PaperBack Swap Update!

Ok I think I'm going to love PaperBack Swap! It's even better than I first imagined! Let me tell you why:

1) If you refer someone and they post 10 books you get a free book credit! (Thank You Stephanie)

2) You have a wish list so that if there is a book you want and someone posts it, you get an email offering you that book! You don't have to keep going back and looking. There is even a feature whereby you can set it to auto-request so that if the book comes up and you have a credit, it will be sent right to you.

3) I just requested a book I was going to get my husband for his birthday.

4) This is the best one!! There is this book that has been eluding me for like the past 25 years. It's called M for Mischief. It's a children's book. One of my teachers read it to me when I was younger. I loved it. My mom could never find it. It's never been at the library. A few months ago I found one on Amazon from a second hand seller-It was $35!! TONIGHT I REQUESTED IT FOR FREE!!! I cannot be more excited!

Paperback Swap

I like books. Even though I have given a bunch away and sold a number on eBay, I still have more books. I'm also a frequent user of the library which cuts down on the book clutter around here. However, sometimes I do like to keep a book. Or buy a book.

In a cool move that combines frugality and recycling, (I'm so tickled that these things often go hand in hand) comes PaperBack Swap.

Basically you list books you would be willing to swap. When someone wants one, you send it to them. Whenever you send a book you get a credit which entitles you to a book of your choice that someone will send you. No money changes hands. You are responsible for paying for the postage on the books you send.

Media rates are cheap. $2.13 for anything under 1 lb and $2.47 for 1-2 lbs. It goes up from there but it is reasonable. For someone like me who already goes to the Post Office this is a no brainer. For someone who buys used books and pays for the book and the media mail postage, this is a no brainer.

The last time I looked there were 1,870,081 to choose from! And as a bonus, you get 3 credits as soon as you sign up and list 10 books.

And I even saw a book on there that I was thinking of getting my husband for his birthday. Am I cheap or what!

Don't Replace People With Machines

Today I went to the post office. I took my many packages to the counter and just before the woman working waited on me, she asked the gentleman behind me in line if he had anything short before all of my packages. I didn't mind because I know I'm a pain to stand behind at the post office.

He needed a stamp and that was it. She explained that there was no stamp machine or automatic postage machine at this small branch and she didn't want him to have to wait too long.

This prompted me to say how I really love those machines. They are quick and easy. She responded with how the postal workers DON'T love those machines and that each time they get one at the other bigger branch where she works someone looses a job or hours. Also, because they have a "need" for less people, when you DO want to speak with a human rather than a machine, that the line is often longer because they are short staffed. (I know her pretty well so I imagine that is why she was so candid.)

I'm not writing this as a criticism of the US postal service or an expose on how the PO works in my area, it just got me thinking. We so often bemoan the fact that because of how our towns and suburbs are set up that we have lost a certain sense of community. We don't KNOW each other anymore. We don't have a butcher. We don't have a milkman and often we don't even know our neighbors. We replace people little by little in the name of convenience. What happened to communication and friendship? Is convienience our higest goal?

At Wegman's, my daughter has a friend named Ida. She's an older woman who works as a cashier. We look for her every week and have nice conversation when we see her. I swear the interaction benefits both Ida and my daughter. I would never for a minute consider a self checkout even if they had one. The human interaction is too important.

We worry about India taking our technical jobs and China taking our manufacturing jobs and yet we so willingly bow to technology here at home without thinking for a minute of the person whose job we replace each time we do so.

I'm guilty of this too. I usually print my postage here at home in my office. My printer is acting up (I know, another machine on the blink over here!) so I've been at the Post Office more than I usually am. (Now I actually do know my letter carrier by name so maybe I get some points for that) Also, not driving (the short distance to the PO) saves me money on gas and time. I don't know how to balance it all out really. I don't really know the answer.

Maybe I could split the difference and bring the boxes to the post office on days when I will be out and about and driving right by. I know one thing for sure, I probably won't use the stamp machine unless it's after hours.

And now I promise no more technology rants for the rest of the week!

Cheaper Than Prozac!

