Random Tuesday Thoughts

In my wallet, right now, I have 4 grocery store "preferred shopper cards". I took the time at these different stores to fill out the little form, wait in line at customer service, ask the chick at the customer service counter to discontinue her gossip fest with her buddy long enough to laminate a card for me. All of this so that I can save a few pennies on my grocery bill. Saving money is good. EVERY time I am in line to purchase my groceries there is someone ahead of me who does not have a card, the cashier ALWAYS pulls out his or her dummy card to give them the discount anyway! Why do I bother? I thought I was special!

I do not get along with "self checkouts". They intimidate me, they never, ever work for me. Just give me a live cashier. Even if they are having a conversation with the cashiers on either side of them about the girl who has called out 3 times this week with a lame excuse, it's better than doing battle with a stupid machine.

Remember when gas prices were up around $4.00 a gallon? Remember that food prices went up accordingly? Understandable, trucking, hauling, consuming fuel. Gas has been down to under $3.00 a gallon for quite some time now. Has your food bill gone down?

Read more...

Coveted Awards!

I am so far behind in passing on these fabulous awards that have been presented to me. Mainly because the first one requires some work. Because I'm lazy I kept moving this to the back burner but now I think I can probably come up with some answers to the questions. Please stop by these blogs when you have a minute. They are all fabulous and worth a visit!

Vickie over at Digi Vickie's Word Art presented me with the Best Blog Award! Thank you so much for this Vickie. You know there are rules: Post it on your blog with a link to the person who presented it to you. Pass the award on to 15 other blogs that you think are deserving. I know I only have 5 but they are 5 great ones!




Conversations With Moms

Daisy The Curly Cat

Mature Not Senile

Vanilla Seven

Superficial Gallery

This award was presented to me by Staci over at Just Bloggled. Thank you so much for thinking of me Staci! Now this is the one that caused me angst. The rules are: Post on your blog along with a link to the person who presented the award to you. Pass the award on to seven bloggers whose blogs you find brilliant in content and or design or who have encouraged you. Share ten honest things about yourself.

Too Many Mornings
The Peach Tart
Junk Drawer
The Screaming Me-Me!!
Headaches, Hotflashes & Hormones
I Do Things
Man Over Board


10 Honest Things About Me:

1. I resist change.

2. Love routine and organization.

3. Double cheeseburger and fries from McD's.....Mmmmm!

4. My glue gun is my friend.

5. I love to sew and I can't resist buying beautiful fabric.

6. Stand up comedy routines are one of my fav forms of entertainment.

7. I'm happiest when all of our kids are at the house.

8. I never say no to a donut.

9. A night of board games or poker is the best.

10. My kids (you know who you are) who blow off my phone calls REALLY annoy me

Read more...

Stop The Raiders

Ok, it looks comical and it is, I mean it's an "As Seen On TV"! Anyway who doesn't love a shamwow? But I have to tell you my step son needs one of these! He lives in a house with several other male room mates. A little bit of a dorm atmosphere. You put a meatball sub in that fridge and it will NOT be there when you're hungry. Almost guaranteed.

I could see the value of it in the office fridge too! Wow, that is a perpetual problem no matter what office you work in! You know that it's usually that one person who is the culprit, right? Just keep the food safe from that one person and everyone would be happy.

You saw it here first! The Fridge Locker!

Read more...

The Sound Of Music

Our Buggy girl is very musical, loves to dance, to sing and create music. This holds true for most all children. Buggys mother, as well as her Poppy are quite talented singers and I really want to promote any musical talents she has and encourage her as much as possible. At this point a music and movement class is the appropriate avenue for her, I think. Kids can gain so much by stimulation of music and dance. A toddler music program will help to promote early math skills in the patterns of the music. It can unleash their minds and creativity. Any program is going to allow your child a chance to further their social skills by interacting with other children.
Children will also be introduced to different musical instruments and they can explore playing music together. At some point soon I would like to get Buggy started on piano lessons but it's early yet.
I'm looking into a program for Buggy that will allow her to play and have fun, interact with other people, gain an appreciation for all aspects of music and dance. I want to give her every chance to explore a new avenue and express her talents.

Read more...

Gift Giving

I don't know about you but my husband and I both have very large, close families. It makes holiday buying a challenge sometimes...ok all the time. Normally I start the shopping before now but this year I'm behind! No matter, I'll be doing the majority of my shopping online anyway so I really don't have to fight the crowds too much.

I just ordered a couple of things this morning from the New York Times Store! Absolutely perfect gifts for two of the people on my list. The only family members who read my blog are my sisters so I can talk here. My FIL is a crossword nut. He has a clipboard and pen within reaching distance at all times! I ordered a membership to the NY Times Crossword Society. Great Idea? He'll get like 6 puzzles every month for a year. He will totally love it. I also ordered a coffee mug for one of my nephews. He is a Yankees fan (don't know how or why) so I ordered a mug commemorating their 27th championship. I think he'll like it.

Normally I am an Amazon junkie but I guess I can branch out a little bit.

Two down only another gazillion to go!

Read more...

Bathroom Re-Do

We made some changes in our powder room recently. Nothing costly, just my time mostly. Everything in the powder room was just 'builder grade', in other words, generic. We had already painted the walls a soft taupe color that I really like. Then I decided to give it some more personality and let's face it...I have time on my hands, I mean I can't iron every day! I had this picture of a painting someone else had done of a stone fountain in a fish shape. With some acrylic paint and clear glaze I recreated, to the best of my ability, that stone fish on my bathroom wall. I think it turned out pretty well.
We then turned our attention to the mirror over the sink. B.L.A.H. We went down to the Lowe's and bought some decorative chair rail molding along with those corner blocks.Hubs cut them to size, no mitered corners as we used the blocks instead. I painted the molding a rust color, then sponged on a dark brown paint to give it a weathered metal look. We attached it directly to the mirror with some liquid nails.
I have to say I am happy with the finished product and that mirror project was the very easiest thing we have ever done. You get a lot of bang for your buck on that project.
So what do you think?

Read more...

Skin Care

Skin care is a very important topic to most women and some men as well. Women spend untold amounts of money on skin care and specifically facial skin care. There are so many products available today as companies vie for your loyalty and your dollars. It's hard to know which products are the best for you.
If you are like me you have a drawer full of bottles and tubes that didn't quite meet your needs. I have very sensitive skin and many products might reduce the look of fine wrinkles but cause a breakout. Of course a healthy diet plays a major part in your skin care regime. We all know that drinking plenty of water is a very important factor as well especially if you have dry skin.
Natural products might be the answer, at least some would prefer that route. I know for myself, I would like to retain a more youthful look without adding to my drawer of castoff products. I would like to find a source that would compare and evaluate the products on the market today. Wouldn't you?

Read more...