New garden pics are on Flickr.
I'm so proud of my kitties. With over 1000 votes on ICHC, they're maintaining a 4.5+ cheezburger (out of 5) rating. And in the comments many people praised their kyootness :)
I get my questions for my comprehensive exam tomorrow :/ Then I have 8 weeks to write my answers. They're due the Monday AFTER Thanksgiving. Ugh! On one hand it's nice to know that I'll have the extra time if I need it, but I don't want my vacation ruined. I guess I'll try to finish early, but it will be tough considering the exam is on top of all my normal work.
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Friday, September 28, 2007
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Friday, September 21, 2007
Quick post for my 4 year Ryanniversary. We just got back from our swanky mystery shop dinner. We went over the reimbursement limit: $124! So we spent $9 for our dinner. Oof. Lots of good food, though. Ryan is a huge help when it comes to the shopping. He memorizes times well and I pay attention to what people are saying. We're a good team. Ryan and Cat for ever and ever!
Monday, September 17, 2007
School is busy and yucky, but my money-making schemes are paying off nicely. I'm going to promote myself a little here.
Yes, I've actually made over $100 on the site above. And it was entirely FREE. No credit card signups required at all! Go sign up, just make sure you read the "How To" section first. Most importantly, set up a junk email account and get a free online phone number to give out.
And also yes, I get more $$ for referrals: 10% of what you make, in fact. But if you then go out and get your own referrals, you can get 10% of others' loot as well.
Ryan and I are going out to a $115 dinner in Philly for our anniversary on Friday, and it's entirely paid for, tip and all, through my mystery shopping- yay!
Yes, I've actually made over $100 on the site above. And it was entirely FREE. No credit card signups required at all! Go sign up, just make sure you read the "How To" section first. Most importantly, set up a junk email account and get a free online phone number to give out.
And also yes, I get more $$ for referrals: 10% of what you make, in fact. But if you then go out and get your own referrals, you can get 10% of others' loot as well.
Ryan and I are going out to a $115 dinner in Philly for our anniversary on Friday, and it's entirely paid for, tip and all, through my mystery shopping- yay!
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Meh. I like summer better. I had so much less to do then.
I'm surprised that no one commented on the mystery shopping. No one cares that I am participating in HEART-POUNDING, EDGE-OF-YOUR-SEAT ESPIONAGE? As silly as it sounds, I do get a little adrenaline rush from it... the danger of getting "caught." I've completed 4 "shops," as they're referred to: two ice cream shops (same company, different locations), a cell phone shop (major national provider), and an internet service shop (a different major provider). I've also got four more shops scheduled between now and next Monday: two at different locations for a major fast food chain, one at a major pet supply store, and one dinner for Ryan and myself at a "bar and grill" type chain restaurant.
The shops themselves require a little preparation (memorize what you need to notice, learn your "lines") and a good deal of paperwork afterwards (complete detailed survey, scan and email receipts, etc). During the actual shop, it requires a bit of skill to simultaneously make all your observations, talk to the associates, and maintain your front. So it is "work." Still, I think it's just the bee's knees:
Anyhow, I'm hooked. I wish I'd discovered this over the summer, though; it's hard to focus on school when there's spying to be done!
I'm surprised that no one commented on the mystery shopping. No one cares that I am participating in HEART-POUNDING, EDGE-OF-YOUR-SEAT ESPIONAGE? As silly as it sounds, I do get a little adrenaline rush from it... the danger of getting "caught." I've completed 4 "shops," as they're referred to: two ice cream shops (same company, different locations), a cell phone shop (major national provider), and an internet service shop (a different major provider). I've also got four more shops scheduled between now and next Monday: two at different locations for a major fast food chain, one at a major pet supply store, and one dinner for Ryan and myself at a "bar and grill" type chain restaurant.
