Getting Out of the House

I've noticed some people have this need to get out of the house.  They talk about this thing called 'Cabin Fever' that seems to affect them negatively if they don't get out and do something on a regular basis.  Me, I don't understand that.  Getting out of the house doesn't really hold any attraction for me.  In fact, I'll pretty much avoid going anywhere unless I absolutely have to go.

It's not like I can't get out, and once I do, it's really not so bad, and I even enjoy myself.  I'm not going to throw the deadbolt lock and shut myself away from the world forever.  It's usually just the thought of going out and the effort it seems to actually get ready and go.  It just seems so much easier to stay home.  My husband likes to go out and do things, so I'm trying to be better about going out.  It helps if I have some warning, because springing it on me at the last minute, like 'let's go out to dinner' just doesn't work.  It's still easier to stay home and cook - and the food is usually better and definitely cheaper.  But if he gives me time to think about it, I can adjust.  Sometimes.  We have been going out and seeing movies the last several weeks with out Spotlight Movie Club $5 coupons - and since those are on Wednesdays and Thursdays, I can plan ahead.

When I need to go out for something like grocery shopping, I like to accomplish as much as possible, like go to every store possible and get everything we could possibly need so that I don't have to do it again for a while.  The idea of going out for just one or two things just doesn't seem worth it.  If I couldn't have Jeffrey stop by the store to pick things up on his way home, we'd just do without  - because we don't need it badly enough for me to make a special trip.  Of course, now they're saying that combining your trips is a good way to save money, so I guess that's not all bad.

Tonight - I'm just staying home.

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The Trend in Cell Phones

Cory has been looking at new cell phones, hoping he can upgrade his phone next month before he goes to college.  His phone has been having some random issues like not holding a charge as long as he thinks it should and shutting itself off sometimes.  The problem with so many of the available cell phones these days are that they're all Smart Phones or phones with internet access.

It does sound convenient to have all that on your phone - email, facebook, google, whatever.  If you want to look something up, you don't have to wait until you get home to your computer.  The only problem is, these internet phone plans cost $20-$30 or more per month - on each phone.  And that's in addition to the regular calling plan.  I'm not convinced it's that important to have internet access on a phone.  Now, if it was an additional $20/month for all the phones on the plan, that might be worth it.

What I'm afraid of is that pretty soon they won't even have phones available that don't require the internet plans, and then if you want to have a cell phone, you have to pay for the plan.  Or, if they do have phones that aren't internet-capable, they'll be ugly or cheap-looking, and no one will want them.

Do you have internet on your phone?  How much do you use it?  Is it worth the additional cost?

If We Didn't Have to Eat...

At 3:00 I realized I forgot to have lunch today.  I guess that's not horrible, considering I usually don't eat until 12:30 or 1:00, but still.  I just got busy and didn't think about it until my stomach started grumbling.  I have a nice Chocolate Zucchini Cake and some Chocolate Pudding sitting on the counter and some Cinnamon Rolls baking in the oven to show for all my efforts, though.  Of course, none of those are available as lunch because they're all for something else - and I'd be needing the best fat burners I could find if that's the kind of things I ate for lunch.

So I ate a nectarine and some cheese & crackers.  That ought to hold me for a bit.  And now I need to go wash all the dishes I made with all that cooking.  I'm not one of those people who washes the dishes as I go along.  No, I wait until a whole bunch of dishes piles up, and then I wash them.  Hopefully they'll have time to dry before it's time to wash the dinner dishes, because while I don't mind washing dishes, I really, really hate to dry them.

Take the Mission Menus Challenge

Image by audioeric via Flickr

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Mission Foods. All opinions are 100% mine.

Have you ever noticed that wrapping something in a Mission tortilla makes it seem a little special?  At least it seems that way to me.  It makes it fun to eat, because you can pick up your food and eat it with your hands.  Using tortillas is also a good way to make leftovers something new.  I like to take leftover steak (grill an extra one or two when you're grilling), and cook it with some onions, garlic, and peppers, cumin and lime juice.  Then just wrap it in some tortillas with salsa, cheese, sour cream, cilantro, tomatoes, whatever you like or have on hand, and you have fajitas!  A leftover rice casserole tastes great wrapped up in a tortilla with a little salsa and some lettuce, too - with maybe some cheese or sour cream.

