It’s almost time.
I try to participate in the MS Walk every year, in honor of my mother. It’s a cause that matters greatly to me. And I would love your help.
This year I’m hoping to raise at least $1,000. If all 328 of my Blogger followers gave just $4 that would be more than enough. See? Even small donations can make a big difference! So, if you’re able, please consider sponsoring me. Not able to donate? That’s OK. You can still help me out by blogging, tweeting, and sharing on Facebook. Any help at all will mean a lot to me, and to the MS Society.
I’m sure you’ll be hearing from me about the MS Walk a few more times between now and the date of my local walk. Consider this a “kick-off” post.
And, just FYI, I will make a blog signature for anyone who donates $10 dollars or more and provides a valid e-mail address in their online donation form. You’ll have to select the “name and amount” option to receive your free signature. Or, if you donate $15 dollars or more you can choose between a free signature or one month of advertising space on Domestic Dork {provide an e-mail address and select “name and amount”}. And everyone who donates {again, you’ll need to provide an e-mail address in the form”} has the option of being added to an “Honor Blog Roll.” The blog roll will be left in my sidebar for 3 months and then left indefinitely on the blog page {see the “blogs” button in my menu on the left}.
Thanks for reading this, and thanks in advance and from the bottom of my heart for any donations and/or help spreading the word.

{Note: UHEAA is the Utah Higher Education Assistance Authority aka The Masters of My Student Loan Debt}.
Dear UHEAA,

Thank you for you recent letter informing me that my first student loan payment is due. I’m glad to see that your employees are in fact capable of using the US Postal Service. After they never sent the forbearance application as promised {you know, the form that would have kept this payment from being due in the first place?} I was worried they didn’t know how to send mail.
I must say, I’m a bit baffled. You see, the bill you sent says very clearly that you only except checks from US Banks. In case you didn’t notice my address when you sent me the bill, I’m in Canada {that’s the country above the United States}. I have a Canadian bank account {because it would be highly inconvenient to drive 4-plus hours and cross the border every time I need to do my banking}. So you surely understand why I called you today to ask what I should do.
And just FYI, “figure it out” is a really crappy answer to provide to someone who is trying to give you money. After all, why do you think I called in the first place? Could it be because I’m trying to “figure it out?” If you won’t take a credit card, and you won’t take a Canadian check maybe YOU ought to figure out what payment you will accept. Because I’m not about to pay for a money order if you’re not able to guarantee you will accept it.
In closing, thanks for nothing.

Sincerely,

Holly The-Woman-Who-Is-Trying-To-Give-You-Money-That-You-Won’t-Take-From-Her Shumate

I just got this message from someone I've never done business with, nor communicated with {that I'm aware of, maybe I know them on Twitter or maybe they comment on this blog}. If it is you, and you are reading this I have removed your name and website to protect your identity.

Hi Blogging Mommies and Friends!   My name is ******** and I am the owner of ***************. Some of you are familiar with our store, some of you have had giveaways or reviews, some have purchased from us and others have things for sale with us. I am a stay at home - homeschooling mom. I started this business three years ago wanting to help other moms stay home with their children. As you can probably understand in this economy we are struggling. We cannot compete with the big companies such as Walmart who bring items at cheap prices! That is why I am turning to you. I am a loyal reader of your blogs and know the power of a blogging mommy (and grandma)! :)  
We are a very small online business that supports other work at home moms. We carefully choose our items and only bring our customers quality items. Our items are often personalized, hand made and made to order. A unique gift!  
I am writing you today to ask for help (begging really). We are on the verge of losing our business. I would love to be able to stay afloat and keep some income coming in to the moms with items in our store. I am asking you to open your blogs and post about our store. A button to our store would be great as well. We do not have anything to offer for your advertising other than a huge heartfelt thank you from other mom's. I know many of you get paid for advertising. We need the help this season. If you could take a look at our items *********************, blog about some of your favorites and promote some hand (mom) made gifts that would be wonderful. If you are able to post about us please send me a link to your post. I would love to thank you personally. If you can pass this on to other blogging mom's that you know could help please do. I cannot express my gratitude in words.  
Thank you, Thank you, Thank you from the bottom of my heart. 

