Saturday, May 25, 2013

DIY Repair a Damaged Garden Hose

I had no idea you could do this! And there is even a way to fix a leaky hose at the attachment point to the faucet. See here:

Friday, May 24, 2013

Frugal Summer Creative Writing Course


I'm thinking about using this course($12.00 download), CTT Creative Writing I – Start Writing from CurrClick for my son(rising 10th grader). He has an interest in creative writing and wants to polish his skills over the summer. He'll probably be able to zip through the first course, but I want him to begin with the first course to make sure he doesn't miss anything - to make sure a good foundation of understanding is laid before he moves into the more advanced sections.There are five courses in this series:


"What is Creative Writing? How does one write?  How does one write creatively? How do you teach writing to a nine year old, or even an adult?

 Our Creative Writing I course has been successfully completed by many hundreds of students, and has been proven for well over a decade to jump-start students in the direction of being able to fully express their creativity in words.
Learn the basics directly from a lifelong educator with 40 years experience, as well as an Emmy and Dramalogue award-winning, often produced and published author.
Complete with test and answer guide, and a very useful teacher's guide with thorough advice and exercises to help the teacher assist the student through any difficulties…no matter where in the course they are encountered!
Our Creative Writing I course is called "START WRITING", and that's what it accomplishes! There are no additional purchases needed to do this course as the course materials are self-contained: the Study Guide, Teacher's Guide, test and answer guide. This course has proven to be remarkably effective with students of all ages nine and above who are reticent to write, and is a tremendous success with students already interested in writing!
Once the student has written a work he or she is proud of, we provide a free service here on our site where they can “publish” the work for the world to see, surrounded in appropriate art work and ready to share with family, friends, and admirers around the world!
Generally, students take between 25-40 hours to complete this course.  One of our most popular and best-selling courses!
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Creative Writing is the "crown jewel" of our curriculum. Starting with the most basic basics which explain what "writing" is, the student rapidly develops a complete understanding of the elements of great story telling, including plotting, characterization, dialogue and action. These are thoroughly detailed, and the student is always given many exercises in order to truly improve their understanding and skills, and to demonstrate expertise."

Thursday, May 23, 2013

DIY Modern Minimalist Handbag

I love this minimalist ultra modern bag. I could make this very easily. See here for tutorial. 

Significant Savings on Pet Vaccinations

I found a wonderful blog for learning to live on a shoestring(frugal minimalism). In fact, I just finished her book,The Shoestring Girl: How I Live on Practically Nothing and YOU Can Too before finding her blog, Annienygma. While reading through her blog, which is a book in and of itself, I read something that I had never thought of - vaccinating your own pets to save money! The rabies shots need to be done by the vet for recording purposes, but others can be done at home for less than $10.00 each.

I already purchase dog Frontline Plus flea and tick control and portion it out to the cats at .5 ml for a significantly reduced cost.* So this is just one familiar step closer to reducing my costs by doing it myself.

* Talk to your vet first. This particular brand has contents safe for grown cats at a lower specific dose. Not all products for dogs are safe for cats(and vice versa) and can cause them harm. I have used a carefully measured dose of canine Frontline Plus with a syringe on both my cats for years without problems. Animal shelters have been known to use this as well. There are websites that warn against this, and others that mention that it is okay. Educate yourself, talk to your vet, and choose wisely for pet in this matter.