I Hate My Message Board

Last Chance to Enter to win $100!

Tracy — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 12:31:06 +0000

Or, happy Friday my party people

Just wanted to give everyone a chance to enter the Ritz Crackerfuls $100 giveaway. Entries close tomorrow, July 31 at 5 PM PST. The video is just because.

Have a great weekend everyone!Similar Posts:

You know, Dolly Parton has taught me an awful lot about life

Tracy — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 21:30:07 +0000

It’s the last two weeks before my kids go back to school and the good news is my services are very much in demand the whole world around but sadly, there is still only one of me, so I have that feeling that I’ve got 50 lbs pressing against my chest and so I thought okay, yeah, that’s a sign I need to go on and write about Dolly Parton.

There was a time when I thought Dolly Parton was impossibly cheesy. I fancied myself a very deep thinker with profound, complex emotions and there was no way that I could relate to somethingy so hokey and homey.

Then I grew up and blah, blah, blah life lessons, experiences, hard roads et cetera et cetera and now I think Dolly Parton is one of the most awesome people that have ever lived.

She has such a great sense of humor about herself but at the same time you can tell she takes pride in who she is and where she came from. Here’s some quotes I love:

I look just like the girls next door… if you happen to live next door to an amusement park.

I was the first woman to burn my bra – it took the fire department four days to put it out.

I’m not offended by all the dumb blonde jokes because I know I’m not dumb… and I also know that I’m not blonde.

You’d be surprised how much it costs to look this cheap!

She also has such a great attitude about work and life. Remember, she grew up one of 12 children, dirt poor in a one room shack in the Smoky Mountains and instead of turning her back on her community when she made it, she’s given back and invested in the area and people.

I’m not going to limit myself just because people won’t accept the fact that I can do something else.

If you don’t like the road you’re walking, start paving another one.

People make jokes about my bosoms, why don’t they look underneath the breasts at the heart? It’s obvious I’ve got big ones and if people want to assume they’re not mine, then let them.

The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain.

We cannot direct the wind, but we can adjust the sails.

When I’m inspired, I get excited because I can’t wait to see what I’ll come up with next.

Every month my kids get new books from Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. If you have kids in your life from birth to age 5, I highly suggest that you see if the program is available in your county (they also serve Canada and are expanding into the UK!). I am not sure if it works the same in all areas, but in my county there are no income restrictions and they encourage everyone to participate. Some of the books that we’ve been sent have been loved to tatters and they are so excited every time a new one comes in the mail. Can you imagine how much this program must mean to kids that aren’t as fortunate and might otherwise have no books to call their own?

When I think about all Dolly Parton has achieved and how much she’s given back, it inspires me to do the best that I can do. She really is a hero. I wrote this today as much to remind myself of that as I did to share with you how wonderful I think Dolly Parton is.

Who is your hero? Or, if you don’t have a hero, what is your favorite Dolly Parton song?

PS I noticed that the Imagination Library Fan page is trying to reach 10K fans before school starts. Why not help them reach their goal?

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Sunday Night Link Up

Tracy — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 02:23:29 +0000

Or argh, browser crash edition

Dried Crickets

I was almost completely finished with this post when Firefox went crash, boom, bam and so now I have to start all over. Only, I’m really tired, so this is the bare bones edition. If you want the explanation behind these pictures, go to the I Hate My Message Board Fan page.

My posts elsewhere:

How I will have an actively frugal weekend

12 things to keep in mind for back to school shopping

12 super cheap, super nutritious foods you should be eating

And to answer the question I know is on everyone’s mind, no I don’t know why they ask the girl that buys crap like canned chickens to write personal finance posts.

A post that touched my heart:

What makes the perfect dad by Stickyfingers

A post that inspired me to follow my instincts:

The benefits of losing control by Lateral Action

A post that made me laugh:

Mind your own business, Gmail!

