High School Reunion

Thanks for the post from Barney Crosby

I am a geek, and proud of it. I have always been the type of person that enjoys school and learning, and I have never been embarrassed about it. Kids in school used to tease me when I was young, but it never bothered me. I never felt the need to be cool, and I knew that one day I would find my place. My mom always told me that the cool kids in school would end up being losers, and she was right. I went back for my ten year high school reunion last week, and the most popular kids hadn’t done anything with their lives. I have a great job working for Clear Internet, so I was proud to tell everyone what I was up to. I think that some of the people were shocked to see that I turned out pretty normal. It was good to see some of my old friends, but for the most part I could have done without the reunion. I thought it would be more fun than it was seeing everyone.

TV Addiction

Guest post of the week by Nestor Nielsen

Ever since I got my Directv connected through expertsatellite, I have been addicted to the National Geographic Channel. I know it’s dorky, but some of their shows are so interesting! Today I got sucked into a marathon about mafias in different cities. I initially got sucked in watching one about Miami, since that is where I’m from originally. I had no idea things were so bad there in the 1980’s. I was a little kid then, so I guess I was too young to realize that the drug trade was so robust and violent. It was pretty cool seeing how much drug money affected life in South Florida, and how much control the cartels had. After that was over, another show came on about the mob in Philadelphia. Then two more shows about gangsters in New York’s Chinatown, and then Russian mobsters in Brooklyn. After that I knew I had to do something to get off of the couch. It was really hard, but I managed to pull myself away and go for a run with my dog. If it wasn’t for him I probably would have sat there for another few hours!

Parapro

Guest post of the week by Deangelo Spencer

I finally graduated from college in May of this year. I took the teaching certification tests and am now a certified teacher. I have applied for teaching jobs in 15 different counties, but have only had two interviews, in which someone else was hired. I did have one job offer as a parapro in an elementary school, so I decided to take it. The pay for a parapro is far below that of a teacher. I found a roommate that is in a similar situation and we rented a small two bedroom apartment. Money is going to be really tight for us for a while, especially since I will not get my first paycheck until my second month of teaching. We decided to search TexasElectricityProviders online and found that we could save money on our power bill using fixed-rate energy, so that is one thing that we don’t have to worry about. My brother helped me to create a strict budgeting plan that includes working a second job for at least six hours a week, so I need to find a job waiting tables at night. Things may be pretty tight for a while until I can find a job as a teacher.

Finally...

Post contributed by Noah Schmidt

Comparing dish vscable has been a full time job for me lately and it’s because I want to get this TV thing right. Watching BRAVO is the closest thing to a hobby I have since I work so much and I want to ensure I’ve got all the channels I need as well as DVR so I’ll never miss an episode of Housewives or Millionaire Matchmaker. My boss is running me ragged lately with all the new clients but you know, there’s something to be said for putting in your dues young so you won’t have to worry about doing it once you’re older. I don’t have time to get out and meet people the way things are so me and Andy Kohen are going to just have a TV relationship at home – that’s good enough for me! One day I’ll want to get in a relationship and have kids and all that but for now I’m going to keep working my butt off in hopes of that promotion I hear rumors of.

Crazy Talk

This guest post from Lenny Mcknight

I know it sounds crazy but I’ve developed a whole business around gift wrapping. I live in a really affluent community and there are lots of people here who give gifts for just about every occasion and they like for those gifts to be incredibly fancy when they give them. That’s why I’ve opened a website up that sells my wrapping services for a fee – I’ll even go to the store and pick up their gifts for them! Anyway, it took more effort than you’d think to get this up and running – I had to look into small business xo for all the technology and hire a graphic designer for the site and generally just do a lot of background. But at the end of the day I wanted to be sure I was getting it right – it had to be professional and aesthetically pleasing or it wasn’t going to attract the kind of customers I wanted it to, you know? I just hope this continues and business is just as good for years to come!

Community is My Favorite!

Thanks for the post from Stan Atkins

Community' is hands-down my favorite television sitcom. I watch it every week on my Chevy Chase, and the character is perfect for that funny actor. I've watched Chevy Chase since he was originally on 'Saturday Night Live', and he's just gotten funnier over the years.

