Bill and I had went a saw Hellboy II:  The Golden Army on Friday night.  My goal is not to give out any spoilers with this review.  If you saw Hellboy and like it, you will love Hellboy II.  However, if you thought the first one was cheesy, you’ll think this one is too.  The story is that the the mythical world starts a rebellion against humanity in order to rule the Earth.  Hellboy and his team must stop them to save us. Obviously, some of these characters are going to have wanted to buy some term insurance on their lives, since they don’t make it out alive (don’t worry, I won’t tell you who!)  The plot was good.  However, it was pretty predictible.  I had guessed the ending half way through the movie (and yes, I had guessed it right).  There were a few twists and turns that I didn’t see coming.  The special effects were awesome.  The humor was great too.  After seeing this movie though, you’ll never think of the tooth fairy the same again (okay, one little sort of spoiler).  Personally, I would have waited to see this on video. However, my husband was glad we saw it in the theater.

Yes, I know, it is hard to believe that I actually watched I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry. What may surprise you (heck, it surprised me) the movie wasn’t half bad. Now, I wouldn’t give it 5 stars or probably watch it again. However, it was entertaining enough to watch the whole thing.

Larry (Kevin James) is a widower with two kids. The only way for him to change his insurance policy changed is to get married. Larry is a firefighter, and is partnered with his best friend Chuck (Adam Sandler). To help Larry out, Chuck and Larry get a domestic partnership and get married in Canada. Should be the end of the story right? Wrong. They then have to prove that their relationship is the real deal. The jokes sometimes are really, really bad and a little to stereotypical. However, there is a great scene where the two men fight and call up each others shortcomings that need to be addressed (like Larry needing to figure out how to lose weight and let go of his late wife and Chuck needing to learn how to commit). All in all, it is a movie you should see.

Have you seen the commercial for Lifelock yet? If not, this is a service you need to look into. I am not sure how many of you know that I was almost a victim of identity theft. When we lived in Aurora, they was a person with the same name as me giving out my phone number and address to creditors. I had to fight for 2 years with American Express’s lawyers that I was not the Lisa they were looking for. Heck, I never ever even owned an American Express. I had to put a freeze on my own credit reports (which means no more instant credit when you want to get $15 off your purchase if you sign up now at certain stores like Kohls). I also know people who have had their identity stolen. Unfortunately, it happens more often than you think.

I ask if you have seen the commercial, because in the commercial, the president of the Lifelock actually puts his social security number on the side of a tractor trailer truck. I know, it is quite a bold move. He also has his social security number right on the top of the Lifelock website in a huge font and bolded. That is how sure he is of his company. If his identity is not being stolen and he is putting his information out there for the world to see, just think what Lifelock can do you. Normally, people try to hide their information as best as possible. Lifelock will ensure that your identity will never to stolen. Let’s say if something would slip through and it did happen, Lifelock has a million dollar guarantee. Yes, I said a million dollar guarantee: They “will pay up to $1,000,000 to cure the failure or defect in our service, per member, per lifetime for all incidents in the aggregate regardless of circumstance”. How many companies do you know are that confident in their service?

How does Lifelock work? First, they set fraud alerts on your behalf with the credit bureaus. This is done, so you are notified anytime anyone tries to use your credit (including yourself). However, these fraud alerts are only good for 90 days. They go back every 30 days and reset the fraud alert for you. You don’t have to worry about forgetting to do this. They also request that your name be removed from all those annoying preapproved and junk mail lists. They keep making these requests for you as they expire also. This is another way that identity can be stolen, so why not stop it at its source? Plus, junk mail is just annoying anyway. Look at it this way, you are probably saving a few trees by getting your name off those lists. They also order credit reports on your behalf from all the major credit bureaus once a year and have them sent directly to you. Lastly, they have an awesome program called WalletLock. If you lose your wallet or if it gets stolen, a specialist will help you contact each credit card, bank, or document issuing company to cancel your accounts. They will also help you complete the paperwork to replace your lost documents. This includes your credit/debit cards, driver’s license, social security card, insurance cards, checkbook, and travelers checks.

I know you are probably saying that you could do most of this yourself and save yourself the money. Honestly though, do you do it? I am on top of things I forget to do a lot of these steps. With Lifelock, you are buying peace of mind. In a world where identity theft can take away everything you own, you definitely need that peace of mind.

I wrote about how we were able to sign up for this program through my sisters work place over at My Thoughts, Ideas, and Ramblings. This program is awesome. Granted, it does cost you a little every month. However, through the amount of exercise and steps you do, you are able to earn up to $400 by the end of the year! Also, it forces you to get in shape and out of plus size clothing (hopefully)!. You get a free pedometer, so you are able to get some instant gratification that what you are doing is doing something. I ended up with a little over 4,000 steps yesterday. Not bad for my first day (of course, not the 7,000 I was hoping for either!). Everybody needs a little motivation and money always works! I wish more insurance companies would step up and offer incentives like this.

While we had them as a car insurance company, they weren’t too bad.  We never really had to use them for anything, so they were fine.  However, six months ago, without any notice, they raised our rate by about $50 for six months.  I let that go.  When we came up for renewal in December, they raised it again another $70 for every six months.  Now, we didn’t have any accidents or any tickets, so was a bit confused by the rate increase.  I started shopping around, and we went with another company.  I did not pay the renewal and assumed they canceled the policy.  Well, they don’t do that.  Instead, they still cover you for an additional three months.  If you don’t pay it then, they send you to collections.  Of course, nobody ever bothered to tell us that.  I am sure it was in some tiny print somewhere,  but I don’t even recall reading that anywhere.  I now have to fax them proof that we have other insurance or pay the bill.

Just a warning for you all — make sure you call and cancel.  Would I use Allstate again?  Probably not (unless they were the cheapest).