How To: Make Small Amounts of Money on the Internet.

I don't know if any of you are into the whole making money on the internet thing but there are a lot of scam sites out there. I wanted to share a few of the legit sites that I've used or am currently using. I play on my computer in the evening, reading emails, catching up with friends, and doing general browsing. I figure, why not try to earn a few bucks here and there since I'm not doing anything else anyway? Let's face it, we're not going to get rich doing this, but I have been able to buy a couple of items I wanted on Amazon with these funds. It's my fun money.

SocialSci
On Social Sci you'll be taking surveys for universities and scientific research. There aren't always surveys available, but they'll email you when new surveys have been added, usually once or twice per month. The surveys are generally worth 50 to 100 pts. and when you collect 300 pts. you can trade them in for a $5 Amazon gift card. In the past I've had great success with this site, making about $35 in just a few months but the surveys seem to be few and far between now.

Get Started Here

PollBuzzer
PollBuzzer also sends out surveys but they send just one question directly to your email. Answer the question within 24 hours and they automatically send $1 straight to your paypal account. It's super simple and requires very minimal effort so I find it to be worth it.

Get Started Here

Superpoints Network
Superpoints is a site where you click a "superlucky button" x amount of times per day for a chance to win points. When you get to 500 points you can turn them in for gift cards or paypal money, or even ipods. It sounds like a scam but the way the website is making it's money and is able to pay you is, each time you click the button, the page refreshes, and they collect more money from google adsense. The best way to earn quickly is to refer friends. If you refer 2 friends, you win when they win and you get more spins so you earn points faster. You can still go it alone, but you'll accrue more points with more friends.
Tip: Be sure to complete your profile 100%, which includes uploading a photo (mine is of a flower).

Get Started Here, Here, or Here. Each link can only be claimed by 1 person so if they don't work, let me know and I can send you an e-mail. 

Mechanical Turk
MechTurk is a site affiliated with Amazon where businesses pay people to do menial tasks that computers can't yet do. You choose a HIT, complete it, and then go to the next. They generally pay mere cents per completed HIT but the HITs only take seconds to complete. You won't make minimum wage doing this but I like to do it sometimes when I am watching t.v. shows at night. You can either spend your money at Amazon or they can send it to your paypal account.

Get Started Here.

I hope this helps anyone trying to earn an extra dollar while on the web. Always be sure to practice common sense on the internet and always check out any site before giving them any info. I usually make up a fake name and use my backup email address, just in case. 

Rando Thursday.

This photo has nothing to do with anything except to say I used to have a cat named Lola and also, my mom is a button hoarder, which I think is awesome.

- I watched 50/50 yesterday and bawled my eyes out pretty much the entire time. I think it's supposed to be funny, and it was, but if you're a sap, you'll cry the whole time. Also, Joseph Gordon-Levitt is still the heartthrob I remember him being from childhood.

- I have 5 or 6 days of work left. I'm not exactly sure yet since we never really get our schedules in advance. I'm happy about this.

- My legs smell like coffee. What? Yeah, they do. My sister made me some body scrub for Christmas that has coffee grinds in it. It's pretty amazing, thanks sis.

- We had plans to go to Utah in a couple of weeks but now we're debating it because of the weather. We'll see I guess. I know I'd get more crocheting done there than I do at home. I always seem to get more done when I'm at someone else's house.

- I hope you have a wonderful Thursday.

So I Got This For Christmas...

... and I'm determined to use it at least one time before I have to pack it back in a box for our move. I'm thinking cookies maybe, since we didn't make any this year for Christmas but cake is good too. Ahh, can't decide. Any suggestions?

Happy Chinese New Year!

{via}

Gung Hay Fat Choy, friends! I like to hang out with my family for Lunar New Year but they're so far away. So instead I'll probably make some Chinese food and celebrate quietly with Jake. I sent out my first Lai See as an auntie this year. Lana is too young to enjoy lucky money but maybe when she's older and she wants to buy a little toy, she'll have more money in her piggy bank than she thought.

Babies Love Cowls.

My sister informed me that Lana needed a cowl, so I bought some soft chunky yarn, found a giant crochet hook to make it even softer, and whipped this thing up. It was hard to gauge how large it should be without having a small child near me but I still think it's cute and she can wear it for years and years.

