No Limits Ladies.com

During the next two weeks (until the 15th),
I'm going to be off-blog.
I've lined up some great posts for while I'm "gone"
but for some reason,
the scheduling function has been messing up
(i.e. not posting).
Dang MovableType.
I've been too swamped to figure out how to fix it
(finished first draft of the next novel - yes!).

Anywho... if that happens,
don't worry,
nothing has happened to me
(I hope, knock on wood).
I'll talk to y'all when I get back.
Until then, happy investing!!

As many of you know, I'm not the world's greatest chef. Jamie Oliver (who I hear is a sweetie, unlike Nigella Lawson) is not trembling in fear. That is, unless I'm to cook for him.

But I LOVE BBQ season. It might be because my hubby is the main BBQ guy or because everything tastes better cooked that way.

Here are some of my fave BBQ tips;

Chunks Over Hunks

Instead of serving up chicken breasts, I usually cut the breasts up and put them on skewers (those bamboo ones I buy at the dollar store, soaking them in water first). My favorite marinade is a simple lemon and black pepper and when I marinade chunks over hunks, the meat is more flavorful and moist.

This also allows guests to sample a wider variety without wasting anything. If I'm using bone-in chicken breasts, this allows me to use the bone for chicken stock (tossing it in a freezer container until I can use it).

Stretch With Veggies

Even the most die hard carnivore is more likely to eat veggies off the BBQ, especially if these veggies are skewered with meat. Because I'm grilling them and using dabbing with some marinade, I can use older veggies found at the last day of sale area in the grocery store.

Microwave Baked Potatoes First

Baked potatoes take forever on the BBQ. Not a happy situation for my main BBQ'er (the hubby). What I do to speed up the process is cook them in the microwave (poked with a fork and covered with margarine) first.

The hubby is looking at buying a car (the other car deal fell through) via eBay. The thing is he's seen this car come up again and again. The same car. There is a buy it now bid and we suspect that unless the seller gets the buy it now price, he isn't serious about selling.

Yeah, it is a bit of a scam.

The hubby still looks at this car, it is priced attractively (even at the buy it now price) but he won't bid. Why? Because a scammer is a scammer, whether he is offering you a "good" deal or not. And scammers, given half a chance, will take advantage of you.

Whenever you go into any deal, whether it is to buy a chocolate bar at a convenience store or a car on eBay, there is an element of trust in the transaction. The convenience store owner could give you fake bills back. He could use your credit or debit card information. He could be selling you chocolate manufactured during World War II (I swear some of the chocolate I've bought has been that old). You don't know.

When you deal with a known scammer, that likelihood goes up. And there's really no need to risk it. There are plenty of honest people (or at least people you don't KNOW are dishonest) out there.

A deal is only a good deal if it gets done.

One of the big benefits of moving from being an employee to being a consultant is my valuation of time. When before I used to discount or completely ignore the cost of my time, when I started billing by hour, I'd naturally apply a charge out rate to every other activity.

What does this mean?

Nothing is free. Even me sitting here writing this post costs. And that's the way it should be because nothing IS free. If I spend an hour watching the season finale of American Idol, I'm not spending that hour laughing at my hubby's funny work stories or writing the next chapter of my book (the sequel to Invisible). I've made a choice and I've paid for that choice by whatever else I give up.

I recently went to the housewarming of an entrepreneurial couple. The husband hired contractors in to completely re-do the house. He could have done it himself but he said quite openly that his time was worth more. I'm still struggling with that concept. My own hubby (coming from a family of do-it-yourself'ers) REALLY struggles with this concept. He constantly wants to re-evaluate using a financial advisor.

Frankly my time is worth more. If I look at the time required to replicate the service the financial advisor is providing vs the cost he is charging for that service, it isn't worth it.

Look at your time. Are you spending it wisely?

There is an excellent interview with an FBI profiler in May's Men's Health. One of the scenarios he covers is what you should do when looking for a new house. I thought you might find these tips helpful (as I did).

"Good profilers learn to look away from the focal point."
Shift your attention away from the property to what surrounds it. That holds true for rooms also. Many people will notice the magnificent fireplace but not the cracked tile in the corner.

Use government resources.
Log on to the U.S. Department of Justice's national sex-offender public registry. Talk to the nearest police department about criminal activity in the area. Police are VERY open about how they view the neighborhood.

