Is it a crime if I blow up my kitchen slightly on purpose?

I like to think of myself as an earth friendly kind of girl. I don't dye my hair, I save clothes from one child to the next, my thermostat is set at sixty downstairs during the day, fifty at night, and upstairs stays completely off till bed time.




These things are not simply because I'm cheap.

I promise. Well, not completely because I'm cheap. We recycle. We freecycle. We do our part to keep our trash put out minimal. I try not to use harmful chemicals. I'm a big fan of vinegar and Burt's bees-not together of course.

I swear to God, I'm going to drop an atom bomb on my kitchen.

It's inhabited by strange, stretchy, acrobatic mice. The little bastards are effing cute as hell. And gross. And... scampery. Yes. I'm aware that's not a word. But it should be. It should be a word to describe the little monsters that appear to be performing circus acrobatics on their trek to the Land Behind My Stove.

That's MY STOVE. You. Little. Bastards.

I swear, I honestly swear, I'm so freaking serious, I will buy poison if I see one more. One more cute, fuzzy, icky, stretchy, gotta-be-mutated freakish little mouse dude.

I will buy poison, and screw the earth.

Amen.

ah, the perils (and perks!!!) of blogging!

So...my email account got hacked this week. I'm sure it was the result of my forages into the world of "free stuff". Think about it, FREEEE STUFFFFF! Every shampoo sample saves me real money. Each little tube of lotion is one more dose I don't have to buy. I faithfully fill out the surveys they send me, of course, because I want them to continue to send me that FREEEEE STUFFFFF. Love it.

So, this week I learned about posting negativity online, without back up or proof. I had signed up for a four week review of neutragena sunscreen here and authorized use of my email to share. The next day, my dear father asks me what he should do with the five dozen viagra he ordered from the site I sent him. His wasn't the worst. Throughout the day, many of my male friends assured me that they didn't have a problem that required said drug, and a couple insuated that they'd prove it. It's all in good fun.

Ugh. No more email sharing.

Well, Matt from Tidal Labs was nice enough to email me and let me know the spammage wasn't them. *hangs head. That's what I get for ASS-uming. I still can't wait to review my sunscreen sample!

I also learned NOT to give my email address out to perfect strangers promising coupons. I did this on the site www.retailmenot.com. Someone posted that they would send you a link to a site that would give you two free boxes of a certain coffee for a certain maker I received for a certain holiday. After I read the offer he sent me, I realized it wouldn't work for me, so I just responded "thankyou" and moved on with my life. Evidently he didn't.

I received four emails from this individual. FOUR. The last one after he called the company AND RECEIVED INFORMATION ABOUT MY ACCOUNT from them. This is creeping me out beyond belief. I will post more information gladly, once the company responds to my email. WAAAAAYYYYYY TOO CREEPY.

So, my lessons learned this week may not be monetary in value, but they are treasured nonetheless.

Tomorrow we resume packing after box pick-up. For now, free stuff a-hunting and off to work I go!

Found Money! Don't forget to request a refund for overpayed utilities!

Last night I had the strangest dream. I dreamt the "other" from Lost season 1 turned into a vampire, got invited into our home, and turned my nephew and my friends son into vampires. We locked ourselves in an upstairs room, and I lowered my wild child first to the ground. She took off, of course. I jumped out the window, landed on my feet, and ran after her. Having caught up to her, it appears that her hair has been cut off, and she has a large bite mark on her neck. I realize her hair is simply tied back, and am utterly relieved, and unconcerned with the large bruise on her neck, which isn't bleeding.

My good friends over at http://www.cafemom.com/ seem to think it means that I'm nervous about our upcoming move, but feel that I can handle it. I like that.

Yesterday, it occurred to me that we needed to order propane for our stove. You can only purchase it a full tank at a time, and it takes me 4-5 months to use it up. The move is 85 days away. Either I can bake like mad, or lose about $70 in propane, or try to stretch what I have an extra, say, 24 days. I spent the majority of the afternoon pondering solutions, since my gas company was closed.

I called first thing this morning-and was told to go ahead and fill it, all I have to do is request a refund. This is GREAT news, since I LOVE to bake our bread, but I may just try to stretch it out anyway, since it's hot out and requesting a refund is one more thing I'll have to remember to do in the post move mess. However, the lady at the gas company said many people NEVER leave an address to forward a refund check to, so I'm counting this check as a drop in the bucket toward my goal of making money.
Score one for the cheap girl.


Did you remember to check for overpaid utilities on your last move?

Day 2: One box and one bag from each room per day.

Let me tell you, I have been a ball of fire today! I'm not even through my second cup of coffee, and I've gotten a whole SLEW of moving goodness accomplished. Yippee for me! My goal is to pack up one box for a yard sale, and one bag for either trash, freecycle, or donation per room per day. I've completed the goal for two rooms already! Of course, my goal to make money is being severely compromised by the fact that my moving budget is currently -$150. I'm hoping to change that by adding some goodies to craigslist later today. We have a nice brass coat rack I can't see moving, a baby carrier Miss AngelBaby outgrew three minutes after she was born, and an excersaucer that can go on. I'm betting these will fetch far more dough on Craigslist than at the yard sale, so I've got a busy day ahead of me! Wish me money!

Day 1: The Great Adventure Begins

Over the weekend, we made a momentous decision. We are moving! Into our first HOUSE!!!!! I have three months with which to clean up, consolidate, and otherwise compress our lives. We have a lot of crap. Ridiculous amounts. My affinity for the end caps at Target coupled with an inability to resist a great deal has lead to my house turning into the Land That Time Forgot. I also HATE to put things in a landfill that can otherwise be used. Freecycle is my friend, of course, but I also HATE to get rid of something, only to have to reacquire it late.

The result? You can't get into the attic of the tiny "3" bedroom apartment, without climbing a stack of perilously placed Christmas gift, boxes of toys, and bags of clothing I haven't worn since 1998. HMMMM.

So, this begins my adventure. I will chronicle the event of my perilous struggle to remove the crap from this home before it sidles it's way into the next home. While being as ecofriendly (read: frugal) as possible.

I have a list. I have a plan. I hope, at the end of this, I will have managed to make money off this move. Is it impossible? No, I think not.

Do you have any advice for me?