We're MOVING!!

After some thought and discussion, Jake and I have decided to move to Oregon at the end of February instead of at the end of the year. I am so excited! We'll be in my hometown which is amazingly beautiful and right on the ocean. We love the town we live in now, but it's such a tiny place that there aren't any opportunities here. I've been working at a job I hate while trying to find another but there aren't any other jobs. I'm not exaggerating, there weren't any updates on craigslist for a month. Ridiculous. So after some consideration we've decided to go where there are places hiring.

I'm really happy that we'll be living near my family and that there is a VA clinic right in town so we won't have to drive an hour for most of Jake's appointments anymore. We'll be living in this awesome loft type space with an incredible view. We have a house lined up to move into, but we have to wait for the current occupants to vacate, since the plan was that we weren't moving in until the fall. Most importantly, we'll be near my dad, who has had a lot of health issues this past year.

I gave my notice at work today and emailed our landlords letting them know. After I finish working the next two weeks, we're going to visit some of Jake's family and then pack up the house and get ready to go. I'm not looking forward to the packing process but I can't wait to be out of here!

STOP SOPA

Are you a blogger and/or someone who makes their living from the internet? Your livelihood is in jeopardy, big time jeopardy. If you don't know what SOPA is, it's time you get educated, now. Call your congressmen, repeatedly. Let them know this is not okay.

Breakdown of SOPA & PIPA

Wikipedia article on SOPA

More info on SOPA

Cranberry Sauce.

My Uncle got me two big boxes of cranberries for Christmas, fresh (and then put in the freezer) from the Oregon Coast. I'm a huge cranberry fan so I was really excited to start working with them. I've only used about 1/4 of them so far and I have so many ideas for more canning goodness.

This Thanksgiving I had some killer cranberry sauce and so I decided to make some of my own to eat throughout the year. This was hands down the easiest thing I've ever canned. It requires almost no prep. There is no peeling, no dicing, no blending into tiny pieces or removing seeds. It was wonderful!

Ingredients:
Two 12 oz. packages of frozen cranberries or roughly 6 cups of cranberries
a small amount of either cranberry juice, orange juice, or water
1/2 t. cinnamon
1/4 t. ground cloves
1/4 t. nutmeg

Wash your cranberries, be sure to remove any sticks.
In a non-reactive pot (make it a big one) bring an inch or so of liquid to a boil (I used cranberry juice).
Once liquid is boiling, add the cranberries.
Let them cook for about 15 minutes or until most of the cranberries have popped. Don't worry if all of them don't pop, it's quite alright.
Stir in your spices, turn off heat and fill your jars, leaving an inch of headspace.

Wipe rims, add your lids and bands.
Process your jars in a water bath for 15 minutes.

This makes about 3 pints of amazingly delicious cranberry sauce that be can accompany meat, mashed potatoes, eaten alone or used like a jam.

Homesick Etsy Picks.

glass ornament via Avolie Glass

I've been pretty homesick lately and we've been making plans to move to Oregon in the fall or winter but that is so far away. In an effort to keep the homesickness at bay, I've been window shopping on etsy for things that remind me of the coast.

via iknowlesnothing

This dress is amazing. From the peter pan collar to the print, I'm in love.

via xxyz

I could stare at this pretty necklace just like I do the ocean. It's amazing how staring at the ocean can give you perspective. 

bath salts via For Strange Women

The coast is covered in evergreen trees that are so beautiful and smell amazing, especially after it rains. These bath salts look like they smell just as good.

Chalkboard Tile Coasters.

I had some inexpensive tiles leftover from a craft project that didn't go so well so I decided to do something with them and I came up with these chalkboard coasters. They are really easy to make and I love that I can draw pretty pictures on them.

You'll need:

tiles (you can find them at Home Depot for less than 15 cents each)
chalkboard paint
an old towel or paintbrush
chalk
felt
fabritac

This project is pretty simple.
Paint your tiles with chalkboard paint using an old towel or paintbrush.
Once dry, add another coat of paint.
Cut out some felt and fabritac it to the bottom of the tiles, to prevent them from slipping/scratching your table.
Roll chalk all over the surface and wipe off.
Your coaster is now ready for you to draw on and enjoy!

