Heavy duty TV TV stand/Console antiqued black with cherry inside, 2 adjustable shelves.

Paid $225, will sell for $100 obo 936-588-9859

Solid oak DR Table and 4 chairs, paid $1000, will sell for $250 obo 936-588-9859

Bistro table and 2 chairs, paid $225, will sell for $100 obo

936-588-9859

Always look at your grocery receipts for restaurant (and other) coupons!

Order for one and split it – Most restaurants will split the order for you, so just ask; otherwise ask for an extra plate and split it yourself. If you’re especially hungry and they offer two sizes of meals, order the large and split it. Texas restaurants most often serve larger portions than you can eat in one sitting. Of course, if you’re eating alone, just plan to take the leftovers home for another meal. We recently went to Vernon’s Catfish, ordered the large catfish plate to split, and I had two more lunches out of the leftovers.

Take advantage of the “2 for $”deals. Chili’s offers an appetizer plus 2 entrees for $20, and the selections are pretty good. Drinks not included.

Drink water. You go to a restaurant for the good food, not the drinks. You can get those much cheaper at home or a grocery store. Drink water, perhaps adding a slice of lemon for taste.

Just order side items. A salad and an appetizer can often make for a delicious and affordable meal for one.

Choose an affordable restaurant. There are medium-priced restaurants around that can offer decent meals for a decent price. While there are many ways to save on eating out, one of the best is to start with a restaurant that doesn’t charge exorbitant prices. When in doubt, call the restaurant in advance and ask for the price range for meals.

New restaurants. Often a restaurant that has just opened for business will want to attract new customers with discounts and specials. Watch for ads in newspapers and local magazines (DockLine Magazine often has buy-one-get-one-free ads for restaurants) or other advertising mailings.

Fast food. The cheapest options are often food restaurants, and you can find some fairly healthy options at some of them. Whataburger, Subway or Wendy’s salads, or new healthier sandwiches, vegetarian options at many restaurants these days.

Skip dessert. If you’re eating at a sit-down restaurant, dessert is usually very expensive. Pick up a carton of ice cream on the way home instead – then you’ll have plenty for several desserts.

If you have young children, take advantage of the restaurants that offer “kids eat free” deals. Most restaurants have a maximum age limit of 10 or 12 for the free meals, and they provide one kid’s meal per one adult meal purchased. Be sure to ask before you order! Of course, most of the free kid’s meals are from a Kid’s Menu. Usually, there are specific days when you can get free kid’s meals, so don’t assume it’s an everyday thing! Below are some we found in the Willis/Conroe area:

Special days. Many restaurants will offer special family days, or will allow kids to eat for free, or have special discount days. Call ahead and take advantage of them.

Kids Eat Free at IHOP every day in August from 4 p.m. -10 p.m. Limited Time Only at Participating Restaurants. Receive one free “Just for Kids” meal with each adult entree purchase at IHOP. Free meal valid for kids 12 and under on the “Just for Kids” menu items. Drinks not included unless otherwise specified on “Just for Kids” menu. Not valid with any other discounts or coupons.

Families can enjoy great food and great savings when dining with their kids at Denny’s. Kids eat free on select nights from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. Our kids’ menu offers healthy options that are sure to please both kids and parents. Be sure to check the age limit before you order.

Rico’s Authentic Mexican Food, Willis – Kids eat FREE Sundays with purchase of adult meal (1 child per 1 adult)!

Luby’s Cafeteria offers kid’s meal specials on Wednesday and Saturday. All Day Saturday: kids eat FREE with purchase of adult meal! Wednesday after 4:30 p.m. $2 kid’s meal with purchase of adult meal. Dine-in only. Breakfast not included.

James Coney Island Kids Meal Special(s) Available on Wednesday, 4 p.m.-close, 2 kids 10 and under eat free with purchase of adult meal ($4.50 minimum)

Margarita & Peppers Mexican Grill & Bar Kids Meal Special(s) Available on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday – 10 p.m.; one child 10 & under eats FREE per adult entree purchase of $7.99 & up!

Conroe’s Incredible Pizza Company Kids Meal Special(s) Available on Monday – kids ages 4-11 receive the buffet & drink and a $5 game card for only $7.

Mama Juanita’s Mexican Restaurant Kids Meal Special(s) Available on Sunday – kids eat FREE with adult meal purchase!

