The Aluminum Asylum

The Aluminum Asylum
Our home on wheels

Wednesday, May 21, 2008



Wednesday...Paulie has to work for about three hours, but I have the whole day off. I need it! Tomorrow I work in the afternoon and it is my day to clean the bathrooms. Well, Paulie and I clean them together. The weather is beautiful, sunny and warm with a beautiful breeze.

When we finished our shift yesterday, we received a frantic call from Zack. He was checking with financial aide to make sure the student loan funds are available for the summer session. Gee, ya think he's growing up a bit, I didn't even have to nag him this time. Apparently, we did not "e-sign" the promissory note. For those doubters out there, we do all of our banking on line, and besides an occasional "operator" error, have found it to be convenient and easy. We have always made sure the sites are truly secure, and never do the transactions on public open access...well, maybe I forgot once or twice and used the open wifi here at the park. Then I pinch myself and tell me that I have been foolish and if we get dinged by identity thieves, it is my very own fault. We do have a special service on our credit card...more than two purchases a day and they are calling us. Makes it hard when I am on a buying spree (yeah, right, shopping spree, married to The Polish Prince...riiiiiight). OK, so I calm down Zack who has reverted to childish whining and nasty language directed at the Financial Aid staff who has told him at least 5 times (according to the boy...) that his aid package was complete and nothing else was required to disperse funds. He needs the funds not only to pay his summer tuition, but to pay his RENT. Oh yeah. He needs to eat too. Apparently, this has been a bust of a day for my poor Zack. He finds out there is no money to be dispersed, and his new roommate who was to move in and begin paying half the rent on June 1, has now delayed his arrival to mid-August. It seems the kid's dad had been in a bad car accident and he is needed at home. Zack is not sure if this is truly the case or the guy is miffed that Greg, the current roommate didn't move out May 6 like the new guy wanted. Hmmmm. College games. I told Zack to go ahead and put another ad on the roommate match site on SIUE.edu. Unless this Jordan guy comes up with some cash, he may just lose the room. As the old saying goes, a bird in hand...




I will now tell you all what I have been researching and working on. A new website. Not just a personal site, but a site that is a "how to" for cooking in the RV on the road. There are so many quick and easy recipes we can do in the rig kitchen, but many Rv'ers tend to make the same things over and over due to space limitations, limited pantry staples and just plain not wanting to cook after driving, site-seeing or workamping for the day. So, this is my idea. I will cover the rig...what is standard equipment, discuss appliances that perform more than one function and we can't live without (espresso maker comes to mind...Paulie says it is unnecessary and wants to pitch it...I say ok, then pitch the golf clubs we have carried for ten years and you have yet to play golf....standoff!), space saving tips, organization, buying staples, and mainly recipes that are easy, nutritious and quick to prepare. I have been collecting recipes all my life, and I have files and files on line. I have also been doing research on various appliances, what works, what is great to have but space hogs and even solar cooking in addition to traditional camping favorites such as dutch oven cooking. There are so many easy recipes for singles and doubles, rather than the way we are used to cooking...for families. I have a great three step bread recipe that is good and I am going to take step by step pictures as I prepare the dishes. I have a great camera and it should do a decent job. Another area that I want to explore is how to bring a dish to a potluck that doesn't cost an arm and a leg (and doesn't always have jello in it!) I am pondering a site name, and have come up with loads of them. I want a catchy, easy to remember, easy to link to site that can grow along with the educational stuff I want to add. I am going to set up a new poll with a couple of ideas, and tell me what you think. I will most likely do that this weekend. Oh, yeah...I will also be advertising products on my site. I will be hooking up with Amazon and a few others to promote products I talk about, recipe ingredients when I post those, such as King Arthur flour, etc. This should be adequate to pay for the hosting fees. Maybe even enough to buy some yarn!!


Once I get the RV cooking site kicked off, I have already outlined several other pages I can write about...Fibromyalgia and CFS, Meniere's Disease, Gastric Bypass, pros and cons of joint replacement (lots of experience in all of these, lol!)

Each site will have the ability to generate $ by advertising products and other places that sell related items to the subject.


OK, enough information for you today! Keep my ideas in mind and if you have any ideas of site names, send me a comment or an email.


hugs


dennise