I’ve mentioned Billy on this site one other time. I’ve been listening to his music for about 6 years now, and revere him as one of the pioneers of the two-handed tapping style of acoustic guitar.

Before I discovered Billy, he was diagnosed with a neuromuscular disorder that made it impossible for him to play his own songs. He dropped off the scene for several years. But now he’s making an incredible comeback:

What I didn’t realize until last week is that Billy is from Minneapolis. By a stroke of Google-based luck, I happened upon a concert Billy was playing at the tiny 318 Cafe in Excelsior, MN. For some reason it wasn’t listed on his site. Chelsey and I already had a sitter lined up that night so we could go celebrate my birthday.

I had high expectations for the evening, and they were exceeded. The place was almost empty before the show, and Chelsey and I took the little table right up front. Billy was joined by mandolinist/violinist Nathan Wilson. When the show started, there were less than 20 people there. I thought Billy would be discouraged or upset, until I heard how sincerely thankful he was to be playing back in his “favorite favorite favorite place, to such a manageable crowd.” You could tell he was really enjoying it.

When they took a break, Billy pulled a chair up to our table. We chatted about music, his condition, Chicago and Utah, his kids and ours. I tried to explain to him what a somewhat-surreal privilege it was to be there. I can tell you that this guy is the real deal; he loves the music, and he loves the connection it gives him to his fans. Being right there, watching him play those songs, and getting to meet him has really sparked my desire to get back to the guitar.

You can follow the links on Billy’s site to download his music, check tour dates, and learn more about focal dystonia.

8 years ago I devoted the vast majority of my web surfing time (which was quite a bit) to educating myself on finances, particularly long-term stuff like IRAs. Many thanks to good ol’ Motley Fool.

I was a very early user of a little startup called Upromise. I got really into it for a while. Then the full force of grad school expenses hit us, and I never really got back to it. When I first signed up, I had doubts that the company would really make it.

My interest (okay, obsession) with tax-advantaged long-term investing has really heated back up as of late. Sure, some of it is due to the economy, but not as much as you might think. Rather, we’re just now getting back to a position where it’s more feasible for us to actually save some decent cash. I know I know, there’s never an excuse not to save. Cut us a little slack.

Anyway, after setting up some 529 college savings plans for the girls the other day*, I remembered Upromise. I guessed (correctly) at my old username and password. You can imagine my pleasant surprise when my account popped up as if I logged in yesterday, when in fact it’s been 6 years! And my $13 is still sitting there.

It’s at this point that the reality of drops in a bucket starts to hit me. 1-3% bonus on a few select items and stores here and there just hardly seems worth the trouble. But as I scanned the list of eligible stores, I thought of the hundreds (okay thousands) of dollars we’ve given those retailers over the past 6 years. eBay. Best Buy. Target.com. JC Penny. Bed Bath & Beyond. Travelocity. Hotwire. Expedia. Apple (okay fine, it’s more like tens of thousands).

And then my subconscious reminded me of all those blue U stickers I see at the grocery store that I’ve been visually tuning out.

Well, no sense in lamenting the missed opportunity. With a good 16 years before our oldest heads out for higher education, there’s still plenty of time to let those drops accumulate!

*p.s. if you’re interested in busting open a 529 for your kids or anybody in your extended family, drop me a line and I’ll send you a referral code that gives you a $25 bonus for opening the account. Unlike many investing accounts, most 529s have no setup fees, very low minimums (like $25) and very low investment costs. Best of all, you can set one up online with no paperwork. Woohoo!

Wow! If that doesn’t put you in the holiday spirit, what does? Feeling inspired, we picked someone else in the restaurant and paid for their meal. I wonder if they were inspired and paid for someone else’s meal, too!

The whole experience made my day!

My hope for this holiday season – that everyone who reads this post does an anonymous act of kindness for someone else this month. Pay for someone else’s meal next time you are at a restaurant, the drive-through, or even Starbucks. Or do something else that will lift someone else’s spirits! Please leave a comment about your experience and, hopefully, in a few weeks this post will have a bunch of great stories of  spreading Christmas cheer!

And who doesn’t love fabulous dessert?

We spent Thanksgiving day in MN with some friends and their family. We were too busy eating and hanging out to stop and take pictures, but we had a great time and SO much food! Especially dessert (all homemade): apple pie, cherry pie, pumpkin pie, banana cream pie, creme brulee, eggnog, chocolate bunt cake, chocolate covered nuts and marshmallows, cookies and (not homemade) ice cream! Whew! That’s a lot of suga!

Pictures for this week…Zoe and her “babies” (Lion, Sheep, Dino, Charcoal and Striped Kitty) without whom she rarely voluntarily goes anywhere and is very, very grateful for…