I'm pretty sure those 'recipes' won't be good enough for the Mission Menus Challenge, but I'm really going to have to see if I can come up with something good.  From now until August 9, everyone is encouraged to submit their own budget-friendly recipes for a chance to win a $10,000 kitchen makeover as well as a host of weekly prizes.  All recipes must:

• include Mission Flour Tortillas
• Be original
• Feed a family of five for $10 or less 

It's the original part that kills me.  As I've already said, I love cooking with Mission tortillas - because they're versatile, kid-friendly, convenient,Trans fat and cholesterol free, and they just plain taste good.  I'm pretty sure I can feed a family of 5 for $10 or less any day of the week, but coming up with my own original recipe is going to take a bit of thought and inspiration.  Thankfully, there's quite a bit of inspiration available at www.missionmenus.com - and I'm ready to try all of these recipes.  You should have heard me Ooohing and Aaahing over all the pictures and recipes when I first visited the page!  Is that weird?  Don't answer that!

Instead just take your great budget-friendly recipe that uses Mission tortillas, and enter the Mission Menus Challenge.   It'll be fun, and you could be the one who wins the dream kitchen makeover.

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Plan a Trip to Memphis

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Memphis Travel. All opinions are 100% mine.

Memphis - Home of the Blues, Birthplace of Rock 'n Roll, home to Graceland, Beale Street, and world-famous BBQ.  I've never been there.  Have you?  I'm sure anyone who's been there will have all kinds of advice about where to go and what to see and what to do, but what if you don't have anyone to ask?  Easy - just use this Memphis-savvy travel guide to help you plan your perfect visit.

Just choose the type of trip you're interested in, like family, couples, outdoor activities, or nightlife.  Then choose an arrival date, and you'll get all kinds of suggestions for things to do and events for the time you'll be there.  We're not planning a trip right now, but it's still fun to play around with.  I chose the couples trip, and came up with a few interesting suggestions.  How does a carriage ride through the streets of downtown Memphis, a visit to the Memphis Botanic Garden, a drive-in theater, and a guided tour of Sun Studio (the birthplace of Rock 'n Roll) sound?  Sounds pretty good, but then I chose 'Music & Memphis History' and I'm pretty sure that's the trip I'd want.  It includes the Memphis Rock 'n' Soul Museum, the Gibson Beale Street Showcase, the Beale Street Entertainment District, and a visit to Graceland.

I'm thinking I'm going to try all of the options - just to see all the great things to do in Memphis.  I didn't realize there was so much to do and so much to see!  I'm definitely going to enter to win a trip package to Memphis and hope we get a chance to visit soon.  You can enter to win a Family Package, Couple Package, Single, or Single & Friends Package.  All of them include some great things to do, but I'm hoping to win the Couple Package. It includes that carriage ride, tour of Sun Studios, and a stay at the Peabody Hotel.  Be sure to enter for your own chance to win.  You can enter once per day until August 15th.

New Windows?

While we're getting our roof shingled and new siding on our house, we're thinking we ought to go ahead and put new windows in.  It's really the best time to do it, since the siding will all have to come off, making installation easier, and if we get the right energy efficient windows we can get the 30% tax credit, too.   It's hard to imagine not doing it.  There just won't be a better time.

The insurance will pay for Cory's window because it got broken and the back patio door that got scratched up, but we'll have to pay for the rest ourselves.  It would be a no-brainer if we knew we were going to be staying in this house for quite a while.  The energy savings are definitely worth it, but it takes quite a few years for the windows to pay for themselves in energy savings.  But, we don't know how long we'll be here.  I'm not saying we're ready to start looking at Wilmington NC real estate or anything.  More likely we'll be looking at Dallas if Jeffrey moves up with Dean Foods.  He's interviewed for a couple jobs there, but they haven't made any decisions yet.  We're just kind of waiting to see what happens.

The question is will the windows pay for themselves if we have to sell the house sometime soon?  Probably not, but still - it's the perfect time to replace them.  It's also probably a good selling point to have all new windows, and siding, and roof, whether here, in the Wilmington NC real estate market, or anywhere else.

