Say hello to another beautiful Monday, so glad to see your face.

I know I am a wee bit too excited for another work week but I am just trying to get some practice in for my challenge this week.  I want to let a few people know how much I appreciate them. You know, I buy all this cute stationary and tons of cute cards like a paper hoarder.  Then I just sit and look at them, it is quite possible that sometimes I rub them across my face but I never actually use them.  That’s gotta change today.

Feeling appreciated is one of the strongest human desires, but that appreciation is not often found in a text message.  Let’s think about how many emails and texts we have sent in the last week.  Now when was the last time we sent a real handwritten letter?  I’ll hang my head in shame now thanks.

The craziest part is a handwritten letter costs less than a dollar to send, and can be kept forever.  I just never take the time to actually write one.  Sometimes I long for my younger years when the greatest thing in life was to get a letter from my penpal….not quite sure why I gave that feeling up.

My challenge calls for one part cute card (or printer paper folded hamburger style) and two parts gratitude.  I am going to handwrite a few of these notes today to some specials folks, the ones that I don’t tell enough how much they mean to me.

Do you still handwrite letters?
Did you have a penpal growing up?
Where do you buy cute paper products…like I need more.

Is it terrible that I am still recovering from the Fourth of July.  I guess that birthday finally caught up with me….extra years be dragging me down.

This week I finally get to show you all of those outdoor projects that we have slaved over for the last four rainy weekends.  I may or may not be doing the cabbage patch behind my screen here.

Before we take this fiesta outside, I want to talk about all the creepers just waiting to pounce on your financials.  We all spend a lot of time behind the screen, but there are tons of people making their living off of your computer time. Almost eight and a half million adults a year are victims of identity fraud losing over $50 billion dollars.  We probably all know someone who has been affected, in fact Tim and I have both taken a ride on the crazy train that is getting your identity back.  It is a heck of a ride let me tell you.

Did you know that the easiest way to prevent identity theft is just to be aware of your accounts.  It’s that easy…just check your statements for strange activity.  An easy step that so many people don’t take.

You can shred documents, secure your personal information, and use an antivirus but using common sense when providing information is one of the best ways to protect yourself.  Make sure you have initiated contact and you know who you are dealing with when you give out data.  Shop on trusted sites, and people please don’t give out your social security number.

Take a minute today to check your bank account.  Then do it for the next 66 days and you officially have a very safe habit.  You’re welcome.

Have you ever been affected by identity theft?
Do you check your bank accounts on the regular?
Ever used LifeLock, how did that go?