The Boob Tube

The other night I was really tired and just wanted to put something on TV so I could veg out before bed. There wasn’t much on, honestly, and somehow I ended up re-watching, yes again one of those shows on the Duggar family. You know, they’re the ones with like 543 kids and they bought one of those steel buildings and had all the kids help put it together? I think I was watching the one where they go on a road trip. Drew came home and totally made fun of me for watching it again.

Why is it that we get sucked into dumb shows? When I see that it’s on, I also end up watching “My SuperSweet 16.” I can’t even believe I’m admitting it, but I do. And the thing is, I get all worked up about how spoiled these kids are, yet I continue to put it on and let my blood pressure go through the roof.

At least next week the good shows start premiering. I am so excited about the new season of “The Office!” I can’t wait to see what happens. I also found out that NBC will have the show free to watch on their Web site for up to a week (I think) after it airs on TV. I’m also looking forward to “My Name Is Earl,” “House,” and “How I Met Your Mother.” I don’t watch those religiously but I like them well enough. So what shows are you looking forward to? (Just don’t tell me “Dancing With The Stars” or “Survivor” — you know how I feel about reality TV )

Laptop Lust

I’m going to need a new laptop pretty soon I think. Mine was struck with a nasty virus last spring and despite being wiped clean, it’s just never been the same. I’ve been looking online at various models trying to figure out which is the best one for me. Though, with all new new models shipping with the Vista OS, which is a huge memory hog. I’ll need to upgrade and purchase extra IBM memory so my PC isn’t freezing up because the system resources are all in use. Hmm… I think I’ll just keep plugging along until the holidays and hope I can get a good deal then.

Broadway Lights

I think this might be the first year in like 6 years that I don’t go into New York City to catch a play. Of course, with the boys it’s not as easy as it used to me. Now there is babysitting that has to be arranged, and we live a little further away so it’s not just a 30-minute trainride. We’ve seen some great shows - Cabaret, Chicago, The Producers, The Lion King… one year Drew’s mom gave us Wicked tickets for Christmas so we saw that as well, plus several others. I still would like to see Avenue Q and Spring Awakening, so hopefully I can get around to those soon. I just love going into the city for plays!

Slow Cooker to the Rescue!

If you’re anything like me, getting dinner to the table can be a scramble if I’m not well-prepared. Now that Jake is in school all day, you’d think that it would be easier, right? For some reason it isn’t. He gets home around 3:45, and then we usually play outside a bit. We come in and I go through his backpack and check out any papers, and then it’s dinnertime. I’ve been trying to rely on my Crock Pot at least once a week to save my skin.

Family Fun magazine has quite a few slow cooker recipes on their site. I think I’m going to give a couple of these a try.  The Mu Shu chicken wraps sound really yummy. The Chili Verde sounds really different, too. I’ve never made a chili with pork before; I might have to give that a try. Mmm, and the taco soup, too!

Traffic Woes.

Why is it that whenever you are really in a rush to get somewhere, a van with a big ladder rack pulls out in front of you doing all of 25MPH in a 45MPH zone? Ugh… this was just one of those days I couldn’t catch a break. I got stuck in traffic because of an accident. Then the exit I usually get off on was closed off (without warning!) and ended up completely lost because I was not familiar with the area around the next exit. Just not a good driving day. Hopefully my evening commute will be much less eventful!

Just over a month to go

Until my brother’s wedding, that is! He’s getting married in early November and I’m pretty excited about it. I’m really happy because I found out that my grandmother is coming, too. She’s in a nursing home and it’s not always easy to get her out because she can’t use her legs. She’s diabetic and the disease has really affected her legs. Years ago she had her medical supplies delivered to her house, but these days she needs a lot more help. But I’m so thrilled that she’ll be there to share his day. Getting her to come to my wedding six years ago took some convincing, and she was in better health then. I know it will mean a lot to have her there.

Pimp My Truck! Or not.

I live in a pretty rural area. As such, there are plenty of pick-up trucks around. A lot are pretty beat up - they are more for utility than looks. Trust me, these guys aren’t shopping for truck accessories to show off their F-10 But really, the numbers of nasty, rusted out vehicles I’ve been seeing lately is kind of out of hand. When I was at the Walmart the other day, there was one truck that seriously looked like it might dissintigrate if you touched it. I know that not everyone can afford a new vehicle, but come on! These things are dangerous. I wish the owners would glance through the Penny Saver and find something a little more reliable, and a little less scary to other drivers!

Perfect weather!

This was an absolutely beautiful weekend! My friend and her two kids came down on Saturday and we had a great time. She was telling me about this awesome handcrafted broom she bought at the Shaker village. It was pretty pricey, but like she said - when she thinks about all the money her husband spends on Golf Equipment, she deserves a little treat too! It was great spending time with her and her two adorable children. We went to college together and it is crazy to look at the four kids and realize that they’re ours, especially when we think about all the crazy times we had!

Meal Planning, Simplified

A while back, Drew and I were watching TV (might have been the Food Network), and there was a story about this chain of… I guess you’d say stores, where you sign up, you head over there for two hours, and you make several nights’ worth of meals to take home and stash in your freezer. I was wow’ed by this. Brilliant! Everyone wants to eat healthy, home-cooked meals, but everyone (myself included, and I love to cook), complains about the time. Back in the days before kids it was nothing to spend lots of time on a meal. But my young boys have not yet learned the art of being patient.

So here I am at work, looking through one of those coupon books that get mailed on a monthly basis, and I see a coupon for a company called Let’s Dish. The name rang a bell, and maybe it’s not the exact same store in the story, but the concept is totally the same! I was excited about this mostly because I’d been dying to know how much something like this costs. It had to be quite expensive because it’s such a convenience. I was wrong. To prepare 8 meals (6 servings each), the cost is $175. I probably spend around $120 during my “big” grocery shop during the week, so in all reality, this is not all that much more, especially when you consider that you don’t have to spend time doing any of the prepwork. I have to say that I find this really compelling. If I decide to give it a try, you can bet that I’ll let you know all about it!

Crazy Things

When I was driving to work this morning, I heard a radio commercial for a certain search engine. The narrator and his friend had been discussing whether or not racing bar stools was for real. They popped the phrase into the search engine and voila! They discovered it was. So I had to look for myself, and sure enough it is! But it’s not like people are scooting around their local pub. These are motorized bar stools. Bar stool go-karts if you will. If you have the time, you really should look it up. They are nothing short of amusing, and who knows? Maybe you’ll find a new hobby!