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Just making a quick announcement - Scrapbook Supply CLOSEOUT sale at ScrapCandy.com - just use the code FIFTYOFF now thru Sunday to receive 50% off your ENTIRE ORDER! (shipping not included).
I've had a few emails letting me know that some shoppers are having trouble getting the code to "take" when paying with Paypal. It seems that you have to enter the code twice, the 2nd time is after you are redirected back to ScrapCandy. But don't worry - if you have any trouble, go ahead and place your order and I'll refund you the discounted amount back as I ship your order (as long as your order is placed by midnight on 3/29/09).
Welcome to HappyDaisyAZ
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Monday, March 23, 2009
Win Free Coffee for a YEAR!
Who wouldn't love 2 lbs. of tasty Dunkin Donuts coffee delivered each month for a year? If you'd like to enter to win, go to the Dunkin Donuts Free Coffee for a Year Contest entry form.
Friday, March 20, 2009
Friday Fun Shopping Spree!
Yeah! It's that time again! Thanks to another wonderful sponsor, we have another WONDERFUL giveaway to announce!!
Deborah and Laura at Flights of Whimzy are donating a $15.00 Shopping Spree to a lucky Happy Daisy AZ follower! And their store??? Oh my gosh - wait till you see the cuteness they have! Also - this amazing gift certificate is good towards any Needle Felted Art, Felting Supplies and Instructional Kits as seen on their site!
Here are the rules to enter this giveaway!
1. In order to receive an entry you just need to be a follower of this blog (don't worry - it's not a sheep like follower, it's a friend like follower (and it might just help you win something really cool!) - it's over on the top of the right hand sidebar - you just click on "Follow this blog" and voila! you're a follower of HappyDaisyAZ and you're automatically entered in this giveaway and all future giveaways! If you're already a follower, then don't sweat it - you've got one entry already!
You do have to at least be a follower to be entered to win. The other options are for extra entries.
2. Once you become a follower, you can receive a second entry for spreading the word via a blog post on your own blog. You just need to let your readers know about this giveaway and include a link back to this HappyDaisyAZ blog post. Then just come back to the comment section and let me know once you posted a blog entry so I can come by and visit your blog!
3. You can also receive an additional entry by Tweeting (on Twitter, of course) about this giveaway. A link, either to the giveaway post specifically OR to www.HappyDaisyAZ.com MUST be included in your Tweet. Then come back and let us know in the comment section that you Tweeted with a link to your tweet.
As always, I love receiving and reading your comments. So if you get a chance, please let me know you were here! This giveaway contest starts NOW and will end when I pick a winner on Tuesday, March 24th.
Thanks for stopping by and good luck! Oh and if someone doesn't snatch up that cute little chick at the top, I'm so stopping by Flights of Whimzy to buy him!
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
And the $25.00 Gift Certificate Goes To.....
hear the drum roll????
JeLowe!!!!! - You are the winner of the $25.00 Gift Certificate from two chicks designs!!!
Click HERE to go directly to JeLowe's awesome blog! Her experiments in all things crafty are quite inspiring. She is the girl I want to be if only I had any sort of drive, follow-thru, or creativity!
Thank you very much to our sponsor and the chicks behind Two Chicks Designs. You ladies rock and so do your shirts! I am so very grateful for your generous donation for this giveaway.
If anyone is looking for a great way to tell the world how crafty they are or if you need the perfect gift for a hobby loving friend, make sure to stop by Two Chicks Designs!
JeLowe - please contact me at Tracy@ScrapCandy.com :)
It can be taught
After reading your comments about my local JoAnn Fabrics store experience compared to other JoAnn Fabric's experiences, (and unfortunately they don't sound all that different) I was thinking about customer service (yes, again - it's important, dammit, although at times I feel like I'm one of the few thinking this!) or in most cases - the utter lack of it. Not necessarily just JoAnn Fabrics, but any store where the public brings themselves to shop. What in the world is so freaking hard about training your employees to do things the correct way? And there's really no gray areas here - there's the correct way and the wrong way. I really don't believe it is that hard to find someone with a brain who can understand basic direction and follow thru on that direction.
