A Happy Birthday and the Lakers Downfall

LAKERS GONNA WIN!!!  Oh wait...

Hey there.  The Lakers are out of the playoffs...  I think I can now talk about it without getting too upset.  This was the team that was favored to sweep the Mavs, if not win in 5 games.  What the hell happened?!?!?!  Now there's talks about them being too old, Kobe not being Kobe, Gasol having personal issues, Odom is too inconsistent, blah blah blah...  Listen, this is the same team that has gone to the finals for 3 straight years.  This team is still made up of pretty much the same guys.  So what the hell happened???  Don't know.  But just by looking at the team during the games, they just looked uninspired.  Kind of like they were saying, no worries, we'll win the next one, and pretty much just sleepwalked through the games and that kind of attitude bit them in the ass.  The great thing about the Lakers is that we measure the season's success by championships.  If we win the title, it was a successful season.  If we don't win the title, then the season was a bust.  It's really as simple as that and all Laker fans are spoiled by that mentality.  We expect to win and when we don't, all hell breaks loose.  I'm hoping that they'll be able to get their act together and make another run next season, but man... did we just stink it up against the Mavs...

Now, on to brighter days.  My birthday was yesterday!  The big 2-9!  lmao  I don't make a big deal out of my birthday, I never have, but the wife loves to make it a little festive.  This year, she did this:

Playing Black Ops, dad.  Oh yeah, and Happy B Day!

 

The wife is great at creating an atmosphere.  I know, I know...  Lakers were eliminated on Sunday, but we all didn't think that was gonna happen.  lol  So she carried on with her Lakers theme and prepared my meal of choice, T bone steak, mashed potatos and veggies!  Oh yeah!

The woman sure knows how to make a mean batch of mash taters!

Then we all sat together, had our dinner, and goofed around a bit.  Cause that's what we do.  The wife and I sat on the couch, watching the kids play with, wait for it...  balloons...  lmao  That's right, balloons.  I understand that the young one would want to bat around a balloon for kicks but the older kids were having a blast themselves.  lol

Oooh...  Balloon...

Almost... got... it...

Then it was time for the cake.  As the wife gathered everyone around the cake and snapped a few photos, she asked to take one of me and the cake.  I think it's some kind of tradition to do that.  lol  So I sat in the chair waiting for the pic and this happened...

Why so serious

Whoa...  what is that?!  lmao!  Hand me a knife and some evil cloak because there is definitely murder in those eyes!  hahahahaaha!  The wife wasn't too happy with that one so we took another.

A lot better

After I made my wish and blew out the candles it came time for the family portrait (which my wife conveniently decided she needed to take manually so that everyone comes out 'nice'  lol) 

Happy birthday Dad!

Baby says, my cake!

Awesome.  Awesome.  Awesome!  From the decorations, to the meal, to the cake, to the laughs.  A great b day spent with my family.  So why not go out to a "fancy" restaurant for your b day?  Eh.  I'd rather spend the time at home, messing around with the wife and kids than to have to "behave" at a restaurant.  The wife will tell ya, she jokes (well I think she's joking...) that I can be just as bad as the kids.  It just comes to show you that I like to have fun.  Regardless of what the candles on the cake say.  lol  Later!

Orchid Recovery Center for Women in Need

Hey there.  You know, I was chatting with a friend not too long ago about a special someone in her life that is in need of some help... You know, to point where she is being destructive to herself and her family.  It kind of got me thinking and since I have a small voice in the online community, I'd figure that I'd do a public service announcement for the Orchid Recovery Center. 

Drug abuse and alcoholism are not only harmful for the user, but harmful to their families.  Where it be a loss of self control or their hallucinogenic tirade, family members can be angered, saddened, ad confused as to why this is happening to their loved one.  If you see anything unusual and suspect drug use or alcohol abuse, you should look into checking them in at Orchid for Women for an evaluation.  It's better to be safe than sorry and people under the influence are not in the right state of mind to make the decision to clean themselves up.  There are many programs out there for people under the influence and for the family members that are trying to deal with their destructive ways.

Don't hesitate to ask questions and don't hesitate to look for help.  There are many resources for women to find the help that they need.  Friends and family members should urge them to better themselves and to see the damage that they are causing.  They don't have to do it alone and with help, they can get better.  Later!