The women on the show are also funny as well as intelligent, and they seem to be women I'd enjoy being friends with. These characters might not have much in common with each other, but they have become true friends over their time together in their Spanish class and study group. It's a really fun show to watch.

Teen Mom Is My Guilty Pleasure

Posted by Heriberto Fuentes

I'm shamefully addicted to the hit reality drama, "Teen Mom." I watch the show on my awesome cable from www.direc4u.com and I cannot stop watching, no matter how hard I try. "Teen Mom" airs on MTV and centers around the lives of four teenage mothers. It is a spinoff of the network's hit "16 and Pregnant." There is my favorite couple, Caitlyn and longtime boyfriend Tyler, who gave their baby, Carly, up for adoption. They struggle with their decision but they genuinely love one another. Then there is Amber; she and sometime-boyfriend Gary have a daughter, Leah. They are a violent, toxic combination and have no business even being around one another. Amber is actually facing assault charges after attacking Gary in a common fit of rage. Another character is Maci. She and her ex-boyfriend Ryan share joint custody of their son, Bentley. Ryan just kind of "checked out" after the baby was born. She is struggling with being a single parent but she is a wonderful mother with a heart of gold. Finally, Farrah is raising her daughter, Sophia on her own. The child's father was killed in a car accident and Farrah has a restraining order against her mother after a fight the two had. She tries to do the right thing and I hope she finds the right person to share her life with.

Now I Know What Not To Wear

Contribution by Odis Chan

I am a television fanatic. I love to watch television, and any time that I can find a show geared toward fashion, you can bet that my TVbyDirect is tuned in. I have recently found a great new fashion show that is fantastic and now a can't miss in my house. The show is called What Not To Wear, and it is, without a doubt, the best show that has came on in a long time.

I watch What Not To Wear on my satellite television each week. The show takes fashion-challenged people and puts them to the ultimate test of finding self-esteem and confidence, in part to what they have on. The show is awesome. Some of the people come on the show wearing some pretty radical things, and they have no clue. I love the transformations of these people at the end of the show. It is so amazing!

Lisa Butcher and Mica Paris host the show. They have such an incredible sense of style, they are perfect to host the show. The pair keep the show fun and exciting, and always make me laugh! If you haven't seen it, you are missing out! You will love it, too!

The Family Tradition

Author: Joseph Sandoval

One of my favorite hobbies is definitely knitting. I've been knitting since I was about about five years old and I've gotten progressively better as the years pass. I knit just about anything, from hats and scarves to booties and socks. I recently tried knitting a sweater but I wasn't happy with the way it came out. I guess I'm not a knitted sweater type of girl. I use an assortment of different yarns to create my crafts. One of my favorite yarns to work with is that fuzzy type that really gives off a modern and retro appeal. Once in awhile, I'll even knit things for my family members.

It's actually become a tradition in my family to get together during the holiday season and sit and watch BestChoiceTV while knitting. My mother, grandmother, and I all gather around the living room and just begin knitting our hearts out. My grandmother is fantastic at the hobby. She has been doing it for over sixty years and you can really tell that she's good at it because of the crafts she comes up with. If you want something knitted, she can knit it. It doesn't matter what it is. Maybe someday in the future I can be just as good as her or maybe even better. It's amazing how relaxing knitting can really be.

The Simple Joys of Knitting

 Guest written by our friend Mason Abbott

When I was a younger girl, I used to sit on the sofa watching television and was amazed to see my grandma sitting beside me for hours knitting. She would knit stocking caps, socks, and adorable baby blankets for friends or relatives that were having newborn babies. I watched in amazement because I always noticed that as meticulous as my grandmother was with her knitting, she would be rocking and humming happily as she was knitting. She told me this was her peaceful time, a time that she just enjoyed relaxing and doing something fun for her and from that point on, I wanted to learn how to knit!

I sat down when I was 10 years old and began learning from my grandmother how to knit. I always enjoyed her taking me to the store and picking out my favorite colors from the large selection before me and I would dream of my finished product before I even started! My first project was a knitted stocking cap for my cousin's baby girl and I will never forget the soft pink yarn that I selected.

It didn't take very long before I was doing the same as my grandma was, sitting for hours and hours knitting anxiously watching my projects get closer to completion and anticipating what it would look like when I was done.

