Landline Discussion

My husband and I have been discussing this whole landline issue for the last couple of days.  He has done some research looking for different options.  It seems that the services available to us either take something away we really want/need or are more expensive.  Or they are not available at all to us as of yet.

Our conclusion?  We're going to stick it out for a little bit with what we have.  

You see our small city is starting to really grow.  All kinds of new things are going on: a new town center is being built with shops, offices, medical facilities, a movie theatre, townhouses, etc.; new developments (business and home) will be happening over the next 20 years out on U.S. 1 (though we won't wait 20 years to change phone service); new roads are being built.  

All this growth means, hopefully, better services and more competition.  We'll be holding out with the hope that the infrastructure will improve drastically over the next couple of years along with the prices/services available.  

In the meantime, we'll keep an eye out on anything interesting that can replace our landline (re: extra unnecessary expense), while still providing us with the internet services we require.  And we'll even look into replacing our paid security system with a homemade system to cut those costs--though that really is an entire other issue all together.  Maybe I'll touch on that issue later along with the costs associated with setting it up (*makes note to self*).

Free Samples, Town News, and Filing

I got some of the samples in today:

• Oatmeal Crisp sample
• Mario Badescu samples including: Enzyme Cleansing Gel, Special Cucumber Lotion, Glycolic Eye Cream, Drying Mask, Collagen Moisturizer SPF 15, Drying Cream, and Strawberry Face Scrub.

I also got the water/sewer/garbage bill today.  It went up to $68.00 from last month's $66.22 so I'll need to look into that, but they do say they are on conservation rates so the more used the more it costs.  We'll see.  

But the neat thing about getting the bill is that it comes with a little newsletter about what is happening in our city.  I knew they were building some new fire stations (3 to be exact), but what I didn't know is that the one replacing an old station I go by all the time is being built for free due to "an exchange site agreement" with Kohl's Department Store.  Apparently they agreed to pay for it to be able to build their new store on the main road where it would get more traffic instead of behind it on the street over.  

1. That is so cool that the city actually agreed to it and was smart enough to see a way to save us taxpayers money and still get a new fire station.  The entire city is a PUD so I supposed it only could take place since both sites were within the PUD regulations to make the switch.
2. I'm excited to know that we'll be getting a Kohl's and so close to where I live.  I've heard a lot about it, but I've never had one near me to shop.  I guess I'll see what all the fuss is about when they finally build it.  I don't expect that will be anytime soon because the old fire station is still there until the new one is built.

The other news I actually got on Saturday from my DH.  He stopped by our local Albertson's, which is across the street from where this new Kohl's is supposed to be, and he found out they are closing down.  We don't shop there much, but it is the closest grocery store for quick pick-ups and stuff.  The cool news though?  Publix bought them and will be opening up there after a little remodeling!  I love doing my grocery shopping at Publix.  The one we usually go to isn't really that far away, but this one will be much closer.  Yay!  

On filing news, I've started scanning a bunch of documents and magazines articles/recipes into folders on my computer.  I am determined to get my papers down to a minimum!  But it will be a long, long time before I'm totally done.  My goal is to do a little bit at a time while keeping up with anything new that comes in as well.  We'll see how it goes!  I also need to buy some more CDs so I can back everything up once I'm done.