To see more pictures of Gumby's travels, click here.

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Several years ago I was fed up with my acne. I was about ready to break down and shell out the money for Proactiv because I had heard good things about it. In researching alternatives, I found Dan Kern's acne.org. A little skeptical about how it would actually work, I decided to buy the initial supplies at Wal-Mart. (Similar items are available in stores. Dan's products are only available online. Long term, the items on acne.org are more cost effective.)

Wow! I saw results within 1-2 weeks. Soon others were commenting that my skin was clearing up and asking where they could get it!

I switched to the products on the acne.org website and they are MUCH better than what you get in the store. The Neutrogena benzoyl peroxide cream turns white when you sweat. Dan's formula is a gel that goes on clear and doesn't turn white. It also absorbs into my skin better than the cream.

Dan has a whole regimen available, but the treatment product is the only one I've used. In my search for inexpensive gentle soap, I realized that baby soap would work! I don't need moisturizer very often, but when I do, I use oil free lotions.

So that is what works for me! For more, visit Rocks in my Dryer.

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As holiday travel season is approaching, I thought I'd share travel tips that work for me!

Water - TSA regulations forbid bringing liquids through security, and drinks in the airport are EXPENSIVE! I bring my own empty water bottle and fill it up at a drinking fountain after I clear security screening. I like my CamelBak because the lid has a loop so I can attach it to my bag with a carabiner. Or you can attach a regular water bottle with one of these. You could also bring some "on the go" flavor packs along for some variety.

Luggage - Mail it! My next upcoming trip has 3 separately ticketed segments with overnights and stopovers at each place. I plan on mailing clothes ahead to a couple of the destinations. This will save me money in the long run and I won't have heavy luggage to collect at each stop. For instance, for my farthest destination, I'd have to pay a total of $90 round trip for my first checked suitcase. I can mail quite a bit for that amount! :-) I'll carry a couple changes of clothes and things in my carry-on.

Pillow - Airline pillows just don't cut it. They are small and wimpy. Most of the time I travel with my full size down pillow. Especially on international flights! So far it's never been counted as an extra carry-on. I guess because it can sit in my lap. I used to have a drawstring backpack that I could stuff it in to hike through the airport without having to carry it. But then I got a smaller bag and a larger pillow. That combination didn't work so well. :-)

Snacks - bring your own candy, granola bars, dried fruit, peanut butter sandwich, etc. Airport food is expensive and snacks on the plane are OUTRAGEOUS!

Bungee cords - stick a couple different sizes in your carry-on bag. They come in handy for all sorts of things. I now strap my pillow to my wheeled carry-on suitcase with them.

Packing cubes - these keep your suitcase neat and organized, especially when it gets checked by TSA! I have 2 sets of these and they hold almost all of my clothes for a 2 week trip! A place for everything & everything in it's place!



Document organizer - This keeps my tickets, passport, frequent flyer cards and other documents organized. There is a pen holder loop and a zippered pocket where I keep my foreign currency. I drop it in the front pocket of my carry-on so it's always accessible.




Pack-it-flat Toiletry Kit - I absolutely love this toiletry kit for traveling. It's slim for packing in my carry-on or suitcase. It holds everything I need. When open, there is a small hanging hook for the bathroom door or towel rack.



For more works-for-me Wednesday tips, visit Rocks in my Dryer

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Kevin Inafuku released a new CD last month - Love So Amazing  It's on sale through the end of November for $12.

Harvest Ministries announces the release of the latest musical recording by Kevin Inafuku, Love So Amazing. For the glory of God, this recording is congregationally-oriented to help people comprehend and worship God for Who He is through hymns that speak with power about our God, Psalms straight from Scripture that challenge our view of God and spiritual songs that push us to a genuine relationship with Christ. Selections on the recording include "A Mighty Fortress is Our God," "O Great God," "My Abba's Child" and many more. You can listen to a few samples from the CD below, then be sure to visit the Online Store to purchase your copy of Love So Amazing.

