I really am a two buck chuck fan, but it's actually closer to 3 1/2 buck chuck in ohio--but who can complain about that! I fell in love with Bocce Red Zin, only to learn that Bocce has since gone out of business. I was able to rescue the last case from World Market. I'm still heart-broken. That kind actually had the weird rubber-like cork. I don't know what to compare it to...maybe it is actually a form of plastic.
I eventually did get the "free" bag of candy for .01 cent, but it was more hassle than it was worth. I had to escalate it up to the manager and ended up spending 20 minutes on what should have been a very simple transacation.
The coupon would not scan, nor would it take when the cashier tried to manually enter it and the cashier said I had picked up the wrong type of candy and that was the reason...I pointed out that it exactly what stated on the coupon, and even then, tried to say that I just needed to go find a different type of candy. I advised I had picked out the candy that I wanted, it matched what was on the coupon and only then did she say that the coupon was not any good at their store.
I had to request the matter to be escalated to the store manager. Even worse, where I live all the candy on the coupon has been marked down to $1.50 a bag and the coupon states the price of the candy is to be $2.79 and there is very small print on the coupon that the coupon does not apply to sale items and all of the items on the coupon were now on sale. I asserted that it was not fair to penalize me just because the candy was now on sale and the manager did relent and advise that he would let me use the coupon and tried to ring it up as a "customer satisfaction" issue and even then, they could not figure out how to ring it up and take off the coupon and ended up having to put it through for .01 cent.
This is a great article, and very enjoyable to read. I've always figured that if you really like to drink wine, you should drink whatever tastes good to you regardless of the packaging or what others may say about it. Though, I have to admit, those plastic corks always catch me a little off guard.
Oh, and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels includes the line "why is the cork on the fork." Hopefully I'm not remembering wrong, it's been a really long time, and I'll be mortified if I'm wrong.
You are too funny. Love the flavor of the piece. As for natural versus synthetic, well I have to admit when I actually dish out for the nicer quality bottled stuff I definitely take note if the cork is not natural. Although, as you pointed out, this may just be a matter of conditioning. I usually talk myself out of feeling like it's cheap wine if the cork is synthetic, but I have to admit, my first instinct is at the very least a "note to self". Anyone else?
Hey, Dennis, thanks for commenting. That's a really good point. Plenty of people have never had frut fresh off of the tree (or bush), so describing what makes it so wonderful can be difficult. I personally never buy apples after May - I can only take so many months of cold storage taste before I crack. :)
When I was a kid, one of my friends lived next door to an orchard. Once harvest was over, the apples would just rot on the tree or on the ground, so we would go into the orchard and pick up unblemished apples. The best apples I ever tasted were called Winesaps . I don't think anyone grows them in Washington anymore, because, like the Red Delicious, they don't keep very well.
I did know what your job was, but I was under the impression that I had read about it through an interview that someone else did, and when I couldn't find it, I felt like perhaps I shouldn't say anything about it. :)
Thanks for participating, JD. It was fun to learn about what you do.
Being a 2 hour drive from downtown Chicago, I am amazed at how many families will travel that distance for the "experience " of picking apples. And because they do drive that distance, we offer them "entertainment" to make the trip more worthwhile so they can spend the day here. We have been open since the fall of 1997 and are now having 2nd generation families continuing the tradition of going to Royal Oak Farm to pick apples. Our prices are comparable to grocery store prices unless you buy or windfall apples for $12.95 per 1/2 bushel (approx 22 lbs)which comes to 59 cents per pound. Our U-Pick or Pre-Picked prices are the same, $13 per peck or $24 per 1/2 bushel which averages about $1.10 per pound.
Most grocery store apples are from the previous year's crop maintained in Controlled Atmospheric storage in either Washington State, Michigan, or New York among a few. Going into each apple season there is an average of about 15 - 20 million bushels of apples in storage around the US and those apples will be shipped out before the current season's crop will be sold to the grocery stores. There is no better apple than a fresh tree ripened apple picked from the orchard. They should cost more because the quality is far superior than a brocery store apple.
Not to be sarcastic or anything but I swear to god the same thing happened to me about 4 years ago, i had the park place at my home in VA and I was in NY and got the boardwalk and put it in my pocket like a jackass and lost it!
