One Hundred Dollars a Month

It’s that time again. You ask, and I pretend to know things and answer your burning questions. It really is so much fun to open my inbox and see the wide variety of questions you guys have. Reminds me that my readers are so diverse and pretty dang awesome. So keep those questions coming and I’ll keep racking my brain for answers. As always, please pipe up if you have any input or are knowledgeable when it comes to any of the following questions:

Good Morning Mavis! I know you’ve written about travel before. However, I am going to have to make at least two overseas flights soon (14 – 17 hours each). I am a beyond nervous flyer. Can you write an article with tips on traveling internationally (Eastern Europe is where I am headed – but any advice would be appreciated). Also – any tips on getting through the long flights? Also any tips that you would not know going into the trip but you learned once you got there… Select flights with stops or always go direct… that type of thing. So! I’m hoping you will have time to share what you know. Love, love, love your blog. 🙂

~ Rebekah U

Well, the longest direct flight I have been on was 9.5 hours {Seattle to London} and actually, it wasn’t that bad. I watched a movie, slept for a couple of hours, ate, worked on a rug hooking project while listening to music and also brought a book along to read {noise cancelling headphones are a must}. I ALWAYS book an aisle seat {VERY IMPORTANT} that is nowhere near a bathroom and I think that helps too.

Honestly, I think I would need to be medicated {sleeping pill} if I had to be on a flight for 14-17 hours straight because that’s just too long to be confined to such a small space surrounded by a bunch of other people in my opinion. 😉

Now I know a lot of people might not agree, but The Girl and I actually like breaking up long flights with layovers, especially if the layover is in the 6-12 hour range because it’s just enough time to grab a taxi from the airport to downtown and tour a city we might not otherwise visit. And, it kind of wears us out too and we are more likely to sleep on the second leg of the flight and arrive pretty well rested.

Stay hydrated. Drink lot’s of water and orange juice, bring something to wipe your face off with {I pack a wet washcloth in a zip baggie} and mini toiletry bag so you can freshen up in the bathroom. I would LOVE TO HEAR what other peeps have to say about long haul flights, so if you been on one before, please chime in and offer your suggestions for Rebekah U.

Also, I have written so many travel tip posts that I think you might find helpful. Below are the top 8 I think you can glean info from. Hope they help!

How to Survive a Red Eye Flight
How to Get through the TSA Line Quickly
Tips for Traveling Abroad
10 Travel Tips Everyone Should Know About
7 Airline Travel Tips – Passenger Rights You Probably Didn’t Know You Had
How to Get the Best Exchange Rate and Avoid Fees
What To Do When Your Flight Is Cancelled
The Best Way to Kill Time in an Airport

Do you do Subscribe & Save? I’m wondering the pros and cons before I decide if I should join.

~Lauralli

I love Subscribe and Save! I have a few things that we use all the time set up to come every other month, but the nice thing is you can push it out to every 6 months or even cancel a shipment if you don’t need it. Make sure you input your subscribe and save dates in your calendar so you’ll know when a shipment is coming up so you can modify if needed. The only con would be forgetting you have a shipment coming and not needed the item yet! I typically save about 15% on the products I subscribe to. The other nice bonus is that you get free 2-day shipping even if you don’t have a Prime account. Bottom line, I’d absolutely recommend it for products you go through frequently!

On a totally unrelated subject, where did you get the Jacket- type halter walker that you take Lucy for walks with? Our Chiweenie (Yancy) needs something like that because he is terrified of the regular halters. He was a rescue and he has a real thing about them. Thanks!

~ Linda

Amazon. Here is the link. I can’t say enough good things about the harness. Totally worth every penny. And we all know I don’t like spending my pennies. If your dog is prone to wiggle out of a traditional harness, or you just want a little extra support for your dog, I totally recommend the Ruffwear Harness. Plus, I like that it has a nice heavy duty strap on the top of the harness in case I need to pick up the puggle princess in a hurry.

On your peach freezer jam…could I use Splenda instead of sugar? Being diabetic that is way too much sugar! Thanks!!

~ Nancy

While they never recommend using Splenda when an item will be canned and preserved, it’s fine in freezer jam. In some canning recipes the sugar is there specifically for preservation as well as the sweetness. In those cases you cannot substitute Splenda because you’ll only get the sweet and not the preservation. But since this is a Peach Freezer Jam Recipe, it’s okay as long as you use a no-sugar pectin. Regular pectin needs sugar to work properly. No-sugar pectin is designed to work without sugar so Splenda would work just fine!

Have a question for me? Submit them HERE and I’ll try to answer them.

~Mavis