I’m still here!

I know it’s been a while since I’ve posted, but I promise I’ll be back soon! I have been sidelined with a respiratory issue – don’t you just love cold and flu season?

Duh.

You’d think since I do so much couponing I would kinda know the ins-and-outs of it right now, eh?

Instead, I’m sitting here with four Sunday papers with no coupons because it’s a holiday weekend.

Oh, well, at least they had the Target $10 gift cards with a new prescription.

Angel Food Ministries

So, to put it bluntly, the price of food sucks. Even though the price of gas has gone down dramatically, the price of food is nicely staying perched atop the height it hit in 2008. I know at the beginning of 2008 I was a horrible cook – epically horrible. The cost of processed foods kept rising though, and I saw our grocery bill keep rising, and I knew I had to do something. One thing that I have been meaning to do, though, is join Angel Food Ministries.

Angel Food Ministries is a program where you place an order for a box of food at the beginning of the month, and the cost of a box is $30. It can feed a family of four for about a week, and the average retail price is around $60.

This isn’t a charity, though. The success of Angel Food Ministries depends on people buying boxes of food – the more money they have the more money they are able to buy more food at a cheaper price. There are no applications, requirements, income restrictions, or minimum limit. It’s the good quality stuff, too.. it’s not second hand food. Food stamps are accepted, though.

This month’s menu, for example:

1.5 lb. Sirloin Strip Steaks
2 lb. Tray Pack Chicken Breasts
1 lb. Boneless Pork Chops
2 lb. Breaded Chicken Nuggets
28 oz. Salisbury Steak Entrée
12 oz. Sliced Bacon
1 lb. All-Meat Hot Dog
1 lb. Stir Fry (Broccoli, Red Peppers & Onions)
1 lb. Carrots
8 oz. Breakfast Cereal
32 oz. 2% Shelf Stable Milk
35 oz. Crinkle-Cut Fries
7.25 oz. Mac ‘n Cheese
1 lb. Rice
1 lb. Bean Soup Mix
Dozen Eggs
Dessert

Plus, you can get add-on boxes, like a Assorted Meat Box, Fajita Kit, etc.

You can find your local host site here (they are located in local churches), and then you can contact your host site to order that month’s box. There are many sites located in Cincinnati, making it easy to find a host site.

It’s definitely worth trying, and you can save money in the process!

(And to avoid the inevitable – this story about Angel Food Ministries came out on the same exact day I started writing this blog post. I wasn’t sure how to handle this, but I decided to keep blogging about it because people can get good food at a great price. I hope that the investigation turns up nothing, but if it does I’m glad that the FBI is investigating. Reminds me of the Locks of Love controversy, no?)

Women’s Health Series: Cloth Pads

When I heard about cloth pads I was pretty squicked – who really wants to deal with that? Ew, right? I’ve heard about them for years, some of my friends use them, and I have been told time and time again that I needed to change over to cloth.

As always, click the jump to read the rest of the article. Nothing explicit or gross, just wanting to cut this for uninterested readers.

The Acer Laptop Returns

(To catch up on the Acer saga, please check the Acer Nightmare tag. First post is here, second is here, and third is here. The laptop in question is an Acer Aspire 5100 series, which had a loose screen hinge, faulty touch pad, chronic overheating, whining fan, and would occasionally freeze up with blue and white vertical stripes on the screen, which I was told that was the video card going out.)

So, Acer sent the laptop back to me, completely and utterly untouched and unfixed. Even the problems that would NOT even be close to being caused by this mysterious liquid – loose hinge for the screen, bad touchpad – they didn’t even bother fixing. Thanks, Acer.

They sent it back in a box that I had sent it in, and the box was wearing thin and breaking in spots.

A couple shots of the box.

Same packaging, everything, and no paperwork – so I have no idea if they even opened it, what they *might* have done to it, nothing. If something would have happened to the box since it was so flimsy anyways, there would be no identifiable info about the laptop itself.

Here are a couple of pics of the outside of the laptop – the touchpad, the lose hinge, etc.

This is the back hinge. The white residue you see is from duct tape.. I had to use duct tape to keep it from wobbling. I took it off before I sent it back.

This is the touchpad, and this is the wear from only a year and a half worth of use. The buttons want to fall out, the color is actually wearing down, you can see scratches on the laptop. The laptop has spent most of it’s time on my desk. The touchpad itself was faulty.

It’s just made from cheap plastic, as you can see. Hasn’t held up well.

This is the bottom of the laptop. I have no idea what this white powder is, but it is covering a lot – I just thought it was worth noting.

I have to admit, I am defeated. I think the main thing that broke me was the constant jerking and pulling from the customer service at Acer. Insisting they want to make me happy, paying for FedEx shipping back, offering to correct the wrongs that they made and then deciding against it. Telling me that they wouldn’t touch it, and if they did, it would be $449. Naming a mysterious liquid as the problem, making even outer fixes like the touchpad and hinge un-doable. Assuming that I accused the repair reps of spilling a drink in the laptop when it had never even crossed my mind.