Wings N More Kids Meal Special(s) Available on Wednesday night – kids 12 & under eat FREE with each adult entree purchase.

And, if you are a Senior Citizen, always ask for the Senior Discount! Ryan’s offers Seniors lunch with a drink for $5.49 and it’s all you can eat. If you really want to get the best deal, go in right before the lunch prices end (4 p.m., I think). That way you can have a nice all-you-can-eat dinner, including drink and dessert. No leftovers permitted, but it’s a real bargain nonetheless.

Another great deal for Senior Citizens is the buy-one-get-one-free at IHOP from 3 p.m. until 6 p.m. You both have to order a drink, but if you buy an $8 entree, you automatically save $8 on the second meal.

Some area restaurants also offer Senior Citizens lunch menu prices for dinner dining. Be sure to ask about that option before you order.

HAPPY BARGAIN EATING!

The Battle for Parental Rights

THSC believes that parents have the fundamental right to direct the education and upbringing of their children. However, this belief is not shared by everyone, so parental rights are being infringed upon from all angles: government, grandparents, and even international law. THSC is involved in the battle for parental rights, and we hope you will join us.
Follow the links below to see examples of brazen violations and to learn how you can help THSC financially in fighting this war to keep your parental rights.

www.thsc.org<http://www.thsc.org/

Link to the THSC Convention page:

http://www.thsc.org/Categories3.aspx?Id=Convention

When Common Sense (often thought of as Grandmother’s Common Sense) steps up and says “Hello,” it’s often good to take time to listen! Yes, I know, we are overloaded with advice about today’s cold and flu concerns, but when I read the following common-sense advice from an M.D., I thought it was some of the best advice I’ve seen so far, and wanted to share it with you — This even reminds me of my Grandmother! You may have read it already, but it never hurts to have a little reminder.

Dr. Vinay Goyal is an MBBS,DRM,DNB (Intensivist and Thyroid specialist) having clinical experience of over 20 years.  The following information given by Dr. Goyal, actually makes a lot of sense and is important for all to know. The only portals of entry are the nostrils and mouth/throat.

While you are still healthy and not showing any symptoms of infection, in order to prevent proliferation, aggravation of symptoms and development of secondary infections, some very simple steps, not fully highlighted in most official communications, can be practiced:

1. Frequent hand-washing

2. Hands-off-the-face” approach Resist all temptations to touch any part of face (unless you want to eat or bathe).

3. Gargle twice a day with warm salt water (use Listerine if you don’t want salt).  Simple gargling helps prevent proliferation. Don’t underestimate this simple, inexpensive and powerful preventative method.

4. Similar to 3 above, *clean your nostrils at least once every day with warm salt water.  Blowing the nose hard once a day and swabbing both nostrils with cotton buds dipped in warm salt water is very effective in bringing down viral population.

5. Boost your natural immunity with foods that are rich in Vitamin C (citrus fruits). *If you have to supplement with Vitamin C tablets, make sure that it also has Zinc to boost absorption.

6. Drink as much warm liquids as you can. Drinking warm liquids has the same effect as gargling, but in the reverse direction. They wash off proliferating viruses from the throat into the stomach where they cannot survive, proliferate or do any harm.

Penny-Wise — pen•ny-wise or pen•ny•wise   (pěn’ē-wīz’); adj.  Definition: Careful in dealing with … money … economical, prudent, thrifty, sensible, practical

My Mother was a young adult during the Great Depression, and she truly knew what it meant to be “penny wise.” I, too, learned these things, but through the years have forgotten – well, not exactly forgotten as much as disregarded – the lessons I learned. But, it’s time to get back to those “frugal” lessons of those who endured the Great Depression, and we’re trying to help with Penny Wise!

So, here we are, with another bit of information we hope will be useful. We recently decided to roam around the ‘Net’ for bargains, freebies, and coupons, and discovered that you can spend hours upon hours going through all the offers – some legitimate, and quite a few not so legitimate.

