So my husband is busy ready the latest Harry Potter book. I’m two books behind, so needless to say, it will be a few weeks before I am reading the last book. My husband bought it Saturday and my niece bought it at 12am Saturday morning. We went up for a visit and they talked a little about Harry Potter. Joe is way ahead of her in the book and keeps dropping fake spoilers to her.

Last night she called and I answered the phone. She had just read a major happening in the book and blurted it out before I could give the phone to Joe. I’m trying to block it from my memory so I’ll forget but I doubt it. I don’t think it will deter me from reading it, though. Bless her heart, she was so distraught over what she had read she called her uncle so she could talk about it.

That will also teach me to never answer his phone. again. ever. 

I’m really in need of some home furniture. We still pretty much have the same set up that we had in college. Most of furniture is hand-me-downs and really needs to be retired. It would be nice to have something new but not too fancy since Raegan is still under 2 years old. So it will be a while before we are done with spilling drinks and making messes.

I think a new couch and sofa would be a good addition to the living room. A sleeper sofa can be a wonderful thing to have around especially when company is coming for the night. The only problem with a sleeper sofa is finding one that is comfortable since by nature it’s usually not a very comfortable bed. But we need once since we don’t have an extra bedroom, and we do want to encourage family to come for a visit.

It would be nice also to have matching furniture. My style now is eclectic, which is a very fancy way of saving nothing really matches. So many people have this style that they have a cool sounding word to describe this “style.” I’m ready to change styles into something more traditional. I guess in time we will have new furniture. Until then I can always window shop.

There are just four more days in the XShot contest. The polls close Friday at noon. I’m doing okay in the contest (currently in 2nd! Raesmom) and am just hoping for a top three finish, since the top three win an XShot.

This past weekend we were watching some videos on the computer when we came across some I had shot at a wrestling match. My first thought was, “I could have used in XShot” since there were people in front of me who take up a lot of the frame. If I could have gotten the camera higher, then the video would have looked a lot better. I’ve become quite enamored with the idea of having an XShot. I keep thinking about how this picture or video would have turned out better with an XShot.

So, now I have other reasons for using an XShot, not just taking pictures of myself.

We might be moving soon to a new place in another city, so there are a ton of tasks to be done to get ready. Besides packing, there is the dilemma of just how to get all of our stuff to the new place. Having moved our stuff ourselves on previous moves, I really want to avoid that if at all possible. Since I’ve never checked into moving companies, Relocation.com seemed like a good place to find a moving quotes.

To get free moving quotes, I just had to answer some basic questions about how much we wanted to move and fill in my moving destination. I did have to provide my email and phone number as someone who will be in contact with me to give me custom quotes. It is better than having to call around and find out quotes all on my own. The form was simple and fast to fill out. I received a confirmation email within 10 minutes and a list of moving companies that my request had been submitted to.

Not only can you find moving quotes at Relocation.com, but they have several sections that offer useful services to movers. Look for an apartment, get an insurance quote, and find a job in your new city all at one place. There is one service of particular interest to us on Relocation.com and that’s home improvement since we have several small projects we need to get accomplished before or right after we move.

While we are not in need of this service, but through CarMovers.com you can find a company to meet your auto shipping needs. Another moving website for those going aboard can help international movers find what they need is Internationalmovers.com.

Moving is stressful enough, so finding a one-stop place to find moving quotes and other vital information is a true gem.

Sponsored Post.

It’s been a weekend filled with talk about Harry Potter. Unfortunately, I am reading Order of the Phoenix and a little behind in the series, so I’ve been either ducking out of rooms or just hearing spoiler information.

I’m sure I will hear some news accidentally like Order of the Phoenix. I know about some things happening, so maybe that is why I am dragging my feet on reading it. I’m not sure since I blazed through the first four books really fast.

Hopefully I will make some progress on Order and get to the Half-Blooded Prince by August.

This week’s theme is Tiny. What else would you expect from a geek but a picture of dice?

So, you probably know by now that I’m in a contest to win an XShot over at BenSpark.com. The contest has been such a great success for getting the word out about the XShot that Michael with XShot has given us in the contest a promo code that will give our readers $5.50 off the purchase price of an XShot.

The XShot is a handheld tripod that extends your ability to take pictures of yourself. You an get more of the background in a shot or people people in frame. It’s really a cool gadget. It is normally priced at $24.95, but by using the promo code XSHOTVOTE the price will be only $19.45. I’m buying one if I don’t win one because I really think it would be so handy to have. As the picture taker of the family, I’m tired of being left out of family photos.

The XShot promo code is for a limited time.

We’ve been thinking about purchasing some child life insurance for Raegan because it is really cheap but not sure if it’s really needed. Usually the selling point seems to be that when the child reaches a certain age, you get the cash that you put into the policy.

Sounds good, but I’m not sure. It seems I could just stick the money in the bank and have possibly more at the end of 18 years than the policy. Of course, that means actually putting the money in the bank each and every month. I guess having a policy would ensure that you are tucking that money away.

My husband is suppose to set up automatic drafts from his paycheck to go directly into savings. It’s pretty cool that he can direct deposit his check, then take a portion and the company will re-route it to another account. That might be the best plan yet. It will ensure that we put that money in the bank each month.

We spend a lot of time at our local gaming store. We play card games, board games, and even role playing games at least twice a week. We always try to promote them in the community when we can. My husband is their webmaster and is always looking for new ways to tell others about them.

We have received promotional items from the store like dice and business cards. The store now has personalized pens that I think are a great addition. Everybody loves pens and it’s an item that will be used quite often, possibly seen by other people, too.

My husband had the idea of getting vinyl stickers with the store’s logo on them. He loves stickers and so do a lot of people. That might be a fun promotional idea as well. Some sites have stickers and even have contests to promote putting those stickers up around town.

We feel like we have a connection to the store and want the store to do well. It is great to have a place to go hang out that is kid friendly and free.

Natural foods like organic milk have to meet certain requirements to be considered organic. It must meet the USDA requirements to carry an organic label. Lately I’ve been thinking about switching to organic milk but not sure if I really want to just yet. Over at 5MinutesforMoms.com they have a contest for $300 worth of organic dairy products. That would be a nice way to get into drinking organic milk.

If we decided to go totally organic, we can even get organic dog food for the family pet, ensuring the whole family is eating all natural. Eating organic foods does have an appeal to me. We will be moving soon and might even have a spot to put a small garden. You can’t get any more organic than that.