Look at cars and lawns and talk to neighbors.
Cars can tell you a lot about your neighbors. If you don't seen any SUV's or mini-vans, odds are, it isn't a family friendly area. Are your neighbors owning or renting? What do they like about the area? What don't they like about the area?

Watch your real estate agent
"People often self-consciously glance at trouble spots" so follow his or her eyes around the building (this is easier with two people). Are you rushed through the house? Are your questions answered?

Go at different times
I live on a dead end street next to two schools. On weekends and after 4pm, the street is empty. During school hours, it is difficult to back out of the driveway, it is so busy. There are kids hanging around, eating lunch on our front steps (I don't mind, find it kind of nice).

Now all this information you find out may not change your mind about buying or not in the area but at least you will have less surprises after buying (don't worry, you will still have some).

Much of the criticism, I receive for this blog (anything worth doing will be criticized) has to do with putting money first, before family, before love.

Nope. I don't do that. Family and friends are important. So important that I'm not going to let lack of funds mess that up.

I know that not having money (as my family did growing up) puts stress on families. It is one of the top reasons for divorce. It causes fights. It makes people do things they'd never consider doing if they had a huge investment account doling out fat dividends.

It can even change your choice of careers. Sometimes for the better.

Shia LaBeouf, the hot young actor from Transformers and the new face in Indiana Jones talks about his experience with money...

"I was poor, and I didn't want to be poor. It had nothing to do with acting," he told Peter Travers candidly on ABC News Now's "Popcorn" about his childhood decision to seek a career in acting. "Money seemed to tear my family apart. ... For me, money was the glue."

And he was a kid at the time. He decided to act at the age of 7.

Photo taken by Simon Davison
See Link For Copyright Information

I know we have a lot of business building readers here at NoLimitsLadies.
Marketing and promo is a huge part of business building.
I'm talking today at Romance Bandits on this exact topic.

Now, most of the questions have been on book marketing
but don't let that limit you!

I'm still reducing, slowing but surely dropping dress sizes (those numerous housewarmings or family eat-athons aren't helping). Unfortunately, during the summer, because of writing, I'm actually less active than the rest of the year. I walk around on the business gigs. I go to meetings. I work on several projects. I run during rushed deadlines. When writing, I stay put, banging out that chapter a day all day almost continuously.

Our city has passed a pesticide law. No pesticides on lawns. They didn't give any notice so there are no real natural alternatives developed yet (great planning on the city's part but that is a whole other post). We're thinking about changing our motto to The City Of Dandelions. Yes, those dreaded yellow weeds (that actually can be eaten, salad style) are taking over.

I combined both of my problems into one very frugal solution, the dandelion crunch. Every morning after my hour walk around the track, I pull dandelions for a few minutes, sucking in my stomach, and, as the hubby says, tightening the core.

It is working. Both on the lawn and on my belly.

Single Ma over at Fabulous Financials has graciously allowed me a guest post.
I'm yapping about self definition
and how this changes the way other people react to us.

While you're there,
check out her post on Crackbucks.
It had me laughing like a fool.

By now, you're probably sick of hearing that stock phrase "Sell in May and go away." (Going away until after the expected Halloween correction.)

Too bad. (Grinning) I'm going to talk about it some more. Regular readers are probably expecting me to scoff at this hocus pocus nonsense. Well, I'm not. If the stock market was based on rational calculations and pure math, sure, this phrase doesn't make much sense. Why would stocks suffer during the summer? Why does everyone dump their stocks for fire sale prices in October? There's no reason to.

But the stock market isn't rational and it isn't reasonable (thank goodness because that's how investors find deals). It consists of a collection of rather irrational human beings and these human beings, if they expect a Halloween massacre, will create the conditions for a Halloween massacre. Darn it. Analysts be darned. Their expectations will drive actual results.

I don't personally sell in May and go away. If my stocks are good value (according to my calcs), I keep them. If they are overpriced, I sell them. If they are underpriced, I buy more. Regardless of whether it is May or January or October. I look to the long term (5-10 years). I'm wary of commissions and taxes on sales.

But that is just me. I'm not going to laugh at anyone for following the "Sell in May and go away" strategy.

Regardless of your sexual preference,
Queercents is one of the best financial blogs on the 'net.
Well, I begged and pleaded with Nina
to let me do a guest post
and guess what?
She said yes!