Below are some links that you might find useful. If you know of any others, we’d love to hear from you in the Comment form below. Just be sure you include the URL (address) of the website in your comment.

http://www.softcoin.com/Sites/Kroger_ECoupons/Page/HomePage/Retailer/Kroger

http://www.kroger.com/Pages/default.aspx

http://www.coupon-lady.com/signup.php?t202id=334&t202kw=groc

http://grocerycouponhub.com/couponoffer6-8-optin.php

http://smartchoice.tasterschoice.com/#/Try_It_On_Us/ — Go to this link for samples of Nescafe Taster’s Choice – Sample pack of all 6 flavors – It took about 3 weeks to receive these samples

http://instoresnow.walmart.com/In-Stores-Now-Free-Samples.aspx
Various free samples — Probably change from time to time, but free

http://www.pgeverydaysolutions.com/pgeds/pg-brandsaver-samples-coupons.jsp
Samples and coupons from Proctor & Gamble

http://www.dove.us/?dl=/haircare/free_sample.aspx/?source=DOVE_s#/haircare/free_sample.aspx/
Free Sample of Dove Hair Therapy

http://www.startsampling.com/retail/kroger/
Find a variety of free samples listed. Generally you provide your name, address and email address and that’s all. If any of the free sample sites ask for shipping, forget it! There are plenty that will send samples and pay the shipping themselves.

http://www.favecrafts.com/
GREAT WEBSITE  for free crochet patterns and craft ideas

http://www.favecrafts.com/Green-Crafting/Garden-Crafts-eBook
Free Garden Craft e-Book

http://www.savingwithshellie.com/category/freebies/
Easy to use and has variety of free samples

http://freebies.about.com/
Interesting site with lots of information

http://www.frugalfreebiesanddeals.com/search/label/Series%20on%20Frugal%20Living

http://www.thefrugalshopper.com/

Haven’t thoroughly checked these two out, but they look interesting.

Happy hunting for samples and bargains! Let us know if you find any additional exciting offers.

Is 5GB enough for a small office?

In the case of the small 2-4 part-time user church office, yes. Projected usage for the first 30 days is well below 5GB. Keep in mind that if you download or upload big files a lot or use continuous streaming online audio or video you should be very careful to monitor usage ro prevent surprises on your next Verizon bill. After 3 weeks, the usage for the office is just under 2GB, even uploading hour-long sermon audio to the church web site every week.

Speed markedly increased

The best news is the increased speed and reliability of the broadband connection, especially on those sermon uploads. What took 12-30 minutes with the Hughesnet system has been cut to an average of just over 3 minutes for a 10-13mb MP3 file using FTP. It is now possible to easily maintain the church web site from the church office instead of offloading the uploading chores to a home cable connection at night.

Overall online productivity has increased making it much more practical for use in online banking, continuous web mail communication, research for church publications and more. And, for those of us who use the web in this office, the reliability of the connection during stormy weather is greatly appreciated after enduring connection blackouts with the Hughesnet system every time there was a big cloud on the southern horizon.

So far so good!

It’s still early in our new live with the new cellular broadband system, but so far it gets high marks, even though it will never be a match for a good cable or DSL connection. For this particular installation and this small office it works!

We’ll keep you posted as the system is used and evaluated over the next weeks and months. But, for now our advice for those of you who cannot get either DSL or cable broadband connections, or the cable company wants too much money to install it in your area, this system is viable for the low-demand user, which probably fits most users.

Several years ago, we moved our telephone service to Vonage – a phone service that requires broadband internet. It was great! Monthly charge, including taxes, came to about $31 instead of the $46 or so we were paying. Even better, there were no long distance charges to anywhere in America and other places that we never called. The only downside to using Vonage was when the internet was down, the telephone was down too, and we ended up using our cell phones during those times. Even so, we enjoyed the savings of $15 a month. Annual Cost: $372; Annual Savings: $180

Last year, we took an even more drastic step – we decided to give MagicJack a spin, and found we can save a whole lot more! Our initial cost? About $40, which includes an entire year of phone service. After the first year, it’s just $20 a year. That’s right! $20 a year. Our annual savings over Vonage is $352. Of course, like Vonage, there are no long distance charges for anywhere in America. WOW! Downside? Same thing as Vonage, you must have broadband internet service. Another downside is that you cannot keep your old telephone number, but that’s a small price to pay to save $352 a year. Of course, if you’re still using the old-style landlines AND paying for internet services above that elsewhere, the savings is substantially greater.

Even with the savings with MagicJack, we finally concluded that it was completely unnecessary because we both have cell phones, and simply have no need for any other phone service.

Check Penny Wise! frequently, as we will add to and/or change information as often as possible. Also, please send any money-saving tips you have so we can share them with our readers.

