Great Deal on Computer Parts

I love my laptop; I take it with me nearly everywhere I go, and I don't know how I would write without it. But while my HP Pavilion dv6000 "Entertainment PC" has been my constant companion for some months now, I always had one little issue with it that I couldn't get past – the power cord.

The official power cord was heavy, bulky, and ridiculously long (I liked the freedom that provided, but not the added bulk of the cord in my bag). Worse, it got terribly, terribly hot all the time. While at home, I often had to angle the cord so that the little box thingy (that's the technical term, you know) was directly in front of a fan. I burned myself more than once on the blasted thing, but that wasn't the worst of it. Occasionally, while playing a game or watching a movie, the cord would get so hot that it would malfunction and surge on me, killing the computer. I could always unplug and boot back up the system, but whatever I was doing was irrevocably lost. I hated it.

And, of course, like all such "official" junk, the power cord began to fray and tear after only 8 months of use. I felt cheated and frustrated, but what could I do? My choices were limited; I could either break down and replace the cord, or I could replace the computer. I put the task on my 101 goals list, and tried to forget about it. Unfortunately, it would not stay forgotten. Within days of me noticing the problem, it had escalated to the point where I was spending an hour or so at a time trying to angle the cord just right so that it would connect and give me a charge. I knew I needed a new cord ASAP, but wasn't looking forward to shelling out the 90 or so dollars HP wanted for a replacement. Instead, I turned to our friend, eBay. What I found was an eBay store called sib-usa.

The store had excellent feedback, and a record of shipping quickly, so I didn't hesitate to order my power cord. Where HP had wanted almost $100, sib-usa charged $9.99, with $10.99 shipping, for a grand total of $20.98, and they offered a longer warranty than HP's. Can't beat that, huh? Even with shipping more expensive than the item itself, it was still a great deal. I placed my order on a Friday night, expecting that, because of the holiday weekend, I'd get it late the next week or even early into the next, just in time for the first day of my challenge.

Wrong! I opened my front door the next Tuesday (Monday being a holiday) to find a little box waiting for me, my new power cord inside; the package had been over-nighted to my doorstep.

And the cord itself? I love it; it's lighter than the original, and while it does get hot, I've never been burned and it has yet to shut down my computer. It also seems to keep a better connection – I don't have to adjust it as often as I did the other. It even came with a convenient Velcro strap for wrapping it up, so that I can keep it neat without damaging or tangling the cords.

My experience with sib-usa on eBay was a great one, and I highly recommend them if you're looking for replacement parts or accessories. You can check them out here: http://myworld.ebay.com/sib-usa

1 goal down…100 more to go!

Adventures in Spaland

The idea of having enough money to spend the day at a real spa is absolutely laughable in this house – in fact, I can't remember a time in my life when the idea didn't seem like a farfetched dream. That said, what girl DOESN'T like the sound of a day devoted to pampering? I certainly do! With that thought in mind, I decided to spend a few hours last night treating myself to an in-home spa experience. The results were – well, I'll let you decide whether the effort was wasted or not.

While I come up with a lot of wild and crazy ideas, I like to do lots of research before jumping in. So when I decided that the evening was ripe for girly entertainment, the first thing I did was jump online. My best friend, Google, pulled up lots of pages filled with home-spa ideas, but most of them called for exotic fruits, tons of essential oils, and a forest's worth of nuts and berries to pull off. I didn't have any of those things on hand, so I took note of the common elements in the recipes and continued my search. The overarching theme of all of the pages was that bath and body products get absorbed into your skin, so if you wouldn't put it inside your body, you shouldn't put it on it, either.

Having taken lots of notes about what kind of pantry goods did good stuff to your skin, I made one last stop at About.com. They seem to think they know everything, so I thought maybe I'd find some sage advice there, too. About's big beauty secret? Kitty Litter. No, I'm not kidding. According to their "spa" page, it is a well kept industry secret that the "premium" clay used in most facials is the same stuff they make the cheapo, store-brand cat litter with. So swears industry insiders. Just add water and, if desired, some essential oils, and voila! You have a cheap as dirt (no pun intended) facial.

Warning bells went off right away ("Would you put cat litter IN your body, Lily?"), but NOOO…I just had to try it. So, under the guise of changing out the cats' litter, I scooped a small bowlful out of the brand new bag of Special Kitty 'premium' litter, and hid it under a hand towel on the bathroom counter so my DH wouldn't see it and think I had lost my mind.

Then it was off to the kitchen to collect the rest of my supplies. I started with a simple body scrub, made from salt (I combined regular table salt with a little bit of crushed sea salt – that stuff's expensive, and I didn't want to waste it) and extra-virgin olive oil. I just drizzled enough olive oil into the bowl of salt to make a paste, then set the bowl aside.

