She's Going to Be How Old?

Image by Will Clayton via Flickr

Beth has a birthday next month. For some reason, she thinks this is a special birthday.  And, for this birthday, she'd like us to keep Jason overnight so she can go out and take advantage of her age.  I bet she expects all birthday gifts for her to be of a certain type, too - a type she can drink!

Yes, next month Beth will be 21.  It doesn't seem like it's been 21 years...

She wants to go out and 'get drunk' - because she can, I guess.  I don't really understand the whole idea of going out drinking just because you're old enough to do it.  I think I bought a 6-pack of beer or some wine coolers or something at at grocery store a few days after I turned 21, and then went home with my parents.  I was vaguely disappointed that the checker didn't even ask for my ID!  Of course, now they have to ask everybody.  And in the years since then, I've never gone out 'drinking' and definitely never gone out to get drunk.  Why would anybody want to do that?

Regardless of whether I understand her need to go out drinking or not, I'll be happy to keep the little guy!  I do hope she lines up someone responsible to drive, though.

There's a First Time for Everything

I was watching/listening to The View yesterday, and I found myself actually agreeing with Joy Behar about something.  Normally I just think she's very opinionated, abrasive, and wrong.  Then yesterday, co-host Sherri Shepherd was talking about sending out her wedding invitations and getting back the RSVP cards - with no names on them.  People were replying 'yes, we'll be there' or 'no, we won't' but she had no clue who was planning to come and who wasn't.  Not a big deal if you just want to know how many will be there, but Sherri needed names for the tables. She's not the first bride to have that problem.  One of my facebook friends got married last summer, and she had the exact same frustration.

I was thinking that brides are just going to have to start putting the guests' names on the RSVP cards when they mail out the invitations - and then Joy Behar mentioned the same thing.  Imagine my surprise.  I never thought I'd agree with Joy on anything.  It kind of reminds me of the day I found myself singing along to a Sugarland song and a Keith Urban song.  One, I don't sing.  Two, I don't even like Sugarland, and I've never been all that impressed with Keith Urban.  I don't know how they got me.  I guess there's a first time for everything.

Also, kudos to View co-host Sherri Shepherd for having morals and waiting until after the wedding to have sex - and being willing to say so on national television.  People need to hear that is a real choice.

The Most Important Thing to Know About Sunscreen

What is the most important thing you need to know about sunscreen?  Is it the SPF?  The higher the better, right?  Whether it blocks UVA or UVB rays, or both?  That is contains ingredients like Mexoryl SX or avobenzon?  And what do those even do, anyway?

Nope, I'd say the most important thing you need to know about sunscreen is to apply it - and remember to re-apply it! Swimming, sweating, and just generally spending time in the sun wash away your sunscreen and lower the effectiveness.  So, applying sunscreen in the morning is a good thing, but if you go out canoeing all day and don't re-apply, this is what can happen:

Pain!  For days. Then, you turn into a reptile of some type and get all scaly and start shedding your skin.

We've been using a lot of aloe gel around here.  More you need to know about sunscreen.

Reading The Help

Guest post written by Katherine Benton

Most of the time, I prefer not to read books before I see their film counterparts. I've found in the past that a lot of the time it's too hard for the director and actors to make the movie better than the book and I end up getting disappointed by it in the end. Well, I had to make an exception for it this time around though because my mom gave me The Help for my birthday. She told me that she and her book club had read it and then she cried because it was so sad, but beautiful. After she said that, I knew I had to read it. Normally I get way more emotional about books than she does, so I thought this one must be especially good!

I also looked into a few book reviews before I actually cracked it open though. While I was browsing through some, I came across the site clearwirelessinternetservice.com. After I looked through it some, I decided to change over my apartment internet service to it.

It took me just a few short days to read the book! Granted most of that was over a weekend when I just read, but it was that good. I have faith that the movie will live up to it though.

Question About Milk

I need your help with this, OK?  Jeffrey and I were at Walmart the other evening, and this is what the milk case looks like.  I would have taken a picture of the 2% because that's what I always buy, but they don't have both brands together, so Vitamin D it is.
 

So, if you were going to buy a gallon of milk, which brand would you buy?  I know which one I'd buy, but I'd really appreciate it if you would take my survey and let me know.  Thanks!

Tuesday Tidbits

Somehow, Tuesday  is almost over for this week, but if I get this posted, it will be 3 weeks in a row - and that's gotta be a record or something.  Actually, I posted Camera Critters posts almost every week for at least a year, so that's a real record.  Unfortunately, I've gotten away from it, and I just can't find my way back.  I miss all the cute critters, too.

