Friday, August 27, 2010

Free full length movies on YouTube

Looking for a movie on a site that you know won't give you a virus along with entertainment?

YouTube has added a movie component. Now you can watch movies on YouTube. Some are free and some are rentals. The selection isn't the greatest right now, but there are a few that interest me: My Date with Drew, The Best of the Three Stooges, and Undiscovered.

I am sure that YouTube Movies is going to grow into something we can't recall how we lived without.

Where to do you watch movies online? Share in the comments section.

Friday, August 13, 2010

25 uses for coffee filters


I received the following list of 25 uses for coffee filters as an email with no known author. This list is just too good not to pass on. So,if you are the author, please let me know and I'll credit you. Meanwhile, check out this list of uses for something most of us have in our cupboard. (My favorite is #10 - what a great idea!)

Coffee filters .... Who knew! And you can buy 1,000 at the Dollar Tree for almost nothing even the large ones.

1. Cover bowls or dishes when cooking in the microwave. Coffee filters make excellent covers.

2. Clean windows, mirrors, and chrome.... Coffee filters are lint-free so they'll leave windows sparkling.

3. Protect China by separating your good dishes with a coffee filter between each dish.

5. Protect a cast-iron skillet. Place a coffee filter in the skillet to absorb moisture and prevent rust.

6. Apply shoe polish. Ball up a lint-free coffee filter.

7. Recycle frying oil. After frying, strain oil through a sieve lined with a coffee filter.

8. Weigh chopped foods. Place chopped ingredients in a coffee filter on a kitchen scale.

9. Hold tacos. Coffee filters make convenient wrappers for messy foods.

10. Stop the soil from leaking out of a plant pot. Line a plant pot with a coffee filter to prevent the soil from going through the drainage holes.

11. Prevent a Popsicle from dripping. Poke one or two holes as needed in a coffee filter.

12. Do you think we used expensive strips to wax eyebrows? Use strips of coffee filters..

13. Put a few in a plate and put your fried bacon, French fries, chicken fingers, etc on them. It soaks out all the grease..

14. Keep in the bathroom. They make great "razor nick fixers."

15. As a sewing backing. Use a filter as an easy-to-tear backing for embroidering or appliqueing soft fabrics.

16. Put baking soda into a coffee filter and insert into shoes or a closet to absorb or prevent odors.

17. Use them to strain soup stock and to tie fresh herbs in to put in soups and stews..

18. Use a coffee filter to prevent spilling when you add fluids to your car.

19. Use them as a spoon rest while cooking and clean up small counter spills.

20. Can use to hold dry ingredients when baking or when cutting a piece of fruit or veggies. Saves on having extra bowls to wash.

21. Use them to wrap Christmas ornaments for storage.

22. Use them to remove fingernail polish when out of cotton balls.

23. Use them to sprout seeds. Simply dampen the coffee filter, place seeds inside, fold it and place it into a plastic baggie until they sprout.

24. Use coffee filters as blotting paper for pressed flowers. Place the flowers between two coffee filters and put the coffee filters in phone book...

25. Use as a disposable "snack bowl" for popcorn, chips, etc.

Oh yes, you can also use them to make coffee.

Do you have an everyday item that you repurpose?

Thursday, August 5, 2010

Great book talks about Bobbi's Bargains



Several months ago I had the pleasure of getting interviewed by the lovely Evelyn Sacks. She was doing research on a book about "How to get even more out of your child's day for less."

I had a great time talking with her and sharing some of my bargain viewpoints and tips. (see pages 13, 14 & 94)

Today I received my copy of the book in the mail. It's SUCH a cool book and three whole pages talk about Bobbi's Bargains and my ideas and tips.

I'll be reading the book this weekend while I am at the California Homeschool Network Family Expo where I will be talking about Budgets and Bargains. I'll write more about the book later, but I just wanted to do a little "whoopee" and let you know about the book.

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

How the little things add up

Budget Planner - Mint.com

Nifty little gadget to see how your spending adds up. Click on one of the side tabs and enter the amount of times per week/month you spend on this item. Watch it add up.

If the above picture is too small for you to see, then go here.

Even if you don't spend on these EXACT items, well... you'll get the idea.