Posts that made me wonder if I’d somehow made friends with the cast of Little House on the Prairie:

First Attempt at (Anti) Social Home Canning by Kim Woodbridge

Long nights, hot jars: why you should try home canning by Two hands and a Roadmap

Post where somebody will win $100 next Saturday:

My brave battle against workday boredom, a review of some tasty crackers and $100 giveaway by Me on This Blog please enter.

And to end on a high note, we have a new, most viewed ever post on this blog!

PS if you missed it, Microwavable Milkshakes was featured on the Consumerist. Also, I found the first edition in drafts but it’s too late now, that ship has sailed.

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And Yes, Microwavable Milkshakes Also Exist

Tracy — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 22:10:45 +0000

Or, microwave milkshakes, microwave pork rinds… if I can find something else microwavable tomorrow, we can call it microwave madness week!

New from Kroger, it's microwavable milkshakes!

When I saw these microwavable milkshakes today, I knew I had to go on and get some and post about it, because no doubt thousands of shoppers across the nation are waiting to see what I think before they take the plunge. My only wish is that I’d saved some of the microwavable pork rinds to see if they = or != Wendy’s fries dipped in a Frosty.

Because that’s the kind of reporting that you get a Bloggie for, I tell you what.

This will be short and sweet, my dear 15 year old son Nicholas agreed to help me out. Please note: if you are his Grandma, it is summer vacation and I am letting him get shaggy as is his wont to do.

Microshake nutritional information

If you want to see larger versions, visit Microwavable Milkshakes on Flickr. The ingredients are about what you expect. High in calories and sugar but it’s a milkshake. The portion size was much more reasonable than a fast food shake, which is a plus. I’ve been known to share out one large Chick Fil-A or Sonic shake between my four smaller boys (ages 2-7) and they’ll still have leftovers. That’s nuts.

Instructions for the microshake

Still frozen

The lid was flexible plastic, like a margarine tub lid. The shake was a little hairy like ice cream gets but not unduly so. The finished product didn’t have a freezer burned taste at all.

Cooked

I went ahead and zapped it for 40 seconds as our microwave is the standard 1000 watts. I thought I might have overdone it because the outsides were really watery. It was fine, though and the second one, which we microwaved for 30 seconds was also good. I’d go ahead and start with 30 seconds, just in case, because it’s not easy to tell how melted it is by looking at the top of the shake as it rotates merrily around your microwave oven.

Microshake chunk

But all of these chunks of still frozen ice cream made it thick and creamy as we broke them up with the spoon. I thought about using a stick blender, but I think it might have made it too frothy. Mixing it together didn’t take terribly long and could easily be done by a child. I would transfer it to a larger glass or cup before giving to a younger child to avoid messes.

Nick approved

The verdict? I thought it was okay, but far too sweet and not rich and creamy enough. I wouldn’t turn one down, but I wouldn’t buy it for my own consumption, either. I’d just as soon get some regular ice cream. The price wasn’t terrible, $1.99 (I think it was on special though) and although it’s not great nutrition, I wouldn’t be opposed to getting one as a rare treat for the boys. I really wanted to try the peanut butter flavor, but my youngest can’t have peanut products and I thought it would be mean to have this within his sight.

The boy’s verdict? Nicholas said it was fantastic and gave it 4.4 stars out of 5. I should note that he is a connoisseur of those gas station milkshakes. The little boys thought it was terrific, too. I think they liked the novelty of it more than anything else.

PS – I posted then realized what these remind me of. Remember those little cake mixes that you could get back in the 1980s for chocolate chip cake and coffee cake that came with its own paper baking pan? I remember baking the crap out of those when I was a kid and getting such a kick out of that crappy little pan. This is that kind of food, I think. Yeah, it’s not great for your kid but they’ll enjoy the experience so every once in a blue moon when they have a friend over for a sleepover you could let them make these themselves and have a ball.

