The short version of this story is that we blew a rod on the engine of the motor home, and had to book a hotel for this weekends convention.
My tip: Try HotWire! We were able to reserve a very nice hotel, with free breakfast (including fresh fruit, meats, juices, coffee; not just doughnuts), free wifi, microwave and refrigerator, indoor pool, free parking, king size bed... many amenities... the price? Just $36 +tax!
We are just three minutes to Meijer, where we bought simple foods that we could take into the conference for lunch and heat up in the room for dinner, saving us from eating out.
The "discounted rate" available at similar hotels in this area were $99 and up, so we are very pleased with the rate we were able to get with HotWire.
The author of this blog; Corinne Johnson is a Christian homeschooling mom to six, help meet to her husband and the author of Vacation Education Books.
Saturday, April 4, 2009
Friday, March 27, 2009
Find Treasure with a Metal Detector
I received a metal detector for my birthday present (Thanks mom)
I've been wanting one for a long time, but didn't want to spend for one.
It just arrived from UPS yesterday, so the kids and I had to try it out.
In our own yard we found a dime and two pennies!
Then, we learned a lesson about metal detecting. It is not a perfect science. Our two year old dumped out the bucket that we were putting our treasure in, and then we were not able to find the coins again (even with the metal detector!)
Also, this is not an activity for white pants! So, next time I will wear grubby clothes and no matter how dirty it is, I'll put it in my pocket.
After dinner we went to our local park and searched some more
We found five foil gum wrappers (not treasure), one bottle cap, a zipper tab, and a little metal brush (it looks like a blush brush, but is all metal and is stamped 1819). We don't know what it is yet, but Dad thinks it might be a car part?
Caitlin also found two quarters, but I don't think these count because a man approached us as we were detecting. I had the machine and Caitlin was on the ground digging. He asked what we were looking for, and we said coins mostly. So, he tossed two quarters over to her and said, "see if you can find these."
So, she got to keep the quarters and the rest went into our collection of treasure. Who knows what we will find next.
The author of this blog, Corinne Johnson, is a Christian homeschooling mom to six, help meet to her husband Don and the author of Vacation Education Books.
www.vacationeducationbooks.net
I've been wanting one for a long time, but didn't want to spend for one.
It just arrived from UPS yesterday, so the kids and I had to try it out.
In our own yard we found a dime and two pennies!
Then, we learned a lesson about metal detecting. It is not a perfect science. Our two year old dumped out the bucket that we were putting our treasure in, and then we were not able to find the coins again (even with the metal detector!)
Also, this is not an activity for white pants! So, next time I will wear grubby clothes and no matter how dirty it is, I'll put it in my pocket.
After dinner we went to our local park and searched some more
We found five foil gum wrappers (not treasure), one bottle cap, a zipper tab, and a little metal brush (it looks like a blush brush, but is all metal and is stamped 1819). We don't know what it is yet, but Dad thinks it might be a car part?
Caitlin also found two quarters, but I don't think these count because a man approached us as we were detecting. I had the machine and Caitlin was on the ground digging. He asked what we were looking for, and we said coins mostly. So, he tossed two quarters over to her and said, "see if you can find these."
So, she got to keep the quarters and the rest went into our collection of treasure. Who knows what we will find next.
The author of this blog, Corinne Johnson, is a Christian homeschooling mom to six, help meet to her husband Don and the author of Vacation Education Books.
www.vacationeducationbooks.net
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Just sound advice
This is a quote that I have kept around my house as a reminder to me whenever I am tempted to buy something. Perhaps it will help you too.