I'm talking about some lessons I learned from a buddy of mine
(Stanley, my character in Breach of Trust is based on him)
that helped me explore the writing field.

Come on over and check it out!

My dear, dear Mom was hinting around for a rose bush. After hearing about it for three phone calls in a row, busy me finally got the message.

I put in a call with the florist. My regular florist couldn't (wouldn't) help me so I talk to a fresh one. My order was for miniature roses. I get a call back hours later. No miniature roses, can they sub some other plant in? I tell them, well, my Mom is hinting for roses and she has a balcony, whatever you can give me that fulfills that request is a-ok with me. The timing is flexible too. All I need to know is it will happen (so I can concentrate on other things).

My Mom calls me a day later, so excited she's almost in tears. The florist didn't deliver a miniature rosebush. Nope. She delivered a tall topiary type rose tree. In a fancy clay pot matching the façade of my Mom's apartment building.

By giving the florist flexibility, my expectations were exceeded. This often happens. Why? Because it is the florist's good taste on the line with the flowers, not the customers. She takes personal responsibility and personal care.

Of course, I don't simply apply this with my florists. Even my financial advisor has flexibility. He knows what I'm looking for, sure, but he is responsible for providing reco's on the stocks.

When I buy stocks, I buy them at what I believe is lower than their long term value is. I also like stocks with dividends. Why? Because if the market tanks, I'm still getting paid.

A loved one is selling his house. His agent told him that almost all buyers will have either a home inspection or a financing clause. Why? Because that is their "out", a way for them to leave the deal without losing all of their deposit.

When we bought our house, we bought it in an established neighborhood (easier to resell than a new development) and negotiated down to a low price. We also bought a house where we could rent out the basement. Why? Because if worst comes to worst, we could and still keep the house.

When people get into trouble, financially or often otherwise, it is usually because they've painted themselves into a corner. They only have one possible satisfactory solution to their situation and if that doesn't happen… well, trouble-funk.

Always have an out. Always have an exit. And keep an eye on that exit.

I was very fortunate. By the time I graduated from university and was looking for a "serious" job, I had a few hundred interviews under my belt (not to mention sales calls). Any employer interested in hiring youngsters is also usually very interested in mentoring and coaching kids. I had built a formidable war chest of interview and job search skills.

Not everyone is as lucky and that is when books like Sylvia Landry's Ditch The Flip-Flops come in handy. Think of it as What Color Is Your Parachute for the under 30 crowd.

This book is very detailed with tips like "Keep your shoes in a single neutral color, with a heel that is no more than about two inches high" and walks new grads from resume to acceptance. (BTW… Landry prefers skirts on female interviewees also, blasted traditional folk).

Now, you and I might read this book and think "no brainer, no brainer, and why do I need to be told things like keep mints, gum, food, anywhere other than in your mouth?" However, having been on the other side of the desk a few too many times, I know many people need to reminded that obscene words are not appropriate on answering machine greetings (I had to look up some of the cuss words used on one applicant's message).

We're heading into both wedding season
and new house season
(the summer months)
so I thought it would be helpful to talk about
setting up a new house.

Money On My Mind has kindly allowed me to guest post
on this subject.
Come on over and have a read!

You can probably tell from the last few posts that I'm full into Suzy Homemaker mode. Something about working at home (the writing) and saving that four hour commute brings out the nesting impulse in me. I'm all about cutting costs (at least for a couple weeks and then I'll be back to both cutting costs and increasing investing returns).

Part of saving money on food includes making good use of my pantry. When the hubby and I first looked at our house, it was the big cabinets in the kitchen that blew me away (the hubby calls it the bomb shelter as we can live for months on the canned stuff there).

However, having a pantry comes with responsibilities and that is proper food rotation. It is SO easy to simply slide the new cans of tomatoes in front of the old. Mistake. That means I'll only be using the new cans and the old cans will get very, very, very old.

It is a little more work but new product goes in the back. Because I'm lazy, that usually means I buy certain products in bulk so I only have to rotate once in a while.

I also keep an eye on best before dates and use up those items before then. Lucky for me, most cans last a long, long time (and the hubby likes to eat when we have the food). Anything in paper bags, I put in plastic.

I got a good giggle over a renovating show I watched on the weekend. The couple bragged about their environmentally friendly house. Okay, some of the things they did were very kind to the environment, I'll happily agree (envying them their solar panels), but some… not so much.

