MrsDrPoe: Knit Purse

I would like to share with you my latest knitting project...a purse:



I used the 15th pattern on this page (you'll have to sign up for a free account to get the instructions). I think my gauge was a bit off since my finished product measured 8" by 8" (excluding the strap) instead of 8" by 13.5". I can fit my wallet, phone and keys in it comfortably...having said that I'm not altogether sure that the person I was intending to give it to would be able to use something this small. This was my first purse to make, and I'm excited to try out some other patterns at some point!

What kinds of craft projects are you currently working on?

MrsDrPoe: Which came first- the chicken or the egg?

In answer to the title question, I'd have to say the chicken based on the Biblical account of creation; however, this afternoon we'll actually be looking at eggs...specifically, how to crack them using one hand.

First, holding the egg in your predominant hand as shown below, tap it gently on the side of a bowl, the counter, or the edge of the counter (wherever you typically tap your eggs):


Only a small crack is necessary to pull the egg apart. Once the crack is made:


place your thumb on one side of the crack and your middle finger on the opposite side of the crack. Your index finger should rest lightly on the top of the egg:


After your fingers are placed, rotate your wrist such that the crack is facing downward (into the bowl). Gently apply pressure to the crack with your thumb and index finger (expanding it) while simultaneously pulling the top of the egg up and away from your palm with your thumb and index fingers. After the egg drops into the bowl, the shell should look like this in your hand:


Practice one-handed cracking in a small bowl until you get a feel for it to ensure that shell doesn't end up in whatever you're baking. Now get crackin'!

MrsDrPoe: First Roses of the Season

Mr. Poe and I have a thing with flowers - we don't buy cut bouquets because they die. So we save money by getting live plants. We bought this little rose bush right before we got married (almost 3 years ago...). It has finally decided to produce some blooms! Aren't they pretty?


How are your gardens progressing?

MrsDrPoe: Filling the Void

Happy Theology Thursday all! I invite you to open your Bibles with me as we go through a few passages that have stuck in my mind through this week's studies and daily Bible reading.

Throughout the Bible, we can see examples of just and righteous men; these men are deemed thus by both action and inaction- by what they do and do not do. In Ezekiel 18:5-9, God defines a just man:

____Action________________

does what is lawful and right___ _______
restored his pledge to debtor__ _________
given his bread to the hungry__________
covered the naked with clothing___
withdrawn his hand from iniquity__________
executed true judgement between men be_ _________
walked in God's statutes______
kept God's judgements faithfully_ _

___Inaction_______
not eaten on the mountains
not lifted his eyes to idols
not defiled his neighbor's wife_
not approached woman during her impurity
not oppressed anyone
robbed no one by violence
not exacted usury (loan interest)
not taken any increase

Similarly, in the first verse of Psalm 15, David asks God, "Jehovah, who may abide in Your tabernacle? Who may dwell in Your holy hill?" Verses 2-5 answer:

"He who walks uprightly,
And works righteousness,
And speaks the truth in his heart;
He who does not backbite with his tongue,
Nor does evil to his neighbor,
Nor does he take up a reproach against his friend;
In whose eyes a vile person is despised,
But he honors those who fear the LORD;
He who swears to his own hurt and does not change;
He who does not put out his money at usury,
Nor does he take a bribe against the innocent.
He who does these things shall never be moved."

Sometimes as Christians, we think we're "good people" because we may have put a stop to things we were doing before we turned to the Lord: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, etc (Gal 5:19-21). While merely practicing the "don'ts" that are taught by the New Testament, we create a void in ourselves where these unholy desires/actions used to be.

Examine the parable of an unclean spirit's return in Luke 11:24-26. A demon leaves a person for a time but then decides to return. When he arrives, he finds his "home" in put in order, so he gathers seven other more wicked spirits to dwell with him in his host. Thus the last state of the man is worse that the first.

We can find ourselves in a similar situation if we just clean out our lives by eliminating unholy things in them. 2 Peter 2:20-21 tells us that "if, after [we] have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord...[we] are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for [us] than the beginning." These are the "3rd soil" in the parable of the sower: "Now the ones that fell among the thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity." (Luke 8:14)

When we remove sinful things from our lives, we must replace them with righteous things- we must fill the void, "putting off...the old man...and putt[ing] on the new man" (Eph 4:17-24)- or we strongly risk falling back into the world. Consider Luke 11:33-36. This passage tells us that we should fill ourselves with light such that there is no part darkness. By filling ourselves with the Word of God and taking the actions described in the New Testament- visiting orphans and widows (Jas 1:27), loving the Lord will all our heart, soul, mind, and strength (Mark 12:30), loving our neighbor as ourselves (Mark 12:31), doing good to those who hate us (Luke 6:27), submiting to our husbands/loving our wives (Eph 5:22-33), etc. - we can become the righteous person described in Ezekiel and Psalm 15, and our lives will glorify the Lord. The key to being pleasing to God is striving to do the things He likes and to refrain from the things He does not.