"The cares of gain are threefold;
the struggle of getting,
the frenzy of increasing,
the horror of losing."
author unknown
The author of this blog, Corinne Johnson, is a Christian homeschooling mom to six, help meet to her husband, and author of Vacation Education Books; travel guides for families who love to learn; unit studies for families who love to travel.
www.vacationeducationbooks.net
"The cares of gain are threefold;
the struggle of getting,
the frenzy of increasing,
the horror of losing."
author unknown
The author of this blog, Corinne Johnson, is a Christian homeschooling mom to six, help meet to her husband, and author of Vacation Education Books; travel guides for families who love to learn; unit studies for families who love to travel.
www.vacationeducationbooks.net
Monday, March 23, 2009
Save on Ink, printing costs, maybe even make money
Here's my money saving idea for today.
Staples stores offer a $3 reward for returning used ink cartridges for recycling. You can bring in any brand, up to 10 per month. (That's $30)
Staples is 20 minutes away, but we were near there for something else today, and so dropped off our cartridges. I didn't need anything so I have credit on my rewards account, which I will use the next time I am over there and need an item. Packaging tape is usually cheapest there when we buy it in large quantities.
They do this in hopes that you will put $3 towards a purchase of a $50 ink cartridge, but you can use it for whatever you want. I don't use it for anything that I wouldn't normally buy there.
Here's how we use it to our advantage. We have been able to get ink cartridges (new) on Ebay for around $3 to $4 each. We've also found them at resale shops for even less. Because we are constantly printing pages for a variety of reasons, we go through a lot of ink. We can now take up to 10 of these cartridges in for a $3 return, making our ink costs nearly free.
The author, Corinne Johnson is a Christian homeschooling mom to six, a help meet to her husband Don, and the author of Vacation Education Books. www.vacationeducationbooks.net
Staples stores offer a $3 reward for returning used ink cartridges for recycling. You can bring in any brand, up to 10 per month. (That's $30)
Staples is 20 minutes away, but we were near there for something else today, and so dropped off our cartridges. I didn't need anything so I have credit on my rewards account, which I will use the next time I am over there and need an item. Packaging tape is usually cheapest there when we buy it in large quantities.
They do this in hopes that you will put $3 towards a purchase of a $50 ink cartridge, but you can use it for whatever you want. I don't use it for anything that I wouldn't normally buy there.
Here's how we use it to our advantage. We have been able to get ink cartridges (new) on Ebay for around $3 to $4 each. We've also found them at resale shops for even less. Because we are constantly printing pages for a variety of reasons, we go through a lot of ink. We can now take up to 10 of these cartridges in for a $3 return, making our ink costs nearly free.
The author, Corinne Johnson is a Christian homeschooling mom to six, a help meet to her husband Don, and the author of Vacation Education Books. www.vacationeducationbooks.net
God is amazing. He always provides for us.
This past week alone, God has been showing us how he will provide if we just trust in Him.
When we ran out of bread and I thought I would have to go to the grocery store to get some; a lady from our church stopped by with seven loaves of bread that she just happened to find when cleaning out her freezer and thought we could use.
When the motorhome broke down on the highway and we had no money to pay for a repair (or even for a tow), God sent His children (loving Christian men) to help us out.
When I was just about to order shipping supplies for our Ebay items; God told me to invite someone to our church. I did, and when she came, she brought a bag of shipping supplies. She just had them laying around and was going to throw them out, but thought we might be able to use them. They were just what we needed.
Today, Don needed to work on his Haggadah, and so we offered to be out of the house, so he could concentrate. I needed a free activity to do. Yesterday, our pastor announced that a group was going to over to the local university to a Wildlife Center, it was free except for the lunch ($2.85 per person). We told the kids they could each buy their own lunch with their spending money and I would take them. The day would cost us $17.90, plus the cost of gas and parking, the wildlife center was free. We were able to get a free parking pass because we arrived early and someone had gotten extra, and after lunch, the lady at the cafeteria said that the kids were free. That's a God thing! The whole day cost us $2.85 (for my meal) plus the gas to make the twenty minute drive.
Oh, and I almost forgot! when we told how God sent men to help us with our motorhome in Sunday School, another good Christian man stepped up and mentioned that his garage had taken apart a few motorhomes and might have some spare parts for ours.
