Over the past week or so, I have been reading an awesome book called The Secret of Wellington’s Map.  Granted, this isn’t my normal reading genre (usually if I can get a few minutes away I pick up Stephen King or Dean R Koontz book), but you know what?  I enjoyed this book just as much as I do books by those authors (though I think this book would be considered in either the sci-fi or mystery genre).  I would say that The Secret of Wellington’s Map is probably geared towards the ten and up crowd.  However, as an adult, I truly enjoyed the book too.  I found the author’s style a joy to read, and she really caught the essence of teenage girls in this book.  I also enjoyed finding a book that girls are the heroines.  The other thing I liked is that even though the main characters are teenage girls, they weren’t boy crazy.  Granted, there were a few boy mentions, but their lives didn’t revolve around boys.  The author had the girls talking, acting, and dressing like teenage girls, so I found them very believable.  There is also a bit of real life history intertwined into the story.

The story centers around two girls, Jaime and Nicole, that had expected a carefree summer.  However, after they come across a magic map, they go on an adventure of a lifetime.  I hate to go into more of a synopsis of the book, because I don’t want to spoil any part of it for you.  I will tell you that the map is somewhat of a time space portal, and they do go through it and end up in 1885.  However, if you want to find out why and if they make it back, you have to go read the book!

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.

If you are in the market for memorabilia items, Millionaire Memorabilia should be your one stop shop. They have every kind of memorabilia that you could want. They have celebrity memorabilia, movie memorabilia, sports memorabilia, music memorabilia, political memorabilia, and historic memorabilia. I personally would love to get my hands on this:

This movie rocks and this display has the signatures of Leonardo DiCaprio, Martin Scorsese, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Alec Baldwin, and Martin Sheen. How cool is that? This site is super easy to navigate and find what you are looking for. They have great sales and even tell you how many of each item you are looking at is on the market. The above display only has 2, so this is a once in a lifetime piece. You can also check all of the new items they got in too. Now, if they don’t have what you are looking for, you can contact them with special memorabilia requests, and they will try and find it for you!

There are many items for the collector in your life no matter what their interest is in. I found a lot things I would love to get my hands on and quite a few that Bill would love too. If you are in the market for memorabilia, you should start your search here.