Free Kindle Book This Weekend!

New Kindle children's book dirt cheap - or even FREE!

Ok all, I'm asking you guys a favor.  My grandmother wrote a children's book back when my mom was little and tried for years to get it published.  For whatever reason she was turned down so she just shelved it.

Years later after my grandmother had passed away my mom wanted to try to get it published in her honor but I didn't know where to begin and quite honestly, I forgot all about it.

Suddenly it occurred to me to publish it on Kindle.  So I did!

I have it available for download FOR FREE on Saturday, June 28 2014.  Otherwise it's a whopping $2.99.

I would love it if you would go grab a copy while it's free.  I'm not looking to make money here, just want to do this as a surprise for my mom.  And then, if you would be so kind, write a quick review.  The books on Kindle that have the most reviews seem to appear at the top of the search results so the more reviews I can get, the more people will become aware of it and get it all on their own.

My parents both turn 70 this year and we're having a joint birthday bash in July.  All the kids and grandkids are flying in for this, so what a great surprise it would be to show her that her mother's book has been published after 60 years!!!

Please, if you think of it, please go get this.  If you want to pay for it, awesome!  But I'd be every bit as happy if you get it while it's free.  Here's the link and THANK YOU in advance for making my grandma's dream a reality.

http://www.amazon.com/Purple-Rabbit-Rose-H-Howe-ebook/dp/B00L4RP7OC/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1403263016&sr=1-1&keywords=purple+rabbit

Say goodbye to satellite or cable TV and save a bundle!

Say goodbye to satellite or cable TV and save a bundle!

I've been a loyal Dish Network customer for years.  I love their service and have had almost no problems with it.  But one day I looked at my bill and thought, "We're spending over $100 a month to watch TV."  And most of the time we don't really even "watch" what's on.  I'm on my Kindle, hubby's on his iPad, and the TV is just on in the background.  That's more than $1200/year that we're throwing way!

So I did a ton of research on streaming with a Roku-type device, polled all my Facebook friends, and called my brother.  He gave me the 30 Minute Nutshell version of how to get rid of satellite.  So I took the plunge.

It's been trial and error but I think we finally have a winner.  Here's what I've learned.

You need:  a modern (or old fashioned) TV antenna, just like the rabbit ears on your grandma's old TV but probably much cooler looking.  Mine is a totally flat, flexible square that sticks on your wall or window.  If you live more than 30 miles away from the nearest station that's broadcasting a local station like ABC, NBC, CBS, etc. you may need something stronger.  I bought this one first and if we didn't live so far away, it would have worked just fine:

AmazonBasics High Performance Ultra Thin Indoor HDTV Antenna -Made in USA

An outdoor antenna or one that goes in your attic might be a better choice for you.  But a typical antenna will set you back somewhere between $25-100.  After I returned the first one I exchanged it for this one instead.  It's about $57.00.

AmazonBasics Extreme Performance Ultra Thin Amplified Indoor HDTV Antenna - Designed and Assembled in USA

You also need a way for your TV to access the internet (more on this later.)

Last, you'll probably want a few subscription-based channels like HuluPlus and Netflix.  Each is approximately $8/month.  I find that Netflix has more movies and kids shows and Hulu has more TV shows.  We subscribe to both.

So we were ready to begin!  Luckily we have an internet enabled TV in our family room.  Meaning it already can access Netflix and some other sites on its own without needing a media streaming device of some sort. 

The pros:  It's free.

The cons:  There are only a few stations to choose from, like Netflix, Hulu, and Youtube, plus a few others I've never heard of before.  The interface is terrible too.  Trying to find a show to watch takes 10 minutes using their search feature.  Trying to type a movie or TV show title on my TV remote takes forever.

But then again, it's free!  So we did not buy a streaming device, such as Apple TV or Roku.  Why bother, right?

Here's what the interface looks like.  Not much to choose from.  (I am absolutely, hands down, the world's WORST cell phone photographer.  Sorry!)

If you want to watch Scandal from last night's episode, you have to find it first.  You go search on Netflix, can't find it.  Then you search on Hulu.  Not there either.  Ok, how about if we go to www.Abc.com and click on "Full Episodes".  Yes, that worked.  That took about 10 minutes.  Hmm, kind of a pain.

We used this method for about a week but hubby was not happy that he couldn't find any of his favorite outdoor shows to watch (hunting and fishing), car shows like Chasing Classic Cars, or live sporting events.  So then we bought an Apple TV.

Since we are an Apple household with two Macbook Pros, two iPads, and two iPhones, we thought this would be great.  And the ability for the mobile devices to sync with the TV is pretty awesome.  If I were watching a movie on my iPad I could just display it on the TV screen instead.  Which is very cool!

Unfortunately they still don't have that many channels to watch and the search capability still sucks.  And the remote is the size of a big, pink pencil eraser that my 9 year old uses in school.  I mean seriously, what full grown adult could possibly press those tiny little buttons?  It's ridiculous.  I get the whole minimalist concept but come on!  The picture below is of the regular TV remote and the Apple TV remote.  It's truly about 5" long.

So after a week of this and still no outdoor channel type programs, I hit the internet to do some research on which unit is the best for streaming.  And the one that kept showing up over and over again?  The Roku 3.

