The weekend is here...

Ahhh, the weekend! It's a cold 19 degrees out and already early afternoon. It's not supposed to get much warmer. Winter has officially arrived! It was spitting snow earlier and it was beautiful.

I rearranged the living room furniture last night. We have cable and it comes from the floor to the TV. That makes us have to keep the TV in one spot. It makes it real hard to actually move anything around as the TV is always the focal point. I would move the furniture around and my husband would come in and say nope or I don't think so. I admit it did look ridiculous at times. Of course, my son absolutely loved it. Move a couch away from the wall and it automatically becomes a climbing wall so you can dive to the other side and get away from the enemy before they get you. It was fun watching him. I did move some things around and put one of the end tables against a wall with a lamp on it. My hubby hates it :) He told me I should just put it in the middle of the room as a centerpiece. I think I will leave the sofa where I moved it and just take the table and lamp to the basement for now.

If I could move the TV without having to drill holes all over the living room to move the cable it would be so much easier. I am sitting here with a laptop and am completely mobile anywhere I want to go in and around the house. Why can't the cable companies do the same thing? Those cable boxes are high tech enough. You should be able to be wireless for the TVs you use it on. Anyone up for the challenge? Remember, you heard it here first and I want a cut of the profits :)

The kiddos got money for Christmas and I am going to take them to the mall tomorrow to spend their loot. They are excited. It's kinda turned into a tradition with us as they get money every year. I enjoy spending the time with them. Girls day out :) We do it a few times a year and I'd love to add a few more...even if it is just going to eat and get an outfit. I enjoy the time with them.

We have a half-gallon mason jar that we put change in at the end of the day. Once it gets full we roll the coins and take a "mini vacation". It usually consists of spending a night (sometimes two) at a hotel with a swimming pool and doing a few things. It really is more of a get away from all the stress type of trip and the kiddos love to swim. The jar gets full about 3 times a year and there is always several hundred dollars in it. You wouldn't believe how much change one can accumulate. That's a financial tip I thought I would share. You could use it as an emergency fund or bills or whatever. Another one I learned was when you are balancing you checkbook and you write a check for say $50.01 write it down as $51.00in your bank book. You will see your cushion grow in the bank every month. I write a lot of checks (all my pay is direct deposited in the bank and we use absolutely NO plastic, debit or credit) so my cushion grows faster than most. It helps in case you forget to write a check down or need new breaks for your car or when vehicle taxes come due or send to a charity. You could also cash a check for the cushion every few months to put in a savings account or if you're brave enough the stock market. Anyway, just a little something I learned in college and thought I would pass on. Hopefully that will be a trick someone can use that will be beneficial.

Anyone have any other tips, please share :) I'm all about making life easier. Soon I will be going room by room in the house and getting rid of things I haven't used in forever or just don't need. Time to declutter!!

Grab yourself a cup of coffee, your favorite pjs, curl up on the couch and lets make the world a better place to live...one blog at a time.