I commented on a post in The Redhead Riter forum on Blog Frog. And then was alerted - thank you, Carol - that the comments weren't working anymore.

As you can imagine, I went insane trying to get things fixed. Unfortunately, I didn't have any idea why Disqus stopped working or what to do to fix it. So, I went social and to the source, more or less. That's when I got educated.

At the same time, or possibly because of my posts, a wonderful person (MHazell) showed up in comments on my second, never-used blog. He was offering a Disqus tip and, being a little over the edge, I unloaded on him. He cheerfully offered to help.

At the same time, Ryan at Disqus was digging into the problem from his end. Between the two of them, we got it fixed - mainly because Ryan pointed out that I had JavaScript on my pages that was breaking the Disqus code.

Given the fact that I hadn't added much new to the basic pages, it wasn't too difficult to diagnose the problem.

But, that wasn't my education.

What I learned is that some companies/software really care about their users. And some of their users really care about each other. And, what started the whole thing, some people make sure that, when they see a problem, they let someone know.

So, thank you Carol, and MHazell, and Ryan.

The Hole

Those of you who've followed this blog know that Mark is disabled and we're on a fixed income. A very, very fixed income. That means some seriously tight budgeting and no raises, except through the benevolence of the powers that be in DC. For a couple of years now, they haven't felt very benevolent.

If the income limits weren't frustrating enough, we've also been paying large amounts of child support to a deceased ex-wife for a child who turned 18 about six years ago and for 2 kids who lived with us for three years. While supporting children you helped create is important, it's pretty safe to say that no custodial mothers are seeing any of this money. Add in that the deductions amount to a noticeable percentage of your monthly income and it becomes frustrating, to say the least.

The Shovel

Now, starting in 2012, some of those burdens may be easing. We may be able to shovel some of the dirt back into the hole.

For the first time in what seems like an eternity, the Social Security Administration has announced a COLA for next year. For those getting SSI or SSD and paying Medicare premiums, it will (probably) be a wash - as the powers-that-be are upping Medicare premiums for 2012. For us, we get to keep the entire 3.6%! Woo! and Hoo!

At the same time as this modest (but wonderfully welcomed) increase in income, we are looking at (possibly) doing away with the child support on young men who are now 25, 22, and 21. I say possibly, because Arizona is what is called an interest state. This means that they can charge interest against child support payments. And, trust me, they do.

When it's all said and done, we will have paid nearly 100% interest on one of the accounts! We don't (yet) know if they are going to start assessing interest against the other one, when it's paid off next month. Cross your fingers - and eyes and toes - that we get a break on this one.

The Light

What these happy little changes mean for us is what I like to call: the-non-train-light-at-the-end-of-the-tunnel.

We have been without a vehicle for about 4 years. Luckily, we live spitting distance from a major intersection where buses arrive and depart - in all four directions - on a fairly regular basis. And two businesses on 'our corner' sell reduced-rate bus passes. Anywhere too far to walk is a reasonably easy bus ride away. With two major caveats: 1.) Mark is at risk for skin cancer and heatstroke (because of his transplant meds) and can't be outside for long periods waiting for a delayed bus; 2.) One simply cannot haul a month's supply of groceries home on the bus.

With the additional income and reduced expenses, we can finally start saving for a new-to-us car or truck. This benefit simply cannot be overstated. As a transplant-recipient, lung cancer survivor, insulin-dependent diabetic with reduced kidney function who is predisposed to skin cancer and diabetic complications - Mark really needs to see his doctors on a regular basis.

Unfortunately, buses are out of the question - we tried it, it was simply too difficult for him. And the round-trip cab fare to the hospital is simply impossible, as often as he would need to be there. See, this doctor only sees patients one day a week; that doctor prefers a different day, and the Vision Clinic ... well, they have their own special days and times. It, basically, boils down to seeing doctors every month -- or eating.

And, speaking of eating, that's no cheap trip either. It costs us almost 10% of our monthly grocery budget just to get to the store and home again. This means we must get everything we need (that the freezer will hold) for the month in one trip. There are no oops-I-forgot-the-??? runs in our lifestyle. Just can't be done.

So, as you can see, putting a vehicle back in our parking space would be one of the absolutely best things we could ever do for ourselves. Not to mention, with the money we save on cabs, we might be able to go out to dinner, once in a while. Or shop the grocery sales, as they happen. Or visit our sons. Or take a mini-vacation.

End of the World

There's a song, by REM, with a chorus that states: "It's the end of the world, as we know it." It appears, from where I'm sitting, that 2012 may well be the end of the world, as Mark and I have known it for several years now.

Change - good or bad - is never comfortable. But it would certainly be nice to catch a break. Ya know?

We've decided that we desperately need to replace some of our kitchen stuff. The spatulas we own are old and/or nylon. Neither is a good thing. The old one is falling apart and the nylon ones just don't get the job done - especially now that we're transitioning to cast-iron cookware.

