Upcoming Waubonsee Classes (Spring 2012)

The spring semester is just getting started at Waubonsee Community College, and I got quite a shock when I opened the non-credit course catalog.  I'm on page 5!

And on page 12 is a lovely testimonial from Theresa La Rocco who took my Coupon Mastery class last spring:

Isn't that awesome?! Today, I'm in the Waubonsee Community College course catalog. I fully expect to have my own television show by the end of the week. 

In the meantime, you might want to sign up for these classes now before I turn into a full-blown diva:

Live Well, Spend Less! 
at the Plano campus January 24-February 7, 2012 from 7:30-9pm.  Cost: $29.00

Join me to collaborate and share great ways to experience ''the good life" on a tight budget. It is possible to spend less and still live well. Find out how! Get ready to give and receive leads, tips and sources for exciting free or low cost entertainment sources, hip fashion-forward clothing at a fraction of retail cost, and even bartering/trading for goods and services. The group's best ideas will appear on The Martha Initiative.

Coupon Mastery --Now with two available sections!
1. at the downtown Aurora campus February 9-23, 2012 from 7:30-9pm.  Cost: $29.00
2. at the Plano campus March 15-29, 2012 from 7:30-9pm. Cost: $29.00

Master couponers are able to cut their grocery and drug store bills in half and obtain products for free! You can too! Become a master shopper with knowledge of the how, where, and when of serious couponing. Learn the rules for spotting the best deals in stores; pairing coupons with sales, rebates, and customer loyalty programs; and using the best coupon web sites. Join me in pursuit of the perfect balance of efficient and ethical couponing techniques.

Online Social Networking for Beginners
at the Sugar Grove campus February 13-March 5, 2012 from 7:30-9pm. Cost: $39.00

Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, blogging, and more - these forms of online social networking can be both exciting and intimidating for beginners. Learn the basics of each program and application and how to apply them to your life for job searches, reunions with old friends, communication with loved ones, and creative self-expression. Online social networking has its own etiquette, language, and pitfalls - we'll explore how to use the various forms safely and effectively.

Online Social Networking Continued
at the Sugar Grove campus March 12-26, 2012 from 7:30-9pm.  Cost: $39.00

Gain confidence and skill with social online networking! Continue to develop the skills you learned in the beginner class. Further instruction and practice will increase your ability to apply and adapt online networking into your life for communication with loved ones, creative self-expression, and job searches.

As I've mentioned here before, I really enjoy teaching at Waubonsee. I've met a lot of terrific people through these classes, and we all have a lot of fun.  I hope to see you in a class soon!

And if there's a class or topic you'd like me to teach at Waubonsee, or anywhere else in the Western Suburbs, please let me know in the comments.  Thank you!

Manda Monday--100 fans!

Woohoo! It's finally happened! I've reached 100 fans on facebook, and I have to tell you, this has done wonders for my Monday morning outlook. What a great way to start the week!

Now, as promised back in May, one random fan is getting two dozen custom-decorated sugar cookies. And that lucky duck is....

...Michelle Devon!  Come on down!

Michelle, when you have a moment, send me a message/email so I can get your info.  And thanks to everyone for reading this blog and following along on facebook and twitter.  I heart you all bigtime!

Manda Monday--So close!

Back in May, I mentioned I'd bake some custom sugar cookies for a lucky fan when I reached the magic 100 number on facebook.  And I'm almost there! I only need two more fans before I draw a name at random...become a fan at The Martha Initiative on facebook.  Already a fan?  Suggest to your friends that they become fans, too. Then, if they win instead of you, they have to share their cookies with you. 

And, for all you tweeters, I'm on Twitter as well.  I've been tweeting some crazy stuff lately ("I need to start wearing pants more often, especially to the office") that you don't want to miss out on.  Good times!

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Remember last week when I blogged about Martha's zucchini recipes?  I was able to give the Salmon and Zucchini Baked in Parchment a try.

I modified the recipe a bit in that instead of using butter I used butter-infused olive oil, and instead of baking it in parchment I grilled it in foil. 

Overall, this was really good.  The lemon flavor was a bit strong, but I'm not sure if it's because I put too much lemon juice in or because I'm not used to having lemon on my zucchini and therefore could really taste it.

I will say that zucchini and salmon in foil on the grill is one of the simplest and quickest meals you can make. It was a breeze!  If you're looking to change up your grilling repertoire before summer ends, give this one a try.  Happy Monday!

Yard Sale Prep

Next Friday and Saturday, the TMI household will participate in the annual Lindens Subdivision Sale.  Remember this gigantic pile of stuff in my basement?

It will be there. All of it. For sale.  Cheap.  Please come get this stuff out of my house.  Thank you!

The sale will be Friday/Saturday/Sunday, June 17-19, though we'll only participate on Friday and Saturday. Each day the sale is from 9am to 3pm, and we usually have 20-30 houses participating.  The Lindens Subdivision is located immediately west of Orchard Road (Aurora IL) south of Prairie Street and north of Jericho Street.  Enter the subdivision on Suncrest Drive if you are going southbound on Orchard Road. Otherwise, enter the subdivision from either direction on Jericho Road by turning north on Summerhill Drive.

To spice things up, I'll be live-tweeting about the garage sale as it progresses:  follow me at www.twitter.com/miniMartha.

I suppose you can see how my weekend is going to go: bring boxes up from the basement, price stuff, loud shouting about how I've accumulated so much stuff in the first place, wash/rinse/repeat. 

Oh yeah, I also need to get the rest this pile of topsoil off my driveway:

The pile is nowhere near that big now, but it has to go. 

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Hey reader!

Hey, you.

Yeah, you! I know you're there. I know this blog has readers. Besides my parents, that is. And thanks to Google Analytics, I know generally where you're located (shout out to my readers in Spain! Gracias for reading!), how much time you spend on my blog, and how you get here (via another blog, search engine, etc.).

And most of all, I know that many of you are return visitors, meaning that there's something here you find interesting enough to keep you coming back for more.

If that last bit applies to you, dear reader, please sign up to follow my blog. It's fairly easy and relatively painless, and it would be a like getting a huge Internet hug from you. And a huge self-esteem boost for me. Thank you!

In related self-promotion, you can also follow me on Twitter.

Months ago, I thought that all this blogging and tweeting would be a great way to communicate with the world and meet great people. It is and I have. What I didn't realize is that it would create a whole new area in my life where I need to be validated. Validate me! Please!

This has been a public service announcement from The Martha Initiative. Enjoy the rest of your day!

Martha Monday!

Martha Stewart is on Twitter. You can check out her tweets and sign up to follow her here. She has 72,768 followers. Amazing. Martha started tweeting on February 21, and averages 3 tweets a day. Three tweets a day! I don't even have time to brush my teeth three times a day, let alone update the world on my goings-on. How does she do it?

And before anyone suggests that she has a member of her staff tweet for her, let me tell you that she does all of her tweets herself. She tweeted to her followers that she was thinking of relaying her tweets to a staff member to tweet for her, but that was met with resounding disapproval from all 30,000+ followers (yes, her following doubled in five days time), so Martha is tweeting for herself.

I started tweeting on March 3 and have 11 updates so far. Three followers, one of which is a company that picked up on the word "cleaning" in one of my tweets. You can read my tweets and sign up to follow me here.

I'm managing to do two Tweets each day. So far, nearly all of them comment on my lack of sleep, lack of housecleaning, plans to get more sleep, and plans to clean the house. And I can assure you that I do all of my tweets myself. Happy Monday!