One thing I have learned in all my years of moving from place to place, and that’s how to buy mattresses. This is one piece of furniture I will not buy used and on which I will not skimp. Especially at my age when a good night’s sleep is of premium importance, I will have a good mattress.

Not too soft, not too firm…and actually, the most comfortable mattress I ever had was a hotel mattress. I miss that thing, I truly do. My last purchase was a Serta, and with the addition of a memory foam topper, it is very comfortable and I love it.

A good night’s sleep starts with a good mattress. It’s worth the money.

You know I love garage-saleing, and my BFF will drag me out on these hot, muggy Saturdays and we’ll explore what the various neighborhoods have to offer. I’ve scored some good stuff this year — brand new cross stitch kits for 50 cents, some nice costume jewelry, clothes in my size that actually fit, books to replace the ones I’ve lost…

But the deal of this summer (and I don’t believe there is much that will top this) was a 19″ flat screen monitor for $5.

Yes, you read that correctly. All I had to do was grab a couple of vga cables (the power cord I got for free from a friend; the vga cable I paid $25) and for a total of $30 I have a flat screen monitor in which I can actually SEE stuff.

Amazing. I love garage sales. It is not only good economics, but it helps the environment as well.

What good deals have you received garage saleing?

The best flea treatment for a beloved pet is as crutial as taking care of the best acne treatment for a teenager. Believe it or not, Chico the chiuaua who was actually inherited from my oldest sister after her first divorce, was allergic to fleas! Are you kidding me? A dog with an allergy to fleas? My poodle Angie, who we owned even younger than when we had Chico, was allergic to grass. What are the odds?

Flea infestation is a tough one to beat. It takes viligance and daily dedication.

I’ve now had three middle to large sized dogs. They needed a once a week bathing, a once monthly dose of Frontline or something similar, and a constant washing of bedding (pillows, sheets, comforters, shams and such. Several times a month.) On top of that Wal Mart (and I don’t have the name brand at hand) offers a spray that you can spray your couch and fabric chairs with. They also offer a great powder which is spread on the floor and vacuumed up. Once you do the carpets, several times the first week, then at least weekly, and spray the fabric furniture which should also be hand-vac’ed several times the first week and then once a week, you’ll see an improvement.

It’s like raising a child with allergens, the first month is the toughest, but once you stay the course, it just needs a once a month consistency to keep the fleas at bay.

It’s big business, weight loss. CBS News estimates Americans spend over $35 BILLION dollars a year on weight loss products, such as exercise equipment, specialty foods, personal trainers, and drugs such as the Adipex diet pill, also known as Phentermine. The problem is, people can spend obscene amounts of money on becoming thin, and still end up overweight.

The government does not require warning labels on diet products, and they are not regulated by the FDA. Often, serious health problems can occur as a result of long-term use of some of these products. Therefore, it’s really a crap shoot as to the safety of what you’re putting in your mouth to help you prevent yourself from putting stuff in your mouth. For most dieters, it’s a Catch-22 — there might be weight loss, but as soon as the diet aid is discontinued, the weight comes back on, and it brings friends.

This is even evident on the popular show, “The Biggest Loser”. When contestants are on the ranch and working out 8 hours a day or more, and have a staff to help them make the right choices and keep them on track, the weight melts off. However, once back in the “normal” world, several contestants have regained the weight they worked so hard to lose. If, with all their training and support, these contestants can’t do it, what about the regular person?

Weight loss is a lot more than just the basic mechanics of calories consumed – calories burned. Often, there are emotional issues to be considered, as well. One can assumed the Biggest Loser contestants receive some kind of counseling, but this is not a subject that’s often addressed. Weight loss can be a hot-button topic and difficult with which to deal, involving relationships, self-esteem, and emotional baggage of years.

There is no magic pill for weight loss, but that doesn’t prevent the big business of weight loss touting the latest fat blocker, carb destroyer, or appetite suppressant. Just be aware that these products are largely unregulated, and can lead to bigger health problems than weight gain.

Ephedra is an amazing little chinese herb which is known as ma huang. Although its most common usage is in diet pills with ephedra, it has many other usages. Primarily in the treatment of allergies or hay fever. Native Americans and Mormons used to drink it in a tea form.

Personally, I started using ephedra years ago to help with sinus/allergy problems. When my chest feels tight, I just pop a little pill and I can breathe again. It truly works better than Vick’s or cough syrup. They clear the respiratory system, give energy, and keep hungrer pangs at bay.

