Thursday, August 31, 2006

Return of the Mack















Whilst I have been entertaining my relatives for the past week, Hubby got to visit Canada (business trip). He returned bearing gifts and of course, found change for the changepot.

Apparently people aren't too fond of the currency. Hubby brought back one canadian dollar coin, one quarter, four nickels, and two dimes. I know that's not what they're called and since it's foreign to my changepot, the totals won't change to document such loony loot (bad pun- sorry).

He did find $0.54 in the form of one quarter, one dime, two nickels, and nine pennies. I didn't really care to ask him where he found the cash. I was actually impressed that he used my nifty little found change coin purse which I clipped to his keychain. Whoopee!

(..I think I may have had too much Ice cream for dessert. It's weighing me down like a ton of bricks right now).

Total Cash found and redeemed today: $0.54
Total Since Blog Inception: $310.56

Wednesday, August 30, 2006

Wow.. time flies!

::sigh:: I feel how this man looks right now.

I've had company for almost an entire week now. My cousin dropped his kids off for a week of kiddie antics with my babes (they are close in age). I haven't been able to go out much (hence, barely any change) but when I did, I managed to find a few pennies here and there.

We found $0.46 in the form of one quarter, one dime, one nickel and six pennies. Don't ask me where and when since I can barely remember last night. I need a massage!!!!!!!!

Total Cash found and redeemed today: $0.46
Total Since Blog Inception: $310.02

Thursday, August 24, 2006

Little secrets.. tremors.



I thought I felt the earth move today.
So then I thought about how the only two people who actually feel the earth's rotations are drunks and __________ . How awkward it must feel for babies to become accustomed to the little things we shrug off.

Hubby found all the change today. All $1.13 of it - four quarters, one dime, and three pennies. Gotta love dysfunctional vending machines! :)

My eldest chick-let is happily giggling across the hall from me as I type. She is having her first technincal "sleep over". My how she's grown. Ahhh old age- I knew you'd find me soon enough. Happy Birthday, kiddo.

Total Cash found and redeemed today: $1.03
Total Since Blog Inception: $309.56

Tuesday, August 22, 2006

Tired





I am so tired.
But not tired enough to skip documenting today's finds (compliments of Great Adventure, Chuck E. Cheese, and the laundromat).


We found a grand total of $0.94 in the form of one quarter, four dimes, one nickel, and twenty four pennies. We also found a 2 cent euro at GA- our first euro find during this spectacular change hunt.

Total Cash found and redeemed today: $0.94
Total Since Blog Inception: $308.53

Monday, August 21, 2006

Blog-Lighting


Well... I did it. I have joined the growing cult of teeny-boppers on that absurd networking site myspace. I actually like blogging on there. I've started posting daily fictional spur-of-the-moment stories on there. Somehow that place inspires me to do so. Who knows? Perhaps myspace will herald the birth of my new novel? Quien sabe??

Today we found a pretty good chunk-o'-change: $0.93 (2 Quarters, 2 dimes, 2 nickels, and 13 pennies). We found the majority of it in Staten Island (Thanks DD!) and a little at toys r us in NJ (where we bought Sandy cheeks some birthday gifts).

Total Cash found and redeemed today: $0.93
Total Since Blog Inception: $307.59




<--Eye candy. Yay Keanu!!

Lazy-end to a lazy Summer



Aside from the boiling temperatures last month, this summer hasn't been so bad. Then again I have been enjoying my AC immensely . Today we didn't do much- a little shopping, a little sleeping- that's about it.

Today we found a total of $0.36 in the form of one quarter, one dime, and one penny. The quarter was spotted underneath an ATM kiosk at the mall. The dime and penny were uncovered while walking briskly along Staten Island's south beach boardwalk.

Total Cash found and redeemed today: $0.36
Total Since Blog Inception: $306.66

Friday, August 18, 2006


If I had to live off the change I find daily.. i'd be in bigg trouble LOL. Check out this hard-working man on the left here. That definitely looks like a tough way to go about earnin' the daily bread. Kinda makes ya wonder just how easy we have it here in the good ole' USA. Job security. It means much more than you think.

