Despite the fact that we live in a digital age, I receive an inordinate amount of catalogs.  And, because I am a voracious reader of the good, old fashioned paper-style books, it is not surprising that some of my catalogs are from purveyors of the written word.

I discovered a favorite when I was a project coordinator of a special collection in a college library. Good old Edward R. Hamilton Bookseller, or as I like to call them,  Eddie H.,  offers all manner of books for sale  (along with great DVDs, especially documentaries).  It’s also the perfect place to find old comic treasuries like Snoopy, or Blondie or The Far Side…or so I am told.

The other day, I was flipping through the catalog and found an amusingly categorized title.

Suppose I ordered this help-yourself  book?  What if things don’t work out as planned?  What do I do if the CIA refutes my claims of culpability in the unlikely event that I get fingered picking a lock I shouldn’t have?

No worries. Edward R. Hamilton has just the thing–

These should really be sold as a set.

Many thanks to the good folks at Edward R. Hamilton Bookseller Company for keeping me amused!  This is NOT a sponsored post.  I’m directing you to their website because I like to share.  The shipping fees are SUPER CHEAP:  for a flat rate of $3.50, you can get a box full of great titles–also discounted, sometimes deeply, so bargain hunters, pay attention!

You should know that no one asked me to write this, nor was I compensated in any way for doing so.

I’ve moved.

No, not the blog again!  This is a literal move, from one home in Podunk to another.  This Autumn, we moved, and I’m finally feeling settled now that the holidays are over and things have quieted down.  I know–I never mentioned a word, did I?  Long story, not to be gone into today.

We’ve re-calibrated things around the old homestead in the process of moving, and it’s had positive impact on the whole family.  So, our intentions last year to simplify actually worked.  We did it!   We’re more organized (I’m telling you, moving forces you to reorganize). We’ve parted with things that we needed to part with and it’s much easier to maintain the household nowadays.

We’re going forward in so many positive directions that it seemed time to get back on my writing wagon.  Not just here, but my off-line writing as well.  Because it’s been quiet on both of my writerly fronts.    The past couple of weeks I have gotten so much done…and then deleted…and then half-done all over again.  But I’m pumped because at least it’s rolling again.

My household life isn’t all that’s been spruced up.  I’ve also tidied up the blog.  No more big old ads in the prime space of my blog.  I’m not doing it for cash (which is quite evident when you view my paypal account), so it seemed silly to clutter things up.  No more sponsored posts, either– I’m done.  It’s too much effort for too little payoff and frankly I find it dilutes my own desire to write.

So that’s my story.  Oh, and I want to wish a belated Happy New Year to whomever has remained loyal enough to still read my blog!

In one of my recent CSA shares, I got a very lovely squash.  For the short term, I had put it on the table in the front hall, next to a small pumpkin. I needed time to figure out how I was going to serve it and have the kids actually eat it. 

Well, Bubba determined that the squash required relocation, as did the pumpkin.  The pumpkin now sitting atop a bench on the porch with a sharpie-drawn jack-o-lantern face.  The Butternut suffered a slightly different fate…

In my powder room I have a little side table.  It holds reading material, extra TP, etc.  (but no one has yet left a nickel!)  The squash was relocated by the boy and I found it that evening.

Let’s take a closer look, shall we?

This is no jack o’ lantern face.  It is actually a picture of a gourd.  Sitting on a toilet, natch.  It is technically a one-eyed gourd monster, the artist tells me.

And it has taken up residence in my downstairs bathroom for the Halloween season.

I am actually organizing my house.

For real this time.

The hub was away for a week, so I kept very odd hours, and did chores at various times throughout the day and night, allowing me to get the other stuff done too.  It was great.  I missed him (it’s just not the same without him here, and I don’t sleep well) but I did get a ton of organizing and such done.

One thing I did, as I got each room under control, was to make a little list of to-do’s.  Things one would do before vacating the room in question.  This is to avoid the nag factor–I hate to nag.  I hate being a nag, and I hate hearing myself nagging others.  Plus, let’s be real–who wants to be on the receiving end of the naggage?  (It is so a word.)

For example:  here’s my checklist for the bathroom…I put it in a plastic bag with the instructions on how to CLEAN the bathroom on the other side.   It covers the basics (basics such as, don’t be a pig, clean up after yourself) and keeps things simple.  Then I’m not all, “Did you put the towel back on the rack?”  and “Why did I just sit in a puddle of piddle?”  I just ask, “Did you follow the checklist?”

