Frugal Friday: Google Reader

Have I told you how much I L.O.V.E. Google Reader?!

I wake up in the morning, check my email, read my updates in Google Reader and I have already saved time and often money. Yep, Google Reader saves me money! Okay so it really has to do with the blogs and alerts I have sent to my reader, but Google Reader does save me time.

Hip2Save is one of my new favorite blogs, thank you Nina! This week alone I have snagged two free items. Yesterday I received 500 free business cards and earlier this week I received a free Neti Pot!

I was talking to a friend yesterday and told her she really should have some business cards made for her upcoming art shows and then I found that awesome deal for 500 FREE cards. Coincidence? No, I think it is a God thing.

Google Reader also keeps me up to date on all of my Craigslist searches.

After you have signed into your Google account, the top left says "more" with a drop down menu. When you click the drop down menu at the bottom it says "even more."

Select Alerts

You can type in your search terms and choose "Deliver to Feed." Now you can read all your searches in your reader. You can also select "manage your alerts" to delete or add new alerts.

Right now I have several craigslist alerts coming to my reader. While you are able to have a search directly from your local craigslist sent to your reader, it will only search local results. I prefer to search through Google for smaller items. I have some DVDs arriving today from Seattle today!

My alert was searching for "craigslist thomas great discovery dvd." Tuesday a craigslist listing from Seattle showed up in my reader. I emailed asking if they would ship the DVDs allowing me to pay with my paypal account. She agreed!

While some people do not feel comfortable doing this, I have received several items this way. I am currently waiting for the perfect American Girl Bitty Baby clothing set listing to show up in my reader.

Google Reader saves me time and money, thats frugal I can handle!

Good Cake

Last year we spent Thanksgiving at my sister-in-law's house. As the dessert was passed around I took a small piece of, what was being called, Cheese Cake Bars. They didn't look like Cheese Cake but I was polite and took a piece. After one bite I regretted my decision in taking one piece and not taking the whole plate! I found out my niece had made this before in one of her homeschool co-op enrichment classes that my mom had taught. I promptly asked for the recipe and found out the cake is lovingly referred to as Good Cake. Although Little Bo Peep calls it GoodGoodGoodGoodGood Cake!

Good Cake

Ingredients:

• 1 package butter cake mix
• 1 stick of butter (4oz), softened
• 1 egg, slightly beaten
• 1 box confectioners' sugar (1lb)
• 3 eggs, slightly beaten
• 8 oz cream cheese, softened

Preparation:

• Combine cake mix, butter and 1 egg and pat into 9x13" pan.
• Mix sugar, 3 eggs and cream cheese and pour on top of the crust mixture.
• Bake at 350 degrees F fro 35-40 minutes, or until browned.

Serves 12

Buckeye Country

Sometimes in life you just know you are making the right decision. Other times those decisions are confirmed later in life, this is one of those times.

B was raised as a Buckeye. He went to The Ohio State University. When he bleeds obviously it is scarlet.

This past winter, while playing out in the snow, Little Bo Peep found something and asked what it was. I thought it looked just like a Buckeye nut. B was convinced it was just a shriveled apple or some other fruit. We found a second one but agreed it must be fruit because there was no way Buckeye nuts could be in our yard.

Yesterday while I was cleaning out my gardens I found not one but three more, two had rooted themselves!

B's first comment was, I knew this was the right house for us!  Now we are moving them to better suited parts of the yard and waiting to see which variety we have gracing our garden. I guess this is one step closer to having a house full of Buckeye Nuts and one further from all Spartans, sorry Dad.