My husband’s brother is getting married in October. We are excited because Melissa is the most normal girl he has ever dated. He has a knack for finding needy losers to date and we were awed and amazed when he brought her home for the first time.

We were even more shocked to find out that he had met her through free online dating sites. I have never known anybody that had this work for them, successfully. I was very happy that he found someone who seemed to have it all together. She had a career, a house and she didn’t have half a dozen kids from her previous four relationships.

It made me have a new respect for sites that advertise that you can find local singles. I am pleased to say that neither one of them is a local single anymore and we all want to welcome Melissa to the family.

I have a friend who hates the Internet, complains every time her computer at school hiccups and has to be rebooted (it’s a Mac, so it’s not a Windows issue), and except for finding information online — and even that’s an issue with her — and email, takes every opportunity to put down the very medium I’ve chosen as my business platform. Makes for some interesting conversations.

I’m not seeking MLM success and I’m not using the Internet for MLM lead generation. I’m also not exactly blogging for profit, so it’s difficult to explain to her (or anyone else) exactly what it is I do and why I’m not yet making money at it when I’ve been working on a web business for three years.

I’ve tried to explain how many facets there are to setting up an online business. A well-respected online marketer — one to whom the top marketers go to for advice — created a graphical representation of all the tasks necessary for starting and then growing and maintaining an online business. I’m so glad that I didn’t see that when I first started out, or we wouldn’t be having this conversation right now, because I probably wouldn’t be online.

Many couples are opting for wedding videos now in addition to photographs to commemorate their special day. Whether the couple is looking for traditional style or a more funky and edgy production, there are many videographers to choose from.

Most can take photos from other sources like friends and family or even video and put them all together into one beautiful quality production video that will last a lifetime. They can add the music of your choice and by putting together the photos and videos can tell a story of your relationship and the special wedding day all together.

If you want night time shots, it shouldn’t be a problem either and most companies can provide professional equipment to take original video footage for you. One really cool way to send unique invitations is to send a video DVD made from photos and video of the couple. It is actually quite reasonable when it comes to cost, and will certainly be remembered by the guests.

When I look down at my mobile phone, I am amazed that it is so powerful.  Sure, it has only been in my life for a few years, but I never realized how important it was until today.

You see, I was just sitting down today contributing to a mobile community while doing some mobile file sharing with some friends.  It wasn’t until I realized that this little thing in my hands was letting me do all this that I realized how valuable my phone was to my life.

I can’t live without it.

In fact, I would say that my cell phone has more of an impact on my life than my computer.  It goes with me wherever I go, and is with me throughout the day.  You might even go as far as saying that it is my lifeline to the world - without it, I don’t know what I would do.

Usually, I don’t really care how dirty my house gets, but today was an exception.  You see, there was a terrible dust storm last night, and it pelted my house so much that it looks like a sand castle.  I know that might sound a little funny, but you can see the dirt on the house, and it is not pretty.

But thankfully, my dirty house has given me a chance to play with a toy that I bought last year that I haven’t had a reason to use yet.  I bought a pressure washer to do a little pressure washing around the home, but since it rained so much last year, it never left the box.

So, this afternoon I had the opportunity to do a little concrete cleaning and house washing, and things look much better now.  I had never realized that a pressure washer would be so much different than a garden hose, and it shows.

My wife thinks a good job of cleaning, but if you ask me, I just had fun playing with water.  Lets keep it as a little secret between us, okay?

An Internet Marketing mentor of mine once said, “If there is a guarantee that people will be interested in your product, it’s calling it a system.” I’ve thought about that ever since I first heard mention this. I’m clueless when it comes to constructing a system myself.

I have a friend who can create a system for just about anything — assuming she has the time. I swear she was born with a knack for seeing to the heart of any task. I, on the other hand, am completely hopeless at breaking down a project into doable chunks. It all looks important to me and I can’t even begin to figure out where to start.

So I’ve been contemplating what the big deal is about systems. There’s our Solar System, the social security system, there are gambling systems and even RO systems - reverse osmosis water treatment. Then there computer operating systems, our own digestive system, the lymphatic system, and our endocrine system. There are systems administrators and people who say, “Don’t buck the system.” So why is it with all the systems surrounding me, I can’t create one? Probably because a system, by its very nature, is organized, and I’m missing the organizational base pair sequences in my genetic code. Guess my system needs some optimization. Transplant, anyone?

Whether you’re interested in the latest backpacks that are wired to charge your cell phone, laptop or mp3 player, (the jury is still out on how long it takes to charge a notebook computer, and a cell phone and your favorite music player), the fact of the matter is, electronics are here to stay.

Fortunately our society also has room for things non technical. “One size fits all” does not necessarily fit everyone, whether clothing or attitudes or consumer goods.

Still new gadget offers appear daily in a marketplace that is evolving so rapidly that tech writers must specialize. There’s just too much for any one person to keep up with.

From beading to auctions to ground pepper to mechanical pencils, chances are there is a handy-dandy little gizmo to save time and effort, make a job easier or save money. And tomorrow, no doubt, there will be sixteen more.

While we were at the jewelry store a while back looking at anniversary rings in diamond and gemstones for my mom, the clerk asked if we knew that we were wearing our wedding rings the wrong way.

We both asked what she meant and she then told us that  the fourth finger on the left hand according to tradition and whoever passes on these silly rules,  supposedly holds the vein that hooks directly to the heart. By wearing your wedding ring first, closes to your heart it represents that your husband is closest to your heart also.

Neither my mother or I had heard this before and both agreed that it meant more to us the way we wear our wedding bands now. This led to the clerk telling us that with solitaire rings, diamonds are the most popular stone to have which is what both of us have as our engagement rings…… and we wear them closest to our hearts.

My cousin Steve has the best health insurance plan I’ve ever seen. He’s been doing therapy for carpal tunnel locally, but had to be in Southern California for two weeks on business. He did an online search for carpal tunnel in Orange County, found a provider who was on his insurance plan and got almost instant approval to continue his therapy during his stay in Anaheim. Now that’s impressive.

I guess the part that amazes me most is how quickly this all panned out. I’m not so surprised it was approved, just that it occurred within such a short time frame. In my experience, the wheels of bureaucracy turn slowly.

I’d give a lot to have affordable health insurance myself. Since my divorce I haven’t had any coverage. Let’s hope my good health continues until I can get something like my cousin Steve’s plan. I’ll breathe a lot easier then.

One of the questions that was posed to us at a seminar that I recently attended was if we knew the top five keys to a happy relationship. The seminar was one that I was attending through my work and it was about building relationships in the workplace, as it is critical for the success of any business that the employees get along.

At the seminar each of the attendees received a relationship book discussing potential problems that could happen between people in the workplace and the best solutions for these problems.  I found the seminar to be very informative and I was really glad that I had the chance to go.

I think I have a happy relationship with every one of my coworkers which is one of the reasons that my boss chose me to go to the seminar.  She figured, that I could share the knowledge that I learned with my fellow coworkers as they all seemed to respect me.