As I was watching "Oprah" last night, I was struck by a couple on the show who had lost basically all of their material possessions. They had to file bankruptcy and their house was foreclosed on.

When I was a newlywed, I decided to learn how to cook. I bought some shell pasta and all of the ingredients for stuffed shells from my "Joy of Cooking" cookbook that we had received as a wedding gift. "Brand name man" loves Italian, so I thought an easy dish like that would be a great way to begin my foray into culinary excellence.

In my opinion, Brian Regan is the funniest comedian in America. I have seen him live several times, and each time my stomach hurts from laughing when I get home. Here is a great bit he does on airline customer service http://youtube.com/watch?v=jxe0uO2Dpuc

Enjoy!

This is a very cool site if you have ever wanted to make your own cleaning products. It also tells you how to clean pretty much everything in your house. Clark would love it because it saves money - I love it because my cat peed on my rug when we were out of town last week.

http://www.pioneerthinking.com/homecleaning1.html

I had a huge personal realization a month ago that I really need to cut back on my spending. It only took me 35 years (ten of which have been spent working for Clark) to figure that out!

I find that once I get something I want (new clothes, a new piece of furniture, a vacation, etc), there is always another "want" waiting in the wings. In addition to weighing down my wallet, I feel that this has been preventing me from taking good car of the things I already have.

So for the last 30 days I have spent money only on the essentials - mortgage, car, food and utilities. We have eaten out once using money from some things I sold on craigslist. Whenever I want something, I think "what can I take better care of that I already have?"

The results - not only do I have more cash flow, I feel in control of my money rather than my money controlling me. My house is cleaner, my closet less cluttered. Quality time is spent in the kitchen and eating together rather than driving to restaurants, trying to chase down our 2-year-old as he bolts from our table. In short, I feel a lightness and happiness that I never would have guessed would come from NOT spending money. I always thought that acquiring things was a way to achieve happiness. Not so.

For those of you who have listened to the show for a long time, you might know that Clark often refers to me as "Imelda" because of my love for shoes. I have always loved buying shoes and had an appreciation for beautiful shoes. On my desk at work sits a calendar with a picture of a pair of shoes for each day. It was a gift from Clark. So I'm sure you will understand that when our puppy got into my closet and chewed up several of my favorite pairs of shoes, I was not happy.

With my ban on buying and acquiring, what could I do? I looked through my unchewed shoes, and found that most of them are open toed and for the summer months. Should I buy some inexpensive shoes at the mother ship (DSW - Designer Shoe Warehouse)? Should I wear summer shoes on a chilly day?

I decided to "take better care of what I already have." I pulled out a pair of boots that have been a staple in my wardrobe for 3 years now. They were still in tact (many of the other shoes are not wearable at ALL). I put them on, and I'm wearing them today. If someone looks closely at my heels, they will see how torn up they are, and I will tell them the story. But the funny thing is that noone has commented on them yet, because most people just aren't looking that closely. I can walk just fine in these shoes and they work for me today. So my dog ate my shoes, and I'm wearing them anyway. It feels great.

I can't tell you how many emails I have received asking me about the store I mentioned during a local Atlanta broadcast in December. I was raving about a store that garage sale fanatics would love. They sell furniture and nothing costs more than $99. Now, you aren't going to find any new stuff at this store. You will find some antiques, and you will find some junk. It's a lot of fun to peruse everything they have, and the inventory is constantly changing.

At any rate, the store is called The $99 Only Store and it's located at 1117 Alpharetta St.
Roswell, GA 30075. Their phone number is 770-998-9299 and their hours are Monday - Saturday 10-6 and Sunday 12-5.

Have fun and send me an email with what you found. I have not stepped foot in there since I put an end to my constant shopping last month!

Clark and I just returned from our trip to Milwaukee to celebrate his 10th anniversary of being on the air at NewsRadio WTMJ. We had a great time in Wisconsin. The people there are so warm and welcoming to us. It's like the colder it gets, the nicer they are.

Clark rented a car off airport to save money, so we had to get a ride to the rental place from a guy who works in their airport office, then we had to wait 1/2 hour until the ONE car they had was returned for us. What did we do during our wait? Clark wanted fast food, but he treated me to lunch at Perkins. I love places where you can eat breakfast all day - yum!!!

WTMJ has the most beautiful radio facilities I have ever seen. It is truly modern equipment that makes life so much easier! Tom Parker, the program director of WTMJ, and Brenda Vento, promotions queen, threw two great events while we were there. First, Clark was on a panel with Charlie Sykes talking politics. You may think that doesn't sound like Clark, but he was truly in his element. It was a fun panel with a fascinating and often funny discussion that TMJ replayed the next day for all to hear.

The next morning, there was a breakfast for listeners to celebrate 10 years of Clark in Milwaukee. We had a great turnout at the breakfast and unfortunately Clark didn't get to meet everyone who attended as we had to get to the studio to do the radio show.

In the afternoon, Clark did his second hour just for WTMJ listeners, and Tom and Brenda surprised him with a cake from Sam's Club! I must say, one of the highlights of the trip was hearing "The Green House" show do a parody of Clark. You can hear it in all of its glory here.