One final note on the subject: just because the commands of God instruct us in works we should and should not be doing does not mean that we are in any way earning anything. "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them." (Eph 2:8-10)

MrsDrPoe: Fake Shakes

Over the past week, we've had several conversations with various folks about diets. The main thing I don't like about diets is the serious lack of desert that actually accompanies them, which reminds me of the summer before my freshman year of high school. I was pushing 150 lbs (at about 5' tall), so I decided that I needed to lose some weight. It was fairly easy for me at the time to cut out most of the fat I had been eating...except when it came to sweets. With that in mind, my mother showed me this recipe. I lost about 30 pounds that summer, and to this day this fake shake is my favorite shake to make for myself because I don't feel guilty drinking it.


Ingredients: ~1.5 cups milk (Mr. Poe and I have compromised at 1%, use Skim for less fat), 0.5 cup fruit, 2-4 Tbs sugar or substitute (not shown)


Slice the fruit into smaller pieces (approximately 1 inch chunks) and place in the blender. Pour in milk until it reaches the 2 cup mark on the side of your blender. Add sugar or substitute, then place the lid on the blender. Turn the blender on high for approximately 45 seconds, until the mixture is homogenized, frothy, and almost doubled in size (comes up to about the 3.5 cup mark when the blender is stopped).


Pour into chilled glasses and serve (makes 2). It tastes just like a milkshake, and the frothy texture is reminiscent of the real thing!

If you prefer chocolate: replace the fruit and sugar with 2 Tbs of chocolate syrup, and increase the amount of milk used to approximately 2 cups.
If you prefer vanilla: replace the fruit and sugar with 1 Tbs vanilla, and increase the amount of milk used to approximately 2 cups.

What are your favorite diet recipes?

MrsDrPoe: Is That You Lord?

Good morning all! For my next Reading Review, I present to you...Gary E. Gilley's "Is That You Lord?: Hearing the Voice of the Lord, a biblical perspective."


This book is a fairly quick and easy read (83 pages of larger font), but despite the size, it contains a wealth of information. As the title suggests, this book examines what the Bible says about hearing the voice of God. This book came highly recommended to me by two very knowledgeable Christian men that Mr. Poe and I know and respect; I must say that not only did I enjoy reading the book, but I also gleaned a considerable amount of knowledge on the subject from it.

"Is That You Lord?" was written in an easy-to-understand manner; variations and the history of 'Pietism' are briefly discussed to provide background for those unfamiliar with the subject. The book examines various scriptures in both the Old and New Testaments that discuss how God has communicated and currently communicates with His people. One particularly interesting example Gilley discusses is about how God helps us to choose our spouses.

I didn't have any truly negative comments about this book. Chapter 6 seemed, to me, a bit repetitive, but was set up in more of a "quick reference" structure than the rest of the book. And, as always, I suggest reading this book with an open Bible to examine the scriptures themselves alongside this text (no book could/should ever replace the inspired word of God).

What interesting books have you read lately?

MrsDrPoe: Rigid Body Motion

And now...back to fluids! Today we'll be delving into rigid body motion. For this case to exist, we must have an accelerating fluid with no shearing stresses present. If you recall, the presence of shear stresses causes a fluid to continually deform (or flow). So in a nutshell, rigid body motion involves a fluid that is accelerating but not flowing. We don't have to look far to find examples of this type of motion: liquid being transported in a tanker truck that is speeding up on the interstate, a thin layer of oil in the bed of a pickup truck slowing to a stop, etc.

Since the fluid is no longer static (motionless), we do not have a hydrostatic pressure distribution...which meant that pressure in a fluid varied with depth only. For this case we have pressure variation in at least two directions; consequently, lines of constant pressure are no longer horizontal!

Let's consider the example of a layer of oil in the back of a pickup truck that this slowing down (the level of the oil is exaggerated so we can clearly examine it):


To ensure that we have to proper orientation, note that the velocity (v) of the truck is in the -x-direction and the acceleration (a) (or deceleration) could have components in both the +x-direction (ax) and the +y-direction (ay).* The pressure at each point on the oil surface is equal to the pressure of the atmosphere (or zero gage pressure), so we know that the oil surface makes a line of constant pressure. Therefore, all other lines of constant pressure must be parallel to this line.

