This cozy little BBQ place really satisfies the desire for good ol’ Texas BBQ.  Having spent years driving to Johnnie’s mobile BBQ wagon on Saturday mornings to get a couple huge brisket sandwiches, we’ve missed the mouth watering taste of that Texas treat.  (Okay, so Bird Dog says it’s Oklahoma style, but we won’t dredge up that old rivalry.  :-)  Mesquite or oak smoked, it all tastes great! ) Well, no more waiting!  Colorado Springs loves Bird Dog BBQ and so does my family.  Great pulled pork, brisket, and links and a unique wasabi BBQ sauce that adds just the right tang to your sandwich.  Give it a try.  They are located at Stetson Hills and Powers but I read recently they just opened a new location at Shops at Briargate too.

There is a new trend in some areas that have been especially hard hit during the past 4 years - people who are current on their mortgages walking away and letting the bank take back their house.  In the early 1980s this phenomenon was happening in Houston, TX, where we lived at the time, because home prices dropped all over the city and surrounding communities and people who were unable to sell their homes for what they owed simply walked away.  Some neighborhoods looked like Phoenix and Florida do today with foreclosure after foreclosure lining the streets.  Here is a link to a recent article from Realtor.com about the risks in doing this.

Did you ever want to be an astronaut?  Do you get feeds from the NASA website regularly?  Are you a space geek?  Then get to the Fine Arts Center soon to see the current exhibit on the history of NASA.  I love looking at Hubble photos and have used them as inspiration for ATCs (artist trading cards).

Here’s where you can find a list of important changes to credit card regulations intended to protect consumers.  Changes Set to Protect Credit-Using Consumers | RISMedia  I don’t know about you, but the fact that you could be a few hours late with your payment and could end up being dinged by “universal default” so that all your card rates go up, is a practice by credit card companies that I have considered very underhanded.  Universal default still exists, so look at the new rules to see how it is applied.

With the new rules, as long as your payment is received by 5pm the day it is due, you are considered to have paid on time.  Plus, if your payment due date falls on a Sunday or holiday, you get an extra day added to your due date.  The other thing I think is an improvement is that the credit card companies have to mail or deliver your bill 3 weeks before it is due and they have to give you a consistent due date.  That will help everyone who uses electronic bill payment services so you can set up an automatic payment and never be late again, which can help raise your credit score.  If you only pay the minimum due, you will still take years to pay off your balance, so make a plan to get those balances down and don’t use the card until you pay off what is owed.  Paying interest is a lost opportunity for being able to buy fun things you want.  Instead you get nothing for your money except a bill every month.  The best plan is to pay off your balance every month.  If you can’t do that, figure out why not.

People under 21 will now have to show proof of financial ability to make their payments or have a co-signer to get a card.  Let’s hope this rule helps a lot less college students and young people get in trouble with credit cards which damages their credit at a young age.  Plus you start out in life behind and never seem to get ahead.  Very sad way to start adulthood.  Financial responsibility goes a long way to helping you have a less stressful life.

There are needs (food, transportation, shelter) and wants (video games, top of the line mobile devices, name brand clothing) in life and wants will never be needs.  Too many people have been using credit cards to buy wants they can’t afford.  Maybe as a country these rules will help us individually get our priorities straight and we can tell Congress to get their spending priorities straight as well so that the next 3 generations aren’t bankrupted.  Not many of us, government included, have a pocket full of blank checks with endless resources to pay off debt.  But that’s another topic.

What is a CRS?  Find out here:

I have been extremely remiss in posting recently.  Life events have taken over, but I’ll try to be better in the future.

I always like to try to understand how other people perceive the world and I have many sites that I visit to get that look at life.  Sometimes I shake my head.  Sometimes I nod in agreement.  We are a very diverse lot in this country in how we see the world and what is important to us.

I was visiting the blog on The Quilt Show today and saw this life list of lessons from Regina Brett.  A lot of common sense in 45 lines.  Thank you, Regina, for sharing your insight.  I am happy to send people your direction.  For more about Regina, visit reginabrett.com.

Here is her list of 45 lessons which was posted on The Quilt Show blog:

1. Life isn’t fair, but it’s still good.

2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.

3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

4. Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch.

5. Pay off your credit cards every month.
6. You don’t have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

7. Cry with someone. It’s more healing than crying alone.
8. It’s OK to get angry with God. He can take it.

9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.
10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.

11. Make peace with your past so it won’t screw up the present.
12. It’s OK to let your children see you cry.

13. Don’t compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn’t be in it.

15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don’t worry; God never blinks.
16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.

17. Get rid of anything that isn’t useful, beautiful or joyful.
18. Whatever doesn’t kill you really does make you stronger.

19. It’s never too late to have a happy childhood.. But the second one is up to you and no one else.
20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don’t take no for an answer.

21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don’t save it for a special occasion. Today is special.
22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.

23. Be eccentric now. Don’t wait for old age to wear purple.
24. The most important sex organ is the brain.

25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.
26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words ‘In five years, will this matter?’

27. Always choose life.
28. Forgive everyone everything.

29. What other people think of you is none of your business.
30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.

31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
32. Don’t take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

33. Believe in miracles.
34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn’t do.

35. Don’t audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.
36. Growing old beats the alternative — dying young.

37. Your children get only one childhood.
38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.

39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.
40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else’s,we’d grab ours back..

41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
42. The best is yet to come.

43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

44. Yield.
45. Life isn’t tied with a bow, but it’s still a gift.”

I read articles on several real estate websites weekly and found an article I read today a great synopsis of what has happened over the past few years.  We started noticing the impact of the real estate meltdown in Colorado Springs the beginning of 2007.  There were hints things were changing in 2006, but prices didn’t start really changing until the foreclosure activity started increasing in 2007.  Here’s the article from Broker Agent Social if you’d like to learn more.

Here’s a neat tool to help you get a REAL person when you call companies trying to avoid talking to you.  Now instead of just repeatedly hitting zero like I usually do, you’ll know what to do.  After all, it costs money to provide customer service and heaven forbid companies putting that in their operating budget.  I found one on the list that I need!  I’m sure you will too.  Click here.

I’m almost half way through a book that my sister told me about.  Outliers, The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell.  He also wrote Blink and The Tipping Point.  Outliers gives a different perspective on how people become extremely successful.  It’s a fascinating read.  How did the best athletes get where they are today?  How about heavyweights in the business world?  What is the meaning of 10,000 hours?  What does any of this have to do with you?  Read Outliers to learn more.  If you could develop mastery in one area, what would you choose?

Want more good books to read?  Check out our Recommended Reading List.

This isn’t what I normally post about, but I’m a fiber artist and I happened to run across this website since a group I meet with once a month just moved to The Bead Corner in Monument.  The quilt shop where we used to meet, Wild Heather, moved to Denver.  I’ll have to make it to Denver occasionally because Wild Heather carries a lot of neat stuff for fiber artists.  While searching for The Bead Corner, I found this site which lists all the bead shops in Colorado.  So if you like beads, check it out.  Thanks Rocky Mountain Bead Society for making it easier for us to spend money and help the economy!