Archive for February, 2013

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Movie Review: The King’s Speech


11 Feb

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I had a speech impediment as a child. Throughout first grade, I met with a speech therapist weekly to help me get rid of my lisp. It was very much about muscle training. Even now, if I am very tired, or on the rare occasions I have too much to drink, my lisp will return.

This is the personal background I brought to watching The King’s Speech. I not only enjoyed the movie very much (I do love Colin Firth), but I also found the scenes of actual speech therapy feeling very familiar, despite the differences between lisps and stutters.

Blog Feature: My Brown Newfies


09 Feb

Posted in blogging, Dogs, Pets, Writing | Comments Off

I don’t know how anyone could not love Newfoundlands. They are giant, sweet, gentle, loving slobber machines, and I’ve never met a single one I would not leave alone with a toddler (if I could trust the toddler). But just loving the dogs doesn’t mean I have to love the blog.

But I do love this blog. I love the honesty, the pictures, and willingness to share even the hard things about being a pet parent.

This week, I’m highlighting her post on show dogs. I have some issues with the AKC, but I still love a good dog show.

Your Money Friday: Currency Isn’t Always Money


08 Feb

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Do you remember the episode of Malcolm in the Middle where Reese discovered cooking, and his parents discovered they finally had something meaningful they could take away from Reese as a punishment?

Everyone has a personal currency. It turned out that Reese’s was cooking. For kids, it can sometimes be hard to figure out what it is they value. It might be TV time or video games, it might be a favorite doll, or it might be, as one of the posters discovered, the good opinion of another adult. Finding a child’s currency can be the key to good behavior.

Sudanese Pyramids


07 Feb

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Have you always dreamed of visiting the Pyramids? Of making it to both Egypt and the Mayan peninsula? If so, there’s one more destination to add to your list- the Sudan. That’s right, the Sudan, where a cluster of 35 pyramids has been found.

None of these pyramids still have their tops, and they certainly aren’t anywhere near the size of the more famous versions, ranging from 22 feet wide to the smallest at 30 inches wide. But the necropolis they form is quite impressive, with 13 pyramids packed into an area just a little bigger than a basketball court.

Tax Frustration


06 Feb

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Last night, I gathered all of our paperwork, including a year’s worth of receipts, and sat down to do our taxes. It was a long and complicated process due to inheriting a rental property, earning royalties on my book- all the things that add one more form.

We buy TurboTax to walk us through the process. It took a while, but we got it all done and were ready to push the button to e-file. Except that we can’t- not for a few more weeks. The IRS doesn’t have all their paperwork together yet, including paperwork needed for our return.

2013 SuperBowl


04 Feb

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We hosted a Dim Sum SuperBowl party yesterday. The food and the company were excellent. Sadly, our entire house was rooting for the San Francisco 49ers, or at least for Colin Kaepernick. Which means that the first half had us cringing, the opening play of the second half had our heads hanging in despair, and that we laughed like school children when the announcers said the Ravens players were confused by the lights going out.

After the power outage, the 49ers played much more like themselves, but it wasn’t enough to overcome.

Congratulations to the Baltimore Ravens, 2013 SuperBowl Champions.

Blog Feature: Brave New Life


02 Feb

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Brave New Life was one of the first financial blogs I started reading. He’s on a pretty intense journey to early retirement in order to have more time to spend with his wife and kids. They’ve downsized their home and their lives in order to make this happen. But he’s also started looking for ways to earn money without going to work.

One of those is investing. I’m trying to learn about investing myself, so I’m a huge fan of his Investing Q&A post where he answers questions from his readers about investing. Maybe I should have sent one in.

Your Money Friday: What Can’t Your Money Do For You


01 Feb

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Posted in Budgeting, Debt Reduction, Finances, Marriage, Relationships | Comments Off

Let’s talk about what online money message boards can do for you and what they cannot.

Your Money is really great at helping you figure out a budget or understanding the differences between a traditional IRA and a Roth. As a group, we have a lot of random knowledge.

What we cannot help with is legal situations. Yes, some posters are lawyers, but state laws vary and every case is different. We can give you emotional support during a divorce, and ideas you can follow up on with your lawyer, but we can never be a substitute for that lawyer.

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