I haven’t been to South Carolina to see my family in almost two years and luckily this time around, I have a job that provides me with paid vacation time. My one year is coming up at my job in August and I have to use the hours I have before my year rolls over or I lose them! I decided to take off June 29th – July 12th to not only celebrate my four year anniversary with Alan on the 29th of June, but to also ride or fly home to see my family. I told my grandma that she might have to help me pay for the gas if I have to drive since prices are so high and I also told her we had to go to Gilligans Seafood restaurant because I can’t get good seafood around here. It would also be nice if we could get an Outer Banks vacation rentals – normally, my family does rent a beach house but I don’t think they’ll have one rented during my time there. I’m very excited!

One thing that I never got into when I was younger or as I’ve gotten old is smoking, whether it be illegal drugs such as pot or legal drugs like cigarettes. I’m not sure how I managed to not get sucked into the hype of smoking as my dad smokes, my step-mom smokes and my brother smokes. I am quite glad that I haven’t picked up the nasty habit – I don’t have to look up backwoods cigars prices – because it terrible for your health and the price of cigarettes is ridiculous! Do you smoke, if you do how/why did you start?

One of the benefits of having a full time job with a company that provides is insurance is well…the fact that they provide insurance! Until I started my current job back in August of 2010, I had been without insurance – health insurance, dental insurance, vision insurance, disability insurance - you name it, they have it and I can get it. I am grateful to have insurance again considering I grew up having it through the military. It makes going to the doctor a lot more affordable and if needed getting medication doesn’t cost much like it did without insurance. Do you think you could live with out it?

So I understand that Mother’s Day is coming up soon but shortly afterwards, we all have to start thinking about Father’s Day. Normally, I don’t do anything for either day except maybe get my mom a card and some flowers. On Father’s Day, I usually don’t even call my dad because of the relationship we have; sometimes, I wish it were different so I could splurge and get him some new riding boots for his motorcycle or make it seem like I care. What will you get for your parents?

A few years ago, I heard about the birth control patch. It seemed like a different, unique idea to provide medicine to those who choose not to take a pill or get a shot. Now it seems like there is a patch for everything - testosterone patches, nicotine patches – who knows, maybe they will come out with a patch that suppress your appetite or makes you lose weight while wearing it. Patches are handy for those who want an alternative way to take a medication but I have a heard time believing that they actually work. What do you think?

If there is one thing most of us can agree on, it is the economy in its current state SUCKS. I mean, I have never seen so many people losing jobs, without jobs and unable to find new jobs. For instance, my mom quit the job she had for over seven years around September/October of last year; you’re probably thinking why the heck would she do something like that! Well, when the boss of the company is basically stealing peoples money and putting it towards his own projects, you don’t want to be associated with those kinds of things so she quit and now she’s been stuck for the last seven months trying to find a new job. Unfortunately, she is limited to what she can apply too because of the experience she has (property management) but doesn’t have a degree. She can’t apply to tech jobs where she might know exactly what to do in an office because she doesn’t have the degree to go with it. She can’t seem to secure property management jobs in the area because they would rather hire inexperienced college students as cheap labor. Hopefully, the lead she got on a job today will come through and be the saving grace she needs. I am keeping my fingers crossed but it’s hard to stay positive when the world around us sucks so bad.

One of the things I paid off when I got my tax return was my credit card that I used to buy my modern furniture set. It’s nice to have it paid off and be completely mine but I have come to realize that not everyone likes my tastes. My furniture it a light brown/tan color that is microsuede with a fake dark brown leather trim on the arms. I bought the whole set which included a sofa, love seat and chair with ottoman. I plan to keep it a few more years and then buy some new furniture that is more modern and up to date than what I have. What kind of furniture do you like?