I wonder...is Google *too* suggestive? http://ping.fm/Eojh7

How to buy a House

"It took longer than expected, but it was all worth it!!"

How I did it: I lived in the city for a year, after knowing that I'm not, nor have ever been a city person. But I wanted to experience it and I did and I'm glad I did.

But with all of the stimulus packages, mortgage rates, and the simple fact that it's a buyers market, it was an easy decision: I was ready to buy.

There were definitely some unexpected events, but in the end, I don't remember any of the bad things that happened, because now I own my very first home!

Lessons & tips: Be patient. And it's true what they say - when you walk into the right place, you just know it.

Resources: Find a realtor you can trust, inspectors who are honest, a mortgage rep that is reliable, and title attorneys who won't rip you off.

It took me 7 months.

It made me overjoyed

See more progress on: buy a house

Congratulations, Mr. President Elect

Well, it's very nearly official. Barack Obama will be the next President of the United States of America, and our very first African American president. My most enthusiastic congratulations!!!!

It was a long and intense race, and I must say....I'm glad it's finally over. I'm the first to admit I'm extremely bias, but at the end of the day, I really do think the best man won.

I just got finished watching the speeches from both candidates last night. They were both extremely moving and powerful - Obama's, to me, was reminiscent of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s famous speech; and McCain's (as described by my coworker) was the best of his entire campaign.

If you haven't seen either, you can check out Obama's speech on his official website's blog or McCain's (on the Huffington Post - hehe - still official, I promise).

As most people are, I'm glad it's all over, and we can get back to real life. And maybe start seeing some of those political signs on street corners come down??

How to get a job

"I landed my dream job right out of college."

How I did it: I started applying for jobs in February, knowing that I wanted to have one by the time I graduated in May.  I applied to every job that looked interesting in my field (marketing) - including a job for a Search Engine Marketer that required AT LEAST 2 years of experience.  I, however, had none.  I ended up getting an interview, then a second interview, then a job offer. 

Lessons & tips: Apply to a job you know you'll love, even if you're under qualified.  What can it hurt?  Then *wow* them at the interview. 

Resources: college education, passion, resume, business suit

It took me 1 month.

It made me ecstatic

See more progress on: get a job

How to drink eight glasses of water each day

"Drinking eight glasses of water a day makes your body feel so much better - it'll thank you!"

How I did it: Working with a water cooler within twenty feet definitely helps.  I'll fill my mug up about every hour (which also means I have to make a trip to the bathroom just about every hour!)
Before that, though, I had a hard time drinking water.  I was lucky if I had 2-3 glasses a day- and that was usually jsut because of working out! 
Now that I've started drinking so much water at work, my body craves it, so I drink just as much at home!

Lessons & tips: Often times, your body thinks it's hungry when you're actually thirsty.  Some of the best advice (especially for people trying to lose weight) is when you think you're hungry, drink a glass of water first.  Wait about 20 minutes, if you're still hungry, then eat! If not you were just thirsty.  This will get you in a routine of drinking eight glasses a day!

Resources: water cooler, a little bit of aqua, and a cup.

It took me 10 days.

It made me feel better

See more progress on: Drink eight glasses of water each day

3G iPhone

It's been a while since I've written. Oops. My bad!

Don't know if you can tell by the title (*wink wink*), but I finally got myself an iPhone!! I love it, that's all I can really say. If you don't have one...get one!!

Beautiful Wordle Word Clouds

Via Twitter friends, I found this really cool site: Wordle. There, you can insert your URL/just paste a bunch of words and it will create a really pretty word cloud! This one is of this blog:

This next Wordle is from a book I'm "writing." I say writing in quotes simply because it's one of those works in progress - about life essentially:

I think I'm going to play around on this a little!