It’s actually a good approach;  it depersonalizes things.  Then I’m not the bitch or the nag (the LIST is, heh heh).   And since my boy is nothing if not a glutton for organization (of which I seem to frequently starve him, thanks creative brain) he jumps right on board.  The girl, a people-pleaser, also willingly pitches in when prompted.  This has worked the whole week that the Hub has been away.  I imagine it will keep working, but this coming weekend will be the test.

It’s taking me some time, and various bits of research but I think I might actually be developing some kind of a system to keep my house organized.  Key word?  MIGHT.  I can’t commit to saying I actually have one yet, but I am working diligently to create one that works for me.  I’ve read a few different websites and e-books, and sort of going “buffet-style” [take what you like, and leave the rest] for my own purposes.

So I’ve got a checklist going for both bathrooms that the kids use (I think the Hub and I can manage our en suite bath without a checklist), the front hall and stairway (a favorite dumping ground), the living room, and the kitchen counter where the stools are.     The dining room is still covered with stacks of photos that we were going through in anticipation of my In-Laws FIFTIETH wedding anniversary that they celebrated recently, so I haven’t got that room under control yet.  Fear not, though–I shall eventually have a checklist for that room too.

I’ll keep you posted.  Who knows, maybe if I can keep a good routine going, I’ll share my secrets…Ha!  Who am I kidding?   If I don’t keep a good routine going, we shall surely never speak of this again…

The Verilux Happylight Liberty Energy Lamp is a great price and its size is perfect.  Plus, you can adjust the angle of the unit, it’s easily mounted on the wall, or can be used  on the desk- or countertop.  The original one I had test driven last year,  The Deluxe , offered 10,000 lux.

It was also, quite frankly,  enourmous.  When I went to buy one for myself, I chose the two pack of 2500 lux lamps.  This was for cost and size reasons.  Now with the twin pack, you’re supposed to set them up on either side of you, but instead, I opted to have them at two different locations within my home.

I’ve since learned, this isn’t optimal usage.  It hardly made a bit of difference,in fact, it just took me a while to realize it.  The Liberty Lamp is like  a flat-screen version of the small ones I have, only a little taller.  It’s certainly not the behemoth that the Deluxe one was, though it too offers a whopping 10,000 lux.  Even better, it comes with a choice of lenses–the “Comfort Lens” and the “High Energy Lens”, along with two brightness settings so you can truly customize your usage.

The Liberty is also a great deal.  For just under $100, you’ve got summer sunshine, your way, all winter long and it won’t take up the whole desk.  That’s better (and cheaper) than a trip to Miami for February vacation.  For more information on the benefits of light therapy read my original review at Prime Parents Club.

Disclosure:  This is not in any way a sponsored post (though links are Amazon affiliate links).  I purchased the Verilux Liberty with my own funds, and my opinions are entirely my own.

Didja forget about me? Because I was under the distinct impression that absence makes the heart grow fonder.

Y’all must be really fond of me just about now.

Well, seriously, I have a great reason. A Fan-effing-tastic reason, even!

I’ve been working on a super-secret-writing project with two other bloggers.

You guys, this is going to be great.  Now, I can’t tell you too much about it, because we’re still fluffing and buffing, and I’m totally sworn to secrecy.  But I can’t wait to reveal it!

Stay tuned…

It isn’t often that I find myself agreeing with media dickhead   Rupert Murdoch. *

I daresay this may in fact be the first time I’ve ever agreed with him. You need to understand, as I am so resolute in my opinion of this guy that I will not watch the Fox network of television channels, nor read the newspapers owned by News Corp.  But this is what he recently tweeted:

Prince Harry.  Give him a break…

Of course, don’t forget that this cretin, Murdoch, published the photos in the first place.  Perhaps that negates any value of his “Give him a break,” comment, but for that one, short moment before I remember what a freakin’ hypocrite the man is, I can nod in agreement.

Seriously.  Whatever happened to the old adage, “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas”?  I mean, we all know this one, right?   And Harry is damn near 30 years old.  Who gives a shit if he was parading around wearing nothing other than the family jewels? **

Big deal.  As if this was astonishing, breaking news:    The  Prince  of   England   has  a   penis.  And buttocks.   You know what else?  Everybody–under their clothes?–is  NAKED.

It’s true.

You can verify this, simply by checking your own person.  I’ll bet that underneath what you’re wearing right now, you’ve got…yup… nothing  on .  You know what?  Me  too.  

So for the first, and last time ever, you will hear me echo Rupert Murdoch when I say,

Give   him   a   break!

*   Yes,   I   said   “dickhead” …  now   that’s twice!    OK,   Daisy,   50   cents   goes   in   the   swear   jar!

