This is what happens when you don’t allow enough time to breathe: You turn blue, albeit in a vaguely artistic way.
I haven’t posted much lately, mostly because I was in Alaska. Meeting deadlines and spending as much time as possible with friends and loved ones sucked away most of my hours and all of my energy.
Last week I was so distracted that I never even posted a giveaway. More on that below.
The urban homesteading movement is a growth enterprise (sorry) in the United States. My current column at MSN Money shows why.
“A chicken in every condo?” details some of the ways that let people with small urban properties — or those who don’t own property — produce food.
Pam F. is the winner of the $20 Amazon.com gift card. She’ll use it to birthday gifts for her little sister. (Cue the girl noise: Awwww!) Thanks to all who entered.
I entered two blog carnivals this week and was happy to get into both:
On the train ride to Cornwall today I met a delightful woman who has traveled extensively and once shot photos of a tiger while riding on an elephant. She suggested accompanying me to Paris on a day trip (boy, does that sound weird) this weekend or, if the Chunnel train tickets are too costly, to tour me around Windsor (the region, not the castle).
Now up at MSN Money is my latest column, “Useless Groupon? Cash it in.” It’s all about the secondary market for social commerce vouchers from places like Tippr, Buy With Me, Living Social and, of course, Groupon.
The advantage is twofold: You can unload deals you no longer want and, more to the point, you can look for deals you missed on the first go-round or that you didn’t know existed.
As one secondary-market host says, it’s “a catalog experience vs. an impulse buy.”
You know you want free rent.
Neurotic Workaholic is the winner of the six different kinds of Godiva chocolate. Congratulations, and I hope you can power down long enough to enjoy the sweets.
The rest of you take heart: Another Godiva giveaway is in the offing. Not right away, but soon.
Practical Parsimony was the winner of this week’s giveaway, a $20 Amazon.com certificate. I’m sure her grandson will be relieved, because Practical P. plans to spend the scrip on an iTunes card for her grandson, to “accompany the boring bathrobe I am giving him.” Happy birthday, grandson — dodged a bullet there. In other news: … Read more
My work is in two blog carnivals this week.
My writing is in three personal finance blog carnivals this week. “What do we want to be? A few thoughts on labor” was selected for the Carnival of Money Stories at Eventual Millionaire. “What’s with the shopping cart? Or: Art vs. commerce” is in the Carnival of Personal Finance at Sustainable Life Blog. Finally, last … Read more
It’s a little after 1 a.m. and I’m writing from my dad’s place in South Jersey. Already sweating, and boy, are those crickets loud. You forget.
Had to rewrite a paragraph for the next “Living With Less” column — didn’t want the editor to have to wait until tomorrow — so as long as I was up I thought I’d let people know what gives here in the land of tomatoes and prisons.
For starters, I had an excellent experience flying on United Airlines. Not a single flight attendant cursed or leaped out of the plane, beer in hand.