Another problem? I've been making homemade biscuits and pie crusts, but I don't actually own a rolling pin or dough blender. Sure, I've gotten some very creative work-arounds going. Owning the actual, designed-for-this-purpose tools would be a serious time-saving improvement.

Then, we have the ultimate (for us) kitchen dream: a Mandoline. We have a deep fryer and love to make our own fries, chips, chimichangas, etc. But, cutting fries takes forever and cutting chips is just too labor-intensive with a knife and cutting board. Something that juliennes veggies for a salad, crinkle-cuts fries or chips, slices potatoes (evenly) for potatoes au gratin would just simply make our lives a thousand-percent easier.

So ... we're window-shopping and creating wish lists. If we only pick up an item or two every paycheck, we'll still be simplifying our cooking routines and, in the long run, cutting our food bills dramatically by making our own goodies.

I probably wouldn't consider this, if it weren't for OXO - their products are well-made, reliable, and durable. I can plan out my utensil / kitchen tool remodel with ease, knowing they'll still be around when I get to the end of the list.

And knowing that I won't be replacing the first OXO item before I've managed to buy the last one.

It is interesting how well the software understands most of what I say. I do see, however, that I'd tend to speak very rapidly and tend to slide over certain syllables.

And, apparently, there are certain letters that I simply do not pronounce well. I was taking the tutorial for this software and at the end of each section, I had to say "next". By the time I finished the first few screens, Mark was ready to kill me. (In fact, I had to manually type "next" just now.)

Frankly, I don't know how well I'm going to do with this, since speaking clearly enough is much more difficult than I expected. It also, for some reason, makes me feel very self-conscious. Perhaps, if I didn't have to speak quite so slowly, I wouldn't feel like the village idiot.

Oddly enough, in the midst of this learning curve, I have found an interesting side benefit: I spend much less time worrying about formatting each post. Despite making myself crazy, I actually seem to be getting more done. It just feels as though I've run a marathon by the time I reach the end of each sentence.

There is always the chance that it isn't all me. It may be that the microphone I am using, although designed for voice recognition, isn't quite up to the challenge. If memory serves, it has been treated rather unkindly since I bought it several years ago.

So, with all of that working against me, I am begging you, please! - cross your fingers, your toes, and your eyes for me. I am obviously going to need all of the help I can get.

Oh, while I'm asking for favors, could you toss in a prayer or two for my life? Because, if I don't get very good at this - very soon - Mark is going to kill me!

Truth be told, there are keyboards that I can buy that will plug into this laptop. And given the fact that we now have two laptops with problems, it will probably be in our best interest to own a keyboard that works from a USB port.

Let's play a little, shall we? Would you like to play a game?

I will simply talk for a moment or two or three or 10 or 15, because I loved to talk, and we'll see just how software recognizes my speech patterns. I want to correct what he gets wrong I won't even look at what its typing for now.

Now, I will say the same things that I said before. But this time, I will go through and correct the mistakes.

I will simply talk for a moment or two or three or 10 or 15, because I love to talk, and we'll see just how well the software recognizes my speech patterns. I won't correct what it gets wrong, I won't even look at what it's typing, for now.

It could be a tremendous amount of fun, or this could be what finally sends me to the rubber room.

Luckily, I won't be going alone. I am taking Mark with me.

Timeouts

For the week ending 06/18 (or 06/19, the reports differ), one service indicates no timeouts; the other shows 19, for 06/13 alone. In a way, that's rather easy to explain: If service #2 accesses my site more frequently than service #1, the odds that #2 will hit at a time when the connection times out - before the front page loads - are increased.

Uptime

All 3 reports show 0:00 time on error and/or 100% uptime. Which probably means that they could both reach the domain name servers or host, every time they tried. It's just that, for service #2, on several of those times (36 over the week) my site failed to load in a reasonable amount of time.

Connect Time

This is where it gets interesting. Service #2 doesn't provide daily connect times, only a weekly average. Service #1, however, sends me two separate reports - about an hour and a half apart - that do not have the same information.

Last Tuesday, the first report (sent to an email @jmarkafghans.com) showed:

The second report, 1 hour 33 minutes later, (sent to an email @yahoo.com) showed:

Interesting. Isn't it?

By the afternoon, we had slowed to a crawl that would have left us in the tortoises's dust - had we been foolish enough to actually try to race the little critter. I started, heaven knows how many, projects only to be thwarted by a connection that wouldn't. Kept getting DNS errors - for sites like Google.

Naturally, every bit of work I do (dishes and laundry don't count) relies on a connection to the WWW. The frustration is huge; tempers are flaring.

And there is nothing that can be done until Monday.

What did we do in the old days - the days before Internet access on everything from a computer to a cell phone to a wrist watch? How did we get by; get information; function?

