This evening I found out that one of my credit card numbers was stolen online.  The dirty rotten thief purchased $180 worth of stuff from an undisclosed online store and would have bought more if Citi (my card company) hadn’t blocked the suspicious activity.  I know that credit card companies charge outrageous fees in interest every month but I have to give Citi some love here.  Once the suspicious authorizations starting going through they called and left me several messages stating they suspected fraudulent charges to my account.  Unfortunately, $180 was charged but Citi is reversing this charge and will completely investigate and pursue the fraudulent activity.  I will owe nothing.  The customer service rep spent 20 minutes on the phone with me explaining exactly what had happened to my account, closed out my old stolen account number, issued me a new account number, and sent me an affidavit in the mail so they can pursue the dirty swindlers.  Its sad that online hacking and identity theft are happening all too often lately.  Consumers have to be so much more cautious with their information these days.  If your looking for a great credit card company I recommend Citi.  They made this bad experience very easy for me as a consumer.  Find the perfect card at www.citicards.com.               

About a year ago a site was launched called www.greendimes.com that helps Americans get rid of junk mail and plants trees on your behalf.  There is a small fee to join one of their packages but they can almost completely eliminate all unwanted junk mail and will plant 10 trees for just $15. 

Consider the astounding statistics:

• 100 million trees are lost every year to create approximately 4.5 million tons of unwanted junk mail in your mail box. 
• To produce the 4.5 million tons of junk mail they use 28 billion gallons of water each year.  (And we were told not to water our lawns this summer because of the water shortage)
• When your name is sold to direct mailing companies it is usually worth about 3-20 cents.

To date, Greendimes.com has stopped over 2.2 million lbs. of junk mail.  Planted over 319,000 trees.  Saved over 6.1 million gallons of water.  How cool is that?  And the numbers keep getting better.  Check out the home page with the real-time counter at greendimes.com for the latest update. 

In the News:  Crisis feared as U.S. water supplies dry up.

I was so excited when I got my first iPod for my birthday from my husband 2 years ago.  How great is it to have all your music in one simple easy-to-use device?  There would be no heavy case of countless CD’s to change in and out of the portable CD player anymore.  I can’t believe how much I love my iPod.  I take it with me everywhere.  To work, on road trips, on flights, to the doctors office, and even to bed when I can’t fall asleep.  With 20 GB of space my music library is virtually limitless.  I have often wondered how long it would take me to fill  20 GB of space with mp3’s.  As much as I love my iPod I also love the protective case I bought from www.iskin.com.  I had difficulty with the screen getting scratches so ”iSkin” accessories help keep your iPod looking like new.  The rubber “skin” comes in a variety of colors which fit easily over your iPod.  My iSkin came with a clear plastic piece you insert directly over the screen to keep it safe from scratches.  Works like a charm!    

Arriving this week from my in-laws was a postcard from Lake Tahoe.  Postmarked Reno, NV, October 12, 2007.  Lucky bastards.  One of my goals in life…to visit Lake Tahoe. 

Why?

1.  The snowboarding.  God would I love to snowboard at Heavenly or Squaw Valley.  I think this is my new happy place.   

2.  Love the mountains. 

3.  Never been to California.  (The closest I got was Las Vegas)

4.  Quality time with my husband.  (He would go fishing.)

5.    The Hyatt resort there looks excellent.

6.  Spend hours playing video poker at one of the casinos downing margaritas.

8.  So I can appreciate the great outdoors.

www.visitinglaketahoe.com 

For the next 2 days at work I must sacrifice my lunch breaks for company meetings.  Am I being selfish by wishing I could just have my lunch break to myself?  When and how did “lunch break” get re-defined as an opportunity for company time?  Truthfully, I like my job and I like what I do.  I help people get better and sometimes it is even life changing for them.  But I’ve allowed myself to feel overwhelmed, rushed, and fatigued.