Also, I'd hate to not get the new windows and then find out that we won't be looking at any Wilmington NC real estate listings (Though some of those North Carolina houses look really nice! Yes, I did a search, just because - they make it so easy.), or Dallas listings or real estate anywhere else, and that we get to stay here.  Then we'd want to/have to do it before too long anyway, and the installation would cost more, and the tax credits probably won't be available anymore, and it will end up costing us more.

Keeping the Little Ones Safe

Who knew that when we bought a baby gate all those years ago when Beth was born, that we'd still have it.  We've gotten rid of practically every other baby item we ever had, but that gate has come in handy over the years.

I can't even remember what we used it for when the kids were little.  We didn't have stairs in our house, so we didn't need it for that.  We do have stairs in this house, so stairway gates would have been really important if the kids had been babies here.  But Cory was already 5 when we moved here.  We have used it over the years when little people have come to visit, and we used it as a pet gate when Tillie was really little.  It didn't take her long to learn to get over it, though - first climbing it and then just jumping right over.  So we gave up on that.

I'm sure they make better child safety gates nowadays, but the one we've had all these years has done a good job for us.  Will I trust it when it comes time for the grandkids to visit (years from now)?  That might be the time to check out KidSafe to learn more about what's available and see if I need something safer - or just something that opens easily so I don't have to step over it like I do now.  Because, when I'm old enough to be a grandma, I might not be able to so easily.

iNetVideo - Entertainment for Less

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of iNetVideo. All opinions are 100% mine.

Everyone who knows me knows how I love a good deal.  I can't believe I've never heard of iNetVideo before.  They've been offering a wide range of movies on DVD, HD DVD, Blu-ray, Video Games and Music CDs for Less, since 1999.  I know there are other sites that sell movies and music online, but why pay full price when you don't have to, right?  At iNetVideo, they have all kinds of entertainment, for better prices than I've seen elsewhere.

Looking around the site, some of the deals that caught my eye are the DVD boxsets for $13.88, music CDs for $5, and blu-ray movies for $13.99.  I thought it was good to get DVDs for $13.99, unless they're the older not-so-popular movies you can get at Wal-mart for $5.  It looks like iNetVideo has some of those, too - though I found quite a few movies I wouldn't mind having just on the first page!  They're also a lot easier to look through than those messy bins in Wal-mart.

Check it out and see if you can find some deals on your entertainment needs wants.  If you're like me and don't have a Blu-ray player yet, you'll want to enter the monthly Blu-ray player giveaway, too.  Also be sure to visit the iNetVideo blog for movie giveaways, fun entertainment articles, and more.

Looking at the Sky on Friday - 64

I’m so glad there’s a meme like Looking at the Sky on Friday, because it means all the time I spend looking at the sky, and taking pictures of it, has a purpose! Click the badge for more info.

We’re sitting in the basement right now, while thunderstorms keep rolling by.  We’ve been down here all evening.  Luckily they’ve passed us by, but several tornadoes have been sighted in the area tonight.  This Wisconsin weather has been strange this summer with all the tornadoes.  You don’t normally think of tornadoes when you think of Wisconsin.  And it’s not just tornadoes tonight, it’s flooding too, and a sinkhole that swallowed a car.  I bet the owner of that vehicle is going to look in the Robern Medicine cabinet to find something for that headache as soon as he gets home.  It just doesn’t stop!

Beth was upset because Tim was over at his boss’s house after work, and they saw two funnel clouds drop out of the clouds in the field next to the house.  Beth has always wanted to see a tornado, maybe be a storm chaser.  I wonder what she’d do if she really saw one.

Me, I’d rather see blue sky and white puffy clouds like this:

Maybe tomorrow, because you know what they say about Wisconsin weather – if you don’t like it, just wait and it’ll change.  (or something like that)

If you enjoy skies as much as I do, be sure to check out Looking at the Sky on Friday.

Word Association

 What's the first thing that comes to mind when I say MAIL?

LAUNDRY?

No?  Not for me either, usually.  But sometimes I find myself thinking that I need to do something - in this case go check the mail - and I catch myself saying* that I need to check the laundry.

Where did that come from?  Is that normal, or do I need to start doing brain exercises religiously and look into hgh releasers or something to help slow down the aging process?  I'm not old enough to be losing my mind memory yet, am I?

*Yes, I talk to myself.  What of it?