How did we survive ?!

If they'd had these great replica sunglasses in those days, I'd have saved a fortune - and could have gotten a couple pair for my little shade-killer, while I was at it.

The purple ones grabbed my attention immediately - it's a personal addiction: anything purple. But the gold ones are absolutely gorgeous, even though I don't think they would offer much sun protection.

Then again - who cares? They're gorgeous.

And, being a frugal sort, would really rather not have to buy one.

Frankly, I don't need another device. The laptop works just fine for most everything I do. (If it would just mop floors and clean toilets, I'd be in heaven.) So, it seems that getting software for the PC makes the most sense. Especially if I can find a free, reliable download.

Does anyone know anything about the free software, like Microsoft Reader or Mobipocket Reader that's out there? Do you use an eReader and, if so, which one? More importantly, what have you tried that didn't work?

Feel free to fill up the comments with your knowledge, wisdom, advice, and recommendations. I can use all the help I can get.

In order to make life a little easier, I took all of the information on the right side of this blog and threw it into a separate file. I then linked that file into all of my blog's page templates. Now, to update the templates, all I have to do is update one file - yay and hooray.

Or ... not.

Prior to that change, my PR on Alexa was steadily and happily improving. After? Let's just say the death spiral was impressive, unexpected, and supremely depressing.

This is where I point out that I am no SEO expert. I don't know how or why PR does a regular roller coaster imitation. Heck, I could even be wrong about the impact of the JavaScript changes.

To be on the safe side, I did put everything back where it was. But, if there's an SEO genius out there - who happens to be reading this - with a better idea? Please share heavily. Cuz the headache is just getting worse.

For now, I'm going to make some minor adjustments to the website templates, recompile my sitemap, and make an offering at the altar of the PR gods.

I Absolutely Will / Won't ...

If you recall, just last week I swore that I wasn't going to miss SOC Sunday in April. Logic would tell you that an oath like that is just tempting Fate. And Logic would be right.

Again - Karma slapped me down and did it with amazing speed. (See: I Never Get Sick )

It Can't Get Any Worse / It's Gotta Get Better

Wrong! grasshopper. It can get worse and it doesn't have to get better. Especially if you've uttered or thought those words in direct relation to something your kid(s) have just done.

Then, it'll get a lot worse.

Wow! Computer's Really Humming Along

This is the killer of all Killer Karmic Phrases.

At the very least, the computer will now freeze up - like a small pond in Alaska in January. It will not save your files. It will not respond to any other words, deeds, keystrokes, or frantic prayers.

Put a fork in it. It's done.

I'd love to offer words of hope and wisdom. But I haven't been this sick in a long time, have missed all of my recent deadlines, have developed a migraine to go with the stomach bug, and I think my laptop picked up a virus.

I'm hip-deep and sinking fast.

There are a lot of pros and cons floating through the Webverse related to this potential merger. As a consumer, I can't say that I'm finding too many pros. Let me amend that - as an urban  consumer, there aren't many positives for me in this melding of companies.

So, I'll start with:

The Negatives

Increased Cost

Any time corporate mergers thin the options for consumers, there is little incentive for providers to be financially competitive. When you're the only game in town, people either pay what you charge or do without your products and services. Great for companies- and shareholders; crappy for consumers.

Currently, T-Mobile has the best rates (that we've been able to find) in the industry. Periodically, we check; just to make sure that we're not getting hosed. We're not. (I doubt that that will be true if the merger goes through.)

Decreased Innovation

Again, if you're the only game in town, why waste potential profits by creating/acquiring the latest and greatest products for your industry? It's simpler, and cheaper, to just barely stay ahead of the competition. And, if you're AT&T, you probably have a lock on most of the infrastructure. (Although, to be honest, my experience comes from the days of divestiture and landline service.)

Again, T-Mobile phones are some of the best out there - with the exception of those phones that are not made available to them.

Customer Service

If customers have nowhere else to go, do CSRs really have to be nice? Probably not. Will they, anyway? Probably not.

One of the reasons that we have stayed - for 7 years - with T-Mobile is customer service. When Deutsche Telekom came in, things got a little iffy; but it's still possible to find someone who knows what they're doing and - critically - cares about doing it. I have serious doubts that this will continue under the AT&T umbrella.

The Positives

Shareholders will make bundles; AT&T will make bundles; Deutsche Telekom will make bundles. (It's all goood.)

It is possible that T-Mobile USA and AT&T Merger Means Faster and More Widespread Broadband - or not. And I quote "AT&T is committing to build out to nearly every part of the U.S. within six years." I am so ... impressed ... by the organizations that are jumping on this bandwagon.

But, you know? I could be wrong. Still angry; but wrong.

We'll see what happens - if the merger goes through - and my service ... changes.

