Today as I was browsing around the Internet, I came across a website called AbundaTrade.com that offers a very cool service. They take trade-ins of used cds, DVDs, and books towards the purchase of brand-new items such as iPods, digital cameras, televisions, GPS systems, and more. Or, you can simply opt to get cash back for your items, which is a terrific option if you’re in a bind and need some extra money for birthdays, Christmas presents, etc.

I spent a lot of time on the AbundaTrade.com site, and am very impressed with what I saw. First of all, there’s an interface right on the site that allows you to check the value of any item that you want to trade in. All you have to do is enter the ISBN or UPC number to see how much AbundaTrade will give you if the item is in very good condition. If your item is in less than perfect shape, then obviously you’ll get less for the trade.

Once you round up enough stuff to trade in for the iPod or flat-screen TV that you want, you just ship everything to AbundaTrade. Once they go through and verify that your items work properly, they’ll send you whatever product (or cash) you opted to trade for. Yes, it really is as easy as that!

Best of all, if you don’t have enough items to trade for the full value of that brand-new iPod Touch you’ve had your eye on, you can still trade whatever you’ve got and simply make up the difference in cash. Imagine being able to get a new iPod with just fifty bucks and a bunch of used CDs and DVDs!

If you ask me, I think AbundaTrade sounds like a far better way to get cash for old CDs, DVDs, and books than typical methods like auction sites or garage sales. It’s just a lot easier to ship a box of stuff off to them and be done with it instead of having to constantly monitor bidding, hope the winner pays, shipping DVDs off to every corner of the country, etc. There’s far less work involved with AbundaTrade.com, so I’m definitely going to go that route from now on!

So if you’ve had your eye on a cool, new electronic gadget but haven’t been able to afford it, why not give AbundaTrade.com a try? Everyone has a couple hundred bucks worth of CDs, DVDs, and books laying around in their house. Put that old stuff to work for you and get the items you really want at AbundaTrade!

I don’t watch The View, but I assume that it’s a pretty popular program. Otherwise, why would a blurb about co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck becoming pregnant again be considered “news”?

Apparently, the ladies were talking about the California woman who recently gave birth to octuplets when Hasselbeck mentioned that she’s pregnant for the third time. She said that she and husband Tim were “surprised” this time around because she had so much trouble getting pregnant the first two times.

Elisabeth Hasselbeck is due in August, and the new baby will join siblings Grace and Taylor Thomas.

Hmm, while this is certainly good for the Hasselbeck family, I don’t quite understand why it’s important enough to be on the front page of Yahoo or why both Elisabeth and Tim’s names appear several times on the Google Trends list of the day’s top 100 searches. As I said before, The View must really be a popular program if people care this much about one of the co-hosts….

Whenever I have first-time guests at my house, I always wait for their inevitable reaction to my sense of decor. The house looks very nice on the outside, as it’s only about 7 years old and is part of a newer development of “luxury townhouses”. So most people reasonably assume that the interior will be nice as well.

But that’s not the case at all. Decorating is the last thing we want to spend our money on, so we simply don’t bother with anything good. Our living room (where we receive guests) features a plastic coffee table and an ugly brown sofa that even discount furniture stores would be reluctant to carry. We have no dining room set, so I use that room as my home office, where I have a desk chair held together by duct tape. I also have two plastic cabinets that serve as catch-alls for my junk.

The bedrooms aren’t any better. We have plastic bureaus with faux wood tops for our clothes, and an aluminum cart that serves as a TV stand. That’s it. My son’s room also makes heavy use of plastic storage drawers, as well as vinyl baskets for his toys.

Seriously, the inside of my home looks like a college dorm or worse. It’s sometimes embarrassing, like when we have to entertain colleagues from Jerry’s office. But as I said, neither of us are the type to spend thousands of dollars on furniture, so we’re mostly ok with the way things are now!

The big game is this coming Sunday, and I’m glad to say that I’ve finalized my plans for the day. I’m going to be watching the game at my friend Jeff’s house, mostly because I know he’s an Arizona Cardinals fan and will be pulling out all the stops to show his support for that team. Since I too want Arizona to win, I might as well watch the game in a Cardinal-friendly place.

I’m sure by the time Jeff gets done decorating his house for the Super Bowl, everyone will think that he’s the official Arizona Cardinals Director of Fandemonium. He’ll have banners and pennants on the walls, red and white streamers and bunting hanging from the ceilings, and probably a few handmade signs as well. I know all the plates and cups will be in red and white, and the food will probably follow that color scheme as well.

The great thing about watching the Super Bowl at Jeff’s place is that we’re bound to have a good time no matter how the game turns out. I can’t wait for Sunday! Go Cardinals!!!

Today is my eight-year wedding anniversary! We went out to dinner on Saturday night to celebrate, so tonight we’re just going to have a quiet evening at home and watch the video of our wedding day (we really need to get that converted to DVD).

I have to tell you that I feel truly lucky… eight years of marriage and zero signs of serious trouble in all that time. We have such a happy, stable, comfortable, and loving relationship, and for that, I’m eternally grateful!

These days, it takes at least a Master’s degree in order to get ahead in most professions, including nursing. With higher education being as accessible as it is, a four-year Bachelor’s degree is no longer enough to set you apart from other job-seeking candidates out there. St. Xavier University understands this, which is why they currently offer a fully accredited online MS nursing degree.

The online MS nursing program from St. Xavier University provides students with a convenient, flexible way to earn their Master’s degree. Most classes are offered online, with just one weekend of on-campus participation required, which means that you can continue working a full-time job or taking care of your family while you pursue your degree. This is an important consideration for many students, and makes returning to school less of a financial burden than it would be if they took the typical classroom route.

With a respected faculty and 70 years of tradition behind it, it’s no wonder that St. Xavier University is a leading educator for health care professionals. If you already have a Bachelor’s degree from an accredited school (or will soon receive one) and would like to take your career to the next level with a Master’s degree, then visit the SXU website for more information. It could be the best career decision you ever make!

I’ve been reading some things about another pet food recall in the works? This one apparently isn’t as widespread or critical as the one last year (where many beloved animals died from tainted food), but should still be looked into. Apparently, the current pet food recall has something to do with the peanut butter problem, and affects products like Great Choice Dog Biscuits sold at PetSmart.

I don’t think I’ve ever purchased that brand myself and I know I don’t currently have it in my house, so that’s a relief. But you should definitely be aware of the potential for harm to your animals and get rid of the biscuits if you have them.