**   That’s seventy-five  cents,   if   you’re   counting   and   I   don’t   mean   the   jewels,   but   my   swear   tally …

Not too long ago, I headed down to Long Island, NY for a very special baby shower.  My sister’s daughter is expecting…twins!  These are her first children, but if she’s anything like the rest of us women in the family, all she has to do is trust her gut, check with her mom,  and she will be just fine!  She has tons of family in the area, too, so that will be a huge help.

Smart girl has already decided to have diapers delivered.  A weekly shipment of Pampersmeans no running out in the middle of the night after an evening of unexpected  blow-outs (or in her case, double the blowouts, because don’t twins do everything together?)

Plus it saves money.  Hi!  That’s been my mantra lately!  You know me, the Amazon fan.  But have you heard about their program for parents and caregivers (that’s YOU, grandparents!)…Amazon Mom?

Here’s the long and short of it:  Try it out free for three months.  That’s three months where you can enjoy a 20% discount on dipes and wipes, and they are delivered.  Your brand.  Your size.  Two days.  No worries.

It’s a variation on their Prime Membership, of which I am an enormous fan.

With a Free Trial going on, you can’t afford NOT to at least try it!

I’ve been a good girl lately.  I’ve been non-controversial, and for the most part I’ve avoided topics like politics and religion here on this blog.  Back on my Blogspot blog, I tended more toward the political, but I’ve kind of stayed away from it here on Just Margaret.  Well, except back in January, but still, that was a while ago!

Part of that is a product of living in dark red, right-leaning Podunk.  My kids are older now, and I don’t want them to have to defend my positions.  It was awkward four years ago trying to equip my first grade daughter to handle the kid on the bus who told her that Barack Obama was a baby-killer.  Now that she’s going into middle school, she wants a low profile.  I don’t blame her.  Regardless of the media available to all of us today, middleschoolers still want a low profile.

With that in mind, I did wax on a bit about Pussy Riot.  But not here–over on Prime Parents Club, so you should go check that out if you’re up for some politics and religion in one juicy package.  And there was this time earlier this summer where we got on the “Blog” Of “Unnecessary” Quotation Marks so you should go check that out too…

And I did another piece on PPC as well about my vision.  Yup…Maggie’s gettin’ old.

We’re rolling into the home stretch of summer–the kids have gotten their back to school haircuts…clothes shopping is next (my how they’ve grown)…and don’t forget the shoes!  Only ten more days…

Everyone wants to save money

Yesterday in the grocery store, the woman in front of me had purchased something with one of those coupons stuck to the front of the package.  Often the checker will see the coupons and pull them off for scanning, but on this day for whatever reason, she missed it.  At the end of the transaction the customer asked if she had grabbed the coupons off the packages.  Because she hadn’t,  it took another minute or two before she could start on my order, and the customer apologized to me for taking so long.

“Oh, no!” I said, “You don’t need to apologize to me–that’s two dollars!  Every penny counts nowadays.”  And it does.  Though I like to be an optimistic sort, I don’t know anyone who is talking about how fantastic the economy is just yet.  I’m just glad gas is under $4 a gallon.

So I’ve been on a mission to find good deals on my regular purchases, by clipping coupons both online and from the Sunday paper.  And I’m always on the hunt for ways to streamline my shopping.  Out here in Podunk, the choices are limited and let’s face it–anyone who knows me, knows I’m a homebody.   On-line shopping is my friend.  My really good friend, that brings me books and cartridges for my fake smokes, and filters for my furnace.

Now, I’ve got a new source of on-line goodness

Through BlogHer, I was presented the chance to partner with Proctor and Gamble, and share with my readers a new on-line resource for products you likely use every day.   Like Cascade Dishwasher Detergent.  My well-water is pretty hard, even with a softener system, so I expect a lot out of my detergent.  The packs are convenient, and the idea of them just arriving at my door is absolutely delightful.

But there’s other stuff too.  All manner of P & G products that you use all the time (household cleaners, skincare, diapers, deodorant, you name it…) are available at The P & G e-Store, and little old me?  I get a little commission from every sale made via my site.

Through August 31st, you can get a 10% Discount on every purchase  you make through my link to the P & G eStore.  You’ll also enjoy free shipping on purchases totaling $25 or more…way easier than clipping coupons and going to the store, am I right?  People, they accept PAYPAL!  This couldn’t be easier.

Now, get thee over to The P & G e-Store–buy your essentials while you still get 10% off with my link.  And feel free to share the savings with your friends and family.

What product would you want delivered to your front door?  Share in the comments!

*****

New Feature:  Just Margaret’s Friday Find

Come back  each Friday for another online discount, curated by yours truly.  If you have a suggestion for a discount or deal you’d like me to share, email me at margaretmbarney *at* gmail *dot* com.