Soaring Interest Rates

Interest rates are going up every two months in this country, resulting in a financial reality that's changing all the time for most people.
I myself feel that it may be time to get some mortgage quotes. Not that it'll help a lot, probably, but there really is no reason to be paying too much.
Why we haven't done it before? The hassle. Also: "better the devil you know"... The devil we know will be asked to give a quote too, of course. Who knows, we may elect to stay put...

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Weight, Weight, Weight...

I've decided to be happy with the way I look and my weight - a good decision as it turns out - I've lost 4 kgs in the last few weeks...
I don't know if there are any diet pills that work. What I do know is that if I were to use any of the ones on offer, I wouldn't like to have to test them all, to figure out if they're a hoax or not. As we all know, this market is so huge, that it's a magnet for people selling sugar pills. On a good day. Some things are downright bad for you as well!
At consumerpricewatch.net, they've compiled a list of the top 10 diet pills, complete with a comprehensive and informative review for each one, and a link to the best place to buy them.
They claim to be unbiased - they may well be, I really couldn't say. Either way, the site is a great place to read up on the most popular diet pills.
Whatever you decide to put in your mouth: Be as informed as you can before you do!

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Night Lights

We sometimes need a flashlight around here, even in the summer. I know we have loads, but they never seem to be around when we need them. The kids use them to play with, and they're never left where they should be.
Should you be lucky enough to locate one, you can be sure the batteries are off or missing altogether... Last year, I bought a couple of compact flash lights, the kind that you can recharge by turning a swivel. That solved the battery problem - but there still isn't one to be found when you need one...
The solution? I guess there isn't one, except to try what I did with the hammer: Get one, say it's my personal propery, and insist they ask if they need to borrow it. Then threaten anyone that doesn't return it to its place with torture. Worked with the hammer...

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It's So Fake, It's Fun...

That's what cousin Linda from Arizona, who'just visited us for two months, said about Las Vegas. She should know - that's where she went to nursing school. (Which answered my question: "do people actually live there???")
I've never been tempted by Vegas vacations, but I must say that the concept fascinates me a little. If we ever do get to the States, a day in Vegas would probably enter the draw of things to do. After that, it'll be up to the dice to decide...

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Gadget Solution

#1 Brat is going away to school. She will then need a cheap cell phone deal, and she's found one - the only thing is that she would then need to buy a new phone - hers is on the brink of dying.
I don't know how these thing work in other countries, but here, phone companies will offer sweet deals on phones that are locked to their contract for 12 months. Not so with the company she wants to adhere to - they offer free to very cheap use of the phone, but you have to buy an unlocked phone to be able to use it, or use a phone that has been freed of its 12 month locked period.
Solution? She gets my phone, that's hardly been used, and that's a year old, and I get a very sweet deal (NOK 1,- or about $0,20) on a brand new phone.
No problem...

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Hubby's OK.

Hubby's suggested he and I take off for an elliptical weekend when I turn 45 later this year. Whatever's that??? I hear you cry...
An elliptical or oval weekend starts on... say Thursday, and ends on Monday or even better - Tuesday.
I don't know if it can be done - at least not the weekend in question - we've got a cluster of birthdays in one week just then. If planned before or after, though, a trip for two should be highly possible. As well as appreciated by both of us. Where this time? An open question, but we've got a brand new airport nearby where they fly to places like Nice and Budapest, as well as London. Leave it with me...

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A Day Out

Every July, there's a "river festival" in our nearest town, and we always try to have a family day there on that occasion. Yesterday was it, and a lovely day it turned out to be.

As always, whenever we find ourselves in a throng of people, we feel the need for lunch, and yesterday was no exception. We found a pizza place that had room for all of us (!), and pizzas all round were ordered. Afterwards, we were ready to face the festival fun...

What's a town festival without all the stalls selling all the things you never knew you needed? Gharish pink cowboy hats, plastic toys, jewelry, t-shirts, henna tattoos and miracle gadgets for your kitchen - they were all here. I didn't see a stall offering instant Lasik eye surgery, but other than that, you could get just about everything. The kidlets were happy looking at everything, and we couldn't leave without at least a few useless plastic items for the youngest...

Then there was the fun fair. Just a tiny one, but Dad and I each took a brat for a ride on the dodgem's, and the older kids went on a couple of hair-raising rides. After winning a couple of plush toys, as you do, we went on to look at some more t-shirts, had an ice cream and a coffee at a sidewalk cafe, and went back home. #6 Brat had held up beautifully, but was asleep before we left the car park...

Photos. Yes. Ehm. I still haven't got a new memory thingy for my camera (the one I've got is dodgy), so I tend to just leave the camera behind. Summer of '08 is turning out to be the one we just have to remember - without any photos. I've been to places that sell the things - I just forget...

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Kittens, Kittens Everywhere...

We have cats. 15 right now, including 8 kittens. We'll have to give some away, and we have to do something about those fertile she-cats of ours. There are only two, but the population increases a bit too fast. I've kind of lost track - maybe I should set up a genealogical cat tree to see who's who? Or I can ask the kids. They know!
There's Mum, and Mum's daughter and three sons, plus a non-related tomcat we took in last year. (Why? ehm... New blood?) Then there's Mum's litter of two, and daughter's litter of 6. See? I got it wrong already - that's only 14. Oh, yeah - there are 4 sons, not three. The boys are out gallavanting these days, so we'll have to do a re-count, but that's the theoretical number.
We live in the forest, and the cats live a free life, which means that they fight with other cats, and sometimes they'll be caught by foxes too. No casualties for a long time, though, thus the high number...

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A Dreamy Vacation

Walking along a white, sandy beach hand in hand, or lounging by an azure colored pool in the half-shade, fresh drinks being served at will... Lovely, exotic foods at our fingertips, without yours truly having had anything to do with it...
What if all this was happening in Jamaica? To me, the destination of dreams... Just savour the name: Negril, Jamaica. Mmmm...

We're not big on adult vacations in our household, but it would be heaven to take my McDreamy to a place far away from everything, to experience not having a worry in the world for a week or so. In my younger days, I never even considered all inclusive resorts as a possible venue for a vacation, but now? I'd just love to let everything go for a week - including my waistline... Super inclusive means just that - everything is included, from meals to drinks, tips, land- and watersports - as well as hotels and airfares.

Oh, bliss! I was going to post pictures of beautiful people in dreamy surroundings, but I think you should go and see for yourself...

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