Not here in Texas. Here, we'd still be happy to have more rain. But in El Salvador, and throughout much of Central America, heavy rains right now are causing flooding and landslides all over. Of course, these bring with them an ever-increasing body count. Right now (well, as of yesterday), The Huffington Post indicates that the total number of Central American deaths is at 66, with 24 of these in El Salvador and another 28 in Guatemala. These two countries, with the bulk of the deaths, seem to bearing the brunt of the storms. Evacuations are in progress, and donations are needed for the many whose homes have been destroyed. Rubi over at Life in the Armpit points out a suggested organization for donations:
Voices on the Border
I remember the flooding and storms while in Guatemala, and I have many friends who have been affected by this over the years and who have had to rebuild from damages. My heart breaks for those who have lost part or all of their possessions and families. And I wonder, if it were me, would I pack it up and move back to the US? Would I be strong enough to re-build? Would I want to? Would I recover? I don't even want to consider the what-if-it-were-my-child question. Just one more thing to think about as we plan to head out: what's our back-up plan if disaster strikes?
To all in El Salvador and Guatemala now, prayers and wishes for health and safety for you and yours!
Monday, October 17, 2011
Monday, October 3, 2011
My new favorite pick-me-up
It's probably been clear from my lack of posts lately that things here have been BUSY! And when things get hectic, I tend to shove everything down on my priority list that's not an absolute must-do. I'm working on making blogging more consistent, really I am!
Anyway, one thing that tends to happen when I get stressed is that many of my good eating habits go out the window. I neglect to prepare lunches for the week, and then don't have anything quick to grab as I head out the door, so I go eat at fast-food central at the university. Not only is this bad for my overall health, it's also not great for my wallet (or our saving-for-el-salvador fund!). So I've really been trying to make sure that I have food ready to go. Since I try to head to the gym in the mornings, in addition to lunch, I need a quick protein pick-me-up for after my workout. I've played around with a few different things, like boiled eggs and string cheese, but I've found that I really need something that I can eat/drink while I walk back across campus to my office, and peeling an egg just doesn't work while I walk. Apples work great, but don't have as much protein as I'd like. So what's a girl to do?
Eat like a man. And by that, I mean take advantage of all the different protein powders and drinks that are out there. I resisted this at first, but recently I've stumbled upon a formula that is tasty, quick, full of protein, and convenient. I take a 32 oz container and fill it with ice, then add one scoop of vanilla protein powder. I then fill the container half full with coffee, and fill it the rest of the way with fat-free milk. Yum! The ice blends the powder well into the rest of the drink, and there's no need to add additional sugar or splenda since the protein powder is pretty sweet already. I stick the whole container into my gym bag (yep, make sure the lid fits well and is leak-proof!), and the ice keeps it cool the whole time I'm working out. Since the coffee and milk are full-strength to start with, the melting ice doesn't water it down too much, and I have a delicious frappe kind of thing to drink as I walk across campus. The best part? This drink holds me easily until lunch and beyond.
I know that there's a better choice than protein powder out there for this, but I feel like it's the protein that is really helping with keeping me satisfied for the rest of the morning, and I just don't think that coffee and milk alone would do that for me. But are there alternatives to expensive protein solutions? I'm on the lookout, and I'll keep you posted.
Anyway, one thing that tends to happen when I get stressed is that many of my good eating habits go out the window. I neglect to prepare lunches for the week, and then don't have anything quick to grab as I head out the door, so I go eat at fast-food central at the university. Not only is this bad for my overall health, it's also not great for my wallet (or our saving-for-el-salvador fund!). So I've really been trying to make sure that I have food ready to go. Since I try to head to the gym in the mornings, in addition to lunch, I need a quick protein pick-me-up for after my workout. I've played around with a few different things, like boiled eggs and string cheese, but I've found that I really need something that I can eat/drink while I walk back across campus to my office, and peeling an egg just doesn't work while I walk. Apples work great, but don't have as much protein as I'd like. So what's a girl to do?
Eat like a man. And by that, I mean take advantage of all the different protein powders and drinks that are out there. I resisted this at first, but recently I've stumbled upon a formula that is tasty, quick, full of protein, and convenient. I take a 32 oz container and fill it with ice, then add one scoop of vanilla protein powder. I then fill the container half full with coffee, and fill it the rest of the way with fat-free milk. Yum! The ice blends the powder well into the rest of the drink, and there's no need to add additional sugar or splenda since the protein powder is pretty sweet already. I stick the whole container into my gym bag (yep, make sure the lid fits well and is leak-proof!), and the ice keeps it cool the whole time I'm working out. Since the coffee and milk are full-strength to start with, the melting ice doesn't water it down too much, and I have a delicious frappe kind of thing to drink as I walk across campus. The best part? This drink holds me easily until lunch and beyond.
