Penny Pinching Mom

I’m Getting Windows 7!

I got some exciting news last week. I’ve been selected to have a Windows 7 launch party! What does that mean? It means that I get a free copy of Windows 7 Ultimate Signature Edition, and I get to have a party to help spread the word about the launch of the new operating system!

How did I get so lucky, you ask? I applied for a host spot on HouseParty.com. I never dreamed that I would get this one, but somehow I did. And I’ll be having my party at the end of October.

I can’t wait to get my copy of it. There are lots of suggested demonstrations, nothing like using Sharepoint or anything, but there’s multimedia, photo editing and more. I’d like to try out the video call feature since my camcorder will also work as a webcam, but I don’t know anybody to call.

I won’t have to spend as much on this party as I have on my other house parties, because I’m going to make it a potluck. I get decorations in my host package, so I shouldn’t have to buy much more than drinks and paper plates and cups. I’ll let you know how it goes!

The Hazards of Freelance Writing

Things have been pretty crazy for me in my writing career for the past few weeks. It all started when I got the flu, and I was pretty much completely out of commission for a week. Hubby got it too, and he missed quite a bit of work without pay. That stressed me out pretty severely, and that, in turn, gave me writer’s block (or at least contributed to it). Not good, considering that this is the busiest month I’ve had in a while.

As badly as I was freaking out, I did manage to keep my sense of humor through it all. Even if it was a bit more twisted than usual. When a client emailed to ask me about a report that was overdue, I mentioned something about beating my head against my desk. I hope she knew I was kidding. She must have, because the paramedics didn’t arrive with all of their medical equipment to try and rescue me, nor did any men in white coats show up.

I’m still behind, but maybe, just maybe, there’s a light at the end of the tunnel. If I bust my butt and the writer’s block doesn’t come back, I should be back on track by the weekend.

Pumpkin Tries Dentek Fun Flossers

Good dental health is so important. It keeps you from having painful tooth problems, and eventually losing your pearly whites. It can even help prevent lots of health problems that are seemingly unrelated to your mouth. So I was pleased to have the opportunity to do a review of Dentek’s Fun Flossers, a kids floss product that is designed to be fun and easy to use.

I’m not a big flosser myself, but I should be. I lost a molar a couple of years ago because of decay on the side that was against the tooth in front of it. I’d prefer for Pumpkin not to have to go through something like that. She still has several of her baby teeth, but now is the time to start good dental care habits, right? Right!

So I broke out the flossers, and she looked interested but puzzled. Then I explained to her how to do it, and she got started. She kept saying “This is weird.” But I’m 99% sure that she was referring to the fact that I was filming her with my digital camcorder instead of the flossing thing.

She loved the taste of them. I believe the package said “Wild Fruit” flavor or something to that effect, and she said it tasted like oranges. When she was done, she gave her seal of approval. I was glad, but wasn’t sure if she was just saying that because she was on camera.

Well, just a little bit ago, I found out that she wasn’t. Because when I told her to brush her teeth and get ready for bed, she asked if she could floss again. Yesss! Even though she had already done so earlier when we made the video, I told her to go right ahead.

Speaking of the video, without further ado, here it is. (Be kind, this is my first YouTube video with my new camcorder, and the lighting in my bathroom leaves a lot to be desired.)

So it looks like Fun Flossers are a winner at my house. I’m even thinking about giving them a try. Hey, it beats the heck out of pulling out a mile of regular floss, wrapping it around your fingers until it cuts off the circulation and trying to cram your hands into the back of your mouth to get to your back teeth!

And I Thought My Computer Problems Were Over

I got a shiny new computer a few months ago. I was so thrilled. It was a lot faster than my old one, which made getting my work done much less nervewracking. But alas, I’m now having problems with it, too. As a matter of fact, I’m writing this post on my old clunker. Good thing I kept it and managed to get it running much better than before.

A couple of weeks ago, I was having trouble with my Internet. I called my ISP, and they said there had been a DSL outage, but it was resolved. I told them that it wasn’t on my end, and they said they would look into it and get back to me. They never called back, but when I tried again a few hours later, I was able to get online.

After that, I had intermittent connection problems. I did the whole power cycling the modem bit, and I did all the stuff that Vista suggested, to no avail. In most cases, I just had to wait it out until it felt like working. I finally got fed up on Labor Day and called repair again. They told me that there was nothing wrong on their end, and that I could bring my modem in and have it tested.

So I took it in a couple of days later. The first time the lady tested it, the lights indicated that there was no connection, which I found strange since all appeared to be well with it at home. She suggested leasing a modem to see if it was the problem without paying full price for it, and I agreed. She brought it out, hooked it up to see if it worked, and it did. Then she realized that she had hooked my modem up to the wrong phone line, tried it again, and it worked just fine.