Almost 50

Today is my wonderful husband's birthday.  He's 49 - and since he's a guy I'm sure he won't mind my telling the whole Internet how old he is.  Also, he'll always be older than I am!

I have a hard time believing I'm married to a man who's almost 50.  I remember telling him that I had to marry him before he got 'old' - before he turned 25.  Then when he turned 30 I sent black balloons to his office, because he really was 'old' then.  40 I don't think I made a big deal out of, because he threatened to do the same thing to me a few years later.

25 and 30 don't seem so old now, or 40 either.  But almost 50, now that's old - at least for the next few of years, or until it applies to me.  Then, of course, 50 won't be old at all!  Neither one of us will be needing social security disability insurance or collecting retirement any time soon. Unless someone knows something I don't - I just got an email with the subject line: 'See if you qualify for Social Security disability benefits.'

Zits!

Aren't teenagers the ones who are supposed to worry about acne treatment? Not the moms of those teenagers.  Seriously, if I'm old enough to have teenagers, I should have outgrown zits a long time ago.  Right?

I keep telling myself that, but my body doesn't seem to agree.  The zits always seem to pop out at the weirdest times and in the weirdest places - face, back, legs, arms.  When I entered Jenn's Oxy Clinical Giveaway, I said I wanted to win for Cory, but when I win I might just keep it for me.  Cory's an adult now.  He can buy his own acne treatment.

Or enter giveaways for his own self.  (You might want to enter, too)

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Time Flies When Friends Get Together

Cory's bestfriend Travis spent the past week here.  He lives in Georgia, so the boys don't get to see each other more than once or twice a year.  Imagine, a whole week together.  In person.

source: Cory's DailyBooth, taken when we got home from the airport last Tuesday.

I think the boys had a great time together.  They hung out in the basement, watched movies, ate a lot of junk food, stayed up very late, organized and attended a Murder Mystery party at the library, went to visit some girls - at a bookstore and in Illinois, went to see Inception on the UltraScreen, went to Menard's, and I don't know what all.

It sounds way better than a Branson vacation, doesn't it? At least if you're a teenage guy.  We had to take Travis to the airport today so he could go back home to his family.  I think both boys were a bit sad that the week wasn't a lot longer.  The good news is that they might be able to catch up on their sleep now.

Starting a New Week

I didn't do much on the computer over the weekend - edited some web pages that I need to get back to and helped Beth set up her wireless network, but no blogging.  And now that it's Monday (night) I'm sitting here trying to get started again.  It's not like I don't have things to blog about.  I just can't think of anything right now.

Or maybe it's because I'm supposed to mention something about the best weight loss pill, and I just can't get inspired about that.  Jeffrey and I were talking about losing weight while we were walking this morning.  We were talking about exercise and making better choices about what to eat and how much to eat.  I really don't think there's any magic pill for losing weight and, more importantly, being healthy.  It takes some work, which is a 4-letter word and most likely why people keep looking for that magic pill!

I wonder if there's some magic pill I can take to help me get back into blogging after the weekend.  Or do I just have to start typing and hope something comes out?

Looking at the Sky on Friday - 63

I’m so glad there’s a meme like Looking at the Sky on Friday, because it means all the time I spend looking at the sky, and taking pictures of it, has a purpose! Click the badge for more info. (as this meme no longer exists, the link has been removed)
Once again I was out on my deck taking pictures of gorgeous end-of-day clouds.

While I was out there, one of the neighbors started shooting off fireworks – either that or this tree just discovered a new shampoo for hair growth and things are popping out all over.

If you enjoy skies as much as I do, be sure to check out Looking at the Sky on Friday.

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A Proper Haircut

We took Cory Sunday to get a quicktrim of his hair.  When he was little, we just buzzed his hair at home with the clippers.  It was easy and cheap, and I loved his little 'rub-a-head' - but then he grew out of that stage.  Or at least he decided he didn't want to have his hair buzzed any more.

He went through a stage where he liked it long and shaggy, but now he pretty much likes to keep it short.  It costs more to have to take him to get his hair cut, but he looks so much better when it's short like this.  I think boys should look like boys.  What do you think?

I never have been able to figure out guys who keep their hair so long that you can't tell from behind whether they're a girl or a guy.  Why would anyone want to do that?  (Note:  Cory never let his hair get that long.  Ever.)