When that message arrived in my inbox I couldn't believe it. But I visited their website to check things out before I made my final judgment. And what I found on their website was not encouraging. I felt the items were overpriced {and not just compared to Walmart}. I can support WAHMs and homeschooling moms on Etsy without burning a hole in my wallet. I don’t spend money at businesses just because they’re mom-owned. I spend money at businesses because they deserve it.
Please explain to me why I should give away one of the only products I have {just because it's digital doesn't mean it has no value} to save someone else’s business? Why should someone get for free what my other sponsors pay me for because they couldn’t keep their business afloat? If one’s business can't make it without me saving it maybe they ought to change what they’re doing. And maybe I'm just heartless but if I gave free advertising space to every WAHM who wasn't making money I would never make money either. It is not my job to make sure every one else stays employed. And while the government might give out bailouts to industries that are "too big to fail" and that employ probably hundreds of thousands of people I am NOT the government and this business is NOT an entire industry. They say 50% of small businesses fail in the first year and 90% in the first five. Is it my responsibility to prevent that from happening by giving away what my business provides?
I find it rude and ridiculous to send me an unsolicited request for free advertising, especially when not offering anything in return. It's pretty common for bloggers to contact companies to set up reviews/giveaway {though in most cases businesses contact us} but we're providing a service in exchange for those samples. Offer a discount code for me to share or a gift card to host a giveaway for my readers. It would have provided publicity and traffic to the web store while giving me the opportunity to give my readers something worthwhile. 
See, I try to limit reviews/giveaways on my blog for a reason. I want my audience to have good content. I don't want to be a corporate swag sell out. I haven't yet done a review that didn't come with free stuff for my readers too {and I’m hoping to keep it that way} nor have I written up a business or product I don’t personally like. 
But all that aside I DESERVE TO BE PAID FOR MY WORK. My work is blogging. I have worked very, very hard to make a good looking site and I work hard to post regularly and with interesting content {something that has suffered a bit during our move and the holidays but I digress...}. And here's what I think offends me so much: by asking me to not get paid for MY work so I can make sure she can continue to get paid for HER work, she has essentially said that HER work is more important/legitimate than mine.
I wouldn’t send an e-mail to a business saying “Could you send me some free shoes for my kid? I’m a SAHM! I can’t pay you but I’ll send you a big ‘thank you’!” So why is it OK to come to me and say “Could you spend your time writing up free publicity or give me free advertising? I’m a SAHM! I’ll send you a big thank you!” This woman says she started this business because she wanted to help moms stay home with their kids. Well, what about me?
Blogging is work too. My blog is not just some digital scrapbook/diary to keep my family up-to-date. It is a product into which I put a freakin' LOT of effort. And if you are really a "loyal reader" like you say then you should know that. If you were a "loyal reader" you should know better than to try to manipulate me into giving away my work with a sob story and compliments that, frankly, feel less than sincere. You have offered nothing, not even publicity {though, even then, I’ve seen some compelling arguments against bloggers writing unpaid in exchange for publicity}. You, a complete stranger to me, want me to save your business in exchange for nothing. No discounts for my readers, no giveaway, no publicity, nothing. And by doing so you are essentially telling me my work is worth nothing.
Well I disagree. I think my work is worth something. That’s why I charge for advertising space {with the exception of non-profits}.  Maybe some people think that because I don’t make much {and believe me, I really, really, really don’t} then I won’t care if I go from making pennies to making nothing. I do care. Any professional blogger {or blogger with delusions of professionalism like myself} should care. So will I give away the one source of income I have on this blog to save your failing business?
NO.

It’s not secret that I’m a bit of an internet junkie. What can I say? I love having so much access to knowledge, humor, social networking, and so on. I have so many bookmarks that I’ve had to create folders within folders within folders to organize them. And over the next few days I’m sharing some of my favorites from each category. Get your clicking finger ready! And here we go…

Family & Friends

Adam (these are pages bookmarked for Mr. Dork):

• http://www.freeworldgroup.com/ Lots and lots of free Flash games. Warning: You may find yourself wasting a lot of time on this site!

