Summoned for the Green Card Interview
Wednesday, November 18, 2009 | By Stellaluna
My Husband and I have been summoned to the green card interview. I don't really know what to expect because most of my knowlege comes from that movie "Green Card." So I expect they are going to ask crazy questions like "what color is his toothbrush?" and "What is the name of the lipstick I wear?" In the movie the two were just getting married so the man could stay in the U.S. but then of course end up falling in love. Since I have nothing to be afraid of because our marriage comes from the heart, I am a little excited to go through the process. I wonder how similar it will be to the movies about the process.
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Recovering
Wednesday, November 18, 2009 | By pamphyila
Got over what I think was the flu & then caught what seems to be a cold. Bummer. Taking my Chinese Jade screen pills with astralagus - good for the immune system...Plus the ginseng I usually take and LOTS of vitamin C. My body is just eating it up. (You will see it in bright yellow urine if it's not, forgive me for being indelicate...)
Stopped at out favorite Sta. Paula Goodwill - in addition to ANOTHER new Goodwill in Moorpark & found things on the dollar rack - including a nice salmon colored golf shirt for hubby. I have some pants hubby urged me to buy - which I haven't tried on yet - but they were on the dollar rack, too. I also got some lovely Clark slipons in a blood red leather for $3 - and in Sta. Paula I found gold flats and some nice golden leather loafers. (They had damage at the heel - so I glued down the leather rip and then colored the worn areas on the heels with colored eyeshadow of the right golden color. Worked fine.) Also picked up lots of $.50 paperback mysteries in Sta. Paula.
Hubby is pleased with our $500 Thunderbird - which seems to be running fine. Maybe we lucked out. I am sure we could now sell it for more than we paid for it & invested in it to clean it up. The old truck is being recycled/sold to a friend who needs transport and only drives locally up in Ojai.
Found a great bargain site - www.dollarextreme.com - where they have gadgets for under $2 with free shipping. Great for gifts. They even sell some jewelry - so I spent some of my PayPal $ on a ring for under $3 - we will see how it works out. Had my Pinecone research $ transferred to my PayPal account - They said so many checks were being STOLEN that they couldn't take responsibility for them, so this is the better way, and very FAST. I got my $3 for the survey within days in my PayPal account - which is linked to a PayPal Mastercard, which makes it very easy to pay for things on the net....I also have my little Associated Content royalties paid into my PayPal account - It's all pin money for me. (The dollarextreme referral came from www.wisebread.com - which is a great source for frugal inspiration.)
Hubby found a whole chicken for $3 which we cooked all day in the big new vintage stainless steel pot I found last weekend. Added rosemary - yummy. Lots of soup left to eat. Oh, also picked up a slew of spoons at Sta. Paula - because I am so tired of us running out of them between dishwashings! They are mismatched stainless steel - but who cares? I don't think anything but my dress silverware has ever really matched! As long as it sort of coordinates. Same with my dishes.
Oh - yesterday I also download CC cleaner - a FREE registry cleaner - as I am trying to clean up my relatively old computer to make it run faster. Also defragmented the hard drive and got rid of old cookies and my web history. It is a bit faster now.
So that's the update. I am still under the weather and watching movies etc. on TV. Not even knitting - altho my buddy Eldon has found a lot more yarn for me, which I am looking forward to! But the rest was probably good for my wrists, which were a bit overworked. Also made 2 rings out of black rubber Halloween rings I got for practically nothing at a yard sale - and shaved off the top and then inserted a single pierced earring I had - and taped the back shut with black tape. So now I have 2 black pinkie rings - one with a amethyst stone - the other a red stone. The amethyst one is particularly nice. A nice use for orphan pierced earrings! Especially when fashion rings cost $7 to $10 for plastic ones at the stores.
Oh, I did pick up a nice large brass fashion ring at the Farmer's Mkt. for $5 - and I saw in Ojai that the rayon shawl I had picked up for a dollar or 2 actually cost $16 retail! That's why I have my bargain scarf and shawl collection! Wore several of the checked ones I had gotten at the dollar store last weekend to coordinate my outfits. Also found a $4 grey/blue fleece jacket with a zip down the front in Sta. Paula - which is perfect for the boat. It was chilly up there last weekend. But we do love to get away...
Signing off - We picked up cranberry jelly and stuffing mix at the Dollar Tree for when we cook our turkey - but we may just go to a restaurant this year....
It is beginning to be the holiday season - no? But no Black Friday here! And you?