1. http://kids.niehs.nih.gov/lyrics/tin.htm

Seven years earlier, undoubtedly in an attempt to drum up support for the *&()$@! that was Vietnam, Hollywood made a movie. How much John Wayne had to do with the success of the movie is anyone's guess. Me? I'm betting a lot of it lay at his feet.

It was an odd mix of propaganda for America and the reality of life for the Vietnamese - if memory serves. (Tried to find and watch it; no luck, yet.)

What haunts me, to this day, are the emotions that this film evokes in me. Including one of the most moving ballads of the era:

Ballad of The Green Berets ^[1]

I will let the petition, and an esteemed senator from Arizona, speak for themselves.

In brief:

Dear [Decision Maker],

I am horrified and disappointed in the recent GOP attempts to restrict access to abortion by redefining the definitions of rape and incest. I urge you to protect the definitions and the women who suffer from these horrible acts and vote NO on the "No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act."

And in ignorance:

Thank you for contacting me regarding the use of federal funds to finance abortions. I appreciate hearing your concerns on this important issue...

... Over the past several months, it has become increasingly evident that the healthcare reform legislation included the most expansive, pro-abortion agenda ever put forward in law. For this reason, I recently cosponsored S. 3723, the Excluding Abortion Coverage from Health Care Reform Act of 2010, which will clearly and effectively guarantee that taxpayer dollars cannot be used to fund elective abortions.

In response, to the response, I plan to express my opinion - again:

I recently signed a petition on Care2, which you received.

The petition expressed my disgust with the Republican party and their attempts to redefine rape and incest, in order to further restrict women's reproductive rights.

I am contacting you to express additional disgust with the response that I received from your office: I did not, do not, and will not support any political agenda that attempts to legislate what I can and cannot do with my body.

Frankly, I am appalled at your (and your party's) attempts to turn back the clock to the dark ages when a woman's life had less value than the land and livestock her husband (also) owned.

I will soon be taking up a collection - for bail money. Feel free to give heavily. {grins - for now}

And boring.

So, with a ruthlessness borne of a migraine (what was I thinking with all of that clutter?), I decided it was time to make everything much more simple. And, hopefully, a bit more interesting.

I fell in love with the flowers and really like the softer font for the blog title and the menu tabs. What do you think? Easier on the eye? more attractive than that mish-mash of colors?

Sadly, after driving myself crazy to find the twitter/facebook widget on the left, I'm not certain that I like it after all. The buttons are too big and it seems to really clutter up the look of the pages. Maybe something smaller, up on the right by the search bar?

Any opinions? Good or bad. Feel free to share heavily. I'm at the point where nothing looks right.

Guess it's time to take a break, have a smoke, and find something mindless to do.

Unfortunately, this time around, we aren't the subscribers.

There is simply no way for us to contact the service provider - to complain, to urge repairs, to hurl epithets and incredibly colorful phrases. We have to call the complex and beg for help. Some days it works. Some days it's like spitting in the wind: accomplishes nothing, but adds a whole 'nother layer of bad to your attitude.

So far, in the last week, we've had more downs than ups. But today took it to a whole new level. Every half hour, at ten before and twenty after, the wireless disappeared. Completely dropped off the list of connections.

So, if this is any indication, I'm really going to hate this month.

Impulse or emotional spending is one of the biggest hits to our budgets and credit cards. And, when it's all said and done, we rarely feel better because we're now cash-poorer or deeper in debt. In fact, shopping-as-therapy is almost guaranteed to make us feel worse.

That's why I gave it up, years ago. I had closets and drawers full of stuff I never (or rarely) used and my credit cards were groaning under the weight of all those charges. Believe me, the impulse is still there (watches, shoes, and handbags call to me); I've just learned to turn a deaf ear and blind eye.

The latest The Simple Dollar column, "The Lifestyle You Want," looks at some basic emotional and financial truths. Starting with "If you're unhappy with your life, buying stuff won't change that." Truthfully, how much do we really need - not want, not desire - but need to be happy?

My Gotta-Have List

• A roof over my head that doesn't leak ~ I am not likely to enjoy living in my vehicle or taking up permanent residence in a tent in the wilderness.
• Running water and a working toilet ~ For pretty much the same reasons as above, these are things I just gotta have. No negotiating.
• Electricity and/or Gas ~ Being averse to living in a tent or vehicle, I am also averse to having no lights or heat (or cool). I know it's odd, but that's just the way I am.
• Food, on a fairly regular basis ~ It doesn't have to be gourmet; it just needs to land (by my own hand or Mark's) on a plate near my face every day, or so.
• Clothes ~ Again, like the food, it doesn't have to be fancy. Heaven knows, I don't go anywhere fancy. But I do like to cover up the ugly parts, even if I'm just sitting around playing computer games.
• Select Electronics ~ Okay, I'm not as basic as I'd like to think. I need a TV and a computer and a basic cell phone - I just do. Right or wrong.
• Books ~ I would probably be willing to swap the TV for an unlimited supply of reading material. In fact, I'm pretty sure that would be more than a fair trade.

