From Oct. 19 - 20, investors and entrepreneurs are invited to attend this year’s Wealth Expo, sponsored by MyWallSt.net: Your Financial Social Network. This three-day conference, located at the Jacob Javits Convention Center in New York City, features keynote speeches from well-known investment professionals including Money Coach Jean Chatzky, seen on The Oprah Winfrey Show, Founder, CEO, and Chief Analyst of Wall Street Strategies, Charles Payne, and CNBC Senior Analyst Ron Insana. Also included are exhibitions by some of the largest public and private companies in the world, and opportunities to network like no other investment seminar today.

The seminar schedule really includes something for every type of investor. If you’re an entrepreneur looking for a wise business venture, seminars like “Building a Unique Energy Business” presented by Provident Energy Trust, and “Top Five Things to Consider Before You Buy A Franchise” presented by Colleen De Baise of SmartMoney could be very beneficial.

There are investing seminars for every level of investor, whether you’re just getting started learning the market, or you’re looking for expert tax advice and off shore banking information.

As we move towards different energy options, new markets are emerging. Several of the seminars deal directly with energy issues, including “Fueling the World’s Possibilities” presented by BP and “Cyclone External Combustion Engine” presented by Cyclone Power Technologies.

The Wealth Expo’s schedule is as follows:

• Friday, 10/19: 1 p.m.-6:30 p.m. EDT w/ a cocktail hour to follow
• Saturday, 10/20: 9 a.m.-6:30 p.m. EDT w/ a cocktail hour to follow
• Sunday, 10/21: 9 a.m.-4 p.m. EDT (no cocktail hour)

On every military base I’ve ever lived or worked on, there’s been a paintball course. Some are really elaborate - hay bale walls, lots of structures to provide cover, cool layouts, etc. Most of them outsource the equipment rental part, and they’re not always open because they usually have a full time job somewhere else.

I have a few friends that are serious paintballers. They took matters into their own hands, and purchased all their equipment. One friend in particular is a little addicted to his collection of supplies, much like I am to my craft supplies. He refers to his Tippman paintball guns with the same reverence that I refer to my Heather Bailey fabric stash.

I have ventured onto paintball courses a couple times in my life. Twice as part of team building exercises - first in college with ROTC, and then on active duty in the Army. Both times, I had fun, but walked away with serious bruises. Is this fun? Actually, yes.

I think everyone should try it once. You’re a little more invested than you would be in say super-soaker wars or laser tag because those paintballs actually sting a little, and you really don’t want to get hit. Of course, there’s a lot of pride involved too. And it’s nice when you really nail someone.

Like most fun things, it’s not free. But you can get good prices on paintball equipment online.

Remember, paintball guns are serious, so aim for safety first! (Hey, I’m a mother. I’m allowed a certain amount of cheesiness.)

Because my blog is where I share my shame with the world, I will admit that I recently had my first dentist visit in over two years. My last cleaning was when I was pregnant, and then I was a new mom, and then I was a stay-at-home mom with other priorities and no one to watch my kid during dentist office hours. So, fast forward two years, and I finally made it in to the dentist because I was noticing how painful cold food was. Ice cream? Painful? That’s not right! Turns out the reason for my pain was THREE CAVITIES!

Now, I brush at least twice a day. I am terrible about flossing, but I try to get around to it a few times a month. I have had two other cavities in my lifetime. Both are safely covered with tooth colored fillings. Anyway, so after my initial exam, I had a follow up appointment to get my fillings and my teeth cleaned. I go to my first appointment and they only do one filling and something very horrible called peri probing. I’ll spare you the details, but the dentist made comments like, “do your gums always bleed this much?”

The day after my visit to the dentist, while sharing a couple of caramels with my son, I pulled that filling right out! Who knew that could even happen? Well, it hurt. And worse, I couldn’t eat any more caramels. Good thing I still have another appointment for the other two fillings.

Another good thing is that there’s this product called Dentemp OS that serves as temporary protection from yuck mouth. This magic stuff can act as a temporarily filling or cement loose crowns in place. It’s a great option for temporary dental repair.

Watch out for those caramels, or keep some Dentemp OS on hand just in case.

How funny that I would bemoan my organizational woes in my last post, and then get the opportunity to review carguygarage.com - a site full of more dreamy storage bins than a Real Simple reader can handle!

I would love to have one of these set ups in my house! For craft supplies, baby supplies, kitchen supplies, you name it. I’d put everything in a drawer!

Seriously, can there be enough drawers or cubbies in the world? Everything in its place, that’s what I say. Just don’t look at my house for proof of this theory!

Thanks to my friend Allison, I’m now a proud PayU2Blog blogger. I’ve been doing PayPerPost for a while, but there’s a HUGE difference between the two.

With PayPerPost, I have limited opportunities - right now my choices are promoting stomach-stapling, promoting tutoring services or promoting a coupon site. Well, these are all fine, but I don’t know the first thing about the first two, and I’ve already written about the third one. Plus, those entries require a review of the product, service or site - some of them are minimum 300 words. Also not bad, I just don’t have 300 words to say about stomach-stapling surgery. Now, if my Google page rank was higher, I’d have MUCH more opportunities, paying more than the usual $5.