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Cory left on Thursday and went to Michigan for the weekend.  He had a great time with a whole bunch of friends, pushing cars out of the mud, canoeing, going to the beach, getting majorly sunburned, etc.  Thankfully he didn't have to drive all the way by himself.  He drove about an hour from home, met up with some friends from Minnesota, and they all rode together.  And, thankfully, he's old enough to drive now so I didn't have to drop him off and then have to be back and pick him up Sunday night - because he didn't get home until after midnight.  Then, he had to be up the next morning so he could go to work at 7am - the earliest he's had to work since he started at Walmart.  But, he survived.

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We went to the bank Friday afternoon and signed a bunch of papers.  Beth needed a new vehicle because she couldn't get 3 car seats in the Regal she was driving.  For work she watches two kids, and now she has one of her own, so she needs to be able to get all three of those car seats in.  So, she got a Buick Rendezvous, which is nice, and most importantly to her it's not a mini van.  I'm not sure what the deal is with mini vans, but whatever.  She got a decent deal on it, all three cars seats fit, and she's happy - and now that all the papers are signed, she's got her very own car payment to make every month.

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Jeffrey and I went to a church conference in the Chicago area for the weekend.  We left Saturday morning and didn't get back until Sunday evening.  We had a great time with some great people, heard some good presentations, ate lots of wonderful food, and just had a really good weekend.  I had my first Lemon Drop Martini thanks to my friend Trisha, and it was yummy!  And our friends Paul and Laureen opened up their home and gave us a bed to sleep in Saturday night - which was really nice, because they're always so busy when they host one of these things, so staying with them actually gave us some time to spend with them we wouldn't have had otherwise.

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I mowed the yard Monday morning.  I can't remember when I mowed it last, and the boys hadn't mowed it for a while either because it's been so dry.  But we got some rain recently, and things have started to grow, the grass included - or at least all the weeds/extra plants in the yard - so it needed done.  It was a bit hot, but there was a breeze and clouds, and I drank plenty of water.  Then Jeffrey called late afternoon and said not to worry about it.  Too late!  Yes, I could have waited until tomorrow when it's supposed to be much cooler, but it's done now. 

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Today it was hotter, or at least that's what they said.  I was inside, freezing in the air conditioning.  For some reason it seemed colder than it has been, even though the thermostat was set the same.  I went outside to warm up several times.  By tomorrow, I should be able to turn the air off and open the windows because it's supposed to be nice for a while.  Looking forward to that!

Image via Wikipedia

And now, Tuesday is basically over, so this post must come to an end.  A gold star to you if you made it all the way to the end!

Tune in next Tuesday....

The Straight Talk on Cell Phone Plans

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Straight Talk for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.
 
I keep looking at these cell phone plans that give you everything you need  for a great price.  Imagine an Unlimited Monthly service that includes calls, text, picture messaging, and web - for only $45.  That's what you can get with Straight Talk.  We pay more than that per phone, and the only thing that's unlimited is the text and picture messaging.  And we don't even have web!  We could save a ton of money if we switched - well, if we switch after our contract is up.
 
You know how the big cell phone providers require you to sign a new contract every time you want to change your plan or upgrade your phone?  I think if they'd just concentrate on providing great service at a great price, they wouldn't need to tie people down; they'd have their customers hook, line and sinker.  I've even asked our current provider, if companies like Straight Talk can provide so much for so little, why can't they?  They try to tell me that the service isn't that good.  These cheap(er)  companies which, by the way don't require their cusomers to sign a contract, can't provide a reliable cell signal.  Kinda telling me that you get what you pay for.  Well, Straight Talk customers seem to disagree...
 



Phone selection is really good with reconditioned phones that let you call a friend as well as listen to music, take pics and video, and surf the web, for only $10, as well as some amazing Smart Phones with all the bells & whistles.  Straight Talk only uses trusted phone manufacturers like LG, Motorola, Kyocera, Nokia and Samsung.
 
With Straight Talk there are no contracts, no hidden fees, and no activation, reactivation, or termination fees.  So what I'm thinking is that I'd like to buy one of those $10 phones, pay for one of the most basic plans, maybe the "All You Need Plan" that includes 1,000 minutes, 1,000 texts and 30 MB of web data, and then I want to try it for myself.
If you're using Straight Talk, please - let me know how you like it.  I would really love to save some real money on our cell phone plan - and get more while we're at it.  It just seems crazy to spend more than we need to.
 