Off the top of my head, I can't honestly think of anything else that's a deal-breaker. A working vehicle would be really great. However, since ours died a couple of years ago, I know that it's possible to get around without one. It's not convenient or always easy, but it can be done.

Your Gotta-Have List

What about you? What would be on your list of gotta-haves? Better yet - what can you, absolutely, give up or do without?

Sharing

As for the sharing widget, locked on the lower left side, that took a little more digging. Apparently, if you don't use the proper term in the search engines, you don't get anything even approaching what you want. I was just about to give up, when I found this little goodie. The boxes are larger than I wanted, but (so far) I haven't quite figured out how to shrink them down. Any suggestions / advice would be most welcome.

'To the Top' Button

I think, however, that my favorite addition is one of the simplest.

Under the share widget is a smallish up-arrow. Clicking on the arrow will take you to the top of any page. Since I have been known to get just a little long-winded, it makes me happy that my readers are no longer stuck manually working their way to the beginning of my long pages and posts.

Opinions?

I'd love to know what you think - good or bad. Did you use the toolbar? Do you know how to shrink the widget share boxes?

My resolutions were, in hindsight, backwards.

Priorities

Organization

The last item on my list for 2009 was getting organized; scheduling my time. It should have been at the top of the list. Without a workable schedule, nothing else was going to happen.

Virtually every other resolution flowed from creating a schedule; setting up a way for these goals to become a habit. This, to my mind, is the only way that making resolutions will ever work - if they become second-nature, an automatic part of daily life. So, setting up a routine should have been my first priority.

Reasonable Goals

• Sure, quitting smoking - at the top of my previous list - is a great, healthy goal. But without a foundation of alternate choices and activities, it (obviously) isn't going to happen. I can 'resolve' and 'decide' to quit all I want; it won't (and can't) happen.
  
  Not to mention it's really, when you think about it, just a little vague.
  
  More to the point would be a specific plan for tapering off. Ten cigarettes a day for two months would be reduced by 2 for the next two months. After ten months, it would be down to zero per day for the last two months of the year - and the rest of my life.
  
  A workable plan.
• Hand-in-glove with quitting smoking was getting more exercise, according to those 2009 goals. Great idea. Also seriously vague.
  
  But, what if I were to decide to get up, put on the coffee, and spend that time stretching and doing simple push-offs (a modified push-up, done upright off a wall or counter)? Several benefits come to mind: 1) I'm not killing time with a cigarette, and 2) I'm developing an exercise habit - every morning.
  
  It's a small addition, doesn't take a lot of time or equipment, and I'm bringing something positive to the start of my day.
• Another 2009 resolution was to do more baking. Another healthy, great idea that needs to be scheduled in to each week.
  
  With a kitchen the size of a postage stamp, cooking and baking are ... challenging. There is simply no way that trying to do a little something every day would work. But, designating a baking day -- now that's within the realm of possibility. One day, with no other goal than filling the bread box, cookie jar, and freezer.
  
  Even making and freezing bread dough or cookie dough is an option. It's the 'making' - as in dough and a huge mess in a tiny kitchen - that would be overwhelming for me on a daily basis. Not the baking.
  
  Putting on the coffee, pulling out dough to defrost, and getting in some exercise every morning is doable.

As you can see, resolutions aren't a bad idea. Poorly thought out and difficult to incorporate resolutions are.

If you have an urge to make positive changes for 2011, that's great. Just take an extra minute or two to really think about how you're going to add (or subtract) those goals from your daily life. Resolve to have a workable plan - the simpler, the better; not just for today, but for the rest of your life.

Chocolate Crinkles

Ingredients

• 3 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• sifted confectioners' sugar

Preparation

In a large mixing bowl, using an electric mixer, beat eggs, sugar, chocolate, oil, baking powder, and vanilla until blended. Beat in as much of the flour with the mixer as possible, then stir in the remaining flour. Cover and chill the cookie dough for 2 hours.

Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Roll in sifted confectioners' sugar, coating well. Place balls of cookie dough about 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets and bake in a 375° oven for 8 to 10 minutes, until crackled in appearence. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool. (Mom never added this step: Sprinkle with more confectioners' sugar if desired.)

Makes about 48 cookies.

I know it seems silly, but bear with me. These shoes are made of breathable materials that support the feet. They're lightweight and comfortable, with a non-skid sole that would work just fine outside.

The other thing I like? They aren't big, fat athletic shoes. I have long narrow feet that look huge in the average casual shoe. It's just not attractive.

Frankly, there are a lot more styles than I expected. And the prices seem to be pretty reasonable. The more I think about it, the more I like the idea.

