I can be a very disorganized person so paying bills has always been a challenge for me. I have a tendency to rifle through my mail and then leave it in a pile somewhere. Often I have a hard time finding a specific letter or bill (or check!) which I know I received.

I have adopted a couple strategies which have really helped keep me organized and ensure that I always pay my bills on time.

First, I try to pay bills as soon as I get them. For credit cards this means that I actually save some interest since the money is credited to my account earlier. I don't get any benefit from paying utility bills early, but at least I avoid the penalties that can accrue if I don't pay on time.

Second, I have been using a calendar program (iCal) to keep track of all my bills. Every time I pay a bill I make sure that it is noted in my calendar and I set up a repeating event so the same bill shows up every month or every two months in the future. I check the calendar every day and can see what bills I expect to pay in the next few days and what bills I should have already payed.

Finally, I use online bill pay for whatever bills I can. Most of my bills go through a single Web site (MyCheckFree) so I can simply check that site once a week and make sure that all my bills have been paid. The site even lets me pay different bills from different accounts so I can keep track of my personal bills and also shared utility bills.

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When I moved into this house about a year ago there was a nice maple tree in the front yard, probably less than five years old. Unfortunately, it looks like somebody lacerated the base of the tree with a weed eater or lawn mower. The tree had new leaves this year, but didn't make it through the summer. We finally decided that it was officially dead and removed it.

I got a new maple tree which my mom had been saving at her house. I got the tree shortly before I went to Orlando for a week. Now that I'm back, I finally got a chance to plant it. I waited for an overcast day and followed the instructions from Ellen on ThriftyFun.

ThriftyFun - A Guide to Planting Trees

My front yard is divided into two large bunkers. The right side is only about half as large as the left side. I planted the tree in the smaller section centered and several feet back from the road. I put a concrete ring around the tree to protect its trunk.

Since the tree is in front of the house we selected a variety that should only grow to five or six feet high. I am going to give the tree a year or two to adjust to the new soil and get established before I start pruning it.

The next step is to plant some roses which we have in pots on the front porch on either side of the tree. I also have some tulip bulbs which I will probably plant between the tree and the road, but they won't bloom until next spring.

Images:

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I had to take a week off from working on the yard for my trip to Orlando, but I'm back and getting ready to start some more ambitious projects.

I bought a house about a year ago and haven't done much more with the yard up until now than mowing and trying to battle some blackberries and morning glory. I have also removed a couple trees which were dead or which I plan on replacing.

Over the last couple weeks i've been working on weeding the front lawn. I don't believe in using chemicals so I've been taking out the dandelions with a weed puller. It's fascinating to see the lawn from a ground's eye view. There are a lot of interesting plants growing in it including mare's tail, two kinds of dandelions, a few thistles, chamomile, and lots of plants I can't identify. I also found a small ant colony over on one side.

The weeding has left some bare patches so I bought some grass seed and starter fertalizer. Yesterday I put down some seeds and fertalizer in part of the yard. Now, I need to be conscientious about watering so that the seed can take root. It will be interesting to see how it goes.

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I'm attending the FileMaker Developer Conference this week representing OmniPilot Software and demonstrating Lasso. I flew in on Sunday night. It's Thursday now and I'm just getting ready to fly back to Seattle.

Orlando is an interesting place. It has been hot and muggy every day I've been here. In the afternoon there's a big thundershower which only lasts about fifteen minutes. On the way to the airport I saw several big lightning bolts from today's storm. The land here is totally flat. There is nothing on the horizon except for clouds and the occasional building.

Most of the week I've been busy with the trade show, but last night I got a chance to see International Drive which is a tourist area of Orlando. Sea World is at one end of the drive and there are hotels, tourist attractions, and outlet stores stretching for miles. There is a convenient trolley which carries people back and forth throughout this area.

I saw lots of tourists, including many families from Europe. It seems like the outlet shops are a big draw. One area with high end outlet shops was super busy.

The funniest thing about International Drive are all the theme restaurants. There's a pirate restaurant, a haunted restaurant, even one restaurant which is built upside down and is really crazy looking. There are also lots of attractions like a Titanic exhibit, Ripley's Believe-It-Or-Not, and of course Sea World.

Even though International Drive is probably nothing like the rest of Orlando, it was fun to get out for one night and walk around.

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