So with PayU2Blog, I get a keyword and a link that I have to include, but I can write about whatever I want - as long as I don’t include any other links. This is great! I can write about the product or service, but I don’t have to. Each assignment pays $5, and I get paid every two weeks. I’ve already gotten five assignments! Basically, this equates to way more opportunities to make a few dollars than PayPerPost. Until my page rank is a little higher, anyway.

Even better, the random keywords are like a creative writing exercise. I figure out how to use “golf cart parts” or “bedroom furniture shopping” using a story I wanted to blog about anyway. AND, my sweet three readers don’t have to read an ad. Just a boring personal story :) Ah, the beauty of blogging.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m still going to do PayPerPost. I like the challenge, and the random $5. I’m not going to get rich with either program, but it keeps me in Starbucks and domain names :)

Thanks for reading!

Some friends of ours went on a vacation to London, and while there, they hopped over to Croatia. I’m always nervous about making plans like that from here, because I hate to pay a travel agent, but I hate to do the research on my own, because I’m not always sure what I’m looking at.

I found this great site that books weekend breaks, short breaks and getaway trips from the UK. My mother-in-law lives in Paris, we plan to go there sometime next year. While we’re there, we want to see a little more of Europe (so far, we’ve only been to France and Germany.) So, we can take the chunnel over to London, and then book one of these cool city breaks - cheap flights to Rome, Venice or Barcelona!

I think Rome is the place I would most like to visit - I love everything about Ancient Roman civilizations (except the slave ownership, the savage games of the Colosseum, etc. You know what I mean). Plus, when you go to Rome, you also can see Vatican City. We can pretend we’re in The DiVinci Code!

I think it sounds awesome. Who’s in?

How cool is this bike? All it needs is some pom pons hanging off of the handle bars. I’ve been looking at beach cruisers at the million bike stores near my house. It seems like they range from $200 to $400! Crazy expensive for a bike with one gear. So imagine my surprise when I found this cool site with cruiser bikes. For $88 bucks, I can get this super sweet pink bike.

I’d pick this silver one for my husband. My dad and step mom take their RV and their cruisers out to the camp ground for the weekend and it’s like a whole vacation 30 minutes from their house. Doesn’t that sound nice? I think the idea of riding bikes makes me really happy, even though its one of those things I almost never do.

I want to be one of those moms with the wagon full of kids behind a cool bike - that looks good in shorts :) Can an $88 bike buy me all that? I’m not sure, but it’s worth a try.

I used to ride my bike everywhere - no hands, no destination. I also used to look good in shorts. Coincidence?

I may be putting a lot of pressure on this bike purchase.

It occurs to me that now would be a good time to buy some outdoor furniture because Summer is ending, and perhaps stuff is going on sale. I would really love to get some comfortable chairs (of the non-plastic persuasion), or maybe even a chaise lounge chair. Dreamy.

I found this good store called OnlineDiscountMart.com. My favorite outdoor item was this swing. Doesn’t that look fun? Unfortunately, I don’t have anywhere to hang it. I also really like this cedar chair and table set.

I also really like some of their Fall Decorations. Especially this little set of bird salt and pepper shakers. My step mom collects salt and pepper shakers, this would be a great gift for her. And isn’t it lucky for me that their summer coupon can be used for these little birds? I love a bargain!

When we were at SeaWorld, I had the hardest time getting a good shot of Shamu. I was too slow every time. So was my husband. Now that my kid is really starting to move fast (almost to a full run these days), I keep thinking how I need to learn how to really use a camera well so I don’t miss anything.

I found this company called NJ Sports Images - a group of professional photographers that are hired by schools, booster clubs, local newspapers and magazines to cover events and get good action shots of athletes. I really like their pricing structure - it seems reasonable, and it seems like there will be images available for every kid/parent. Since they also do group and individual posed pictures, it seems like a really convenient service for schools. I’m positive that they take better pictures than the yearbook staff. I know - I was an editor.

I was thinking it would be cool if they also covered the marching band. I’m sure they would. It’s almost impossible for parents to get good shots of the band members, unless they are right in front a lot.

The best part is that all the shots they take are available for purchase. It’s not like when the paper sends someone out, and they’re on the field taking great shots, but the parents never see any except the one star player that comes out in the paper. Now the parents can get on-the-field shots of their kid - whether he or she is the VIP or not. I think it’s an awesome idea.

They also offer these cool collages that look like professional athlete posters. Very cool gift idea for a graduating senior.

I hope they franchise out to my area by the time my son is playing sports.

My sister’s husband is going to go to school full-time in the fall. This is long overdue, and I’m excited for him. He just got his FAFSA info back, and he qualified for Pell Grants, which will cover about 75% of his costs. They’re hoping to qualify for some scholarships also, becuase he wants to be a teacher, and there are quite a few incentives out there for prospective teachers.

Then, after they’ve tried all the free options, they’re probably going to have to look at federal or private student loans. Hopefully, they can stick with Federal loans because of the lower interest rates and better repayment terms (deferral until out of school, etc.)

I joined the Army Reserve to pay off my loans. They paid $20,000, and I still owe another $5,000. I hope to go to grad school someday soon, but I’ll only do it if I work somewhere with a tuition reimbursement deal.

Before the war, and even during the first year, I would recommend the Army to anyone that would listen. They really have outstanding education benefits. But now, I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone. Maybe after the war is over. Maybe.

So, borrowing it is. But in the world of loans, student loans are the best kind. I recently consolidated mine, locked in a low interest rate, and have a really reasonable payment.