The shops themselves require a little preparation (memorize what you need to notice, learn your "lines") and a good deal of paperwork afterwards (complete detailed survey, scan and email receipts, etc). During the actual shop, it requires a bit of skill to simultaneously make all your observations, talk to the associates, and maintain your front. So it is "work." Still, I think it's just the bee's knees:
- choose your shops; work as much or as little as you want
- for one of my companies, you can literally log on to their website when you're bored, find a shop nearby, and do it right away
- reimbursement for purchases
- pay on top of that, unless it's a really sweet reimbursement deal
- edge-of-your-seat espionage, where lying is encouraged
Anyhow, I'm hooked. I wish I'd discovered this over the summer, though; it's hard to focus on school when there's spying to be done!
Monday, September 10, 2007
Hi all y'alls. I have been blog slacking lately because I've developed yet another obsession- free stuff and get-rich-quick schemes. Well...not quite "quick," but I'm getting some cash and other goodies on the side:
Gift cards. Inspired and reassured by Liz's (several years old) blog entry, I'm completing one of those offers: "Get a $500 Visa gift card, just by filling out a survey and completing offers with some of our partners!" I've had to outlay over $100 for it, as well as starting a Netflix subscription, but if mine works as Liz's did, that will have me in the black by almost $400.
Freebies. Signing up for lots of free samples and coupons. I'm sure I will start getting a lot more junk mail, too, but free stuff is fun. I only sign up for stuff that I will actually use, though, unlike the really crazy people I've seen out on the freebie forums.
Mystery shopping. Yes, they actually exist. No, it's not a scam and I didn't have to pay up front. I also researched the companies on the forums before I picked one. I did my first two "shops" today, but I'm not allowed to say any more; it's a mystery! I'm hoping to rack up credibility so they put me on restaurant assignments, where they reimburse you and your guest for dinners out :) If anyone else is interested in making a few extra bucks and/or scoring free food, I can recommend places to start.
Now that I have classes everyday and am online looking for deals the time is passing quite quickly. I'm behind on garden photos. The peas, beans, and radish plants all look fairly big, but everything else is not very interesting yet. And I think Scruffy the rabbit ate my lettuce and most of the mixed greens, but he doesn't seem to like the pointy variety.
Oh yeah, the bike event was yesterday. It was fun riding the streets of Philly with Ryan and his dad, until I got a flat tire at mile 7. We patched it up, then some kid suddenly stopped right in front of me, causing a 3 bike pileup. My mood went rapidly south and the three of us stopped at the 10 mile mark because it was closest to the car.
Gift cards. Inspired and reassured by Liz's (several years old) blog entry, I'm completing one of those offers: "Get a $500 Visa gift card, just by filling out a survey and completing offers with some of our partners!" I've had to outlay over $100 for it, as well as starting a Netflix subscription, but if mine works as Liz's did, that will have me in the black by almost $400.
Freebies. Signing up for lots of free samples and coupons. I'm sure I will start getting a lot more junk mail, too, but free stuff is fun. I only sign up for stuff that I will actually use, though, unlike the really crazy people I've seen out on the freebie forums.
Mystery shopping. Yes, they actually exist. No, it's not a scam and I didn't have to pay up front. I also researched the companies on the forums before I picked one. I did my first two "shops" today, but I'm not allowed to say any more; it's a mystery! I'm hoping to rack up credibility so they put me on restaurant assignments, where they reimburse you and your guest for dinners out :) If anyone else is interested in making a few extra bucks and/or scoring free food, I can recommend places to start.
Now that I have classes everyday and am online looking for deals the time is passing quite quickly. I'm behind on garden photos. The peas, beans, and radish plants all look fairly big, but everything else is not very interesting yet. And I think Scruffy the rabbit ate my lettuce and most of the mixed greens, but he doesn't seem to like the pointy variety.
Oh yeah, the bike event was yesterday. It was fun riding the streets of Philly with Ryan and his dad, until I got a flat tire at mile 7. We patched it up, then some kid suddenly stopped right in front of me, causing a 3 bike pileup. My mood went rapidly south and the three of us stopped at the 10 mile mark because it was closest to the car.
