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It’s never too late…


…to go back to school and get a degree.  I’ve heard of people who graduated from college at age 100.  They really didn’t do anything with the degree at that age, they just wanted to be able to say that they did it.  I think that’s cool!

Sometimes I wonder if I should consider going back to school, so I have something to fall back on if something should happen to Mike.  I can’t really go back to restaurant work, too strenuous for me now.  But what about an online business degree?

I spend enough time online anyway, maybe I should actually do something useful with the time, and study.  And who knows, with an online degree, I might just be able to get a decent job, and help us save up for retirement all the faster.

In addition to no commute, another big advantage of online study is that it’s less expensive. I was reading about how Western Governors University is one of the most surprisingly affordable online colleges out there. So if I did decide to work toward a degree, I would not have to go heavily into debt.  We’re just getting Mike’s student loans paid off now, I wouldn’t want to run up too much debt of my own.

Something to think about, maybe…

Review: Hanes No Ride-Up Wedgie-Free Panties


A few weeks ago, I said I was going to review this underwear.  I had recently bought some at Target, and wanted to wear them for a few weeks wash them a few times, so I could get a good idea of how I like them.  I could just tell you to click here to learn more, but I’d rather write my own review of this product.

I find that Hanes No Ride-Up Wedgie-Free Panties really do keep their promise.  They are indeed the most comfortable underwear I’ve ever worn, and nope, not a single wedgie.  They fit very well, and I’d especially recommend them if you need to wear sanitary pads; they stay in place much better in this underwear than with any others I’ve worn.

They are also an excellent value for the money.  I paid about eight bucks for a package of 6 pairs, at Target.  This is great, considering that I used to pay $2.00 a pair for some no-name, much cheaply-made panties from Sears.  These no-name panties were not wedgie-free by any means, they needed to be replaced a lot more often, and if I wore a pad with them, the pad would kind of slide all over the place, doesn’t stay where you put it as the Hanes does.

The Hanes underwear is also tagless…no itchy tag to cut off.  The info that’s usually on the tag is simply printed on the inside of the panties, where the tag would have been.

So…now I want to toss out all of that cheapy Sears underwear, and go back to Target and buy a few more packages of the Hanes.  I highly recommend these, and I’ll never buy any other kind now!

Getting my cooking mojo back?


I’ve already gone into detail as to why I hate my new stove.  So, between being sick and just hating how this stove ruins perfectly good food, I’ve not cooked much lately.  I swear, I’d rather undergo extensive body acne treatment than have to worry about breaking one of The Sacred Glass Top Stove Rules, and being forced to pay out a ton of money to fix a piece of garbage that I don’t even own (because if it breaks, I WILL be blamed for it!).

But WAIT A MINUTE!  I’m not a kitchen appliance junkie for nothing!  I have all manner of cooking appliances, I really don’t have to use this piece of crap stove much, if I don’t want to!

So I cooked a chicken in my Rival Crock-Pot BBQ Pit (pictured here).  This is kind of a cross between a traditional slow cooker and an outdoor BBQ, it looks cook, and gives you the same slow-cooked goodness that you’d get from an outdoor BBQ, except for the smoke.  I hadn’t used this thing in a while, and I’d forgotten how good it is.  The machine comes with a stoneware insert with a well at the bottom, which is good for adding some sort of flavorful liquid with which to infuse whatever it is that I’m cooking.  Since I was doing a chicken with lemon, thyme and garlic, I chose to add a bottle of Sam Adams Coastal Wheat.  Since it’s brewed with lemon peel in it, I thought it would add good flavor and go well with the chicken, and I was right.

One thing good about the flat-top stove is that it makes a good countertop space for my NuWave Oven.  I use that more than I use the stupid burners these days.  The NuWave is really good for cooking a lot of things, including asparagus.  I had gotten some really nice asparagus at Stop & Shop, and the NuWave is my favorite way to cook it.  The booklet that comes with the appliance suggests tossing the asparagus in olive oil, and then sprinkling it with lemon pepper.  Place it on the 4-inch rack in the NuWave, and cook on HIGH for 5-7 minutes for nicely roasted asparagus.  If you don’t have a NuWave Oven (and why not, despite the fact that it’s an infomercial item, it really is a good product and does what it advertises that it does)…you can just roast the asparagus in a regular oven.  It’ll probably take a little longer, but watch it carefully so it doesn’t burn, and you’ll be okay.

