DO NOT answer calls from a 473 Area Code!

Last night, right before going to bed, a friend had posted an article on Facebook about fraudulent calls being placed to cell phones. I did not even open the store, I just scrolled past it. Then, last night at 3:00 a.m., I got a call from a 473 area code. My first inclination was to return the call, as some areas of Arizona are 480 (and so I thought another area may be 473), and my mother-in-law and father-in-law live there (and are older). Then I remembered reading scrolling past the story, and decided to google the area code first. I am so thankful I did. These are fraudulent calls, and will result in an extremely high charge from your cell phone carrier if you call the number back.



This is a nationwide issue, and myself, my husband, and a work colleague all received calls last night!

Fixing Loom Bands Bracelet Maker From Plum District

If you are here, you probably ordered Loom Bands Bracelet Maker the Plum District and PurGoodies Deal. If you "box" arrive anything like mine, it was a smashed up tube. No box at all. This was disappointing.

Even more disappointing? The fact that the instructions did NOT match up with the loom your received. If you had a night like me, you have just spent the last hour scouring the Internet finding tutorials on how to make a bracelet, only to discover that you have a faulty loom. Are you ready to throw it out the window? Well, hold on just one second, because I am going to show you how to fix it!

Looking at your loom, you will notice that all three pegs line up. You probably noticed in the instructions that they did not.

The first step is to remove the green plastic pieces. They should just wiggle out from the loom.
You should have 3 long clear pieces and 4 green plastic pieces.

Attach one clear piece on the bottom all the way to the left spot on the green piece. Then attach another clear piece on the bottom all the way to the right on the green piece. Your piece should now look like this (the second photo shows the unattached middle piece simply laying in place-- it will NOT be attached to the bottom green piece):

Now go to the other end. Do the same thing to the other end of the plastic pieces. This time, however, also add the center piece by attaching the SECOND peg to the green piece, as seen below:

Now, you are able to attach the other two green pieces wherever you find most comfortable on your loom.

Your finished product should look like this!

Why We are Happy We Cut Cable

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 Are you sick of watching political ads? 

Do you hate that your children ask for something they see in a television commercial every five seconds?

Five years ago, my family decided to cancel our satellite subscription. We were fed up with ever increasing rates, lost programming, and rude customer service.  The plan, initially, was to switch to a new provider . . . but I had other ideas in mind as well!

After looking into it, we decided were would do a “trial run” of not having satellite television. We live in a small town, so this would mean not only losing cable and premium stations, but local television as well.

That was five years ago, and we have never looked back!

What you will need:

·      Television (Ours is an HDTV and HDMI compatible, but this is not necessary)

·      A device that streams to the television (we use Roku, but many others are pleased with both Slingbox and Apple TV)

·      High speed internet—wifi suggested (you will need something so you can stream, I prefer wi fi because you eliminate the need to run additional cables to your television)

·      An HDMI cable (again, not necessary, but it makes it much easier to install)

·      A subscription to a streaming service (I will discuss the ones we have below)

·      A sense of adventure

First, our family purchased a Roku. I believe we chose the Roku over the other devices simply because we found a good sale. There are pluses and minuses to each device, and I advise you to look into each of them before making a purchase, and try to decide which is right for you. I can only comment on the Roku. We purchased it because it was on sale, and we love it!

Second, you will most likely want a subscription service that gives you programming. The Roku does comes with limited programming. However, we subscribe to the following:

·      Netflix: Netflix streams mostly older television shows after the entire season has been released to DVD. It also has older movies. Occasionally, they will carry newer movies.  We like it because it includes our children’s favorite programming: Dora, Diego, Thomas, Horseland, and other kid friendly programming.

·      Hulu Plus: We subscribe mainly for the recent episodes they provide. You can generally watch shows the morning after they air. Some episodes stay on for long periods of time, some disappear after a week. Networks that can be viewed include NBC, ABC, Family Channel, and Fox (there are many, many more, but those are the main ones we watch). Obviously, there is a major network missing—CBS. We watch CBS on our computers. We feel it is a small price to pay for the added benefits we receive from not having regular television.

·      Amazon Prime Video: I already have a Prime subscription. I have been an Amazon Prime subscriber for 7 years. As an Amazon Prime subscriber, I can stream movies and television shows—many for free. The “free” selection is somewhat limited, but I can also “rent” a movie for the evening for very cheap (for nights I do not want to leave the house to hit the redbox).

What I love about it:

·      Limited advertising on Hulu Plus, none on Netflix. That is right—my children watch their programming COMMERCIAL FREE

·      NO political advertisements!

·      Control over what the children watch. I do not have to worry about what is coming up next, or an inappropriate commercial during their television viewing.

·      I watch television WHEN I WANT!

·      I have access to a HUGE library of television and video

There are some drawbacks, but they are very few and far between. Among them:

·      We cannot watch the nightly news. Instead we depend on reading the paper, listening to the radio, and getting online news.

·      We cannot stream CBS to the television (again, we do this through out computers).

·      At times the Roku can freeze, especially if there is HIGH Internet usage. However, this rarely happens and we have time when both my husband and I are online and the children are watching a program.

Are you ready to cut the wire? I strongly suggest it! It has really changed the way my family watches television, and limits how often we do so.