I used to work for JoAnn Fabrics as an employee in their fabric store (this is back when it was actually a fabric store and not so much of the dollar store crap that they love to jam down the middle of every aisle now). It was a great job. Left on great terms with everyone at my store and went back often after quitting. Only left because I needed a full time job, with full time pay and benefits. I used to seriously stalk the manager starting on or around the day after the strip mall was built and the "open" sign was in the window. She told me to come back and fill out an application as soon as I turned 16. My birthday rolled around and I was in the store soon after that. My application was approved and I was hired within the week.
Now, looking back, I can clearly see what a gem the manager of that store was. I hope they were paying her well. I have a feeling it was slightly more than the $3.35 an hour they were paying me. And don't I feel old now (but seriously, I'm 26 in my head!). The minimum wage really was $3.35 -- and best of all, I was completely happy to have it - that and a sweet 15% off of all the fabric that paycheck could cover.
Back to the manager, I've since forgotten what her name was, but I do remember she was from Huntsville, Alabama cause the movie Space Camp had just come out and took place in Huntsville, AL! And, no, that had nothing to do with this post, but was to show my mom that I hade not killed off all the brain cells! :)
Anyhoo - this manager, was awesome. (By the way, she was not a fluke, because I've had a retail job since that first one and there was another woman manager who taught us the same basic/common sense sort of stuff.) She had very clear instructions about exactly how things would be done. They are only common sense, but unfortunately when you're in stores these days it's painfully obvious that common sense has left the building. Here were some of her rules mixed in with today's observances:
1. When a customer walks in the door, stop what you are doing to say hello and ask if they need any help. If you're already with a customer, you can still greet them. We had a rather large theft problem at one time at our store, so greeting people was our way of letting them know that we knew they were there - that and the obnoxious bell on the front door!
2. When there was no one in the store, we could have our normal conversations with each other as we did the other work that needed to be done, but the minute a customer walked in we stopped our personal conversations immediately. Now, whenever I go in a store, it bugs the crap out of me when I have to listen to two twits and their not-so-witty-banter as they scream at each other across a store about what they did last night and who they caught their boyfriend with, blah, blah, blah. Totally unprofessional, not to mention moronic.
3. Cell phones were a non issue when I worked retail in 1986, but they are an issue now. I do not want my transaction interrupted so you can talk to your friends while you are ringing me up. You do not pay enough attention on your best day, much less when you have a phone near your ear. One girl actually stopped ringing me up at the grocery store so she could answer a text she just received. Keep your cell phone in the back of the store with your purse, not in your pocket. You are not that important and the calls/texts you will be getting during your 4 hour shift are not that important either - trust me on this.
4. Dress like a human. Look professional. Of course, this means whatever is appropriate for the environment you are working in, but no one wants to see any part of your butt and if you have to hold on to the back of your pants to bend over, either your pants are too low or your shirt is too short! Actually the manager-type person at my local JoAnn fabrics looked like she was wearing her pajamas a month or so ago. Messed up hair, sweat pants, non-matching sweat shirt and shoes that could have easily been slippers. EWE! I have a tattoo also, but I do not want to see your ripped off sleeveless shirted arm full of skulls and naked women. I also do not want to look at your face/nose/ear/eyebrow/lip and tongue full of earrings. Go be an individual on your own time, not at work.
5. Stop smacking your gum around and put down your greasy fast food (and wipe your hands off!) before you touch my stuff. That happened at the scrapbook store - greasy fingerprints on each and every single sheet of paper she touched as she rang it up.
6. When I worked for the fabric store, we never had full carts of merchandise just sitting in the aisles. We put it away as it came in. Yesterday, I had to dig (to get the good stuff of course) thru a towering cart full of fabric still in the plastic bags. Hard to sell this way and it was parked directly in front of 2/3 of the thread display. That's was super convenient for the dozen or so people trying to get anywhere near the thread. At this particular store carts in many aisles of unstocked merchandise is the complete norm, not a sign of a busy day.