Funny y'all should mention my job. I just wrote a small piece on it for late next week. Meanwhile, I'm hoping to write a BIG piece for this Sunday.
My family owns a small box-manufacturing company in rural Oregon. I'm the sales force. I don't like being the sales force. I've always hated this job, not because I hate my family, but because it isn't fulfilling. (Plus I don't feel like I'm good at it — I like work in which I can excel.)
I tried to leave the business about a decade ago. For a year, I took computer programming classes at local colleges. I earned the equivalent of a computer science minor. I managed to get hired for two programming jobs, and wouldn't you know it? I didn't like those, either. (Actually, I *did* like one of the programming jobs, but the other was very Dilbert-like, if you get my drift.)
I left programming and returned to the box factory. Now, though, as I will describe in my upcoming entry, I'm going to make the transition to #gasp# full-time blogger...
The will thing is better than nothing, but one of many reasons I think trusts go the extra mile is that they keep what you leave to your loved ones out of public record. This can be important because there are a great deal of financial predators out there who watch the release of those records and hone in to see if someone wants to "invest" or get rid of the priceless family heirloom for a song when they are vulnerable. Just a thought. And definitely the financial thing is helpful Sarah, you are so right.
The last thing anyone wants to do when they are grieving (trust me) is worry about the money or if possible having to go to work. Just having the time to honor the way the grieving process goes down for you is one of the biggest gifts you can have from a loved one who passes on.
I don't actually know what JD's job is - maybe he'll stop by and share. The great thing about JD is that he is able to communicate in a professional but inviting manner. He's open about his life experiences without being overly sentimental. Also, he's simply a great writer, and he works very hard at it.
does anyone know why i get to the homepage and there's nothing for me to click on so i can enter my code. The arch in the left and the american express in the right corner are roads to nowhere. There's a "how to play" at the top of the page and a food item with money sticking out of it but those don't do anything. could someone please help me.
JD is a great guy. I think the key to his success (besides his awesome writing skills) is his ability to relate to his readers and draw out their personal stories. When I read GRS I always feel like I'm learning from a friend as opposed to some distant guru who might pass judgment on me.
Oh, man. Thanks, Sarah, for writing this. I've been pondering death a lot lately (that's what happens when Halloween comes around - some people get candy; I get morbid), and I was trying to figure out how to get everything in order. This gives me some initiative. It's not that hard, right?
Thanks for the recommendation. We've looked at some Barbara Sher, but not that one in particular.
It's funny, you know, after years of doing the right (financial) things and establishing the security you need through frugality, moderation and self-control. . . then you can sometimes be left wondering, "OK, now what?" :)
I'd already heard about this deal, and the K-Mart I went to took the coupon with no problems, bought some ON-SALE M&M's, and the teenager at the register scanned it with no issues at all. The forum where I found out about this has had a mix of good reports like mine, and bad. I was prepared to raise a fuss with a manager if it didn't work (a company releasing a useless coupon is just not right, and not good for customer relations), but luckily I didn't have to.
If you have the time to stop in and try to use it, it doesn't hurt to try and see if your K-Mart is a "nice" one.
Thanks for the interesting post. My son isn't old enough to appreciate this experience, but I have every intention of going picking once he gets older. You make a good point to remember that picking is more about the experience than the cost; it should make our trip a bit more successful.
We go to our farmers' market every week despite knowing that it's not always cheaper than my local grocery store, though there are some great deals to be had. We want fresh, local, organic produce, and I like being able to support local farmers. Besides, their efforts are tremendous, and their income is minimal. I don't mind paying a little more for food if it means that I'm helping keep them in business.
That said, we're lucky enough to have a year-round farmers' market. We're truly spoiled :-)
Hey I really enjoyed the post. I always enjoy reading about the experiences of other personal finance bloggers.
I've always wanted to know if he blogged full time or whether he had a full time job. I haven't been able to ever determine what his full time job was but I suspect it's not in a work intensive field or he wouldn't be able to blog so frequently.
Does anybody know what JD's full time job is? Just a curious critter :)
I have to respectfully disagree. Of course, there are people who are very overweight who don't get type 2 diabetes, and there are thin people who do. But statistically, more fat people get type 2 diabetes than thin people. And losing weight can help. Of course, if your pancreas is giving out on you, really not producing enough insulin, then you are actually a type 1 diabetic.