Enter the Brite Start Sweepstakes

Here's another possible way to help an elementary school of your choice.  I found this when I was cutting out coupons this morning.

Enter the Brite Start Sweepstakes for a chance to win a $250 Visa Gift Card, and while you're there, designate an elementary school for a chance to win a $1000 'school supplies' award.  There will be 5 grand prizes of a $250 Visa gift card to the winner and a $1000 check for school supplies to the winner's designated school.

You can enter once per day through the end of the month - 8/31/11 at 11:59pm CT, and winners will be drawn after the promotion concludes.  So hurry and enter - and good luck to you and your designated school! (There are 4 prizes up for grabs besides the one I'm winning for me and my  local elementary school)

Help Your Local Schools My Coke Rewards

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of My Coke Rewards for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.
 

If you or someone in your household drinks Coke products, chances are you have a MyCokeRewards account.  There are codes on all kinds of Coke products that you enter on the site to earn points which you can redeem for all kinds of cool stuff.  Well, here's a really cool use for those points - use them to help your local school!  Through the My Coke Rewards Schools Program, you can donate points to your school, so it can get rewards like art supplies and sports equipment.

Schools are always having to make do with less and less money, so any help they can get is HUGE!  I'd love to see every parent, every teacher, and every member of the community, even those without kids in school (like me!), go to mycokerewards.com/schools, register, and start donating points to our local school.  Those points would surely add up and really help the school get things they need like classroom supplies, sports equipment, books, etc.  It can be a really easy way to do something really good, and it really doesn't cost anything!  I mean, if you're already drinking the Coke products, you don't have to spend any extra money.  Yes, you could use your points for yourself, but do you really need another magazine subscription, movie poster, or whatever other reward you've got your eye on?

I am going to have to contact our local PTO President, because I just checked and found out our local elementary school isn't registered.  That needs to be fixed right away so they can take advantage of the My Coke rewards for schools program and start spreading the word.

It's especially important now because from July 13 through September 30, Sprite is giving away 25 playgrounds, worth $25,000.  Anyone who enters a code from any package of Sprite/Sprite Zero during that time earns an entry into the sweepstakes to help their school win. In addition, every three points donated to the school through the Sprite Spark Parks for Schools sweepstakes will give the school additional chances. Any new school that registers will be given a chance to win.  They're currently trying to raise money for a new playground, so this would be AWESOME!!

If your local school isn't registered (you can easily check on the site), be sure to let them know about this program so they can get registered and be eligible, too.  And if you're school is already registered, start donating those points!

How to Make Moving Your Kid to College Easier

In the upcoming month, many parents will be taking their son or daughter to college to start their freshman year. For many of these kids, they will be headed out-of-state and will move into large college dorms loaded with students and 10x10 foot rooms. Dorm life is compact, and planning for the transition from a solo room to a smaller room with a roommate can be difficult for any first time college student.

However, there are a few ways that both you and your college student can make the move to college easier. A few of those include:

Properly Prepare and Research

There are hundreds of lists online that suggest great items for your future college student to take to college; however, try to look at the one that is specific to the college your son or daughter will be attending. This list will not only have recommended items, but will also list prohibited items. Having this list will let you know what all your child needs to pack, and how much hauling room you can expect to need.

Phone the New Roomie

There is no reason for both roommates to bring mini fridges and coffee makers. Prior to departure, have your child call their future roommate. Between the two of them, they should be able to determine who will bring what into the dorm allowing you to ditch the unnecessary TV or room fan when loading up.

Rent a Trailer in Advance

The weekend your son or daughter will be moving to college will most likely be the same weekend that everyone else’s sons or daughters move to college. Don’t wait last minute to get the equipment you need to make your move more successful. While your child shouldn’t be packing enough to fill a large moving van, you may not have a car big enough to fit more than two people and may need to rent a trailer or small moving vehicle.

Consider a Storage Unit

Have plans for your child’s vacant room once they are gone? You may want to rent a self storage unit ahead of time. Transitioning into college can be hard, but coming home and finding that all of your possessions have been crammed into boxes and stored elsewhere can be even more difficult. If you plan on redecorating your child’s room upon their departure, have them pack up everything they can’t take to college with you. Not only will this alleviate the burden of you packing up their room by yourself, but it will also make their transition easier.
 
College is a fun and exciting time, and to make it as stress free as possible, parents should begin planning for the big move at least 3 weeks prior. Doing so will make moving day seamless, and will allow you to enjoy the last few hours spent with your child instead of worrying about last minute packing and hauling.