I’ve been remiss in my blogging duties this month. (That always happens after a grueling round of “every day blogging” in November.) So, it’s probably a good time to be tagged with a blog meme, right? I just got tagged by Kris Rowlands over on Fresh Focus.

Guess that’s ONE way to get my butt more productive, eh, Kris?

So here we go with the dirt on me…

1. I’m a bit of a conspiracy theorist. I can’t help it. It’s in my genes. Today, my eldest son told me that the reason he’s a weirdo is because I made it impossible to avoid, genetically. So be it.

2. If I found out I was dying, the first thing I’d do is go buy a pack of cigarettes and smoke them all. I used to smoke… alot. I started smoking at age 15 (although I tried it several times before then). I continued to smoke until I was in my 30s when I put down my two pack-a-day habit. I never smoked in front of my kids or while I was pregnant and stayed “in the closet” all that time. There isn’t a week that goes by that I don’t miss it. During times of stress, it’s a daily urge.

3. I’ve been married for 18 years — just under half of my life. This marital longevity was made possible through three marriages (and divorces). I’m a serial monogamist, methinks. Horrific isn’t it? I can now say that I’m completely cured of any lingering romantic notions or illnesses. I’ll not walk down any aisles again. (Heck, even long hallways give me the heebie-geebies.)

4. I recently developed vertigo when in a high place, that was something new to go with the terrible motion sickness I get and the fact that I’m a tad claustrophobic. Needless to say, I’m all KINDS of fun on those huge cruise ships. Especially in the tiny cabin rooms on rough seas.

5. When I finish raising my youngest (who will be 11 in a few days), I’ll probably throw a backpack and a one-man tent on the back of a motorcycle and head out west to see some of the stuff I’ve not yet seen. I expect to be gone for several months. If I get really brave, I may do it before then and make it a larger bike (with a passenger seat) and a two person tent. Time will tell.

6. I’ve learned to quit jousting windmills and spend my energies in more productive manners, most of the time. I no longer fight city hall just because the fight needs to be fought. I figure I spent most of my teens and twenties and (especially) my thirties doing that. I’ve taken my turn and it’s time for the younger crew to take a shift. I’m not saying I won’t fight… I just don’t go in search of a war anymore. (I do, however, reserve the right to reverse that particular decision at any moment.)

7. Organizing my surroundings, eliminating what’s not essential and reducing my personal use of resources isn’t just a thing I do, it actually gets me all excited. I love it. And tiny houses/living spaces are the coolest. It makes me happy. I know… more weirdness.

Now you know seven oddities about me (trust me, there are many MANY more).

Now, I’ll call out seven people who I suspect of being closet weirdos — or who desperately need to make a fresh blog entry. I just won’t identify which is which!

Don’t hate me, folks… just spreading the meme love (and looking for something juicy to gossip about!)

Jeff Aughey | follow him on twitter

Jodi Diehl | follow her on twitter

Tim Kulig | (Poor guy, hasn’t discovered twitter yet)

Whitney Bishop | follow her on twitter

Anna Baron | follow her on twitter

Rocky Turner | follow her on twitter

Nan (aka RoguePuppet) | follow her on twitter

With the economy being what it is, we are all budgeting a bit more carefully. Saving money and eliminating waste have become matters of fiscal need for many small business owners.

Making more money isn’t necessarily as important as making the right amount of money and saving whenever possible. Buying in bulk may no longer be the best way to save. Eliminating the need may pay bigger dividends. Elimination of debt in your business is as important as eliminating it in your personal life during “lean” economic times.

Scale back if you must, but don’t go into debt for your business. Pay as you go and weigh all the options carefully before any major (or minor) purchase. Barter and trade for services with your peers. Consider buying reconditioned and pre-owned items when that’s feasible. Check eBay, Craigslist and your local classifieds before buying new.

Sell the things you don’t need and eliminate the time, money and hassle of storage, give away items using FreeCycle, or offer them to your peers and/or startup folks who may need or want them.

During difficult times, the help you give others and the pulling together as a local or online community can make all the difference. And, as a client told me not too long ago…

We are the entrepreneurs. We are the survivors. We are able to recreate ourselves as the market changes to come out on top.

So while other people may have to worry about if they will have a job… we need only consider how we will maintain our edge and better serve the market as it grows, shrinks, evolves and changes. After all, it’s what we do, it’s what we have always done.

Google Apps is a “software as service” option for small (and large) businesses. My favorite feature is a paid version of Gmail. It’s worth the $50 per year I’m spending to use it. (I don’t really use the other features, except for the calendar.)

