for me, as I prefer to use the remote control for that anyway. But it drives my wife crazy, as she likes to still walk by the TV and push a button on the TV itself instead of hunting for the remote.

I thought we might put the old TV in the extra bedroom, but realistically we will probably never use it. So, should I drive it to the landfill or is there some way to give it away other than setting it outside on the curb with a “Free” sign tacked on it?

I have no idea why Debbie and a couple of the other ladies cutting hair decided to start talking about ladies foundations and arguing over the Best Bra. I mean, I was not the only man in the place, but it seemed like all the women had an opinion on bras and underwear. It was a little embarrassing for me, to tell the truth. And I was sitting in the chair with a big apron over my lap while a lady with sharp scissors was standing behind me. So I was in no position to argue or criticize the conversation.

But then they started talking about the Best Body shaper because the high school proms are coming up in a couple of weeks and several of the girls were worried about looking their best in the long gowns that are skin tight through the bodice. It was a very enlightening conversation, but finally I couldn’t stand it any more and blurted out, “So how about those Nashville Predators? Making it to the Stanley Cup playoffs again for the 6 year in a row!”