So today it hit me.  I needed to start thinking positive.  So how do I do this?  The first thing I did was stop thinking about what is still ahead of me.  My schedule, the meetings,  and started allowing myself to no longer feel rushed.  I had to stop thinking about how I won’t have a day off for the next 10 days.  Its only Wednesday and I was already dreading getting up on Saturday & Sunday morning to be at the hospital at 8 a.m.  Why was I doing that?  So, now I am living in the present like we’re supposed too and taking it one day at a time.  One minute at a time if need be.  My mantra for today is:  “I refuse to feel rushed today.”  I just may have to say this to myself everyday.  I feel so much better.               

An excellent way to improve posture and reduce neck & shoulder pain is to strengthen the muscles located in the middle of your back called the middle trapezius and rhomboids.  To make sure you isolate these muscles roll your shoulders back and squeeze your shoulder blades together trying to make them touch.  This exercise can be done in the gym on a seated row machine or at home using exercise bands & cords.  This exercise is very important because as we age our shoulders and head tend to develop a forward flexed posture which can lead to neck & upper back pain.  To perform this exercise correctly make sure your lower back is protected by sitting or standing up tall with your abdominal muscles braced or contracted.  Using an exercise band, with thumbs up pull your elbows back along the sides of your body then squeeze your shoulder blades together.    Hold for 2 seconds then slowly allow your arms to come forward at a slow and controlled pace.  Complete 2 sets of 10-15 repetitions depending on your fitness level. 

Always remember to consult your physician before starting any fitness program and discontinue any exercise that causes increased pain thats not related to muscle soreness.

For more information about seated rows click here. 

This site has patterns on how to sew a cool t-shirt, which type of fabric to choose, and iron on graphics for Japanese punk style. 

Get the details for this project here:  Japanese Punk T-Shirt

I found an awesome site for perfect chocolate gifts for any occasion.  At Hershey Gifts they have excellent seasonal gifts for this holiday season including Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Hanukkah.   My favorite for Halloween is the Black Cat Basket that comes with 1 lb. of peanut butter cup pumkins, Hersheys milk chocolate ghosts, and York peppermint patty bats for only $20.  They also have a Christmas tin with 1lb. of chocolate covered pretzels for only $17 which is perfect for those office holiday gift exchanges that you never know what to buy for. 

For special occasions like baby showers, graduations, and birthdays the Hershey Kiss wrapper is personalized to say “Its A Boy!” or “Happy Birthday.”  You can personalize the kisses to read your message up to 30 letters/spaces on the plume.  Visit www.hersheygifts.com for details and easy online ordering.  The site is very easy to navigate and ordering is simple.  The selection of chocolate products, occasions, and exclusives is huge and will satisfy any chocolate lover.   

Courtesy of Flickr.com

At our family gathering this weekend my aunt made this recipe by Paula Deen that was absolutely delicious!  I am not a huge fan of cole slaw and really don’t eat vegetables like I should because I’m just picky.  However, this broccoli slaw was so good I went for 2 heaping helpings of it.  Honestly, for me to go for 2 large helpings of a vegetable dish says a lot!  Here’s the recipe below or you can get it at foodnetwork.com.  Enjoy!

2 bags (3-ounce) Ramen Noodle Soup in Oriental (other flavors will work, too)
3/4 stick butter
1/4 cup slivered almonds
2 bags (12-ounce) bags broccoli cole slaw (in the bagged salad section of the grocery store)
1/4 cup sunflower seeds

Chopped green onions, for garnish Dressing Mix:
3/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup brown or white sugar
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

Put the ramen noodles in a bag and crush them with a rolling pin while melting butter in a large skillet over low/medium heat.  Add the crushed noodles and slivered almonds to the skillet and saute, stirring occasionally (keep temperature at low/medium heat). Meanwhile, whisk together all the dressing ingredients in a small bowl.  Place the shredded broccoli into bowl and toss with the noodles, almonds, and sunflower seeds. Pour dressing over salad and toss to coat.  Garnish with chopped green onions.