Campbell's StockPot Fresh Soups are available in select retail locations. Look for it hot–ready to eat or in 24 oz refrigerated tubs to take home–in your grocer's deli.
For the last several weeks I've been living off the food in my cupboards and only buying milk when I run out. I'm trying to make it the whole month of March (and maybe longer) without doing any grocery shopping. So far, it's working! (Except for a couple good deals I couldn't pass up - cereal for a quarter and bags of frozen vegetables for 34 cents each!)
The last few days tortillas have been sounding good. I didn't have any on hand. That posed a problem. I googled tortilla recipes and found one that used ingredients I had on hand, so I made my own! They were very easy to make and tasted pretty good! They are not the ultra-flat version, but a little puffy. Almost like a flatbread. I made a wrap sandwich for lunch with turkey, cheese and BBQ sauce. For supper I wrapped scrambled eggs, cheese and salsa and topped it off with a little non-fat yogurt as a sour cream substitute. For dessert I heated up a tortilla, spread it with butter and sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar.
Here's the recipe if you want to try it out! (The post is a little long. The recipe is below the 3rd picture in the post.)
You can go to the Blue Bunny website and sign up for the iScream Team to get your coupon. They'll send you an email every month that generally has a coupon and other news about Blue Bunny ice cream. If you don't have a favorite flavor, try Bunny Tracks! Mmmm.....
Head over to Focus on the Family for their daily drawing through April 4th. Here are the prizes you could win: Two (2) winners each day will each receive an 8GB iPod nano® pre-loaded with resources – each valued at $225. One (1) winner each day will receive a 32GB iPod touch® preloaded with resources – each valued at: $600. Two (2) winners each day will receive the Focus on the Family Radio Theatre® audio dramas titled The Chronicles of Narnia®, 19 CD Box Set – each valued at $50.
I just got started shopping at CVS. It's addicting when you see how much you can get for so little! :-) Today's haul:
3 Dove Shampoos 3 Dove Conditioners 4 Johnson & Johnson Buddies Soaps 2 samples of Hershey's Bliss Chocolates
Total value: $35.50 Total out of pocket: $1.95 And I got $5 coupon to use later! (My actual total would have been less than $1, but I made a mistake and ended up spending a little more. I'm still getting the hang of this!)
In previous weeks I've scored toothbrushes, razors, toothpaste, and mouthwash. All for free or very little out of pocket. On some items, I even made money back after getting it free then sending in for a rebate!
Since I'm single, I obviously don't need all this stuff, so I am sending it to friends overseas that can really use it!
Being single with a steady income, I got lazy the last couple years and didn't really Now that I am back in the States and my income varies every month, I decided I need to go back on a strict budget. I had used Microsoft Money 2005 & 2006, but never really liked it much. (Which is probably one of the reason I quit sticking to a budget.) I missed the QuikBudget program I had for my Palm. Unfortunately,they don't make a PocketPC or desktop version of it, so I had to hunt for a new program. I found a great piece of software called "You Need a Budget Pro" or YNAB for short. It is very easy and intuitive to use. For tech support there are great tutorials, online help and forums if you need to ask a specific question. (And the creator of the software answers a lot of the questions himself!) I did have a little trouble because I have a few weird things that happen in my budget and a couple calculation errors on my part when I was double checking to make sure everything balanced out correctly. But that was not the software's fault! It is built on the zero-based budgeting principles. I have used zero-based in the past, but didn't know it had a name!
Now I can save for future expenses in the various budget categories and keep tabs on all my income and expenses.
The greatest thing about finally having my budget done - Now I know how much money I can spend on a car and can start looking after 9 months without one! Currently I'm one month ahead of my expenses, have money for a car and have started accumulating additional savings. It's such a freeing feeling to finally have it all worked out!
I saw a few of these bombers while I lived on Guam. They are incredible to see in the air!
On Saturday, about 10:30 am Guam time (7:30pm Friday EST) a $1.2 billion Stealth B-2 bomber crashed shortly after takeoff. Both pilots ejected safely. One has been released and the other is in stable condition. This is the first crash of a B-2 since the planes were unveiled in 1988.
And it's tax season again! My taxes are mostly done. I thought about hiring a CPA this year until I looked into the cost! Ouch! I asked around and one CPA friend told me "Get TurboTax.". Another friend who owns his own business said, "Get TurboTax!" I took their advice! I'm glad I did! It was simple and walked me through all the steps and my various deductions. I'm almost done with federal. (Have a couple things to check and got one more piece of paperwork in the mail the other day.) State should be even simpler since it uses all the data from the federal return.
Amazon had the best pricing for the software. Much cheaper than Intuit direct, Wal-Mart or any of the office supply stores!
I went home to Iowa for three weeks at Christmas. I ended up being sick most of the first week. But overall I had a great time! Aayla and I had fun looking at puppies on the computer. She LOVES animals and every time she saw me with my laptop, she came over and crawled in my lap so we could look at puppies!
