August Was Hit-and-Miss, but Mady Made Up For It

It’s the end of August, and time for the update, and I’m going to have to confess that August has not been the best month for keeping resolutions. At this point, it’s a toss-up which was worse, April or August. Hmmm…. must be something about those A-months.

1. Writing. Yes, I’ve still been writing every day. Yes, I’ve managed to post to the blog every day. No, I haven’t worked on the project twice a week; in fact, most weeks, it wasn’t even once a week. I’m really going to have to do better with that. I am also exploring some options to publish some other work on Amazon, through their self-publishing program. I’m working on reformatting some of my work into what seems to be a more acceptable font and size for publishing in book form. That takes some time, and that’s the time that should be delegated to my other project, according to my resolution. Granted, in January, I wasn’t aware Amazon had this program, but I still shouldn’t let that interfere with keeping my resolution. In addition, August has been a busy month, full of transitions, and that, too has played a role in my lackluster performance this month. Again, though, I should control that better than I’m currently doing. I really hope I can get something figured out so September is better.

2. Reading. This was definitely my worst month since April. I managed to read two books, well below the 6.25 per month I need to stay on pace, which also puts me down ten books for the year. I should be at 50. I’m only at 40, and my stubbornness of last weekend didn’t help anything because I could have easily finished that book I’d started, had I not been in bed barely able to hold my head up thanks to my untreated sinus infection. That same stubbornness, though, is also why I am not conceding defeat on this goal. I still have four months to reach my goal of 75 books for the year. I have to do 35 more. I’m not giving up yet. I’m nothing if not stubborn.

So what did I manage to get read this month? The first was Mr. Monk Is a Mess by Lee Goldberg. This book caught me up on all the Mr. Monk books that have been published. Mr. Monk is one of my truly favorite characters, and I love reading these books and picturing the actors from the television show Monk as the events of the stories unfold. Goldberg, who was a contributor to the television series, does an excellent job making the characters come to life in the books. The other book I read was on my Kindle, by Laura Ingalls Wilder. Before the Prairie Books is a collection of Wilder’s writings that she published in magazines years before writing her series of life on the frontier. I loved the Little House books and television series as a child, and I thought I would enjoy these writings. The articles were interesting, but I must admit, I enjoyed the Little House books more.

3. Weight Loss. What can I say? I’m stuck. I know it’s my own fault, and I suppose given that I’m not working at it like I should, I should be happy to still be breaking even. At this point, I’ll take not gaining weight to be as much of a win as losing weight. Again, I’m hoping once I have adjusted and get things under control with my new schedule that September will be a better month for me in all aspects.

4. Recipes. Up until now, this was the resolution I was having the most success with. Most weeks, we tried not one but two new recipes. I guess that’s a good thing because August has been lackluster at best. In my defense, I could say that since all the other months had been such a success in regard to this resolution, I am allowed one that isn’t as successful, right? And I do have a good excuse. Most of our new recipes are tried on the weekends, and with the exception of last weekend when I was too sick to do anything, we spent our weekends in Lexington visiting our new granddaughter. Frankly, if it comes down to choosing between spending the day with Mady or trying a new recipe, Mady wins. I did manage, however, to get one new recipe in, Honey Garlic Pork Chops. I liked it, but Byron did not. I will make it again so Jimmy can try it because I’m pretty sure he will like them, too. I guess when compared to the lackadaisical success of the other resolutions, I should be happy that this one has only had one bad month.

5. Updates. At least there is one resolution I can be assured that I will meet, and that’s updating you. I’ll confess this one was one that I didn’t want to write, given the hit-and-miss success of the month of August. But one of the lessons my daddy taught me is that sometimes you have to do things you don’t want to do, and so here it is. At this point, the best I can do is hope that the September update is a better one.

There’s No Cure for My Addiction

Hello. My name is Tonya, and I’m an Amazon.com addict.

I love online shopping. When I first discovered Amazon.com as a bookstore, I thought I was in heaven. Later, when I discovered that I could order practically anything from the site, I knew I was in heaven. I order so frequently that paying for the Prime shipping is a no-brainer. Without Prime shipping, I’d have to order at least $25 worth of merchandise in order to get free shipping. Despite the $80 cost of the Prime shipping per year, I order enough that I’m still the one getting the deal on shipping.

There’s a joke amongst some of my friends that if you can’t find something at Wal-Mart it can’t be found. Well, our little Wal-Mart is pitiful. It’s just a plain little Wal-Mart since we evidently don’t rank high enough to get a full-fledged Super Wal-Mart. Considering that, not much can be found at our Wal-Mart, making it worth the trip to Hazard or Lexington to visit a Super Wal-Mart or even Sam’s Club. Personally, I subscribe to the idea that if it can’t be found on Amazon, then it doesn’t exist. And besides, for me, shopping at Amazon.com is much more convenient than getting in my car and driving to Wal-Mart.

I’ve purchased a huge variety of things from Amazon.com. Of course, I’ve ordered books, movies, and video games from there. However, I’ve also ordered printer ink, a keyboard, cameras, weather radios, jerky seasoning, most of Nicole’s bedroom furniture, including a chest, a nightstand, and a bookshelf, duffle bags, chargers for a variety of electronic devices, iPods, and TomToms, dishes, teaching supplies, and car accessories. My husband and I even ordered our wedding bands from Amazon.com, and, of course, my husband ordered my Kindle from there.