Hallelujah! Prais God from whom all blessings flow!
The author: Corinne Johnson, is a Christian homeschooling mom to six, help meet to her husband and author of Vacation Education Books. www.vacationeducationbooks.net
When we ran out of bread and I thought I would have to go to the grocery store to get some; a lady from our church stopped by with seven loaves of bread that she just happened to find when cleaning out her freezer and thought we could use.
When the motorhome broke down on the highway and we had no money to pay for a repair (or even for a tow), God sent His children (loving Christian men) to help us out.
When I was just about to order shipping supplies for our Ebay items; God told me to invite someone to our church. I did, and when she came, she brought a bag of shipping supplies. She just had them laying around and was going to throw them out, but thought we might be able to use them. They were just what we needed.
Today, Don needed to work on his Haggadah, and so we offered to be out of the house, so he could concentrate. I needed a free activity to do. Yesterday, our pastor announced that a group was going to over to the local university to a Wildlife Center, it was free except for the lunch ($2.85 per person). We told the kids they could each buy their own lunch with their spending money and I would take them. The day would cost us $17.90, plus the cost of gas and parking, the wildlife center was free. We were able to get a free parking pass because we arrived early and someone had gotten extra, and after lunch, the lady at the cafeteria said that the kids were free. That's a God thing! The whole day cost us $2.85 (for my meal) plus the gas to make the twenty minute drive.
Oh, and I almost forgot! when we told how God sent men to help us with our motorhome in Sunday School, another good Christian man stepped up and mentioned that his garage had taken apart a few motorhomes and might have some spare parts for ours.
Hallelujah! Prais God from whom all blessings flow!
The author: Corinne Johnson, is a Christian homeschooling mom to six, help meet to her husband and author of Vacation Education Books. www.vacationeducationbooks.net
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Saving Little Saving Big
We have been experimenting with little things that we can do around our home to save money. Our experiment to see how much money we can save by not flushing the toilet until necessary at a rate of eight tenths of a penny per gallon may seem like a waste of time and energy to some.
We are at this point, because all of the big savings changes have already been made, and we are trying to be creative and find new ways. I find that the BIG savers are quite obvious, however sometimes we can get caught up in our financial troubles and miss the BIG things.
If you need to make more money, not just cut expenses, then I would suggest planning a rummage sale, listing some items on Craigslist, or Ebay and exchanging your trinkets for cash that will pay for essentials like food and heat. I do realize that this is a market where a lot of people are trying to sell and it seems that there are not so many buyers.
But, my first tip for today is to start with sites like Ebay and Amazon: search for the items that you have and are willing to part with. Use the completed listing feature on Ebay and find out who is buying and what they are paying for items like yours. Once you've done a little research, choose the items that are likely to produce the biggest return, and get them up for sale. No one can buy it if you don't list it.
Our experience has been that people are still buying, they are just looking for better deals. Good luck
The author: Corinne Johnson is a Christian homeschooling mother of six, help meet to her husband, and author of Vacation Education Books. They have been without a regular income for 18 months and continue to share their lives with others to encourage families when a job is lost it doesn't mean that all is lost.
We are at this point, because all of the big savings changes have already been made, and we are trying to be creative and find new ways. I find that the BIG savers are quite obvious, however sometimes we can get caught up in our financial troubles and miss the BIG things.
If you need to make more money, not just cut expenses, then I would suggest planning a rummage sale, listing some items on Craigslist, or Ebay and exchanging your trinkets for cash that will pay for essentials like food and heat. I do realize that this is a market where a lot of people are trying to sell and it seems that there are not so many buyers.
But, my first tip for today is to start with sites like Ebay and Amazon: search for the items that you have and are willing to part with. Use the completed listing feature on Ebay and find out who is buying and what they are paying for items like yours. Once you've done a little research, choose the items that are likely to produce the biggest return, and get them up for sale. No one can buy it if you don't list it.