I know that there's a better choice than protein powder out there for this, but I feel like it's the protein that is really helping with keeping me satisfied for the rest of the morning, and I just don't think that coffee and milk alone would do that for me. But are there alternatives to expensive protein solutions? I'm on the lookout, and I'll keep you posted.
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Textbroker Update
So last week I decided to check out the freelance possibilities on Textbroker. I talked here about what I knew and what I didn't, and then I tried it out. So I've learned a few things and thought I'd share some observations.
The Pros:
- It all adds up for extra income
I've written 5 articles, for a grand total of about $35.
- The hourly rate is decent to start
I estimate 4 hours for the 5 articles I've written so far. That gives me an hourly rate of between $8 and $9, which isn't great, but it's at least minimum wage.
- It's not too difficult
I spend a LOT of time on the internet, and I'm a great researcher in general. Finding the relevant info to include in my articles has not been problematic. For people who are unfamiliar with internet research or research in general, this may be problematic, but for me, it's a great fit for a skill set that I already possess.
- It can be interesting
I've written on a variety of topics already, from heat pumps to rice cookers to cotton candy machines. Since I get to choose the articles I want to write, I can choose the ones that most interest me.
- There's a lot to choose from
I'm a Level 4 writer (from 1-5, where 1's are not allowed to write for Textbroker and 5's are the elite), and on the days when I've checked, there have been many possible articles to write.
- The time and place is flexible
This is, for me, the most important positive point about Textbroker. I wrote my articles whenever and wherever I wanted. Some I wrote at 2am in my jammies, and others I wrote on my lunchbreak at work. I love the flexibility, and as I consider increasing streams of income as we consider becoming expats, flexibility in when and where I work is crucial.
While I'm feeling pretty positive about Textbroker in general, there are some definite disadvantages as well.
- I'm currently locked out
Textbroker's policy is that they lock your account after the first 5 articles, so that they can check your work. I finished my last article on Wednesday of last week, and have been locked out since then. It's unclear how long this lockout will last. Textbroker says that new writer ratings go to the top of the heap, but the long lockout period is frustrating. I believe this only ever happens once, but it's difficult to get momentum going and want to continue writing, but be unable to due to the lockout.
- Article length can be difficult
The clients provide you with a topic, a word range, and any additional instructions. Sometimes, it's difficult to write their minimum word count, especially if you are a concise writer. I can be quite verbose at times, but come on, how much is there to say about tip and roll bleachers? I had to really dig and get creative to write enough for that one.
- Article search isn't super user-friendly
Articles are divided by category, but they don't always readily fit in that (or any) of the general categories given. So even if you are only interested in writing home and family articles, there may be good choices in other categories.
Overall, I'm looking forward to doing some more writing for Textbroker and seeing what it's like beyond the first 5 articles, and especially investigating how realistic it will be to consider this a potential stream of steady income once we leave the country!
The Pros:
- It all adds up for extra income
I've written 5 articles, for a grand total of about $35.
- The hourly rate is decent to start
I estimate 4 hours for the 5 articles I've written so far. That gives me an hourly rate of between $8 and $9, which isn't great, but it's at least minimum wage.
- It's not too difficult
I spend a LOT of time on the internet, and I'm a great researcher in general. Finding the relevant info to include in my articles has not been problematic. For people who are unfamiliar with internet research or research in general, this may be problematic, but for me, it's a great fit for a skill set that I already possess.
- It can be interesting
I've written on a variety of topics already, from heat pumps to rice cookers to cotton candy machines. Since I get to choose the articles I want to write, I can choose the ones that most interest me.
- There's a lot to choose from
I'm a Level 4 writer (from 1-5, where 1's are not allowed to write for Textbroker and 5's are the elite), and on the days when I've checked, there have been many possible articles to write.
- The time and place is flexible
This is, for me, the most important positive point about Textbroker. I wrote my articles whenever and wherever I wanted. Some I wrote at 2am in my jammies, and others I wrote on my lunchbreak at work. I love the flexibility, and as I consider increasing streams of income as we consider becoming expats, flexibility in when and where I work is crucial.
While I'm feeling pretty positive about Textbroker in general, there are some definite disadvantages as well.