Today we found a whole $0.08 in the form of eight lucky pennies while strolling around the Staten Island Mall. We didn't get a chance to walk the entire mall due to some complications. When I got home, I made a family favorite- chuleta a la parrilla (spanish pork loin chops on the grill). Hubby orders two of the same chops at a local steakhouse with a side of mash and veggies for 25 bucks. I bought 9 huge chops, made a similar (healthier) meal, fed the whole family AND made dessert- the meal (ingredients and all) came out to a little under 20 bucks. Ahh the joys of frugal domestication :)


Total Cash found and redeemed today: $0.08
Total Since Blog Inception: $306.30

Thursday, August 17, 2006


Didn't get to run around too much today. Took the girls for a brisk evening walk and found a total of $0.26 in the form of one dime, two nickels, and six pennies. The days are passing quickly and I've yet to completely move into this house. I am so lethargic lately. I blame it on the twinkies.

Total Cash found and redeemed today: $0.26
Total Since Blog Inception: $306.22

Wednesday, August 16, 2006

Under the boardwalk...


The girls and I just got back from a long, leisurely walk on the Boardwalk. Kitty and Sandy uncovered a ping cache of two dimes and seven pennies.. it was right next to some rubber bands and fast food receipts (looks like someone cleaned out their car cupholders). As we ventured down towards the sand, I found three pennies.. bringing today's total to $0.30. Poppa Krabs hasn't come home from work yet so there may be some uncovered ping-age there as well.

UPDATE: Hubby came back with $0.72 in found change. As I'd suspected, his traveling to different locations today yielded much pingage. Yippee!@

Total Cash found and redeemed today: $1.02
Total Since Blog Inception: $305.96

FACTS tested and edited. .. (from an earlier post)

A fetching young lass decided to take up the challenge of finding facts fom the list I put on here a while back. Here is the post from her blog:

Well, I answered each and every one of the facts, with true or false and had backup for any false answers. I'm sharing it here, just in case you all get this. Get a snack, something to drink, as there were 34 "facts" on the list and I copied and pasted lots to her from websites.

THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW, BUT PROBABLY DON'T

1. Money isn't made out of paper, it's made out of cotton.

The paper that the Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP) uses to produce our currency is "distinctive." A paper manufacturer produces it according to BEP specifications. It is composed of 75 percent cotton and 25 percent linen. The paper also contains red and blue fibers of various lengths that are evenly distributed throughout the paper.

2. The Declaration of Independence was written on hemp paper.

Thomas Jefferson's draft of the Declaration of Independence, announced and released by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, was written on paper made from hemp. This document was later copied onto vellum parchment (animal skin) and signed by the delegates on August 2, 1776.

3. The dot over the letter i is called a "tittle".

True. And the ~ over an N in Spanish is a tilde.

4. A raisin dropped in a glass of fresh champagne will bounce up and down continuously from the bottom of the glass to the top.

Dunno. The ONLY place I can find that fact are in copies of this list in various places all over the Internet. I say we get a bottle of champagne, a box of raisins and check it out.

5. Susan Lucci is the daughter of Phyllis Diller.

FALSE! They've been trying to put this rumor to rest for at least 20 years. But it refuses to die.

6. 40% of McDonald's profits come from the sales of Happy Meals.

Urban Myth.

7. 315 entries in Webster's 1996 Dictionary were misspelled.

False. This joke has been around since before 1996. Not to mention, there is no dictionary just called Webster's. Note: I linked to Amazon in the return email, which I can't do here. There are a number of dictionaries with Webster's in the title. But there is no such thing as the plain old Webster's Dictionary.

8. The 'spot' on 7UP comes from its inventor, who had red eyes. He was albino.

7Up was invented by Charles Leiper Grigg. From Snopes:

Charles Leiper Grigg wasn't an albino. In photographs (albeit black and white ones), he appears normally pigmented, and we've yet to encounter a biography of him that makes any mention of his displaying traits of albinism. (By the way, though it is possible for an albino to have reddish or violet eyes, most people with that condition have blue eyes, and some have hazel or brown eyes.)

9. On average, 12 newborns will be given to the wrong parents, daily.

False. But it is the stuff of sitcoms.