Our experience has been that people are still buying, they are just looking for better deals. Good luck
The author: Corinne Johnson is a Christian homeschooling mother of six, help meet to her husband, and author of Vacation Education Books. They have been without a regular income for 18 months and continue to share their lives with others to encourage families when a job is lost it doesn't mean that all is lost.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
The Incredible 7 person shower
I have found that I am capable of staying in the shower until the hot water runs out; so are my daughters. This is a huge waste of resources.
So, I invented the incredible 7 person shower. To put this to use in your house, you may need to make a small purchase (less than $5) and you may need to address modesty issues if there are any.
Here's how it works:
Two girls get in the shower, turn on the water, and take turns washing and rinsing (one stands under the water, gets wet, moves out to lather; 2nd girl moves in, gets wet, switch, first girl rinses while second girl lathers)
Mom waits outside the shower, but in the bathroom, getting undressed while girls are in the shower.
First girl finishes rinsing and gets out of shower, second girl rinses, mom gets in, second girl gets out. Girls leave and send dad in.
Dad gets undressed while mom is in shower.
Note: when only one person is in the shower; use the "navy shower" to stop water flow during lather stage. This is where you might need to make a purchase. A 'navy shower' is a showerhead (about $2 at Walmart) that has a lever on it to stop the flow of water without turning it off or changing the temperature; well worth it's cost.
Mom gets out, dad gets in. Mom leaves bathroom and sends in boys. Dad gets out, boys get in...
you get the idea.
We have put this into effect (not everyday, sometimes we skip showering altogether, but that's for another article), and can rotate all seven of us (baby still gets his own bath) in and out of the shower before the water runs out.
Everyone gets clean, girls even have time to wash their long hair.
The trick to quick is start at the top and wash down, then back to the top and rinse down. It can be done much quicker than people think.
Imagine how fast you would clean yourself if you only had cold water to work with. That's how fast you can be out of a hot shower too!
This blog is written to encourage cheapskates. The author, Corinne Johnson, is a Christian homeschooling mother of six, help meet to her husband Don, and author of Vacation Education Books; travel guides for families who love to learn, unit studies for families who love to travel. www.vacationeducationbooks.net
So, I invented the incredible 7 person shower. To put this to use in your house, you may need to make a small purchase (less than $5) and you may need to address modesty issues if there are any.
Here's how it works:
Two girls get in the shower, turn on the water, and take turns washing and rinsing (one stands under the water, gets wet, moves out to lather; 2nd girl moves in, gets wet, switch, first girl rinses while second girl lathers)
Mom waits outside the shower, but in the bathroom, getting undressed while girls are in the shower.
First girl finishes rinsing and gets out of shower, second girl rinses, mom gets in, second girl gets out. Girls leave and send dad in.
Dad gets undressed while mom is in shower.
Note: when only one person is in the shower; use the "navy shower" to stop water flow during lather stage. This is where you might need to make a purchase. A 'navy shower' is a showerhead (about $2 at Walmart) that has a lever on it to stop the flow of water without turning it off or changing the temperature; well worth it's cost.
Mom gets out, dad gets in. Mom leaves bathroom and sends in boys. Dad gets out, boys get in...
you get the idea.
We have put this into effect (not everyday, sometimes we skip showering altogether, but that's for another article), and can rotate all seven of us (baby still gets his own bath) in and out of the shower before the water runs out.
Everyone gets clean, girls even have time to wash their long hair.
The trick to quick is start at the top and wash down, then back to the top and rinse down. It can be done much quicker than people think.
Imagine how fast you would clean yourself if you only had cold water to work with. That's how fast you can be out of a hot shower too!
This blog is written to encourage cheapskates. The author, Corinne Johnson, is a Christian homeschooling mother of six, help meet to her husband Don, and author of Vacation Education Books; travel guides for families who love to learn, unit studies for families who love to travel. www.vacationeducationbooks.net
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