When I Survey the Wondrous Cross
Forgive Me
Speak, O Lord

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Did you know you can save $5/month if you have DSL and cellular service from AT&T? Just make a simple phone call and they will set you up with a bundle and combine both of the bills in to one.

Here's the link to the information.

This saves me $5/month or $60/year!

If you have a landline that you only use for DSL access, ask about switching to dry DSL. That can save you about $15 extra per month!

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Mike & Luke are the biggest Star Wars fans I know!



You can view the lyrics here.

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I've hauled some fairly decent loads with my bike. Others that have Xtracycles have hauled much more than I. The loads on this video are quite impressive! :-)

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Earlier this week for "Works For Me Wednesday" at Rocks in My Dryer, Shannon posted about the the things she cleans in her dishwasher besides dishes. She received lots of comments from her readers and posted some of the more unusual things here.

My two favorites? Cleaning a computer keyboard and COOKING SALMON! What?! I don't have a dishwasher and I don't eat fish, so I won't be trying that one anytime soon. It certainly is interesting though!

Oh, and my parents didn't get a dishwasher until after I left home. Not that I'm bitter or anything. It built character. Or so they tell me anyway. :-)

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A couple near my hometown was out geocaching and stumbled upon a key in a plastic bag under a picnic table. They won a new car in a contest promoting Iowa's parks. Funny thing is...they didn't even know about that contest, they were just looking for an ordinary cache! You can read the full story here.

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My Publix had an in-store special of 99 cents for a bag of Malt-O-Meal cereal. A coupon for $1.00 off Honey & Oat Blenders with Almonds is available here. You can print the coupon twice.

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InvisibleSHIELD skins are the best out there for protecting your electronics from scratches! I have one on my iPod and plan to get one for my GPS too. I've taken my keys to my iPod (with the InvisibleSHIELD on!) and no scratches. They are made from the same material that protects military helicopter blades. (These would make great stocking stuffers for your hard-to-buy-for gadget lover!)




If your beloved iPod device already has scratches, I highly recommend using their Applesauce Polish. I had my doubts about it, but my friend badly scratched his screen so we tried it out and I was VERY impressed. It went from being a deep, highly noticeable scratch to being barely there and having to look for the scratch that still remained! (He now has an InvisibleSHIELD to protect his iPod!)

Applesauce Polish Applesauce Polish

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Publix  
(Publix specials change on Wednesday, so they're good until 10/21)

Smart Balance 50/50 Butter Blend Sticks (BuyOneGetOne, save up to $3.59) Buy only one and use the coupon below and get 16 oz of butter blend sticks for 80 cents! I have never tried this, but from what I read from people who have, it’s great for baking too.

$1 off coupon (Note – I went back to the site and was able to print a second coupon, so I’m buying 2!)

Kellogg’s Mini Wheats are BOGO (3.99) You can use 2 coupons when you buy 2 boxes, which makes them $1 each

Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes, Corn Pops, Apple Jacks, or Froot Loops, 16.9 to 17.5-oz box Go to coupons.com and they have 6 different Kellogg’s coupons! One is for any and the others are different flavors of Mini Wheats. I haven’t tried yet, but heard you can print the coupons at least twice.

See the whole list of what’s on sale and what coupons are available at the Hot Coupon World Publix Forum

Remember, any of the BOGO sales at Publix – if you only have one coupon, you don’t have to buy 2 items to take advantage of the sales. (At least for the Publix stores I’ve visited in Greenville, SC)

Wal-Mart

There are some great deals at Wal-Mart this week! Visit Money Saving Mom for all the details about these. She has a lot more listed, but these caught my eye!

Free Honey Bunches of Oats Just Bunches (my store is usually a little higher, than $2, but it’s almost free!)

Money-maker Arm & Hammer Essentials Cleaners Starter Kit using $1 off coupon and rebate for full purchase price (note, MSM’s link for the rebate is currently incorrect. The correct link is here.)

