Currently I'm Reading....

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver

I've only completed the first chapter and already I'm wanting to move. Not out of this city, or this state; more like out of this country. Kingsolver writes a "year of food life" in where her family moves from Arizona to Virginia where things like growing your own food and eating within your region are possible without such drastic measures as in the Southwest. She mentions something that really peaks my interest called the French Paradox (which funny enough I just read about in Julie and Julia, also a great read): the French can eat and eat rich and heavy foods and yet stay slim without 24hr gyms and detox diets. Why? Well the claim is, according to Kingsolver, the French "consume many courses in a meal...portions of the fatty ones tend to be tiny...and they draw out meals sociably." She also discusses the freshness of their ingredients and the skimping on quality they refuse to do. I've never been to France (sad face) but I have been to Greece, and I find the same theory applies there as well. When we ate "out" in Greece, it was always with friends, the main course being coffee and tobacco with a little food thrown in. When eating at home, there seemed to be just enough food for everyone, which didn't tempt us into overeating. Snacks consisted of fruit from the trees outside, a piece of bread (bought or baked daily) with feta, or olives. My favorite indulgence was fresh chocolate milk, which came in a very small container like a delicacy. Even the soda, one liter bottles only, came as carbonated orange juice. And as I read this book, I wonder, why did I ever leave?

It makes me sad to think that not only could my poor eating habits be making me unhealthy (chubby), but maybe my government, my country, are contributing as well. It is very unsettling; a feeling that you cannot escape it. I'm hoping this read has a happy ending because the last thing my husband needs to hear is: "I changed my mind about the east coast, let's just hop the ocean while we're at it!"

My Notebook

I have forever been a clipper. I clip snippets out of everything - from magazines, to newspapers, to greeting cards, to flyers. I save everything. Whether it is a cool idea, or a pretty picture or saying, I save it. Most stuff ends up glued in my journal, for inspiration or for a laugh. Some stuff ends up in my scrapbooks. And the rest end up in my frugal notebook. I started a notebook a few years ago to keep all of the great money-saving ideas that I came across, didn't have time to implement, but didn't want to forget.

This weekend I realized that my little notebook was serving me no purpose because it wasn't very organized. I have OCD when it comes to notebook organization. In school, if I have to scribble my notes super fast because the teacher is hopped up on coffee, then I come home that night and REWRITE them. I blame it on the Catholic school military-style handwriting drills.

I decided to switch to a binder with dividers for all the different sections of my frugal life: Groceries, Household, Gifts, Holidays, Health and Beauty, etc. Then I transposed all of my tidbits! on looseleaf and stuck them into the appropriate sections. I feel so much better...Ahh the organizational itch has been scratched!

So, if you don't have one of these handy dandy notebook binder thingies, you should start one. When I'm feeling frisky, I flip through and try out a new idea. That is how I have come to where I am now, by doing one little thing at a time.

On another note, thanks to the hype of Julie and Julia, I decided to start reading the original blog that this movie is based on, called the Julie/Julia Project. It is a hilarious read, especially if you like food, alcohol, and curse words.

G'Day

The Woes of College Textbooks

I am playing a bit of catch up when it comes to school, and this fall I will be taking 18 hours. That is six classes at the junior and senior level. And I have 21 required books! Insane yes, because not only is that a lot of dough out of my pocket, but I have to manage to read all 21 books in one semester. I figured I would start ordering now so I could get a jump start on the reading, at least the novels. I got on to my school's bookstore site to get the new and used prices of all the books I needed. Then I researched prices on the internet and found most of my books at exceptional prices on sites such as Ebay and TextbooksRUs. I did have a hefty order at AbeBooks, but they cancelled my order without explanation after all of that searching and comparing, so I won't be dealing with them again. A few suggestions I have for the college book bonanza are:

• Always note the publisher, year, and edition: some editions have extra inserts that you might need
• Don't buy from your school bookstore unless it is a new edition with an required online component; they will always be overpriced
• Don't mind the condition of the books; I used a book that someone had dropped in the tub, but it was still readable and was dirt cheap
• Look for books with notes in the margin; the previous owner might have made a good point that you didn't think of
• Check Craigslist.org for students in your area getting rid of their books; they also are a great source of information if they had the same professor as you
• When ordering from online sites, always go through Ebates to get some cash back
• Keep all receipts in case it is the wrong book