Award-Winning Movies Up to 50% Off

Photo: eonline.com

Just in time for the Oscars, Amazon.com is having a huge sale on Academy Award-winning movies, up to 50% off.  The Oscars will be shown live on ABC on February 22nd.  The Amazon.com Oscar sale ends February 23rd. 

Check out the list of this year’s Oscar nominees here.

Get your Academy Award-winning movies here.

Lots of Mouths to Feed: Octuplets Born in CA

A California woman has given birth to octuplets!  Two physicians headed the delivery of the eight babies by Caesarian section, it was confirmed today.  The babies — six boys and two girls — were born between 10:43 a.m. and 10:48 a.m.  They weighed between 1 lb 15 oz and  3 lbs 4 oz.

Forty-six people helped with the delivery which was planned well in advance.  The doctors and hospital staff involved did two dry runs to prepare for the delivery.   Things went flawlessly even though only seven babies were expected.

Photo from blog.joins.com and not the actual babies.

Amazon.com Has 6-ft HDMI Cable for $1.11

This  HDMI Cable 2M (6 Feet) has been rated an outstanding 5 starts by over 1,000 people who reviewed it on amazon.com.  For $1.11 it is the best bargain around. 

My son needed an HDMI cable to connect his XBOX 360 to our digital TV and the XBOX HDMI cable went for over around $50.00.  That’s just a ridiculous price for

Is there a difference between HDMI cables?  My research shows that digital signal is just either off or on so as long as there is a cable connecting one device to another, it works as intended.

Click here to get this HDMI Cable 2M (6 Feet) for $1.11 before it is all gone!

VIDEO: Boy Lived with Dead Mom For 10 Days

An 8-year old boy in Michigan lived with his mother’s dead body for 10 days. He survived by eating dried rice, butter and flour. A vigilant shopkeeper, concerned that the boy has been coming to the store by himself, quizzed him about his mom. The boy said his mom was “in a better place.”

May this video remind us parent that our children must be taught what to do in case of emergencies.

1,000 FREE Fonts For Windows & Mac

Tired of the off-the-shelf Windows or Mac fonts?  Grab some free fonts at 1001freefonts.com.  Here are just a few of their font categories:

• 3D
• Calligraphy
• Decorative
• Graffiti
• Handwriting
• Medieval
• Old English
• Typewriter

To install the free font, click on the appropriate button:  Download Win Font or Download Mac Font.  A small pop-up will prompt you to Open or Save.  I do not have a Mac so anything beyond this is for Windows users only.

Click Open then Extract All Files to a destination folder that is easy for you to remember.  Frankly, I put all my downloaded stuff to my Desktop first and move it somewhere else later. 

Next, go to the Control Panel (Start -> Control Panel).  If you have Vista, change the folder view to Classic View.  In the Control Panel folder click on Fonts. 

Right click anywhere in the opened Fonts folder and click Install Fonts.  If you saved the font on your Desktop go to C:\Users, then to whatever your username is, and then Desktop. 

The font installer will list the fonts available for installation from that folder.  Highlight the fonts and Install. 

You should be able to use your fonts from within Microsoft Word, Powerpoint, Publisher, and any other editor that uses the Windows fonts!

My “Walk Away The Pounds” Experience

I am on the hunt for a good fitness DVD  to do at home.  A year or so ago I tried going to aerobics classes at the Y but felt awkward around those that already know the moves.  It didn’t take long before I gave up on that.

With money so tight these days I didn’t want to just buy a DVD and end up not liking it.  I read reviews of various fitness DVD’s out there and the Walk Away the Pounds series of DVD’s got me interested.

The Leslie Sansone – Walk Away the Pounds – 30 Minute Walk DVD was $13.49, and I was hesitant to even shell out that much without knowing if I would really stick with it or not.

I decided to “rent” Leslie Sansone: Walk Away The Pounds: 30 Minute Walk for seven days through Amazon.com’s Digital Downloads.  For $2,99 I could try before I buy.  It was money well-spent.