Obviously, exercise alone isn't going to change everything for everyone. But it does cause great improvements for a lot of diabetics, and mentioning it shouldn't be offensive. Also, "eating sugar" isn't exactly the problem. Eating highly-processed foods that aren't sweet or sugary is detrimental to diabetics, too. Eating too much fat is also bad for diabetics.
When I first saw just the beginning of what this blog was about I was offended until I read the entire post. Your guest on 5/4/07 so hit the nail on the head. Every time I run into someone who seems to think that "If diabetics just ate less sugar and lost weight we would not be where we are", I use it as a moment to educate them about diabetes and the pancreas. A few months before being diagnosed I was in my second year of black belt training for karate, working out four days a week, doing 200 sit-ups, 100 push-ups per work out. I had a stressful life but I was in shape. Despite eating about 1000 calories a day I still developed type 2 diabetes and put on 50 lbs before anyone could figure out what was wrong. There are people walking around weighing 300-400lbs who do not develop diabetes. I feel that diabetes has nothing to do with weight and everything to do with stress of the pancreas and yes genetics for some. There are actually at least two women on my support list who weigh less than 110lbs and have never been over weight in any way and both developed type 2 diabetes. Some study done a while back says that 55% of type 2s have it due to weight and 45% due to other factors. I tend to think the 55% is too high and probably a lot lower.
Anyway just wanted to share my thoughts on this and say your guest was right on with their post. Oh my one cheap suggestion is drinking tea. I drink a caffeine free mix of green tea and a cinnamon apple tea. I have a tea for one set and i just put the tea bags in the pot together.
Tina D.
I really am a two buck chuck fan, but it's actually closer to 3 1/2 buck chuck in ohio--but who can complain about that! I fell in love with Bocce Red Zin, only to learn that Bocce has since gone out of business. I was able to rescue the last case from World Market. I'm still heart-broken. That kind actually had the weird rubber-like cork. I don't know what to compare it to...maybe it is actually a form of plastic.
I eventually did get the "free" bag of candy for .01 cent, but it was more hassle than it was worth. I had to escalate it up to the manager and ended up spending 20 minutes on what should have been a very simple transacation.
The coupon would not scan, nor would it take when the cashier tried to manually enter it and the cashier said I had picked up the wrong type of candy and that was the reason...I pointed out that it exactly what stated on the coupon, and even then, tried to say that I just needed to go find a different type of candy. I advised I had picked out the candy that I wanted, it matched what was on the coupon and only then did she say that the coupon was not any good at their store.
I had to request the matter to be escalated to the store manager. Even worse, where I live all the candy on the coupon has been marked down to $1.50 a bag and the coupon states the price of the candy is to be $2.79 and there is very small print on the coupon that the coupon does not apply to sale items and all of the items on the coupon were now on sale. I asserted that it was not fair to penalize me just because the candy was now on sale and the manager did relent and advise that he would let me use the coupon and tried to ring it up as a "customer satisfaction" issue and even then, they could not figure out how to ring it up and take off the coupon and ended up having to put it through for .01 cent.
This is a great article, and very enjoyable to read. I've always figured that if you really like to drink wine, you should drink whatever tastes good to you regardless of the packaging or what others may say about it. Though, I have to admit, those plastic corks always catch me a little off guard.
Oh, and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels includes the line "why is the cork on the fork." Hopefully I'm not remembering wrong, it's been a really long time, and I'll be mortified if I'm wrong.
You are too funny. Love the flavor of the piece. As for natural versus synthetic, well I have to admit when I actually dish out for the nicer quality bottled stuff I definitely take note if the cork is not natural. Although, as you pointed out, this may just be a matter of conditioning. I usually talk myself out of feeling like it's cheap wine if the cork is synthetic, but I have to admit, my first instinct is at the very least a "note to self". Anyone else?
Hey, Dennis, thanks for commenting. That's a really good point. Plenty of people have never had frut fresh off of the tree (or bush), so describing what makes it so wonderful can be difficult. I personally never buy apples after May - I can only take so many months of cold storage taste before I crack. :)
When I was a kid, one of my friends lived next door to an orchard. Once harvest was over, the apples would just rot on the tree or on the ground, so we would go into the orchard and pick up unblemished apples. The best apples I ever tasted were called Winesaps . I don't think anyone grows them in Washington anymore, because, like the Red Delicious, they don't keep very well.