- I'm currently locked out
Textbroker's policy is that they lock your account after the first 5 articles, so that they can check your work. I finished my last article on Wednesday of last week, and have been locked out since then. It's unclear how long this lockout will last. Textbroker says that new writer ratings go to the top of the heap, but the long lockout period is frustrating. I believe this only ever happens once, but it's difficult to get momentum going and want to continue writing, but be unable to due to the lockout.
- Article length can be difficult
The clients provide you with a topic, a word range, and any additional instructions. Sometimes, it's difficult to write their minimum word count, especially if you are a concise writer. I can be quite verbose at times, but come on, how much is there to say about tip and roll bleachers? I had to really dig and get creative to write enough for that one.
- Article search isn't super user-friendly
Articles are divided by category, but they don't always readily fit in that (or any) of the general categories given. So even if you are only interested in writing home and family articles, there may be good choices in other categories.
Overall, I'm looking forward to doing some more writing for Textbroker and seeing what it's like beyond the first 5 articles, and especially investigating how realistic it will be to consider this a potential stream of steady income once we leave the country!
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Later than midnight arrival in San Salvador?
So I've been just checking to see what the best prices to El Salvador from DFW look like in general, and not just on the dates we think we want to travel. The best deal out there appears to be on Spirit, where round-trip tickets can be had for $384. I've flown Spirit to Guatemala before, with no trouble, other than the necessity to fly through Fort Lauderdale. The trouble I have with this flight is that apparently Spirit flies into El Salvador only for midnight arrivals. That means arriving at a strange airport, going through Customs, and then walking out to attempt to find transportation to some hotel in a city we don't know well, in the wee hours of the morning, and possibly with a 3-year-old. Safe? What do you think? I'm not convinced that this is the best option, but it's one I'm willing to consider!
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Making extra money
As I've previously mentioned here, P-daddy and I have been exploring income options. One purpose is to make some extra money now, so that we have plenty in savings before we move. One way to do that would be to get part-time jobs here and just bank everything we make, but we are not really convinced that we want to go that route, for several reasons. First, we both have full-time jobs, plus we want to spend quality time with Pooh and with each other. Second, the pay for part-time jobs that would severely restrict our schedules is probably not enough to make it worthwhile. Finally, taking just any part-time job would somewhat defeat our greater purpose: attempting now to find ways to support ourselves once we are in another country. If we get part-time jobs here, we want them to be jumpstarters for things we can continue later.
An option we've been seriously considering is online work. We've looked at several possibilities, but for now, the one I've decided to consider is freelance writing. But I'm a beginner at this! I've been writing all my life, was an English major in college, and have successfully written all kinds of things from lesson plans to how-to guides to a dissertation, but I've never defined myself as a writer. So, I'm starting small. I applied yesterday to write for Textbroker, and this morning received an email saying I'd been accepted as a Level 4 writer. I figure I'll start with a few articles and see how it goes, and if I enjoy it, I might have found a way to potentially earn American dollars overseas.
I am still learning all the ins and outs of Textbroker, but here's what I know, in a nutshell:
- Writers select the projects they want to work on
- Writers can only select projects one at a time; you select another only after submission of the current project
- Writers may be asked for revision, and have 24 hours to comply
- Writers can build up clients who request them, and can make additional money for these direct orders
- Level 4 writers get paid 1.4 cents per word for articles designated level 4. Choosing articles designated level 2 or 3 is less pay per word (but I'm not sure of the exact amount)
- Level 4 writers may eventually be eligible to upgrade to Level 5 status, but this seems to take 1) articles consistently rated 4, and 2) a proofreading test that is apparently pretty hairy
- It's probably worth it for a writer to do all s/he can to get to Level 5, because Level 5 writers make FIVE cents per word - that's quite a jump from the 1.4 cents of Level 4.
Here's what I don't know:
- How consistently there are interesting articles to write
- How much research the articles will take
- How long it will take for me (a semi-perfectionist) to complete an article
- How difficult it will be to make it to Level 5
- Whether it's something I'd want to stick with long-term
- How payment compares to other freelance writing jobs
The way I look at it, each article of 350-400 words is $5. I know that I can write that much pretty quickly, but whether or not I can find particular articles that I can write that quickly is another question. If I can, and if I can produce 2 of those articles in an hour, that's $10 an hour. That's probably more than a lot of part-time jobs pay. If I can write them faster, even better. If I can't, and I can only produce one an hour, well, that's less than minimum wage, and probably not something I want to do. Either way, I'd rather figure it out now than when we are in a position where we really need the money!
So, I'm trying it, and I'll keep you posted on how it goes! I think I'll go write my first article right now!
