My thoughtful thoughts..

I need an Italian amore, or a Latin lover. I cranked Andrea Bocelli this morning in my car and realized my life would be much sweeter if I had a man with a foreign accent singing me love songs. In my head, I ranted about American men and how unromantic and crass they are. But then, maybe it's only the American men I've dated who are like that. I've dated two Morrocan men, and melted just hearing their voices. It is something about the way they say my name, "Meeeeshelle...." Even when they turn out to be complete morons, I still love to hear them whisper my name. My friends say I only date men with accents. There were the two Morrocans and an Italian New Yorker from Brooklyn. The New Yorker definitely counts as a foreigner with an accent. Most of the time, I couldn't understand him. But believe it or not, his voice still makes me want to....uh, you know.

I've been blasting my Andrea Bocelli cd nonstop since Saturday when I received it in the mail. My boys are ready to break it in half. I traded a book for it on swaptree.com. It's a great website if you want to save some money, recycle/reuse some of your books or cds and feel "green." It is incredibly easy to use. I have been able to get books, cd's and even games by sending my old "stuff" to other website members. I feel better (quite smug, actually...) that I'm reusing and not producing more waste! (I do agree that the library is definitely the best way to go, but when I want a book I can highlight or write notes in, I need my own copy.)

So....the other way I'm trying to save or make a bit of cash is by completing these surveys online. I went on the website wisebread.com and they listed a bunch of websites which will pay you to participate in their market research surveys. I was so excited to give my opinion and get paid for it, too! How hard could it be? I'm always spouting off with my own opinion about things, only this time people actually want to hear it! This is how it works: You earn points every time you complete a survey, and those points are redeemed for cash or gift cards. However, I have quickly realized that there is a catch. First of all, I don't qualify for a lot of the surveys they email me. I'll go through the first 5 to 10 questions and a screen pops up that reads, "We're sorry, but you have screened out of this survey....." blah blah blah. So, it barely counts towards my "points." The other catch is that a lot of these surveys are LONG and BORING.... My God, I can only think of so much to say about my washing machine. But, I'm still filling out the surveys, because every time you do, your name is entered in a raffle for $300-$500!

Woohoo!!

What a sucker I am; I keep waiting for the email telling me I'm a winner. Oh well, maybe I'll make enough money to buy tickets to the next Andrea Bocelli concert.