*blushing*
I did know what your job was, but I was under the impression that I had read about it through an interview that someone else did, and when I couldn't find it, I felt like perhaps I shouldn't say anything about it. :)
Thanks for participating, JD. It was fun to learn about what you do.
Being a 2 hour drive from downtown Chicago, I am amazed at how many families will travel that distance for the "experience " of picking apples. And because they do drive that distance, we offer them "entertainment" to make the trip more worthwhile so they can spend the day here. We have been open since the fall of 1997 and are now having 2nd generation families continuing the tradition of going to Royal Oak Farm to pick apples. Our prices are comparable to grocery store prices unless you buy or windfall apples for $12.95 per 1/2 bushel (approx 22 lbs)which comes to 59 cents per pound. Our U-Pick or Pre-Picked prices are the same, $13 per peck or $24 per 1/2 bushel which averages about $1.10 per pound.
Most grocery store apples are from the previous year's crop maintained in Controlled Atmospheric storage in either Washington State, Michigan, or New York among a few. Going into each apple season there is an average of about 15 - 20 million bushels of apples in storage around the US and those apples will be shipped out before the current season's crop will be sold to the grocery stores. There is no better apple than a fresh tree ripened apple picked from the orchard. They should cost more because the quality is far superior than a brocery store apple.
Here are a few good recipes:
http://www.cooks.com/rec/search/0,1-0,pumpkin_dump_cake,FF.html
They all seem to use canned pumpkin, but just like when making pies, you can substitute the fresh pumpkin assuming it isn't too watery.
Not to be sarcastic or anything but I swear to god the same thing happened to me about 4 years ago, i had the park place at my home in VA and I was in NY and got the boardwalk and put it in my pocket like a jackass and lost it!
Thanks for the interview, Andrea. It was fun!
Funny y'all should mention my job. I just wrote a small piece on it for late next week. Meanwhile, I'm hoping to write a BIG piece for this Sunday.
My family owns a small box-manufacturing company in rural Oregon. I'm the sales force. I don't like being the sales force. I've always hated this job, not because I hate my family, but because it isn't fulfilling. (Plus I don't feel like I'm good at it — I like work in which I can excel.)
I tried to leave the business about a decade ago. For a year, I took computer programming classes at local colleges. I earned the equivalent of a computer science minor. I managed to get hired for two programming jobs, and wouldn't you know it? I didn't like those, either. (Actually, I *did* like one of the programming jobs, but the other was very Dilbert-like, if you get my drift.)
I left programming and returned to the box factory. Now, though, as I will describe in my upcoming entry, I'm going to make the transition to #gasp# full-time blogger...
As long as we kayak FIRST, I'm game!
The will thing is better than nothing, but one of many reasons I think trusts go the extra mile is that they keep what you leave to your loved ones out of public record. This can be important because there are a great deal of financial predators out there who watch the release of those records and hone in to see if someone wants to "invest" or get rid of the priceless family heirloom for a song when they are vulnerable. Just a thought. And definitely the financial thing is helpful Sarah, you are so right.
The last thing anyone wants to do when they are grieving (trust me) is worry about the money or if possible having to go to work. Just having the time to honor the way the grieving process goes down for you is one of the biggest gifts you can have from a loved one who passes on.
There are some other great interviews with JD out there that touch on other issues - here are a couple that I enjoyed.
http://www.recommendedwebtools.com/index.php/535/site-profile-interview-...
http://zenhabits.net/2007/03/golden-goals-series-secrets-to-success/
I don't actually know what JD's job is - maybe he'll stop by and share. The great thing about JD is that he is able to communicate in a professional but inviting manner. He's open about his life experiences without being overly sentimental. Also, he's simply a great writer, and he works very hard at it.
does anyone know why i get to the homepage and there's nothing for me to click on so i can enter my code. The arch in the left and the american express in the right corner are roads to nowhere. There's a "how to play" at the top of the page and a food item with money sticking out of it but those don't do anything. could someone please help me.
