Have you seen the Monopoly Electronic Banking Edition? It looks pretty cool. All money transactions are handled through an in-game debt card, so when you have land for sale you will swipe your card to receive money from the sale. You will also swipe your card when you pay for land, buy a house, or pay taxes.

The paper money in Monopoly has always been very cumbersome for me to manage. It always seems to shift under the board when I have it laid out in stacks. It becomes quite unbearable, so I am glad to see this new “twist” to Monopoly.

I don’t get to play Monopoly that much but this electronic banking edition really has me looking forward to playing it again.

Luckily there was no Wii at Wal-Mart today. I was having a weak moment and probably would have bought one. Even more reason to buy a Wii is that my niece has one and loves it. Now I know someone else that loves the Wii.

It will probably be Tuesday before Wiis are in again. Hopefully I can hold out another week. My plan for buying a Wii should be complete in a few days, which will be good news because then I will have made the extra money to buy it and not feel guilty.

Good news is that I did find a cache of PSOne games that I haven’t played in quite a long time. Now to find the PS2, and hopefully time will pass until I am ready to buy a Wii.

We’re in the process of planning our trips for 2008. One of our favorite vacation states is North Carolina. It is simply a beautiful, charming state to visit. For us, North Carolina holds a lot of special memories since we honeymooned there. Someday we will go back and explore the state further.

One city that is a must see is Raleigh, North Carolina. That part of North Carolina has so much going on that is positive. I’d love to live there since Raleigh has become quite the technology hub playing home to a number of game companies. Just for registering with VisitRaleigh.com, I will be entered into the FREE Raleigh Getaway. The prize includes a one night’s stay for two at the Courtyard by Marriott Raleigh Crabtree Valley. To make sure you have plenty to do, the getaway also includes:

Free VIP admission for two to Rum Runners
2 tickets to the North Carolina Theatre
2 tickets to the N.C. Museum of Art’s Landscapes from the Age of Impressionism
2 tickets to Dinosaurs: Ancient Fossils, New Discoveries at the N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences

And if that isn’t enough, there is also a $25 gift certificate to Bloomsbury Bistro. This getaway is packed full of fun things to do in Raleigh. There is a lot else going on in Raleigh, too. Being an ABBA fan, if I won, I would have to check out Mamma Mia! Mamma Mia! reminds me of the TV show “My Two Dads” except add one more possible Dad.

Of course, I always loved traveling to that part of the country in the fall since everything is so gorgeous with the fall foliage. So, a fall getaway to Raleigh sounds very appealing. Winning the Raleigh getaway and taking the trip in the fall would be ideal.

It’s so nice to be able to plan virtually a whole trip online. I remember the old days when we would have to wait to get to a place to really know what exactly we wanted to do while we were there. Visit Raleigh does make it easy to find out exactly what Raleigh has to offer and plan accordingly.

Hopefully our trip back to North Carolina will be forthcoming. My parents and I went almost every year when I was growing up. Those same memories I have of North Carolina I can’t wait to share with my daughter in a few years.

So, I recently won a contest with a cash prize. I’m thrilled over it but am also fighting off the impulse to go buy a Wii. I could really use the money to pay some bills and finally have a month where don’t almost break the bank before it’s over. That idea sounds even more appealing. I hate being responsible.

Before I found out I was the winner, I had formulated a plan to make the money to buy a Wii. Now with this extra money, I think I can step up my plan and make it happen within a week. The overall plan is to buy one before the Christmas season gets in full swing. I have a feeling they might be harder to find come November and December.

So, very soon I shall have my Wii. Oh yes, it will be mine.

Part of my fitness revolution is to track my progress. I’ve been thinking about investing in some gadgets to help me see the improvements to my health. I’ve never had a need to use a pulse oximeter to check the oxygen in my blood. Luckily my health issues aren’t serious enough to warrant it. If I can get in shape, then maybe I won’t develop problems that need constant attention.

I would like a device that measures my heart rate. It’s good to get your heart rate going when exercising since it pumps more blood. I will have to do a little more research on target heart rate and a good rate to have when working out. I’ve never been able to find my pulse or to measure it really accurately. Some device meant to do just that would be a great little tool in my fitness revolution.

This weekend I do plan to buy a DDR mat for the PS2 thanks to a little extra money in the budget this week. Now I can see if my $1 DDR PS2 game works and finally start the revolution properly.