For example: They talked about hardwood floors made from trees killed naturally by beetles. That would have been great except that to put these new gorgeous floors in, they tore out perfectly good existing floors. Wouldn't it have been more environmentally friendly to simply refinish the old floors?

The same thinking could apply to their walls and furniture. Yes, the kitchen table were designed by the Amish but what about the kitchen table they used to have? Where did that go? The landfill?

Then, there was the front yard. Yes, the green lawn they had took more water but instead of letting that die naturally and replacing it slowly with area friendly plants, they tore everything out. And they toppled a fir tree (that was the biggest shocker).

My first step along the road of being "green" is, when it doesn't mess with energy efficiency, I look long and hard at working with what I do have. Then if that doesn't work for me (for example: I want shutters in a bad, bad way), I look at reuse, used, and antique stores. No new trees killed and possibly things kept out of the landfill.

Oh, and it saves money too (especially, I'm finding on the shutters).

The hubby and I are going to two, count them two, housewarmings this weekend. The invite conversations were both the same. I get the call with the info. Can we come? Sure (answering for the hubby as I'm the entertainment director in the family). What do you want us to bring? Nothing, just yourself. (Great, I'm thinking, now I have to figure something out.). What do you need? Nothing, just happy guests.

I don't know about you but I'd be a much happier guest if I knew what the hostess wanted. For some reason, hostesses think that not stating a preference is "polite" and "nice."

It isn't. It is a pain in the butt for guests. We all know we have to bring something (in Chinese culture, it is easier, you simply bring cash or gift certificates). Now we have to guess, sight unseen (because that is the point behind a house warming, we haven't seen the house yet), what a couple, and in our case, an older, more established couple, want.

That's why as a frequent hostess, I always have a list of things I need and want for any get together. I leave gaps in my meal planning (usually dessert because then it doesn't matter when guests show up, beverages are tricky because it is needed right away). Friends have things like gardening parties where everyone brings a garden tool (watch out for the hoe jokes though) or pool parties where people bring pool stuff.

This serves as a good starter for conversations also, gets people talking.

I have a guest post over at Blunt Money today,
talking about some considerations when setting up house
for the first time.

Please pop by and say hi!

I often hear "It's not the destination, it's the journey." Sure, it is great to enjoy the ride once you're on it but for planning, concentrate on the destination. Anything else is too limiting.

For example:

The hubby and I are taking a cruise out of Barcelona. We want to see another country before Spain. We aren't too fussy about which country (we travel A LOT, we've seen most of Europe). The only limitation is that we have to be in Barcelona on a certain date.

Our first thought was to pop in to visit a dear honorary Uncle (an "Uncle" who is really a close friend of the family) in London. Our lodging would be free. Our food would be close to free (Uncle makes a won ton soup to die for). All we'd have to do is pay for transportation and incidentals.

The hubby kept our options open and continued looking. Turns out, a stay in Paris (LOVE Paris, being an art buff) even with the added cost of hotel and food would be less expensive (we're still seeing Uncle in London after the cruise).

We never would have seen that option if we hadn't continued looking.

That applies to wealth building too. The hubby and I have a combined target net worth we wish to reach. Our vehicle of choice thus far has been the bargain basement purchasing of beat up stocks. Does that mean we'll drive that beast forever? Nope. We continue to look for better and faster ways to get to our goals.

No, not THAT House Of Mouse. I'm not going to talk about Disney. Quite the opposite. If you don't like rodent talk, you might want to come back tomorrow.

Recently we found out we have mice or as the hubby sweetly thought A mouse (coming from the farm, I knew there's no such thing as A mouse, mice like hanging with their buddies).

At first, we were in denial. Our house is not dirty. Being quite empty and usually devoid of life, it is easy to keep clean. The hubby also wanted to know what the mice were eating 'cause he sure wasn't getting fed (I'm thinking they were ordering takeout).

But we weren't in denial for too long. One night, we left a bag of beef jerky open and out. The next morning, half the bag was done. We found it strewn underneath the stove (guess the mice didn't know there was no cooking necessary with beef jerky). Yep, we had ourselves mice and not the regular type either, snacking on breads and crackers. Nope, we have carnivore mice, the deadliest of all the rodents.

We went through the icky process of getting rid of them. We set up the live traps (with jerky 'cause our mice don't like the suggested peanut butter, I'm thinking they have allergies). We checked them every day. We then had to take long road trips out to the country (because they kept coming back, same mice).

