This is a blog test: May 18, 2009

I am creating this blog just to see if my blog site has been restored. I had some trouble with spam infiltrating it. It seems to be working allright. Technology, isn't it wonderful!

Money & finance: #59: Credit, Money management and saving

I am blogging about the second exercise in the money management and saving lesson. I have tried in the past making a budget plan. I found the process very difficult because the budget I came up with usually never worked. I would like to try again especially in these troubled financial times. I did get some very good ideas from CNN Money. There ideas were to identify how you're spending now, and to evaluate your current spending and set goals that take into account your long-term financial objectives. It also said to track your spending to make sure that you stay within your spending guidelines. You should concentrate on what needs to be cut, beware of luxuries and spending beyond your limits. These are all excellent ideas, and I may try again to make and actually stay within a budget.

Money and Finance: #59: Credit, Money Management, and Saving

I read the article "How credit scores work, " and I took the credit score quiz. I learned that the main type of credit score is called FICO because it originated with Fair Isaac and company. Also, I learned that the credit scores range from 300 to 850. I didn't know that. Also, paying your bills on time is the most important part of gaining a good credit score. Another thing I didn't know was that research shows a correlation between lower credit scores and increased insurance claims. That's why your credit score is important in getting insurance. I will write more later as I get further into the course.

Money & finance #58: banking, budgeting & spending

My bank does offer free online banking, but I am not comfortable with using it. They use such security safeguards as Sitekey where you enter a passcode and sitekey image, and the bank will question your computer entries if they aren't the ones you gave them. I am sure that many people love online banking, and I think it is for the most part, secure. I think I won't ever feel comfortable using it, however, unless I am forced to go to it. I looked at all the budgeting sites, Mint.com; expensr; wesabe; foonance, but I think I would rather manage my budget the old fashioned way by putting it in a log. I'm afraid I'm hopeless. Ripplepay, spenji, and scred would help you track your budget I'm sure if you felt comfortable using these tools. I liked the ideas about saving money like buying store brands instead of name brands. Also, you can shop at Walmart and Home Goods which offer the same merchandise for cheaper prices. Ialso agree with using the burner on your stove which is the right size for your pot, and using your microwave because it saves energy. Overall, this was a very interesing and helpful program.

ihcpl #56: To tweet or not to tweet: twitter

I went to the Internet Explorer website in tweeter. It is the one I was most comfortable with. I explorer "results for our coupon experience." I learned that using the online store only 9.5% of people used the coupon, and that 34% of people that used the coupon were from outside of the U.S. I found that interesting. I also looked at "celebrity tweet." I found people like John McCain, Sarah Palin, Martha Stewart, and various other celebrities on it. I guess that if you wanted to keep up with what they were doing, this would be a good thing. Withe "tweeter in plain English," you could keep up with what friends and family were and find out the little things were doing that you would find interesting. I don't think that I would use the "tweeter" because I am not a blog person, but if you were, it would be a good thing. You could keep up with subjects and people all at the same time. It's a matter of personal tast.

ihcpl #50: Potluck: Global Nation

I planned a trip to New York City for my husband mainly using Tripbase.com. We would be departing on May 8, 2009 and returning on May 14, 2009. Our cost per day for our hotel would be $258.00 and our flight would be $250.00. Our total cost for 6 days per person would be $2074.00. I didn't find any cheaper flights that were much cheaper on Orbiz or view trip finder. We would be seeing the statue of liberty, the United Nations, the World Trade Center, and the Bronx Zoo. We would also try to visit the Museum of the City of New York in Manhattan. If we had time, I would like for us to go on the Niagra Falls Day trip. It takes 14 hours. A few restaurants we could eat at would be Katz's Deli, Carmines or Original Vincents. I did look at Simpatigo and 43.places.com. 43 places.com had more information than Simpatigo. All in all, I think we would have a great trip!

ihcpl #51: HOLIDAYS AND COOKING AND RECIPES: OH MY!

I found a recipe on the "Gourmet" website. It was for Quick Minestrone Soup. The original recipe is 1/4 cup olive oil; 1 small onion, coarsely chopped; 4 garlic cloves, crushed in a garlic press; 4 oz pound prewashed and kale (6 cups); 1 (1-lb) bag frozen mixed Italian vegetables such as zucchini, green beans, cauliflower, and broccoli; 1 (14 1/2 oz) can "petite" diced tomatoes in juice; 1 cup ditalini pasta or small elbow macaroni; 5 1/4 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth (42 fl oz); 2 cups water; 3/4 teaspoon salt; 1/2 teaspoon black pepper; 1 (19-oz can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained; accompaniment: grated parmesan cheese. The original recipe serves 4. I converted the recipe to serve 8 people. The new recipe would call for 1/2 cup olive oil; 2 small onions; 8 garlic cloves; 12 cups of kale; 2 bags of frozen mixed vegetables of my choice; 2 cans of petite diced tomatoes in juice; 2 cups ditalini pasta or elbow macaroni; 10 1/2 cups of reduced-sodium chicken broth (84 fl oz); 4 cups water; 3 teaspoons salt; 1 teaspoon of black pepper and 2 cans cannellini beans. You would increase the accompaniment of grated parmesan cheese. It sounds like a great recipe!

ihcpl: #54:books, readers and beyond: exercise three

I looked up "Jane Eyre" on Goodreads, and the out of 59,617 ratings, 4.17 reviews were average. Then I looked up the book on Shelfari. The reviews there were much more positive. Most of the readers loved the book as an old classic. They said it was wonderful and inspiring and made them happy. I was surprised at the different ratings on the two sites.

IHCPL #54:BOOKS, READERS AND BEYOND: EXERCISE #2

My idea for implementing a book club is to start one through our church library. We could do a study of two books that were on Goodreads: "Catechism of the Catholic Church: second edition," and "Catholic study Bible: new American Bible: No. 4200. This could be a combination of Bible study and a book club, and we could share each other's ideas and broaden our ideas on the Bible and the Catholic religion.

ihcpl #54: Books, readers, and beyond.Exercise #1

I am doing ihcpl #54: books, readers, and beyond. I have never been a member of a book club before. I believe that definitely would prefer to join a book club in person, however. I would enjoy being with a group in person and not online. It would seem more personal, and I would enjoy sharing my ideas about the book much more.

I read "Chasing time: the magic bicycle mystery" for 30 minutes in ebook form. I tried to read "The Bible in 90 days" or "Witness to Hope," but I was unable to check these books out. The part of "Chasing time" that I read was horrible. I really hated this book, and would not recommend it to anyone. I think that I would rather read a book the traditional way. It seems to be more comfortable for me. I believe the only advantage to reading a book online is that you don't have to come into the library. You can check it out online, and it is easy to access. For me, the old fashioned way of reading a book is more fun>

ihcpl: #53: Finding Books Online

I looked for the bookstores closest to our area by using the Houston.com website. I found four stores. They are: Barnes & Noble, B. Dalton Bookstores, Crown Books & Fullness of Truth. They all offer online services. Barnes & Noble, B. Dalton & Crown Books offer books on all subjects. The Fullnes of Truth Bookstore is a Christian bookstore. It offers all types of Christian materials to purchase. They all offer the same type of service. You can order online and have the items shipped. This makes it very convenient for customers who cannot travel to destinations to purchase books.

ihcpl next generation: #52: What to read

I looked up the book "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Bronte on Novelist Plus, Fiction L Booklists, and What whould I read next. The one that I was most pleased with was Novelist Plus. It was the easiest to use and gave the best books that were similar in reading content to "Jane Eyre." Fiction L Booklists and What should I Read Next were harder to use and did not provide as great a range of titles in my opinion.