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PVC Crafts
Wednesday, November 18, 2009 | By LECEMC
For the past four yours I have been making large birds such as herons and egrets from PVC pipe. These are well received in the community and I have been able to sell all that I make. I have also created a small website in space provided by my service provider that allows me to show some of my work and give an idea of how it is done. If you would like to take a look go to: http://home.cocego.ca/~leighmarg1/ . Although I do sell the patterns, there is no obligation in looking.
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They don't laugh anymore
Saturday, November 14, 2009 | By willowfahy
For years people laughed at me for me being cheap. And I freely admit; I was, I am, that won't change. I have a horror of wasting money, on anything, I refuse to go into debt for holiday shopping or to purchase a big ticket item I know I can find cheaper elsewhere. I don't think there is anything in my home or closets that cost anywhere near what people think they did upon first entering. We love antiques, they are everywhere in our home as are collectibles; none of which I paid retail for. I am far too cheap for that and my heart simply could not take it. They tease me when I take a pound of hot dogs and feed a family of six while keeping it tastey, nutritious, and filling. Or they did, until our economy collapsed. Suddenly people are very interested in how to save a dollar. People are on the look out for money saving tips, as well as time savers on laundry, housework even yard work. So, what better place for me to share some of what I have learned; and better yet, learn more. I am always willing to learn more about how to save or stretch a buck, or how to cut my time with the drudgery of housework. I hate it, but I want a nice home so I find every short cut I can to get it done without having it be my career. So, I will be posting frugal measures I use in the hopes of helping someone else out there with a large family and tight budget or perhaps others out there like me who have champagne tastes but a beer budget.
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aww cmon dad
Thursday, November 12, 2009 | By hotfitter62
hes just enjoying the alabama sun how dare we take pictures
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A Nite Out
Wednesday, November 11, 2009 | By pamphyila
Had a sortta business networking cocktail party last night & went out with hubby. It was fun to go to a place we hadn't been to before - very classy - & we parked around the corner on a surface street rather than valet park (the car probably ended up in the same place, anyway - as valets usually just park in the neighborhood!)
It has been fun dressing up & dolling up - just to show hubby & myself that I still know how to DO it. Resurrected a batik jacket of mine, added the new jeans I had bought last season for practically nothing - added my silver jewelry, and a light yellow sweater tunic underneath, and wore my "new" thriftshop leather shoes - A nice ensemble if I do say so myself - my uniform = a nice jacket/jeans (or nice slacks) + a top + a scarf + my good jewelry. Works almost every time.
Used the new mascara that I had somehow gotten in the mail from L'Oreal along with a full size eye cream! My oh my, these new mascaras DO lengthen & don't clump! I have to say, I was impressed with this Telescopic Explosion mascara - it DID noticeably lengthen. (This is one of the freebie mascaras I have snagged recently - I also have Cover Girl & even a small Chanel...) The cosmetic cos. seem to be giving away LOTS of great samples! I also have a full-size Olay 2X moisturizer, and some Clearasil sensitive face wash....not to mention the little packets that arrive...
I also have a TON of magazines! I have never had so many in my LIFE & they are all FREEBIES, too!
Back to our evening. It is nice to get dressed up and go out - and all things considered the evening wasn't TOO expensive. I stuck to light beer - but $7 each? (Hubby remarked that you could buy a 6-pack for that!) But all the other drinks were worse - But I wasn't there to drink....
I spend a lot of my time nowadays in my old comfy jeans & tshirts or sweatshirts here at the 'puter...So It's nice to remind myself & hubby that I still clean up nicely! And a change from the routine...Mix it all up occasionally, I say! Even that can be done more or less on a budget!
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come on peole
Wednesday, November 11, 2009 | By cagz...x
leave comments! : )
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One More Postwkend Update
Monday, November 09, 2009 | By pamphyila
Hubby & I had recovered enuf from the flu to spend a night at the boat on Sat. night. Yeah! Still gargling with hot salt H2o & tking a LOT of Vit. C....Gotta totally lick this thing...