10. Warren Beatty and Shirley MacLaine are brother and sister.

True.

11. Chocolate affects a dog's heart and nervous system; a few ounces will kill a small-sized dog.

Chocolate will kill a dog. I don't know if it effects the heart and the nervous system, but it does poison dogs. And a few ounces landed a 45 pound standard poodle who stole MY chocolate Easter bunny 12 years ago in the hospital for three days. Chocolate is toxic to dogs. The more sensitive a dog, the more apt it is to get sick,
or die. Size has nothing to do with it.

12. Orcas (killer whales) kill sharks by torpedoing up into the shark's stomach from underneath, causing the shark to explode.

LMAO! Yeah, and boxers explode in the ring from being punched in the gut! False, false, false! Note: Here I included a link to a site that includes the story of the first documented Orca attack on a shark, back in 1997. Here's part of it:

Authorities last week identified the killer whales seen attacking a great white shark off the Farallon Islands as members of the "LA Pod," a gang of orcas that usually frequent waters off Los Angeles.

Witnesses to the Oct. 4 attack saw two orcas swimming when the larger one sped off, returning to the surface with a 10-foot shark in her jaws.

The 20-foot orca was caught on videotape thrashing the shark to death. Based on the footage, biologists have identified the attacker as "CA2," a fullgrown female at least 25 years old. She was last seen off Santa Barbara in 1995 and is the only known killer whale to prey on sharks.

CA2 was first photographed off Los Angeles in 1982 and has been caught on film 18 times since then, said Alisa Schulman-Janiger, a marine biologist who tracks the LA Pod for the American Cetacean Society. It was Schulman-Janiger who recognized CA2 from the footage.

13. Most lipstick contains fish scales (eeww).

Some, not most. Definitely not all. It's called pearl essence and it comes from herring scales. Not all that gross, especially in
comparison to skin creams that contain cerebrosides. The raw material for cerebrosides in cosmetics comes from cattle, oxen, or swine brain cells or other nervous-system tissues. That last sentence is straight from the FDA.

14. Donald Duck comics were banned from Finland because he doesn't wear pants.

False! Note: Link to story at Snopes deleted, they have the truth there.

15. Ketchup was sold in the 1830's as medicine.

False. The version we know was invented by Heinz in 1872. While various things were called ketchup for many years before a standard recipe was mass marketed, the ketchup we all use was never a medicine. Mind you, that doesn't mean some snake oil called ketchup wasn't marketed as medicine. Note: Link to the history of ketchup deleted. But it's interesting, how it started out as a relish for fish in China and it wasn't until the settlement of this country that anyone started to add tomatoes. The early stuff sounds more than vile. But in no ketchup link did I find anything about medicine.

16. Upper and lower case letters are named 'upper' and 'lower' because in the time when all original print had to be set in individual letters, the 'upper case' letters were stored in the case on top of the case that stored the smaller, 'lower case' letters.

One of the few true ones on this list.

17. Leonardo Da Vinci could write with one hand and draw with the other at the same time; hence, multi-tasking was invented.

He painted and wrote with his left hand. From the Da Vinci Society website:

It was presumably before joining Verrocchio’s workshop that Leonardo learned to write. In any case, his handwriting has the constancy of style that one associates with someone who makes a habit of writing. However, we know that Leonardo used his left hand for drawing and, like many other left-handers, he apparently found it natural to write from right to left, in what we would call ‘mirror writing.’ He writes this way when he is writing for himself. If he is writing for others, say in the caption to a drawing for presentation, he writes in the manner normal for right-handed people. Thus, in today’s terms, Leonardo was ‘literate’; when he calls himself ‘a man without letters’ (uomo sanza lettere) this means simply that he did not read and write Latin, that he was not a scholar but a craftsman. This kind of statement is a fairly standard one, used to deflect criticism from experts. There are, nonetheless, extensive indications that Leonardo was in touch with, for instance, the medical and optical learning associated with the Latin scholarship of universities - most probably because there were people willing to help him to read the relevant texts or to explain to him what they contained. In any case, he was sufficiently confident in his own literacy that, among his many ongoing projects, he planned to write treatises on anatomy, painting, water, flight, geometry, machines and other subjects. The earliest evidence of the project for the series of treatises dates from 1489 and Leonardo continued to be concerned with them until his death in 1519. The project apparently originated with Leonardo himself rather than being suggested by a patron.