An option we've been seriously considering is online work. We've looked at several possibilities, but for now, the one I've decided to consider is freelance writing. But I'm a beginner at this! I've been writing all my life, was an English major in college, and have successfully written all kinds of things from lesson plans to how-to guides to a dissertation, but I've never defined myself as a writer. So, I'm starting small. I applied yesterday to write for Textbroker, and this morning received an email saying I'd been accepted as a Level 4 writer. I figure I'll start with a few articles and see how it goes, and if I enjoy it, I might have found a way to potentially earn American dollars overseas.
I am still learning all the ins and outs of Textbroker, but here's what I know, in a nutshell:
- Writers select the projects they want to work on
- Writers can only select projects one at a time; you select another only after submission of the current project
- Writers may be asked for revision, and have 24 hours to comply
- Writers can build up clients who request them, and can make additional money for these direct orders
- Level 4 writers get paid 1.4 cents per word for articles designated level 4. Choosing articles designated level 2 or 3 is less pay per word (but I'm not sure of the exact amount)
- Level 4 writers may eventually be eligible to upgrade to Level 5 status, but this seems to take 1) articles consistently rated 4, and 2) a proofreading test that is apparently pretty hairy
- It's probably worth it for a writer to do all s/he can to get to Level 5, because Level 5 writers make FIVE cents per word - that's quite a jump from the 1.4 cents of Level 4.
Here's what I don't know:
- How consistently there are interesting articles to write
- How much research the articles will take
- How long it will take for me (a semi-perfectionist) to complete an article
- How difficult it will be to make it to Level 5
- Whether it's something I'd want to stick with long-term
- How payment compares to other freelance writing jobs
The way I look at it, each article of 350-400 words is $5. I know that I can write that much pretty quickly, but whether or not I can find particular articles that I can write that quickly is another question. If I can, and if I can produce 2 of those articles in an hour, that's $10 an hour. That's probably more than a lot of part-time jobs pay. If I can write them faster, even better. If I can't, and I can only produce one an hour, well, that's less than minimum wage, and probably not something I want to do. Either way, I'd rather figure it out now than when we are in a position where we really need the money!
So, I'm trying it, and I'll keep you posted on how it goes! I think I'll go write my first article right now!
Saturday, September 17, 2011
My first specialty cake!
This month, Pooh turned 3, and we decided to celebrate his birthday with the family when we went to my parents' house for the holiday weekend. I thought about buying a cake, but I've recently been inspired to try some cake baking of my own, so I googled around and found a couple cakes that I thought Pooh would like. Ultimately, I went with a train theme, complete with a little Thomas on top.
This being my first cake, I didn't want to be overly ambitious in my baking, so I went with boxed cake mix and canned frosting. Here are my expenses:
2 Aldi cake mixes: $0.99 each
1 Aldi cream cheese frosting: $1.29
6 eggs: a free gift from my mom's chickens
oil, food coloring, etc: shamelessly stolen from my mom's cabinet
various and sundry small snack items: gathered from my kitchen
Total cost, not including labor: $3.27
I'll let you decide how much my labor is worth!
First, I baked all the cake. One white cake mix made 2 round cakes, one 8" and one 9". One chocolate cake mix made 2 small (6X9, maybe?) oblong cakes. Once they were all baked and cooled, I gave the round ones a crumb coat and stuck them in the fridge overnight.
One oblong one I cut into 12 smaller rectangles, and gave each of those a crumb coat too. This was much more difficult since they'd been cut! It would have been much smarter to bake them all separately, or use a heavier cake mix, or even let them sit out and dry for a while before attempting any icing, even a light coat. I'll know better next time.
The second oblong cake was extra. Since we were also celebrating my dad's birthday, and he loves German chocolate cake, I just iced it with coconut pecan icing, which was as close as I could get (okay, as close as I could find at Walmart) to German chocolate.
The next morning, I gathered bowls, the food coloring, and my "freight", and got to work. My sister and her daughter had arrived by then, and they helped. Here's my niece, ready to get to work - isn't she a cutie?!
First we iced the round cakes in white, and placed them, touching, on a cake board (we used a piece of wood covered with cake paper). My sis (who has made lots of great cakes) suggested we cut out a small portion of one cake so that the two would fit together better = great idea! Then I took a toothpick and drew two half-circles on each cake, about 1.5 inches apart, to create a giant 3, then I traced the 3 with icing. I could have just started with the icing, but I'm not that brave. With the 3 made, I used pretzels to create railroad ties on it.
We decided the juncture of the 3 needed a stop sign, and luckily we had a red Jolly Rancher handy.
That was the easy part! Next came the freight cars...