12 cent Wet Ones trial size. I like to take these along on bike rides for quick cleanup after putting my chain back on or just feeling grimy after a ride!

27 cent Barilla Piccolini pasta

48 cent Nestle Toll House Morsels

60 cent Pillsbury Refrigerated Pizza Crust

I need to check my coupon stash to see about some of the other cheap or almost free items such as Powerade, Disposable Razors

Walgreen’s

Check out Money Saving Mom’s post on Walgreen’s specials for this week. There are lots of great free or almost free items!  I’ve listed a couple here for you

99 cents for Arm & Hammer Detergent

Free after rebate LypSyl LypMoisturizer Honey Berry 1 oz. (Winter and dry lips are coming!)

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Packed up my mobile office and some lunch and set out for downtown. Falls Park is a great place to go and enjoy the outdoors while I'm working! (they have wifi there!)

This was the view from my "office"!

On Saturday, I stopped at the Library to pick up a book and headed back down to the park to read and relax. Weekends are definitely MUCH busier in the park! It was nice and relaxing. A guy near me was playing hammered dulcimer. What more could I ask for on a lazy Saturday? Relaxing under the shade by a waterfall with some live, soothing music? (Same park, but a different angle.)

These two boys were having fun playing at the edge of the water. (Don't worry. They were supervised by someone just outside my shot.)

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According to this Fox News story, a 16 year old girl was killed moments after sending a text message. Her mother "said she hopes the accident will make other people think before texting and driving." 


While I do think texting and driving is dangerous, the article also stated that she was drunk (not to mention underage!) and speeding. I would have to believe that was more of an impairment to her driving than the texting.

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For quite some time now I have been wanting a GPS to take up geocaching (basically an electronic worldwide treasure hunt) I finally got my GPS on Monday! (Note- Some may see this as a frivolous purchase since I am carfree, as in, "Couldn't that money be spent better elsewhere or put towards a car?" Well, yes, but God provided a gift certificate to a sporting goods store, so I was able to purchase this and several other things for about $8 total!)

Anyway, this morning I put the bike mount on my bike, clipped on the GPS and headed out. I hunted several downtown and in the parks nearby. I also hit the Saturday Market and had lunch at Falls Park. Unfortunately, I only found 2 of the caches, but I was really close to several. I didn't take a list of hints with me that would have helped. Guess I'll do that next time! In all, I biked/walked 19.7 miles today! (Thanks to my GPS, I can now track my miles & speed!)


Had several inquiries about my Xtracycle today. One guy has even been considering buying one and previously ran into the other guy here in town that owns one. Oh, and one guy that saw me riding at Furman a couple weeks ago!

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Good Housekeeping's August 2008 issue tested 29 kids backpacks and reported on the 5 top bags. They tell you what to buy. I'll tell you where to find them for less money! Additional money can be saved thru ebates or fatwallet. Click the links to sign up.

Borealis by The North Face ($69) - Sierra Trading Post $46.95 (savings $22.05) Bonus - ebates 4% back
Cordura StudyHaul by Lands' End ($39.50)  Lands' End $34.50 (savings $5) thru 8/27 Bonus - ebates or fatwallet 4% back
Kelty Riff ($50) eBags $39.99 (savings $10.01) Bonus - ebates 6%, fatwallet 8% back
Recon by The North Face ($79) campmor $49.97 (savings $29.03)
Original Plus Book Pack by L.L.Bean ($29.50) L.L.Bean sold direct only. Check here for possible coupon codes

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See the end of the post for my notes.

