For quite some time now I have wanted to invest in the stock market. Back in 2004, Google went public. I really wanted to buy some stock then at $80-something a share. However, it was right before I moved to Guam and felt it wasn't a good time to do that since I was trying to save money. Well...hindsight is 20/20. That stock is now valued over $600! The 52-week high was $747.24. Yep. Coulda, shoulda, woulda.

I received a small sum of money for Christmas and decided this year I would invest it. So now I'm researching companies to invest in. Now looks like a great time to get started as the market is WAY down. Most stocks I've been looking at right now are just above their 52-week low. My strategy is going to be buy and hold long term. Probably something that returns dividends, but I haven't made up my mind on that yet.

Read More...

You'll only be able to see the snow while it lasts here, but we're supposed to get between 2-4" of snow here in Greenville.

BJU Campus Webcams - 3 cameras here about 1.5 miles from my house
WYFF Weather Cam

Read More...

The Filipiaks are leaving in the morning for a vacation/mission trip to Taiwan. I helped them plan the trip, so today's webcams are going to be from Taiwan and some of the places they'll see!

*Note - you will need to view these with Internet Explorer
Taipei Zoo

For the next webcams, you have to select the area from the menu. It won't let me link directly.
Taipei City
Kaohsiung City
Taichung City

Read More...

I think I was bitten by the travel bug a few years ago on my first trip to Guam. It was probably before that, but that definitely got me itching to travel!

I've been home a total of 4 days now & I'm ready to pack my bags and travel again!

Every time I pass the luggage section in a store, I'm compelled to look even though I have more suitcases than I'm allowed to take. (Unless I'm flying Business Class!)It's also weird because my favorite luggage is eBags, which you can't buy in stores! My dream suitcase from them is the carryon suitcase that will hold a laptop as well.

Read More...

On January 7th, Mark Malkoff moved in to IKEA for a week while his apartment is being fumigated. As a kid, I always thought it would be cool to spend the night in a store. I don't know why. I just did. Check out Mark's website to read more about it and see videos of his adventures.

He's also the guy that in one day visited and bought something at all 171 Starbucks in Manhattan!

This guy is crazy!

Read More...

On my way to Iowa, my good water bottle fell out of my bag and was lost on the plane. I was sad. Thus began the search for a replacement. I had read a tip that drinking water from a bottle with a straw encourages you to drink more, so this was a good time to give it a try!

I found a 32 oz Camelbak bottle that is spill proof and absolutely love it! The straw flips back into the lid to help keep it clean.

It's with me during the day and since I've been sick, I keep it by my bed at night too. When I wake up coughing, I take a couple sips. I don't worry about knocking it over and dumping it out or having to unscrew a lid, sit up and try to drink without spilling it all over myself.

If you're looking for a good water bottle to help you keep a New Year's Resolution to drink more water, then pick up one of these in one of 4 different colors! (There are also smaller bottles available in up to 9 different colors.)

Read More...

I have spent the last couple weeks in Waterloo, IA for Christmas with my family. The last couple days have been FREEZING! Right now it's -1 and the wind chill is -16. Brrr!!! The high today is supposed to be 8 degrees.

The (update 6/11/08 - link is broken. Not sure if it is permanent or due to high web traffic or other problems related to the current flooding) webcam for today comes courtesy of KWWL news in Waterloo, IA. (They don't have a direct link to it, so below the weather maps you'll need to click on the Skycams button.)

The weather in Greenville is cold right now too, but looks to be in the mid to upper 60s when I get back, so it will feel like a heat wave to me!

Read More...

Pack your virtual suitcase & passport and join me every Wednesday to travel around the world via webcams! I thought it fitting to start with a few from Guam, where I lived for 2 years. If you live in the States, the best time to check these is late afternoon thru the evening since their night is our day.

Harvest Ministries Weather Webcam (picture refreshes every 30 seconds)
Harvest Ministries Multiplex Construction (picture refreshes every 30 seconds)
Micronesia Mall Webcam (I had trouble with this in Firefox. You may need to view it in Internet Explorer)

More information about Guam:
CIA World Factbook
Guam Visitors Bureau

Read More...

About 31 hours after my journey started, I arrived home! My plane left the gate on time from Detroit. (There were a lot of cancellations, so I wasn't sure I would get out!) We sat on the ground for about 2 hours for a mechanical problem and deicing. But we got out!!! I arrived in Minneapolis too late to catch the first flight to Iowa. They were able to get me confirmed on the 5:15pm flight instead of the 10:30pm one. Hooray!

Next time I spend 31 hours flying to my destination, I hope it's to Guam! :-)

Read More...

I've now been rebooked for an earlier flight out of Detroit. I'm waitlisted in Minneapolis for two flights and still confirmed on the late flight just in case the others are still full.

They're now predicting 10-14" of snow for Detroit by tomorrow night!

The good news? My luggage made it home! I think that's the first time my luggage made it there before me! :-)

Read More...

I left Greenville today for Iowa. My plane was delayed, but we were supposed to arrive only a few minutes late to Detroit. By the time we arrived, I had about 20 minutes to catch my next flight. Ordinarily, that might be enough time, but...the jet bridge wasn't working, so we sat on the plane for...you guessed it...20 minutes! When we finally got off, the gate agent checked & they were about to close the door on my connecting flight at the other end of the terminal.

Northwest was kind enough to put me up in a hotel and give me meal vouchers. Apparently there were lots of delayed flights because the they rebooked me on a 9pm Sunday flight! That means I get to Iowa at 11:30pm. Ugh!

There are earlier flights from Detroit to Minneapolis, but apparently all the flights from Minneapolis to home are full. I'm going to try and rebook on an earlier flight from Detroit and try to get a standby seat from Minneapolis.