Bird Options

Our current thinking is: Fowl, of some species, would be great; preferably more exotic than chicken. Oh, did I mention that (in addition to turkey) Mark will not, under any circumstances, consider Cornish hens. Or (given the local pigeon infestation) Squab. I can live with that last one.

For years, we have threatened to try making a duck or goose. Now that it's just the two of us again, this may be the year to expand our culinary horizons. But ... which bird? (Hence, the earlier cry for Help!)

Duck

As the smaller cousin, this may be a good choice for two people. Especially two people who have a tendency to make enough 'go-withs' to feed the 12th army. Neither of us are good at cooking small amounts -- of anything.

On the negative side, duck is loaded with fat. Fat that must be dealt with in order to have an edible meal. The prep time for a duck meal may be prohibitive for us newbies.

Anyone have experience; a good recipe; advice?

Goose

A larger bird, this may be more meat than the two of us need.

Again, we're looking at culinary horizons and a -- really, really -- fatty bird. Neither of us, it occurs to me, may have the skills to deal with properly preparing a goose.

That and - oh, wow - my favorite scene from "A Christmas Story" - roasted goose, complete with head -- may keep me from ever eating goose again.

Have I mentioned we need a lot of help?

Thumbprint Cookies Recipe

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup of butter (2 sticks or 8 ounces), room temperature
• 1/2 cup of sugar
• 2 eggs, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• Pinch of salt
• 2 cups of flour
• 1 cup of chopped nuts (optional)
• 3/4 cup of your favorite jam
• Parchment paper

METHOD

1. Cream the butter and sugar on high speed for about 3 minutes.
2. Separate the eggs. Add the yolks and vanilla extract to the butter mixture. If using nuts place the egg whites in a shallow dish on the side and whisk them until bubbly and frothy (the egg whites will be used to keep the nuts on the cookies).
3. Add the flour and salt. Mix until just combined. Place the dough in the fridge for 30 minutes and preheat the oven to 350F.
4. Roll the dough into balls about 1 inch in diameter. If using nuts, dip the balls into the egg whites then roll them into the nuts until covered. Place the balls on parchment lined cookie sheets.
5. Press down with your thumb to make a small well in the center of the cookie. Do not press too hard or the cookie will fall apart. Fill with 1/2 teaspoon of jam.
6. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until slightly firm. Allow to cool for a few minutes on the cookie sheet to firm up before moving them to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Makes 2 dozen cookies.

After addressing meat, produce, dairy, and bakery items, we are left with the middle of the store. In so many ways, this is the risky part of the shopping trip. The items you'll find here tend to be the snacks, sodas, and pre-packaged processed stuff with a longer shelf-life than Styrofoam.

Frozen

Vegetables

Frozen vegetables are less processed than canned, meaning more nutrients and fewer preservatives. Like anything else, however, you need to read the labels carefully. We found several packages with added sugar and/or sodium.

Store brands are almost always the best deal. At our regular store, the 12 oz packages are almost always on sale for $0.88. We get two meals out of each package, putting the cost at about $0.22/serving.

Fries and Pizza

Non-name brand french fries are frequently half the cost of the big names, and potatoes are potatoes. The frozen pizza that costs $4.99 across the street is frequently $1.50-$2.00 cheaper at the grocery store. (If not, we don't get one.)

Ice Cream

Our store has a 'premium' ice cream that is about a third the cost and usually has better ingredients. Back before diabetes came to live with us, we bought the giant buckets of ice cream - about $4.00 for 3 gallons. And every bit as good as any other option.

Frankly, we don't buy much else in this section. But, what we do buy, we buy on sale.

Canned and Boxed

Side Dishes

These are convenience foods - open a box, add milk and fat, and poof! a side dish. Throw in a little protein and it's a complete meal. Store brands are affordable, but all of them are full of preservatives and sodium.

With a little time and effort, I promise - you can make your own equivalent for less. And you'll be cutting down on the sodium and chemicals in your diet. Leave these on the shelf.

Vegetables

We just don't buy canned veggies. They are heavily processed, have far less nutritional value, and just don't taste as good as the frozen version. Except for tomatoes and tomato products.

Instead of canned sauces and chili, we tend to buy the ingredients and make our own. It's more cost effective and we know what we're eating. Trust me, canned tomatoes or tomato paste aren't much different from brand to no-brand (with the exception of the really inexpensive generic, white labels). Don't pay more for the pretty label or big name.

Coffee and Tea

If you are into caffeine - as we are - this may be one area where compromise simply isn't possible. Cheaper no-name coffee and tea are rarely the same quality as name brands. They cost less because there is more filler (coffee) or poorer quality leaves (tea).

Our answer? Stock up when our favorites are on sale.