7. Know and understand your merchant agreements. This goes for the cashiers at JoAnn's and Kohls especially. I am paying with a Visa card. Someone who trained you should have explained to you Visa's take on forcing me to show you my id when making a purchase using my trusty Visa card. Here's what Visa says (from their Rules for Merchants)... Visa believes merchants should not ask for ID as part of their regular card acceptance procedures therefore, merchants cannot refuse to complete a purchase transaction because a cardholder refuses to provide ID. It's laughable that I can go to Best Buy and drop far more than the 1/2 yard of material is going to cost, but you think it is your god given right to scrutinize my driver's license for some fabric and a spool of thread.
7b. By the way, if you ever want to report a retailer to Visa for this or other violations you can contact them here:
Visa Phone Number: 1-800-VISA-911
(International: 1-410-581-9994)
Or call the number on the back of your card
Mailing Address: Visa U.S.A. Inc.
P.O. Box 194607
San Francisco, California 94119-4607
Online: Your card issuer's website may let you send them complaints about merchant violations and start a dispute if your were charged a fee to use your card.
I have heard that Visa takes these violations seriously and will contact the merchant.
8. Do not talk about, bitch about or make fun of customers that have just left while other customers are still in the store. You never know who you are talking in front of and it's very unprofessional.
9. This one might be my biggest freaking pet peeve of all. After I have paid and you are handing me the receipt, we should now both be hearing you saying "Thank you". It's not freaking rocket science. I paid, I supported your store, I probably had to endure your weekend horror story and now I'm leaving, this is the part where you thank me for being a customer of your employer so that I feel appreciated and might possibly come back again to spend more money that goes towards paying your ungrateful ass. I have just said thank you to you because you handed me a receipt and my bag. The very least you can do is say thank you to me for shopping in your store.
Although, sadly somewhat more expected, the Manager at the Dollar General yesterday (the villagers begged me to take them into the filthy hole as we were right next to it) had the reply of "yeah" and an eye roll when I said thank you as he handed me the receipt. Yeah?? What the hell kind of response is "yeah"? Ugh.
See - customer service is basically dead and buried, but the good news is that it can be taught and learned. And for the record, I can be hired to teach it. :)
I used to work for JoAnn Fabrics as an employee in their fabric store (this is back when it was actually a fabric store and not so much of the dollar store crap that they love to jam down the middle of every aisle now). It was a great job. Left on great terms with everyone at my store and went back often after quitting. Only left because I needed a full time job, with full time pay and benefits. I used to seriously stalk the manager starting on or around the day after the strip mall was built and the "open" sign was in the window. She told me to come back and fill out an application as soon as I turned 16. My birthday rolled around and I was in the store soon after that. My application was approved and I was hired within the week.
Now, looking back, I can clearly see what a gem the manager of that store was. I hope they were paying her well. I have a feeling it was slightly more than the $3.35 an hour they were paying me. And don't I feel old now (but seriously, I'm 26 in my head!). The minimum wage really was $3.35 -- and best of all, I was completely happy to have it - that and a sweet 15% off of all the fabric that paycheck could cover.
Back to the manager, I've since forgotten what her name was, but I do remember she was from Huntsville, Alabama cause the movie Space Camp had just come out and took place in Huntsville, AL! And, no, that had nothing to do with this post, but was to show my mom that I hade not killed off all the brain cells! :)
Anyhoo - this manager, was awesome. (By the way, she was not a fluke, because I've had a retail job since that first one and there was another woman manager who taught us the same basic/common sense sort of stuff.) She had very clear instructions about exactly how things would be done. They are only common sense, but unfortunately when you're in stores these days it's painfully obvious that common sense has left the building. Here were some of her rules mixed in with today's observances:
1. When a customer walks in the door, stop what you are doing to say hello and ask if they need any help. If you're already with a customer, you can still greet them. We had a rather large theft problem at one time at our store, so greeting people was our way of letting them know that we knew they were there - that and the obnoxious bell on the front door!
2. When there was no one in the store, we could have our normal conversations with each other as we did the other work that needed to be done, but the minute a customer walked in we stopped our personal conversations immediately. Now, whenever I go in a store, it bugs the crap out of me when I have to listen to two twits and their not-so-witty-banter as they scream at each other across a store about what they did last night and who they caught their boyfriend with, blah, blah, blah. Totally unprofessional, not to mention moronic.