Motivational Monday - Birthday

Hmmm... I wonder is that's why I forget how old I am...  lol

Great Deals for Mother's Day Flowers

Hey there friends.  Mother's Day is tomorrow!!!  Have you already made your dinner reservations?  Have you ordered your mother flowers?  No?  Oh man...  Mother's Day is one of the busiest days for florists everywhere.  Whether it be in a brick and mortar shop or an online shop.  But there is still time to order, and you can save more than a few bucks by using online coupons.

There are many Mother's Day Flower Delivery Deals going on right now so it's not too late to pick up your mother's favorites.  Coupon codes for next day and same day delivery are still out there so make sure you check them out before venturing off to a florist and being forced to pick whatever flowers are leftover.  A quick search at FlowerDeliveryDeals.com, and all the best coupon codes available are displayed.

One popular online flower shop is 1800Flowers and I have nothing but positive things to say about their service.  Their flowers are guaranteed to stay fresh for at least a week and the flowers are always neatly packaged and delivered with such care.  They offer flowers in a box and flowers in a vase and I've ordered them both before and I've been extremely satisfied with the delivery. You can easily find 1800flowers coupon codes to score a great deal on an awesome bouquet.  I simply do not go shopping for flowers without some 1 800 Flowers coupons.

There's still time, my friends.  Mother's day is tomorrow but that doesn't mean you have to pay top dollar for an awesome floral arrangement.  Get searching for those coupon codes and save yourself some time and money.  Best of luck and hope you guys have a great Mother's Day!  Later!

What's the Deal with Gold Coins?

Hey there.  Am I the only one that wonders why we see ads on TV selling gold coins for less than the market value?  I was up late last night watching TV when I saw an advertisement that claimed that the coins were worth hundreds but they're selling them for $20.  It got me wondering if the price of gold is wildly fluctuating that one day, an ounce is worth $20 and the next day, it's a few hundred.

That got me wondering if it's a good investment to keep track of gold prices.  It seems like a good idea.  Invest some money in a commodity that is in demand.  You see gold everywhere.  Watches, necklaces, teeth... Donald Trump's place.  lol  I mean, if gold is that valuable, I don't see where you can go wrong in investing in it.  But then again, it is investing and there's always that risk of it's value decreasing.  Maybe if I go to a gold spot, where they buy and sell gold, to see what's up.  If they say that it's profitable, it may something to consider.  If they say they're barely breaking even... then it's something to think hard before doing.

I'm wondering if any of you have had any experience with the gold trade.  I know that now there's a service where you mail your gold scraps and you get cash for it.  Is that any good?  Would you rather just go into a shop and see what you can get?  I'm curious, friends.  Let me know.  Later!

Metallman's Reverie: Blog Income for April 2011

Hey there.  April is in the the books and it's time to report on how well on (or off) pace we are in reaching my $1700 goal for the year. Let's take a look at the numbers:

Mylikes - $9.74
DragonBlogger - $9.41
CMFads - $1.88
Blogsvertise - $132.00
Total for April - $153.03
YTD Total - $652.65 (+$85.98 ahead of pace)

Not too shabby, my friends.  I'm glad that I'm still exceeding my monthly goal of $141.66, even though it's just barely.  I'm still disappointed in my lack of participation in dragonblogger.com.  It's an awesome and I've been given an awesome opportunity to be an author there but I just can't seem to capitalize on it just yet.  I have been dealing with some personal issues and it has eaten up my time to write articles.  I have been fortunate enough to be offered what I like to call "insta-post" and that's what's keeping my name on DB.com at the moment.

I am a little disappointed that I didn't cash anything out for Izea for April, but those funds will be cashed out in May which will make May a pretty good month.  I also received a huge offer from an unexpected source so I'm hoping that May will be the best month of the year so far.

The giveaways have been going great.  Because I'm made my fair share of money from this site, I've been giving a monthly prize away to my readers.  I'm hoping that you guys are enjoying that and take as a big thank you for stopping by and reading. 

So there you have it.  My online source of income revealed!  It's not much to toot about but hey, it's better than nothing.  Was thinking of using some of that money for some Lakers finals tickets.... but that rant is for another time. lol  Feel free to check out my affiliates at the links above and hope that you'll be able to make some spare change online the way I did.  Later!