Breakfast for dinner

A few afternoons ago they were talking on some day time talk show about eating breakfast for dinner and although I wouldn’t even attempt to try any of their recipes or ideas I did decide that last night I switched it up and got  to cooking breakfast for dinner; blueberry pancakes, sausage links and hominy.  Hominy isn’t something that I get to fix an eat much these days so it is a nice treat as well as a wake-up call that I am perfectible capable of making it more often and promise myself that I will.  While cooking, my young son came in the see what was smelling so good. That is when I informed him that we were having breakfast for dinner, and asked him if that was O.K. with him.

He laughed and said that it was fine, but that it was a good things that he liked these types of foods, because he had already eaten breakfast foods for breakfast, and for lunch at school. I’m so glad that breakfast is his favorite meal of the day!

Go figure . . . 

Gas Prices Hinder Visits With My Sister

Just hung up from talking with my sister that lives a little over an hour away, she sounds so miserable that I have decided that I am going to drive down for a visit on Sunday.  I don’t work that day and Hubby will have the youngest with him at the flea market, so I see no reason to jump in my car and spend some time with her and her family. The cost of gas is the only concern, it will take over $20 to drive there and back and gas is getting really close to the $4 a gallon mark. It hasn’t been this high in a good long while, this is really scary folks, I’m tired of this roller coaster ride that we have been riding year after year after year – a carnival ride from hell is what it is, with no opportunity in sight to get off of that ride.

Good thing that I have a gas charge card that I can use if needed, it seems as if it is needed now more often then before, which sucks.  I am trying not to use my charge cards at all. This was the first year that I didn’t use a single charge card for anything the whole Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday season. I just now paid one credit card off last week and hopefully next month I will pay another off as well, that will help when paying bills time comes around again the first of the month.

 

The 2012 Macanudo Cru Royale Collection – Sampler

Even though I have been a smoker of cigarettes, I have never tried to smoke a cigar. I have been offered on numerous ocassions to try one through out the years and always have turned the offer down thank you very much. Now don’t get me wrong I love the smell of cigars, always have, but smelling one and inhaling one are completely different. My grandfather always smoked a pipe or a cigar. I remember that enjoyed getting a variety of cigars throughout the years, getting him a present for Christmas and his birthday was always about picking out a different cigar for him to try. With as many kids and grand kids as he had, you can bet his humidor was always well stocked. And I remember that he always liked macanudo cigars the best. And now when I see cigars for sale I still find myself looking at all of the varieties with my late grandfather in the back of my mind and I always look to see what is going on with his favorite – the macanudo. I think he would really like this macanudo cru royale collection 2012 cigar sampler.

macanudo 2012 sampler
macanudo cru royale collection 2012 cigar sampler

I don’t think I’ll ever try a cigar. There are a lot of woman out there that do enjoy smoking them which is cool. What I’d really like to do is to stop smoking cigarettes all together. Something that I’ve been thinking about more and more of these past couple of years.

Background Playsets Chesapeake Va

When the kids were real little we wanted to buy them a playset for them to see and enjoy on Christmas morning. We figured we could just trot on down to Toys-R-Us or possibly Walmart pick one up and bring her home and keep stored in the garage until Christmas eve, which is when hubby planned on putting the darned thing together. I always feel so bad for the Dad’s on Christmas since they are the ones that usually spend so much time putting things together before, during and after all the excitement is over with with the gift giving and receiving that is so exciting for kids.

Weren’t we surprised when we could find a single playset in town. We were told that these playsets are considered summer merchandise and that they wouldn’t be getting any of those products until March or April. We really had no idea that this would become an issue. We ended up finding a used playset – can’t remember how we found out about it. These were the days when we certainly had computers but not anywhere like we do now or else we could have searched online and found the perfect playsets chesapeake va or even have one customized for that matter.

Playset
Backyard Playset

It all worked out though and hubby was up real late that Christmas Eve putting that playset together in the middle of the night all by himself and it was one of those real cold Christmas Eves, but he never complained and the kids were totally surprised and thrilled that Christmas morning when we had them look out the back window. It was worth every bit of time and effort put into that wonderful playset.

 

Groceries

Depending upon where you live in the U.S., the store where you buy groceries can be very different from the grocery stores in other parts of the country. In some states you can buy liquor in the grocery store. In Virginia, you can buy beer and wine, but not liquor. I hear that in Tennessee you can’t even buy wine in the grocery, but you can buy beer except on Sunday mornings.

Close to my house, the best grocery store is Food Lion. We are lucky that it is one of their larger stores. The produce section is especially nice – a huge variety and all the vegetables and fruits are fresh and bruise-free. We have a large selection of meats and several aisles of frozen foods. I try to limit my shopping to once a week, but it is so convenient that I can run by there any time.

When I was growing up, the two main grocery stores were Giant and Grand Union, and if you were willing to drive all the way into Rosslyn you could shop at a Safeway store. I don’t think there are any Grand Unions anymore – they disappeared, Food Lions sprang up and now we have Wal-Marts, too.

