Meet and Grow Rich

One of the things that I do at the end of each year is to add new things to my life list. This is the list of things that I want to do before I die. I try to think of as many things as possible. Then I try to organize them by realistic chronological order. Once that’s done, I can see which things I hope to accomplish in the upcoming year.

For example, I have a lot of travel items on my list. I want to go to Iceland. I want to spend a summer in the Greek Islands. I want to ski Canadian Rockies. I put all of these things on my list and look at which one might get done in the upcoming year. This year it’s going to the Banff Canadian Rockies. I’ll check that off of my list in November and then I’ll choose something new from the travel list to accomplish next year.

I think this process is a good one. It helps me to identify which things I want to do in my life but also to keep it realistic. It helps me set and accomplish my goals. And I think the best part is that I’m always adding new things to the life list. I’ll never run out of things that I want to do in this lifetime!

Technorati Tags: banff canadian rockies, ski canadian rockies

I live in California. There are a million things that I love about this state. However, I’m discovering more and more things that I don’t like about it. I’m beginning to wonder if there’s somewhere else that I’d like to live. I’m thinking that maybe Florida would be a good choice.

One of the things that I don’t like in California is the cost of the real estate here. It’s almost impossible to be able to afford a home in California. Homes are fairly affordable in Florida. Even the urban areas there have reasonable home prices compared to areas like San Francisco and San Diego.

Another thing I’m unhappy with in California is the healthcare here. I’ve heard that medical insurance in Florida is really good. Even Medicare Florida is better than what we have here as far as what other people have told me. I’d have to look into this more but it’s definitely an incentive to move if it’s true.

The one thing that’s holding me back is the weather in Florida. I don’t like that we have earthquake risks here but I really hate the idea of ending up in a hurricane. And I’m not a big fan of humidity so that would require an adustment. Nevertheless, I’m beginning to think it might be worth it.

Technorati Tags: medical insurance Florida, Medicare Florida

For most of my life, I have never really been someone who wins draws.  In fact, except for winning a free coffee once, I have never really won a prize in my life.  But, I have been persistent and have still tried to win any chance I get in the hopes that I would get lucky eventually.

So, when I received a phone call letting me know that I won a free western home decor makeover, I was shocked!  I mean, what were the chances that I would finally win something?  I thought that it would never happen.

As per the rules, I had to leave my home for three days while they did the makeover.  I went to visit my brother during that time and had a great visit with my nieces.  It made me realize that I don’t see them enough and that is something that I need to work on too.

But when I returned home I was not happy.  Except for the western bedding (which was a perfect choice), I didn’t really care for any of the renovations that they did.  Unfortunately the designers’ vision was nowhere close to my tastes and in the end I am disappointed.  I will have to save up some money to fix my home into something I can enjoy – so much for enjoying my prize.

Technorati Tags: western bedding, western home decor

In the early days when I was courting my wife, my future father-in-law decided to take us to an auction.  Now, he wasn’t bidding on anything in particular, but he bid on lots where he didn’t actually know what the items were.  He would bid on these mystery lots, and he almost looked like a child at Christmas opening gifts when he finally got to see what he won.

The result of attending these auctions with him is that I became hooked too.  It was exciting to bid on mystery auctions to see what you got in the end.  I actually purchased some valuable things like Metal Halide bulbs and a pallet of high pressure sodium lights.  On those kind of days when you walk away with something that is either useful or valuable, you feel like the top of the world.

But there are also days where I have bought boxes and pallets of junk.  You don’t feel so hot when you buy something that has no value, but it is important to take it in stride, roll with the punches and enjoy the chance of finding something truly remarkable.

I am heading to an auction today, so I will have to see how I do – I hope I bid on something worthwhile.

Technorati Tags: high pressure sodium, Metal Halide

I’ve discovered that I love creating different websites and blogs.  I seem to be full of ideas, and since I have my websites hosted with a FTP service that allows me to host multiple websites under the same account, I can pretty much do whatever I want with it.

For instance, I have my professional website and business blog, a horse blog, a book review blog, and an old wedding blog that I kept when hubby and I were planning our wedding.  Ironically, the one I rarely post to anymore — the wedding blog — is the most popular, and actually earns me about $30 a month in ad revenue.  I know it’s not much, but it’s also not bad for a blog I don’t do anything with anymore!

My most recent idea for a website was kind of a snarky blog about the reasons why people get rid of their pets.  It’s a touchy subject with me — I hate hearing all the lame reasons.  Browse through Craigslist’s pet section and you’ll see what I mean!  I think snarky blogs attract a lot of interest, so I’m hoping this one would too.  Maybe it would even be an additional revenue source for me.  What do you think?

Technorati Tags: ad revenue, business FTP site, FTP service