3. Cell phones were a non issue when I worked retail in 1986, but they are an issue now. I do not want my transaction interrupted so you can talk to your friends while you are ringing me up. You do not pay enough attention on your best day, much less when you have a phone near your ear. One girl actually stopped ringing me up at the grocery store so she could answer a text she just received. Keep your cell phone in the back of the store with your purse, not in your pocket. You are not that important and the calls/texts you will be getting during your 4 hour shift are not that important either - trust me on this.
4. Dress like a human. Look professional. Of course, this means whatever is appropriate for the environment you are working in, but no one wants to see any part of your butt and if you have to hold on to the back of your pants to bend over, either your pants are too low or your shirt is too short! Actually the manager-type person at my local JoAnn fabrics looked like she was wearing her pajamas a month or so ago. Messed up hair, sweat pants, non-matching sweat shirt and shoes that could have easily been slippers. EWE! I have a tattoo also, but I do not want to see your ripped off sleeveless shirted arm full of skulls and naked women. I also do not want to look at your face/nose/ear/eyebrow/lip and tongue full of earrings. Go be an individual on your own time, not at work.
5. Stop smacking your gum around and put down your greasy fast food (and wipe your hands off!) before you touch my stuff. That happened at the scrapbook store - greasy fingerprints on each and every single sheet of paper she touched as she rang it up.
6. When I worked for the fabric store, we never had full carts of merchandise just sitting in the aisles. We put it away as it came in. Yesterday, I had to dig (to get the good stuff of course) thru a towering cart full of fabric still in the plastic bags. Hard to sell this way and it was parked directly in front of 2/3 of the thread display. That's was super convenient for the dozen or so people trying to get anywhere near the thread. At this particular store carts in many aisles of unstocked merchandise is the complete norm, not a sign of a busy day.
7. Know and understand your merchant agreements. This goes for the cashiers at JoAnn's and Kohls especially. I am paying with a Visa card. Someone who trained you should have explained to you Visa's take on forcing me to show you my id when making a purchase using my trusty Visa card. Here's what Visa says (from their Rules for Merchants)... Visa believes merchants should not ask for ID as part of their regular card acceptance procedures therefore, merchants cannot refuse to complete a purchase transaction because a cardholder refuses to provide ID. It's laughable that I can go to Best Buy and drop far more than the 1/2 yard of material is going to cost, but you think it is your god given right to scrutinize my driver's license for some fabric and a spool of thread.
7b. By the way, if you ever want to report a retailer to Visa for this or other violations you can contact them here:
Visa Phone Number: 1-800-VISA-911
(International: 1-410-581-9994)
Or call the number on the back of your card
Mailing Address: Visa U.S.A. Inc.
P.O. Box 194607
San Francisco, California 94119-4607
Online: Your card issuer's website may let you send them complaints about merchant violations and start a dispute if your were charged a fee to use your card.
I have heard that Visa takes these violations seriously and will contact the merchant.
8. Do not talk about, bitch about or make fun of customers that have just left while other customers are still in the store. You never know who you are talking in front of and it's very unprofessional.
9. This one might be my biggest freaking pet peeve of all. After I have paid and you are handing me the receipt, we should now both be hearing you saying "Thank you". It's not freaking rocket science. I paid, I supported your store, I probably had to endure your weekend horror story and now I'm leaving, this is the part where you thank me for being a customer of your employer so that I feel appreciated and might possibly come back again to spend more money that goes towards paying your ungrateful ass. I have just said thank you to you because you handed me a receipt and my bag. The very least you can do is say thank you to me for shopping in your store.
Although, sadly somewhat more expected, the Manager at the Dollar General yesterday (the villagers begged me to take them into the filthy hole as we were right next to it) had the reply of "yeah" and an eye roll when I said thank you as he handed me the receipt. Yeah?? What the hell kind of response is "yeah"? Ugh.
