Speaking of Hoop Jumping...

I've mentioned it before, but in case you didn't know, my 7th grade son and 8th grade daughter complete their school courses on-line, at home (Arizona Virtual Academy). We had become unhappy with not only the Jr. High 'scene', but mostly the curriculum and array of inexperienced teachers.

This week, however, every morning from 8:30 am to about 12:30 pm, I take them to a centralized location to complete the state-mandated AIMS testing(Arizona's Instrument to Measure Standards). All students throughout Arizona, regardless of their educational method, are required to participate in AIMS. It's used to track the academic achievement of all students across our grand state. There is no grade for this series of tests which covers the areas of Reading, Writing, and Math, but a 'rating' system is assigned: Below the Standard, Approaches the Standard, Meets the Standard, and Exceeds the Standard. Your last required AIMS testing is administered your sophomore year, and if you don't 'meet' or 'exceed', you may not be graduating. You are given up to 5 more opportunities to retest, but by your senior year, if you haven't reached the required standards set forth by the state, your right to graduate will be revoked. And, yadda, yadda, yadda, your state probably has something like this, too.

OK, so what's the problem? I don't have a problem with the kids testing to make sure that they are where they are supposed to be academically. What I do have a problem with is where the state of Arizona says my kids should be academically, especially after we received such a poor grade in the effectiveness of our school systems as compared to all the other states across the nation.

Want to know what's actually even 'comical' about this? (It's where the hoop-jumping part comes in) My kids were complaining to me in the car on the way over to the testing site the usual "Why do we have to go take this stupid test?", answered by me "Because all the kids have to take it"(i.e. hoop-jumping, so you can be in compliance with the state, so you can graduate). My kids, "Well, who decided we have to take this stupid test anyway?", answered by me, "Uhhh, well, I'm not really sure, but you do have to take it, and, uhhhh, well...", that's where I lost them when I tried to throw in all my fancy facts about the testing and the reasoning behind it, and how it will help all of the students in the state.

And, of course, my smarty pants kids come up with "Well, isn't that why you took us out of the regular school district because it doesn't help us as students?" Touche. Wow, schooled by my own kids. And then, the real kicker. My kids, "Did you have to take AIMS?", me, "No". My kids, "Well, what test did you have to take to make sure you were doing OK?", me "Umm, let me think, it's been so long....we didn't really take tests like that." My kids, "Well, what about graduation?", me, "Well, we just graduated".

And here's the best part of the conversation. My kids, "So what would happen that you couldn't graduate?". And my answer, which took me to back in the day when things were so much simpler, "Well, if you failed a class, you didn't pass". Easy. Do you remember back in the day when by the time you were a senior in high school that you really knew what you should know because you earned your way there? If you failed a grade, you had to repeat it - simple. Your academic success was measured by the end of every school year, you either went on to the next grade, or you didn't. You either learned what you were supposed to know by the end of that year, or you didn't. If you didn't, you had to go back and do it again until you got it. And with that kind of stigma, no one wanted to repeat a grade!

Call me 'old school' 'cause I am. I'm not so 'old school' that I'm not with the times, but I just know about when things work and when they don't. No wonder we have so many more problems with our education systems of today.

Image by 'WebWeavers Free ClipArt'

Caution - Freebies Ahead!

I love freebies just as much as the next guy/gal. There's all kinds of opportunities out there to simply fill out your name and address, and then look forward to receiving your little gem of a deal in the mail within 4 to 6 weeks. But I don't post a whole bunch of freebies just because I feel like some of them are really shady. I don't want to pass anything along to you that I haven't tried myself. And we all have our limits on what we will do or tolerate to get a freebie.

Fortunately for me, I received a comment from a reader, I'll not mention her name in my post because I haven't directly communicated with her in order to get her permission, but I am grateful to her for, in a roundabout way, pointing out the error of my ways.