The biggest lesson was one I seem destined to repeat over and over again. A dollar of prevention would have prevented a whole lot of grief. If we had spent a hundred dollars or so and covered the house with those sonic pest control devices, we likely wouldn't have had this problem in the first place.

For my last day at my contract gig, I brought in store bought (actually donut store bought) muffins for the team. Each muffin was baked in a paper muffin cup.

Every time I see those paper cups, I think of the Seinfeld muffin top episode ("Its not top of the muffin, to you!"). I suspect Elaine likes muffin tops because with those, she doesn't have to do that irritating and messy peeling off of the paper (I HATE that, if I wasn't so frugal, I'd also discard the bottom).

I know why stores use the paper muffin cups. They cook in mass quantities, don't use non-stick tins, and they make handling easier.

Do you know why YOU use paper muffin cups? I asked my own self that question years ago (I bought them because my Mom bought them). I DO have non-stick muffin tins. The muffins pop out perfectly after baking (easier if you let them cool until the tin is cool to the touch, not too long or the bottoms will be soggy). I'm also only baking a tin or two full so there's not a rush for clean up.

BTW… the trick to a perfect muffin is not to stir the batter too much (perfect for lazy me). It is supposed to be lumpy.

The Annual MasterCard Worldwide "Women In Small Business" survey shows that the number of women majority owned businesses grew at almost double the rate of all businesses (42% vs 23%).

That is great news! We are both starting businesses and retaining ownership.

All, but one, of the challenges to female led small businesses don't surprise me. They are the classics.

- Stretching ourselves across multiple roles and projects (21%),
(aka being an average woman)
- Healthcare costs (12%),
- Balancing family and work (11%),
and
- Lack of time to focus on generating new business (11%).

Which did I find surprising? The last one. Lack of time for sales and marketing.

Not that we have plenty of time for sales and marketing. Not by a long shot. I set aside a couple hours a day for my book promotions and I still don't think that is enough.

But what is surprising and healthy is that we recognize we don't have enough time. Usually, although it is business critical, sales and marketing is low down on an entrepreneur's busy to-do list.

Other interesting insights include that 41% of us use an accountant for financial management (29% use software) and that 18% of female led small businesses don't have a business credit or debit card. Yikes. I couldn't survive without mine.

There are unfortunately a lot of people out there talking a good game. They'll tell you they have your back (if they have to actually tell you that, odds are, they don't) but when change happens, good or bad, they're "unavailable."

When I was laid off, I was given two months notice to work at home (after that I'd be officially laid off and offered a severance). It looked to the world like the company cut me off immediately and I was hurting too much to explain the situation.

A funny thing happened. Some people started not returning phone calls or emails or would dodge lunches/dinners/family bbq's. I was surprised at who these people were (yep family and folks I thought were good friends).

I was also surprised at who the supporters were. The executive assistant I covered up a mistake for years before? She called a friend at another Fortune 500 company. They didn't have an opening… yet, but they expressed an interest in seeing me.

When I landed on my feet (At the end of the two months, another division of the company offered me a position. I turned that down, took the very generous severance, and went to a customer.), suddenly everyone was my friend again.

Now, I don't hold grudges but I DO remember whom I can count on. Those people I'd fly half way around the world to help out. And all it took was a returned email of support.

The interesting thing is that this happens with success also. This past week, when I was doing my shameless promoting, I heard "I'd book you on my blog but my female readers don't read romance" or "I'd buy your book IF I read romance" or "I don't read eBooks. Let me know when it is in print."

Then there is the opposite end of the spectrum. The brother who haunted the website because he wanted to be the very first buyer, the bloggers who offered up space as soon as they heard about the book launch, the friends, family, blog readers who bought the $6 book just to show their support. Heck, the people who emailed their congrats (I saved each one).

You think I'll remember these names? Yep. Until the day I die.

One of my best buddies got a Blackberry a couple weeks ago. She is already addicted. She checks it every five minute (yes, even during dinner out at restaurants). During my summers at home writing (on the computer), I have the same issue with email (sometimes I get lonely with only my imaginary characters for company). And we all know someone with a phone permanently attached to her ear.

Why is this a problem? Because it is a time suck. It eats up valuable minutes in an already time stressed day. It also distracts us from getting real wealth building work done.

What do I do?

