Earn FREE Gift Cards by Signing up for Swagbucks!

If you haven't heard, there's a site called Swagbucks where you can earn FREE Amazon gift cards for searching the web, taking surveys, watching videos and doing short tasks. You can earn as quickly as you like, or you can just use it as your search engine to let your points accumulate over time. I just redeemed points for another $25 Amazon gift card, so I thought it was a great time to post a reminder about this fantastic site.

 I've earned hundreds of dollars of Amazon gift cards and I don't do any of the surveys or other little tasks (because who has time for that?) Best of all, it's FREE to join! You've literally got nothing to lose. Just sign up, install the search feature so your search engine defaults to Swagbucks and you'll be good to go.

 If you use my referral link to say thanks for telling you about Swagbucks, I'll get a little bonus when you sign up. :-)

Hurricane Preparedness Guide

Hurricane season is officially here and the National Weather Service is going nuts trying to remind people via social media to have a plan and get prepared BEFORE there's a storm on the horizon. Forecasts for this year call for an above-average season, so I thought it would be a good idea to share basic preparedness tips.

1.) Have important phone numbers and account numbers handy. 

• Electric company (+ account number)
• Car insurance company (+ account number)
• Home insurance company (+ account number)
• Gas company (+ account number)
• Non-emergency police
• Doctor's office
• Important family & close friends (in case your phone is damaged)

You can store all of these numbers on a single sheet of paper in a zip-lock bag somewhere that's easy to get to. 

2.) Have important documents in a water-tight location.

I keep important documents with my list of phone numbers in a water-tight zip-lock bag.

• Birth certificates
• Insurance policies
• Social Security cards

3.) Gather supplies

• Water
• Non-perishable food (include items you can heat and items that don't need to be heated)
• Sanitary items (hand sanitizer, feminine products, Clorox wipes)
• Dishwashing supplies (plastic tub, dish detergent, sponge)
• Paper supplies (paper towels, napkins, paper plates, plastic silverware)
• First Aid kit (or at least some Neosporin and bandaids)
• Flashlights and extra batteries
• Hurricane lamps and oil
• Cash (if card readers go down, you'll only be able to use cash to get gas or other necessities.)

If you plan right, these are all supplies that you can keep in your normal rotation and use year-round. I like to consult my supplies list as soon as I hear that a hurricane *might* come our way and re-stock or refresh as needed. Usually, all I have to do is grab a couple extra gallons of water and an extra box of bandaids. Because hurricanes don't usually level homes where we live, I don't worry about making my kit mobile, but I would if a big enough storm were expected or if I lived in a location like Florida that gets hit much harder.

4.) Have a plan

Since everyone is usually home from school or work when they're predicting a hurricane, our plan doesn't involve a meeting place, BUT we do have a plan for the 24 hours leading up to the hurricane. 

• Turn up the fridge and freezers - this way, if the power goes out, we won't have to worry about food spoiling as quickly
• Make extra ice - Any available space in the freezer gets filled with ice
• Double check supplies & documents
• Get cash if needed
• Charge ALL electronics
• Wash laundry and dishes - because if the power goes out, it might be a while until you can use your washing machine or dish washer.

That's our basic hurricane guide. Is there anything I missed that you do to get ready for a storm? 

Missed Opportunity

I had a client on Fiverr decide they didn't like an article I wrote for them. After going back and forth with a revision, I knew they wouldn't be satisfied with anything I wrote because what they want and what they need (per their requirements) were 2 different things. Plus, their requirements totaled 670 words when my gig only offered 400 and yes, they only ordered 1 gig. Fiverr takes $1 in commission and I was already in this about 2 hours with all of their instructions and revisions. Not worth it.

So, I'm posting what I wrote for them here, so they can't use it. It's what I do... because, Google.

Here it is:

Why You Should Consider Solar

Solar Energy is the future of the world. It’s an affordable and renewable way to meet your home’s electricity requirements using the abundant energy from the sun. In order to capture this free energy, a series of solar panels are installed on your home’s roof. These panels collect energy from sunlight and transform it into the type used in your home. It’s simple, efficient and good for the environment.