Little by little I grew to love my knitting projects just like my grandmother did. I can sit for hours rocking and totally enjoy watching satellite TV from www.cannonsatellite.com/ while knitting away at blankets, sweaters, and all sorts of projects for people I enjoy knitting for. I can now knit without even looking down at my project too often, catching a nice show or movie and moving right along as knitting has become an art for me.

Easy DIY Quilt For My Daughter

Guest post written by Tina Carlson

I love making things for my family and I think that they like the stuff I make them. It's not like I knit them embarrassing sweaters every year for Christmas or anything, but I really think about what they could use like a new pair of gloves or a scarf to match a new winter coat.

Right now my daughter just finished up her first semester of college and it's so nice to have her back at home for the holidays. I thought that I could make something really nice for her to take back with her to use at school. While I was online I came across a site with some internet packages on it and after I looked through them, I decided to sign up for one of them.

I decided to make her a easy DIY quilt that she could put on her bed in her dorm room and have as an extra layer of warmth in that drafty old dorm. I think that she'll like it, especially because I made it to match her bed's comforter.

Shopping On Black Friday Is The Best

Guest post written by Rolf Tate

It's the first day of the Christmas shopping season. Stores put everything on sale at phenomenal prices. Okay, the traffic is snarled and the people are militant, but there's a reason for that. Women drive the economy; it's a statistical fact. It's women who shop on Black Friday and women who buy most of the Christmas decorations and presents. So you crawl through the crowds with your purchases clutched to your chest and actually make it to the checkout.

But I got the deal of the century on a new coffeepot. I was in Kohl's and saw a black twelve cup Mr. Coffee coffeepot for twenty dollars. The sale price knocked it down to fifteen. At the register, unbeknownst to me, was yet another discount and so I got a great coffeepot for eight dollars! I put the coffeepot in the car and went back in to get a gift for my three year old granddaughter.

I happened across a set of blocks with letters and numbers to help my daughter teach her to count and teach her the alphabet. The set was ten dollars but with the discount at the register, I got the set of blocks for four dollars! I just love Kohl's!

As I watched satellite TV that I got after seeing this Directtv comparison, I was very thankful to be home with few bruises.

DIY iPad Case

Guest post written by Sam Rodriguez

I kind of wanted an ipad for a while, but I broke down about a month ago and finally bought one for myself. I actually have gotten quite a bit of use out of it, so I'm satisfied that I'll eventually get the money's worth out of it, which is the reason that I put it off for so long.

But I still haven't bought an ipad case for it yet. I thought that could wait. I wanted to shop around for that anyway. When I was shopping around for one online one night, I actually found some information about Clearwire wireless internet systems and decided to change over my home internet access to that provider.

I found all kinds of great cases that looked like I could actually recreate myself, so I decided to just pull of an DIY ipad case. I mean, I didn't think that would be too hard to make. Now this way I could even personalize my case with my name and make it exactly how I want it.

DIY Ribbon Bulletin Board

Guest post written by Stacy Carlson

I'm so bad about forgetting to hold onto business cards or pictures or other little random things that people give me. I end up throwing a lot of them away or losing them under my couch, which can really cause problems when I try to find them later. But here lately, I've been trying to be a little more organized. I've bought a few different organizational things and everything. However, I still hadn't found anything that would be perfect to use to store all of that stuff while leaving it out for me to see and remind myself of what I do have.

I went online to try and find an organizational solution for that and actually came across some info about York Wireless internet deals and decided to order one of them to change over my internet access.

After a whole lot of searching, I decided that a ribbon bulletin board was exactly what I was thinking. I could easily make it and just stick cards or whatever I needed to hold onto it with the ribbons so that they wouldn't get ruined.

Quilted Christmas

Guest post written by Amelia Palmer

I've always love to quilt. My grandmother was always quilting when I was little and my mom always hated quilting I think because her mother was so gung ho about it. But over the years, I got better and better at quilting and have kept on doing it throughout my adult life. I sent my kids off to college with quilts that I made for them and on other occasions. It makes me feel like I'm there with them and I think that they kind of feel the same way too.

After all the quilts that I've made over the years, it never occurred to me to make a quilted Christmas tree skirt and then I got the idea a few weeks ago. So I went online to get a pattern for it. While I was doing that I saw an internet offer and after looking at it, decided to get clear wireless internet for our house.

