The Blonde Diaries

Fill that iPod and cheaply!

Do you have a new iPod or maybe an iPod that could use a new playlist or two? Do you want to avoid paying $1 a song on iTunes? Well there is a cheap way to accomplish both called ALTNET which is 100% supported by each of the major recording labels. Right now you can sign up for a Free 7 Day Trial with ALTNET where you can download as many songs as your heart desires or until your hard drive fills up - whichever comes first. After that, if you like the service it is just $20 a month to continue which if you download 20 songs that month you will break even and anything else would be like free music and there are no limits on what you can download or how many downloads per month. Quite the deal when you consider 1 cd at Target or Walmart will run you $13 or more for 12 songs at most.

It is really easy and painless to sign up for your free trial. I went ahead and tried it out before making this post and I really like the site. The site has current hit songs so you don’t have to worry about the music not being current enough and gives you the option of downloading just the song or the entire album. Hurry over and sign up today so that you can expand your music library cheaply and legally.

It’s funny what commercials stick in your head

Mike and I have small habits that we have developed over the years. One of our habits is the nightly watching of Cheaters and Blind Date. I don’t know which one we started watching first but it extended to the other show and we now watch both. I tend to prefer Cheaters but lately there are so many reruns that I’m preferring Blind Date. But I am digressing (no surprise). The point of this post is to talk about commercials. These shows run on a pretty low budget local channel here in Houston. Because it is a low budget station, we see the same slimy commercials each night throughout the shows. It seems that party lines and male enhancers are the commercial of choice but every now and then you’ll get an education commercial thrown in there. The past week I have noticed that our favorite commercial is no longer running. I don’t know if their advertising budget ran out or if they are out of business. The commercial was for a party line/dating service and had the a catchy jingle. I guess even in these hard times people can’t pick up the phone as often as they use to in order to call these “hot” girls. Well a new month is about to start. We’ll see if they are just another victim of the economy or just have a small advertising budget.

We are close to booking our honeymoon!

I am super excited. We are about to have another BIG check off the wedding planning list: Our Honeymoon! You have probably heard me talk about it in past posts and have seen my earning tracker page watching me save up for my trip. If you haven’t I’ll fill you in real quickly. We have decided on an 8 night Greece and Turkey cruise which will leave out of Venice, Italy. So as of today with 352 days before departure we can book our cruise and excursions. What we can’t book is our air flights but I have been guestimating the costs. While researching flights, I noticed most flights will be leaving out of Houston at a reasonable hour but include flying overseas over night and at least one connecting flight.

I don’t know about you but the longest flight I have been on is 4 hours from Houston to San Diego. That one was long enough. I don’t know what Mike and I will do with a flight over to Italy but it should be interesting. Either way it is now time to start planning our trip and the first thing I’m buying are Cabin Cuddlers. I’m not sure if you are familiar with Cabin Cuddlers but they have been featured on QVC a few times and just look perfect for traveling. They are an all in one travel companion - blanket, pillow, and tote bag. The blanket is large enough to wrap your entire body from head to toe while you are on the plane. Talk about warm and cozy especially on a plane where everyone likes to blast the air.

I like that these are easy to carry and not at all expensive (only $30) because they ensure that the pillow and blanket I use are only used by myself or Mike and not the random passenger on each flight which is just so unsanitary to me. The Cabin Cuddler comes in 2 colors: red and black. I think I’m going to go with black for Mike and I as they will coordinate with our luggage.

If you have a trip coming up check out Cabin Cuddler for your travel accessory needs. They are running a sale right now: buy 2 or more cuddlers and receive free priority shipping on your order. I think these will be worth every penny.

A mid-week update on the diet plan

I thought I’d give a mid-week update on my diet/lifestyle change. So far I have done really well I think. I’m still adjusting to using all my points and how to order when eating out. Right now we are right in the middle of the second quarter financial statement filing period which means 9-8 workdays and ordering in one meal a day. It has been a tad challenging but I am proud of my progress. I am no longer snacking all day at my desk or sneaking candy from the client candy jar. Instead I am sticking to what is in my lunch box and only bringing what I think I might need to eat during the day to work. My water intake, fruit/veggie intake, and milk intake is on par with where it should be and I am even managing to take my multivitamin each day. I know it’s only been 3 days but heck, I’m thrilled over this progress. I am finally showing willpower and wanting to change for myself. Finally, I already met my weekly goal of running 3 miles. I pushed myself last night and did 2 miles on the treadmill. I wasn’t setting out to go that long but I wanted to see how far I could push myself and I was happily surprised with how well it went. I think I’m going to continue this short runs majority of the week and one longer session.

Well that is all for this check in. Thanks for listening to me and encouraging me to keep going.

Personal Safety Should Not Be Optional

Personal safety should not be optional no matter the person’s age, sex, race, or physical shape. In today’s day, everyone should be cognizant of their surroundings and note that no one is exempt from a personal attack. In fact, last month there was a young professional male in Houston that was attacked in broad daylight leaving work and trying to go home. He was attacked by two men in a surface parking log. Now whether or not he was expecting this to happen and was properly equipped or not, I do not know since I only heard the general story though my office managers but it did make me wake up and learn that an attack can happen at any time of the day and to anyone. I always thought surface parking lots were relatively safe if you were going to and from work during the normal 9-5 workday since there would be many people around at the same time. Apparently, this is not a huge deterrent to criminals.

I started to think long and hard about what I would do in that same situation and I am embarrassed to say that I really do not know. I realized that beyond carrying my keys in my hand as I leave work, I have no other personal safety devices that I could use to help fend off attackers. I have decided to change this immediately. I found the easiest thing for me to do is add Keychain mace to my keys. I figure if I already have my keys out then I would have my mace out with me and give me a fighting chance. I really liked this keychain mace below. I find that the ones with leather take too much time for me to flip the cap and press down. This one does not have a leather holder which allows me quick access in a matter of seconds.

If you have a loved one going to college for the first time or returning after a nice summer break, this would be an excellent back to school gift. It is only $10 and is something they could use everyday. College is one place where many people’s guards are down and attackers know this. Don’t let your loved one be a victim. Allow them to be prepared and they will thank you for this.