I also realized that since I do sometimes do sponsored reviews now, I should make clear that I will always let you know when I get a freebie. Those go on special ad-free pages of this blog, so it’s easy to pick out.

PPS I wonder if Kroger was inspired by this:

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Why Yes, Dear Reader, You Can Make Pork Rinds in the Microwave

Tracy — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 00:41:16 +0000

Or, the food post I’ve waited 15 years to do

Low Carb!

I first became aware of microwavable pork rinds sometime before my first son was born when I found several bags in my parent’s house. I was not brave enough to try them then and ever since I’ve kind of regretted that.

Then I saw a display of bags by the check out counter at Ike’s Discount Drug and thought to myself, in not now, when? If not me, who?

And yeah, yeah, yeah, I know these have been around forever. We can’t all be hip to all the new convenience products made out of external organs like you are.

As you can see it looks like a bag of the more familiar microwave popcorn. The pictures are kind of small, so if you’d like to get a better look at the instructions check out Microwave Pork Rinds on Flickr.

The instructions note that the bag won’t make popping sounds like microwave popcorn and won’t inflate as fully. This is true. However, much like microwave popcorn, they do fill the room with an unmistakable aroma. Cooking pig skin has a distinctive odor. I wouldn’t call it bad, but it probably makes pregnant women puke. Again, much like microwave popcorn.

See, not very inflated at all.

They look like pork rinds, they taste like pork rinds. I wish they hadn’t, because I’m not crazy about pork rinds. I do like the crackling on the top of a pork roast, so I’m thinking maybe I’d like them if they were fresh, but MSG besprinkled pork rinds in a microwavable bag are sort of the definition of processed out the wazoo.

You notice a few look different than the others. I suspected those were the pork rind old maids. To be sure, I tried to bite into one and couldn’t. Which also confirmed my suspicion that pre-microwaved pork rinds are a lot like ogre toenail clippings.

By the way, I initially only bought one bag (99 cents!) and then realized this post wouldn’t be complete without a picture of what the insides looked like. So I went back to buy some more and they weren’t by the counter any more. I felt rather sheepish about asking as I had two small children with me who were already clutching bags of ramen noodles to their scrawny chests. I have my pride, you know?

Anyway, I found them clipped to a display of chips so if you want some, look there.

And yup, looks like a whole bag o’ ogre toenails to me.

If you like pork rinds and would like to have nice, warm, fresh from the microwave ones, you can probably get these at a lot of stores but if you can’t, Amazon sells them. (note affiliate link, proceeds go to buy more food for me to try. Don’t feel like you’re obligated, though, my scrawny kids are just on a raw ramen noodles kick, we have other food for them, too. Fancy food like blueberries even!)

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I Took the 7 Link Challenge

Tracy — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 02:24:17 +0000

Or, I’m not above doing a meme if the situation is right

Not relevant to post, just wanted a bit of color.

So this morning, I’m reading my email and I see this 7 Link Challenge in the Problogger newsletter. I don’t usually do a lot of memes, but I have plans for this weekend and I won’t be doing a Saturday Night Link Up so why not?

You can find the specifics for the challenge in the Problogger post linked above if you’d like to participate. If you do, send me the link so I can read it later on this weekend!

Your first post

I figured the name of my site needed some explanation before I started writing, so my first post was Here’s How the Story Begins where I talk about how the name came to me, how I happened to host a message board on this site for some time and how time changes how you view your online community.

I no longer host forums at this site. It was a difficult decision and one I might write about some time in the future but for now I think it’s best just to say it was for personal reasons. Don’t worry, not hiding any huge drama, but it’s hard to talk about your personal reasons for breaking off any sort of relationship in public without risking hurting other people’s feelings.

A Post You Enjoyed Writing the Most

I enjoyed writing 6 Things I Secretly Hope are Included in Life Coaching not just because I got to spend lots of time listening to 80s music but because I did have a some nervousness about starting the whole process and this helped me deal with that. It was a lot of fun imaging what could happen and it helped reassure me that no matter what happened, I would still be myself.