We stopped off at what I call the "old ladies thrift shop" in Camarillo - that supports a senior meal program - & has senior donors. No yarn - which is what I was looking for - but found a brand new white cotton spa robe in a big size which fit Hubby, I always grab those, & he does need a new one. And I also found a large vintage Revereware stainless steel stew pot with lid for $4.50! We are making lots of soupy things now that it's cooler - & this pot is perfect. Using it to make turkey soup right now. (Add cider vinegar + salt to bones/carcass to start off a nice frugal & yummy stock...& cook & cook & cook....) And I snagged a whole bunch of $.50 classic murder mysteries, my secret failing...There was one Chico's ensemble that tempted me, but I was trying to stay with the budget. Now I am still thinking about it! But I did get a Liz Claiborne hot pink cotton top & a light yellow sweater tunic, both $1 each + a pr. of vintage earrings with mother of pearl chunks for $2....We also stopped into the Dollar Tree & I got hubby some of his non-Alcohol cough medicine (he's been coughing, me not) - and various sorts of glue to fix everything, and throat drops & 10 relaxation CDs they have as extra Xmas gifties (Very nice music & I had to grab them, as they tend to go fast). Some folks will get CD + scarf....
Proud of myself that I embellished a "jelly" ring (of the same material as all those bracelets) with a little orphan single blue gem stud that I had been given. I poked a hole through the material, & bent the prong to hold it to the ring & it's fairly sturdy. Now that I look at the stone closely, I think it could be a tiny opal (I had thought it was a turquoise)...If I could figure out how to get more rings like that, perhaps I could do the same for my other studs which I received at the same time...I like the contrast between the gem stone & the "rubber" of the ring...
Also want to glue the art glass stone back to the ring blank. I have another one - & perhaps I can manage to glue another art glass piece I have to another ring...It's feeding my ring mania - as I have taken up the style of wearing multiple rings...& you have to have larger sizes or adjustable sizes to wear on fingers other than the ring fingers...Bought one for $3 next door to the thrift shop - wonder if I paid too much! They had the rings I had gotten at the Oriental bargain store in Sta. Paula for $7 & mine were only $.99....It's ok if they are base metal, because I won't wear them all the time, unlike my other rings - which have to be sterling or stainless steel...
Speaking of vintage - much to our surprise, our "$500" car is turning out very WELL. Hubby worked on the exterior & detailed the interior & touched up the paint job and so on & I can't believe the results! Runs pretty well, too - rough at the beginning, but I don't think it had been driven in a while & there was gunk in the works, which seems to have burned out...It's an 80's Tbird with some sportscar still in it (do they still make Tbirds?) & it turns out that there is a reverse "cachet" in having an almost vintage Tbird (another 10 years & it will really be a classic!) Hubby loves the car, as it has a big engine & it reminds him of his sportscar bachelor days. Good. I like to see him happy. And me? I am simply astounded that the thing cleaned up that well (it was grodie when we got it.) And it's a nice looking car. Whew, they made them sturdy then - real steel..Makes you realize the changes we have gone through since the 80's - That was the tail end of true American craftsmanship, I think....(which makes me think back to the stainless steel soup pot - probably from the 50's or 60's & made to LAST.)
What we have seen - If I get cooked by solar radiation in 2012, I will have lived a full life (although I would prefer that the calendar just coils back on itself & any changes are on a spiritual plane!)
How are you guys? It's always nice when you check in.
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Walt disney world
Sunday, November 08, 2009 | By leftthesanebehind
We are planning to go to Walt disney world in a few years, but have no realistic budget to save for. the travel agents are not really any help yet, because the prices change all the time. Has anyone from canada been and can you give me a guideline for saving? thanks!
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Holiday Cooking
Saturday, November 07, 2009 | By Tanya39
Well to start with Thanksgiving Day is what I like to call the hectic start off. I go a month ahead of time, and see where I can get real cranberries at a good price, and take what I can home canning them for Thanksgiving & Christmas. Instead of the can of Cranberry Sauce, I go for the real sauce. I know most can't stand the poignent taste, and aroma of Cranberries. I use what I don't cook on the Christmas tree. Still I keep them frozen. Here is my recipe for Cranberry Sauce.
take:
1 pint of Cranberries canned
3 cups white sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice.
Mix all ingredience in a pot on the stove once the cranberry are purried with a blender, and thawed. You have to freeze the canned cranberries in order for them to stay good in waiting. When the pot comes to a boil remove it from the burner, and pour the sauce into a serving bowl, and walla homemade cranberries. You can always use the can at the store too. Mine is just what my family likes.
Pumpkin Pie-
take:
1 can whipped cream
1 can pumpkin pie
1 pie tin from the Dollar Tree, General, Family Dollar, or whereever it is cheap.
Then spread the pumpkin pie after opening the can in the tin, and bake it in the oven for 15 minutes. Top with whipped cream spread out over it. Serve. I wanted to make it as simple as I could for ya. This can't get any simpler. In all I say delicious.
The rest is history, as we all have our traditions.
Well happy holidays from Frugal and Tightwad Tanya
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