My friends are often surprised at the wide variety of purchases I make from Amazon. Because I have a P.O. box to receive my mail, and because it’s not often clear how my Amazon purchase will ship, I often have my purchases shipped to my work address. That way I can get my precious items without having to worry about the shipping company that will be used. As a result, there are weeks when I get a delivery almost every day of the week. That doesn’t happen often, but when it does, someone inevitably comments about how much Amazon must appreciate me since I keep them in business.

In addition to finding practically anything I want on Amazon’s site, the Prime shipping is great for me. I may have mentioned my lack of patience, and because with prime, I get everything in two days, it’s perfect. As much as I order and with getting my items that quickly, I do believe Amazon is losing money on me through this Prime shipping deal. Honestly, I don’t know how I would ever accomplish birthday or Christmas shopping without the assistance of Amazon.

I find it hard to imagine that there might be somebody out there who has yet to discover the wonderful world that is Amazon.com, but if you do exist, go check it out as soon as you leave this post. Your world will never be the same again.

A Lesson in Buying College Textbooks

I’ve decided the biggest scam out there is college textbooks. The price tag on these books is absolutely ridiculous. I understand these texts contain a lot of valuable knowledge for students, but there is no need for them to cost what they do. Many college students receive financial aid packages, but with the costs of tuition and room and board ever-increasing, there may not be enough money left over to cover the cost of these textbooks. College students and their parents are not among the richest of the population, and the costs of these textbooks can put them in a financial bind.

First, very few new textbooks can be bought for less than $50. Some can be bought for $50-$100, but the majority of them are over $100. This is especially true for those taking math, science, and business courses. The price alone for a new textbook makes this a money-making scam. The price of used textbooks isn’t much better. More often than not, students who try to sell a textbook back to their college bookstore are surprised when they are offered a pittance for their scarcely used book. This end of the scheme gets worse when the college bookstore then resells the cheaply bought, scarcely used textbook as a used book for a price that isn’t too far off from the cost of the new version of the book. The bookstore can repeat this cycle until the professor or the department selects a new textbook. There probably isn’t a lot college bookstores can do about the cost of a new textbook; those prices are set by publishers. However, when it comes to used textbooks, college bookstores can help a lot. They can offer the student a reasonable buy-back price, and they can resell the used book at a reasonable price, one that indicates there is a significant discount for purchasing the used copies.

Second, professors are often required to list a required text on the syllabus. This can also be seen as part of the scam. That scarcely used textbook the student has is in that condition for a variety of reasons, one of which could be that the student simply didn’t do anything academic during the semester. Just as likely, though, is because the professor rarely used the required text. I’ve had that happen in a number of classes. The syllabus said a text was required, I purchased the text, and the professor seldom referred to it. The solution here is simple. Don’t require professors to list a required text. If the professor can do his/her job without the text, then so be it. If, however, a required text is chosen, then at least make it worth the student’s money and use it.

Having been a college student myself and having had three of my four children be college students, I have found some help for the costs of textbooks. Very few of our textbooks have been purchased through the college bookstore. If you are willing to take the time to look around, you can find some good deals. The college bookstore offers convenience, but it rarely offers the best deal. There are many sites online that are trying to make textbooks more affordable for college students.

Sites that you might find useful include: Amazon, eBay, half.com, ecampus, and Bookbyte. I’m sure there are many other options, but these are ones where we’ve made purchases. The prices for new books at these sites are almost the same as the bookstores, but remember publishers set the new prices. You can save significantly by purchasing used books from these sites. Not only do they offer better prices for used books, many of them also offer better buy-back options and pay more for your used book than the college bookstore will. For a site like eBay where you set up your own auctions, if you set a “buy it now” price cheaper than the bookstore’s, people will pay it. If you set a starting bid just a tad under what you’d like to get for it, odds are you’ll get what you want from it. With parents and students so sick of the college textbook scam and the economy still in dire straits, you can do better than visiting the college bookstore.

If you aren’t as comfortable doing things online, put an ad on the bulletin board in the building where you have classes. After you register, try to find people who had the class before and who are willing to sell you their book. You’ll get it cheaper than the bookstore; they’ll get more than the bookstore would’ve paid them. Likewise, when you finish with your books and are ready to sell, post what you have available, price it under what the bookstore sells it for, and you’ll get a little extra cash in your pocket.

Another option is to buy international editions of texts. Someone suggested this to Nicole last year, and so we checked it out. These are often available on eBay for significantly less than the US editions. The content is the same. Nicole used several of these last year and had no trouble keeping up in her classes.

Shopping around is the only way to avoid the college textbook scam. Last spring, if Travis had bought all his books through the bookstore, the cost would have been over $500. If Nicole had bought all hers at the bookstore, it would have been over $700. Using these resources, we were able to get Travis’s books for around $300 and Nicole’s for around $200. It takes a little time, but when you consider the savings, it’s worth your time.