Winning Things Is Fun!

A big thanks to Ron at The Wisdom Journal for the book, Smart Couples Finish Rich. I've started on it, but haven't had much time to read this summer. I'll have to bring it to work, I seem to have more down time there than I do at home!

As made obvious by the shoes, the email I received was in fact a legitimate one! Thanks, Old Orchard! The shoes are New Balance. Everyone I know LOVES New Balance, but they never seem to fit me right. I'm still deciding if I like these enough to keep them. I'm thinking they might work well as gym shoes this winter. For now, I love my Merrell's too much to even break in the New Balance shoes!

Favorite Blog Post 6/27/08

I turned the central air on for the first time last night. Living in Wisconsin, we usually only need to turn it on a few times a year. It went back off this morning. I might keep track of the days and nights we run the AC this year and put something up on the right-hand column. We'll see if I can find the time!

My favorite blog post this week was from Stop the Ride!. I really enjoyed her article about things to do in North Carolina since my husband and I frequently visit our friend who moved there. We now have tons of fun ideas for our next trip!

I hope everyone has a great weekend. I get to go bouldering at my favorite place in the whole world tomorrow. Yah!

Favorite Blog Post 6/20/08

If you enjoy the Drugstore Game, you have to check this out (and even if you don't, you still need to check this out!).

Money, Love, and Change wrote a post this week about a website called AnySoldier. It's a way to send items to our troops that they are requesting. You can search for what you want to give (ie. shampoo, toothpaste) and it will list troops that are requesting these items! I had no idea that our troops needed things like toothbrushes, deoderant, tons of little things I get free quite often!

I love that I can help our troops in such a tangible way. I hope to send my first package out next week!

One Word Meme

This isn't personal finance related, but Bible Money Matters recently answered the One Word Meme to allow his readers to get to know him a little better. It sounded like fun, so I thought I'd do it, too!

This meme is a list of questions that have to be answered in one word. Here are my answers!

1. Where is your cell phone? purse
2. Your significant other? work
3. Your hair? red
4. Your mother? home
5. Your father? van
6. Your favorite thing? hugs
7. Your dream last night? nothing
8 Your favorite drink? Dew
9. Your dream/goal? Mom
10. The room you’re in? spare
11. Your hobby? hiking
12. Your fear? anger
13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? family
14. What you’re not? tall!
15. Muffins? chocolate
16. One of your wish list items? refrigerator
17. Where you grew up? Wisconsin
18. The last thing you did? groceries
19. What are you wearing? jeans
20. Favorite Gadget? computer
21. Your pets? cats
22. Your computer? Dell
23. Your mood? excited
24. Missing someone? No
25. Your car? Mustang
26. Something you’re not wearing? boxers
27. Favorite store? CVS
28. Like someone? Yes
29. Your favorite color? Green
30. When is the last time you laughed? Today
31. Last time you cried? movie

Consider yourself tagged! Leave a comment to let me know if you post this meme. I'd love to read it. :)

I Won a Pair of Shoes!

If you're like me, you are pretty skeptical of sweepstakes. I like to sign up for sweepstakes online (as long as I know I'm on a legitimate website), anyway, since I enjoy taking a minute to dream about winning that "$20,ooo kitchen remodel" or whatever it is I'm signing up for! I always figure, though, that my chances of winning are not very good.

I just might have to change my attitude!

I recently signed up to have Old Orchard send me some coupons for a new product line called Healthy Balance. I got my coupons about a week ago, and the link is still there, so go order yourself some free coupons! Anyway, I don't even remember reading anything about a sweepstakes, but I was obviously entered when I signed up for the coupons.

I checked my "junk" email on Friday night and saw an email titled "HealthyBalance.com Promotion Winner". I figured it was spam, but the website sounded familiar so I decided to open it. We all know what spam email looks like, and this email didn't read like spam. It was a simple letter letting me know I had won a pair of cross-trainers in the most recent Healthy Balance sweepstakes and that they just needed me to verify my address and let them know what size shoes I wear. There was even a link back to the Healthy Balance website and a phone number.

I emailed the woman back with the information she requested. I'll let you know if I get the shoes!

What's the coolest thing you've ever won?

Things I Do That Aren't So Frugal and/or Green

In my last post, I listed a couple of things that I do that are green and/or frugal. Now that I've tooted my horn, it's time to confess. Here are some things I do that are NOT so frugal and/or green. I'm open to suggestions for improvement!

-I make microwave popcorn many mornings to take to work for lunch. After the popcorn is popped, I put the bag in a plastic gallon-sized bag, twist-tie it, and bring it to work. I do this so that a) the popcorn stays fresh and b) I can dump the popcorn into the baggie and not get my hands as buttery as if I was sticking my hand into the greasy popping bag. I'm using a lot of single-use items in this process, so it's not very green or frugal, just convenient.

-I buy boxed potatoes. I absolutely love Betty Crocker's herb mashed potatoes and scalloped potatoes. They are quick, easy, and so delicious! I try to stock up when they are on sale and I use coupons (feel free to pass on any coupons you have!), but these are still not very frugal dinner choices. On top of that, the excessive packaging makes them not very green. (I know, I know, they're not particularly healthy, either)

-I take long showers. I blame this on my hair. When I occasionally shower with a shower cap and am not washing my hair, I can be done in 5 minutes. I wash my hair during almost every shower, though, so it takes me a good 15 minutes. I guess I could fix this by getting my hair chopped, but my husband loves my hair longer and I enjoy wearing it in a ponytail, so long it remains. That reminds me, I am definitely due for a trim!

-I own a sports car. I love my 2000 Ford Mustang, but it's a bit of a gas hog for it's size. I get about 19 mpg city and 23 mpg highway. This isn't horrible, but my brother-in-law gets 45 mpg in his Prius! With gas prices what they are right now, I'm pretty envious. My Mustang has been paid for since 2003 and it's given me very few problems, so it doesn't pay to replace it at this point. When it gets replaced in about 3 more years, though, my husband and I will be taking gas mileage into consideration.

I'd love to hear your confessions in the comments or write your own post, let me know, and I'll link to it!