Most of you know I am a random surfer. I have a bunch of websites and blogs that I visit regularly, but for the most part I tend to surf a lot. Always on the lookout for new material, funny items and things to blog about. Yeah… just me.

I did a random search for something the other day and came across a web directory free of charge. While it had absolutely nothing to do with what I was looking for, I spent about an hour surfing through many of the websites linked to on this site. I also took the time to submit one of my sites.

It is a really nicely done directory too, and this is coming from someone who regularly submits to directories, surfs through them and reviews them as well. My thoughts on this web directory is that it is really clean and attractive. Very easy to navigate through, which is a really nice thing, since many of today’s web directory’s are a mess. In addition, while it isn’t jam packed with sites, the information is displayed in accurate categories, and browsing for whatever topic you are looking for, is as simple as clicking a link.

Something else I immediately noticed was how simple it is to get your own site included into this free directory. They have a blurb about how to do it on the bottom of each page that you access, and it seems relatively painless. Not to mention that they have a nice page rank still that was not affected by the most recent google page rank drop. (two of my sites were affected and made me mad!).

By far this is a great web directory and you should definitely check it out and be sure and submit your own site.

I am sure you are thinking ‘how so?’. Well, my frugal little self has figured out what a difference owning rather than renting saves!!

Obviously mortgages can be a lot of money every month, but putting your money towards something you own rather than rent, is oh so much wiser. You get nothing back for that rent money in the end. Trust me, I was there for years and years and years. At the end, you have nothing to show for it. All that money down the drains, wasted on a place to live when it could have been spent on a beautiful home for your family.

There are so many different options available to first time buyers, buyers with poor credit and even people who already own a home. It doesn’t seem budget friendly to me at all, to waste money every month on rent. Instead, put that money into a mortgage payment and own what you pay for instead.

In addition to the many valuable programs and offers available for various types of potential or current homeowners, there is also new programs that offer lower interest rates, a newer program known as a Tracker Mortgage, and several others. These programs are designed to help homeowners save money, invest wisely and not go house poor which so many people do.

My advice for you my friend, is to be sure that if you do get a house with a mortgage, you are sure to pay it on time each month. There is nothing worse than having THAT on your credit when you go to refinance or do other things. And the last thing you want is a foreclosure on your record. Do everything you can to keep that house payment on time, it will make such a difference when you are ready to move, upgrade, sell, etc.

Oh. My. Word! Can you imagine if you found this in a corner of your home? *giggle* I just had to share. Before there is one single question, it is not my house, it is not my spider infestation but DID YOU SEE THE SIZE OF THAT MAMA? OMG!!!!!

It is no secret that I am self employed, and as such, I am in charge of purchasing any and all of the supplies for both the business end and the office end of my work. I am also a frugal fanatic, and I need to get the best deals I can on office supplies so that I don’t get taken by Uncle Sam at the end of the year.

Office Deals is a great place to get ….. office supply deals! You can find dozens of merchants offering all kinds of discounts on everything from printer accessories to stamps to office furniture and everything else in between.

The site connects you with major retailers carrying typical office supplies and enables you to purchase with coupons, codes and other methods to get the best deal you can on your office supplies. And this is not just a place for small business’ at all, in fact larger business’ would benefit greatly from patronizing this site.

One of the things I plan to do this year with my tax money is to update and reorganize my home office. I’d like to get a few new shelves, a smaller, more compact (yet much prettier) desk and chair, etc. Well, I can shop for a new desk anytime I want to, with Office Deals and already I have found a lot of savings.

I am also on the lookout for a new computer for our teens in the house. We have a pretty old dinosaur but we need a newer model. I have been eying a few of the Mac’s because they like them from school. Can you believe you can also find deals on Macintosh computers and software from Apple Store?

And to totally treat myself, I plan to purchase a new more modern and cute satchel or briefcase to carry all my paper work from spot to spot. Yay me!!

Check it out today!

It seems to me that February seems to me the month that all the summer camps begin to advertise their upcoming seasonal programs. I have received a half dozen brochures and postcards just in the past couple of weeks. I already know where my almost ten year old daughter is going for camp this summer - the barn of course. But my son totally deserves an awesome camp experience and I think I just might have found it.

With all the summer camps out there, you want to give your children something great to look forward to. What if you could make their summer the most memorable ever. And what better place to spend the summer than right on the ocean. My son thought it would be so cool to learn to surf. The idea of an overnight camp is extremely appealing to him being a teen and all. Mom just likes the idea of being able to send him somewhere safe where he will have a blast, but learn a new skill - surfing, as well as getting a great educational lesson on the coastal ecosystem. He wants to be a marine biologist someday!

