All Rileyed Up

This weekend, I will be attending a high school production of Guys and Dolls in which my friend’s daughter is performing. She has taken on the role of Miss Adelaide, the little lady with the big voice (and a nasty cold, achoo!). Miss Adelaide (she stays in character, like all good actresses) is a graduating senior and eager to take on the rigors and excitement of college life, where she will focus on the performing arts.

Whenever I meet someone who is about to enter college, I get so excited for them, mainly because the word college remind me of my own college years — and that, my friends, is a fine chunk of memories.

I hope my own children will one day experience college, but of course, am wondering about how they will pay for their college. I do have college savings accounts for them, but I also believe they should earn  scholarships to cover the majority of their college education. I earned a full scholarship that covered tuition and a dorm room for four years when I earned my Bachelors degree, and I think all children should play a hand in their college expenses, whether by earning a scholarship or grant, doing work study, or saving up some of their own money. I much preferred the scholarship route to my Bachelors than the loans I took out for my teaching credential and Masters degree. Fortunately, I received one small scholarship, and was also eligible for the APLE and TEACH Grant programs so my loans aren’t as high as they could have been.

What are APLE and TEACH, you ask? Do a little research to find out (you might just find even more free money)! Websites like ScholarshipsOnline.org offer a database of all sorts of scholarships and grants, and if I’d had more wherewithal and less immediate need to get back into school for my credential, I’d have spent some time researching grants so I had no outstanding loans at this point.

As it is, I can still use the website because when the time comes for me to pursue my doctorate, I’m going to want a financial boost to help cover the spending I will undoubtedly accrue in my research of the causal link between poverty and learning disabilities. Until that time comes, though, I hope all of your current college-bound kids take the time to look up some scholarships. You’d be amazed what’s out there.

Did you ever attend summer camp? Did you ever regret summer camp?

In Robin Hemley nonfiction work, DO-OVER!, he writes “Our whole lives we struggle with our personal sense of failure,” he writes. “To the outside world, our failures are strangers, but to us, they’re our closest intimates, closer than friends, children, spouses, parents; nourished from an early age, they may become so strong that they overcome us.” His personal failures as a child have come to haunt him as a child, and as a 48-year-old, he does something few people dare to do: he requests a do-over. His book is rife with stories of his adult attempts to repeat moments from his childhood that he wish had gone differently. One such moment was summer camp.

Many people, like Hemley, consider the term summer camp synonymous with bad Jell-O concoctions and no friends, but nowadays, you don’t have to feel that way. There are plenty of groups and websites designed to help you pick out the right sleepaway camp, so that you can be exited to go, excited to be there, and disappointed to go home, because it was so darn fun.

Tips on Trips and Camps is one such service provider. They categorize camps by age group and interest and are described by one testimonial as having provided all the right activities at the right price within minutes. Not to shabby, eh? If finding a camp online or over the phone isn’t your favorite way to communicate, no worries, Tips on Trips and Camps also sponsors Camp Fairs in several major cities, including Brussels and Paris. Talk about classy…

As for me, my own son is currently looking into robot-themed camps while my daughter wants to attend something with a crafts focus. Wish me luck!

I am perusing the goods over at Become.com, which is a shopping site where you look for items and the site finds said items all over the Internets and lists them for you in easy price comparison form. They also provide some articles on current trends, curiosities, interests, etc… I feel that based on the information in their 2012 fashion trends, my current look has graduated from slightly outdated to horribly un-trendy. I’m sorry, but I just can’t make giant feather embellishment look good. I also can’t make much of anything else on their trendy fashion pics look good because I am neither tiny nor am I Puck from Midsummer Night’s Dream. Fashion concerns aside, Become has enlightened me to a few other things. For example, I had NO IDEA how many options a buyer had for an outdoor snowman. Props to the light-up collegiate snowman. Nothing says Go ALABAMA like snowmen!

The website does live up to its claim of finding good prices on linen sets, though, so if you’re in need of oversized bedspreads, particularly the oversized king bedspread, you could feasibly score on something. As for me, I liked the Regal Empire Grand Bedspread King. Mind you don’t get carried away reminiscing about your Grandma’s guest bedroom while you’re looking over the bedspreads. Some of them are dead ringers in my nostalgia department.

In addition to home goods and fashion finds, the website also has categories for sale prices, kitchen items, garden and outdoor supplies, and electronics. Finally, a place that doesn’t judge my Highlander obsession.

Become.com. Go. Enjoy. Become.

**This post brought to you by the good people of Become.com**

When I was younger, there was a boy at my church with cerebral palsy. He was very well spoken and nice, and he used a wheelchair. His family drove a huge van in order to transport their son wherever they went. Naturally, I thought of him when I heard about National Mobility Awareness Month.