18. Because metal was scarce, the Oscars given out during World War II were made of wood.

FALSE! They were plaster of Paris and they were traded in after the war for the real thing.

19. There are no clocks in Las Vegas gambling casinos.

From the Court TV website:

MYTH: To keep gamblers oblivious to the time of day, there are no windows or clocks in Las Vegas casinos.
FACT: While they're not plentiful, there are a handful of windows and clocks in casinos. Otherwise, how would you know when the Celine Dion show was going to start?

20. The name Wendy was made up for the book Peter Pan; there was never a recorded "Wendy" before!

From The Straight Dope website (census links removed):

J. M. Barrie did not invent the name Wendy for his 1904 play Peter Pan, the Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up (the book form of the story, Peter and Wendy, was published in 1911). He did popularize it, though. Barrie apparently was inspired to use the name by a young friend named Margaret Henley, the daughter of writer William Henley. Margaret, who died around 1895 at age 6, called Barrie her "friendy." Since she couldn't pronounce her Rs at the time, the word came out "fwendy," or "fwendy-wendy," in some versions of the story.

But we have absolute proof that there were earlier Wendys, thanks to the just-released 1880 U.S. Census and the 1881 British Census. These documents show that the name Wendy, while not common, was indeed used in both the U.S. and Great Britain throughout the 1800s. I had no trouble finding twenty females with the first name Wendy in the United States, the earliest being Wendy Gram of Ohio (born in 182. If you include such spelling variations as Windy, Wendi, Wenda, and Wandy the number triples.

As to the origins of said name, websites make the claim that Wendy is a derivative of the name Gwendolen or maybe Gwendolyn. Looking further, I chanced upon World Wide Wendy, a site dedicated to, well, all things Wendy. On this site, Doctor of Folklore Leslie Ellen Jones discusses the possible Welsh origins of the name Gwendolyn and its derivative Wendy. In both the English and U.S. Census, however, the name Wendy is also used as a male first name, so I suspect further research may be required.

21. There are no words in the dictionary that rhyme with: orange, purple, and silver!

True.

22. Leonardo Da Vinci invented scissors. Also, it took him 10 years to paint Mona Lisa's lips.

Scissors were invented thousands of years ago (roughly 1500 B.C.) in ancient Egypt. Early scissors have been found in ancient Egyptian ruins. These early scissors were made from one piece of metal (unlike modern scissors, which are made from two cross-blades which pivot around a fulcrum). Modern cross-bladed scissors were invented in ancient Rome (roughly A.D. 100). Early scissors were used by clothes makers and barbers. Scissors were not in common use until much later, in the 1500's (in Europe).

The Mona Lisa was painted over the course of three years. It is a self portrait of Leonardo Da Vinci.

23. A tiny amount of liquor on a scorpion will make it instantly go mad and sting itself to death.

Pure bullshit. I wonder if we can find the person who first put this list together in 1997 (earliest forum posting of this I've found) and put a bit of liquor on his or her arm and then a scorpion and see what happens. Heh heh heh...

24. The mask used by Michael Myers in the original "Halloween" was a Captain Kirk's mask painted white.

Well, it was the mask William Shatner wore in "The Devil's Rain" painted white and recycled to save Money. So no, it wasn't a Captain Kirk mask.

25. If you have three quarters, four dimes, and four pennies, you have $1.19. You also have the largest amount of Money in coins without being able to make change for a dollar (good to know).

Um, ok. That is a total of 11 coins. If you have 9 dimes and 9 pennies, you have 18 coins and 99 cents. If you have 1 quarter, five nickels and ten pennies, you have 16 coins and all of 60 cents. If you have 99 pennies... Or am I missing the point here? (Note: I did miss the point here, as I was starting to suffer burn-out at that point and I didn't read it properly.)

26. By raising your legs slowly and lying on your back, you can't sink in quicksand (and you thought this list was completely useless).