This is her comment in response to the EasyBakeWare freebie that I spoke about in an earlier post:

"I tried to order a free easybakeware but in order to get the $1.00 shipping I needed to sign up for a free 7 day trial program. The program was free for the first 7 days and then would cost a/b 15.00/month. They said if you called the # w/in the 7 day trial period cancelling would end any further obligation. I tried to go ahead and sign up but it only wanted a debt card, no credit cards. This is where I gave up. Did you experience the same hoops?"

I confess, I did jump through those hoops. My error? Not warning you that you would have to do the same. There are some items available out there for which I will 'hoop jump', and others I will not. In my excitement over the EasyBakeWare offer, I temporarily lost my mind and forgot that my idea of a great offer will not always jive with your idea of a great offer! I was willing to go through their maze of requirements in order to receive the EasyBakeWare cookie liner because I reeaallly wanted it! If it was any other item on their freebie list I probably would not have done it. I've had my eye on the cookie liner since before Christmas and all of a sudden here's this opportunity to get it for a dollar? I'm in!

From what I've read, though, I was very lucky! I 'googled' the EasyBakeWare offer and found that a lot of folks had problems with it. Most were unhappy with the 'hoop jumping' that wasn't revealed until they went to pay the $1 for the offer, others were unable to cancel out within the 7 days as the 3rd party company was making it impossible for them, and some didn't even receive their free item because they did cancel out.

Another thing I'm concerned about is the fact that when this particular reader attempted the offer, they only wanted her debit card. I did pay with a credit card (always for safety and recourse reasons) because that was the option offered to me. This reader was keen to the red flag in front of her that something didn't seem right and quit the offer right there and then.

Because I had a good experience, I mistakenly assumed that everyone else who wanted to benefit from this free offer would, too.

So, my thanks to you, dear reader -this is what I love most about feedback! I think it best to stick to offers that are straight forward and simple, and if there is any hoop-jumping involved, I will warn you in advance!

Image from 'mrpjam77'

My Little Garden

Gardening in Arizona is so different from where I grew up in the midwest. My mom had a garden planted every summer. Here, you have to start planting in February because by summertime and 110 degrees outside, your little plants will literally burn to a crisp!

Although I've lived in this neck of the woods for 18 yrs., I've just recently had the time and patience to research Arizona gardening. This will be my very first attempt!

Above, you can see my bush green beans in the foreground, and my little bush peas growing up the trellis I made behind that - yes, in the background, that is my pool fence! Weird, huh? I also tried my hand at planting carrots, cucumbers, zucchini, and even cantaloupe.

Anyway, I water and talk to all my little plants everyday and plead with them to grow big and strong and yield lots of veggies! I'll let you know whether or not I was talking on deaf ears...or leaves!

Money Saving Laundry Tip

I was just finishing up some laundry this morning and very smugly glanced up on my shelf above the washer and dryer. I was looking at my fabric softener bottle. And what's so smug about the fabric softener bottle you ask? Well, it's just the fact that even though I use fabric softener in every load, the same bottle that I bought over a month ago is sitting up on my shelf still pretty much full! And I use it in the dryer!



Ok, now that you're totally confused, let me explain. First, I'll start with Jenn over at FrugalUpstate, a fellow blogger who I totally admire, and whose website is chock full of frugal ideas. A few months ago as I was parusing around her site, I came across one of her posts about how to save on liquid fabric softener. Something I would have never thought of, but a frugal tip that I've incorporated into my laundry routine that I know will save me a ton of money over the course of the year. I'll go from buying fabric softener 1-2 times per month to only a 2-3 times a year! Since you're dying to know, here's how it's done!





Start with a basic sponge and cut it into (depending upon the size of the sponge) four to six 1 inch pieces. This is what you'll be tossing into your dryer.






Next, in a reusable container with a lid, combine one capfull of liquid fabric softener to six capfulls of water (I believe Jenn @Frugal Upstate suggests 8 capfulls of water, I like 6, you can adjust the strength any way you like). Drop your sponges in, and you're ready for laundry day!