Easy Homemade Cookie Ice Cream Recipe courtesy Paula Deen Show:  Paula's Home Cooking Episode:  Ice Cream

3 egg yolks* 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk 4 teaspoons vanilla extract 1 cup chocolate sandwich cookies, coarsely crushed 2 cups heavy cream, whipped In a large bowl, beat the egg yolks and stir in the condensed milk and vanilla. Fold in the crushed cookies and whipped cream. Pour mixture into a 9 by 5-inch loaf pan lined with foil. Cover and freeze for 6 hours or until firm. To serve, scoop ice cream from pan or cut into slices. *RAW EGG WARNING Food Network Kitchens suggest caution in consuming raw and lightly-cooked eggs due to the slight risk of Salmonella or other food-borne illness. To reduce this risk, we recommend you use only fresh, properly-refrigerated, clean, grade A or AA eggs with intact shells, and avoid contact between the yolks or whites and the shell.

My notes -
The blog I got this recipe from said to whip 1 cup of cream into 2 cups, which I did. I see the original recipe actually says 2 cups heavy cream, whipped, so I actually used half the amount. Next time I'll try with the full amount. (I believe I learned in Foods class that since "whipped" follows the comma, you start with 2 cups liquid then whip it. If it said "2 cups whipped heavy cream", then it would be 2 cups is the amount after whipping, so you would start with 1cup.) I also freeze the bowl and beater before whipping. Use cream that is not ultra-pasteurized if possible because it whips better. (I couldn't find any regular, so I had to use the U-P and it worked OK.)

The first time I made it, I used 1 cup frozen strawberries instead of cookies. It was delicious and refreshing! Today I made it again and used 1 cup M&Ms. It's not frozen yet, so I am not sure how it turned out. I did notice that the M&M coating "bled" somewhat and sink to the bottom somewhat. If I make it again with M&Ms, I might wait until the mixture is partially frozen before adding them. (Update - The M&M batch has frozen. The color is a little gross looking because of the bleeding of all the colors. And due to the amount of cream being half of what it should be, this batch is incredibly sweet. As mom would say, "It is so sweet, it will curl your teeth!")

Since it calls for raw egg yolk, I cooked the eggs, milk and vanilla to kill any potential Salmonella bacteria. I confess. I do eat raw cookie dough. Somehow raw eggs in my ice cream is different. Don't ask me how. It just is. :-)

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I was checking some driving directions in Google and noticed they have added a beta "Walking" link. I played around with it and it's pretty decent from what I see so far. It will map the shortest distance between two points instead of the fastest car route. It will also estimate the time it will take you to walk it. I did check how long it would take to walk from SC to IA, but it doesn't give the walking directions option for a trip that far. :-) You can play with it yourself here. Not sure what the distance limit for walking directions is, but after playing with it a little, it seems it is about 6 miles.

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I'm a little late with this post. I got some pictures up on facebook earlier, but didn't get them up on the blog.

Nora Pearl Ertl was born on June 28, 2008 at 2:03am
8 lb 6 oz
20 3/4" long

Aayla fell asleep on the way to meet her new sister. Looks like they make good napping buddies!

But she woke up later and enjoyed holding her. In fact, shortly after this picture was taken Daddy tried to take crying Nora and Aayla started crying because she wanted to keep holding her!

I'm going to visit them next week and can't wait!

I'll leave you with a bonus picture of Aayla.

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Zaxby's is giving away free Nibblers on Monday, July 7th from 2:30-4:30pm

Zaxby's restaurants are mostly in the Southeastern US.

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The Local Government Association in England has published a "non-word" list of cliches and jargon. One of those words is "synergies". So would that mean Progressive Synergy banned? Hmmm... I hope not. I do have international customers, but none in England (yet)!

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I had my first experience with the Sav-Mor food yard sale today. Wow! What an experience! They line up tons of banana boxes full of food in their parking lot. When I arrived there were swarms of people around the perimeter. You grab an empty banana box and wait for the signal to go. Then it's a free for all! You pay $6 for whatever you can fit in your box. (level with the top of the box) I ran into a friend from church as I was leaving and she said she calculated it out once and it's about an average of 14 cents per item!