You may wonder, especially during these interesting economic times, why I would want to pay for something that I could get for free…

Simple. Because you can’t brand typical Gmail. Sure, you can “sort of” brand it by placing your business name before the @gmail part and you can set it up to “send on behalf of” your business email, but it’s still got the stigma of a freebie account. It makes you look like you are less than serious about your business.

I only wish the cool Glabs stuff available for Gmail would be made available on a quicker schedule for Google Apps. That’s a bit bothersome.

You get much MUCH more space with a Google Apps account. Google Apps offers 25 gigs for a paid account, whereas Gmail only offers 5 gigs.You can easily upload all your email accounts to this one place, and enjoy the benefits of an archive of all emails from all time.

The apps version allows you to change the CNAME records on your hosting account so you can send from Gmail and “originates” from your website domain. Not an simple automatic setup, but once you do the steps, it’s bulletproof.

The joys of Gmail are many. It’s got a kickin’ search feature (you would expect no less from Google, right?).

You may, like me, be one of those “nested folders” people with your email. That’s “old-school” once you have Gmail or Google apps. With creative use of tags and the search, there’s no need… in fact now WAY… to use folders anymore. That may rock your email world for the first few days, but you quickly begin to wonder why in the HECK you had all those folders within folders and how you ever found anything that way.

I keep a backup of my mail on my computer by using the download feature (without removing the items from the Google server) into my resident mail program. I don’t send and receive from that resident program, but I know that I have a backup of all my mail, should something unforseen happen. Within just a few minutes I could re-upload it all.

I like web apps, but I’d not want to rely on them without a personal backup. I’m just too paranoid for that.

My iPhone is set up to fetch my email and I can send and receive with ease, while on the go. I use Google Apps mail as my primary contact management database too and pull down a copy in vcard format once a month as a backup.

The nice thing about using Google Apps is that you end up with a branded email that isn’t tied to a particular host, a particular computer or a particular operating system. Universal email is now on tap from anywhere! And when you work remotely, that’s really nice. It’s good to be mobile and flexible. Once you have a connection to the Internet — ANY connection to the Internet — you have access to your email and your contacts.

I’ve tried, tested and used a plethora of email programs, services and software over the years. I can’t imagine changing to anything else. Google apps mail trumps the competition. It’s just too convenient, mobile friendly, and too easy to search to have any real competition right now!

(Photo courtesy of seabreeze)

The last two weeks have been amazing.

*Shhhh!* (Just saying it may jinx my luck, so I’ll whisper the rest…)

I’ve not even taken the time to blog because I’ve been so busy and so bubbly and I didn’t want the good stuff to end. (Yeah, sometimes I really AM that superstitious.)

Eliminated the Storage Unit

I’ve made so much progress since the first of December, that I’ve been amazed. During the first week, my youngest son came down and spent four days with me, helping me to clean out my storage unit (there are only three items left — and those will be cleaned out by the end of the month). So that’s one monthly bill that’s now been eliminated. I despise storage units. I think they represent the conspicuous consumption in our country.

Having one was a painful prospect for me, but with all the moves in the last two years… one became necessary. Now, I’m glad I had it. My son just got his first (rental) house and with the stuff in my storage unit and at my farm, he’s got pretty much everything needs now. It felt really good to help him get started. That was my combination Christmas gift and housewarming gift for him.

Organized Boxes

Byron also worked with me to organize and clean out the boxes of stuff that needed to be sorted. I donated a slew of stuff to Goodwill and go the farm in a condition that I can begin working on the cabin again. THAT feels really good!

I also “found” some of the things I’d been missing that was driving me crazy… like the charger and extra battery for my camera, among other things.

PurpleStates.tv and CNN

In November I was invited by PurpleStates.tv to be their representative blogger from Kentucky. They invited one blogger from each state to talk about the economy and politics and the impact on the local area. Quite a feather in my cap… and a great deal of fun. Then, my particular piece was picked up by CNN. Nice, huh?

Airstream finds a new home

During this same first week in December, I received a deposit to hold my Airstream for an out-of-the-country buyer. Her representative flew up on a Wednesday (in his little Cesna) to take a peek at Serenity. The details were all arranged and she was delivered to North Carolina today.