Tuesday, September 04, 2007
Classes start tomorrow. Sigh. I wish summer could last forever.
We've been letting the cats out in the backyard a lot, but always supervised because they're naughty little devils. Jibblin managed to jump on top of the shed (higher than my shoulder), then over the fence into the back neighbor's yard. He walked around a little, then the neighbor's big and outgoing golden retriever ran over and started making a commotion. The dog chased Jibblin around a bit, which hopefully will teach him a lesson. The neighbor had company over for Labor Day and they were out on their back deck, so someone came over and handed Jibblin back over the fence. I apologized profusely for having such a brash cat, but didn't promise that it wouldn't happen again because it probably will.
We did a fair amount of work on the house in the last week or two. More painting (blue stairwell and yellow upstairs hallway), more digging of garden patches (broccoli has been transplanted), and miscellaneous stuff. Ryan's dad is coming down next weekend, so we had that incentive to get things done. Ryan and his dad are competitive about things like that, and I like to impress the future in-laws as well.
His dad is coming down for 1) Ryan's bday and 2) Bike Philly. All 3 of us are doing Bike Philly- basically they shut down a bunch of downtown streets and part of Fairmont Park for us to bike on. It's 20 miles and not a race. But since Ryan's dad is participating, there's the added competitive element with those two, plus I don't want to seem like a total whimp in comparison. So we went for a 15 mile ride yesterday. It wasn't too bad; I was in better shape in the spring, but I'll be fine next week.
Seems the relatives have been using our wedding registries as a housewarming and bday registry as well. His relatives, not mine- mine don't get us anything. His mom got us the big pot and pan set we registered for, and we've already started using it. Someone else got us the 8 setting china set (we should find out who once it arrives). The same sort of thing will probably take place around Christmas. We're going to have to come up with a bunch more stuff to register for. Getting married is awesome :)
We've been letting the cats out in the backyard a lot, but always supervised because they're naughty little devils. Jibblin managed to jump on top of the shed (higher than my shoulder), then over the fence into the back neighbor's yard. He walked around a little, then the neighbor's big and outgoing golden retriever ran over and started making a commotion. The dog chased Jibblin around a bit, which hopefully will teach him a lesson. The neighbor had company over for Labor Day and they were out on their back deck, so someone came over and handed Jibblin back over the fence. I apologized profusely for having such a brash cat, but didn't promise that it wouldn't happen again because it probably will.
We did a fair amount of work on the house in the last week or two. More painting (blue stairwell and yellow upstairs hallway), more digging of garden patches (broccoli has been transplanted), and miscellaneous stuff. Ryan's dad is coming down next weekend, so we had that incentive to get things done. Ryan and his dad are competitive about things like that, and I like to impress the future in-laws as well.
His dad is coming down for 1) Ryan's bday and 2) Bike Philly. All 3 of us are doing Bike Philly- basically they shut down a bunch of downtown streets and part of Fairmont Park for us to bike on. It's 20 miles and not a race. But since Ryan's dad is participating, there's the added competitive element with those two, plus I don't want to seem like a total whimp in comparison. So we went for a 15 mile ride yesterday. It wasn't too bad; I was in better shape in the spring, but I'll be fine next week.
Seems the relatives have been using our wedding registries as a housewarming and bday registry as well. His relatives, not mine- mine don't get us anything. His mom got us the big pot and pan set we registered for, and we've already started using it. Someone else got us the 8 setting china set (we should find out who once it arrives). The same sort of thing will probably take place around Christmas. We're going to have to come up with a bunch more stuff to register for. Getting married is awesome :)
Monday, September 03, 2007
Yay! Step one of Jibblies' plan for world domination has been achieved.
http://www.zooplus.co.uk/petofday
http://www.zooplus.co.uk/petofday
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