The only thing I had to use the crappy stovetop for was the rice.  But rice and pasta are two things that are hard to screw up, even on this piece of crap stove.

So now I am rediscovering all of these cool cooking appliances I’ve bought over the years, and may not have used much.  Any time I can avoid using the stove reduces the chance that it will break and end up costing me a fortune!

I need a makeup box


Srsly.  I have so much Bare Escentuals makeup, that I need one central place in which to store it.

I know…they make all sorts of  “train cases” and the like, that I can order from their website.  But they are kind of pricey, and also not big enough to house my entire collection.  I also COULD go to Home Depot and buy some sort of compartmentalized tool box, but I don’t even feel like doing that, I hate Home Depot and have panic attacks after about ten minutes in that place.

I was thinking that I could make one at a cost of next to nothing.  In fact, it might not only cost NOTHING, but it would not even require me to go shopping for any supplies.

We have several L.L. Bean shoe boxes sitting around.  We save them because they are very nice, sturdy boxes, but haven’t really done anything with them yet.

So one of those can be the base for my makeup box.  It would be plenty big enough for all of the product that I have, including brushes.  I actually have a brush roll case that I got for free when I used to have the BE foundations auto-shipped to me…most of my brushes should fit into that.

And then I have tons of other cardboard boxes of varying sizes…Amazon shipping boxes and the like.  Those I can make into trays, and use scrap cardboard to make dividers to hold varying sizes of BE jars.  I could have one tray for foundations, Mineral Veil, and concealers, another for eye colors, and another for blush, Warmth, Soft Focus Glee, that sort of thing.  And then there’d be a part of the box for products that don’t come in the little round jars, such as lipsticks, glosses, mascaras, etc.  And a place for brushes that don’t fit in the roll case, and a place for the roll case itself.

Sounds pretty easy…easier than creating my own seo software. But it won’t look like an ugly cardboard box…I have tons of scrapbook paper and other craft supplies that I can use to decorate this to my heart’s content.  Maybe the only thing I might need to buy is some kind of clear paint to coat the whole thing, to keep it from getting wet and falling apart.

Now, this would not be a portable box, this would be my home storage area for all of my BE goodies.  When we take our trips, I can easily see what’s in my box, pluck out what I need for the trip, and put all of that into my little travel makeup case.  No way do I need to haul my entire BE collection along with me at all times!  That would be a bit much.

This might be a fun thing to try, and I’m going to try to do it while spending as little money as possible (hell, I already spend a lot on the makeup itself!).  If I do it, I’ll take some pics and post instructions, so you can try to make one yourself!

Watching the Q…


Yep…up way too late, and I ended up watching QVC online.  There was a two-hour Bare Escentuals show on, and I watched it.  All two hours of it.  I didn’t REALLY need anything, but of course, I got sucked in.

I bought the kit you see here…the I Love BE Grand 9-Piece Color Collection.  It’s actually an excellent value for the money, because, unlike some of the other kits they have on the Q, this one has full-sized product.  I had been considering getting just the Rare Minerals Night Treatment, it’s $60 but they had it on Easy-Pay…but then I saw they had the same full-sized product in this kit, for not all that much more money.  And I’ll actually use the other stuff in the kit, the colors are to my liking, and I would definitely use the foundation.  The kit was on Easy-Pay, too, which I like.

When I first started using BE, I was getting foundations auto-shipped to me every few months.  But then I did the math and realized that this was not very cost-effective.  It is actually cheaper to just go to Sephora or the BE Boutique at the maul and buy them there.  But it’s even cheaper when they come in these QVC kits..many kits come with a foundation, so I’ll have enough that way.  So I quit the auto-ship thing…actually, I never formally told them that I quit…my credit card with them expired and I just didn’t bother updating it.  And they just quit sending me stuff.  Works for me!  I wish that Proactiv was that easy to cancel!

So, I got a great deal here…if you’re looking for a nice BE bundle o’stuph, get on over to the Q and check it out.  I’m glad I watched…I guess I could have just whiled away my insomnia by reading sites like allireviews.com…but this was better and more useful to me! I can’t wait to get my new goodies!