I don’t know if I mentioned this before, but my parents are coming to visit at the end of the week. They’ll be staying for nine days, which always ends up feeling like an eternity before the visit is over! I always get stressed out when we have houseguests, mostly because our place is so small. There’s never enough room to put all the luggage, clothes, and gifts that my parents always bring, not to mention the fact that we have to clear my son out of his room so my parents can have someplace to sleep.

I’m going to have to spend most of the week cleaning and buying extra toothpaste, shampoo, food, and other supplies, which again just adds to my stress levels. Plus, my son has been sick for the last few days, and I’ve been worried about him, so this is not good timing at all. Of course, my parents bought their plane tickets six months ago, so there’s no turning back now. I hope I can get a handle on things this week and maybe even enjoy their visit for a change!

Besides my computers and cell phone, I’d have to say that the one communication tool I can’t live without is my Brother fax machine. I bought this thing a couple years ago when I started freelancing on a full-time basis and have used it much more than I ever thought I would. I just figured that I’d have to send or receive the odd document on my Brother fax machine, with everything else being done through email. Of course, I do take care of a majority of my correspondence with email, but I’ve had to fax tons of documents too.

I did a lot of research on fax machines before making a purchase. In the end, I decided that Brother fax machines had by far the best quality and reputation in the price range I was looking at. I spent less than $200 on this Brother fax machine, and it has performed as well as a machine that costs twice as much. No joke! The transmissions are very clear and get completed pretty quickly, so I can’t really ask for anything more.

I’m definitely sold on Brother fax machines now and will definitely buy another one when my current machine goes kaput. It hasn’t showed any signs of slowing down yet, so hopefully I’m still many years away from that point!!

I’ve been dieting off and on for this entire year. While I haven’t reached my weight loss goal yet, I have been able to learn quite a few things about the way I eat. For example, it’s important for me to count calories and measure serving sizes, otherwise I’m bound to go way overboard. In addition, I often feel hungry throughout the day — even if I’ve just finished a meal within the last couple hours or so.

I think this is the key to my weight loss problems. I have no trouble counting calories and sticking to certain serving sizes, but just can’t fend off the near-constant cravings. If I started to use a strong appetite suppressant like Hoodia, then I’ll probably be able to get over the proverbial hump and start shedding this extra weight. Hoodia is a product used by many Hollywood celebrities to maintain their weight goals, so I hope it works just as well for me!