I brought the leased modem home anyway, because seeing how it was an intermittent problem, I thought mine could still be malfunctioning. I tried them both out, and both worked. I left the old one hooked up, and had no problems until this morning. I tried to get online and start working early, and got nothing.

After several bouts of modem switching and a call to tech support, it’s still not working. I was nearly to the point of digging out some safety products (glasses, gloves, etc.) and taking a sledgehammer to all of my equipment. Then I decided to try hooking the modem up to my old computer, and now I can at least get online.

I’m scanning my computer for viruses right now, and will be scanning for spyware after that. Then I’ll try again. If that doesn’t work, I guess I’ll be spending a large portion of my day searching the Web, trying to find solutions. The tech support woman suggested calling the computer manufacturer, but as far as I’m concerned that’s a last resort.

If there are any techheads out there who might be able to help, I’m open to suggestions. I’ve established that I am getting an IP address, but I can’t ping anything. I’m not using a router, just a modem plugged straight into the phone line. If you think you can be of assistance, please drop me a comment!

No, I Don’t Want to Trade

My T-bird has been sitting next to the garage since we moved in. I haven’t had it tagged for a couple of years. Right now would be a good time to get it tagged, since I’m not driving my truck until I get some work done on it. But I haven’t been able to scrape up the money to get a new battery for it, have the power steering checked and pay for the tag and insurance. So Hubby has just about got me talked into selling it.

The prospective buyer is a good friend of ours. Actually, he’s more like a little brother to Hubby. He’s a young man who has spent many a night under our roof, and he graduated from high school this year. He just got his first full-time job, and he needs a vehicle of his own so he can quit relying on his parents for transportation. I told him he could make payments on the car, and we’d hold it until it was paid off. It wouldn’t take him long, because I’m not asking much at all for it.

Problem is, his dad is going to help him buy it, and he wants to trade. Specifically, he wants to give us a guitar and amp as a down payment. I could use that about as much as I could use a bunch of car accessories right now – not at all. Hubby could play it, but he probably wouldn’t, seeing how he sold his electric guitar and amp long ago.

I don’t mind working with them, but I’m just not interested in trading. Right now what we need is cash. So it looks like I’ll be holding onto the old T-bird a little longer.

Times Are Tough

The economy has taken its toll on all but the richest of us. But that doesn’t make me feel any better about my family’s financial difficulties. Pardon the rant, but I’ve just got to get a few things off my chest.

I took those antibiotics for that sinus infection, and they didn’t eradicate it. Still didn’t have the money to go to the doctor, so I decided to try garlic. The good news is it’s cheap and it seems to be working. The bad news is I’ve found that I hate raw garlic, and Hubby can’t stand to be near me due to the horrible breath. But I’m eating it raw anyway, because it’s supposed to be much more effective that way.

Hubby and Pumpkin were both sick last week, and Hubby only got to work one day. Since he doesn’t get sick pay, that means that his next check is going to suck. And now is a horrible time for that. Not only do we have bills to pay this month, Pumpkin’s birthday is coming up. And I had planned to get away from all this crap for a spell by going up to Richmond to see Peter Tork and Shoe Suede Blues next weekend, but with all that’s going on it doesn’t look like that’s going to happen.

So no concert, probably a very slim birthday for Pumpkin, and no idea how we’re going to pay this month’s bills. Oh, and Pumpkin desperately needs a new dresser, but there’s no way we can even think about spending money on children’s furniture right now. There’s plenty more things we need to spend money on and can’t, but I’d be working on this post all day if I were to attempt to list them all.

I hate being poor. Every time it looks like we might get ahead, something happens that sets us light years back. Meanwhile, the big bankers who got us into such a mess are living it up. Ain’t America grand?

Get Your Free Swagbucks!

As you might have figured out from some previous posts, I’m a huge fan of Swagbucks. And today, they gave me yet another reason to love them: They’re celebrating the launch of their new browser toolbar by creating a new Swagcode that any toolbar user can use to get extra Swagbucks every day in September!

If you haven’t signed up for Swagbucks, what are you waiting for? You can earn Swagbucks by simply searching the Web, and you can redeem them for great prizes. I’ve been using mine to get Amazon gift certificates, but there’s tons of awesome stuff you can get. Just follow this link to sign up. Then download the toolbar to get a code that can be redeemed for Swagbucks each day. Even if each code is only worth 1 Swagbuck, by the end of the month you could have as many as 30. There are plenty of things you can get for that many Swagbucks!

We all search online from time to time. We might as well get rewarded for it, right? Right! So head on over and sign up now!