Oh, and did I mention there is a storm brewing in Detroit? They're predicting 4-8"

Read More...

I wonder, just how many cars does Alamo have available for this reservation if they're sold out and referring me to another agency? (If you can't read it well enough, click the picture for a larger view.)

Read More...

Batteries Plus has 10% off all online purchases. They carry batteries for just about everything - cell phones, laptops, digital cameras, watches, cars, ATVs...they sell them all!

Read More...

I am looking at making some changes to my internet service - Dry Loop DSL is now available in my area! That means I can ditch my landline phone and save about $36/month! That's $432 a year!

I haven't even used the landline since I've been here. I did plug a phone into it, but didn't give the number out to anyone. After 2 days of getting telemarketer calls (and they had my name!), I unplugged the phone! It's been so peaceful since then!

I was reading some boring fine print and ran across this on AT&T's website:
"Applicable taxes and fees based on the full price of all products and services, and no faxes or fees will be added to any rebate." Whew! I am so glad they are not going to add any faxes to my rebate! I hate it when they do that.

Back to telemarketers. Since I have a VOIP phone and a cell phone, I really don't get telemarketer calls. I suppose it's only a matter of time though. I did get one interesting one awhile back. This lady called urging me to subscribe to the newspaper. I thought I caught the name of it, but wasn't sure. Didn't matter. I wasn't interested anyway. She persisted and started extolling the virtues of local coupons, etc. I asked her to repeat the name of the paper. It was my hometown paper in Iowa! I told her local news and coupons wouldn't be much help. I'm in South Carolina! :-) She apologized and hung up.

Read More...

I've often marveled at how our brains work. I can dial a desktop phone about as fast as I can 10-key on a keyboard. But have you ever noticed the keys on the two are set up opposite of each other?

And those paragraphs written with no vowels- you can still read them because your brain fills in the missing letters.

I found this today - it's really pretty amazing. It's a half-keyboard. To type on the other "half", hold down the space bar. I was finding that I was hitting the right keys, but forgot to hold the space bar. I think I could get it with practice! I first tried it with my left hand only because the point is having your other hand free for using your mouse, writing, etc. Then I tried typing with my right hand. I was a little better at that.

Read More...

No snow here in South Carolina yet. I'm heading to Iowa on Saturday though where they do have some and expecting more this week! I realized the other day that it's been 3 years since I've seen snow! I ran across this site today where you can make your own snowflake - the kind you did as a kid where you cut shapes out of folded paper! Once you create your snowflake, they add it to the snowfall on the site. If you mouse over the flakes, they'll stop and you can see ones other people around the world have created. There are some pretty fancy ones!

Read More...

Today's "Works for Me Wednesday" topic is What do I fix? This is for those days when you're short on time and need to fix dinner.

Since I am single, my #1 "no time" dinner tends to be cereal! :-) I love Grape Nuts and raisins, so it's healthy at least!

Fried Rice is a pretty simple delish dinner to whip up with stuff I usually have on hand.
1. Cook up a batch of rice in the rice cooker or on the stove top. (Rice cooker is my favorite way. Start it & forget it!)
2. Heat oil in a wok
3. Crack a couple eggs into the wok and scramble as they cook
add vegetables. Depending on what I have on hand I use fresh or frozen. Usually peas and carrots. Last time I had "Asian blend vegetables with schezwan sauce" (microwaved first) and used that. Very yummy!
4. Add rice
5. Stir until rice is browned
6. Add a few dashes of soy sauce and stir in.

For variations you can add bacon, green onions, SPAM, garlic, brown some chicken for chicken fried rice, experiment with different sauces and oils, vegetables, etc. If it sounds good, I throw it in!

French toast, grilled cheese & tomato soup, sub sandwiches, fruit/yogurt smoothies or meat cooked on the George Foreman Grill are a few other quick-fix ideas that work for me.

I have also been making some dinners when I do have time to cook and freezing them in individual servings . Those are quick and easy to pull out and warm up. Here are a couple that freeze well: Cheesy Mostaccioli and Creamy Italian Chicken (sans mushrooms. blech!) I serve the Creamy Italian chicken with rice and freeze the rice in the same container so it's all ready to grab, thaw and reheat.

Read More...

Two great features the United States Postal Service offers are online postage and carrier pickup. Carrier pickup is only available for Priority Mail and Express Mail. I can pack, pay and mail all from home! I just wish I could do this for media mail. :-(

Last year I ran to the Post Office with my package (carrier pickup is not available on Guam). I had already paid it for using online postage. It was right before Christmas, so the line was long. I went to the nearest window that was technically closed, but there was an employee there. I asked, "Where can I drop this box. It already has postage." She took it from me & I walked out the door avoiding that long line!

Read More...

I ran across the "5 Minutes for Mom" site recently and decided I needed to participate in their Tackle it Tuesday. So I'm not a mom, but I can still pick up tips & tricks from others that post there! :-)

My project today was my work area. I work from home and currently my office doubles as the living room. It had been driving me nuts for awhile, so this blog motivated me to clean it up!

For background noise and entertainment, I turned on The Princess Bride and started tackling! (see previous post).

It looks much better now and I feel better too without all that clutter! Here are the before & after photos:

Read More...

I read an article yesterday about a new technology that will eliminate high speed chases. Equipment mounted behind the grille of a police car will allow the officer to target the fleeing vehicle with a laser and launch a small GPS transmitter that sticks to the back vehicle.

The officer pursues long enough to attach the GPS, then backs off and lets the technology do the work of keeping track of the vehicle and follow at a safer speed and distance. When the suspect slows down or stops, the officer then can speed up and move in.

You can read more about this technology on FoxNews or the StarChase website.

Read More...