July 2008

Tramps and Thieves

Ok, I’m a tightwad. I own a 1984 mercedes benz.(300 DTD) Bought and paid for in the days when diesel was 50 cents a gallon. (It only went sky high in the last 4 or so) When the cost of diesel fuel went through the roof, along with gasoline prices, I decided that it was more economic for us to park the car that used the expensive fuel and drive the little gas saver. This all worked well until today.  I went to the driveway, to give the car a crank, check the fluids and do some basic maintenance. Key in the ignition…turn…nothing. I don’t mean weak, I mean nothing. This I thought was a bit strange, however, its been in the 100’s here and well batteries don’t get along with sweltering heat too well.

Step 2, pop the hood. Again, all seemed ok until I went to the front of the car and noticed that the pull apparatus was umm missing. Yes missing. You see, on the old benz there is what looks like a little pull tab, but you don’t pull it you push it and voila, the hood latch disengages and poof, the hood opens. But its missing…now that’s odd. Necessity being the mother of invention, and my penchant for wooden clothes hangers, I wondered if the metal hanger end was strong enough to pop that latch. Worth a try. And yep, it worked ! This would be easy enough. Attach the battery charger and while the battery gains new life, I can do the remainder of the maintenance and then be off to Birmingham for the funeral.

Well, hells bells Miss Agness..that was a little too easy…one major problem!

SOMEBODY STOLE THE FREAKIN BATTERY

And…boys and girls, this rocket scientist didn’t simply remove the battery, he

CUT THE FREAKIN CABLE CONNECTION TO IT!

Now folks, I’m not dirt poor, well these days maybe. But the cost to repair this lovely car are going to be way out of my range. So, here goes. Its for sale. As is, for what ever anyone wants to use it for. Parts would be my guess. The engine still purrs like a kitten and the tranny’s still good. So, if you know or live with a car freak, who wants to rehab a standard diesel burner into a veggie burner, this would be your car!  Seriously, if you’re interested in this car, use my contact form and give me a shout.

As to my bad attitude, well all I can say is its gonna be a whole lot worse if I ever get my hands on the moron who did this. This car wasn’t a brand new playtoy, it was my transportation. My way out if I needed it. Now someone’s taken that from me. And frankly, that worries me a bit.

So, as I sit here writing this rant, they are celebrating the Mass of the Ressurection for my dear aunt, may she finally rest in peace. I won’t make the services, but I am with the family in prayer.

For the thief who needed my battery for drug money or worse. You took away my saftey net. You took away my way out. I hope your pleasure was worth that.

Fearless Frugal Fanny Returns !

For those of you who know me personally and those who have been reading me for a while, you’ll already know this. For the rest of you, I’ve got a confession to make.  I’m no Domestic Engineer. Dust was made for writing in and keeping small children company, when they hide under the bed. Another little known fact about me, (see Confessions of A Dot Mom Mogul for more tidbits) is that, while I love to cook and entertain; shopping and particularly grocery shopping, is a form of torture some sadist came up with to keep his wife in line. I’d frankly, just as soon be beaten. That said, it is a weekly task I endure and so I try to make the most of it.

I’ve never been what you’d call uhmmm wealthy, monetarily. So, saving money, living frugally, has been a part of my being for many many years. Back in the early 80’s I wrote a local column under the pen name of Frugal Fanny. I garnered this not so complimentary moniker, after the paper published an article about me and the fact that I managed to spend only $3.55 for a full Thanksgiving Feast for our large family dinner. (I fed 14 adults and 4 children that year).

Now, I won’t tell you that it could happen to everyone who reads my suggestions, but I am telling you, that you can save some serious jack if you’ll just do some pre-planning. Yeah, it takes me about 30 minutes a week to plan my grocery adventure, but what else am I going to do while I’m vegging out on the sofa, waiting for my favorite show’s to come on in the evening?

Money’s tight all over. That’s no news to most of us. Prices are continually going up. The good news is that you (with some time and effort) can cut your food bill by almost half and not deprive yourself or your family of your favorite foods.

The key to this savings requires a pair of scissors, a pen and a piece of paper and of course, your weekly grocery paper. Sunday papers across the country are usually chock full of money saving coupon pull outs. I simply pull out all that advertising, before sitting down to work the crossword, and set them aside until I work on my grocery list.

If you are starting to get really serious about saving money at the grocery and clipping coupons and want to save even more money at the check out… go to The Coupon Mom’s website! This lady has it all figured out for you!