It can be hard to come by and I usually find it in a convienience store, or Quicki Mart, depending on where you live. And it’s not so natural anymore. I buy it under the name ephedrine. It is one of the main ingredients in the production of methanphetimines, or Crank, so they do monitor their sales. You will have to sign a little book of when and how much you buy. I believe the limit is 3 packs a month.

However, if you live close to a Chinese herbal store, like the one they have in San Francisco, you should be able to purchase it in its purest form.

With all the new technology that appears almost every day, it seems, I wonder if more and more people have a graveyard of obsolete tech toys and their attachments going on in their house. For instance, cell phones are now equipped with MP3 players so you can pretty much kiss the iPod goodbye, right? Once you get into the iPad territory, you might be able to kiss both the iPod AND the cell phone goodbye, and it also gives a laptop a run for its money. What about the desktop? Do people even have those anymore, and how long are they going to be around?

It’s difficult to know where to put your money these days. For me, the more complicated things get the less I want to deal with them. I want a phone to make a call — I don’t need it to access the internet, calculate my BMI, or tell me how much gas mileage is left in my tank. An e-reader should be all about reading books, not playing the latest video game or watching movies. But then, maybe I’m just a cranky ole’ lady screaming at the kids to get off my lawn. Heh.

When I first heard of a muscle milk review, I bet you can imagine where MY mind went. I’d never heard of such a thing, and of course I had to go look it up to see just what muscle milk is and how it’s produced.

Much to my relief, it’s simply a lactose-free, protein enhanced drink formulated to provide a sustained source of energy for help in building muscle mass. It also helps in muscle repair, which to my surprise, is a big part of building muscle in the first place. The way I understand it, when you exercise to build muscle, you’re really tearing down muscle tissue and then building it back up.

I knew exercise was painful — now I have proof. And I’m greatly relieved to learn muscle milk isn’t really FROM muscle. That would just be gross. Heh.

I keep a close eye on the newest treatment for depression. I’ve struggled with this illness since I was a child, and I spent about two and a half years on an antidepressant after a particularly bad spell. Although it saved my life at the time, it really did affect my personality and I’m not sure I’d take them again unless it was an acute situation, which please, I never want to wade through again.

A while back, there was a commercial on TV about Cymbalta, one of the newest antidepressants on the market. The commercial pissed me off — like, nuclear pissed off. “Depression hurts” was the tagline (no shit, Sherlock) but what angered me so much was how the commercial went on to tell everyone just how much depression not only hurt the one suffering from it, but how it hurts everyone AROUND this person.

Now, although this is true, how do you think that makes a depressive feel? Okay, you’re already depressed, right? Now, this commercial is also telling you how much you’re hurting the people around you by being sick. WTF? Do you ever see commercials for cancer medication that tell you how much you, as the patient with cancer, are hurting the people you love because you have cancer? Because in all reality, that is also the truth.

I waited for an outcry of some kind, but I didn’t hear it. I wonder how many depressed people saw that commercial depicting how they were hurting their loved ones by being depressed and wanted to throw themselves under a bus even more than usual. I thought about how those ad guys that get paid obscene amounts of money to come up with clever ad campaigns sat around a board table and discussed just how they can sell more of their pills by making people feel guilty BECAUSE THEY ARE SICK. Omg, so pissed off.

Anyway, I’ve noticed they changed the commercials and took that particular spin off of it. So, I’m thinking there had to be some kind of backlash. That being said, if I ever need chemical help again to manage my depression, Cymbalta is going to be the last drug of choice. Fucktards.

Okay, I admit it. I drove illegally for a long time. No money, no insurance. I actually usually didn’t go any further than the corner store, but I know it was wrong. Mybad.

So, I was on a mission to find low cost car insurance and did the usual internet search. What I came up with was eSurance. Not only were they the cheapest, but after I made my payment, I printed out the insurance cards and there I was, easy-peasy.

Now I can drive down the street without feeling like I’m going to be arrested any minute. And I won’t. Not for no insurance, anyway

Do you ever get a jingles stuck in your head so tight your brain cells feel like all the moisture has been sucked out of them?

Well, that damned commercial about the free credit report is dancing around in my brain. To the point I feel like dressing up like a pirate. (Okay, so I like dressing up like a pirate and it has nothing to do with the commercial. Shush your mouth.)

I did sign up for a free credit report once. It took a couple of hours for the smoke to clear, and when it did, I found out the “free” part was really bullshit. What they do is get you to sign up for some funky service and THEN they give you the “free” report.

For me, I already know my credit is toast. But that jingle is genius, and I’ve been singing it all day. HALP!