Roku 3 Streaming Media Player

The Roku 3 was by far my favorite!  More channels to choose from but you can search by title and it will look through ALL their channels for that show/movie.  This is so much easier!

In review, here's the cost for our setup:

$59.99 for the antenna  

$89 for the Roku 3  (It seems like the price has gone up a bit since I bought it a few weeks ago.) 

**These are both one time costs.**

$7.99/month - HuluPlus

$7.99/month - Netflix

**These are our only monthly costs.**

Former DishNetwork monthly cost - $112.00

Total savings the first year alone - $993.00

Total savings the second year - $1153.00

So seeing those numbers on paper, is it worth giving up cable or sat TV?

Sadly, to my husband, the answer is no.  I was totally willing to go this route but he couldn't watch his favorite shows on Velocity or a few of the other "guy" shows he likes - car shows, gun shows, shows where the build something and then take it out and blow it up.  So he insisted that we continue to pay for cable.

I'm bummed but after listening to him bitch and moan about it for a week I gave up trying to convince him.  I wish you all much more luck than I had, my friends!

Comment below and let me know if you have tried this and whether you think it's doable.  I'm hoping I can wear hubby down after another year or two of getting that stupid Dish bill each month.

DIY deodorant

DIY deodorant

Another one of my "I didn't invent this idea but it's so awesome I have to share it!" posts.  I am not sure whether aluminum in antiperspirant is cancer causing or gives you Alzheimers, but why take the chance?  Besides, at the end of the day my armpits would be a bit smelly, no matter what brand I used, so clearly it wasn't working all that well for me.  Why not try to make my own?

As I've mentioned in my No Poo post, baking soda is incredibly drying to me.  And I've read many a reader review who said that the DIY deodorant made their armpits sting and itch, so I cut way back on the baking soda and increased the arrowroot powder instead.  I've had little red bumps in my left underarm for 30 years.  I thought they were ingrown hairs but when I'd attempt to extract them nothing came out.  So if my skin is that sensitive even to store bought stuff, I wasn't going to go nuts with the baking soda.

I used:

3 tbsp coconut oil

3 tsp baking soda (that's teaspoons, not tablespoons)

2 tbsp shea butter

3 tbsp arrowroot powder

Optional - essential oils and/or vanilla

I put a saucepan with an inch or so of water on the stove to boil.  I put a Pyrex measuring cup in the pan so that the water was surrounding it.  You can also use a mason jar or a double boiler.  I like the Pyrex cup because you're not supposed to rinse melted coconut oil down your drain for fear that it will solidify in your pipes.  I just wipe it out with a paper towel until it's as clean as I can get it and then stick it in the dishwasher.

Ok, back the the instructions.  I put the coconut oil and shea butter in the measuring cup and stirred frequently till it was all melted.  Then take it off the heat and add the baking soda, arrowroot, and I used about a teaspoon of vanilla.  Stir really well till all the powder has mixed in.  It stays a little grainy if you don't mix well enough.  Still works, just feels gritty.

I bought some deodorant containers from Amazon and poured the mixture into them, thinking I'd make stick deodorant.  I got these:



 But honestly?  The formula is just not solid enough to work.  As soon as the mixture touches your underarm it starts to melt and run down the side of the container.  Next time I'll just put it in a small glass screw top container.  In fact, I'm going to go buy a 12-pack of mason jars in the smallest size just for beauty concoctions like this!  To truly work in stick form I think you'd need to use beeswax or a LOT more arrowroot.

So to use, I just scoop out a pea sized amount and rub it in on each side.  It has very little scent (almost none) since I didn't use any essential oils.  You can use whatever fragrance you want, of course.  But the best part?  At the end of the day there is still no body odor!  None!  This kind of boggles my mind.  I figured this recipe would work ok, but probably not as well as store bought deodorant.  Wrong!  It's 10 times better.  Unless I go to the pool and forget to reapply when I come home and change clothes.  I've done this a few times and noticed I was a bit aromatic by bedtime.  But that's because it had pretty much washed off in the pool!

I've heard that over time it also helps you sweat less.  I've only been using it a few weeks so I can't comment on that yet, plus it's been 90 degrees and 80%+ humidity so I'm sweating a ton anyway, but so far, I'm hooked.  And this probably cost me all of $1 at most in ingredients.  

Cheaper and better, I tell ya!

***UPDATE 6/21/14 ***

I tried another, easier variation using only room temperature coconut oil, baking soda, and lavender essential oil.  You just mash it all together in a bowl with a fork and then smush it into the clean deodorant container.  Here are my thoughts:

A) It was certainly easier than using a double boiler.  And it almost works just like regular store bought deodorant because it's solid enough to rub on using the applicator.  It does start to melt down the side from your body heat so I just wipe it off and then rub it into my skin.  But…

B)  It's really gritty because the baking soda didn't dissolve into the hot liquid.  Since I used solid coconut oil it doesn't dissolve at all.  I used more baking soda than in my previous recipe and after using it a few times I have a horrible red rash under my arms.

So I'm back to my original recipe using shea butter.  I like the texture and consistency MUCH better.  The shea butter makes it more like a really thick body lotion instead of a gritty paste.