Biography
This busy wife and mother is always on the hunt of ways to stretch a dollar. Alicia Notarianni offers tips on “Making Ends Meet” the second and fourth Friday of every month.
Alicia Notarianni
Making Ends Meet
'Hydrogen Peroxide for Dummies'
May 23, 2013
Resting on the table before me are six bottles of hydrogen peroxide solution in various shapes and sizes.
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Reflections, aspirations as Mother's Day approaches
May 9, 2013
My mom died in 2006. She had been diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a cancer of the blood, just 10 months earlier.
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Intimacy among strangers
April 25, 2013
It was not a great area of town in which to be walking after dark. Her vulnerability seemed to be exacerbated by the fact that it was cold and she had no coat, and because she was using a walker that was weighed down by a few shopping bags.
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It's not too late for a healthy view of eye care
April 11, 2013
I never fared terribly well with eyeglasses. I was amazed at how crisp the world looked when I first got them in the third grade. But all that clarity kind of gave me a headache and made me a little dizzy.
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Staying connected to plugged-in teens
March 21, 2013
I wonder what grounding looked like in the 1920s.
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Tips from a bag lady of a different kind
March 7, 2013
Tips from a bag lady of a different kind
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Beauty without breaking the bank
February 22, 2013
I had a fabulous old friend drop in unexpectedly the other morning. She was in town briefly and called and stopped by on a whim early, before my kids were even up for school.
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Easy access to vulgarity is just wrong
February 7, 2013
I wasn't looking for an illegal option. But without trying, I received a list of them.
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Sometimes love can look like a rotisserie chicken
January 24, 2013
Does it help to throw a rotisserie chicken at a hurting person?
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Say no to squander
January 10, 2013
The other night, we had a birthday party for one of my kids.
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Christmas lights teach lesson of lighting care
December 27, 2012
They were bright, shiny and colorful. An integral part of the celebration of a joyous season.
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Doing less to enjoy more at Christmas
December 13, 2012
One year, when I was in college, I was laying on the floor at my parents' house talking on the phone with a friend over Christmas break. Phones still had cords then, so I couldn't stray too far from the base.
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Generation got jiggly with processed food
November 21, 2012
I am a post-Jell-O generation hold-out.
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Investing in kids
November 9, 2012
I have friends whose family photos look like mini-meetings of the United Nations.
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Don't be late
October 25, 2012
My kids and I sometimes go for a morning run.
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Helping with other people's needs
October 12, 2012
The air was crisp.
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Autumn can be time for gardening too
September 28, 2012
My last couple of gardens have been such epic fails that this year, I didn't even try.
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Homespun doesn't mean ho-hum
September 13, 2012
Why do we tend not to value that which is right under our nose?
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Mom has hard time as son flies the coop
August 23, 2012
Tonight, when my son told me goodnight and hugged me, I cried.
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Dishing on excess after conversation over dinner
August 10, 2012
So when did we become so spoiled?
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Lighten up for a little fun at little expense
July 26, 2012
I can’t remember why we decided to go out on the town in our pajamas that day. Call it youthful whimsy.
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Your talents are bigger than you even realize
July 12, 2012
His name is Fred and his plumbing strikes me as a work of art.
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Things to do on a rainy day
June 21, 2012
My younger kids started their traditional summer swimming lessons this week.
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Love is rekindled on 'day dates'
June 8, 2012
It was another Saturday, another social event.
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Homemade products sometimes work wonders
May 10, 2012
I just might have the world's best smelling bathroom.
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Barnyard drama is free and fun
April 26, 2012
When I was a girl, I used to watch "The Young and the Restless" with my mom.
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Organ donation truly is the gift of life
April 12, 2012
My son has cadaver valves.
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Sane yet serious couponing
March 22, 2012
In her past few weeks shopping with coupons, Diane Linn of Greencastle, Pa., got 12 rolls of Bounty paper towels for free and "a ton" of Chinet plates for 50 cents a pack.
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'Meating' half way when cooking on a budget
March 8, 2012
OK, meat mavens. Don't get your ham hocks in a huff.
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Birthday at home was fun for all
February 24, 2012
Bells clang. Lights flash. Buzzers blare. Children scream.
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In search of the perfect mess
February 10, 2012
My urge to clean up is a force to be reckoned with.
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Keeping it old school with the common cold
January 26, 2012
"It's a cold," Dr. Babin would say in his thick Romanian accent. "They'll feel better in a week and a half or 10 days."
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Find a way to tap into your inborn saver
January 12, 2012
Some people seem to be natural born soup-makers.
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The gift of family memories
December 22, 2011
I don't remember what I got for Christmas when I was 8.
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Lovin' the chance for layaway
December 8, 2011
Some of my college friends had their daddies' plastic. Others worked long hours to earn money while they studied.
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A holiday compromise
November 23, 2011
I am sitting in one of my favorite places in the world as I write this column.
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Money can't buy me sleep
November 10, 2011
I swear the coffee cup was nearly as big as her head.
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Wonder is discovered in a radio dial
October 27, 2011
We slipped right into the twilight zone.
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Head lice policy could bug families
October 13, 2011
I wince as I write this.
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Salon offers more bangs for your buck
September 22, 2011
Pay no attention to that woman at the top of my column.
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A '$100 challenge' adds up to a pile of style
September 8, 2011
We wear about the same size, and we tend to like the same styles.
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Don't be a fool to fashion
August 25, 2011
Here's what I want to know: Does anybody wear a bra anymore?
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School clothes shopping worth singing about
August 11, 2011
Getting dressed is different for my kids as they grow up than it was for me.
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Family fun without a pricetag
July 22, 2011
I hadn't officially declared a challenge for myself.
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The payoff of simple camping
July 8, 2011
It cracks me up, looking back.
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Bargains for satisfying summer living
June 24, 2011
Living life frugally doesn't mean living life deprived.
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Having more joy by having less stuff
June 9, 2011
If stuff were money, I'd be rich. Living high.
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Home remedies to send ants marching
May 27, 2011
"The ants go marching one by one. Hurrah! Hurrah!"
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Pain at the pump can be explained
May 13, 2011
I've read with interest about a concept economists refer to as the "pain of paying."
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Seasoned advice to the Easter Bunny
April 22, 2011
It was a tragic Easter.
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Fight back against snacks that disappear
April 7, 2011
I don't want to be known among my children as the snack Nazi.
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Helping your teen win his first job
March 24, 2011
I'd run breathlessly up the stairs of the little brick church, careful not to catch my heels on the narrow wooden slats.
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Start early now for college
March 10, 2011
Some things I know.
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Caregiving reaps many dividends
February 24, 2011
My dad is not well.
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Avoiding the gift glut
February 10, 2011
A month and a half later, I'm still making my way through Christmas stuff.
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Staying warm when it's cold as icebergs
January 27, 2011
"Great bouncing icebergs!"
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Getting over home appraisal anxiety
January 13, 2011
A while back, a friend of mine called me in distress.
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Take time to reconnect during holiday break
December 23, 2010
Soon the presents will have been opened.