They make a really easy and cute gift, especially for housewarmings. 

Mark which drink is yours by writing your name on it or drawing your own personalized design.

I've linked up here. 

New Shoes.

shoes: endless / heart tights: ebay

I've been needing some comfy shoes to wear to work since we stand all day and my feet were killing me. Jake offered to get me some for Christmas so I began searching the web. I found this adorable pair by Seychelles and knew I just had to have them. They come in 5 different colors but I had my heart set on the seafoam/mint pair. Jake said the color was weird but that I, "always like the weird colors." ha. If only he had seen what I wore in childhood.

I love the floral lining on the inside. It's like a sweet little surprise that only I know about when I'm wearing them. The shoes are very well made and surprisingly comfortable. I can't wait to fully break them in. Thanks for the shoes, honey.

Christmas is Over but I Have More Pictures!

At Shore Acres Botanical Garden, where my family volunteers on Christmas night, they have the cutest little gardener's house full of decorations. There are some amazing trees, like the one above decorated with dried starfish. 

This tree was my favorite, it was covered in beautiful fake flowers and had little birds perched all over. 

This tree is my nightmare. Most stuffed animals creep me out. I have two stuffed animals, one I've had since childhood, and a World of Warcraft one that Jake gave me. Other than that, stuffed animals are dirty germ magnets. yuck.

And finally, I love these little winter cottages. I like that I can go places and look at knick knacks and not have to have them cluttering my own house. I don't even have to dust!

In Progress Christmas Gifts.

This year I didn't quite get all my Christmas gifts finished in time. I'm going to go ahead and blame it on working 44 hours every week at my 20 hr/wk job. All my crocheting time magically disappeared. This is the blanket I've been working on for my mom. I took it with me and worked on it a bit while I was at her house, so she could see it and know that I got her something. Not that it would matter, she was just happy that we were all there. Plus, my little brother got her an ipad2 so I think he wins best gift of the year award. She literally jumped up and down when she opened it. It was hilarious.

My mom knew this was hers as soon as I took it out of my yarn bag because it's in "her colors". When I was a kid my mom worked at a bank and she was such a snappy dresser. She always looked so nice and often times wore red or black, they're her favorites. So I knew when I made her a blanket, it could be no other color. The pattern is really simple and goes fairly quickly. I can't wait to have some time to finish and send it to her.

Do you have any ongoing projects you're working on?

My New Business Cards & Giving.

Awhile back I won some business cards from a giveaway on The Tsaritsa Sez. They arrived in the mail recently and I love them. There were a bunch of different shapes to choose from and I wanted something fun so I went with round. Thanks so much, Alexandra!

Right before Christmas I also won another giveaway, this time on Amanda's blog, Interpreted by Me. I loved this giveaway so much. Instead of sending me something, Amanda donated to my choice of charity. I know that food banks around our country are struggling so I asked her to please donate to her favorite food bank or organization that fights hunger. Thanks Amanda!

I think it's really important that we all give back to our communities. Even if you don't have the funds available, donate your time, ideas, knowledge, or even your blood. There are so many ways we can help each other out.

2011 Favorites.

2011 was a hard year for us. Jake had some really rough times with his PTSD, we moved to a new state, the government passed legislation that cut Jake's pay by 1/3, our sewer was continually breaking, I searched and searched and searched for a job. Looking back though, 2011 was full of great memories and fun times as well. We love our new town, we've made some friends, we've made plans for 2012 and I found a job. I think life will be much kinder in 2012 but I wanted to share some of my favorite posts from 2011 before I look ahead to the new year.

I shared the story of how we met, in a video game.

I began canning, in earnest.

I learned to crochet, and fell in love.

I planted a garden.

We built our kitchen table ourselves!

I dug out my coin jewelry collection.

and had the most amazing day at the Orchard. 

My mom, sister and I made heirloom cookbooks for the family.

I opened my etsy shop!

And spent a wonderful Christmas with my family in Oregon.

Happy 2012, friends. May it be kind to all of us.