Re-Imagine Wool

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Ramblers Way. All opinions are 100% mine.

Would you wear wool underwear? Well, would you?  You're probably thinking, 'No way!  Wool is way too scratchy to wear as underwear.'  At least that's what I'd be thinking if someone asked me.  When I think of wool, I think of sweaters that are hot and itchy.  They're great for keeping you warm in winter, but you better have something on underneath.  I had a pair of wool pants once, but I rarely wore them because they made my legs itch so bad.  I tried wearing pantyhose underneath them, but that didn't seem to help much.  I'd certainly never want underwear made from that wool!

Why am I even asking about wool underwear?  Because the folks at Ramblers Way have completely re-imagined wool and made it possible to wear wool right next to your skin, comfortably.  Imagine - soft, comfortable wool that you'll want to wear every day.

Ramblers Way garments undergo their "WINDspun" technology which offers the smoothest, most luxurious wool yarn in the marketplace.  Here's an explanation of what makes Ramblers Way yarn superfine, free of those pesky, itchy loose ends and also much lighter than traditional wool.  Ramblers Way garments are not itchy, not heavy, not hot.  They're soft and comfortable, warm and equally cool because they breathe naturally (did you know wool was a year-round fabric?), completely natural and chemical-free, durable, moisture and odor resistant, machine washable and dryable, and completely American made.  This is not the same wool I've always known.

I may not be ready for wool underwear, but I'm thinking a nice wool shirt would be nice.  Short or long-sleeved?

How Do You Keep Up with the Email?

One of these days, when I have nothing else to do, I really need to clean out my email inbox.  The problem with having Yahoo! mail and its unlimited storage is that I don't delete nearly as much as I should.  Oh, I delete the emails offering to enlarge certain parts of my anatomy that I don't have, the ones telling me of the singles who want to meet me, and the ones listing the side effects of diet pills and what to do if I or a loved one has suffered any of these effects.  What I don't delete are the emails that sound kind of interesting, the ones offering free stuff or discounts on travel, or the ones containing health tips or recipes.

I save those for later, but then - I never get back to actually read them.  I might have a better chance if I organized them when they came in, putting them into their proper folders, and creating additional folders as needed.  But I don't, and then everything just gets lost in my inbox.  I'd probably be ahead to just delete everything and start over.  What do you think?

Is there any way to keep email organized and to keep up with it?  Without just taking days and days to wade through it.  Give me some tips.

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Dead Flies

After I posted about all the flies in the house yesterday, Cory and I killed at least 20 more of them!  I found a whole bunch on the kitchen window, hidden behind the mini-blind.   Then today we've killed 15 or 20 more.  I still have no idea where they're coming from.  What I do know is that it has nothing to do with extenze side effects, though some of those flies are pretty big, making me wonder what they've been taking.

And now, as I'm typing up this post, Cory is killing more of them.  He just counted at least 7 flies on the window.

Just for fun, or because we're too lazy to pick them up, we've got a whole pile of dead flies on the floor by the sliding door.  At least I hope they're dead and aren't re-animating and becoming some kind of vampire flies... that we keep 'killing' over and over again.

Cory said all the dead flies would make a good picture to take for Camera Critters, but I'm thinking NOT.

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Looking at the Sky on Friday - 62

I’m so glad there’s a meme like Looking at the Sky on Friday, because it means all the time I spend looking at the sky, and taking pictures of it, has a purpose! Click the badge for more info.

Even when I’m busy working inside, I often catch myself looking out the window to see what the sky looks like.  I don’t really do it on purpose, just happen to glance and see something that catches my attention.  The other night I was folding laundry in the bedroom when I caught a glimpse of the sky.  The clouds were all gorgeous and pink, and I just had to grab my camera and head out to the deck to see if I could get some pics.

Unfortunately the pictures didn’t turn out as well as I would have liked, but I did get to enjoy the sunset.  I have to wonder how many gorgeous skies I miss when I don’t happen to glance out.  Wouldn’t it be cool if there was some kind of driveway alarm or deck alarm you could install that would alert you every time the sky was just can’t-be-missed gorgeous?  Somebody invent one of those, OK?

If you enjoy skies as much as I do, be sure to check out Looking at the Sky on Friday.