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.