Mama Resources:

• http://www.kellymom.com/ My favorite breast feeding resource.
• http://promom.org/ Another great breast feeding site.

Sky Academy (learning at home resources):

• http://cp.c-ij.com/en/contents/2024/list_15_1.html Amazing paper crafts to print such as a scientific model of the sun!
• http://michellesjournalcorner.blogspot.com/2009/07/sound-bingo.html A fun audio version of the game Bingo.

Crafts:

• http://www.ohdeedoh.com/ohdeedoh/how-to/how-to-be-thankful-fall-garland-070293 A fun decoration to make for the Thanksgiving season. Be sure to browse the site for even more crafts and project inspiration!
• http://giverslog.com/?p=1146 A really easy, fun, DIY gift perfect for teachers, grandparents, or to keep for yourself!
• http://www.allfreecrafts.com/homemade-gifts/canning-jar-lamp.shtml A lamp I’ve been dying to make!

Shopping:

• http://www.theorganizedparent.com/servlet/StoreFront Products to help you be an organized mom.
• http://www.passionspice.com/ Nursing bras that are actually CUTE!

$$$:

• http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/ A great personal finance blog.
• http://www.stretcher.com/index.cfm More money-saving tips than you’ll know what to do with!

Brain in a Binder (pages for my home management binder):

• http://www.diyplanner.com/ User submitted printables to use in your planner (such as a Franklin Covey planner).
• http://notebook.organizedhome.com/printable Binder-sized printable.

Bitchen’ Kitchen (recipes and more):

• http://www.motherearthnews.com/Real-Food/Artisan-Bread-In-Five-Minutes-A-Day.aspx Our favorite bread recipe (no-knead)!
• http://www.mothering.com/recipes/nori-wrapped-salmon We make this with tilapia because it’s cheaper. But we still love it!

Blogs

Groups:

• http://www.momblognetwork.com/welcome-new-user A network for Mommy bloggers.
• http://www.thesitsgirls.com/ One of my favorite blog networking sites.

Memes:

• http://fridayfillins.blogspot.com/ Fill in the blank prompts every Friday.
• http://www.wearethatfamily.com/2008/03/hi-yall.html Tips to make life easier.

Writing:

• http://www.problogger.net/ Probably one of the very best blogs about blogging on the internet. Don’t miss the “31 Days to a Better Blog” program!
• http://www.copyblogger.com/5-simple-ways-to-open-your-blog-post-with-a-bang/ Ideas for how to write the opening section of a blog post.

Design Tutorials/Tools:

• You can find some of my favorite blog design links in the post about my blog makeover.

More to come tomorrow!

What are some of your favorite websites? Leave me their urls in the comments!

Scariest words in the English language: "root, canal."

Followed closely by "over seven hundred dollars."

Also...I hope I never have to be told "you can do option A [for way more money than I can afford] or option B [which will cost even more money later]."

And here's my advice to dentists everywhere. If there is an option C, do not wait until your client has agonized over options A and B and is nigh unto a total breakdown to inform said client of option C. It's mean.

/rant

Anyway...the dentist went [as] well [as possible]. I almost had to get a root canal or say goodbye to my tooth altogether. But at the last minute the dentist suddenly remembered another option, which was to drill, see if the decay wasn't too close to the nerve after all, and fill if possible. Lucky for me the decay wasn't too close to the nerve after all and it was indeed possible to do a filling. And we made it out of the office without giving up an arm, a leg, nor our firstborn. At the moment I'm reflecting upon the experience while waiting for the feeling to come back to the right side of my mouth (it's slowly coming back, and the feeling is "oowwww!").

Bear got to play Nintendo Game Cube in the waiting room. Lucy got to take a nap.

Mama got needles in her mouth and a drill in her tooth.

Aren't I lucky?*

*Well, yes, actually. I am lucky. I didn't need a root canal or tooth extraction. But I'm going for pity here. Pity me. Pity poor little me and my "traumatic" experience.