In just a couple days, May will be here and with its flowers comes National Mobility Awareness Month. National Mobility Awareness Month fosters awareness for people who require special forms of transportation, such as Richard Devylder, a man born with no arms or legs. The first time I watched a video about a day in the life of Richard Devylder, I was astonished and inspired by his amazing spirit and endurance. Not to mention the fact that he goes swimming every single day. He is living proof that anyone can rise above their life situation, and no disability is a true measurement of future success and independence in life.

While Devylder seems to thrive on public transportation, some people who use wheelchairs for mobility prefer the use of handicap accessible vans and
handicap minivans in order to help them get from point A to point B. Companies like Mobility Works provide these types of adaptive vehicles. Their adaptive vehicles, for sale and rental, come with slides, ramps, extra space, swivel seats, even robots. And exactly what do these robots do, you ask? Well, they put and pull the wheelchair in and out of the car as needed. Life in this century is an amazing glimpse into the wonders of technology, isn’t it?

Mobility Works also maintains a blog with relevant news information pieces, and there is currently a contest to draw the Google Doodle for National Mobility Awareness Month, so check it out!

I am currently reading the Frontier Magic series by Patricia C. Wrede, and the third book in the series is called The Far West. When I read the title, my mind automatically thought of other times I’ve heard that phrase or allusions to it, which naturally conjured up images in my head of when I myself made the Big Move.

Growing up in Florida, the thought of moving to California was a pipe dream. When college came along, I thought that would be the opportunity, but I wound up getting sidetracked with a stint in New Orleans – no complaints. I loved living in NOLA, but it was still the south and I had the drive to move West. Call me a frontier American focused on her manifest destiny, but I wanted to see the Pacific ocean and not just over a vacation.

When I graduated college, I finally got my act together and drove across the country to southern California. I did this by myself, without the help of any Los Angeles movers. I had an white ’94 Toyota pick-up, and for my friend for company and between us sat a Styrofoam head that we added pushpins to whenever we stopped at a gas station. Good times.

When I made it to LA (which I called LA but later learned was actually Orange County, which means something if you live there, but to everyone else in the country, it’s still LA), I found a place within walking distance of the beach, and my life continued. Did the whole got a job in the computer industry thing, then I got married, and my husband’s job moved us several times. On one of our moves around So Cal, his company paid for us to use professional movers, such as LA movers, and they even packed up the whole house for us. Of course, when Husband’s job didn’t work out and he quit, we were on our own for the trip back. And since we’d been spoiled with the use of a Los Angeles moving company, we wound up seeking one out and hiring one. A few moves later (professional and non) brought me to where I am now — rural California. I am literally living in the woods. Which means that reading the Frontier Magic series makes me feel right at home. Cheers to moving West!

***This post inspired by LA Movers***

Taxes, taxes, taxes. Tax season is over, but like vampire books and Tom Cruise, it never goes away. How do you do your taxes?

I get my taxes done with my tax accountant who came to me by way of my husband who came to him by way of a referral. We love our tax accountant and can’t imagine working with anyone else. While my father is the kind of person who does taxes on his own, many people I know are like me, and they use tax accountants. Now I don’t remember who said it, nor do I remember exactly how the quote goes, but like a hackneyed rip-off artist, I’m going to misquote — if there are two trustworthy people you want in your life, it’s your accountant and your mechanic.

Personally, I don’t know much about what it takes to be an accountant or what you’re supposed to do to maintain your accountant credentials. I do know that when it comes to teaching, you’re required to take a certain number of classes every so often to stay on top of the latest information. It seems like everything is that way. You can’t just learn something, get licensed for it, and never learn again. Your career is a lifelong educational opportunity. And with our economy the way it is, it doesn’t surprise me that accounting and tax filing info could change from time to time, which is why schools like Fast Forward Academy exist: to provide enrolled agent continuing education. Fast Forward offers pass guarantees to help ea continuing education students stay on top of the latest guidelines from the IRS. This in turns helps people like me (ie, the customer).

So, there you have it. Fast Forward Academy. Tell your money-managing friend about it. And then ask for a hat tip fee.

**This post brought to you by the fast forward thinkers at Fast Forward Academy.**

Harry Potter. Love Actually. Shanghai Knights. The Queen. What do movies things have in common besides my stream of consciousness? Well, they all take place in London. Have you ever wanted to visit London? Whether you’ve always been interested, or the Olympics 2012 has finally caught your eye, London is a fabulous place to check out.

If I were to visit London, I would want to go to the museum to see the exhibits they have on Egyptian artifacts. My parents went there a few years ago and had seen some amazing displays of mummies and tomb findings.

I would also, of course, visit the infamous Abbey Road and take a picture. And I assume there’s a Penny Lane sign somewhere… Next, I would visit Oxford and find out if they sell fake diplomas. I highly doubt it, as that sounds like some sort of American shenanigan.