But even though I am defeated when it comes to this laptop, I can honestly say I will do absolutely everything in my power to make sure everyone knows the lack of quality and horrible Acer customer support offers. I will make sure that everyone I know, speak to, pass on the street, run across on blogs, forums, social networks, anyone that is looking for anything computer related will know what hideous treatment they give their customers, and that they have no problems promising something then deciding differently. I would have taken them very little to make me happy, but instead they give excuses and false promises.

I don’t want anything from Acer anymore. But what I do want is for people to know how Acer treats the people that buys their products. I have filed a report at RipoffReport.com, I will be filing with the BBB, and I will be contacting the consumer media watchdogs. Yelp is probably a good idea, too.

If anyone needs the contact info for the top 5 executives at Acer, here you go:

These are the person business emails of some of the Acer Pan America Executive Team

Rudi_Schmidleithner@acer.com, President
Mark_Hill@acer.com, General Manager, Acer America
Mark_Groveunder@acer.com, Vice President, Customer Service
Clarence_Worthington@acer.com, Senior Director, Sales Operations and Fulfillment
Joe_Castillo@acer.com, Director, U.S. Retail Sales

Getting better skin for cheap

Soon I will be reviewing and having tutorials using the minerals from Eyes Lips Face. In preparation for this, let’s work on getting better canvas for the makeup! This info is from my friend Abby’s blog, who has great information on how to clear up and get better skin for pennies on the dollar. I figured since we are doing makeup, let’s start with the face!

• Cleanse your skin using a gentle cleanser in order to remove surface oil, dirt and germs. If you have oily or combination skin, use a foaming gel cleanser; if you have dry skin, look for a creamier blend that won’t dry out your skin

• Exfoliate. Natural exfoliators include: Ground oats and pineapple. Grind oatmeal in your food processor and add 3 T. oats to 2T. plain natural yoghurt or whole milk. Apply to the face and remove after 10 minutes with a warm towel. Or put ¼ cup pineapple and 3 T. plain natural yoghurt into the food processor and pulse. Once combined apply to the face and remove after 10 minutes with a warm towel

• Massage- This is where having a partner to help is great. Here is a great protocol for facial massage:
• Apply the massage cream or lotion and begin massaging the face and neck areas in small symmetrical circles. The strokes should move up the neck and along the contour of the face. Do not leave out any facial muscles.
• Next, gently glide the back of the hands across the fore-head with light pressure. Placing the thumbs side by side on the center of the forehead with the hands cradling the face, draw the thumbs outward towards the temples and make a gentle sweeping movement around the temple. Repeat the movement several times to relieve tension in the temples.
• Apply pressure in the hollow areas under the eyebrows by placing the hands along the sides of the face; use the thumb to press gently under the ridge one spot at a time. Move the pressure point from the inner to the outer edge of the brows and repeat the thumb pressure. This technique can help relieve tension headache.
• Position the thumbs alongside the nose bridge with hands cupping the face. Firmly slide the thumbs downward to the nostrils and outwards along the contour of the cheeks applying pressure along the way. Gently release the pressure when the thumbs reach the hairline. Then pull both hands up alongside the face towards the top of the head and away from the face. Repeat this motion two more times.
• Position fingertips in the cheek muscles and gently make circling movements counter-clockwise for a few times moving along the cheek muscles. This motion alleviates tension in the cheek area.
• Gently stroke the ears with the index fingers and thumbs while moving along the rims of the ears. This technique is very relaxing and enjoyable.
• Position the fingers just behind the neck while pressing with a thumb pad on a spot in the jaw area and circling this spot before moving to the next one. Holding the chin with the fingers, stroke the chin with the thumbs using circular motions downward. Finish the jaw massage with gentle strokes alongside the chin. This movement releases tension in the mouth and jaw.
• Make circular motions on the scalp and comb the fingers through the hair to release tension from the face and the head and to stimulate the scalp.

• Finally, remove the massage cream or lotion with fresh and damp cotton pads. Most facials end with a special lotion applied to the face.

• Apply a mask. If you have oily or combination skin, use a clay-based mask; for dry skin, look for a hydrating mask. Most beauty supply stores or drug stores sell masks in small sachets if you do not already have a favorite mask. Apply mask to the skin, being careful to avoid the eye area (this can lead to sagging skin). Leave mask on for 10 to 20 minutes or as directed. Remove the mask with warm towels and follow with a light spritz of toner.

• Moisturize. Apply a light moisturizer in order to prevent dehydrating the skin. Look for a moisturizer with SPF 15 or higher in order to protect your skin from the sun’s harmful rays.