A Post Which Had a Great Discussion

Is Racism the New N-Word? is a much different kind of post than I usually write for this blog. Some of the comments were fantastic. I was blow away by Shereen’s and almost wish I could use it as a post in itself. When she said:

There is no blame, even if there is anger. You are not to blame. I am not to blame. But in order to change it, we have to acknowledge it, and work actively to dismantle it.

I felt like, yes, you said it so much better than I could have. There were also those with other perspectives and I thought about what they said for days and came to a deeper understanding that it was not just about making sure my own voice was heard, but allowing others to have their voices heard as well.

A Post on Somebody Else’s Blog You Wished You’d Written

This is hard, because there are so many hundreds of great posts I’ve read in the few years I’ve been involved in blogging. Honestly, though I’ve never read something and wish I’d been the one to write it. I guess it’s because it’s not like that subject is now completely and forever off-limits to me and well, I can write it, if I wanted to. I’d just write it differently.

I have been jealous at good ideas or ingenious ways of looking at things, but again, it’s more a feeling of awesome! I can build on that.

There have been posts I wished that somebody else with some talent would have written but I don’t suppose that’s in the spirit of #7 links.

Your Most Helpful Post

Besides the ones that are great appetite suppressants, I think My Ear Itches on the Inside was the most helpful, based on how many people have landed on it from Google. While I did not offer any solutions, I think I helped them feel less alone, which is the greatest help of all.

A Post With a Title You are Proud of

It’s a tossup between People Who Need Pupa are the Pluckiest People and I Said it Before and I’ll Say it Again, Spam is the King of Canned Meats.

A Post That You Wish More People Had Read

11 Reasons I Sometimes But Not Always Dislike Doing List Posts. No reason really, I was just looking at my posts with not a lot of views and this one has something like less than 1% of the views that Chicken in a Can does and since it was my other attempt at doing a Problogger inspired post, it seemed to fit.

Not that I’m saying that Problogger inspired posts are doomed to be kicked in the butt by some soggy ass chicken but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t having second thoughts about hitting publish on this one.

I’d love to see your 7 Links challenge, so if you’ve done one or do one, go ahead and link it in comments for us all to enjoy.

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Green Boiled Peanuts

Tracy — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 21:43:34 +0000

Or, getting in touch with my Southern heritage

Can of green boiled peanuts

This is the first food post I’ve made since getting my new DSLR camera. I still have no idea how to use it but it doesn’t seem like the photos are any worse than what I was doing with the point and shoot, so I feel like we’re off to a good start. After I figure out how to make it take a picture every time I want it to, then I’ll work on framing and composition and focus. Actually, I realized I don’t think I will master manual focus until I start wearing my glasses all of the time and not only when driving. Pah.

But enough about me, let’s talk peanuts.

By brine they mean really salty water. The can says that these are the South’s favorite snack but I have my doubts considering I’ve lived here for ages and ages and nobody has ever offered me any.

I really just included this picture so I could say ha-ha they said Effingham. Reminds me of the Amster Amster Shh shh shh song.

Effing

Ham ham ham

I didn’t say that naughty word, I didn’t say that naughty word.

Anyway, if anyone is live in Effingham I come visit.

I did take the peanuts inside to cook them but didn’t get a picture because honestly it wasn’t worth cleaning my cooktop to take one.

Before I cooked them, I must note that this one made me feel quite queasy

And this one reminded me of a turtle poking his head out of the water, confused to find himself in the land of giant nuts.

Cooked and drained. Note the smell was not pleasant, however it was neither strong nor overpowering. I had to bend down to get a whiff.

Some opened nice and neat and others smooshed and broke.

I made a fishy!

And the taste? Really salty. Mealy. A hint of peanut taste but the texture was all wrong. Sort of like a lima bean and a peanut had a salty, slippery skinned baby.