Each of the small rectangular cake pieces we iced in a different color, adding 3 cheerios along the bottom of each side to form wheels. On the top, we used pretzels to create a box, and then filled the box with some kind of freight.
Ultimately, our freight included fruit snacks, smarties, a swiss cake roll, mini chocolate rice cakes, cheeries, chocolate waves, sand (crushed up cookies), and a mixture of them. The freight cars were placed around the larger cake, with pretzels connected each one to the next.
It was impossible to hide the cake from Pooh when it was done, and once he saw it, he kept climbing up on the kitchen stools asking for some. When I told him we could not have cake until after we sang happy birthday, he happily sang the entire song for me.
I'm pretty sure this cake was a huge hit - at least Pooh seemed to love it!
This being my first cake, I didn't want to be overly ambitious in my baking, so I went with boxed cake mix and canned frosting. Here are my expenses:
2 Aldi cake mixes: $0.99 each
1 Aldi cream cheese frosting: $1.29
6 eggs: a free gift from my mom's chickens
oil, food coloring, etc: shamelessly stolen from my mom's cabinet
various and sundry small snack items: gathered from my kitchen
Total cost, not including labor: $3.27
I'll let you decide how much my labor is worth!
First, I baked all the cake. One white cake mix made 2 round cakes, one 8" and one 9". One chocolate cake mix made 2 small (6X9, maybe?) oblong cakes. Once they were all baked and cooled, I gave the round ones a crumb coat and stuck them in the fridge overnight.
One oblong one I cut into 12 smaller rectangles, and gave each of those a crumb coat too. This was much more difficult since they'd been cut! It would have been much smarter to bake them all separately, or use a heavier cake mix, or even let them sit out and dry for a while before attempting any icing, even a light coat. I'll know better next time.
The second oblong cake was extra. Since we were also celebrating my dad's birthday, and he loves German chocolate cake, I just iced it with coconut pecan icing, which was as close as I could get (okay, as close as I could find at Walmart) to German chocolate.
The next morning, I gathered bowls, the food coloring, and my "freight", and got to work. My sister and her daughter had arrived by then, and they helped. Here's my niece, ready to get to work - isn't she a cutie?!
First we iced the round cakes in white, and placed them, touching, on a cake board (we used a piece of wood covered with cake paper). My sis (who has made lots of great cakes) suggested we cut out a small portion of one cake so that the two would fit together better = great idea! Then I took a toothpick and drew two half-circles on each cake, about 1.5 inches apart, to create a giant 3, then I traced the 3 with icing. I could have just started with the icing, but I'm not that brave. With the 3 made, I used pretzels to create railroad ties on it.
We decided the juncture of the 3 needed a stop sign, and luckily we had a red Jolly Rancher handy.
Each of the small rectangular cake pieces we iced in a different color, adding 3 cheerios along the bottom of each side to form wheels. On the top, we used pretzels to create a box, and then filled the box with some kind of freight.
Ultimately, our freight included fruit snacks, smarties, a swiss cake roll, mini chocolate rice cakes, cheeries, chocolate waves, sand (crushed up cookies), and a mixture of them. The freight cars were placed around the larger cake, with pretzels connected each one to the next.
It was impossible to hide the cake from Pooh when it was done, and once he saw it, he kept climbing up on the kitchen stools asking for some. When I told him we could not have cake until after we sang happy birthday, he happily sang the entire song for me.
I'm pretty sure this cake was a huge hit - at least Pooh seemed to love it!
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Howdy, Pardner!
What's On My Mind today? Vacation! It's 3 weeks into the new school year and all I want to do is immerse myself in the details of planning our next vacation!
In my defense, we have not taken a real vacation for almost 2 years (Christmas 2009). Our adoption was not legal until this past May, and for the year before that, with Pooh as a foster child, travel outside the state was impossible, and even travel within the state was difficult. This summer, we simply decided that plane travel with a 2-year-old was not on our agenda, and extensive travel in the car with a potty-training-in-progress 2-year-old was an even worse idea. While we could have left Pooh with family, we just didn't want to - we wanted to enjoy our summer as a family! So, we stayed pretty close to home, with occasional weekends away, but nothing I can really define as a vacation. Even the picture above, which appears to be a vacation, was taken when I traveled to Albuquerque for a conference, without the family. um, and oh yes, it was taken summer 2010, not 2011!
Now that school is in full swing, it's really hit me that we've been vacation-less for so long! So yep, that's what's on my mind these days! If you want to see what's on lots of other people's minds, join Rhonda over at Down To Earth!
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