Try raising your legs out of the quicksand to float. (Note: Web MD link removed. They do tell you to flop on your back, to evenly distribute your weight. But they also point out at the very end of the article: "The downside: You're going to have to be pretty strong to get out of quicksand. The required force to pull a foot out is "about that needed to lift a medium-sized car," write the researchers." So there's no way you're going to be able to get your legs out without help.)

27. The phrase "rule of thumb" is derived from an old English law, which stated that you couldn't beat your wife with anything wider than your thumb.

WRONG! Rule of thumb meant what it did now when it made its way into the OED in 1692. The myth about the etymology came about in the 1800s, when American judges started ruling that if a man beat his wife with a switch no wider than his thumb, it was legal.

28. The first product Motorola started to develop was a record player for automobiles. At that time, the most known player on the market was the Victrola, so they called themselves Motorola.

WRONG! From the Motorola website:

Motorola’s role as pioneer, innovator and visionary in mobile communications is well-known. Originally founded as the Galvin Manufacturing Corporation in 1928, Motorola has come a long way since introducing its first product, the battery eliminator.

1930:

Galvin Manufacturing Corporation introduces one of the first commercially successful car radios. The original Motorola model 5T71 radio sells for between $110 and $130, and can be installed in most popular automobiles.

Galvin Manufacturing Corporation founder Paul V. Galvin creates the brand name "Motorola" for the company's new car radio, linking "motor" (motorcar, motion) with the suffix "ola" (sound).

29. Celery has negative calories! It takes more calories to eat a piece of celery than the celery has in it to begin with. It's the same with apples!

From Snopes:

Celery has about 6 calories per 8-inch stalk, making it a dieter's staple. Although it's loaded with latent energy, the amount we are capable of extracting from it is negligible thanks to the plant's cellulose composition. Its ingestion can result in negative calories, but it is a fallacy to believe that effect has to do with energy expended in chewing. Though chewing might feel like a somewhat strenuous activity, it burns about the same amount of energy as watching paint dry. It is the bodily energy devoted to the digestion of the green stalks that exhausts calories. A cold low-calorie drink would enhance the effect, because the liquid needs to be warmed to body temperature, an act that requires further expenditure of energy.

There have been those who have taken this tiny sliver of truth and used it to form the basis of what they tout as "negative calorie diets," proving once again that anything can form the core of a diet plan someone wants to sell to others, provided it contains a notion that so much as vaguely sounds like it might work and weds it to the promise of easy, quick, effortless, and pain-free weight loss.

30. Chewing gum while peeling onions will keep you from crying!

False.

31. The glue on Israeli postage stamps is certified kosher.

True. So is the paper.

32. Guinness Book of Records holds the record for being the book most often stolen from Public Libraries.

So the people at the Guinness Book of World Records claimed in 1978.

33. Astronauts are not allowed to eat beans before they go into space because passing wind in a space suit damages it.

coughbullshitcough Among the space food on flights are freeze dried green beans. They also grow and eat soy beans in space.

34. George Carlin said it best about Martha Stewart. "Boy, I feel a lot safer now that she's behind bars. O. J. Simpson and Kobe Bryant are still walking around; Osama Bin Laden too, but they take the ONE woman in America willing to cook, clean, and work in the yard, and they haul her fanny off to jail."

I can't find any definite proof he said this. George Carlin himself has said, "Here's a rule of thumb, folks: Nothing you see on the Internet is mine unless it came from one of my albums, books, HBO shows, or appeared on my website. If you see something with my name on it, and you really need to find out if it's mine, post a question on my bulletin board . But only if it's really important to you; don't f**k around with me for a lark."

It's not on his website. Nor is there a reference to it on the bulletin board. So, unless someone can come up with the book, or a tape or DVD of an HBO special, or an album, it's fake.

Blahh.. blahh

Oh boy.. summer is winding down. On our evening trip out, we found $.50 in the form of two quarters exactly. Apparently someone bought a soda and forgot to take the change from the hopper. Sandy's got great eyes.. she spotted the quarters at a fair distance.

Total Cash found and redeemed today: $0.50
Total Since Blog Inception: $304.94

Monday, August 14, 2006

Back from Vacay... miss me?