A very good friend of my mother’s lived in London. I called her my aunt even though she wasn’t actually my aunt. You know those kinds of close family friends. Anyway, she always had an open invitation for me to visit her London, but regrettably her health got the better of her two years ago and I never got the chance to see her or London through her eyes.

Of course, there are many ways to handle travel arrangements and one is to look out for people who have lived there like my aunt, who are willing to show you around. Robert and Polly Arnold are just those people. Check out their London Apartments, and again at London Apartments.

Whether your plans are of a business or pleasure nature, Polly and Robert can you show you a London that’s been a part of their lives for 22 years. I trust they’ll know where that Penny Lane sign is I’m looking for!

This post courtesy of London Apartments. Shocking!

Tax season is over! Doesn’t it feel nice to have gotten all of that business out of the way? Assuming you did your taxes… or perhaps you’re one of those people who still haven’t done their taxes. So what are the reasons people don’t do their taxes? Don’t have money or want to conscientiously object? Here are five excuses I came up with, and am presenting to you courtesy of militaryvaloan.com, who offer veteran loan rates:

5) I DID file my taxes, but they were lost in the system. Honestly!

This is a good excuse because there is a small possibility it could be true! After all, think of how many forms and submissions the IRS receives? Surely, there’s room for a mistake here and there.

4) I had my direct deposit account with Wells Fargo all set up and ready to go, but then I found out I was going to owe money and decided I’d rather just not file.

Happens to the best of us.

3) I spent more time trying to figure out how to install Turbo Tax.

This excuse written in honor of everyone who did their taxes so well on paper only to learn the skill didn’t transfer well to the computer they never knew how to use in the first place.

2) I was over-exuberant when hitting on my tax accountant and was ultimately asked to leave the office. I left my tax forms there and was too embarrassed to go back…

Typical.

1) The dog ate my W2.

This choice is obvious. It works on so many levels.

If there is one thing I’m fond of, it’s my college experience. Moving away from home. Drinking lots and lots of coffee. Learning the ins and outs of roommates and their, ahem, unusual behavior quirks. How to turn your whole load of laundry pink. And the papers, oh the papers. I spent countless hours in libraries and computer rooms, typing and saving and typing and saving. The good old days of 3.5” floppy disks.

College is something everyone has an opinion about, but not everyone has the money for it. That’s where the popularity of college savings accounts come in. One of the first things I did for my kids was open college savings accounts for them. I had a monthly deduction that supported their future dreams to be an engineer or an artist (plenty of time to decide once you’re there kids…). Unfortunately, with everyone going on lately in the world of jobs and having one, my family has cut back on certain expenses. As much as I hated to do it, I put a stop to the monthly deductions.

As it turns out, I am not alone, and there are so many people in my situation that there are now groups who will help you save for college by saving the money you are already spending on other things. If you have aspirations to help your child go to college, but don’t have spare case for a savings account, you might check out a website like Mission Tuition, which as the name suggests, is on a mission to help you out with tuition.

The website is pretty self-explanatory – you open an account with them, register your card information and start shopping! The website also has special rebates through the companies that affiliate with them so you can earn extra money towards your account.

So now, when you’re like me and a leak soaked through the drywall and there’s interesting-looking mold growing in the bathroom, you can buy drywall at Home Depot and know at least some of the that money will be cycled back into a college savings account. Ain’t life grand?

This post brought to you by the good people at Mission Tuition, not to be confused with Mission Tortillas. Which are tasty.

Mom Central had an opportunity to do some salsa sampling, and what else could I say besides, “Olé!”

Husband and I sampled three large bottles of the Mild Salsa Mexicana, Medium Salsa Verde and Hot Salsa Taquera. After sampling the salsas, Husband said to me, “Have you written your review of the salsa yet? Because it should just say, ‘Yes.’” If you knew Husband, you would know what a serious compliment this is. Much like our Italian friend who adamantly opposes jarred spaghetti sauce, Husband rejects jarred salsa. But not this one. Oh no. Rosarita was very very kind to him. In fact, I’m a little jealous of her now.

The Mild Salsa Mexicana can basically be used in everything, and I do mean everything. We ate most of it with chips because we’re the kind of people who like a glass of salsa with a dash of chip on top. I did have a little bit left over that I added to a batch of black beans I was cooking.

The Hot Salsa Taquera I cooked into a quinoa dish that could also be done with rice: cook 1 cup quinoa or rice, add a cup and a half of cooked black beans, a cup of whole kernel corn, and this bottle of salsa and you have yourself a feast fit for a salsa-eating kung fu fighting master (I’m not actually sure what that means but I thought it sounded good, because, you know, it takes a lot of energy to do kung fu).

FYI, Rosarita salsa is available at Walmart, because everything is available at Walmart, as well as select grocery stores. You can always visit their website for additional information.

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I wrote this review while participating in a blog campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Rosarita and received a *sweet* set of samples to facilitate my candid review. Mom Central sent me a gift card to thank me for taking the time to participate.