Paper, Plastic, and Cleaning Supplies

Paper

In a nutshell, we buy 4-packs of Kroger-brand toilet paper. It's similar to Scott-brand, but about 1/3 the price. And it lasts forever, compared to the cushy soft kinds. Generic paper napkins are usually good for daily use.

Plastic

The same with storage and trash bags. Most of the store brands are fine. Just don't necessarily buy the cheapest, and check the mils (thickness) on the trash bags.

Cleaning Supplies

For liquid dish soap (we don't have a dishwasher), this is a case where the store versions tend to not work as well. They seem to be watered down, so you end up using much more and erase any possible savings. It's easy to get a mid-range option - such as Ajax - on sale and stock up.

With laundry products, less is more. "Everyday Cheapskate" has a great recipe for laundry detergent that saves a fortune. And, instead of fabric softener, one-half to one cup of vinegar in the final rinse helps soften without perfumes. Hard water? Add one-half cup non-iodized salt to the wash water and get rid of the dinginess.

For other cleaning situations, I suggest "Pioneer Thinking" Cleaning Solutions section and - again - "Everyday Cheapskate" columns. There are recipes and tips, enabling anyone to avoid paying high prices by making their own supplies.

Bottom Line

No matter what you need, there is a cheaper way to get it. P&G eSaver Coupons are one of my favorites. They load right onto your store shopping card; no clipping or schlepping or forgetting. Most are good for about 90 days, so if you're waiting for a sale - the coupons will be there when you need them. And they come right to your email inbox.

Several columns and blogs are dedicated to helping you save time and money. One I just discovered is Deal Seeking Mom. If you weren't aware, a lot of people offer coupons on eBay. (Learned that one from DSM.)

Finally, don't buy what you won't use. A great deal isn't, if it's something that will just take up space and gather dust.

Groceries

With all due respect to the SSDCoLA fairy, things are more expensive this year. And - are you listening, fairy? - food is a valid part of the cost of living. As in, no food - no living.

Crankiness aside, there are ways to live within one's means and not starve. My first suggestion - don't hate me - is a small, separate freezer. (Unless you have a huge freezer section in your fridge; and I mean huge.) That way, as sales and cash flow permit, you can stock up on specials.

Meats

We don't - under any circumstances - pay full asking price for anything down the meat aisle. Some months we eat a lot of chicken; some months pork. Occasionally, we get a deal on beef.

Our store, a local Kroger affiliate, has a lovely section with 'Manager's Special' bargains. As you might expect, these are (undoubtedly) a day or so past the sell-by date. They are also perfectly edible and cost one-third, or less, of the original price.

The only caveat being they need to be cooked right away or immediately frozen. (They will not last long in the fridge. Period.) Would I still buy them if my budget were a little more ... flexible? Absolutely. Wasting money is wasting money, no matter how much is sitting in the bank.

A guideline for whether the price is 'acceptable'? The closer you can get to $1.00 per serving (not per pound), the better. If I can buy 4 boneless, lean, center-cut loin chops for about $4.00, I'm happy. (See 'Manager's Special'.) In today's economy, 4 of the same for $8.00 is probably still a good deal; but I don't have to like it.

Produce

This is a little trickier, but still doable.

First, buy in season. Yes, you can get melons in the dead of winter and apples in February. But they were shipped in from outside your area and will cost you dearly.

Second, use that freezer. Most everything (lettuce, watermelon, citrus, and cucumbers excluded) will freeze beautifully, if you do it right. Personally, I am of the opinion that if you can buy it frozen at the store - you can freeze it yourself. (But then I've made my own preserves, baked my own bread, and dabbled in dill pickles. I could be biassed.) Another caveat : frozen carrot or celery sticks will probably not be snackable when thawed.

Lastly, you would not believe how long those (aforementioned) celery and carrot sticks will last in the refrigerator - with proper care. We immediately wash our carrots and celery, then cut into three-inch pieces. Those pieces are then put into inexpensive zippered bags and - this is really important - sealed airtight. Squeeze - all - the - air - out. We've had them last, beautifully, for weeks and weeks.

Oh, and the carrots? Another option is cleaning, cutting, and putting them (covered with water) into a small plastic container with a tight-sealing lid. If the kids get into the carrot sticks a lot (good for you and them, by the way) this eliminates the worry over resealing the bag.

Dairy

Nothing in this category is (to my understanding) freezable. However:

Low-fat milk is often cheaper than whole milk. It also has fewer calories and is lower in sodium, without giving up calcium. Where we shop, milk is milk. (In my youth, I drank milk straight from the cow - my uncle loved to 'shoot' calcium at us! So, I'm not fond of low-fat. And, since I rarely drink milk, I'm not worried about the calories and sodium.)

Cottage cheese and sour cream are - as far as I've noticed - the same quality, regardless of the name on the label. Although I did notice yesterday that the low-fat had more carbs than the regular. (Guess which one we took home.)

