Waiting To Hear From You!!

It’s getting to be too long between posts. That’s because I’m working two jobs and don’t have the time to sit and write like I want to. When I do write, I’m writing about the things that interest me and affect my life. I love writing my blog and maintaining all of my websites but it all seems one sided.

Many of you have sent me emails and called me to ask how you can leave a comment on my site. I guess I haven’t explained it right because I haven’t seen a comment for some time. I’d love to hear what you have to say, good or bad. I don’t want to continue to write if no one is interested in what I’m saying. If you leave a comment I’ll know where I stand and others will be able to read your comments and voice their opinion as well. I only ask that you keep any discussions at an adult level with no name calling , cussing or any of those other high school antics. Everyone, including you, is entitled to their opinion and like it  or not this is America and you should respect an individuals right to free speech.

I have the option of disapproving comments and keeping them off of my site. However, if I deem a comment unsuitable for my blog, I will clean it up and let you all know what has been said.

So, to leave a comment you simply look to the right of the title of my post. There you will see what looks like a small piece of paper with a stick pin holding it. On the piece of paper there will be a number indicating how many comments have been left for that post. It will start at “0″ and go up as comments are added.

If you are getting notifications of new posts via email, you cannot leave a comment until you go to my site at www.TellMeAboutThat.com.  If you’d like to be notified of new posts by email, you have to sign up for notifications on the right side of my blog page under “Subscribe to my Blog”. You may have to scroll down to see it.

You can also go back and comment of previous postings by looking under “Post Categories”, also on the right. If you click on a category you will see all of the previous posts pertaining to that subject. You can then select the one(s) you want to read and then post a comment if you desire.

So, I’m waiting to hear from you. Tell me what you like or don’t like or give me ideas about what you would like to see. Just remember there is only one of me and I can’t keep everybody happy.

Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow!!

I hope everyone made it safely through the series of snowstorms that seem to have affected most of the central and eastern United States. I know it was especially bad in the northeast, since Mom was supposed to return from Philadelphia and her flight was canceled a couple of times. She finely arrived yesterday.

We watched the news to see the all those poor folks shoveling their walks, only to get a fresh layer the next night. I felt for the people who would no sooner finish shoveling and the snowplow would come by and cover the sidewalk yet again. 

I’ve had my share of shoveling snow, both as a kid growing up in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and again while stationed in Minot, North Dakota. So I know the frustration of clearing the sidewalk only to have it covered again by the plows or new snow. 

Unlike most of my family I don’t have to put up with that anymore. I’m in Sumter, South Carolina and we normally get snow about once every three years or so. However, due to Global Warming we had snow two years in a row. Wait!! That’s the opposite of Global Warming isn’t it. Anyway, I don’t even own a snow shovel. When it snows here we only get an inch or two and it generally melts the same day or at the next day, at the latest.

When it snows here it’s a lot different than in places like Philly and New York.  Southerners have no idea how to handle snow and they tend to go into panic mode. Earlier this year the weather people said we might get some snow one night and, without a flake falling, twenty schools announced they would be closed the following day. Well, it didn’t snow.

We got our share of the latest storm on Friday, the 12th of February. When the first flakes started falling almost the entire population of Sumter headed to Walmart to stock up in case we were snowed in for a week. I was working my second job at Sears. When I arrived, a group of employees were standing at the door. They told me they were waiting for a call from the district manager telling them to close the store and go home. The snow hadn’t even started to stick yet. Later the manager came around and started telling people, who lived more than five miles away, to go home. He asked me how far I lived and I told him not to worry about me because I’m a Yankee and snow doesn’t scare me. Thirty minutes later they closed the mall and the store (2 hours early) and I headed home. By the next morning we had a grand total of three inches of snow and nothing was moving.

I was supposed to take my truck in for new tires but they called and rescheduled me for another day. I couldn’t get my hair cut until later that afternoon because Cost Cutters opened late. They didn’t even deliver the mail that day.

Every time it snows or threatens to snow down here I laugh at the antics that take place. I’m sure Walmart and other grocers love it. They get to sell all the stuff they hadn’t been able to get rid of for the last couple of months. The state saves money because they shut down all the schools and state government buildings. The kids get a day off from school and everyone gets a day off work.

This time there was snow on the ground for about three days, but I didn’t see anyone shoveling snow at all. The sidewalks and streets were clear by about noon time on Saturday and people went about their business knowing that the pantry was full.

If you get tired of the snow just move south. You’ll be able to relax nd enjoy the weather and have the opportunity for a good laugh every two or three years, when it does snow.

Getting an Income Tax Refund? Pay Yourself First!

Well, my income taxes are done for another year. I finished it all last night, filed electronically using TaxCut and every penny is spent. As usual I was disappointed with the amount of return considering I pay taxes from two jobs and a military pension. I can’t seem to catch a break.

Something is better than nothing and at least I feel like I’m getting a little gift around this time each year. Fortunately we will be able to take care of a couple of things that we have been putting off for awhile. If you are like me, the economy has taken a bite out of your resources. Pay cuts and lack of cost of living raises have hit hard. The price of everything we need continues to go up and services become more expensive with less and less benefit.  Maybe I’ll look for a third job so I can go out to eat once in awhile or go to a movie.

I’m sure you are in the same boat and I feel for you. However, if you do manage to get a small (or large) refund, make sure you take care of your needs before your wants. One thing you NEED to do is start preparing for continued economic struggles. So part paying yourself a little each week in the form of savings and then take care of the necessities.

Once you have all that taken care of go to the links on the right of this post and check out some of my shopping sites. There are all kinds of electronics, furniture, carpets, health items and others that you may find useful.  If you don’t see what you want immediately, use the Google search bar at the top right of the page to look for other sources.

OK!! Since I have some time before the refund is in the bank, I’m going to start organizing my folders and files for next years income taxes. Good luck with your taxes this year, for most of us there aren’t many changes. I checked the top ten software products including Turbo Tax, H&R Block, TaxSlayer and narrowed it down to TaxCut just like last year. It was based on ease of use, information provided, import of last years information and of course price. There the research is done for you. Good Luck!!