Spent a week foraging up and down the East Coast- visiting fam and the like. Summer vacation really isn't a vacation once you've got kids. Ughh. I'm getting a headache just thinking about the mounds of laundry that await me in the next room.

I did learn a few things while away:

1. How to make alcoholic flan (courtesy of my best friend Ro)
2. Castro and Chavez are secretly made from the same puppet fiber used on the funky characters in "Crankyankers".
3. How to kill an exotic houseplant (due to not watering it for a few days).
4. Kids are never to be trusted with pens- even if they're older than 10.

We managed to find $1.78 in this fun-filled week- 4 quarters, 4 dimes, 4 nickels, and 18 pennies.
Today I get to play catchup with the bills and assorted back-to-school junk. Perhaps i'll find some more $$ as the day isn't up yet.. if I do, it'll be accounted for in an addendum to this post.


Total Cash found and redeemed today: $1.78
Total Since Blog Inception: $304.44

Wednesday, August 09, 2006

Ugh


Found Zip. Zilch. Tomorrow we embark on a Journey to see my greatest friend Ro and fam in Watertown, NY. It'll be one interesting visit considering i've never been there and the townfolk don't take too kindly to outsiders... woohoo.

Monday, August 07, 2006

The runaway buck


Our travels took us to an unexplored corner of Staten Island today. Just when I thought the island was overflowing with new construction, a friend showed me a successive string of parks that took my breath away. Still, it is nothing compared to the beauty of untouched wildlife (something I think may never truly exist in New York or any place on the east coast) ::sigh::

Today I found one whole dollar while roaming around Blue Heron Park. I think I may have spotted an egret in the process of retrieving the buck. I did my best not to bother her or the string of Canadian geese that littered a manmade pond.

Since it's still early in the day, I may find more.. so stay tuned for a possible update.

Total Cash found and redeemed today: $1.00
Total Since Blog Inception: $302.66

Sunday, August 06, 2006

The Ketchup Game

Wow.. these days are flying by so fast. I haven't really done much yet it seems like each day is more and more exhausting. Ughhh.

Saturday and Today yielded us a total of $0.79 in quarters, dimes, nickels, and pennies. I can't really recall where most of the change was uncovered but I am proud that we have accumulated this tiny arsenal of coinage.

Total Cash found and redeemed today: $0.79
Total Since Blog Inception: $301.66

Thursday, August 03, 2006

Fortune smiles upon thee, Charlie Brown

...without you it's hard to survive.
'Cuz everytime we touch, I get this feeling.

Today we found $0.58- four dimes, one nickel, thirteen pennies.. yay. Hubby found the nickel and three of the pennies in the Bronx while working. I found the rest of the change at the mall. Still in the process of unpacking so I can't spend too much time on here.

Total Cash found and redeemed today: $0.58
Total Since Blog Inception: $300.87

Wednesday, August 02, 2006

Post 200 and over the $300 mark!!!

Despite the digusting heat we've faced in the past few days, the Krabs are happy to announce that our goal of surpassing the $300 mark has been met.. and this is our 200th post. Hip Hip Hooray!!!

Today we found $1.86 in the form of a dollar bill, two quarters, three dimes, and six pennies. The dollar find came late in the afternoon while on our way back from shopping. Two quarters, two dimes, and three pennies were picked up at a popular jogger/bike path (apparently someone's change flew out of their pockets). The other dime and three pennies waited for us at the corner of Richmond and Forest, where we saw some poor dude try to sell ice pops to turn a quick buck. The sun had other plans obviously.

Total Cash found and redeemed today: $1.86
Total Since Blog Inception: $300.28

Tuesday, August 01, 2006

Heatwave cometh

On the way home from a most important job task, hubby found $0.50 in the form of two quarters. The man practically stopped traffic (and with good reason.. silver is getting hard to find!!) in order to bring our totals to over $298.00. THe temperature is currently 93 degrees.. tomorrow is looking like 100+... and Castro, the man my famiy hates with a passion, is on his way out. (http://noticias.aol.com/americalatina/elcaribe/cuba)

Total Cash found and redeemed today: $0.50
Total Since Blog Inception: $298.42