I didn’t find it horrible and I imagine they’d be much better fresh. Don’t believe I’ll be snacking on them regularly but if offered, I wouldn’t turn them down.

I bought this can at Dollar Tree. If you can’t find them locally, you can order them boiled green peanuts from the Margaret Holmes website or order from Amazon. (affiliate link. I have to pay for my Dollar Tree habit somehow)

Have you ever tried boiled peanuts? What would you say is the South’s favorite snack?

PS Notice how I am classy and didn’t make any boiled nuts jokes. That is because women still know how to be ladies here in the 901.

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Saturday Night Link Up

Tracy — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 02:52:23 +0000

Or, this week I am grateful for the Candwich

Two years ago we found this turtle in our backyard. Now, we live in the middle of the city and you don’t often see turtles just wandering around, so I was afraid it was somebody’s pet and sent my oldest boy to knock on the neighbor’s door to see if they were missing a turtle.

He comes back to tell me that our next door neighbor said that she’d thrown the turtle in our yard because she didn’t want it in hers. Okay. I guess that makes sense. Anyway, we had great fun with the turtle for a couple of days then it was gone so I figured it had moved on to a better yard.

Until a few months later when we were raking all of the leaves out of the garden beds and found a completely empty turtle shell. Although I knew it was a stupid question, I asked my husband if turtles molted because I couldn’t quite stand the thought of there being a dead, decaying turtle in my hostas for who knows how long but he gave me the roll eyes. We never found any bones and I’m still wondering what happened to those and how they got out of the shell, because it was completely empty.

The whole thing still gives me the willies.

Enough stories about the good old days, let’s get to the link-up. One awesome thing I’m finding out lately is whenever traffic seems to be slowing, something happens to get things moving again. Either a post will go big on Stumble Upon or I’ll get linked on a big site or some guy misappropriates money to invest in the Candwich and thousands of people will post on the internet “You think that’s bad? Have you seen this thing in a can on IHMMB?”

This week on Money Ning I posted Warning: Are Any of These Five Things Keeping You From Being Frugal

There is nothing worse than thinking you’ve found a great deal on something you need, only to find out a few weeks later, you already had a perfectly good one at home. I’ve learned this the hard way many times.

On HealthCompare Guide I posted two stories:

Are You Trapped in a Time Cage of Your Own Creation?

Do you feel like you have absolutely no control over your time and that it’s being stolen from you by all of your obligations? That if only everyone else would ease up on their demands you would have plenty of time to do with as you please?

12 Ways to Get Out of a Rut

You don’t have to feel like your life is doomed to be the same thing every day with no hope for change. The first step is the hardest – it’s a cliché but it’s the truth. Once you start taking action to live the life you want, your progress will snowball and each step will be easier than the last.

This week I’m going to link to posts by other people that had me thinking long after I closed the browser window. You know, I find it’s not usually the BIG QUESTIONS posts that do that to me but the little every day questions.

Even though we’ve absolutely no plans for Baby #6, I read Nancy’s Baby Names several times a week. What can I say? I like names. This week she posted a dilemma about using Family Names as Baby Names. And I don’t know what I would do. I really can’t make up my mind and that’s why I haven’t commented yet.

Selfish Blogger posted Be a Jerk and be More Successful where he asks:

Why does it seem to me that so many successful people have a “jerk gene”?

And while I know what he’s talking about, I am still not sure if it’s really so or if it’s a matter of only remembering what stands out. Any thoughts?

On the How to be Rich and Happy Blog, John P Strelecky posted Hope is Not Enough where he talks about Mad How disease. It made me think a lot about things I’ve just assumed were far too difficult without putting any effort into finding out how to do them by asking somebody how. It is amazing what people will tell you if you just ask.