The most exciting thing is that the buyer (currently residing in the Bahamas) is shipping her overseas to the UK where she plans to summer in her during 2009. An interior decorator, she plans to completely rework Serenity. I feel confident that Serenity’s found a good home with someone who will appreciate her. Of course my RV is doing more traveling than I am. *shucks!*

Like my purchase of the farm from a lady in Israel, my sale of Serenity has an interesting international twist. God bless the Internet! (The buyer found me on Marketplace on Facebook.)

The Credit Card Bites the Dust

By the middle of next week, my credit card will be paid off and filed away for emergencies only. In the current economic situation, I can’t afford to owe money, so I’m eliminating that as much as possible and as quickly as possible. I’ll be running on a cash basis now.

Too many people owe too much and acquire what they can’t afford and don’t need and hope that they never have to pay more than the “minimum” without any intent to pay off their debts in full. It’s a disease of our society and it’s sinking our country. I refuse to be a part of it.

The Apartment Comes Together

I’ve been living in this apartment for six months. I’ve lived with very little of what I want and need. Why? Because I couldn’t get what I wanted and needed moved in by myself. So, I’ve lived in this limbo-land. I despise limbo… it’s my least favorite place to be.

Byron helped me get things moved in last week in between all the other stuff we did. Last weekend I arranged, decorated and organized everything in the main room. This weekend, I’ll spend the time required to finish the work up.

Pops has agreed to help me build the euro-style sink and cabinet I need to add the final touches. I think we may try to do that in January. I still need to get my final measurements and draw up the plans.

This tiny apartment is becoming the efficient, organized, workhorse that I always wanted to create in a small space. I love tiny houses and tiny spaces. Always have. Now, I’m creating one here. It’s pretty amazing.

My father saw what I’ve done here and informed me that there’s “apparently a whole movement on living in smaller spaces” — duh… really? Go figure! I don’t think that man has ever read any of my blogs. And sometimes I wonder if he actually HEARS me when I speak. EVER.

A lead on the truck

I bought a truck a few months ago that needs a new transmission. It’s been sitting and waiting for me to find the time and the money to get it up and running. The only thing I wish that it had that it doesn’t (other than a new transmission) is a manual transmission. Last night, while talking to some family, they told me that they knew of a truck of the same model that was for sale. It was priced right because the body isn’t great. The engine and the transmission (a manual, btw) are both in great shape.

Long story short, I’ve asked them for an estimate on taking that truck and transferring the transmission to my truck. It will be alot less expensive than getting a new transmission and I’ll have the extra parts to help keep my little old truck running. It’s not that I relish the idea of having a “spare parts” truck around… but as the times get leaner, I’m sure that would be more welcome.

Chances are good that I’ll have the truck I wanted with the manual transmission that makes me happy, an extra engine and extra parts all for less money than it was going to cost me to get the current transmission fixed. Now isn’t that sweet?

I just have to find a place to properly store it on the farm so I don’t end up feeling like (or looking like) a hillbilly…*where DID I put those cement blocks?*…

Selling on eBay

I may spend this weekend getting some of the extra stuff I’m ready to discard put on eBay. I’ve been planning to do that for ages, but always have a good excuse why I’m not doing it yet. I’m too busy, there’s too much else I need to be doing, it’s a drag, maybe I should rethink it… etc., etc.

I’ve noticed that as I have made progress in these areas that are so important to me, it’s given me the stamina to forge ahead and do even more! So, maybe after the open house this weekend (a Christmas thing that my landlady is hosting), I’ll be able to do that.

(My landlady is awesome and is so impressed with what I’ve done with the little place, she asked if I would be willing to let her show it off during the open house. I’m flattered to the point of distraction and, of course, agreed.)

So, I’m going to take a couple of the boxes of stuff that need to be listed on eBay and try to get them up this weekend so they will sell before Christmas and I can get them shipped out for holiday delivery. I’m actually excited about this.

Buying on eBay

I’ve been evaluating what I want in life lately. And at the ripe old age of 42 (almost 43 now), I can honestly say that there’s very little on my “want” list. And many of the things I do want I now have or have made plans to achieve… like getting out of debt, fixing the truck, finishing the cabin, etc.

Other than these big items the rest are smallish things. I made my list. I want a nice pair of diamond stud earrings — not too small, not too large. Good quality, preferably in platinum with screw on backs so I can wear them without worry. I know it’s not “living small” but I don’t care, I want them. Besides, if I have those I can sell most of the ones I currently own on eBay, right?

I want a pair of black leather boots like the ones I wore out a few years back. They were Cole Haan, western styled and made me feel ten feet tall, bullet-proof, and a just bit cocky whenever I wore them. You simply can’t wear that kind of boot without exuding attitude. The replacements will probably have a less slick sole so I can wear them on a bike, but they must easily lend themselves to the creation of that aura of attitude.