When you toss your laundry into the dryer, squeeze out a sponge so that it's not sopping wet and toss it in with the clothes. When you take your laundry out to fold, put the sponge back into the solution for the next load. Easy, right? Easy and smart!


Laundry has become so much more enjoyable! I'm thinking of making my own laundry soap next - oh, and Jenn has a recipe for that too - HomeMade Laundry Detergent!

Wordless Wednesday

One of my latest shopping trips - $73.98 worth of groceries for $14.98 - that's an 80% savings! Love those double coupons matched with sale items!

Campbell's 'Help Grow Your Soup'

Campbell's is once again reaching out to the community through it's new 'Help Grow Your Soup' campaign. Campbell's is not only offering free tomato seeds (the same kind they use to grow the very tomatoes that go into Campbell's soups), but by requesting these seeds for yourself, they will donate even more seeds to plant gardens in communities and schools across America. Just go to the link, click on 'Get Yours Now', enter some info off the bottom of one of your more recent Campbell's soup purchases and your free tomato seeds will be on their way!

Why am I not surprised about the generosity of this company? They've been in our homes and hearts for years. What always warms me up on a dreary day? A hot bowl of Campbells's Tomato Soup! It warms my heart even more to know that when I receive my packet of Campbell's tomato seeds, that even more seeds will be going out as part of Campbell's commitment to the National FFA Organization. It is Campbell's goal to give away 22.5 million seeds.

Head on over to Campbell's 'Help Grow Your Soup', request your seeds, and take a closer look at how Campbell's has teamed up with the National FFA Organization to support agriculture across the country. Campbell's is more than just soup!

Savvy Saving Mom, Unplugged!

Yesterday morning started as usual, getting up at 6:30 am, making breakfast for my husband and 16 yr. old daughter and packing lunch for my hubs for later in the afternoon. After watching them pull out of the driveway to go start their days at school and work, I turned and walked back into the house to start mine, where I was greeted by my 12 yr. old son with a frantic, "Mom! The internet isn't working on my computer!"

What? Your wire must be loose or something. No? Check the modem! All connections are fine. Now I start to get a little frantic because my internet isn't working either. I called our cable/phone/internet company where I am informed of a 'widespread outage'. You just increased our services by another $6 a month on top of already outrageous fees and you're telling me that your services are down? Where is all of that extra money going exactly? You guys aren't having any conferences in Hawaii or anything like that in the near future, are you? (Well, I have to wonder!) So services are down with no inkling of when they will be restored. Now we can officially panic.

My 12 yr. old son and 14 yr. old daughter are homeschooled and all of their lessons and curriculum are on-line. I am on-line every day, too. I Twitter, I blog, I read other blogs, I Twitter (oh, did I already say that?). Well, I need to use the internet also..... I'm sitting at the computer chewing my nails in a nervous fit, my eyes darting back and forth like an addict who doesn't know when they'll get their next fix every time I hit the refresh button and nothing happens. My morning has had a monkey wrench thrown at it and I can't regroup without my internet fix. Wow, I realized just how unhealthy some habits can become. I know life has evolved in such a way that we actually do need the internet for certain things, but the sad thing was, I reeeeaaaallllly neeeeeeded it! Whoa!

Enter my 12 yr. old, trying not to get in the way of my pacing. "Mom, you want to play cards or something?" Really? We don't have a power outage, just an internet outage. I figured he would watch something on TV until our day became normal again. But, no. Who's the parent and who's the child here? I immediately felt the 'bad parent' roll for not having his idea first. After being snapped out of my 'no internet brain warp', I became human again and jumped at the opportunity to play cards with my son.

I hadn't had cards in my hand for a long time, and it was a game that he was teaching me. I quickly forgot about what I was currently missing on the computer, and thought to myself instead, about what I had been missing with my child. We played for 2 1/2 hours, laughed, shared blueberry muffins, and vowed that we would make this a weekly event.

