READING THE PAPER ONLINE

Contribution by Saul Martin

I love having wild blue internet service at the house. Now, I can follow the news better. I used to only get the local paper and would have to watch television for the national and international news. Now, I have a few favorite papers that I like to read in the mornings. Another cool thing about the papers that I read in the morning is that they are all free. I usually read the local paper on-line from my home town.

The other paper that I like to read is called the Huffington Post. I recently discovered it and love how it is organized. It covers a bunch of different genres of news. It has the regular nation and international economic and politics but it also has entertainment, style, and weird news. It is organized like a blog and is really easy to navigate. I think that they also do a good job of filtering the stories. All of the stories they post are interesting and sometimes they have things that can’t be found on other sites. I don’t know what I did all those years. I really just didn’t know how much I was missing out!

Fantasy football

Guest post from: Steve Delaney

Every year in September, my husband begins his fantasy footballseason. He begins planning his team in the summer, which I will never understand. He talks to the guys in his league daily about which players they have, which ones they want to trade, and they banter with endless smack talk about a team that does not actually exist. When we moved into our new house in Dillon, Montana in the spring, I was not surprised when I found him searching “Dillon satellite Specials” on the internet because I knew he wanted to get the TV set up for football season.

I could already imagine our Sunday afternoons, Monday nights and Thursday nights with him glued to the TV while I chased our kids around. I am glad that he has a hobby, but I must say that none of my hobbies compare to his obsession with fantasy football. I am starting to regret purchasing the sports package that we have because I feel like I am feeding his addiction. Purchasing the sports package is just enabling him. Maybe I need to find a hobby that annoys him as much as his hobby annoys me.

Grilling out safely in our backyard and deck area

Guest post written by Brooke Lender

It seems like my brothers and I were always getting into all kinds of accidents while we were growing up. We were either playing too rough and someone would get hurt or we would be flying down the neighborhood hill on our bikes and end up crashing into each other. Well, I'm very aware of that now as a mother and like to make sure that my kids keep safety in mind when they're having fun.

I've been enforcing that even more this summer because my kids are at an age when they can be rough without realizing how much damage they can do. I wanted to go over some outdoor grilling safety rules before a cook out that we're having next weekend, so I looked up some tips online. While I was doing that I saw the site www.homePROimprovement.com and after I looked through it a little bit I saved it as a bookmark in case we need replacement windows in the future. (You never know with three boys!)

I did find some safety tips and sat down my kids and told htem about them. They seemed pretty receptive but I guess I'll be the judge of that at the cook out.

Getting it right

Thanks to Erasmo Cortez

Renovations were the last thing I thought about when I bought my new home. I was more concerned about how bug the yard was and all the cabinet space in the kitchen. Once I moved in, though, I realized that the faucets were leaky, the deck needed replacing and the wallpaper in the bathroom was half rotted!

Thankfully I had signed up for clear wireless internet  so it was really easy to look up the techniques I needed to know in order to get the projects done. While I was at it, I looked into some décor ideas as well that included faux finishes on the walls, painting techniques for the outside of the house and even a gilding technique that I plan ! to use on the bannisters. I’m really excited about all the progress I’ve made and how my house is starting to feel like a home.

I never imagined being a homeowner would be so much work but it’s definitely some of the most rewarding work I’ve ever done!