Installing the auxiliary antenna

As we mentioned in our previous article, the Verizon cellular signal at the church office is not strong enough for broadband speeds to be maintained, so we also purchased an external antenna which plugs directly into the U760 Verizon cellular broadband adapter. The antenna was ordered from More Mobile Internet since their prices are competitive and our first order was received so quickly. The model ordered was described as an “RV/Truck and Roof Antenna,” priced at $79.95 plus shipping. The antenna arrived in short order and, after studying the mounting bracket, it was decided to mount the antenna on the fascia of the small office building within 10 feet of the router so the cable would easily reach without an extension. The signal strength increased substantially with the antenna attached to the point that the decision was made that this was indeed a viable and economical alternative to the cable broadband connection for this small office application.

Conclusion on the antenna addition: Good! It made a barely usable cellular broadband signal strong enough to speed up Internet access substantially and is well worth the purchase price for a stationary installation the way we have installed it here. And, since the antenna and bracket is primarily designed for RV or tuck installations, we suspect that it would be a good addition for those applications in marginal coverage areas as well.

Installing the MBR 1000 router

With the now viable signal strength, the router was installed in the ideal position for the wireless “N” signal to reach all the computers in the office and the old Hughesnet satellite so that the Verizon cellular broadband service could be evaluated over the next few days. The wireless router hooked up without a hitch to all the laptops — except one.

That one laptop did connect, but dropped the connection intermittently and was completely unreliable so CradlePoint, the router manufacturer, was called for support during their Monday-Friday 7:00am to 7:00pm MST support office hours. CradlePoint staff answered within a few minutes with courteous, knowledgeable support and, after a few adjustments on the router settings it was discovered that the problem was with the laptop instead of the router. the laptop was built with a “draft” version of wireless “N.” The MBR 1000 on the other hand is built with the final, official wireless “N” standard which, in this case turned out to be the problem — the laptop’s older version simply would not connect reliably at the faster wireless “N” speeds. The solution was to make an adjustment to the laptop’s wireless settings to use only the older wireless “G” speeds which allowed a flawless, reliable albeit slower connection.

There is one other concern that has surfaced since then. A Xerox printer connected directly to the MBR 1000 via ethernet cable cannot be printed to from a computer connected to the router wirelessly. Laptop computers must connect to the router with an ethernet cable to print to the Xerox printer. Both CradlePoint and Xerox have been contacted about the problem with no success so far. We’ll keep you posted about the resolution of this particular problem, but more than likely, it’s just a setting on either the printer or the router that needs to be changed for this particular combination of equipment. for the average user with only local printers connected to computers via a USB cable it is of no concern at all. Small offices with printers connected via ethernet may want to look into the resolution of this problem before committing to the MBR 1000, but again we do not feel that this problem is unresolvable.

Conclusion on the MBR 1000 so far: Good! CradlePoint MBR 1000 is an attractive package and one of the few cellular broadband compatible routers around with wireless “N” capability. Availability and support seem to be first class and it brings a potential new source of broadband service to small offices who are outside the big, metropolitan areas and, either can’t get DSL or cable service, or find the installation fees beyond their budget.

The next step

Over the next few days the complete, installed setup will be evaluated for speed and reliability along with a close monitoring of  usage within the 5GB monthly limit of the Verizon cellular broadband plan. So far it looks good. Speed is greatly increased over the Hughesnet satellite system and there isn’t the intermittent problem with clouds blocking the satellite signal during thunderstorms like the Hughesnet system. In the next installment we’ll give you the lowdown on the final decision to keep this cellular braodband/MBR 1000 system or move on to another choice.

Ordering the equipment

The Verizon Mobile Broadband service and the Cradlepoint MBR 1000 router were ordered as a package deal which saved a good deal of cash for the church in the form of a cash discount on the router and rebates on both the router and the Verizon U760 adapter. Ordering was pretty straightforward after researching various sources on the web.  An order was placed with More Mobile Internet on a Wednesday and received Friday afternoon via priority mail, the least expensive delivery choice available. The Verizon U760 adapter arrived from a different source Monday afternoon via Fedex, again the least expensive delivery choice. So far we’ve found the service from More Mobile Internet to be friendly, quick and knowledgeable. In addition, their web site is full of useful information about wireless broadband equipment including instructional videos, available accessories and online order forms. Overall, the buying experience was a good one, with the total initial cash outlay of $211.99 including shipping. Of course the rebates will need to be sent away and who knows when those will arrive. You’ve probably played the rebate game before!