See - customer service is basically dead and buried, but the good news is that it can be taught and learned. And for the record, I can be hired to teach it. :)
Monday, March 16, 2009
Painful but worth it
Beyond painful to go to my closest JoAnn Fabrics, where it's all about aisles filled with crap, an emergency exit which is usually blocked with carts of towering clearanced fabric, lines that snake thru the store and robot-like employees that seem dead set against ever saying thank you as you check out BUT (this time) worth it to walk away with a bag full of lovelyness that is new fabric. If the villagers weren't with me (it's spring break here) I could have done a lot more damage than the fifty bucks worth that I did!
Is it wrong to buy fabric when you don't have a plan? Is it wrong to want to roll around in your new fabric? Ok, not that I didn't have any plan, I do have a vague-ishy plan (hopefully I'll have a picture to show you tomorrow afternoon), but see the paisley fabric towards the bottom of the pile? That I had no plan for - but you never know when you might come up with that great idea where nothing but paisley with do so you better get 3 yards, right? Paisley's my deal, so if I see a paisley this awesome I will leaving with 3 yards of it!!!
Would it be wrong to use neatly folded piles of newly purchased fabric as home decor? I know what I should be doing with it, but I don't think I can bring myself to wash it and cut into it. It's just. too. pretty. Crap - now it's gonna be like scrapbook paper, buy two sheets to use and 1 just to have. sigh...
Oh and for my inner clown? Had to have this! Again - I have something that resembles a plan - we'll see how that works out in real life! Cause again - if this never even got cut into - I'd be happy to look at it's little pile of goodness just as it is! And this photo does not even do it's complete and utter bright-ness justice!
Oh and something funny the 16 year old at the cutting counter told the guy buying velcro in front of me when he asked if it's always this busy there (see comment above about line snaking thru store)?? I had just laughed and said, "Oh, yeah, unfortunately it's always like this as they are chronically understaffed". I could hear the snowbird amen! choir behind me as I said it. So the girl who is working (small but squeeky voice and pony tail off to the side with stiff corkscrew curls coming down - no joke) gets all offended and says that no, it most certainly is not always like this - only when it get's busy. She suggested that we are just shopping during the "busy times" - ya think? She listed the times when we should try shopping instead and it went like this:
1. come early in the morning (yeah, because this store opens at the oh so *early* hour of like 10:00 a.m.)
2. come late at night - right before it closes (and in this town that probably translates to right before dinner time)
3. do not come in on any sales days
4. do not come in during the middle of the day (I was there at 1:16)
Helpful, huh?
Mealtime Monday - Pasta Salad
Made this tonight and it was delish! Great substitute for those boring deli potato & macaroni salads!
Ingredients:
1 (16 ounce) package fusili (spiral) pasta
3 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 pound provolone cheese, cubed
1/2 pound salami, cubed
1/4 pound sliced pepperoni, cut in half
1 large green bell pepper, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 (10 ounce) can black olives, drained
1 (4 ounce) jar pimentos, drained
1 (8 ounce) bottle Italian salad dressing
(I also threw in a jar of marinated artichoke hearts)
1 (16 ounce) package fusili (spiral) pasta
3 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 pound provolone cheese, cubed
1/2 pound salami, cubed
1/4 pound sliced pepperoni, cut in half
1 large green bell pepper, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 (10 ounce) can black olives, drained
1 (4 ounce) jar pimentos, drained
1 (8 ounce) bottle Italian salad dressing
(I also threw in a jar of marinated artichoke hearts)
Directions:
1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta, and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente. Drain, and rinse with cold water.
2. In a large bowl, combine pasta with tomatoes, cheese, salami, pepperoni, green pepper, olives, and pimentos. Pour in salad dressing, and toss to coat.
--------------------------------
To view this recipe's nutrition facts, read reviews, change the number of servings, or create a personal shopping list, visit:
http://shop.safeway.com/superstore/corpdlink.asp?c=0&pn=recipe&b=1&mu=http://safeway.allrecipes.com/Recipe/recipe.aspx?nprid=52734
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Copyright 2005 Allrecipes.com
1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta, and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente. Drain, and rinse with cold water.
2. In a large bowl, combine pasta with tomatoes, cheese, salami, pepperoni, green pepper, olives, and pimentos. Pour in salad dressing, and toss to coat.
