In-Flight Dining - To Bring or Not to Bring Your Food

And why, you might ask, is this a timely topic? Well, today I'm am enroute to the East Coast to start my new job! The flight is approximately 4 and 1/2 hours, so at least one mealtime will hit while I'm onboard. As I seldom fly First or Business Class these days, this is by no means meant as a review of airline cuisine. Rather it is intended for those of us resigned to traveling Coach (and by the way, given the cuts in amenities overall, it's really not that much worse than flying in one of the elite seats)!

I watch so many passengers juggle luggage and briefcases along with a lunch hastily purchased before boarding the plane. I used to think this indicated amazing foresight on their part, but think about it. If the food is hot, by the time you are seated, in the air and able to actually eat it, it is lukewarm at best. If it was cold, again, it is now lukewarm. If it had dressing on it, it's soggy. If it had dressing on the side, it probably spilled while you were jockeying for overhead space. And anything purchased near the gate is likely to cost between $7-$10 once you figure in tax and the higher cost of everything in an airport.

I have become a fan of the snack boxes that many of the airlines now sell on flights that would normally serve meals. They typically cost about $5 and contain some form of crackers, cheese, fruit (i.e. applesauce) and a dessert item. There are usually a couple of varieties to select from and as they are packaged items, they are generally fairly fresh. It's enough food to keep me going without having to juggle a sack along with me (and it's served at the same time as the drinks). To be honest, these snacks are better than just a mini-bag of pretzels or even the old coach meals of pasta with bland tomato sauce. That said, by the time you read this, I will no doubt be ordering my snack box!

I Scream, You Scream, We all Scream for Ice Cream!!!!

Here's a "freebie alert"!!!!

Today, Wal-Mart is handing out approximately 1,000,000 free pre-packaged ice cream treats in 2,000 Wal-Mart Super Centers across the US!

Just show up between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m., where the frozen treats will include Ben and Jerry's Flipped Out Cup ice cream, Blue Bunny Aspen Frozen Yogurt Granola Bars and Dibs Snack Bags.

No promises that it will be an easy venture - Wal-Marts are typically busy on Saturdays anyway and this no doubt will cause more traffic. But if you are daring, enjoy the spoils of your search!

Donations on a dime!

Another short entry, but powerful information! Awhile ago, I wrote about charitable giving when you are short on cash yourself. Well, I've thought of a few other opportunities to do just that!

* When you buy specially-marked boxes of Cheerios, you can get a code to enter on
www.cheerioshelpinghearts.com - this makes a donation of $1.00 to help low-income women get cholesterol tests.

* During certain campaigns, Yoplait Yogurt sells it's yogurt cups with pink foil tops - those tops, when cleaned and mailed to the address indicated, are worth $ to women's breast cancer research.

* And check out http://www.theanimalrescuesite.com/clickToGive/home.faces?siteId=3
This site allows you to click daily (you'll see the big purple button to click!) - for each click the site's sponsors pay for food and care of animals. And 100% of the sponsor money goes to charities related to animals. At the top of the site's home page there are tabs for other charities as well related to hunger, child health, breast cancer, literacy and the rainforest.

These are all simple ways to give when you least can afford it!

DIY Tips and Lessons

Eric Stromer - GMC Trade Secrets - AOL Living

I have never been very handy on major home projects. I can hang a picture (usually so that it is somewhat even), I can strip off wallpaper (putting it on is doubtful) and I can paint a wall. But when it comes to bigger projects, I'm a bit of a coward!
So for those of you that want to do it yourself and save money, this blog entry is for you! The link above will connect you to a series of Eric Stromer's DIY projects as shown on AOL's home improvement page! What better way to spend a summer weekend!

If you have any good (or bad!) stories about a DIY project, please share!