WB Surfcamp is totally awesome. And they offer a ton, with safety as a top priority! One of the things I really like about it is the fact that they offer them all over the place: Hawaii, Australia, Costa Rica, Bahamas, Barbados and North Carolina. We like that as a family because we can take a vacation somewhere cool while he attends a week of sunshine, beautiful emerald waters and an awesome surfing experience. Check it out!

You might enjoy your football super bowl, but I have my own super bowl I am looking forward to attending again. It is time for me to start planning a trip to Las Vegas. Yep that’s right. For a super bowl I can actually sit through. The annual National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas. This fantastic event has been dubbed the “super bowl of rodeo” and certainly is my annual super bowl. It is the only super bowl I’ll ever attend I am anticipating the possibility that we might get to attend this year. With being such major horse lovers, we absolutely love the fantastic excitement that only a rodeo can bring. Have you seen how those horses move? Yeehaw!

Several years ago (too many for my liking), we received a pair of National Final Rodeo tickets. I was so skeptical to go at first, thinking instead that it was more of a guy event and that I wouldn’t enjoy it at all. Boy was I all wrong.

The Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) hosts the annual event which includes some of the most amazing sports out there: bull riding, saddle bronc riding, bareback bronc riding, calf roping, team roping and steer wrestling. Absolute entertainment at its best with plenty of action for any man, woman or child! My son was only four when we went last time and I’ve never seen him squeal with such delight, it provided to be almost as much fun watching him as it was watching the rodeo unfold before my eyes.

Hey if you’re a regular reader of my blog and if you’re going this year too, let me know! Perhaps we can meet up!

***AFTER READING THIS POST, PLEASE CONSIDER COPYING IT AND POSTING IT ON YOUR BLOG-THE MORE EXPOSURE THIS GETS, THE BETTER***

She tries to sleep, but she can’t-the noises coming from the only bedroom in the trailer are too loud, too embarrassing. Rolling over she faces the wall and hopes that her father will finish what he’s doing and that her step-mother won’t make any more noise.

She’s living every teenage girl’s nightmare.

It’s bad enough that she was torn from her friends in Kentucky-but living here, in this cramped, dirty trailer with no privacy and no indoor shower is the icing on the cake. Fitting in at school was out of the question-her father made sure of that by not allowing her to socialize outside of class & eventually, she woke up one morning knowing that she would no longer walk the halls of freedom, but instead would be taught in the very trailer she slept in.

It’s probably for the best, she thinks-if anyone ever found out that they make me wear hand me down underwear I’d be the laughing stock of the state anyway…

She wishes she could move home-to her real home-with her mother and sister in Connecticut. There she would be nurtured and cared for, and allowed to be a teenager…allowed to have opinions and ideas and to cut her hair the way she likes it.

But she knows she can’t. He’s making sure of that too…

Jamie wants to come home.

Many of you know Linda from Are We There Yet? (her link has been on my sidebar FOREVER!) And perhaps you know that she has two daughters, Amanda and Jamie. Amanda lives with Linda here in CT and Jamie lives in Florida with her father and his wife.

Life for Jamie is not going well.

Jamie is living a lonely life in a cramped, dirty trailer with guardians who won’t allow her to be an individual. She is not allowed to have friends. She can’t choose her own music or movies and she can’t even cut her hair. She has to shower in a common area of a camp ground because her “home” doesn’t have a shower.

She is homeschooled by her stepmother-a woman who is not qualified to take on such a task and Jamie is, for sure, behind other kids her age academically. No doubt, she will also fall behind socially as well.Though Jamie has expressed to her father that she wants to move to Connecticut to live with her mother, he will not allow it. His reasoning is that Linda is not a good mother.

His reasoning is bull shit.

When Jamie visits, it is easy to see that she flourishes. Her smile is bright and it’s clear that being allowed to smile and laugh and to be a little quirky is the reason. Anyone who reads Linda’s blog knows that she is a caring and attentive mother who strives to give both of her children what they deserve.

The man that Jamie and Amanda call Dad is not a good man. He remarried and is completely wrapped up in his new marriage and does not care what happens to Jamie. If he believes that Linda is a bad mother because Amanda has blue hair, then I wonder what he would say if she were to cast her daughter out of her life simply because she was a little different…

Of course, Linda would never do that-but he did. Amanda lived with her father at one time, and was sent back to live with Linda because she didn’t “fit in” to the family he wanted to create. He no longer speaks to her. Now tell me, how can a man who disowns one daughter ever be a better parent than one who loves unconditionally?

He can’t.