I want a bike — one larger than the beep-beep. Probably about a 650 cc — and I want it with the running board styling rather than traditional motorcycle styling. I want it to have a comfortable seat for Alex. And I want a thick leather jacket to extend the riding season a bit. Now would be the perfect time to buy it since it’s off season, and since gasoline is now down to about $1.50 per gallon… but I’m cash poor, so it will have to wait.

This week I nailed one of those items. I bid on and won a pair of tiny diamond studs. I took a chance on them, despite the fact that they were smaller than what I wanted. I figured they would work well until I could afford the size I sought. Thankfully, the size was misquoted. The seller quoted them as just under a quarter carat for both… when in fact they were EACH right at a quarter carat. In platinum, acorn style screw backs and good quality stones… all for *drum roll*…

$76.00!

I’m a jewelry lover and this kind of find was, well, amazing. The seller received them from an old flame and said it was “time to move on” so she was selling them. It’s probably the best deal I’ve ever made on eBay! I have priced them out based on the size, clarity, color and setting. Value for these little gems is between $600 and $900! Currently they are securely screwed into my earlobes where they will stay for a very, VERY long time.

Popping the cork

Over a year ago I bought a bottle of champagne. I purchased it in the hope of drinking it soon… when things started to turn around and life got good again. It’s now been in my refrigerator for over 12 months… waiting. Tonight, I go against my “never drink alone” rule and pop the cork on that baby. It’s not an expensive bottle… but it does have a cork and that’s good enough. (I have absolutely NO “taste” when it comes to wine and such because I despise most of what other people tell me is “the good stuff” — but that serves my budget well.) *I just hope that it’s not so old that it has turned to vinegar*

So tonight I relax in my newly redecorated tiny apartment, sip a glass or two of bubbly and reflect on the fact that despite the crumminess that has been 2007 and 2008… that ALREADY 2009 is looking a bit better!

And all this… ALL of it… has happened since December 1st!

(Pretty photo courtesy of razvandm)

iTalk Recorder – by Griffin Technology

A mobile writer’s best friend. I’ve fleshed out plot sequences, brainstormed settings and traced historical information for my characters using this app while driving down the road. Maybe not recommended, but alot better than trying to write down that amazing idea that always seems to occur when I have my hands at 10 and 2 (or 9 and 3 if you are younger). This app has a great big easy-to hit record and stop button. You can name the file later (if you are driving) and transcribe it at a later date or wi-fi it to your computer when you get back to the office. It permits continuation of an existing recording and has a choice of sound qualities. I’ve tried four of these types of apps and find this one to be the best, most clean cut of the group so far. Great app and the price couldn’t be better: Free!

WriteRoom – by HogBaySoftware

A distraction-free, basic black background with white type text app (landscape-keyboard-enabled for faster input). This tiny version is based on the desktop program WriteRoom by hogbaysoftware.com. The iPhone version offers support for multiple ongoing documents and basic statistics (number of paragraphs, words, characters) in a couple taps. You can also backup your work with a couple taps by sending yourself (or someone else) an email copy.($4.99)

TextGuru – by Brancipater Software

An easy way to file-share your works in progress and reference materials between your desktop and your iPhone. You can view HTML, Images (.jpg, .png, .tga., .tif, .tiff), PDF files, PowerPoint and Word documents. You can edit text files (but NOT Word documents). Text files can be saved in multiple formats including: .txt, .html/.htm, .php, .js, .c, .h, .cpp, .m/.mm, .pl, .py .taskpaper, .rb, .ja/.jar, .bin, and custom file extensions. Nice extras include cut and paste, find and replace, revert to last save (undo) and user-designated autosave timer.You can see file attributes including most recent modification timestamps, encoding and size.

TextGuru also offers multiple fonts, four background colors, multi-document search, basic statistics (paragraphs, words, character counts) and email for instant backup to your inbox when you are out and about. You can also submit your file to Pastie.org and Sprunge. For programmers, the TextGuru’s view as a webpage option is really nice as well. Although you can view most documents in both landscape and portrait formats, you can only enter text in portrait (unfortunately). If it did have a landscape keyboard, it could replace my need for WriteRoom. Maybe the developer will address this in the next update. ($4.99)