Budget Birthdays

Yes, today is my birthday...and no, we are not doing anything extravagant! It's a tight economy and I've literally asked my kids to make cards or do chores in lieu of an actual present this year. We are opting for this for all of our relatives this year...face it, we have been fortunate and now times are tough. We don't need more "stuff" so why pay more on postage than we have to pay for the gifts we are shipping? I won't readily give up Christmas gifts for my family and friends, but Mother's Day, Father's Day and birthdays belong to Hallmark!

A Little Free Reading Material

(And yes, the pun in the title is intentional!) You may or may not be a frequent flyer, but if you earn miles on any of the major airlines (either through flying, car rentals, hotels or even shopping), then you may be surprised that even a small number of miles is worth something! At the end of each year, those airlines that I have few miles on (even less than 500), usually send me a list of magazines that I can subscribe to by paying with my miles. There is no catch and they don't come back to haunt you by renewing your subscription automatically the next time around. Rather than lose the miles when I am not likely to earn a ticket in the near future, this is a nice way to get some free reading material of my choice!

The Scent of Summer

I (gracefully of course!) spilled some vanilla on my hand while pretending I know how to cook the other day. The scent of vanilla reminded me of reading about someone using it as a natural perfume...hmmm...seems like there should be lots of easy ways to make perfumes at home without spending a bundle on the advertised "perfume-making kits" so I decided to check into it. (And, yes, I am probably selling myself out of my Avon perfume sales by doing this...though we have good prices if you don't want to concoct your own perfumes!)

My favorites (mainly because they were simple scents and easy to make)I found on the site www.pioneeerthinking.com/basicperfume.html

Their most basic perfume recipe is as follows:

"Ingredients: 2 cups of water and 1 cup fresh chopped flower blossoms.

Directions:

In a bowl, place a cheesecloth where the edges are hanging over the bowl. Fill with 1 cup of flower blossoms of your choice. Pour water over the flowers until they are completely covered. Cover and let sit overnight. The next day, using the edges of the cheesecloth, pull it out of the bowl and gently squeeze the scented water into a small pot. Simmer the water until about 1 teaspoon is left. Cool and place into a small bottle. Making perfume this way has a shelf life of about 1 month."

They suggested using flowers that are highly fragrant such as lavender, lilac, honeysuckle or orange blossoms.

This same site gives a variety of perfume, cologne, aftershave and body spray recipes; all simple to make. I personally would think about using these as gifts though given the short shelf life (though might be a nice romantic gift for your significant other!).

Check out www.mountainroseherbs.com for organic supplies (essential oils and herbs and spices) as well as perfume bottles. You, can also find essential oils at your local natural food store or a grocery store with a well-stocked organic food section.

One final recipe for you (from www.ehow.com) given that this all came about from my vanilla "accident"!

Perfume made with vanilla extract:

Necessary items:
* Vanilla extract
* Fresh lemons
* Saucepan
* Stovetop burner (well, duh!)
* perfume bottle
* glass container
* refrigerator (ok...so they may have pulled this from "Perfume-Making for Idiots"!)

STEPS:

1) Squeeze enough lemons to get 1/4 cup of fresh lemon juice. Add 6 drops of vanilla extract to the cup of lemon juice and stir until both ingredients mix thoroughly.

2) Add 1 cup of water to saucepan. Add lemon juice and vanilla extract mixture to the water.

3) Heat the solution on stove at high setting. Cover the pan with a lid when it reaches a boil and let boil for 2 minutes.

4) Place saucepan in the refrigerator - leave there for 5 minute to cool. [OK - I personally have always heard NOT to place hot items directly in the fridge - this is probably ok, but put it on something (hot pad, towel, etc.) instead of directly on the shelf...just to be on the safe side and to prevent harming the shelves!]

5) Remove saucepan from refrigerator. Boil the solution again by following step 3.

6) Transfer the mixture to clean glass container and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

7) Pour perfume into new perfume bottle.

Notes:
* Artificial vanilla extract smells stronger than pure vanilla extract.
* Keep perfume refrigerated to keep it fresh.

Let us know if you try any of these...I may have to give it a shot over Memorial Day weekend (yes, I do need a life!).