I got a couple boxes of cereal, a cake mix, 2 cheesecake mixes, 2 jars of natural peanut butter, several cans of Main Street Cafe iced coffee, 2 bags of Nestle peanut butter/chocolate chips, several bottles of dressing, tortilla mix, graham cracker crust, organic Kraft Mac & Cheese, organic spaghetti saurce, BBQ sauce and a bunch of other miscellaneous items. Some of the things I probably never would have bought in the store, but the items that I do buy were worth over $6. The rest of the stuff was just to fill the box! :-) I could have squeezed a few more things in, but there was nothing left that I would eat or want to give away!

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I found Nemo when I was on Guam. Now I'm finding wifi.

I had lunch with a friend yesterday who recently acquired a laptop with a wireless card. She has been doing a lot of traveling lately and was trying to find free internet access at coffee shops, etc. This post will hopefully help her and others!

Wi-Fi Free Spot you can view by city/state or by type (companies, hotels, airports. RV parks, etc.)
Jiwire (free and paid)

Many public libraries offer wireless.

Downtown Greenville, SC has free wireless as well.

If you have AT&T as your internet service provider, you can use basic AT&T Wi-Fi hotspot locations for free. Many Barnes & Noble Bookstores, McDonald's and Starbucks are included. Hint - use the drop down menu below the map to filter for Basic (only). I haven't tested this yet. Last time I tried was right after the Bell South/AT&T merger and it wasn't available for SC subscribers. It appears that it should be now.

If you register a Starbucks card you will have access to 2 free hours of internet access per day. Not only that, but free beverage customization, brewed coffee refills, and a beverage with a whole bean purchase!

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The Waterloo/Cedar Falls (Iowa) area has been hit with some major flooding in the last few days. Downtown has been evacuated. All but one bridge has been closed. A railroad bridge has washed away as well.

My family lives far enough away from the river so they have not been directly affected by the flooding. Mom did say it is difficult to get around town though because so many roads are closed. They are supposed to get about 6 more inches or rain this week.

Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier
KWWL Channel 7 News

Here in Greenville, we are still in a drought. We pretty much skipped right over the pleasant early summer weather and went directly to the record-breaking 95-100 degrees. It's been hot! Tonight we had a pretty good thunderstorm though. It was short, but I did go out on the porch and watch it. I love the smell of rain! That was one thing I missed while I lived on Guam. It didn't smell the same as it does in the States when it rained. They started replacing the roof on my apartment today. Hopefully it was covered well enough to keep the water out! :-) I don't see any leaks yet!

Oh, and I saw yesterday that somewhere in Washington State got about a foot of snow!

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On May 30th, I finally got my Xtracycle FreeRadical hitchless trailer installed! Now I have an S.U.B. (Sport Utility Bike) Here are some before and after pictures. Sorry they're not quite the same angle. In both pictures the front tire is all the way to the wall. That will give you an idea of how LONG my bike is now!































Because it is a very unusual bike, I've met lots of people on the few rides I've taken with it! It is definitely a conversation starter! Today a kid I passed told his mom I had a cool bike! :-)

I've only taken about 4 rides with it so far, but I already like it! It really doesn't seem to handle much different than a regular bike as long as I remember it is longer and wider. (The optional wideloaders are currently installed to give me more package hauling ability).

Since my apartment is on 2nd floor, I thought it would be a lot harder to get the bike up the stairs. Nope. It's actually easier, believe it or not! In the picture above, look below the fire extinguisher. You will see a slightly curved silver bar near the bottom of the bike frame. I grab that and haul it up the stairs. Before the Xtracycle, I had to hoist the whole thing over my shoulder and carry it up. Not fun after a long, tiring ride! The folks at Xtracycle call it GravityAdvantage JuJu. I even carried it down the stairs with a 15lb box strapped on it. (Down is easier. Later I had a different 15 lb load. I took it off before going up!)

