For the last 30 days people have been Christmas shopping. During that time, there has been the exchange of cash, the use of credit cards, people who had to apply for loans, and 24 hour shopping available at major chains across the nation in preparation for the celebration.

The celebration officially lasts 28 hours (if you consider Christmas Eve starting at 8:00pm when TBS begins their 24 Hours of A Christmas Story marathon) but in comparison to the time and energy of preparation, it takes roughly 5 minutes for Christmas to come and go.

So when all the wrapping paper has been collected into the trash bags, the gifts have been opened and are emitting alien noises, and the crumbs of the cookies are brushed from the table… you can sit back and ask yourself if it was worth it.

The smiles and happiness those 5 minutes have brought should be answer enough.

When you first set-up a blog, your most likely going to do it on a free service such as Blooger or WordPress.com. While this is fine and good for most things, after six months you’ll find yourself getting itchy about their limitations and will want to upgrade. The second most important choice to make about setting up your blog, after choosing your actual blogging platform, is choosing where you are going to actually host it.

The webhost directory at http://www.webhostingchoice.com is an excellent resource in finding exactly what you think you may need, but more importantly, what you can afford. When choosing a host, their ability to serve you and your readers presently as well as when you grow and suddenly, say, add a podcast to your offering.

The directory at http://www.webhostingchoice.com also offers ratings of the different services. I think this is very important, because if other users rate a host lowly then the chances are they will be unable to meet my needs or the potential that I have for growing my blog. A host with a good rating is probably going to be the best bet for me and my readers, and while some of them may be more costly… spending the extra buck or two a month now will save you the potential of unaccountable lost revenue in the future if your host is unable to keep up with your demands.

While there is no surefire way to determine if a host is good or not until you actually experience them, the directory at http://www.webhostingchoice.com helps to narrow it down, which saves you time to do other things… like blog!

With the holidays coming, lists of the dreams and desires from family and friends have undoubtedly grown long. Unfortunately, we are not all in an economic position to fulfill each and every request. Now, more than usual, loans become a possible solution to the challenge of funding the holidays for our friends and family. With the variety and choices of either a secured loan or an unsecured loan available, they can become much more attractive.

One of the problems with using loans to pay for the holidays is that you end up paying for it long after the holiday is over. Any loan I have ever taken myself, I’ve found I paid back the money and then some before my commitment to repay it was done. The money used to pay off the loan could just as easily go into a Holiday Club bank account instead for the upcoming holiday. However, when that future holiday rolls around, you’ll need to resort to taking out another loan.

While the holidays should be a festive and joyful occasion, don’t put yourself in a position to regret it for the rest of the year. Celebrate with what you can have… not with what you have to borrow.

The face of online shopping is being changed by Overstock.com‘s All I want for Christmas Giveaway. What makes this promotion so special? Because its really all about the spirit of the season… giving.

What is up for grabs? Actually, the question should be what isn’t up for grabs? There are televisions, MP3 players, DVD players, clothes, watches, digital cameras, jewelry, and so much more! With daily prize giveaways valued up to $1,000, this is a promotion you don’t want to miss out on! More importantly, your friends won’t want you to be the cause of them missing out on it either!

The whole hook is that when you register for the giveaway, you also choose 5 friends to register with you. If you win… your not the only one who wins, because all of them win the gifts they have registered for as well! The biggest problem you’ll have is choosing who to invite to register with you. I was thinking about who I would get to register with me… and I was able to narrow it down to 5 after starting with a list of 50+. I chose each one for a specific reason… Monique has exquisite fashion sense so whatever she picks would be faboo, Sarcastica and Poppy could both use new televisions, Shelly could always use more books, and I’m sure Miss Ann could use… well… something OTHER than yarn. There is more to life than crocheting… like cereal.

So don’t be a Scrooge to your friends this holiday season, register yourself and invite them to register for the All I want for Christmas Giveaway… let Santa come to you via Overstock.com.

Let’s be honest… being a cereal critic is not as glamorous a blogging job as other such cool things like a “tech blogger”, or a “gadget blogger”, or even a “movie critic”. Who doesn’t like free movies? So it really should be no surprise that I occasionally peruse the personals of online dating services. Surely someone must be willing to be a pop to my crackle?

On of the personals sites I peruse is Datehookup.com. One of the main reasons I use it is because its FREE. Unlike some of the other sites that make you pay for a 6 month subscription to send an e-mail, if I find someone I can just e-mail them right away. Since its free, it also means I only have to wait around 60 seconds for the rejection e-mail as opposed to wondering if they aren’t responding because maybe they kinda like me. The site also has a forum area, which other sites lack, so that you can publicly acknowledge the fact that you got shot down.

While being the Cereal Avenger may not seem like a fabulous choice of online occupation… at least Datehookup.com isn’t milking me for all I’m really not worth just to get rejected.

If its free… its for me.