I’ve been amazed by the number of avon commercials I’ve been seeing lately on tv then it dawned on me that with so many people out of work due to layoffs, cutbacks and the overall worsening of the economy that many people needed extra money.  I was shocked when me daughter came over the other day and had a bunch of catalogues and was trying to sell makeup.  I thought it was interesting that she wasn’t selling avon but instead a new line of makeup called Mark.  I hadn’t realized that Avon was trying to get a fresh start and make a more modern avon lady with the introduction of this new product.  Looking through the items offered for sale I noticed it was geared towards a younger, hip and fashion conscious crowd of people wanting to buy Mark makeup.  They had tons of different product offerings that were quite a bit different than the old avon lady items your mom used to buy.  Becoming a mark makeup sales rep is very similar to being an avon lady.  You can hand out free skin care samples, hold parties, pass out catalogues or utilize the internet to sell this new line of avon products.  Now I’ve never been one that was big on being a sales rep myself but for my daughter who is in college this seems to be an good way to make a little extra cash on the side.  If you happen to be interested in becoming a mark sales repfeel free to email her from her site and I’m sure she can give you a few pointers to help you get started in your new avon career.

We were just about to head out on vacation last week when my wife went to find the luggage and discovered the bedroom closet floor was soaked.  We were just hours from leaving as all the things that needed packed were laid out on the bed ready to get loaded.  While she continued on with the packing I went on a mad dash to find out the source of the water that had damaged the closet.  I found that the water heater was leaking out the the bottom and was dripping at a pretty heavy click.  Unfortunately do to the slope of the floor where the leak was located the water didn’t go down the floor drain but promptly headed under the wall and into the bedroom closet.  Since we were heading out for a week long visit to Lake Erie I just shut the water off, called a local plumber and scheduled to have a new water heater installed when we got back.  After getting everything out of the closet and doing some more investigating it appears the leak had been going on for sometime and repairing water damage was going to be a bigger chore than I thought. We would have to not only replace the carpet but there was extensive damage done to the drywall in the closet.  Not wanting mold and mildew to take over and destroy everything in the closet I put a floor fan in to help dry out the area while we were away.  It just never fails when we get ready to go on a big vacation something always happens to put a kink in our plans. Thank goodness we discovered it before we left know telling what it would have looked like when we got back.

Ok I was just browsing the web looking at cars , mostly for the fun of it but also because I really need to get a new one for my daughter.  While I was surfing all the local classifieds and the tons of car dealer websites I ran across my dream car.  The Saleen S7 Twin Turbo.  Now i’m not usually one for the newer sports cars but I found one listed in the auto trader for a pretty decent price.  Now comes convincing my wife that number 1 we can afford it and number 2 I need it :)  Yeah I know those out there will be saying he must be trying to compensate for something , guess what your right.  I’m trying to relive my childhood.  I’m in a mid life crisis for crying out loud and deserver to be driving around in style for a change.  The 700 horsepower that the Saleen offers will definately put a crimp in my weekly gas budget but heck who cares if you drive a sweet looking car like that.  The wife jokingly went out and bought me a model saleen at Wal-mart and left it on my computer desk.  That was just down right dirty thing to do.  Nothing like bashing my hopes for getting my dream sports car, :( . Maybe  I should be looking for a replacement wife instead, lol.

If your a person that likes to help the environment and do their part to conserve our natural resources how far are your willing to go.  There are many that are so wrapped up into living a green lifestyle they shun anything that could be remotely considered not good for the environment.  I’m not one of those I do my part by sorting the trash  and removing the recyclables , buy products that have eco-friendly packaging and try to avoid leaving more of a carbon footprint than necessary.  I even paid a little more and hired a fort wayne kitchen remodeling contractor that is green certified.  Now I dont know how much my personal lifestyle is having an impact on the environment as a whole but I’d like to think that every little bit is helping.  I’m not telling you to go strap yourself to a tree ,  picket businesses or commit offenses all in the name of helping the environment but doing the little things in your daily life can help.  Dont use those plastic bags you get from walmart or the grocery store, bring your own.  If you do use them many stores now offer a recycle bin where you can return them the next time your visit.  Every little bit we do does make a difference even if its hardley noticeable