I'm actually going to make a quilted tree skirt for me and then one for both of my kids to give them as kind of family gifts for Christmas. I'm so excited about them!

Pretty Holiday Packaging

Guest post written by Ruth Wright

Gone are the days when my little girls insist on me wrapping all of their Christmas presents in tacky brightly colored wrapping paper covered in their favorite cartoons characters. I'm pretty grateful for that because I'm so sick of buying that stuff because it's more expensive and doesn't look all that nice with all my other Christmas decor.

This year I thought that I would come up with some more unique gift wrappings for the holidays, so I started looking for some ideas online when I came across some deals for an internet company and decided to CLICK and go ahead and sign up for one of them.

Even though it only lasts for a while, I think that holiday gift packaging is one of the best ways to get creative during the holidays. I love to flex my creativity and am thinking about putting all those scraps of ribbon that I have in my craft room to use on some bows for presents and then reuse them again for next year.

Catching Up With Old Friends

Guest post written by Heather Maness

My friend Melissa and I try to get together at least once every few weeks, if not just for a quick bite to eat to catch up. It's been nearly three years since we graduated from Penn State together and we've really tried our hardest to make sure life in the real world didn't stand the way of our friendship, so that's why we keep up the regular visits as much as we can. I actually went over to her place last night for a dinner-and-a-movie combo, which was a blast.

We made this great fettuccine alfredo meal - homemade alfredo and all - plus our favorite cheesy garlic bread from the grocery store. Making it all was so much fun! She also got to show off her new sears granite countertops, which she of course was excited to do. I'm actually thinking about having some installed in my place now, after working with hers for so long. Anyway, then we sat down and finally watched Dear John together - which we'd wanted to see in theaters but just never found the time. Every time I leave one of our hangouts I can't help but smile. It's great knowing I'll always have someone to kick back with, college-style.

Our New Abode

Guest post written by Edin Cransworth

Now that my husband and I are retired, we have more time to do exactly what we want. In fact, we're doing so much of what we want these days that a few months ago we made a somewhat impromptu move to Clearwater Beach in Florida. It wasn't that much of a trek from our old home in Georgia, but we've talked about retiring down here ever since we first got married so it's great that we're finally seeing that happen. We got our own little condo by the ocean life really couldn't be any better right now! My brother, who lives in New Jersey, has been telling me how cold it is up there too which I respond by telling him that we're still swimming and fishing down in the Sunshine State!


Our first project in the new digs is to re-do our kitchen. We like what's there now, but we really want to give it a little bit of flare. We're going to look into the sears kitchen counters Florida to see what kinds of options we have first and then base the redesign around that. Can't wait to see how it comes out!

Some Realistic Quotes About Life

Guest post written by Laura Peterson

You'll never see one of those posters with the cat hanging on a branch that says Hang In There in my place or in my office either. I'm not much for inspirational quotes, especially when they're paired with cute pictures of small animals. Even in college when my roommate tried to talk me into splitting the cost of one of those posters with people playing beer pong on it with a definition of Teamwork underneath, I told her I wasn't interested.

But when I was just browsing the internet last week I found some quotes that are actually worth writing down by Kurt Vonnegut. Right after I saw those I found the site clearwirelessinternetservice.com and decided to change over my internet company to it because I'd been passively looking for a new one anyway.

I even wrote down one of those Vonnegut quotes down on a post it note and put it up on my computer monitor at work. It might be a little cheesy, but that quote isn't cheesy, just putting it up at my desk.

Real Housewives DC

Guest post written by Amanda Toone

When I think about all the glamorous places to live, I don't really think about Washington DC but I guess with that being the seat of our government and all, there are lots of parties and charity events and goings on all the time there. Plus, a lot of really big politicians and famous people to rub elbows with on different occasions. So, I guess that filming a Real Housewives season there did make sense, after all.

I kept up with the whole season and watched all kinds of extra and deleted scenes from the show. When I was doing that and rewatching some stuff the other day online, I saw the site www.getclearwirelessinternet.com/4g-broadband/connecticut/new-haven.html and after reading through it decided to change over our internet service to it.

But even though I really ended up liking the show in the end, out of all the Real Housewives, I just couldn't stand Michaele. It wasn't just because she and her husband crashed the White House either. She was just one of my least favorites.