An allowance doesn't just have to be for kids. Adam and I each receive a monthly allowance. We're free to spend it on anything we want. We can save up for big purchases or fritter it away on little splurges. Why do we get an allowance? Because having money that is "mine" instead of "ours" allows us a little freedom. Our allowance is small (because our income is small). But we can use it to buy things just for one of us without the other feeling resentful that "our" money is being used for a purchase that is not also "ours." It also gives special meaning to gift giving. When I use "my" money to make a purchase just for Adam rather than "our" money then I have given of myself. Finally, having an allowance keeps fun spending under control by having a set budget and by having the freedom to make small fun purchases so that we don't go crazy by from never spending any money on wants. When there's no freedom in the budget one often busts the budget completely from too much restriction. It works for us!

One should never get a tax refund. If you get a refund it means you gave the government an interest free loan. Just think, you could have invested that money and let it earn interest all year long.

That said, if you get a new job in a country and you are unfamiliar with the tax laws of said country you may inadvertently end up with a refund the first time you file your taxes. How do I know this?

I'm just really smart.

Yeah...

It has nothing to do with the fact that Adam filled out our Canadian tax return this past week and we're apparently due for a $2000 refund.

Did I say "nothing?" I mean "everything."

That's right, we should be receiving a $2000 (CAD) refund. If we can figure out how to get Lucy's consular report of birth abroad and a Social Security number in time to file our US tax return I believe we'll qualify for a $300 (USD) stimulus payment. And I might mention that we'll also be getting $100 (CAD) per month for Lucy, a hefty refund of sales/service taxes, and an even heftier payment under the Canada Child Tax Benefit. I won't go into details about how much because it might make you non-Canadians envious. And you should be envious, because guess what...we also pay $0 per month to insure our little family.

Why am I telling you all this? I dunno. I guess it's just because I think it's so awesome.

Now, assuming I am allowed to leave the country and return legally then it looks like I'll be able to visit my family sometime this year after all. And that makes me very, very happy.

For a while I've had only a vague understanding of the financial crisis that's happening. Every time I'd try to read about it my brain would kind of fog up and my eyes would glaze over. The cure? A fancy, animated video of course! Here's an explanation for those of us who are ADD (video from Vimeo via The Consumerist).

The Crisis of Credit Visualized from Jonathan Jarvis on Vimeo.

Let it be know that my husband is, as I type, out stalking the mighty "electronic mammoth."

Remember this post?

Adam is out seeking a suitable replacement for my sorry excuse for a computer (which gets slower and slower every day and I swear freezes just to make my life miserable). And by "suitable" I mean "as cheap as possible."

We wanted to wait as long as we could before replacing the thing because, well, we don't like spending money. But Fidel (yes, my computer is named Fidel*) has sapped our patience. I waste so much time dealing with his sluggishness, random crashes, and physical shortcomings that simple tasks (such as posting pictures of Lucy, surfing the web, etc.) which should only take a couple of minutes take far too much of my precious time. Not to mention I can't actually use my computer at my desk because of the situation with the broken screen. Plus we bought Fidel used, so he wasn't exactly up to date to begin with. Adam wants me to be able to play certain multi-player games with him during his free time, games that refuse to even install on my computer because I don't meet the minimum system requirements. And since we're able to get a *new* computer for less than we spent buying this used one we've conceded defeat.

So, Adam phoned around town asking about specs and prices. Unfortunately it's not as easy to find a cheap computer in Canada as it is in the US. I would just have Adam build me a desktop (to save $$$) and forgo the portability of a laptop except that the shipping Adam would be charged getting the various components to Canada would make a desktop equally pricey if not more so (and, according to Adam's research, the in store desktops are no cheaper than the laptops).

Now I've just got to figure out what to do with Fidel after I transfer all my files, try to sell him for an insanely cheap price (i.e. $10-$20)? Scrap him and sell the parts? Give him away? I don't know. I've already got a bunch of items we no longer need that I plan on posting for sale on the local swap group so it wouldn't be too much trouble to post Fidel as well...but seriously, who would buy him?

Anyway, provided Adam returns home victorious then by this time tomorrow I'll be blogging on a new computer...who, I might add, will need a name.

*I named it Fidel hoping that since Fidel (Castro) seems to be defying death than maybe my computer might defy it and live forever as well...I was wrong.