Setting Boundaries

I check my email first thing in the morning (y'all know I'm very good at not moderating blog comments 24-7), then at lunch break, and again after my chapter for the day is done. I don't stress about email while on vacation (though I sometimes check it as it is the easiest way to get a hold of me).

But, but, but, my boss/hubby/best friend/petsitter expects me to…

Setting Expectations

I don't answer the phone at home during the day. I've told everyone this. My excuse? I get too many telemarketing calls (true) but the interesting side effect is that I suddenly am in control of the phone. No one expects me to answer so if it rings, I can ignore it and continue writing.

I do the same thing with email. I say that I'll check email at so and so times. The hubby does this with his boss while on vacation. He sets up a checking in schedule.

Bosses understand. They ARE hiring you to get things accomplished. They simply would like to be in contact on a timely basis. It is up to the two of you together to define timely.

Remember that phones, PDA's, computers are tools. You are the master. They answer to YOU.

You might have noticed that last Thursday, I announced my book launch. The issue is that no one could buy it on Thursday. The online bookstore hadn't yet loaded my eBook. A bit embarrassing, especially since I broke one of the first rules of grand openings/launches…

One should announce a grand opening/launch well after the actual start date.

Yeah, this is a rule I never would have messed with for anyone's launch other than my own. Why? There are a number of reasons.

One is that I've never, in my decades of new business development (okay, less than 2 decades, don't make me older than I am), ever known a project to launch on time (I thought my book would be the first but…).

Another is that the first week or two of "new" brings with it problems, hiccups, issues. For a new store or restaurant opening, the staff is new. Every customer request is a "first." Service is slow. They're trying to find their rhythm.

Do you really want to add vast amounts of traffic during this time? Nope. You want the store/restaurant/product launch to be the "best", not the first, when the eager masses experience it.

I was okay. Other than telling my understanding readers on this site (I HAD to tell someone), I hadn't planned any other media/press events (my first is today). I also had free stories on my site readers could entertain themselves with while they waited for the book (always have a backup – another project lesson).

Companies do this all the time. They'll negotiate for very favorable payment terms from suppliers and then tighten the payment terms for customers. For example: They'll pay suppliers in 60 days and receive payment from customers in 30. The result? If they turn around product quickly, they can use the cash from customers to pay the suppliers, using none of their own money.

Can individuals do the same?

Sure. Keeping an eye on when my credit card cuts, I can buy a product and have 30 days to pay for it without incurring interest charges. During that time, I could sell the product for a profit.

I'm doing this currently with my book sales (authors only get a certain number of free books, my number is 5, after that, I have to buy ). I buy the eBook on my credit card and collect the cash from readers immediately (right now, I'm reinvesting that cash in more book purchases but I could invest it elsewhere).

What if you're not flipping the purchase? Well, if you're like me and don't buy unless you have cash to pay for it, you can still invest the cash for the month, getting your little bit in interest (little bits add up), and pay at the end of the month.

Cash flow counts. The longer you can extend the interest free period of payments and the sooner you receive the cash, the better (that is why many stores offer a cash "discount", they're working the float).

I had big plans for today.

Yesterday was the last day of my contract gig (or more accurately last night as management realized at the last minute I really wouldn't be coming in the next day).

Today is the first day of my summer writing stint with my lofty goal of a chapter a day. It is also book launch day (yippee!! Breach Of Trust is finally out!). For that, I have a target of at least one major marketing activity a day. Oh, and I plan to wake up every morning at the crack of dawn and go for a run (the soup heavy diet is only losing me so much weight).

Today, I didn't.

Go for a run, that is. Sure, I woke up at the crack of dawn and went for a walk, but that was it, a walk. I also doubt I'll write a chapter today. I'd be pleased to finish reworking the first chapter of an upcoming contest entry instead. The marketing activity for today is done (if this post counts – grinning – no, no, I've done more than that).

Yep, I'm taking a half day.

You can only run at full speed for so long before you need to stop (or slow) and catch your breath. Somedays I just need a break. Today was one of those days.

I have friends that try to work through the break. It usually doesn't work out well. They either mess up big time (because they're burnt out), snap at people they care about, or get seriously ill (and then sit on the bus next to me, sneezing and sniffling).

So if you need a break, take it. Just make sure the break doesn't last too long (watching Oprah is addictive and bad for the investment account).

Hey, if you need reading material for that break… (you knew I'd get another plug in there, didn't you?)