JD is a great guy. I think the key to his success (besides his awesome writing skills) is his ability to relate to his readers and draw out their personal stories. When I read GRS I always feel like I'm learning from a friend as opposed to some distant guru who might pass judgment on me.
Thanks for the interview Andrea!
Oh, man. Thanks, Sarah, for writing this. I've been pondering death a lot lately (that's what happens when Halloween comes around - some people get candy; I get morbid), and I was trying to figure out how to get everything in order. This gives me some initiative. It's not that hard, right?
Thanks for the recommendation. We've looked at some Barbara Sher, but not that one in particular.
It's funny, you know, after years of doing the right (financial) things and establishing the security you need through frugality, moderation and self-control. . . then you can sometimes be left wondering, "OK, now what?" :)
I'd already heard about this deal, and the K-Mart I went to took the coupon with no problems, bought some ON-SALE M&M's, and the teenager at the register scanned it with no issues at all. The forum where I found out about this has had a mix of good reports like mine, and bad. I was prepared to raise a fuss with a manager if it didn't work (a company releasing a useless coupon is just not right, and not good for customer relations), but luckily I didn't have to.
If you have the time to stop in and try to use it, it doesn't hurt to try and see if your K-Mart is a "nice" one.
Thanks for the interesting post. My son isn't old enough to appreciate this experience, but I have every intention of going picking once he gets older. You make a good point to remember that picking is more about the experience than the cost; it should make our trip a bit more successful.
We go to our farmers' market every week despite knowing that it's not always cheaper than my local grocery store, though there are some great deals to be had. We want fresh, local, organic produce, and I like being able to support local farmers. Besides, their efforts are tremendous, and their income is minimal. I don't mind paying a little more for food if it means that I'm helping keep them in business.
That said, we're lucky enough to have a year-round farmers' market. We're truly spoiled :-)
Hey I really enjoyed the post. I always enjoy reading about the experiences of other personal finance bloggers.
I've always wanted to know if he blogged full time or whether he had a full time job. I haven't been able to ever determine what his full time job was but I suspect it's not in a work intensive field or he wouldn't be able to blog so frequently.
Does anybody know what JD's full time job is? Just a curious critter :)
-Raymond
I have to respectfully disagree. Of course, there are people who are very overweight who don't get type 2 diabetes, and there are thin people who do. But statistically, more fat people get type 2 diabetes than thin people. And losing weight can help. Of course, if your pancreas is giving out on you, really not producing enough insulin, then you are actually a type 1 diabetic.
Obviously, exercise alone isn't going to change everything for everyone. But it does cause great improvements for a lot of diabetics, and mentioning it shouldn't be offensive. Also, "eating sugar" isn't exactly the problem. Eating highly-processed foods that aren't sweet or sugary is detrimental to diabetics, too. Eating too much fat is also bad for diabetics.
Where are the wires for the battery moron... To many batteries for just 2 wires.. FAKE
That's good to know. I've never cooked that way with them, so it's helpful to have background info.
Great Article - it is inspiring to hear the story and motivates me to continue developing my pf blog.
Andy.
When I first saw just the beginning of what this blog was about I was offended until I read the entire post. Your guest on 5/4/07 so hit the nail on the head. Every time I run into someone who seems to think that "If diabetics just ate less sugar and lost weight we would not be where we are", I use it as a moment to educate them about diabetes and the pancreas. A few months before being diagnosed I was in my second year of black belt training for karate, working out four days a week, doing 200 sit-ups, 100 push-ups per work out. I had a stressful life but I was in shape. Despite eating about 1000 calories a day I still developed type 2 diabetes and put on 50 lbs before anyone could figure out what was wrong. There are people walking around weighing 300-400lbs who do not develop diabetes. I feel that diabetes has nothing to do with weight and everything to do with stress of the pancreas and yes genetics for some. There are actually at least two women on my support list who weigh less than 110lbs and have never been over weight in any way and both developed type 2 diabetes. Some study done a while back says that 55% of type 2s have it due to weight and 45% due to other factors. I tend to think the 55% is too high and probably a lot lower.
Anyway just wanted to share my thoughts on this and say your guest was right on with their post. Oh my one cheap suggestion is drinking tea. I drink a caffeine free mix of green tea and a cinnamon apple tea. I have a tea for one set and i just put the tea bags in the pot together.
Tina D.