Environmental Impacts

Traditionally, fossil fuels have been used to generate power for homes and businesses. Huge plants that burn coal or natural gas are located in cities and towns throughout the country. These plants produce an enormous amount of air pollution. Even getting the fossil fuels in order to burn them is a dangerous and lengthy process that results in pollution, degradation of the environment and more.

Unlike fossil fuels, solar energy is environmentally friendly. The panels are mounted on the roofs of existing homes or on the ground in a sunny location. The panels produce no pollution and won’t contaminate rainwater. They can be used in any environment, even ones where snow is common. There is no drilling or tracking required to produce the energy and there are no impacts on local fauna or flora.  The clean and renewable energy source will not contribute to global warming or other environmental concerns. It’s the perfect energy source.

How it Works

Solar panels work by using a system of lenses and mirrors to collect and focus sunlight into a concentrated beam. The beam of light is then converted into electricity using a photovoltaic effect. The electricity generated then powers your home.

Solar panels are made of manmade materials, often including a combination plastic and metal components. The panels have integrated glass lenses and mirrors that are used to collect and focus the energy from the sun.

One of the key components of a solar panel is the inverter. The inverter is a small box that converts the concentrated beam of energy from the sun into the type of electricity that is used in homes. The energy produced then passes through a utility meter which records the amount of energy generated. The utility meter may be the one already installed on your home, but it will run in reverse when the panels are generating electricity. Most home solar panel systems will generate enough power to significantly reduce electricity bills or even generate a credit during the summer or during daylight hours when sunlight is abundant and usage is lower.

When you install solar panels on your home, you’ll still be connected to your electric provider through the energy grid, so you’ll always have power. However, using electricity will be more enjoyable because you’ll be saving money and saving the environment.

How to Get Solar Energy

Interested in learning more? Just fill out the form below - it’s quick, easy and free. We’ll take the information you provide and find you the best solar provider for your needs. That solar provider will come to your home to assess your roof’s angle, location and area. Then they’ll design a plan that will meet your home’s unique needs. Solar panel installation is always free using our partnered providers. Once your panels are installed, you’ll get to enjoy affordable, clean energy while saving money on your utility bills. Don’t wait another minute - find out how you can save money and the environment by looking into solar.

Fitting it All in - Finding a System that Works

Given that I'm pretty insanely busy this week, I thought a post about prioritizing would be appropriate. I was pretty much feeling like a failure last night because I didn't get everything crossed off of my to-do list and I'm chronically behind with work and cleaning.

So I looked at my planner this morning - REALLY looked at it and I realized something: there's no way a single person can get all of this done. I actually would need 3 people to do everything on my list, so leaving 3 or 4 items undone at the end of the day isn't that bad.

Instead of focusing on getting it all done, I need to prioritize so I get the bigger, more important things done and can feel accomplished. I'm not the best at scanning through a list and picking out what's important every time I glance at it. The list itself seems to fluster me because it's so long and there's so many things unchecked on it.

So, I bought a package of highlighters in 3 colors. Yellow for priority work assignments, blue for priority volunteer work and pink for priority personal/home/cleaning tasks (this is how I divide my planner - work, home and volunteer).

I'll highlight 1 item per day and as long as that 1 item is done, I'll call it a win. If I have 2 priority items in 1 category, I will have to choose which one is the most important.

I tried this tactic today and... failed miserably. I didn't do the "priority" task first like I'd been planning. Mostly because the priority task for work will take me about 8 hours and requires my son to be napping so I can focus on it.

So I'm curious - how do you stay focused? How do you keep everything on track? I tried the household binder and found it was too bulky to be useful. I'd love something that I can hang in the hallway or carry with me. A 5x7 planner is the perfect size for portability, but doesn't have enough room each day for everything that needs to get done. I also hate having multiple lists... paper clutter irritates me. I have tried various planner apps (free ones, of course) and found them all lacking.

I'm open to anything - so let me know what works for you!

