Post contributed by Josue Durham

My husband and I just welcomed our first son into the world. It has been a rollercoaster of emotions. I think the lack of sleep contributes to all the emotion. We started out reading all the books. We bought a book on what to expect when you are pregnant. We bought a book about what to eat while pregnant. We then bought books about parenting. However, when the baby actually arrived, the time for readingwent out the window. I thought maybe there was a television channel in one of our Directv packages about parenting. At the time, I thought it would be a successful channel. It would have shows summarizing all the books I wanted to read, but would never have time to finish. There would be other shows devoted to getting your child to sleep through the night. It seemed like a brilliant idea. My husband and I continued to think of different shows and then we realized we didn’t need the books or the shows. We were already parents and our child was doing just fine. All we really needed was to make one another laugh. Sometimes it is the little moments that get you through all the tough big moments.

Now that I am an adult and in college, I am  responsible for a lot of my own expenses. I’m learning to keep a budget, balance my check book and save money. When I turned 18, my mom took me to our local credit union to open a checking account, my first one ever. Since I had a job at the boardwalk, the bank teller told me I could get a credit card. My mom thought it was a good idea to have one since it would help me to establish credit and was also good to have in case of emergencies. I really want to be responsible with my credit card and I only use it sparingly and I always make sure I pay the bill on time. (Mom taught me how to use online banking.) Now that I’ve had my credit card for almost a year, I’m curious to see what kind of credit I have established.  I learned I could check my free score online at FreeScore.  Using the free trial,  I could check my three credit score with the three credit reporting agencies. If want to continue with service, I can pay a monthly fee for them to monitor my credit scores and they will report to me anything that looks suspicious. This is especially important to prevent identity theft.

This year for Halloween, my roomate and I thought it would be hysterical to dress up as Frankenstein and the crazy doctor who created him. I want to be the mad scientist doctor because I think that costume will be so much easier to create. I checked online and I found the place http://www.blueskyscrubs.com/categories/Scrubs/Scrubs-for-Men/ that sells mens lab coats, which are perfect. Now all we have to do is find a Frankenstein mask, which shouldn’t be so hard. We’ll take a trip to Goodwill and find the rest. Can’t wait. I love Halloween.

This guest post from Edgardo Rosa

Buying a house is a big decision and I guess I underestimated how many things you have to buy along with it when you first get in there. Blinds, for example, I had no idea that I would have to get them right away – those first few nights without them I felt really exposed! I got asecurity systemand had the pest control guy come out and deal with the termite situation. I feel like a real adult and I love that no matter what I end up doing to this place, it’s mine so it’s fine! I have big plans for the backyard once I ever get around to it and I’m going to paint a lot of the rooms to help make them something I can call my own. I can’t wait to have a housewarming party and have everyone over that I love so they can see the place and enjoy like I’ve been doing! At the rate I’m going though, I’m going to have to ask for donations at the party!

For years our brother Mark was obsessed with baggy pants and ACDC T-shirts. We sisters have been urging him all along to get stylin and we decided it was time for him to have a fashion makeover.  First, he cut his long hair into a clean cut James Marsden Corny Collins look. Then he ditched the dark heavy metal screen prints in favor of button down plaids and was finally in the market for a new pair of men’s jeans. We urged him to go for the skinny, retro look to go with the rest of his ensemble. We took him to store after store until we finally found the right look online. (We have a limited selection sometimes here in Santa Cruz.) Now he looks fabulous and we are no longer embarrassed to be seen with him. I know he was tired of our “nagging,” but truthfully, I think deep down inside he was secretly grateful for our excellent and reasonable fashion advice.

Would I trust his judgement when it came time to critique my wardrobe? Are you kidding?  Please.

MEATHEAD–  (noun) a strong, local athlete from a local college.

I would like to share with you a wonderful organization I just learned about called, Meathead Movers. It was started in 1997 by two brothers, Aron and Evan Steed, while they were still in high school. The boys, both talented athletes, were looking for part-time work to help pay for their expenses to play sports. From an initial fee of $20 and a pizza to help their friends’ parents move, they quickly gained a following to eventually become the premiere moving company in every area that they serve. You can find them in the following California communities: Orange County, Ventura, Los Angeles, San Diego, Santa Barbara and  San Luis Obispo, where they are the official moving company for Cal Poly Athletics. (A lot of Sophia’s friends from high school will be attending there this fall.) Become a SLO Fan on Facebook.