The other day I borrowed my friends kids to see how it handled with people/heavier loads. Two of the kids got on. It was slightly wobbly as we started because we were going slow out the driveway because of the way their curb is. Didn't want anyone to fall off! The four year old wanted off. The six year old got on. I warned him it would be just a little wobbly until we got going. He decided he didn't want to go down the hill. (He walks his bike down all hills because he hates them.) OK, so it's down to just me and the 9 year old. He loved it and said his mom should get one! He did think we were going a little fast down the hill, so I slowed down & lost my momentum to make it up the next one. I warned him I was going to stand up to pedal the rest of the way up the hill and it might wobble just a little. Surprisingly, there was only a slight wobble. I had worse wobble with my old setup carrying a 25 lb box. He weighs a little over 60 lbs. Barely noticed him there except the big hills. But it didn't feel like I was pulling that much weight. Never thought I'd say that about a load that size!

I also went to the grocery store this week. I took my cooler since it's been so hot this week and I need to pick up some ice and other refrigerated stuff. The cooler & contents weighed at least 15 lbs. Balancing the load on both sides is better, but didn't really have an option in this case. Didn't make a difference. Handled beautifully! Here's a picture:














Today on the way home from running some errands, a cyclist going the other direction gave me a thumbs up and hollered, "Nice Xtracycle!" Wow! Not that many people actually know what it is! He turned around and caught up to me. Turns out he's the only other guy I know of in town that has one! His bike is actually in the shop right now for some work and he was riding one without the "X". I had actually seen his when I was at the shop! It's taken some abuse. He rode cross country on it with his dogs. He's planning an "around the US" tour now.

Yep, I'm glad I bought my Xtracycle. Now I can't wait for the Stokemonkey to be released!

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My birthday was June 3rd. It was a busy day! I got some work done in the morning then my friend, Kristin picked me up for lunch at Panera. We got there and her sister & 4 kids were there to help me celebrate! They had a balloon and cupcakes for me! The manager noticed the party going on and gave me a free lunch! After lunch and festivities (including making paper airplanes for the kids) they headed home and Kristin and I stayed. I worked and she read. She is reading 140 books this summer for her classes! Then we headed next door to get my free ice cream from Cold Stone Creamery. I tried "All Lovin' No Oven" - Cake Batter ice cream (my favorite!), cookie dough, fudge and whipped cream. It was very good! To get free ice cream on your birthday, click here.

I was home for a couple hours then Barb picked me up for Women for Missions salad picnic. On the way home we stopped at Moo's for more ice cream! And since it was Tuesday, cones are $1.50!

It was a good birthday!

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I have been so busy lately, I haven't had much time to blog. Let me back up and catch up on my life! On Wednesday, April 30th, I flew up to Wisconsin to spend a couple days with one of my best friends, Heather. Friday, we drove down to Chicago to meet up with my family to see Mei, my cousin's new baby and celebrate my brother's birthday. We went to Woodfield Mall to eat & do a little shopping. The whole group (cousins, Aunt & Uncle, Mom & Dad, kids, babies, etc.) went to a little zoo near my cousin's house. Then we went to Geneva to do a little shopping/wandering downtown. It was a nice area with some neat shops, but I didn't buy anything. Side note- Mike & I went to GameWorks and got carded! I don't think that's ever happened to me before! I had been to Gameworks several times on Guam, in Chicago and Indianapolis, but apparently after a certain time of night they don't let minors in! Mike had heard me talk about it before and wanted to see it so we ran in for a quick look around. They had changed several things since I had been there a few years ago.

On Sunday I drove back to Iowa with my family and spent a little over a week there. It was busy! Mike & Kris sold their house, but hadn't found one to buy, so we did some house hunting. Would you believe I was busy enough that I never went to the mall!? (except in Chicago) I went to Target once (out of town). Kris & I hit CVS a few times to take advantage of some good deals there. I'm a bad aunt. I never got my camera out to take pictures of Aayla!

Here is a picture of some burp cloths I made for Mei. I wanted to post them a long time ago after I finished them, but didn't want to spoil the surprise! :-)



















I surprised Mom and was home for Mother's Day! She thought I was leaving on Saturday. We kept it a secret until Thursday and finally told her. She was so surprised! I headed back to South Carolina on Monday.