Sister-In-Law Update

I scanned my blog to see what I have written about in the past and I noticed a definite trend - my sister-in-law provides quite a bit of fodder. So, I thought it would be high time to offer an update on how the little tramp dear is impacting the family dynamics.

She's still nuts.

That about sums things up... I mean, I haven't talked to her in nearly a year. In January she blocked my phone, Facebook and anything else she could think of. I sent around a family newsletter and had no way of contacting her, so their family didn't get it. Her husband was ticked and I explained that I couldn't contact his wife and that I was sending it to the women.

Radio silence.

My mother-in-law jumped in at that point - baby boy can't get his feelings hurt after all. Bow down to his wife and kiss her ass like everyone else has for the past 7 years she said. No... no, that doesn't seem like fun at all. I've done that and it doesn't really help - it takes effort and quite frankly, she's not worth it. She has treated the whole family like shit (or at least those of us that don't have anything to give her, like land or money or whatever) and I've had enough of it.

So my husband and I finally decided we were done dealing with her. Done dealing with everyone that's enabling her. Just done in general. We opted out of birthdays, graduation parties and anything else she would be at. There's no point in going since we didn't want to watch the sickening display of everyone acting like she's a fucking saint while she's ignoring us for absolutely no reason.

I literally mean that. You can speak to this woman and she will turn her head the other way as if you simply aren't there. People witness this and continue to talk to her like she has done absolutely nothing out of the ordinary, because for her, that's not unordinary. If they address her behavior, she turns the crazy on them. Her degree of crazy can vary... she once slashed my mother-in-law's tires, but we're supposed to act like that never happened because she gave birth to someone's children and said they were my brother-in-law's.

Now, nobody gave a rats ass that this was going on until recently. My mother-in-law said it was between them and us and she was staying out of it. She had 900 reasons why she couldn't ask what their problem was. My husband tried reaching out to his brother early on and got nothing but silence. It was not in her best interest to ask, so she didn't.

Now it's the holidays and my mother-in-law wants to have a big happy family around her dining room table (which is like a 4-person table, but I digress) and she is suddenly upset that we aren't going to her events. She knew this is what was going to happen. She knew we couldn't get in touch with them and she refused to say anything to them. Like always, she refuses to address the behavior if it's them because (and this was her reasoning, not mine) if she says anything to them about the way they act, they keep her from seeing the grandkids.

It's disgusting. The way they act and the way she enables them. I am ashamed to be related to these people through marriage. It's really pushing me to find a way to move my family away from this jolly band of assholes. We don't go to events now and I figure 1,000 miles between us will at least keep the invitations from being issued so I don't have to decline and then listen to my mother-in-law rant and rave.

Shocked to See Visitors!

I posted a blog for the first time in a while on my other site - Mommas Madness - and randomly thought I'd log into Blogger to see if my blog here was still alive.

I was SHOCKED to see 18 page views today! SHOCKED!

So it got me thinking - which site has more visibility? I have more followers on Wordpress (because I have none on Blogger), so which site should I focus on? I don't have the time to create 2 separate blog posts a day. Does anyone maintain 2 blogs and post the same spiel to both? I thought about doing that to maximize exposure. :-)

Thoughts? Hope? Love for my blog? Leave a comment if you read this - I could use some encouragement!

Neighbor From Hell: Year 3

Well, we had about a year off from the drama with the jack-ass next door. Today, he called in a team of landscapers with little bobcats to come tear out MORE of our trees and knock down our deer fence.

Mother. Fucker.

So now I'm torn between calling the cops, knowing they've done nothing in the past about the situation, and calling the landscaping company to demand they replace the fence, or be taken to court.

I'm so mad right now, I want to seriously go paint pictures of giant dicks on the side of MY fence facing his house.

Has anyone been in this situation? What do you do when the neighbor continuously (and randomly) removes your fence from your own property because he thinks it's his or too close to his or just because he feels like being a dick? Like I said before - we've called the cops in the past and they said it was a civil matter and they couldn't help. The last thing I knew, STEALING and VANDALIZING were things cops could deal with. Guess I'm wrong??