We can determine the slope of these lines of constant pressure from the following equation:

Slope = rise/run = dy/dx = -ax/(g+ay)

Here that g is the gravitational constant that always acts in the downward (here -y) direction, and dy or dx means a change in y or x, respectively. *From experience we know that in this case of the decelerating truck on a flat, horizontal road, the acceleration is actually in the +x-direction only, so the equation becomes dy/dx = -ax/g.

We can also determine how the pressure varies in the x- and y-directions by:

dp/dx = -rho(ax) and dp/dy = -rho(ay+g)

where rho is the density of the fluid, and dp is the change in pressure. Again since ay is zero for our truck case, dp/dy = -rho(g).

That's rigid body motion, folks!

MrsDrPoe: Congrats to Mr. Poe

Thesis Tuesday's first post is very loosely related to our present discourse on fluid mechanics...it could possibly be categorized under "general mechanical engineering." Having said that:

Congratulations to Mr. Poe!

Three months ago today he began is official mechanical engineering career that moved us to Atlanta.

MrsDrPoe: CVS and Walgreens Deals, 6/12

As promised, here are some fabulous deals at the drugstores this week:

Walgreens


Nestle candy - $0.39
Wal-Fex Allergy (5 ct) - $3.99, get $3.99 back in RR (makes it free)
Blistex RPM for Men - $2, get $2 back in RR (makes it free)
Bayer Advanced Asprin (20 ct) - $3, use $2 Q in 6/12 SS, get $1 back in RR (makes it free)

CVS


Pepsi 2 Liters - $0.88
Zyrtec (5 ct) - $5.99, use $2 Q printable, get $5.99 back in ECBs (you make $2)
Motrin PM (20 ct) - $4.00, use $1.00 Q in RP 6/12, get $3 back in ECBs (makes it free)
Bayer Advanced Asprin (20 ct) - $3.00, use $2.00 Q in SS 6/12, get $1 back in ECBs (makes it free)
Schick Hydro 5 - $8.00, use $4.00 Q in SS 6/12, get $4.00 back in ECBs (make it free)


Since we discussed couponing at CVS earlier, I decided to share with you the scenario I used when purchasing these items:

Bought: 2 DrPeppers, 1 Motrin PM 20 ct, 1 Schick Hydro 5, 1 Zyrtec 5 ct, 1 Bayer Advanced Asprin 20 ct

Total cost (regular price, including tax): $33.76
Total cost (sale price, including tax): $24.26

Total coupons used: $9.00
Total ECBs used (from previous purchases): $13.75

Total paid OOP (out of pocket): $1.51
Total back in ECBs: $14.99

Not too bad, huh? What deals are you planning to take advantage of this week?

MrsDrPoe: A Beginners Guide to Couponing, Part 4

Happy Money Monday to all! Today I'll be starting out with the fourth installment in the "Beginners Guide to Couponing" Series...

The Drugstore Game
Couponing is not about using coupons as soon as you get them in a willy-nilly fashion. The goal is to exercise patience, waiting to match a coupon with a store sale to get the best possible deal on an item. Couponing is an art.

What avid couponers often refer to as "the drugstore game" is the matching of coupons to sales at (you guessed it) drugstores. Since the Poe Posse membership is a measly two persons at this time, playing this game has allowed for the most successful reduction in our spending. We'll start with my favorite store...

CVS
Initiation
To begin at CVS, you must sign up for an ExtraCare card. To do this, you can simply go up to the counter and ask for one. Once you fill out some info (name, address, etc.), you will be given a sheet with two cards- one that fits on your keyring and one that can go in your wallet:


Next, you should obtain a reusable bag and a CVS Green Bag Tag:


Your reusable bag does not have to be purchased at CVS, but theirs are only 99 cents. Attach the tag (also 99 cents) to your reusable bag, and take them with you every time you go. After the clerk scans at least one of the items you are purchasing that day, have him/her scan the barcode on the back of the tag. After four scans, you will get $1 free in ECBs. In no time the tag will have paid for itself, and then you can continue to rack up the free dollars! (Note: you may only scan the tag once per day.)

Preparation
Again, couponing is not willy-nilly- some degree of preparation is what will save you the big bucks. Before I visit my local store, I carefully examine the sale and coupon matchups. Typically, since I'm exceptionally busy, I let Jenny do most of the grunt work for me. Her site details the items that are on sale, the ECB offers, all the coupons that could be applied to the product, where to find these coupons, which coupons to use to get the best deal, and how much you'll end up paying if you do what she tells you to. There's even a function to print out a nice list of the deals that YOU want and the possible coupons you can use.