Margins – by Architechies

Offers a great way to keep all your notes on books you are reading (or are using for research) in your favorite all-in-one device. Email backup is offered for the notes on any individual book and it’s ISBN enabled so just a few taps (the ISBN number) will auto-fill all the information about the book for you. I wish this had a landscape keyboard option (maybe the developer will add that in an upcoming version.) It would also be nice to have a way to take a photo of the passage and manually “highlight” it in the app with a touch, rather than having to type it all in before making comments/notes on the printed text. ($3.99)

iStop WritersBlock – by Lab013 Studios

A fun little “muse in a box” concept for your iPhone with plot ideas, inspirational quotes and writing challenges for the creative writer. I hope this developer continues to add new plot and challenge ideas. It’s not a workhorse like some of the other apps, but it’s a cool writer’s tweak for a buck. ($.99 – until the end of November as a special for NaNoWriMo).

Idea Generator  – by The Directors Bureau

Cool little shake-it-up mix and match word phrase program. I didn’t really care for the words that came with the program — they were too far out — but I love the fact that I can add my own to create some interesting mashups of current topics, ideas and actions for a work in progress. Makes me look at some of the standard ideas in unusual ways. Fun, cheap, cool. ($.99)

Stanza – by Lexcycle, Inc

I’ve reviewed and raved about this iPhone Book Reading app before, but for the writer on the go, being able to load up reference materials to read while out and about is a great boost in the value of the iPhone for the writer’s toolbox. (Just wish my Palm ebooks .PDB files would work on it.) Price, as always, is free!

Names – by Richard Wilkes

Name randomizer gives you the choice of four male/four female names on a single iPhone screen. Refresh button gives you a whole new list. Rinse, lather, repeat. Great way to get out of the rut of using the same types and flavors of names for your characters. Besides being an inspiration for character names, it’s fun (at least fun for a writer… in that twisted kind of a wordy way that others will never understand). ($.99)

My Baby – by irona.com and vensi.com

This app offers the ability to search based on meaning, or by letters of the alphabet. You can select from female or male names and you can save the “contending” names in a My Names list. The My Names list is a one-touch operation and is extremely helpful when you are sorting through all the possible options. Do note that the Origins search doesn’t appear to work properly — but the resulting names from other searches does offer origins information. Free.

Wikipanion – by Robert Chin

No writer should be without access to Wikipedia. Period. There are a slew of Wikipedia apps out there and I think I’ve tested most of them. This one is free and is bulletproof (doesn’t crash or report “server” issues), unlike many of the others. I may invest in the plus version of this one to be able to download items in my queue for offline browsing at a later time. That seems like the best option for this resource. One app offerd in the app store downloads the whole wikipedia on your device, but I think that’s a bit of overkill (and eats space I need for other apps and stuff!). The online only versions (which is what the free version is here) sometimes is amazingly slow on cell signals. (Free/$4.99 for Plus version)

Still Under Investigation:

Dictionary/Thesaurus

I’m still holding out and hoping for the Complete (not Concise) Oxford and the full, unabridged Oxford Thesaurus. I’ve texted several free and low-cost versions and will continue to use WordBook – Dictionary/Thesaurus combo ($7.99) by TranCreative Software and Dictionaire: The Simple Dictionary (free) by Hampton Catlin until I find my killer options on these two essential resources.

Organization/Data Management

Capturing the snippets of infomation and ideas in one central location is a challenge. Doing it while mobiel is even more challenging. I’ve dedicated one homepage to just writing apps and resources. I’m also evaluating iDB Datamaster by Evince Technologies, Inc (with a section my databases dedicated for use with writing projects) to see if that organizes or unnecessarily complicates the process. I’m simultaneously testing 44 Jots by Shaila Klosterman of Infofission ($.99) at the moment to see if the multimedia options there are a help or a hindrance to my creative process.

Quotes Apps

I like Daily Quote by Miron Vranjes (free), but would like to not be limited to a single quote, since I tend to binge on those little granules of wisdom at any opportunity. It does offer the ability to save favorite quotes, which is nice and one-tap lookup of the person quoted in Wikipedia, which is also pretty sweet. I’d recommend it for those one quote a day types. It works well.

iQuotes free by Danile Perez has beautiful backgrounds and lovely quote selections, but they are often extremely difficult to read, which distresses me and makes me squint. It also makes me angry whenever I try to read the quotes and have to squint to do so. Squinting makes wrinkles. ‘Nuff said.

iQuote by Gihad Chibb ($1.99) offers over 10,000 quotes on a beautiful, easy-to-read interface, the option to read by category and author… and ability to add your own quotes. SCORE! You can also save your favorites and email quotes and rank your quotes.