Cinderella Fund and Princess Packers

Their hard work and entrepreneurship is remarkable enough, but what is most compelling is their community involvement and philanthropy. These boys give back. For instance, their Princess Packers are professionally trained to be packing experts, and for every box packed, they will donate $1 to their Cinderella Fund, which provides grants to children in families that are suffering hardships. And that’s not all, they will even move a woman who is the victim of domestic violence for free.

Girls Night Out

In addition, Meathead Movers hosts 2-3 fundraisers a year for local charities that benefit underprivileged and abused children. Hosted at local restaurants, the “meatheads” dress in tuxes and spoil the ladies and compete for the most tips, which they donate to the cause. They have successfully raised over $10,000 at each event. Below, watch Meathead Mover CEO and co-founder Aron Steed describe the event.

Email Aron and Evan at PublicOutreach@MeatheadMovers.com for more information. And if you are looking for courteous, efficient and philanthropic movers, click here to find a  Meathead Mover in your area.

Guest post of the week by Deangelo Spencer

My mom is really picky and I’ve been through year after year of buying her stuff only to watch her take it back. I really wish she didn’t put so much importance on gifts but for whatever reason, she does, and I get really, really stressed out anytime her birthday or Christmas or something rolls around. Anyway, her birthday just came again in July and she didn’t need a thing and couldn’t name anything but I already had a great idea which hardly ever happens. I got her a subscription to satellite from http://DIREC.TV which was exactly what she needed! She’d just moved into a smaller house and I knew she had a hard time getting cable with all the channels she wanted and wasn’t into the web enough to research on her own. She really loved it and said I did great which is enough to make me totally happy! The best part was, I didn’t even have to wrap the gift up in fancy paper and a bow!

I recently had some trouble with my car and now that I am going off to college I really have to think twice before I spend any money. I was so worried about not only the cost of getting my car fixed, but where to take it. How do I know that I am getting a good deal? Then a friend of mine told me about Repair Pal. Totally cool. It is an online service that lets you shop around for the best deal in town, with a fair price guaranteed. How it works is, you enter the make, model, year of your car and  your zip code. Then you write it what it is you need done, say an oil change. The calculator lets you know what service station in the area to take your car to and how much you can expect to pay. I tried it and it worked. I love Repair Pal and I recommend it to anyone who needs car repairs or service and wants assurance that they are getting the best price. Deal.

Thanks to Roman May

My parents have always been terrified of computers but I think they’re finally coming around. For a joint Mother’s Day and Father’s Day gift this year my brothers and I have decided to go in on a laptop for my parents and I’ve recently gotten some internet information as well because I’m probably going to get them wireless to go along with it. I think we’ll have to give them this gift in person because I know we’ll have to do a little tutorial for them on how to work the whole system. Hopefully they’ll get the hang of it and start emailing and maybe even social networking! I’d love to be able to email them pictures rather than sending photos via snail mail and I know my mom would really enjoy online shopping. It should be a welcome change in their life and I’m really glad they’re going to finally catch up to the digital age! My brothers don’t even understand how far behind my rents are technologically!

I’m fortunate that when I go off to college in the fall that I will still be covered under my parents’ health insurance plan. Unfortunately, that is not the case with everyone I know. I have some friends whose parents have either lost their jobs or their jobs don’t offer health insurance and they cannot afford to pay it on their own. I just learned about a new affordable health insurance company called HCI Medical that offers cheap student medical insurance. I know some schools offer medical care on campus, but that is usually just of minor illnesses like colds. What if you get really sick and need to go to a hospital? A low cost option for students who are generally healthy is catastrophic care insurance. This is ideal for people who want the security of medical coverage only in cases of extreme emergencies like an accident or a serious illness. It has a  high deductible with low monthly premium. This is worthwhile just for the peace of mind alone.