Since then I've been very busy with work! One exciting thing happened a couple weeks ago: We found out late Monday afternoon that a container leaving on Thursday was going to be about 20% empty. (various items we thought would make it in time got back ordered, delayed, etc.) I called my contact overseas to see what he wanted me to do. We did some brainstorming and after several phone calls & emails decided I'd rent a moving truck and do some shopping for things they needed that were going on another container a few months later. That filled the space and we even had a few things I picked up that didn't make it on and are waiting for the one that will ship in a couple weeks. Never a dull moment here!

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Today I decided to get out and do something new!

This morning I rode my bike to the bus stop and loaded it onto the bike rack on the front of the bus. Headed downtown to the Saturday Market. I bought some strawberries and then on to find TTR Bikes. They used to be closer to my house, but they moved downtown not too long ago. It's a really nice shop! I looked around awhile, then asked about getting my Stokemonkey installed when it arrives. TTR is willing to help me out! They even offered to pick my bike up for me because I'm not sure it will fit on the bus racks after I have the Freeradical installed. Now that's what I call service!

After TTR Bikes, I headed to Mast General Store (I'll have to take Mom & Dad there next time they're down!) and OP Taylors Toy Store

I went to Jimmy John's for lunch and had a good sub! Then it was back to the bus for my trip home.

This afternoon I got some stuff done around the apartment and tonight I'm going to watch Enchanted after it finishes downloading from iTunes!

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I did more research over the weekend. Still going with a FreeRadical hitchless trailer. I think I've changed my mind on the motor. I am strongly leaning towards a Cleverchip Stokemonkey. The price is steeper, but I think it will really give me more bang for my buck. I found some OK reviews on the Wilderness Energy kit. Every person that has a Stokemonkey LOVES it.


Here are some reasons I'm leaning towards it:
* It is built specifically for the Xtracycle FreeRadical hitchless trailer
* More torque than the WE hub kit
* All the battery options for the WE hub kit seemed to take up valuable cargo room or I'd have to buy a seatpost rack, but not sure that would really help much either.
* Seems the mileage range is longer on the Stokemonkey than the WE

The number one thing that is strongly pulling me towards it - some guy in San Fransisco uses one for his daily commute (visiting nurse) and he also can climb the hills with a rider on the back of his bike! I think the Stokemonkey can handle the hills in Greenville!

While it is a bit more expensive and it does make me nervous to spend that kind of money on an accessory for my bike, it will pay for itself in only a few months.

The sad thing is...it's not currently available. They needed to make some adjustments to the Stokemonkey design and they're behind schedule with the production. Last update was March 26th and they were hopefully going to ship to the States soon, but they aren't exactly sure of the actual date.

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Since I moved back to the States in July 2007, I have not had a car. I really didn't expect to be without one this long. So far it's worked out mostly OK. It's frustrating at times, but I've gotten used to it. Every time I have "needed" a car for some reason or another, God has provided the use of one at just the right time!

Now that I've saved some money, I'm at a crossroads. The amount of money I have will not buy me much of a car. That's OK with me. I just need something to get me from point A to point B and haul some stuff here and there. But...is it really worth it?

Since I work from home, I don't need to get to/from work. I was having to go to the Post Office quite a bit to mail boxes, but now I can do that from home using Endicia. Most everywhere I need to go is within a 2 mile radius of my house. I have a rack with panniers that work great for hauling groceries and smaller stuff, but sometimes they're not quite enough for bulkier items.

The hills here in Greenville do present a bit of a problem! My stamina has increased, but some of them are killers. A few weeks ago I almost passed out when I got off my bike after a hard ride. They take the joy out of riding. Granted, sometimes it's a thrill to accomplish them, but when I'm tired or don't feel like riding, but need to get somewhere, it's not fun. I dread them. Sometimes if I can, I'll take a slightly longer route with less hills.

So...what to do? Continue living car free? Or buy some cheap car that is going to need to be replaced probably sooner than later?

