Now, you might think I may be talking about business, real estate, or some motivational speaker.  Well, you are wrong.

What I am talking about here are those people who know how to write a resume - not just an ordinary one, but one that gets you to the job interview.  Anyone can write a resume using a resume builder, but it takes an expert to tweak it into something amazing.

So, I have enrolled in an upcoming course on how to make a resume - and it is not for the faint hearted.  In fact, the course is over two days - more than your average one hour crash course that most people take.

Thing is, if I am going to look for a job, I don’t want to waste time and money handing out a bunch of garbage.  I would rather hand out one or two resumes to the jobs I want, get the interview, and get the job in the shortest amount of time possible.

I’ll have to see how it goes, but I have a good feeling about it - and that is good enough for me.

Well, my philosophy on life is that a little fun each day is essential.  If life was all about work - why would anyone be happy?  You know the saying is "Enjoy Life" not "Work Life".  So, I make a point to enjoy life every day - even if it is only a brief time.

Lately, I have been playing some fun action games.  Now, I am not talking about blowing people up, or shooting everything I see, rather something where you need to move around a lot.  For example, serving tables in Diner Dash - something where there is a lot of action.

On those days that I don’t feel in the mood for fast paced action, I turn to playing fun puzzle games instead.  A little solitaire, some Mah Jong, or maybe a little Scrabble round out my favorites.  It helps my brain get stimulated, while not working too hard.

So, if you want to live life - play some fun games once in awhile - it keeps me young and happy.

The easiest way to write wedding toasts and speeches is to talk to the people that are closest to the bride and groom.  You will get great stories from their childhood as well as have a chance to learn how people feel about them.

What I like to do with this information is organize it into bulleted points and group them by subject.  I then take my organized points and use them to write wedding toasts that will be very heartfelt as well as humorous.  It will also impress the couple that you took the time to prepare this just for them.

Another great way to get started is to look for free wedding toasts on the Internet.  By looking at these templates, it will help give you an understanding about how to write the toast and what elements should be included.

Don’t forget to get someone to proof read your speech.  Practice often and make some effort to memorize your speech - it will make it look better.  Most of all, have fun - and good luck!

Now most of you husbands out there probably just bought your wife’s engagement ring at the store out of a jewelry case, right?  Well ladies, you will be happy to know I took a different route.  What I did was custom design the look that I wanted for the ring and I hand picked the diamonds based on their significance in our history together. 

My quest started in Houston looking at loose diamonds.  You see, I started here, because this is where I met my wife many years ago.  She was working as the receptionist at a car dealership just half a block away from the restaurant I worked at.  She was a regular customer, and we got to know each other.  So I picked the first stone from a large selection of Houston diamonds at one local retailer.

The next place I went was San Antonio.  It was here that we went for our first vacation together.  I looked for the best San Antonio diamonds, and found one that would work perfectly for the ring.

So, I came home with two diamonds and went straight to the jeweler.  Needless to say, the rest is history.  She loved it, and when I told her the story about her ring, she loved me even more.  Hard to believe that was so many years ago…

I have been thinking for some time of investing in a franchise.  I have been leaning this way because I don’t really have time to setup my own company and figure out something to sell.  I really like the idea of having proven systems to follow, so I don’t have to figure them out myself.

Searching for top franchise opportunities is the easy part - picking one is a little harder.  I would really like to get into something that I am familiar with, or have used myself, so I would have a better idea of the value of the franchise.

Take Starbucks for example.  Now, I can see the locations in town here that would benefit from having a Starbucks franchise.  There is a definite need for them, since they only started popping up here in the last five years.

On the other hand, it is sometimes good to get in when the franchise is just growing and the market is not saturated.  I have been keeping my eye on the fastest growing franchises for something that would work for me - but there is nothing on the list that I would have any interest in.

So, I will have to continue looking for a good franchise for me to invest - and do a little more research.  Besides, I am not in a big rush, rather I am looking for a franchise that is a good fit for me.

Most of my friends have trouble spelling even the simplest words.  For whatever reason, since high school their spelling has become worse.  It could be that most of them work in jobs where they don’t need to write anything - so it is due to a lack of practice.  That bothers me.  My parents always taught me that knowing how to spell is very important.