Next was my facial scrub. I had seen lots of "facial smoothies" on the web, so I thought I'd make my own. A little bit of sugar, for exfoliation, some raspberry preserves, and a heaping spoonful of full-fat yogurt later, I had a concoction that smelled good and was mostly the consistency I thought it should be. Taking one last look in the fridge, I pulled out the big bottle of Lipton's Green Tea that I had bought on my last health kick, and the bottle of Arbor Mist that was still half full from my anniversary in May. Obviously, DH and I aren't big drinkers…I don't particularly like wine, in fact, but nearly every spa thingy had suggested it, and I wanted to use one of the pretty wine goblets that came with our crystal.

I carried my spoils off to the bathroom, where I tried to figure out how to arrange everything in the handicap shower our lovely little home came outfitted with. For the record, wine goblets fit nicely into the baskets of shower caddies if you angle them just right! I cleared out all the bottles and bath paraphernalia (Am I the only one who thinks these spa treatments sound an awful lot like work?) and settled my three bowls on the bench. It was time to relax!

First up was to wash my hair and slather it in conditioner. I let that sit, pulled up in a bun, while I worked on the rest of me. The "clay" mask was first on the agenda. I didn't have any essential oil, so I just went with warm water and a splash of the green tea, to make it smell good. Unfortunately, our "premium" litter, which refuses to clump when I need it to, decided that it wanted to clump now. Slathering mud studded with little pebbles on my face was NOT my idea of a relaxing time! I gave up on it quickly, but the mud didn't want to give up on me. The next thing I knew, I was trying to wash the mud off of the shower walls, curtain, and the detachable shower head.

Once that mess was finally cleaned up, I slathered the "face smoothie" on. It was cool and silky, and felt marvelous! It also smelled great, which made up for the clay disaster. Once I had it applied, I gently scrubbed from head to toe with the salt and olive oil. It felt so good, my earlier mishaps were quickly forgotten.

The best part about the scrub was that after I'd rinsed it off, there was enough oil still on my skin to make shaving a breeze. I've never had such a smooth, comfortable, close shave in my entire life. By that point, the smoothie mask was dripping a bit (it tastes as good as it smells, by the way), so I rinsed it off, too. I realized that my wine goblet, forgotten until that point, was full of hot tap water, so I dumped it down the drain and rinsed my hair. I ended my "spa" experience by splashing my skin with cool green tea, then toweling off. I was tired and the bathroom was a mess, but my skin was soft and smooth, and I smelled fantastic.

While the evening wasn't as much of a success as I would have hoped, I DID come away feeling pampered. Here are the recipes I would suggest for your own home spa treatments. Feel free to adapt and play with them – that's what I did in the first place!

Mediterranean Body Scrub –

1 cup table salt

2 tbsp. crushed sea salt

About ¼ cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Combine all in a small bowl, adjusting the amount of olive oil as needed, to create a paste. Gently rub into skin, avoiding delicate areas, and concentrating on tough spots like the elbows, knees, and feet.

Raspberry Smoothie Facial -

2 tsp granulated sugar

2 tbsp raspberry preserves (With seeds)

4 tbsp full-fat plain or vanilla yogurt

Mix together in small bowl, and return to fridge if not being used right away. Apply by rubbing on face in gentle, circular motions, avoiding the delicate eye area. Leave on about 10 minutes, then rinse off. Follow with a toner and moisturizer.

Green Tea Toner –

To really complete the spa experience, place a pale green tea in a spray bottle and chill slightly. Lightly mist over body and face. Pat dry, then follow with moisturizer and lotion.

Do you have any home-spa recipes of your own? If so, feel free to share them in the comments section. I'd love to hear them!

Budgeting wth Mint

I have never understood why so many debt reduction and budgeting tools cost an arm and a leg. Think about it - if we need the service, then how on earth are we going to be able to spend hundreds of dollars on it?

That's the main reason why I've fallen in love with Mint.com. Mint is an entirely free service which links your bank, savings, and credit accounts, tracks your purchases, helps you keep up with your budget, and even compares your current interest rates and account types with other offers out there, so you can find better deals.

Mint also has a blog called Mint.edu which provides articles on a wide variety of financial issues. No matter how seasoned you are in the realm of things financial, there's bound to be something to interest you there.

The only downside to Mint is that not all banks are supported yet. Smaller banks and those with very advanced security features may not be on the list, so you'll want to check to make sure your institution is supported. As of right now, my bank isn't - but the Mint help section says that Mint is constantly working to expand their network, and has a request form where you can submit your institution's info and offer to beta test.

Even without being able to attach your bank, Mint can be useful - my savings account and credit cards all linked without problem, and the tracking features are wonderful. Take a minute to check the website out; I doubt you'll be disappointed!