Here are a few pictures of the cutie:
Heather came to stay with me for several days as well and we got to catch up with each other, relax and what we do best - shop! :-) Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures of us. This is a picture of a gift that Mom & I made for her. Green M&Ms are her favorite, so I bought a bag of Christmas ones and sacrificed and ate all the red ones and drank a Starbuck's Frappuccino to make this!
For quite some time now I have wanted to invest in the stock market. Back in 2004, Google went public. I really wanted to buy some stock then at $80-something a share. However, it was right before I moved to Guam and felt it wasn't a good time to do that since I was trying to save money. Well...hindsight is 20/20. That stock is now valued over $600! The 52-week high was $747.24. Yep. Coulda, shoulda, woulda.
I received a small sum of money for Christmas and decided this year I would invest it. So now I'm researching companies to invest in. Now looks like a great time to get started as the market is WAY down. Most stocks I've been looking at right now are just above their 52-week low. My strategy is going to be buy and hold long term. Probably something that returns dividends, but I haven't made up my mind on that yet.
You'll only be able to see the snow while it lasts here, but we're supposed to get between 2-4" of snow here in Greenville. BJU Campus Webcams - 3 cameras here about 1.5 miles from my house WYFF Weather Cam
The Filipiaks are leaving in the morning for a vacation/mission trip to Taiwan. I helped them plan the trip, so today's webcams are going to be from Taiwan and some of the places they'll see!
*Note - you will need to view these with Internet Explorer Taipei Zoo
I think I was bitten by the travel bug a few years ago on my first trip to Guam. It was probably before that, but that definitely got me itching to travel!
I've been home a total of 4 days now & I'm ready to pack my bags and travel again!
Every time I pass the luggage section in a store, I'm compelled to look even though I have more suitcases than I'm allowed to take. (Unless I'm flying Business Class!)It's also weird because my favorite luggage is eBags, which you can't buy in stores! My dream suitcase from them is the carryon suitcase that will hold a laptop as well.
On January 7th, Mark Malkoff moved in to IKEA for a week while his apartment is being fumigated. As a kid, I always thought it would be cool to spend the night in a store. I don't know why. I just did. Check out Mark's website to read more about it and see videos of his adventures.
He's also the guy that in one day visited and bought something at all 171 Starbucks in Manhattan!
On my way to Iowa, my good water bottle fell out of my bag and was lost on the plane. I was sad. Thus began the search for a replacement. I had read a tip that drinking water from a bottle with a straw encourages you to drink more, so this was a good time to give it a try!
I found a 32 oz Camelbak bottle that is spill proof and absolutely love it! The straw flips back into the lid to help keep it clean.
It's with me during the day and since I've been sick, I keep it by my bed at night too. When I wake up coughing, I take a couple sips. I don't worry about knocking it over and dumping it out or having to unscrew a lid, sit up and try to drink without spilling it all over myself.
If you're looking for a good water bottle to help you keep a New Year's Resolution to drink more water, then pick up one of these in one of 4 different colors! (There are also smaller bottles available in up to 9 different colors.)
I have spent the last couple weeks in Waterloo, IA for Christmas with my family. The last couple days have been FREEZING! Right now it's -1 and the wind chill is -16. Brrr!!! The high today is supposed to be 8 degrees.
The (update 6/11/08 - link is broken. Not sure if it is permanent or due to high web traffic or other problems related to the current flooding) webcam for today comes courtesy of KWWL news in Waterloo, IA. (They don't have a direct link to it, so below the weather maps you'll need to click on the Skycams button.)
The weather in Greenville is cold right now too, but looks to be in the mid to upper 60s when I get back, so it will feel like a heat wave to me!
written by ertlnet
at Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Pack your virtual suitcase & passport and join me every Wednesday to travel around the world via webcams! I thought it fitting to start with a few from Guam, where I lived for 2 years. If you live in the States, the best time to check these is late afternoon thru the evening since their night is our day. Harvest Ministries Weather Webcam (picture refreshes every 30 seconds) Harvest Ministries Multiplex Construction (picture refreshes every 30 seconds) Micronesia Mall Webcam (I had trouble with this in Firefox. You may need to view it in Internet Explorer)
About 31 hours after my journey started, I arrived home! My plane left the gate on time from Detroit. (There were a lot of cancellations, so I wasn't sure I would get out!) We sat on the ground for about 2 hours for a mechanical problem and deicing. But we got out!!! I arrived in Minneapolis too late to catch the first flight to Iowa. They were able to get me confirmed on the 5:15pm flight instead of the 10:30pm one. Hooray!
Next time I spend 31 hours flying to my destination, I hope it's to Guam! :-)
I've now been rebooked for an earlier flight out of Detroit. I'm waitlisted in Minneapolis for two flights and still confirmed on the late flight just in case the others are still full.
They're now predicting 10-14" of snow for Detroit by tomorrow night!
The good news? My luggage made it home! I think that's the first time my luggage made it there before me! :-)