And that’s why Jamie needs to come home.

Being a single mother who makes “too much money” (read: she makes over the poverty level) Linda does not qualify for financial assistance for legal aid, and therefore is having trouble getting a lawyer’s attention. In CT, courts consider a custody award as subject to change until the child involved grows up, and in most states proof of a “change in circumstances” may overturn an earlier award. This flexibility is intended to allow for the correction of poor or outdated decisions.

Jamie has vocalized to both parents that she wishes to move. Her dad has vocalized that it will never happen. Linda made a promise to Jamie that she would do anything in her power to get her home.

But she needs our help.

On the sidebar at Ms Maggie Moo Talks 2 U is a magic button - this magic button allows you to donate to the Get Jamie Home Legal Fund. The faster you click, the faster you will help change the life of one little girl who very much needs a new life.

Please help. We’ve seen in the past that every penny helps…even if you can only donate $5, please consider doing it.

Jamie needs to come home.

I hesitate typically to post anything too explicit for the simple fact that I am a mom blog, but I just couldn’t resist when I saw this.

Apparently this is a lost video of the Super Mario Bro’s teaching Sex ed. It is not only absolutely hilarious, it is also quite informing! I don’t think you’ll have any questions after watching it!

You know you live in Saint Louis when….

It was 70 degree’s two days ago and THIS is what it looks like today!

You also know you’re from St. Louis When….

You can pinpoint exact references in Nelly’s songs.

The only thing you and your friends can think about is leaving. And you all go away to school. Two years later, everyone is back in town and never wants to leave.

Your daily footwear is Birkenstocks. (hmm…I don’t own a pair, is this a bad thing?)

When crossing from county to city, you increase your speed by 20 mph.

Three words: Gooey Butter Cake.

The first place you go after a Card’s game is Ted Drewes.

You know how to find the Shane Co., you’ve memorized American Equity Mortgage’s phone number and you know the Mattress Giant jingle.

One day the weather is 80, the next it is 40.

You go to another state, order toasted ravioli and wonder what the hell is wrong with the place when they tell you they don’t have it.

You know the phrase “Cheap cheap, fun fun.”

You measure distance to get from one place to another in time, not by miles.

You or someone in your family refers to a casino as “the boat.”

You have called 590 with your own rant out of frustration for Izzy, Mizzou, Rams, steriods or college football in general.

You love toasted ravioli with Budweiser beer.

“Vacation” is a choice between Silver Dollar City and Lake of the Ozarks.

You can find Pestalozzi Street by aroma alone.

You can get anywhere in 20 minutes, except on highway 40. (Currently you cannot get ANYWHERE on Hwy 40 because a ton of it is closed down!)

You know at least a dozen people that travel on Highway “farty far” and “warsh” all their clothes.

You can debate for 30 minutes whether Missouri Baking or Marge Amighetti makes the best Italian bread.

You know what “Party Cove” is and where the “lake” is.

You still can’t believe the arena and the old stadium are gone.

You first question to a new person is “Where did you go to highschool?” (Why do we do this?)

You know at least one person who’s gotten hurt at Johnson Shut-ins.

You know in your heart that Mizzou can beat Nebraska in football.

You think the 5 major food groups are beef, pork, Budweiser, Cecil Whitakers and Imo’s.

You order provel on everything and when you visit another state they have no idea what you mean.

You know there are really only 3 salad dressings: Imo’s, Zia’s, and Rich & Charlie’s.

You’ll pay for you kid to go to college unless they want to go to KU.

You would rather have a root canal without anesthetic than drive on Manchester on a Saturday afternoon.

It just doesn’t seem like a wedding without Mostachiolli. And you pronounce it “muskacholli.” The balance of the menu is ham, boiled roast beef, string beans with ham and of course pitcher of Busch Bavarian.

You know what a pork steak is…and what kind of sauce to put on it!

Everyone in you family has floated the Meremac River at least once.

A hoosier is somone who lives just south of Chouteau, not a person from Indiana.

You have made fun of Mike Shannon and tried to imitate him ordering another cold, frosty Busch Bavarian Beer.

You have listened to Mike’s broadcast on KMOX, while watching the game on TV and wonder what game he is watching. A tear forms in your eye as someone mentions their favorite Jack Buck story.

You’ve said “its not the heat, its the humidity.”

Your favorite summer treat is handed to you upside down.

Oh, and look at just how St. Louis I am. (not sure which questions I screwed up LOL)

you are 88% St. Louisan!

congrats! you obviously were raised in st. louis and care about our great city! you are from tha Lou and proud!

how St. Louis are you?
Quizzes for MySpace