I also felt a bit stupid for finally throwing out all the leftover fish and cheese sausages instead of selling them as iPhone styluses. And heck yeah that was an affiliate link, I ATE one of those, I should be getting PAID.

What did you read that was great this week?

PS Don’t forget to enter the $100 sweepstakes sponsored by Ritz and Blogher.

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Want to win $100?

Tracy — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 17:05:21 +0000

Ritz Crackerfuls, Cheddar Cheese Flavor

Find out how I deal with work day boredom and read my review of Ritz Crackerfuls. Then, leave a comment letting me know how you make sure to remember to eat some healthy snacks and meals during the day so you don’t become a shaky low blood sugar irrational mood swings beast for a chance to win $100 from Ritz.

Note: the review, post and contest are sponsored by Ritz and Blogher. I got paid! (And, no you can’t borrow any money, my pupa eating brother)

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How I do it all

Tracy — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 19:03:47 +0000

Or, the answer to the number one question that people ask me

This is the sort of thing that happens when you try to sneak in some work during the day.

Even before I started freelancing, people would often ask me how I did it all. Or they told that me they’d kill themselves if they were me, which I guess is a different way of saying the same thing. At least I hope it is. It’s sometimes hard to read tone offline because most people don’t carry around emoticon cards to flash to avoid ambiguity.

(note to self: start marketing emoticon signs on paddles)

The easy answer, of course, is that I don’t do it all. My house is a mess, I’m constantly pushing back my own personal projects to meet deadlines for client work and my pile of unread books grows each day. I don’t do everything I could be doing with the kids and sometimes I lose patience and use my yelling voice instead of my “let’s work on this problem together and find a solution” voice.

But, you know, I am going to stop for a moment with the modesty and acknowledge that I do get an awful lot done for a mother of five boys who doesn’t have a staff at her beck and call. And it’s not because I’m that much more competent or efficient or inherently better than anyone else. When I think about it, the reason I can push on and keep going even when it’s rough is because of these three things:

I have work that aligns with my values. It’s vital to me that I have the chance to be creative and look for new ways to solve problems in anything I do. I’ve had jobs before that weren’t bad on paper but didn’t allow for much initiative or innovation and I was miserable. In the work I do now, I do have to honor the client’s guidelines and meet their goals, but the difference is that it’s not only tolerated that I find creative solutions, it’s expected. Motivation comes easy when your work aligns with your values.
My work can be very meaningful. It feels good when people tell me that something I wrote helped them in some way or gave them a good laugh or made them think. I feel a lot of pride in using my skills to give people useful information that can make their life better. I’ve also been able to meet so many people from so many walks of life through my writing. It’s easy to work hard when your work gives you so much personal satisfaction.
I have a lot of support. My husband is as committed to my success as I am and takes up the slack at home. It would be easier for him if I had stayed a full time wife and mother but he understands that my work doesn’t only help financially, it’s also a source of personal fulfillment for me. So many of my fellow writers like Sean Platt and Alisa Bowman and my coach, Tim Brownson have taken the time to mentor me and my friends and family have been unwavering cheerleaders. The hard times don’t seem so difficult when you have so many people to turn to for support and guidance.

If you feel like you’re not getting things done, I’d suggest you ask yourself these questions:

Do I really want to do all of this or do I just feel like I should want to?
Am I spending my life doing things that align with my values? If not, how can I move towards a life that does?
Do I have enough support? Am I surrounding myself with positive people that urge me forward instead of holding me back?
Do I feel like what I am doing has any meaning? How can I reframe my experiences so that I can see the good in them?

And since this was a bit of a serious post in the midst of my usual not so serious ones, I will end with one last very useful piece of advice:

If you’re going to try and sneak in a few emails while your kids are awake, make sure you put all nearly empty cans of frosting in the bin outside, not in the kitchen trash. Most children have no compunctions whatsoever against digging it out and having a nice snack.

How do you do it all? Do you find it easy to muster up the motivation to keep on going?

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