The warm-up, exercises and cool-down in this video are great for someone like me who has a hard time getting steps down.  I didn’t get overwhelmed by the steps and was able to keep up with them.  What a refreshing change!  I even sweated quite a lot at the end of the 30-minute walk, which they said was about two miles.

This would have been something I’d buy if not for Leslie Sansone’s annoying prattle and giggling in the video.  It was distracting to me and I just couldn’t get myself to go through it one more time.  What may be annoying for me might not be annoying for you, however.  If you are curious, do what I did:  rent it to try before you buy.

Got any fitness videos to recommend?  Let me know via the Comments section!

I Have 3 Months Mortgage Payment Due NOW

Saved $26.50 and Lost 2 Lbs

In my post A Quick Way to Save Money and Lose Weight I mentioned that I wanted to save money and lose weight at the same time.  That post also mentioned that by planning my workday lunches and snacks in advance I was able to save $27.50 last week.

I can also happily report that I have lost 2 lbs last week!  I have not been taking any diet pills or started any exercise regimen at all, so I am very excited.

I must confess that a couple of times last week, I went to the vending machine and got some crunchy Cheetos (so that makes it $1 less than what I originally saved).  The snacks I had prepared for the week were all sweet (fresh cherries, fruit cups, chocolate animal crackers) .  I should have known that, from past experiences, eating something sweet triggers my craving for something salty, and vice versa.

This week I am doing the same thing.  I had already shopped for my lunches and snacks for the coming work week.  I have frozen entrees again, then yogurt and Cheetos for snacks.  I have already pre-packaged the Cheetos into snack baggies and I am only bringing one baggie a day to avoid eating all of the Cheetos in one day.  I believe in moderation, not self-denial.

The weather should help this week.  It is supposed to be really cold all week so that really kills the desire to go out for a quick drive (and drive-thru) at lunch time.

Cable and Satellite TV Alternative: Xbox 360

In a previous post I talked about how we have set up our computer as an alternative to cable and satellite TV.  It has allowed us to record our favorite TV shows like TIVO does, and with no monthly fee for the service.

The next step is to be able to watch live or recorded shows on the TV instead of the computer screen.  This was crucial, as there are four of us and we could hardly gather around the computer to watch the same show at the same time.  About two years ago, my son had gotten an Xbox 360 in lieu of having a birthday party.  Windows Media Center can stream any digital content to the Xbox 360 via your home network.  I decided to give it a try and it has worked really well for us.

You do not need to have computer or networking knowledge to do this.  All you will need are:

• Windows Media Center
• Xbox 360
• Network connection

You may view instructions on how to connect your Xbox 360 as a Windows Media Center Extender here.

Once everything is set up, you will now be able to stream any digital content (videos, recorded shows, photos, MP3′s) from your computer to your TV.

Fun hint:  If you have guests, your Xbox 360 and your TV can play selected songs while displaying your photo slide shows!

More posts to come on cable and Satellite TV alternatives.  Please check back soon, or subscribe to my RSS feed!

Oy! Detroit School Begs for Toilet Papers, Light Bulbs

ClickonDetroit.com has reported that The Academy of the Americas has sent a letter to staff and parents asking for donations. The principal has asked for items such as toilet paper, paper towel rolls, trash bags and 60, 100 or 150-watt light bulbs “that are of the utmost importance for proper school functioning and most importantly for student health and safety.”

The school district in which the school belongs is currently facing a $400 million budget deficit.

According to the Detroit Public Schools website, The Academy of the Americas has a “new state of the art multi-media room/Library”.

The photo here is NOT from one of the bathrooms at The Academy of the Americas.  Photo courtesy of Gii Funny Jokes Funny Pictures and more Fun! website.

I took the toilet paper thumbnail photo from Marsha’s blog Breathings of the Heart where she blogged about having NO toilet paper in all four bathrooms at her house.