Reader participation! I love it! I just got a great email from Jacquie who can make me laugh until my face hurts (#2), sends me mail (#6), has great conversations with me (#14) and sends me cookies and cheerwine! (#37). I hope she knows how much I miss her! (#43)

Just thought this would be a good list to put on your blog! It is 45 different ways to enjoy something and make yourself feel good..... and it's all cheap! If you did/experienced 1 everyday, it would probably make you feel better. And just think... it's cheaper than Prozac!! :-)

1. Falling in love.
2. Laughing so hard your face hurts.
3. A hot shower.
4. No lines at the supermarket.
5. A special glance.
6. Getting mail.
7. Taking a drive on a pretty road.
8. Hearing your favorite song on the radio.
9. Lying in bed listening to the rain outside.
10. Hot towels fresh out of the dryer.
11. Chocolate milkshake (vanilla or strawberry).
12. A bubble bath.
13. Giggling.
14. A good conversation.
1 5 The beach
16. Finding a 20 dollar bill in your coat from last winter.
17. Laughing at yourself.
18. Looking into their eyes and knowing they Love you
19. Midnight phone calls that last for hours.
20. Running through sprinklers.
21. Laughing for absolutely no reason at all.
22. Having someone tell you that you're beautiful.
23. Laughing at an inside joke with FRIENDS
25. Accidentally overhearing someone say something nice about you.
26. Waking up and realizing you still have a few hours left to sleep.
27. Your first kiss (either the very first or with a new partner).
28. Making new friends or spending time with old ones.
29. Playing with a new puppy.
3 0. Having someone play with your hair.
31. Sweet dreams.
32. Hot chocolate.
33. Road trips with friends.
34. Swinging on swings.
35 Making eye contact with a cute stranger.
36. Making chocolate chip cookies.
37. Having your friends send you homemade cookies.
38 Holding hands with someone you care about.
39 Running into an old friend and realizing that some things (good or bad) never change.
40. Watching the _expression on someone's face as they open a much desired present from you.
41. Watching the sunrise.
42. Getting out of bed every morning and being grateful for another beautiful day.
43. Knowing that somebody misses you.
44. Getting a hug from someone you care about deeply.
45. Knowing you've done the right thing, no matter what other people think.

Teach Your Children Well

My 3 year old daughter has been hoarding Elmo party hats since her birthday last month. She sets them up and carries them around and sometimes her doll and her stuffed animals wear them.

The other night she had a bunch and she asked my husband if he wanted one because she was an Elmo Hat Seller.

He said "OK come over here and sell me a hat"

She responded with:

" I don't sell them here, I only sell them on eBay!"

Ah, she is listening to me!

Romance is Free!

Apparently my friend Stephanie is a cheap date (get your mind out of the gutter people-She's frugal!)

Take a look at this great idea she had and how long she's stretching out a $10 box of chocolate.

Basically, she's just taking an inexpensive treat and taking time to share it with her husband with no distractions. She's enjoying the treat and she's enjoying her husband. (Take note people-Stephanie and her husband are two of the most in love people I know after 10 years of marriage-She knows what she's talking about!)

It doesn't have to be chocolate. It could be tea or oranges or muffins. Or even nothing at all, although I do like the idea of having a little treat.

The romance is free!

Better Off

I pretty much felt like a weenie the other night after I wrote that VCR post and then retired to bed to read my newest (library) book, "Better Off, Flipping the Switch On Technology" (A title which prompted my husband to ask, "Who are you, the unabomber?!?!?")

From the book jacket:

What happens when a graduate of MIT, the bastion of technological advancement, and his bride move to a community so primitive in its technology that even Amish groups consider it antiquated? Eric Brende conceives a real-life experiment: to see if, in fact, all our cell phones, wide-screen TVs, and SUVs have made life easier and better -- or whether life would be preferable without them. By turns, the query narrows down to a single question: What is the least we need to achieve the most? With this in mind, the Brendes ditch their car, electric stove, refrigerator, running water, and everything else motorized or "hooked to the grid" and begin an eighteen-month trial run.

I'm loving this book, though don't get me wrong, I don't want to be Amish! And I don't really want to live without running water or electricity either. This is a wonderful and thoughtful book regarding living with less (way less) and loving it. Through the book the Brendes learn a lot about themselves and the world (the natural world) and come to a lot of great conclusions on how less IS more. I'm not done yet but I'm assuming some of these changes stuck as the back cover tells you that he's now a rickshaw driver and soap maker rather than a high Tech MIT graduate. Apparently he has found what his "least" is and is living it.

Apparently my "least" includes a VCR.