I've been weighing my options & minimally, I'll save over $4200/year ($350/month) by remaining car free! That's just for gas, insurance, oil changes and saving for a replacement car. That is not including car repairs, yearly registration, etc. (AAA's research shows the annual average cost of driving a small sedan is $6,320 per year.) With that kind of savings, living car free is becoming more tempting! That leaves me plenty of money to give my friends gas money (I do need to get to church, unless I find biking with a change of clothes will work.) or rent a car for a few days if I need to! The Transit Authority here recently installed bike racks on all the buses. So far, I haven't ridden it yet. The one and only time I tried to catch one didn't work out so well. Maybe I'll try again later.

So I've come up with some options to overcome the hurdles of hauling stuff/the hills:

First is the Xtracycle FreeRadical hitchless trailer conversion kit and WideLoaders. The hitchless trailer provides a lower center of gravity for more stability. It also provides more cargo room than my current saddle bags. The WideLoaders provide a platform to haul bulkier things:



The next purchase will be a Wilderness Energy ebike kit. This will give me assistance going up those tough hills without killing myself!


I had been planning on saving my tax rebate check for a rainy day, but I'm seriously considering putting that money towards these accessories. After all, that's what the government really wants us to do - stimulate the economy by buying things, right? :-)

There are some other options out there. But, since I'm just starting out, I don't want to sink a lot of money into something I might regret later. If I decide this is going to work out, I can always upgrade since I'll have some extra spending money!

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Heather sent me a link to ivman's blague. She said one of the pictures reminded her of me. (For those of you that know me, I'll let you guess which one!)

The interesting thing I noticed on that page was the Donutland picutre. I was quite sure I recognized that location and the cars. I did a little digging on the web and sure enough, it was taken where I grew up! Sadly, it is no longer a Donutland, but now an Italian restaurant.

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Update- I stopped in at noon and there were about 5 or 6 people ahead of me there for the same thing. Some had seen it on the Starbucks website. Some had received an email from Starbucks. The manager there had absolutely no idea what the free coffee was all about! Bad PR move on Starbucks part! Most of us left without purchasing anything.


Starbucks is giving away free coffee on 4/8/08 12pm EST/9am PST!

Check out Money Saving Mom and Starbucks for more details!

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Today I needed to get out of the house for awhile. It has been raining the last couple days and it finally eased off to a mist. I grabbed my umbrella and walked almost 2 miles to the CVS. (I do better at exercising when I have a destination! Otherwise I wimp out and come home.)

I got 5 bottles of 24ct pain reliever and 2 bags of licorice. I paid 25 cents out of pocket and got $19.95 back in ECB to use later. I really wanted some of the body wash that is on sale because I had a couple coupons that expired today, but they were out. :-( I did also get a $4 off $20 coupon to use later!

I headed across the parking lot to check out the grocery store and see if they had the Campbell's StockPot Fresh soup. They did, and it was even Fully Loaded Baked Potato Soup today! I wasn't hungry when I got home, but I did taste it and it's delicious! I can't wait to heat it up tomorrow for lunch!

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Campbell's has a $4 coupon for their StockPot Fresh Soup here.

* Adobe Chicken & Toasted Corn Chowder
* Tomato Basil Bisque
* Creamy Broccoli & Cheddar
* Fully Loaded Baked Potato & Cheddar
* Kickin' Crab & Sweet Corn Chowder
* Tuscan Market Minestrone
* New England Clam Chowder
* Roadhouse Beef Chili with Beans
* Roasted Vegetable
* Creamy Chicken & Wild Rice
* Chicken Noodle
* Sizzlin' Chicken Tortilla

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.

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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.)

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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.....

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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.

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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!

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Seventeen days after mailing my taxes (couldn't e-file since I had lived out of the country part of last year.) I got my refund! Hooray!

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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!

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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.

KUAM news (local TV station)
Pacific News Center
Pacific Daily News

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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!

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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!

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