I’ve always considered myself pretty thrifty. When I shop for clothing I typically take enough time to pick things out and then put them back after talking myself out of spending the money. Time waster? Yes. But money saver? Definitely. I buy an Entertainment book every year at a discount and then always rifle through it to make sure I’m saving a couple bucks wherever I go. When I push my cart through Target I always hit up the Clearance end caps on the aisles. (Oh, and Target Pricing People – please take note that 30% does not constitute “clearance.” 30% is just a starting point). I mean, I know how to save a buck or two. Or at least mess with my head and end up saving a buck or two.
But grocery shopping. I wouldn’t call it my downfall, but it’s definitely not my strong point.
I use coupons. Sometimes. And I understand how using a coupon works. But the whole “couponing” movement is beyond me.
There are people out there who are getting food for free, or practically free. And I want to be one of those people. I just don’t get it.
I have a Master’s degree for crying out loud. And yet couponing has, to this point, been beyond my grasp.
I shall master it this year. Oh yes, I shall. I am now armed with a book – The Coupon Mom’s Guide to Cutting Your Grocery Bills in Half – and am at page 59. And I have not had to scratch my head or throw the book across the room in anger even once.
You know, if you head over to You Tube and type in the search word “couponing” you will get 503 results. So there are plenty of people out there that know and understand the couponing secrets that I have decreed must be learned by yours truly.
Between the book, the videos and a ton of websites (including Coupon Mom – the site the book is based upon) there is a wealth of information at my fingertips. Now, if I can just get my brain to process it…
Seriously? I used to think that all I should have to do is click on an internet icon and just magically (well, you know what I mean) be connected with the world wide web.
I was stumbling through life using – gasp – Internet Explorer. I don’t even know which version. It was whatever version popped up on my computer, people. Because I really didn’t care about browsers and such. I just wanted my internet and I wanted it NOW.
But then friends and colleagues raved about this little wunderkind Mozilla Firefox. I made the switch. I even played around a bit and added the color tabs for some fun. (I know, shocking!).
But you know what? I’m back to wanting my internet to magically appear. And NOT have problems. Like crashing every freakin’ day. Or getting the “Not Responding” message multiple times a day.
When you are typing up a blog post and your internet crashes…no fun. When you have just stumbled across some awesome research for your book and you want to bookmark it and your internet crashes…again, no fun.
I’ve had it with Firefox. I can’t recall how many crashes I have had in the past several weeks. And then I keep getting pop-ups asking if I wanted to reinstall the color tabs. No, I don’t want the stinking color tabs anymore. Who cares about cutesy colored tabs when you can’t get your tabs to stay put during an internet session.
Firefox – you suck. I don’t know what browser I will switch too. But I’m making the switch.
I was telling the big guy the other day (aka husband) that I needed a diary. That there are these little things that happen in a given day that warrant a sentence or two. Good things. Weird things. You know, the minutiae of every day life.
Then it dawned on me. I have a blog. Why not use that?
But the blog would need a bit of an overhaul. A little redesign. Because it was still geared towards my ghostwriting and ebook coaching.
So of course I turned to the awesomely talented Kayla Hennegin of bellafaith graphic & web design. Kayla has worked on several sites for me and she’s always pulled through like a champ. In some cases, I had a clear vision of what I wanted. In others, I asked for her help and expertise to bring it into reality. In short, Kayla rocks!
I have been woefully absent when it comes to this blog. I’m not saying I’ll post daily. But I’ll post. More often than I did before. (How’s that for a wishy-washy “promise?”)
More on what I’ve been up to in a follow-up post. I just wanted to give props to Miss Kayla and celebrate the redesign of the blog! WooHoo!!
Well, I’ve phased out of the non-fiction ghostwriting and ebook coaching. Woohoo!
But it’s been more difficult transitioning from non-fiction writing to fiction writing than I anticipated. Sure, I’ve got plenty of crazy fiction ideas rattling around in the noggin. But the constraints of non-fiction writing have these invisible shackles on me. It’s been tough shaking them off and really writing freely…as fiction really NEEDS to be written.
My solution? Read plenty of fiction. Immerse myself in it. And it’s helped. I’ve read murder mysteries, chick lit, literary fiction, you name it. And I’ll keep on reading it as I keep on working on my writing.
My current project is Woof! And it’s involved a fair amount of research. And I’m not a huge fan of research. But in the end, it will help the book…because if I don’t know what the hell I’m writing about, then the whole book will ring false. And we can’t have that, now can we??
Another fun thing I want to share is a new book – 199 Internet-Based Businesses You Can Start with Less Than $1000 – and yours truly is featured in it. Well, my ebook coaching & ghostwriting biz is featured. You can check it out on pages 182-183. The book is great for anyone looking into home business…plenty of informational nuggets in there and case studies.
Thank you to all who posted comments on the Spirit of the Season post! It was fun to read your comments (yes, Spike, I figured someone would have to comment on the “I’m easy” statement I made ) and I apologize for my postage budget not extending to our foreign friends…
So, the winners have been sent emails…if you see your name below but haven’t seen an email from me, then it means the spam monster got a hold of it. So please send me an email with your mailing address and I will get the book out to you in the coming week (words at tinamcallister dot com).
Drum roll, por favor….
- Rich: Beyond Booked Solid
- Alan: Power of Full Engagement
- Michaela: Credit Road Map for the Self Employed
- Sherry: Credit Road Map for the Self Employed
- Mary Jo: How to Start a Home-Based Writing Business
) and I apologize for my postage budget not extending to our foreign friends…