Natural Latex and Organic Cotton Mattresses

It seems that more people in my immediate family are experiencing some type of sleep issues. My one sister was just diagnosed with Narcolepsy and is no longer able to drive for fear of falling asleep while being behind the wheel. This has made a huge impact on her and her family that they are trying to adjust to upon hearing the news. My other sister has never been able to sleep at night so she has always been a night person that has no problem sleeping during the day light hours. I haven’t had a good night sleep since the day that I became a mother!

Our mother has recently been experiencing problems sleeping and has decided to shop for an organic mattress boston style that she found online at an organic mattress store. I myself had never heard of an organic mattress but I’ve been reading up on the subject and I’m liking what I’m hearing.

When we finally get all of our paperwork together here at the house (hopefully by the end of the month) we are going to get our taxes done. I’m sure that we will be getting a good amount of money back again this year and on the top of my list is going to be an organic mattress. Check out what thecleanbedroom.com has to say about these Natural Latex and Organic Cotton Mattresses, you might just learn something.

RV Covers

My mom and dad have a great RV that is basically a Toyota truck cab and engine and a short stack camper in the back. The camper has a queen size bed, small table and bench seat (that folds out to another bed), tiny kitchen and a full bathroom with shower. This camper is about half the size of the Airstream camper that we used to take on the road when I was a kid, so we call it “The Mini.”

My folks don’t travel as much as they used, so “The Mini” has been parked in the back yard of their summer place for several months, next to the Airstream. I decided that buying RV Covers would be a good anniversary gift for them. The covers are easy to put on and will keep them clean. Their anniversary is next month, so I will check out the covers on Camping World’s web site and see if they have the right fit for the two campers.

I was thinking about doing this for Christmas, but came up with a different idea for that holiday, leaving it an option to fall back on for the other numerous gift giving occasions that come up through out the year.

 

From Flip Flogs to Hiking Boots

Summer means camping and fishing to me, so my wardrobe is going to need just a little boost from some more rugged outdoor wear. I need things with pockets and ventilated shirts so I don’t get too hot while I stay covered up against mosquitoes and biting flies. My usual flip flops and sandals are certainly not going to get me very far on the trail, so I’m looking for a new pair of hiking boots. I want good construction so they are not only comfortable but they should last for several years. Not something that I want to just pick up cheaply at our local Walmart.

Also, I want waterproof boots this time. There’s not much that can ruin a hiking trip like wet feet. When I think about work boots or hiking boots, the brand that first comes to mind is always going to be Wolverine. This is a brand that I have known and trusted for over 20 years. My very first pair of work boots for an outside and very intense summer job while in high school were Wolverine Boots and I’ve been a diehard fan ever since.

I really like the tread design so that these boots will grab the rocks and gravel on a hiking trail to prevent slipping and the high tops will protect my ankles from twisting or turning on the rocks. When I’m ready to order them, I plan on using the web site, metboots.com. They have my size in stock and a reasonable price, with a reputation for great customer service. That’s all I need to get my new boots shipped right to my house.

Walmart

When The Eagles released their CD, Long Road Out of Eden, they did a special deal with Wal-Mart so that only Wal-Mart carried the CD. At first I thought it was clever of Wal-Mart to grab onto something practically guaranteed to be a big hit and use it to drive traffic to their stores. But later on I was reading web articles and realized that The Eagles were the ones who benefited from the exclusive distribution arrangement. What really happened is that the traditional record studios charge a ton of money for publishing, advertising and distributing music. That’s how they make their money and they make a lot. In the end, whatever other people make off your music is money that you, the artist, do not make. So by using Wal-Mart to handle the advertising and distribution, The Eagles could basically self-publish their music and keep a whole lot of the money for themselves. Sounds like a win-win situation for both of them.

You hear stories about how Wal-Mart comes to town and run the little companies out of business. Well, it looks like the mighty Wal-Mart has decided to grab even more of their money away from banks and record companies. Even though the Government told them that they cannot be a bank, they are doing everything a bank does inside of their stores – from cashing checks to credit cards and debit cards, and sending wire transfers of money out of the country and down to Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala and everywhere else the immigrants came from and want to send money back to their families.

Waterproof Binoculars

With my Dad’s birthday coming up next month I am already starting to stress about what I can buy for him for his birthday present. Buying gifts for either of my parents is a tough assignment, as they are well off and have just about anything they need or want as well as it being right after Christmas. So finding a present they will like and appreciate becomes a bigger challenge on every gift giving occasion.

My Dad is healthy and active, and loves to be out on the water, so I think that getting something nautical would be nice. He keeps a small skiff at a marina near his condo in Cape Coral, Florida, and also has the sailboat up on the Chesapeake. I went back to some old bookmarks and ended up on the www.opticsplanet.net web site. That’s where I got the great idea to get my Dad some Bushnell binoculars for his birthday. The web site has a huge selection of binoculars, so you can find the right pair to meet your needs. After all, you don’t want the same pair of binoculars on a hunting trip that you want to take to a Titans game or out on your boat. Everything that goes on a boat has to be waterproof and corrosion resistant.

Bushnell has several models of waterproof binoculars, with varying zooms and other features that span several different price points. Reading the reviews and buying guides on the www.opticsplanet.net will help me make the right decision and get my Dad the perfect birthday present.