Last year we finally donated our old artificial Christmas tree to a charity thrift store. We bought the tree many yeas ago and for a cheap enough price of $15. I had decided that this year we would get a bigger, better tree since our daughter will be old enough to really enjoy the Christmas season.

The worse part of decorating a tree for me is putting the Christmas tree lights on. Around and around the tree we go. It’s enough to make me dizzy just thinking about it. And not only that, but first you have to unwind the massive long strings of lights, then test the bulbs and track down the non-working ones. Next is a game of “where are the extra bulbs?” that usually ends with a trip to the store to buy a new pack of light bulbs.

I really like the artificial speciality Christmas trees that can come prelit with fiber optics. I can finally get rid of those Christmas lights altogether. I’m also intrigued with the upside down Christmas trees because they give a lot more room under the tree for gifts. I wonder if I can convince my husband that since we have more room then we must buy more gifts?

Artificial prelit Christmas trees will probably be the way to go for us. It’ll make decorating so much less of a hassle.

Some artificial wreaths and garlands will be just the thing to spruce up the rest of the house for the holiday season. We definitely need a wreath for the door. Some garland on the windows would be a nice touch, too.

Here is a gaming memory I have around Christmas. It involves The Sims. I had a great home for one family with some really nice things in it. I had done the money cheat, so there were plenty of luxury items. I bought the Sims Christmas tree and had one Sim give a present to another one. Well, they hated it and preceded to stomp on my gift. I tried it again with different Sims in the home with the same result. This is when I learned about when Sims have nice things, cheap gifts don’t really mean that much to them.

Please Christmas don’t be late! I’m ready to decorate now.

Standard poker play can be very easy to learn. The real skill with playing poker is knowing when to stay in a hand and when to fold. There are many poker variations. One of the most popular today is Texas Hold Em. In Texas Hold Em, players share community cards to make up their poker hands along with the player’s two hole cards that are dealt face down. Poker forums can really help new players get answers to their questions about the game.

Before playing poker, become familiar with all of the poker hands and their order of importance. If you have a pair of Kings, there are many poker hand that will trump that. Here is a rundown of the poker hands in order of value:

High Card–If no player has anything, the person with the highest valued card wins.
A Pair-two cards of the same rank. Two kings, Two eights, etc.
2 pair–two pairs of cards–Two kings and two eights in the same hand.
Straight–A run of cards that are in sequential order. For example, 5-6-7-8-9. Suit of the cards does not matter.
Flush–five cards that are of the same suit and do not have to be in a certain order.
Full House–two of a kind and three of a kind
4 of a Kind–four cards all of the same rank.
Straight-Flush–five cards that are both in sequential order and are of the same suit.
Royal Flush–Ten, Jack, Queen, King, Ace–all in the same suit.

A good, solid understanding of the basics of poker will help you develop a winning poker strategy. There are plenty of video games for all consoles and the PC that can help you understand poker better. Poker Superstars II is one of my favorites; however, there are plenty of other game titles to choose from on the market.

My niece is looking into finishing her degree online. Her interest in online learning has made piqued my interest too. I already have my degree but love to learn. With a new baby online learning looks to be a very promising way to enhance my skill set.

One place to get an online education is Capella University. Founded in 1993 in Minnesota, Capella offers 76 undergraduate and graduate specializations as well as 16 certificate specializations. 16,000 students from all 50 states and 63 countries populate this virtual campus.

Capella is an accredited online university and is a website that I’ll be sharing with my niece.

I enjoy saving money and using coupons; however, I do not enjoy keeping up with coupon clippings. Cellfire.com sounds like a very intriguing concept. You download the software to your cell phone then you can take advantage of offers on the screen. Right now you can get free body lotion for Bath and Bodyworks. All you have to do is download the free Cellfire software to your cell phone. Head on over to Bath and Bodyworks. Make a purchase and receive a free bottle of Signature Body Lotion ($9.50 value) just by showing the coupon from your cell phone.

There are some other nice offers available as well. Hollywood Video has an offer of rent one move or video game and get a rental free. Hopefully one day the need to clip and save coupons will be a thing of the past.