As an older gamer, I have many aches and pains that I didn’t have when I was younger. One I have recently developed has been a sore thumb that flares up especially when I play Guitar Hero. Moving hasn’t helped my condition with all the repairs we have been doing. Luckily I can use Freeze It to help get some relief from the pain. Freeze It works for hours and a little goes a long way.

Freeze It is a topical pain relief product that comes in either a tube or a roll on. I have the roll on since even though Freeze It is non-greasy and not messy, working it into a muscle or joint can cause the gel to work on your hand. Using the roll on means that I just apply Freeze It exactly where it needs to go. Plus the roll on travels better in my purse. Here is my testimonial for just how much I like this product for pain relief.

The best part of Freeze It is that it is long lasting. It’s been a few hours since I applied Freeze It and I can see feel it working. As an older gamer, I have less time to game, so I can’t let an injury stand in my way of playing my favorite games. Thanks to Freeze It I can enjoy Guitar Hero even after a day of painting.

I had to run to Wal-Mart and of course had to run through the game section. They had in stock two Nintendo Wiis. I had to get out of there fast before I charged it. Oy Vey. I don’t know how much longer I can last.

It was easy before to want a Wii and not have one since you couldn’t find them in town at all. My friend bought one at Sear’s earlier this year. I didn’t even know they had games at Sear’s. That’s probably the reason they had one since no one knew they carried that type of product.

These last few months I’ve seen Wiis popping up everywhere. It’s so difficult to keep passing them by. Hopefully I can hold out until closer to Christmas when we have the cash to buy. Being a grown up is so hard sometimes.

As readers know, I just moved to a new house the beginning of September. It was a long process and took us about a week to get everything out of our old place. We battled rain, had to buy boxes on the fly, and other obstacles stood in our way to getting moved in a timely fashion.

I know for us movers no matter how much you prepare, there is always something that you forget about. That’s where Homebulletin.net comes in very handy. Not only can they help you find movers, but they offer tips and advice for those preparing to move. For the lower 48 states, you can get moving quotes that will help you to find the best service. I just wish I had found them a few weeks ago because their resources could have made our move less stressful. Next time I will know better.

For movers, there is so much to take into account. Your stuff always takes up more room than you think. I was amazed at just how many boxes we need just to pack games and video game systems.

Hopefully it will be a long time before we move again. When we do, I will be checking with Homebulletin.net for moving tips since I’m bound to forget the moving lessons I’ve learned the hard way.

I always like to start planning for Christmas the first of October. I like to layout a gift budget so I know exactly how much money I will need. This year will be challenging even though we are living in a cheaper place. It will be challenging because just our Christmas lists are quite expensive.

With a Wii and a 360 on the list, that pretty much wipes out my whole budget. Therefore, we won’t be getting both systems. One system might not be that hard to swing. It’s just deciding which one. I’d like a Wii, and the husband would like a 360. They both have advantages for right now. Family gaming would be so fun with the Wii, but Halo 3 just was released for the 360. It’s a tough call.

I wonder if relatives would just take an “I owe you” for a Christmas present, then we could get both.

I’m a huge trivia buff. I love trivia games and taking trivia quizzes on the Internet. Couple that with a love of sports and I have found a nice sports trivia community. You can take the sports trivia test that is made up of user submitted questions. The quizzes are in category by sport. I did think I knew a lot about sports until taking one of the quizzes.

Some trivia is more obscure than other facts. This can make it more challenging, and you can get to learn some new facts. I don’t mind hard trivia as it just means more when I actually get some of them right. TriviaFix.com has trivia in several popular sports like hockey, basketball, baseball, and football. You can sign up with them to keep tally of your score. There are also monthly prizes to those sports trivia gods who do really well the whole month.

After signing up with Trivia Fix, you can invite your friends to join you. You can play together as a team. What is a sports game without a team anyway? Since all questions come from users, you can submit questions to be added to the mix. On the stats page, you can see the percentage of people who have gotten your question right. Some questions that you thought might be easy might be a bit more challenging. The stats will reveal all.

Players earn points for answering trivia questions correctly. If you view another player taking the lead, then you can challenge them. Simply submit the question you would like to see them answer, then wait to see if they are up to the challenge.

Much like sports in general, Trivia Fix is a challenging and competitive way for sports fans to “get into the game.” Answer questions, challenge players, and develop a team, then get to answering those trivia questions for a chance to win some prizes.