--------------------------------
To view this recipe's nutrition facts, read reviews, change the number of servings, or create a personal shopping list, visit:
http://shop.safeway.com/superstore/corpdlink.asp?c=0&pn=recipe&b=1&mu=http://safeway.allrecipes.com/Recipe/recipe.aspx?nprid=52734
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Copyright 2005 Allrecipes.com
Friday, March 13, 2009
FRIDAY FUN GIVEAWAY TIME!!! - $25 Gift Certificate
Oh, wonderful friends - this is a FUN one! I am so pleased to announced this week's giveaway!!!
The generous Chicks from two chicks designs - Fashion for Your Passion have kindly offered to donate a generous $25.00 Gift Certificate to their store, two chicks designs for a lucky HappyDaisyAZ follower. I mean, what don't you need from this store? They have adorable shirts (even plus sizes!) sweatshirts and other gifts with witty hobby-related sayings on them. Super fun!
I love the shirt that says, "I Take digital photos which I never print & plan pages that I never complete". That is SO become my way of scrapbooking lately! Heck - that's my way of doing (or not doing as the case may be) pretty much whatever I can get away with!
Love this one too!Ok, so there are a ton of them I love, but in an effort to actually get this post written and posted, I'll stop now so you can go look for yourself.
Here are the rules to enter this giveaway!1. In order to receive an entry you just need to be a follower of this blog (don't worry - it's not a sheep like follower, it's a friend like follower (and it might just help you win something really cool!) - it's over on the top of the right hand sidebar - you just click on "Follow this blog" and viola! you're a follower of HappyDaisyAZ and your automatically entered in this giveaway and all future giveaways! If you're already a follower, then don't sweat it - you've got one entry already!
You do have to at least be a follower to be entered to win. The other options are for extra entries.
2. Once you become a follower, you can receive a second entry for spreading the word via a blog post on your own blog. You just need to let your readers know about this giveaway and include a link back to this HappyDaisyAZ blog post. Then just come back to the comment section and let me know once you posted a blog entry so I can come by and visit your blog!
3. You can also receive an additional entry by Tweeting (on Twitter, of course) about this giveaway. A link, either to the giveaway post specifically OR to www.HappyDaisyAZ.com MUST be included in your Tweet. You can come back and let us know in the comment section that you Tweeted if you'd like to, but at the end of the contest, we will do a Twitter search to find all the comments and add those to the other entries before picking a winner.
As always, I love receiving and reading all of your commenty-goodness. So if you get a chance, please let me know you were here! This giveaway contest starts NOW and will end when I pick a winner on Tuesday, March 17th - St. Patrick's Day!
Thursday, March 12, 2009
You don't multi-task as well as you think you do
I knew it wouldn't take long for my first crazed rant Think About It Thursday post to come to me.
Driving the villagers to school this morning, I turn down a street near my house and wonder why there is a car sitting in the middle of the street? Ok, the driver must have just pulled out of their driveway? I'll just stop and wait for you to straighten out and continue on your way. I stop and wait. Oh, I see - you needed this time right now to get on the phone and chat? Gotcha. Ok, you see me now, and you're gonna move, right? You're moving - great! Oh, but since you have that pesky cell phone in one hand and that piece of paper in the other hand, this is gonna take a little longer. Oh no - don't even think to put one of those things down and free up a hand to turn the wheel with. Oh sweetie - a 7 point turn in the middle of the street is just FINE - don't worry about it.
Ok, now we've made it to the stop sign (10 yards from where you started). Yes, we could have made a stop and then gone on our merry way, but noooo - you need a little more time to think during this oh so important call. You seem startled when I beep to remind you that we've both been sitting at this stop sign for too long. And again this turn is gonna take a little more effort since you are basically using your knee to steer at this point, cause you still can't part with that sheet of paper in your right hand or the cell phone in your left.
So let me just say it here and this pretty much goes for each and every person I see driving while having all those ever so important cell phone conversations, shaving, reading the newspaper, texting, eating or putting on their makeup - you do NOT multi-task as well as you think you do. You most likely really suck at this sort of multi-tasking.
