It’s My Imagination

Collecting Fine Art

August 7, 2008 on 8:52 pm | In Entertainment, My Imagination | Comments Off

One of the things my husband and I have done since we went on our honeymoon has been to collect artwork for the locations we’ve visited. We started with a few pieces we picked up in Hawaii and have collect a number of pieces along the way. We enjoy finding works done by local artists and have collected items in many different mediums.

If you enjoy fine art work, check out Tomasz Rut and Park West Gallery located in Southfield, Michigan. Park West Gallery is home to the largest collection of fine art in the world and conducts fine art auctions all over the United States and Canada.

We certainly enjoy our art collection and all of the personal memories that come with it. Each and every piece we’ve collected over the past 21 years have such special meaning to us, we treasure them all.

Photos From Our Road Trip – Shreveport

August 7, 2008 on 7:41 pm | In travel | Comments Off

Tonight, I finally got around to downloading the remaining photos from our road trip last month. I’ve been wanting to share some with you and I can finally do that. Unfortunately, I sorted them in not necessarily the most organized folders, so I need to go back and do some re-organizing.

This particular photo is from our last day on the road as we were driving through Shreveport, Louisiana. This is a rather large Horseshoe Casino, my brother-in-law would be thrilled! It really did stand out against an otherwise boring backdrop.

Buy or Lease Your Next Auto Purchase

August 7, 2008 on 3:54 pm | In Finance | Comments Off

With the economy the way it is, car companies are suffering financially. Besides have to refit their manufacturing plants to build smaller cars instead of big SUVs, the financial divisions of the major auto companies are also busy refitting their financial offerings.

Recent news has reported that most of the auto finance companies will no longer be offering personal leasing options. Leases are based on knowing (or making a good estimate) of the residual value of the vehicle at the end of the lease. Knowing the residual value in today’s economy has become more and more difficult and finance companies are no longer willing to take the risk.

Many individuals leased vehicles because it allowed them to get into a possibly more expensive car while still having a manageable monthly payment. With auto leasing no longer being so easy to come by, it is good to have an option such as online car loans such as that through up2drive. Upd2drive has no hidden costs, no application fees and its customer service is award winning. They handle loans for all makes and models of vehicles.

Whatever your auto financial needs, look for an auto loan specialist.

Federal Health Savings Accounts

August 7, 2008 on 11:01 am | In Family Health | Comments Off

I was submitting our reimbursement information the other day for our Health Savings Account (HSA) and I began looking through the list of all the items that are eligible to be paid from pre-tax money.  There were a few that I didn’t know about, but the one that really caught my eye was sunscreen.  If you purchase sunscreen with an SPF of 30 or higher, it is eligible to be claimed as an expense on an HSA.

We set up our HSA as a means of paying for our daughter’s orthodontic treatment with pre-tax money.  I’m also using it for co-payments to doctors and for some vision expenses.  Now I find out I could have used it for all the sunscreen I bought!  Too bad I no longer have the receipt, that’ll teach me!

Educational Student Travel

August 7, 2008 on 9:54 am | In Some of This Some of That | Comments Off

My daughter is getting so excited about the new school year. A large part of that is because she is leaving elementary school behind and starting 7th grade at the junior high. This will open a whole new world with more freedoms and more activities. We’ve spent some time together reviewing the school’s website to learn more about the special things that might take place.

One thing that popped out at me was with the band. It looks like every other year they take a trip to either Florida or California. I think either would be so amazing.

I certainly don’t envy the person in charge of the school’s student group travel program. I wonder if they use Hemisphere Educational Travel, they offer affordable student travel packages. Because their employees are former educators, they understand the need for organization when it comes to educational student travel tours.

I think the next 6 years of my daughter’s education have a lot of potential!

She’s Having a Contest!

August 7, 2008 on 7:21 am | In Some of This Some of That | Comments Off

Isn’t this the cutest piggy bank you’ve ever seen?! Well, the creator of this super cute little watermelon of a pig is having a contest on her site, After the Dust Settles and this little guy is the prize!It’s super simple to enter her contest, just head on over and leave her a comment. Better yet, to earn an additional entry, leave her a comment AND write about her contest on your site, linking back to her contest. While you’re there, check out some of her other works of art. She makes the cutest piggy banks I’ve ever seen, but she also has several other ceramic items that she makes.