Activation & Installation of U760

The first step in putting this all together is to install the Verizon U760 USB adapter into an available laptop and see how well it works. Since the VZAccess Manager software comes on the USB adapter itself ready to install on the host computer there were not CD’s to juggle or software to download. The only glitch in the installation process came when the installation process did not begin automatically as described in the quick start information. It turned out that the autoplay option in Windows had been turned off and all that was needed was to open the U760 as if it were a disk drive and begin the installation manually. After a couple of minutes the sotware installed itself, booted up quickly and gave the option to download and install the newest version of VZAccess Manager directly. Once the software is installed it’s a one-button click to get the modem connected.

Working from the small office of the church the signal was found to be much weaker than expected, barely one bar on the graphic connection scale. And, the connection was only marginally better than the old satellite system. Not quite what we’d hoped since Verizon’s web representation of coverage showed the entire area blanketed with signal well past the location of the church. In fairness though, the office was sort of down in a depression in the terrain and completely surrounded by large trees. When carried outside with the adapter still connected the signal showed improvement, but even in higher, open areas the signal seldom achieved a second bar on the scale, although performance did increase significantly to around twice the speed of the satellite system. But it still was not as quick as expected. Back to the drawing board.

What’s the next step? Well, More Mobile Internet had antennas listed as accessories for this particular Verizon adapter, so the plan was amended to include ordering an antenna to help overcome the poor wireless signal in the office. For now, while we wait for the antenna’s arrival, there’s the router to set up and configure. But I’ll reserve that for the next installment in the series. I will  say that the setup was not without challenges, but the challenges turned out not to be getting the Verizon service working, but with the wireless “N” connection established. The blow-by-blow description of how it all went down is our next installment … LATER!

Solution: Make a phone call to my traditional telephone or cable TV providers to set it up. — Wrong! – at least for some of us.

A Brief Case History

The answer five years ago had been a Hughesnet satellite system donated by a member of the church. It was a definite improvement over the existing, agonizingly slow dial-up connection, but still very slow compared to either typical DSL or cable broadband. the system has served pretty well, but sometimes doesn’t download the entire page on a complicated web site and the upload speeds, while faster than dial-up are still pretty slow when you are trying to upload an 11mb MP3 sermon file.

Current (2009) monthly charges for satellite broadband services are $69.95 plus the usual extra little access fees, taxes, etc. The objective in upgrading to a faster broadband connection was to improve service while still maintaining or decreasing budget expenditures.

As it turned out for one church on the north side of Conroe (Christ Church on League Line Road), making the connection to the Internet via a better broadband service was not so easy. The cable wire runs along the same utility poles as the wires from the power company and conventional phone lines had been installed decades ago with continuous service ever since. But broadband services were not readily available without exorbitant installation charges the church could not justify. The cable company told them they would have to pay $2,ooo to bring the cable to the church from the nearest fiber optic cable access point, some 1,500 feet away to the church. And the phone company could not (or would not) provide DSL service at all.

With all the advertisements on TV about 3G broadband they decided to check out other newly available options. Of course, these new generation wireless broadband solutions were first intended for mobile users, but the decision was made to check out this technology as it might apply to small, limited demand offices with 1-4 part-time users.

Until recently there was no easy way to share the wireless broadband connection with other computers. But now that’s changed with a new generation of routers intended for use specifically for this purpose. With one of these new routers the mobile broadband receiver, which is normally installed directly into the computer itself, can be installed into the router instead, making the broadband connection available to any computer connected to the router. This changes the market entirely by adding homes and small businesses with relatively modest broadband needs to the thousands of laptop users already using the current 3G broadband networks.

One caveat is that, unlike higher throughput DSL and cable connections, current 3G wireless broadband contracts from all the major 3G providers impose a limit on how much data can be sent and received each month before charging overage fees, much like using too many minutes on your cell phone. If you are a heavy user this could get expensive. The plan the church is signed up for allows for 5Gb of transfer per month, which should be enough for their needs.

The router just arrived and hasn’t been evaluated yet,so we’ll follow the progress and give a full report on how things work out. Stay tuned.