I'm all for multi-tasking. I read a book while watching a movie. I bring a magazine to the park to watch the kids play. I check my emails while waiting for school to let out. Driving is not one of those tasks that should only get a portion of your attention. Driving, unless done while you are completely alone in the desert, deserves your full attention. You are quite possibly the only one around who does not realize the amount of times you've crossed into the other lane, dropped your speed by 10 mph, or blown thru a stop sign.
Please do yourself and everyone around you a favor - hang up the phone, put down the newspaper and shave at home in the bathroom. - before you leave for work!
What do you think?
What do you think?
Think About It Thursday
Introducing…
We have Mealtime Mondays for recipe sharing, WDW Wednesdays for Disney talk and Friday Fun Giveaway Days. And now we present….
Think About It Thursday
Thursdays will now be dedicated to those odds & ends thoughts. The ideas, vents and “what if?” moments that pop into your head at random times thought the day. When you say to yourself, “Self, you should write a blog post about that!”.
Sometimes the thoughts are funny, sometimes they might be deep and sometimes it’s just because I often feel like I’m surrounded by morons. Take it for what it’s worth – hey, I don’t drink anymore and I need to get it out somehow! And, of course feel free to leave me a comment with your thoughts on my thoughts or your thoughts on your thoughts – hmmm, that last week of Dr. Seuss nonsense has obviously gotten to me!
We have Mealtime Mondays for recipe sharing, WDW Wednesdays for Disney talk and Friday Fun Giveaway Days. And now we present….
Think About It Thursday
Thursdays will now be dedicated to those odds & ends thoughts. The ideas, vents and “what if?” moments that pop into your head at random times thought the day. When you say to yourself, “Self, you should write a blog post about that!”.
Sometimes the thoughts are funny, sometimes they might be deep and sometimes it’s just because I often feel like I’m surrounded by morons. Take it for what it’s worth – hey, I don’t drink anymore and I need to get it out somehow! And, of course feel free to leave me a comment with your thoughts on my thoughts or your thoughts on your thoughts – hmmm, that last week of Dr. Seuss nonsense has obviously gotten to me!
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
WDW Wednesday - Where will you be sleeping? - Part II
Ok, as promised, here is Part II – Perks for Guests of Disney Resorts and more about Resort categories.
Perk #1 Complimentary Airport Pick Up and Drop Off - It begins before you even arrive at your hometown airport. From the moment you put the super-duper-extra-special-reserved-for-Resort-Guests-only-Magical-Express-Luggage-Tag onto your suitcase your vacation begins and you have not a care in the world.
You check your luggage as you normally would at the ticket counter or with the skycap. After that you say adios to 976 things you’ll never wear/use/carry/eat while at WDW and the next time you see them will be soon after you check into your Disney Resort room. It’s really that easy if you choose the complimentary Magical Express transportation option as part of your Disney reservations. When you arrive in the Orlando Airport (MCO) there’s no need for you to go to Baggage Claim like an off-property-staying commoner (well, technically you do have to still go to the baggage claim area as that’s where the Magical Express bus picks you up), but you don’t have to stand there fighting the crowds wondering if that was your black Samsonite that just whizzed by.
Perk #2 See #1 but think of it in reverse - As you leave your Disney Resort on your day of check out (a sad, sad day by the way – here’s a tip to make it thru – do not, under any circumstance make eye contact with the guests who are just arriving and about to check in), make sure the tags are once again on your suitcase. Leave them with the Magical Express staff and board the bus. They will take care of getting your bags onto the flight you’ll be on. How nice not to have to lug everything around with you because at that point, after 5 or 7 or 10 days in the *Magic* you are fried – both physically and mentally. The less you have to be responsible for, the better – trust me!
Perk #3 Extended Theme Park Hours - On certain days the parks open a little earlier or stay open a little later as a special perk for Disney Resort guests. Now Disney considers this a perk, but I’m not so convinced. You are sharing this perk with a million or so other people also staying at a Disney Resort. If everyone flocks to the same park with the Early Entry hours, there’s gonna be one long-a$$ line to get in (and don’t even get me started on the moronic “security” checkpoint lines). So take that one with a grain of salt. I think the real value in EE mornings lies in going to one of the parks not on the list to open early and possibly enjoy a slightly less crowded entry.