Since CVS requires you to use a card to get these deals, they can limit the amount of sale products that you purchase. This is one of the few downsides to the store. The "household" limit is listed on Jenny's site, as well as at the store, and in the sales flyer. Sales at CVS run from Sunday to Saturday.

When I get the CVS add in the Sunday paper, I make sure the deals I like are available at my store, then I clip the coupons I need, and I'm ready to go to shopping.

Coupon Matching Notes: You may only use one manufacturer coupon per item, so don't try to find all the coupons Jenny lists. However, you CAN pair a store coupon with a manufacturer coupon (from the paper, online, etc.); this is the ONLY way you can use two coupons on the same item.
B1G1 coupons are typically best paired with B1G1 sales at drugstores because of the way they price these items - the first item rings up full price, and the second rings up at no charge. When you pair the B1G1 coupon with the B1G1 sale, you're truly getting both for free. Consequently, when you are purchasing an item that a drugstore advertises as B1G1, you must purchase both to actually see the savings!
Furthermore, if you have two $x off 1 item manufacturer coupons, you may use both when taking advantage of a store B1G1 sale, since you are purchasing two items. If the product costs $y, you are getting two items for $y-$2x...if you're not great at algebra, this usually means it's a great deal.

Implementation
As soon as I walk in the store, I get out my Extra Care card and scan it twice at the price checking kiosk. Each time, store coupons will print out. Pay special attention to these coupons. Occasionally, a $x off a purchase of $y coupon will print out (ex: $5 off $25); these coupons are essentially free money, but they should be the FIRST coupon you give the cashier when you are checking out.

Quarterly CVS will reward you with an amount of ECBs based on how much you've spent at the chain that period. These ECBs will also print out at the price checking kiosk at the beginning of the next quarter.

After checking the kiosk, I continue shopping like normal. When I've grabbed all the items that I want, I pull out all the coupons for the items I have in my cart, double check that I picked up the correct items and number of items, think about how many transactions I wish to make, and head to the register.

If I am planning to make multiple transactions, I try to limit myself to two, and I make sure that the cashiers aren't swamped so that I'm not a nuisance to them or other customers. The potential benefit to multiple transactions is based on the idea of rolling ECBs, i.e. when I purchase items that give me $x back in ECBs, I immediately use that $x on my second transaction. Rolling ECBs helps to keep the amount of money you pay out of pocket (OOP) as low as possible.

When I get to the register, I show the cashier my CVS card and place the items for my (first) transaction on the counter, along with my reusable bag and tag. After the card, the items and the tag have been scanned, I hand the cashier my coupons, starting with any $x off a purchase of $y coupons that I have. Next, I hand him/her any ECBs I have from previous transactions. ECBs will not cover the tax on an item- if you owe $1.75 and $0.75 is tax, you may only use an ECB worth $1. If you attempt to use an ECB worth more than $1, you will loose the rest of it! When I've gotten the total down as low as possible, I pay for my purchases and obtain my receipt.

As with all receipts, CVS receipts detail the items you purchase, the coupons you used, the tax, and the total you paid for the transaction. They also show you how much you saved on an item (the difference in the price you paid for an item and its regular price at the store).

After the typical information, the receipts detail what you saved today and so far this year, what you've spent this quarter, and your "Beauty Club Spending." For $50 in qualifying purchases (at once or over time) of certain health and beauty products, you will receive $5 ECB back.

Following these totals, you can see the offers that you have taken advantage of so far this week and any offer limits you have reached. The ECBs you've earned from this transaction print out at the bottom of your receipt:


To redeem the ECBs, simply tear them off your receipt and present them to the cashier. You must present your ExtraCare card at the time of purchase! The ECBs have your card number on them and can only be used with your card. There are some exclusions to how you spend your ECBs (for instance, you can't use them on prescriptions); these are listed on the ECBs, as is the ECB expiration date (1 mo. after you receive it).

***

While this may seem a bit overwhelming at first, I can assure you that it is totally worth it. I have not paid for toothpaste in the past year and a half. Our brand name shampoo, razors, OTC medications, air fresheners, etc. that we use have been bought for a fraction of the cost of store brand items. We've been able to make nice "pampering" gift baskets for birthdays, as well as "care" baskets for sick folks. We've even made money by purchasing certain items! I would suggest that if you're just starting out, go slow, trying a deal or two a week, and ask questions if you have them.

In a bit, I'll post some of the deals I've gotten so far this week at CVS and Walgreens, so stay tuned!