So, I have spent a lot of time trying to figure out a way to keep my spelling ability up - without taking a lot of time out of my busy schedule.  Through all my experimentation including practicing new words, reading books, and writing, I have found the best tool to keep my spelling top notch: crossword puzzles.

I try do do crossword puzzles at least twice daily.  Lately I have been using free online crossword puzzles, as it is easier for me to take a break and sit at the computer than try to find my crossword book (keeping track of things is a skill I need to work on - more about this another time) and my hands don’t get as dirty (from using a pencil).  They don’t take much time, but if you don’t spell the words properly, your puzzle just won’t work out.

I have started to try something new as well - making my own crossword puzzles.  I am able to do this thanks to a free crossword puzzle maker I use off one of my favorite websites.

So, if you spelling is less than perfect and you want to improve - try crossword puzzles.  Not only will you have to spell properly, you can learn new things at the same time.  It is like killing two birds with one stone - and I enjoy it.

I have a few friends on my list this year that are dog lovers.  Now for these people, I try to pick something that they will enjoy, but I don’t forget their pet.  I think of their dog as their child, and as the dog’s uncle, I don’t want them to get nothing for Christmas.

So, this year I am going a different route.  In previous years I have bought them toys, and I think they have enough.  Instead, I have decided to make them something this year: dog food.

The idea came to me while I was at the used book store.  There on the shelf was a book on homemade dog food - something I had never even considered.  Inside the book there were details on how to can the food that you made - this way I could make them some to have later, and I didn’t need to have all the dogs over for supper.

Inside the book there were some recipes for dog treats - and I made them each a bag full.  I really hope they like their presents this year, and I hope my friends appreciate the time I spent making their dogs these gifts - I know I really enjoyed making them.

Since I was a child, I have loved poetry.  I tried to experience it from many different perspectives (through song, written words, and even writing it myself) to get immersed in the art.

I thought I had experienced all aspects of poetry until I attended the funeral of my grandmother.  You see one of the eulogies that were read also had a couple of funeral poems in it.

I had never seen this side of poetry before.

After the funeral was over, I went over to talk to the gentleman who read the eulogy that contained poetry.  I asked him where he got the idea to use poetry at the funeral.  He said he found it in one of those "How to Write a Eulogy" books from the library.

I am going to have to look into this aspect of poetry, as I somehow missed it altogether.  And I thought I knew everything about poetry…

About two years ago, I was in some serious financial trouble.  You see, I needed some surgery at the time, and I didn’t really have the money.  So what I did was use all my credit cards and my line of credit to pay for it - it was either get the surgery or die.

After my recovery and when I returned home, I was in for a nasty surprise.  I had a big stack of bills and a pile of collection notices - and not enough money to pay them all.  I was so worried that I would have to go bankrupt - and I was embarrassed that I might have to.

It is funny how things happen when you need them to.  On the day that I was trying to find anything that I could do besides going bankrupt, an ad jumped out at me from the newspaper.  Really it was the headline that got me "Credit and Bill Consolidation Help" - I had to call.

It ends up that the company offered credit card negotiation services and helped me reduce my credit card debt in half.  Through their debt negotiation program I was able to reduce my fifteen payment into one and begin the road to recovery.

I am happy to report that it has worked.  I am only one more payment away from being debt free.  Now, I know my credit score isn’t so good, but at least I made an effort to pay off my debts.  I can’t wait until the last payment is done - it is going to be such a relief.

If you are considering starting a home business, there will be a couple of key items that you will need to equip your office.  I know some obvious things such as pens, paper, and a computer are common, but what about your office furniture?

There are just a couple of things that are essential home office furniture.  The first piece of essential furniture would be a desk.  This is where you would do your work, place your computer (if you have one) and generally the workspace you would use to do your work.  Most businesses do not need a huge desk, but get one that is sturdy.  There is nothing more frustrating than trying to work with your desk wobbling - you may just want to pull your hair out!

The second piece of essential furniture would be an office chair.  Not all chairs are created equal - usually the level of comfort you get from your chair varies with the price you pay - and this is one area you should not cheap out.  Mesh office chairs have been my favorite in this area - they are really comfortable and let you back breathe - resulting in a more comfortable work experience.

Just remember that if you do purchase these items, schedule some time to put them together - typically it will take you a whole afternoon.