Our services must have come back up while we were engaged in our card game, but neither one of us ever asked the other "Do you think the internet is back?". Although my son sheepishly admitted that he was happy not to have to go straight to his studies yesterday morning, he did say that if he'd had an on-line WOW (World of Warcraft) match scheduled, that he would have been just as freaked out as I was!

On my internet habit? Too much of any one thing is usually not good, unless it's time well spent with your kids!

FREEBIES!!

Just thought I'd let you know about some freebies that I found - enjoy!

KASHI get your free frozen entree! As easy as filling out your name and address. This offer valid until March 15, 2009, one coupon per family. Allow 2-3 weeks to receive your coupon.

DUNKIN DONUTS will send you a 1.1 oz sample pouch just by filling out a little bit of information about yourself - just the basics, your name and where to send it. Don't wait too long, this one is only while supplies last. It will take about 6-8 weeks to get your coffee.

Have you ever wanted to try EASYBAKEWARE? With their free item of the month feature, it's a great way to find out about a product you've might been curious about. Choose your free item, fill out your basics, no other purchase required! Just a small $1 shipping charge. How great is that! I ordered the one you're looking at! Hurry, though, it's while supplies last.

My New Favorite Superfood

Almonds, who knew? For years I have eaten them on occasion, knowing they were good for me somehow. But upon investigating for myself, trying to create a simple list of healthier things to consume for my body, almonds are now one of my favorites!

I become so depressed about all of the 'can't haves' when trying to create healthier eating habits, that I decided to put together a list of things I should be eating. What I found was literally a new Food Group (not really, just all the good stuff put together in one understandable category!), the SuperFoods. Being as picky an eater as I am, I was pleasantly surprised to see so many food items that are in the SuperFoods categories, one of them being almonds.

Why are they so great? For one thing, after I eat a handful, (depending upon the size of your hand, or just measure out 1/4 cup of them), which comes in to just around 200 calories, I feel full! Here's why:

Each serving of raw almonds (19 almonds/180 cal.) provides the following:

14 grams of fat - 10 g monounsaturated

3 g polyunsaturated (source of Omega-6/Omega-3)

1 g saturated

0 mg cholesterol

0 mg sodium

6 g carbohydrates

3 g dietary fiber

1 g sugars

7 g protein

8% calcium

6% iron

Also, these nutrients: vitamin E, magnesium, manganese, and folate, with small amounts of iron, niacin, riboflavin, copper and zinc.

That's a lot of great nutrition packed into a handful of almonds! Anyway, I learned that I can contribute that feeling of fullness to all of those 'good for you' kind of fats. And they work great, by the way! Not to mention, the fiber and protein content is a great bonus. Besides the enjoyment factor of snacking on almonds, they are also said to have the following health benefits:

A daily serving can help to lower LDL (the bad cholesterol) by 10%

The Vitamin E, a powerful antioxidant, is thought to reduct the risk of heart disease and certain types of cancer

The Magnesium helps to regulate blood pressure

Aid in weight loss

Almonds have been an obvious incorporation into my daily routine. I find myself grabbing a handful around 3 o'clock in the afternoon when starvation starts to hit, easily holding me off until dinner time.

I have to admit, as a mom who is a fanatic about spending less, it is hard for me to shell out the money for almonds. We currently purchase the Kirkland Signature Raw Almonds at Costco. I just checked Costco.com (on-line ordering of almonds apparently only available to business members) and they are currently retailing at $11.75 for a 3lb. bag. Kind of steep, however, the benefits of this little diamond in the rough far outweighs its cost, so they have become a regular purchase for us. And, eating only a handful a day allows that 3lb. bag to last a while.

I figure my new almond habit is one small part of fitting healthier foods into my diet. One step at a time, one new SuperFood at a time, building better health today, saving on health costs later. Have a great day :)