So I'm shopping around for a treadmill because I really really want to stick to a running routine despite the weather or self consciousness of huffing and puffing in front of the neighbors. And I want a really good one. A gym quality one that will run smoothly, last a life time and be as convenient as it is effective. You know what I found out? They are expensive! 

Guess what else I found out. In addition to browsing for used stuff on ebay (which still may be an option for me - I'm still in the shopping stage) you can buy refurbished fitness equipment. Did you know that? I did not. So I picked a model - the top one on the website of this refurbished place and noted the price of $1875. Not sure I want to spend that much but I'm going somewhere here. So I started looking for this same model for sale at other places. I found it on ebay for $2500 - okay so far so good - but then I found it new at all these stores for over $7,000! Holy moly! That's a great deal.

I'm hoping that deeper investigation will find me a $3,000 model for $300 - but my expectations might be a tad unrealistic. I'll let you know when I buy.  

There is a flaw in my home office. Isn't there always something preventing a perfection situation? Printing, scanning and copying is very inconvenient. I need to fix it. 

My office used to be in the basement and it was nice. It was a finished room, lots of bright light, and separated from the rest of the house so I could WALK AWAY from work. Not now. The addition of children to the household made working downstairs difficult. It was challenging to focus on work down there when it sounded like there was a war going on in the middle of a dance party up here. The last straw was the flood of '03 that ruined my office and forced me to work upstairs in an armoire in the middle of the living room.

Most times the kids are gone so this is a pretty good arrangement. But the big ol' 5 in 1 laser copier was too big to transfer upstairs I thought. So I got one of those cute multi function photo printer copiers that fit nicely in the armoire under the computer, leaving room for storage for a few other items - paper, supplies, miscellaneous crap. You know the deal. 

The problem? Those silly little ink cartridges that yield minimum and cost a maximum! I'm actually a pretty good shopper - I don't regret purchases - but this printer was a total waste of money. It has been barely used because I can't afford to keep ink for it. 

SO I use it only to scan documents in - which is quite easy - but to print or copy anything I have to transfer the work to the desktop and carry it downstairs, hook it up to the big printer, and go from there. Also, I don't have an extra printer cable so I have to continually unhook and hook back up from machine to machine. So stupid.

I'm thinking about moving the giant laser printer up here to the armoire but it's such a daunting task cleaning everything out and moving it around. Now that I've said it all out loud though, I realize, it's absolute insanity not to, and to continue on the time consuming inefficient path I have been following. Hmph. Wish me luck.  

You know what's not easy to find? A needle in a haystack. Or just a needle anywhere. And who has haystacks in this day and age? Know what else is hard to find? Good friends, cheap health insurance, good diet pill, and Chinese food that delivers. And mostly - my motivation. There is SO much to do at holiday time and limited time to do it.

Literally, time is limited. The daylight hours are so short - the darkness and dropping temperatures as the second half of the day progresses makes me so sleepy!  I chug energy drinks and any caffeine source I can get my hands on to help me stay awake and active for a few more hours. 

Caffeine binging is a bad bad habit though.  It makes me grouchy & short tempered, is bad for my heart, and will eventually end in me crashing out anyway, so it's hardly worth it.

Somebody shared a new supplement with me though. I am not telling the name because I don't like doing endorsement posts, you know. Plus it's not on the market yet so it doesn't really matter. I've just been asked to evaluate the craving suppression. So far so good. And the bonus has been sustained energy longer in the day. Not BIG ZOOMING energy like with a jolt of caffeine or anything, I'm just NOT pooping out at 5 or 6. I'll share further findings as I discover them.

For now, I'll enjoy the discovery of longer days and energy to make the most of them. I'll keep hunting for the Chinese Food Delivery :) 

I am finally a fan of the latest POS systems at the grocery store. It took me a really long time to embrace the idea, I admit. I have totally rejected the self check out idea since the beginnning but I'm coming around. 

FEAR - At first I was intimidated because I didn't know how to use it and it gave me anxiety thinking about everybody in line staring at me waiting for me to hurry up and finish. There are lots of USCAN lanes now but in the beginning there were usually people waiting for them.

CAPACITY - The bagging/buying capacity was too low for me. I seem to always have big orders and there wasn't sufficient bagging room for me to put my products. But then the Meijer by my house came out with a long belt lane so you could do any size order. So I began to dabble.

And love it.

Now my neighborhood Kroger has the really compact stations that accommodate many bags of groceries while taking up only minimal space. So there are a ton of them and usually little waiting, regardless of the size of my order.

I am now such a big fan of the self serve check out because I am speedier and more efficient than the cashier in most cases and I am able to get in and out. Except when I'm buying alcohol and have to wait for someone to card me. Although, I have to say, they don't even bother coming to my station anymore to check. They can see from their podium across the aisles that I am far from not legal. I choose to focus on the CONVENIENCE of this. =)

I still have the concern about people losing jobs and being replaced by USCANS but I don't really know the science behind it. When it comes down to it, though, I suppose that above all else a company has to strive to run a lean, profitable business, while keeping it's customers happy. Mission accomplished.

How do you feel about technology at the check out line?  

Sometimes my son worries me. His focus seemsto be finding ways to GET money, SCHEME for it, and take short cuts, but not really EARN it. Know what I mean?

He always asks me "Can you sue for that?" It's usually involving some common, minor thing, like perceived false advertising, poor quality product, or something like that. Something you would never sue for. Or shouldn't even consider suing for. People make mistakes, defectve products happen. The saying is DO UNTO OTHERS not SUE UNTO OTHERS, right?

I can't blame it all on him,though. Look at his influences. There are billboards all over town for lawyers and attorneys. This latest billboard we saw, though, had even my son suspicious. LAWYERS WHO RIDE. Come on! I have heard of defense attorneys, entertainment lawyers, maritime lawyersand the like. But bikers who practice law? Just slightly less predatory than advertising as being "Christian" to get business if you ask me.  

I suppose these guys could be legitimate and really interested in helping people like them. But with the flashy billboard and cheesy wording - seems to just blend in with the crowd not rise above it.