Here is a little bit of information about her from the website:

Stephanie Nelson is The Coupon Mom™ and has taught television viewers and readers how to save money in many areas, including travel, clothing, restaurants, groceries, gifts, theme parks, gardening and entertainment.

Since 2004 she has appeared frequently on national and local television and radio teaching savings tips, including several segments on Good Morning America. She writes a bi-weekly column for ABCNews.com and a weekly newspaper column “Supermarket Shopper” distributed by United Media. She is the author of the book “Greatest Secrets of the Coupon Mom,” published in October 2005. Several thousand shoppers use her free grocery deals website www.couponmom.com each day.

Stephanie holds a degree in finance and has ten years of experience in sales and marketing with both Procter & Gamble and Marriott Hotels. In 1995 she retired from the corporate world to stay home with her sons. In 2001 she founded her free website www.couponmom.com committed to helping consumers save money and feed the hungry by increasing food donations to hunger organizations with the Cut Out Hunger program.

Cut Out Hunger shoppers across the country have donated tons of food to hunger organizations in their communities. Stephanie lives with her husband and two sons in Atlanta, Georgia.

The easiest way to use her site is to file each Sunday’s coupons together by date with out clipping them. She tells you in which paper to look (by date), and in what group of coupons to search. (based on the marketing company who prints the ads) To me, that is half the battle!

She gives you a long list of all of the deals at the store you select. Once you get to this list, you can quickly scan down the page to find the best bargains. This is even more helpful when you are in a hurry: you can only clip the ones that will save you the most money. Here is an example from this listing:

12-16 S ( Smart Source coupon group)
Orville Redenbachers Popping Corn 4.8-10.5 oz, Buy 1 Get 1 Free (Publix weekly ad)
$0.80 (Coupon’s value)
1 (How many you have to buy)
$1.35 (Sale price without coupon)
$0.55 (Final price with coupon)
79% (Percent saved)

The best part about this site is it is FREE! Yes. Free! Similar sites charge around $5 a month for the same information! Why spend your hard-earned money if you don’t have to?

The only problem is that the site changes the weekly grocery advertisements on Thursdays. Our  area  stores change their ads on Wednesdays. I have gone to the store on a Wednesday and had the wrong list of specials for that week. VERY FRUSTRATING! The best advice I can give you is to double-check the current grocery ad to be sure you are on the correct week! (or don’t shop on Wednesdays)

I am really enjoying hearing about coupon-clipping success stories! Please tell me yours!

Where’s Caylee ???

This is a very special edition of JAMM and I beg you all to link to this story in some way.

 

This story is just insane,and that doesn’t even cover the tip of the iceberg. At the heart of it is 2 year old Caylee Marie Anthony, who has not been seen since June 9th. Her mother, for reasons I guess only known to her, did not report her missing. She says that she dropped her off at a babysitter, and when she returned, the sitter and her daughter were gone. Her story is that she began her own investigation, believing, based on TV shows she’s seen (at least this is what is in the news story I read), that Caylee could be harmed if she notified police of her disappearance. What TV shows this girl was watching I’m not sure. (In almost much every one I’ve seen involving a missing two year old, the parents called police, even if they were warned not to.)

I’m not going to try to analyze this whole thing too much, I’m going to agree with Caylee’s grandfather here. The most important thing, and what should be receiving the most focus, is finding Caylee.This case has some wild and tangled bits to it. But the thing that’s important is this little girl is missing.

I’m going to post a few pictures, along with the news story and the video from Fox News, which includes a bunch of other pictures. There’s also one Myspace page mentioned in the news story, and two other ones that I found linked to this one that appear to have been created by family members.

The more exposure this little girl gets, the better chance there is that she’ll be found. Please,if you’re a blogger, I’d encourage you to repost Caylee’s picture, if you’re on My Space, please consider posting a bulletin with Caylee’s picture. If you’re located in the Southeast (Alabama, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, Mississippi), please keep your eyes open. It is possible that thischild could still be alive and in this area.

 

If you have any information or have seen Caylee Marie Anthony, please call

1-800-423-TIPS

(click on the above picture for larger images)

Myspace pages that I have found for Caylee:

Caylee is missing~this one seems to be the most active,  by Caylee’s uncle
Caylee is missing~Lee Anthony’s Myspace, also seems very active
Caylee is missing
Caylee’s grandma’s Myspace

Casey Anthony’s Arrest Affidavit

 

I pray that this child is found alive. I know I’d be a basket case, if she were mine and missing. Please use the Mr. Linky below to link your post and lets band together to find little Caylee Anthony.