Yogurt, from our experience, is often better in generic or store-brands. The added sugar in so many name-brands is positively ridiculous. Our store carries a 'CarbMaster' version that has only 3gms of sugar/carbs. And - most importantly - tastes great, lower price, still has real fruit.

Eggs - ooh, fun stuff. (First, how is something that has nothing to do with milk considered dairy? {sigh}) You really can't freeze 'em. So, if there's a great deal (I just got 2 18-packs for $3.00), how do you make sure you're not poisoning your family by the time you eat all of them? Easy. Rumor has it they are good in the fridge for 4-5 weeks. If there's any doubt, get a bowl of cold water and gently drop in an egg. The more it floats, the older it is. (If it's doing the backstroke across the bowl - capture on video for YouTube, then RUN!)

Cheese is my favorite dairy product. So many varieties, so little time. (Never pay full price, by the way.) Like our carrot and celery sticks, air is the mortal enemy. Once you see a spec of mold on the outside, it's already taken over. Cost-wise? It's all trial and error. Some store brands are just as good as name brands; some are - supremely - worse. (Our store-brands are comparable at less than half the price and much less salty.)

Bakery

We don't buy much in the bakery aisle. Mark just can't (as much as he wants them) have the carbs.

Nonetheless - Egads! I can buy a loaf of wheat bread at the corner store for $2.59, or I can buy a loaf of wheat bread at my grocery store for $0.88. The same with hot dog and hamburger buns. The carb and fiber numbers are pretty much the same. Often the sodium is lower in the generic/store brands. So, hmmm, let's see. One loaf for $2.59 or 3 loaves for (just a bit more than) the same price?

Ideally? I'll go back to baking my own bread, rolls, and (shhh, don't tell) doughnuts. It's cheaper and I know what I'm eating.

Everything Else

This is huge - literally the rest of the store - so, I think we should dedicate an entire post to the rest of the shopping trip. Agreed?

We rented costumes. I styled my wig; he wore a tricorne. My first (and only) adult Halloween party. It felt like Cinderella and the ball - a magical, not me, evening. More than thirty years later and I still just want to ... {sigh}.

Fast forward to the late 80s / early 90s. The company I worked for decided to celebrate Halloween with costumes, food, and general merriment. Never one to participate, I (nonetheless) let my hubby-to-be paint me up like a cat.

I slapped on some extremely long artificial nails and dug out my wig. Despite my reluctance, I actually had fun and even won the costume contest. The only problem with the whole day was ... you guessed it ... the nails.

After 2 hours of trying to two-finger-type my way through a month-end workload, I headed to the cubicle next to mine. With a heavy heart, I handed her the scissors and stretched out my paws. My voice broke as I cried:

"Declaw me!"

Fast forward: I am up, against my better judgement, and, since I am up, I want a cigarette. Clothes on, shoes tied, ready to go. Nope! Lock won't turn.

While suggesting I might want to mention this situation to the office, Mark has a go at the door. Nope! Won't budge. Pliers in hand, he now insists that I discuss this with the office. Hey, great idea - get me out! and I'll be happy to do just that.

After a few creative phrases and criminal abuse of a deadbolt, it was decided that we had a serious problem that needed immediate resolution. Gee!? Ya, think?! (Panic makes me a tad sarcastic.) My call to the office went something like this:

Me: "Hi, this is Jules. We have a problem with the lock on our door."

Manager: "Oh, are you locked out?

Me: "Uh, no. {dramatic pause} Locked in."

Well, suffice it to say - she found that rather amusing. So amusing, in fact, that I could hear her laughing across the atrium and through my securely bolted front door.

In her defense, she did come right up - tools in hand - to free us from our tiny apartment. Which, by the way, was getting smaller with every passing moment that I was stuck inside. It's a bit like not having a car; it doesn't matter if you have nowhere to go, the fact that you can't go anywhere will make you crazy. (I was starting to pace, energetically.)

By this point, Mark had taken the lock apart and was trying to force the mechanism. The lock was having none of that. There was no piece or part that would give an inch. So, with the manager on the outside and Mark on the inside, the standoff began.

Luckily, Mark has a collection of tools to rival any well-stocked hardware store. As time marched on and the lock continued to thwart any and all efforts, my job became handing larger and ever deadlier items out the front window. The housekeeper found this highly entertaining.

When the wire cutters passed through the window, I started eyeing the space between the side of the desk and the open window. Have I mentioned that when you can't do something normal, it becomes the only thing you really really really want to do?! I was losing faith in the tool-wielders and desperately in need of --

Suddenly, from the lovely, open, beyond my reach, rarified air of the real world - a voice floated up:

Do ... you ... need ... food!?

Epilogue: I check the new deadbolt several times a day. Unlocking and locking; unlocking and locking. It's my new(est) compulsion. Well, that and stashing cigarettes all over the apartment.