I cant really think of anything I rather not do on a Sunday afternoon when the race is on except taking my daughter dress shopping for prom.  Unfortunately that is exactly what I did this weekend.  While I was expecting a horrible day it turned out to be quite an enjoyable afternoon watching my daughter try on some beautiful dresses.  It’s amazing how a little time spent doing something out of the norm with your kids can help bring you closer.  I never would have emagined liking looking for dresses, shoes, and beauty care products but I’m glad now that I didn’t miss it.  It really make you feel old when your daughter who once bounced on your knee is standing before you a beautiful women about to go to her first formal dance.  My daughter in particular hasn’t been one much for chasing boys, going on dates, wearing makeup and other things many young girls do so I was quite shocked to see her in this light.  I must say the young man that gets to escort her to this years prom is one lucky guy.  Of course I’ll sit up all night worring just exactly when she’ll be home.  I remember my prom and how beautiful my date looked.  He better keep his hands to himself, lol.  I’ll update you after its all said and done provided I live through the night without having a heart attacke.

You want to know how bad it can really get just take a look at your 401k results for last year.  Heck I’ve even lost a little so far this year.  This new stimulus package is supposed to be helping the economy by jump starting employment and stabilizing the credit markets  all in an attempt to prevent another huge stock market crash like we had during the great depression.  If you have watched any financial news or read any information on the Stock Market News you might hear predictions that our economy is headed towards the worst disaster ever.  Our increasing national debt, lopsided trade deficit and lack of any significant amount of manufacturing capabilities is crippling our economy.  The doom and gloom over the stock market is just 1 of many concerns Americans should be worrying about.  The only thing that pulled us out of the last stock market crash was World War II.  If we hit an unemployment rate like we did during the first stock market crash I’m afraid even if there was a war to stimulate the economy we wont have the manufacturing capabilities that allowed us to recover from the last national financial disaster.  I hope some of those in Congress and the Senate start looking harder at what we can do to save and improve upon our manufacturing base.  I’d hate to think we would have to rely on Korea, China, Japan or some third world country to produce our military needs.  So while the stock market short comings over the last year have had a huge toll on your 401k, I’m afraid that much worse things than your stock portfolio are likely to come in the next few years.

Everyone has heard how bad the economy is but if you like me you never expected it to get down to your level.  No I havn’t lost my job, house or car, but our local little league association is feeling the pain.  Most of our little league  funding comes from donations from schools, parents and local businesses sponsoring our teams.  Unfortunately do to the fears over the economy many of the local businesses and private donations were used to getting just arent going to be there this year.  Our little league association has decided to pass on buying new baseball and softball equipment this year and start buying used little league softball and baseball bats.  You wouldn’t believe the savings we have found buying secondhand catchers equipment, bats and helmets.  Yes some of the equipment especially the catchers equipment need some new straps,  tape on the handles or minor repairs but compared to the price of new gear this is a no brainer.  We are actually going to have a surplus of helmets, bats and catchers pads for the first time since I’ve been involved with the little league.   I wish we hadn’t waited for a bad economy to decide to go this route.  Now if there were only a way to refresh old baseballs and softballs we’d have it made.  I’m sure were not the only ones having this type of problem so hopefully this helps other little league teams save some money.

February bring all sorts of headaches for me.  There are two Birthdays , Valentines Day and a wedding anniversary party to tend too.  I really didn’t think much about the Birthday until my daughter started asking for some fancy purse one of her friends has.  Prada bags as it seems are all the rage among teenagers these days.  Whoever the marketing genius was that got the younger girls wanting these expensive handbags should be shot.  I doubt seriously she’ll be getting one of those.  Perhaps I can swing buying her a Used Mary France Handbag, coach bag or one of the less expensive designer bags instead. 

Then there is the dreaded valentines day to contend with where I’ll have to make sure and do something very special for the wife.  The good thing about it is that it also happens to be our wedding anniversary so I can kill two birds with one stone and buy just one gift.  When we decided to get married on that date I really hadn’t considered this nice little benefit.  Just in case she happens to read my site and is looking for an anniversary gift for husband might I suggest a nice new watch.    Something in a nice gold or silver that will match my wedding band would be nice.