 

Update: There is a new site, posted by Caylee’s uncle Help Find Caylee.

Update: Benefit for Caylee Anthony updated 7/27/08

Update: New Video

08/1/2008

UPDATE: MORE NEW VIDEO 08/01/08

 

UPDATE: TOTAL COVERAGE FROM ORLANDO 08/06/2008

UPDATE: CASEY TO POSSIBLY BE RELEASED AND MORE 08/18/2008

We’re Not In Kansas Anymore

I’ll leave you to draw your own conclusions here. And participate in the poll over on the sidebar.

From ozdom: Occasionally in self-defense I will want to post or comment in the bird’s blog (who I will refer to in the future as the chic-my favorite term of endearment). My favorite football coach always said a good defense is a good offense. So, you sometimes might find might find my comments snarky or pithy, only because I sweat in the salt mines daily and come home in a mood that leads the chic to refer to me as blockhead, butthead or worse.

So readers that is my introduction, let me leave you with this gem: The next time your hubby or ‘significant other’ has something to say about the price of the shoes or dress you just bought, just tell him “That ain’t no money in cotton country, bubba”.

-ehubby

The Heart of A Lover, The Soul of A Champion.

He never won any medals or ribbons. (Though he could have). He only won my heart.

He came to us, 4 weeks old. From a family of 10. Eight brothers and sisters. Mama refused to care for them. Daddy was helpless. That was Max.

He stayed with me for 17 years. (Longer than my first husband.) He was with me through the loss of a child, the end of a marriage, the death of my Granny, my Mom and my Dad. He was there when my son graduated middle school, high school and married his bride. He had been to a whole host of cities where we lived and visited. He’d even been to the Smithsonian. He played the best game of catch and nuzzled with me when I cried.  He became my best friend, my soul mate, my staunchest defender.Max was a beautiful, blonde haired, brown eyed boy. A full blooded, cocker spaniel, who had NO clue he was a dog.

Over the years, he learned to fetch the keys, from places I didn’t realize I’d left them, sit on his haunches and beg for treats after he had brought me the full bag, and jump flat footed into the driver seat of my VW Beetle (circa 1968) when he wanted to go for a ride.He could spell, yes spell, as well as any  7 year old. He knew the meanings of words. He was special.

One sunny summer morning, about a year ago, I woke early and padded toward the kitchen to make coffee. I noticed, Max, who usually was the first riser in the house, was laying in the hall. He must have gotten hot during the night, I thought. The cool tile on his belly must feel good. I called from the kitchen for him. No familiar answer back, no cold nose on my calf. I peered down the hallway, to see his big brown eyes looking up as he struggled to raise himself. “Ah hah”, I mocked him, “Cold tile for you equals sore joints”. I gingerly picked him up, carried him outside and carefully placed him on the grass in his favorite spot. He struggled again to raise himself, only to fall. My heart sank. Could he have had a stroke during the night? I held his back side so he could do his business, and then I noticed the blood in his urine.

I must have sounded like a mad woman, neighbors opened doors and peered out over balconies, one ran to my side. My husband, ran outside. All I could do was scream orders. “Bring me my keys, phone and his blanket”, I shrieked.

At the vet’s office, I held him close, nuzzled with him while the vet checked him out. Dr. V looked over his glasses at me, tears in his eyes. “It’s time” was all he said. I held on to the exam table to keep from falling to the floor. I knew this day would come. But not today. I wasn’t ready for this. Dear God, not today. I prayed that God would let him stay longer with me. I was selfish that way. But Max was 17 years old. For a cocker spaniel that’s an old man. His kidney’s had failed. His liver was too. It was time for me to be the grown up again. I’d had no choices, no power with death before. Surely this couldn’t be the case here. Surely Dr. V could do something. This sweet, sweet man, who’ d cared for all of our pets, wiped the tears from his eyes. “I’ll give you a few minutes”. I held my buddy close, I kissed his now dry nose, and promised him he’d hurt no more. Dr. V returned with a syringe and begged me to leave. “NO!!” “This guy has seen me though the last 17 years. No way am I leaving him now.” I held him until the last breath left his body. They wrapped him in his blanket and we left. Max is buried under his favorite oak tree. In a yard where we no longer live. Max lives in my heart. Forever.

This article was written with some sweet inspiration from San Diego Momma, and PromTuesday . Drop by for your own inspiration and read some other great posts.

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