Mariannes Motifs

10 stages of unemployment

via www.sfgate.com

You've heard of the stages of grief, well this column goes over the 10 Stages of Unemployment. Spot on description of what's it's like to be a poster child for the recession.

Rod Dreher: Glenn Beck's world order endangers the right | News for Dallas, Texas | Dallas Morning News | Opinion: Viewpoints

Beck is a white Jeremiah Wright, a crazy-pants conspiracy theorist whose worldview is rooted in the paranoid teachings of a far-right Mormon political guru named W. Cleon Skousen. Before signing up as a recruit in Beck's army, conservative Becketeers had better think long and hard about where their affable leader is taking them.

via www.dallasnews.com

Interesting op-ed piece about Fox News crazy pot-stirrer Glenn Beck.

I personally have a lot of fear of people like Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh, whose modus operandi is to inflame the emotions (particularly fear and anger) of their listeners. Because when people's fear and anger is stirred up without a proper outlet (like go volunteer for what you believe in, vote, etc. people can and do become violent. People who stir up hate and violence are the worst sort of people in my opinion.

Cat Bordhi Personal Footprints Sock Knitting Class

My fun today was getting to spend all day in a sock knitting seminar.  This was a class taught by famously creative knitting designer and author Cat Bordhi.  She has designed an entirely new way to knit socks that avoids some of the things that people (like me) find difficult about sock knitting. 

In this method there is:

• No wraps and turns
• No Picking up Stitches
• 100% knit in the round
• A custom fit for each person

I was pretty confused at the beginning of the day and had trouble with the Judy's Magic Cast on, but after Cat helped me with that part I got going pretty well.  I got almost all the way to the heel and I am looking forward to finishing my "discovery sock" tomorrow.

I got my book signed, and I also got a picture of me with Cat Bordhi.  Yay!

I attended the class at the fabulous yarn store "The Whole Nine Yarns."  This is such a gorgeous store and of course they had the receipt printer going all day as knitters came in to shop the great yarns.  Cat Bordhi will be signing books tomorrow at 11:00 at the Whole Nine Yarns in Woodstock, GA.

Deal on Organic Maple Syrup

This is the good stuff, folks.  Super yum at an affordable price.  As the poster on Slickdeals stated, this price is lower than Costco.

Use coupon code BASCOM35 to get 35% off and you can use Subscribe and Save for an additional 15% off.

Outback Steakhouse Deal

I read on Slickdeals.net that you can get a coupon for a free entree at Outback by signing up on their "Keep in Touch" page.  The coupon gets mailed to you and is said to be a free entree with purchase of drink and another entree.

We love to go to Outback for a special treat so I went ahead and signed up.  Outback is the one restaurant where I can expect my boys to behave like little gentlemen.

Sign up URL here.

Great Deal Knorr Fried Rice Side Dish on Sale 40% off

Here's an interesting deal - Amazon has Knorr "Sides Plus Veggies" vegetable fried rice for 49% off.  (Free shipping for orders over $25.00)  It comes in a bulk pack of 12 for $14.09.  I use the pilaf mix they make and it is very good.  I haven't had the fried rice yet.  Since this comes out to $1.17 a package and they are a dried rice in a shelf stable package this seems like a pretty good way to stock up your pantry.

You could have fried rice every other week and have a good part of your meal planning all set for 3 months.  And if you don't want 12 of the same thing --- here's an idea -- use half yourself and donate the other half to your local food bank. 

This is one of those things that can be a side dish, or add some scrambled egg or meat to make it a main dish.  Watch the sodium - sometimes prepared foods like this can have a lot.

Out of Town

I'll be out of town until tomorrow night.   I am not bringing my laptop because I want to carry as little as possible.  I do have my Blackberry so I can send a Twitter.  You can check my Tweets here at the blog on the right side or go to Twitter.com/Mar1anneC.

I need to travel light because I hate lugging baggage.  I am not using any business plan writer or anything where I cannot live without my laptop for a day and a half, right.  Now for the adventure of getting to the airport.  Atlanta is under flash floods and some of the highways are closed.  I am taking the MARTA train.

Leaving on a Jet Plane

I'm leaving in the morning to fly to Iowa.  I'm just about packed, itinerary is printed and ready to go.  I just need to mapquest two sets of driving directions and then frouf up my hair a bit.

It's been raining here in the ATL for about 1 million days straight now.  Does anyone remember how many cubits high we are supposed to build the ark?  Just askin'.

I have 4  job interviews lined up and the stress is hitting me.   I guess stress can be the best fat burner.  But really, I prefer to be mellow.

Organic K-Cups On Sale - Now Available in Waste Reducing Packaging

Any of my regular readers knows that I proudly share information about the cheapest K-Cups on sale from Amazon in 50 count "frustration free" packaging.  These are the best deals I have found on the single serve coffee I prefer for the Keurig brewers.

There hasn't of yet been an Organic K-Cup with this great pricing, until now.  New to the frustration free packaging line are these three varieties:

Coffee People Organic Extra Bold K-Cups

Coffee People Kona Blend Extra Bold K-Cups

Diedrich French Roast, Extra Bold K-Cups

I am really excited about the organic option.  People have been paying a lot more for the Newman's organic k-cups, and now can get the convenience and price of the Amazon deal and get the organic goodness.

 

The frustration free packaging is great for the environment too - Deidrich has worked with Amazon to create a package that reduces waste.  Here is a quote from their site about how the new packaging and their "perks for the planet" program:

• 33% reduction in packaging with a single 50-Count box
• 40% recycled cardboard in every package
• Soy based non-toxic ink on all packaging
• Reduced carbon emissions due to more efficient packaging and transportation

I have written about Keurig brewers and K-Cups so many times now and every time I have to stop and make sure I spell Keurig correctly.  There are so many ways you can misspell these things - kurig, kuerig, k cups, coffee pods, when I look at my website keywords I can see that I am not the only one who has trouble spelling these things!  That's why I add the "wrong spellings" to the end of my post in case people are searching for "kurig coffee on sale," or something like that.  Sneaky, aren't I?

I do get a tiny commission if people buy K-Cups on sale through my site and Amazon.  I get Amazon Gift Certificates that I use to buy my own yummy organic k-cups on sale. 

Friday Chit Chat

It's still Friday for about 4 minutes so I had better hurry. 

I got my hair done today, so I can go incognito and hide the curls for job interviews.  Surveys say that straight hair comes over better in business situations, I think.  No fair, but that's the way the world works I guess.  If I didn't care about what other people think I would probably be wearing braids in the islands style.

Of course right when I am getting ready for job interviews my face has to break out like a freakin' teenager.  Just great.  Who can recommend acne treatments that actually work? Arghh.

I made good old Upstate NY style BBQ chicken tonight.  Used the "Cornell Marinade" and actually grilled chicken thighs in the grill pan and finished them in the over.  They came out delish and everyone liked them.