Perk #4 Complimentary Transportation throughout Walt Disney World Resort – my favorite reason to stay on property! Specifically – the monorail. My favorite words to hear at the beginning of a Magical Disney Day? “Please stand clear of the doors - por favor mantenganse alejado de las puertas”. That and “Welcome aboard Disney’s highway in the sky”. Oh, puts a smile on my face just knowing I’ll be hearing that every day for 10 days, in a mere 6 months, 3 weeks and 6 days now! J Staying at a Disney resort leaves plenty of *free* (free with purchase of a multi-thousand dollar vacation, of course!) transportation options at your disposal. Different resorts offer various methods of transportation. Three resorts are on the monorail line – The Contemporary, The Grand Floridian and The Polynesian. Maybe one day when Disney can spare the pocket change, they will spend a little $ and incorporate The Wilderness Lodge in the monorail loop and make it a little more accessible! Several other resorts have bus and/or boat and/or walkways that will take you to the Ticket and Transportation Center or in some cases directly to the parks.
Of course the individual resorts also all have other perks for their guests too numerous too mention. Nightly water pagents, character meet & greets, kid stations, on-site babysitting services, package delivery from the parks, etc.
There are also other ways to shave off some money from your sleeping dollars.
1) Disney has different categories of resorts – Value, Moderate, Deluxe and Deluxe Villas. These categories reflect varying price points, not to be confused with the Disney rate “seasons” of Value, Regular and Peak
2) Disney sometimes offers deals, coupon codes and discounts tohelp them make more money and fill up as many rooms as possible make your stay more affordable.
VALUE
If you are the sort of person who doesn’t see a lot of value in paying more for a “resort setting” because “after all, you’re only going to be asleep when you’re there” (insert my own personal shudder every single time I hear someone say this) then the Value category might be a good fit. Unfortunately you also have to like large crowds, long lines at the food court, having no other dining options other than said food court, long lines for bus transportation and a motel feel to your stay. I really know how to sell it, don’t I? The resorts in this category are:
* Pop Century
* All-Star Sports
* All-Star Music
* All-Star Movies
* Fort Wilderness Campground Sites and RV Sites (I wasn’t going to do the shudder again, but I can’t help myself.)
MODERATE
If you’d like a little more of a resort-like feel to your stay, but still want to keep expenses slightly under control (by Disney’s standards of course, because they are nothing like under-control expenses in real life) you might want to choose a resort in the Moderate category. Great themes, fun pools, beautiful grounds and in some cases more than just bus transportation to the parks. The following resorts are considered to fall in the moderate group.
* The Cabins at Fort Wilderness (FW)
* Port Orleans – French Quarter (PORFQ)
* Port Orleans – Riverside (POR)
* Coronado Springs (CS)
* Caribbean Beach Resort (CBR)
DELUXE
If you really want to feel pampered and on a relaxing vacation, my personal recommendation would be a Deluxe level resort. Everything at these resorts seems to be at a step up from anywhere else. The service, the dining choices, the transportation choices, the recreation options, perks, etc. But a warning – once you stay at this level resort it will be very hard to ever not stay in a Disney Deluxe Resort. You will be spoiling yourself with this choice – especially if you choose a deluxe resort serviced by the monorail. Want to add upgrade to another dangerously opulent choice? Concierge Level – now known as Club Level. Hard to ever go backwards down the luxury ladder on some of these. Choose wisely dear readers – your future Disney funds will be greatly impacted by the choices you make today! The Deluxe Resorts are:
* Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa (GF) on mono line
* Disney’s Polynesian Resort (Poly) on mono line
* Disney’s Yacht Club Resort (YC)
* Disney’s BoardWalk Inn (BW)
* Disney’s Beach Club Resort (BC)
* Disney’s Contemporary Resort (Cont or CR) on mono line
* Disney’s Wilderness Lodge (WL)
* Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge (AKL)
DELUXE VILLAS - Part of the Disney Vacation Club
If you need a little more space than the average-sized- closet-turned-hotel-room, you might want to upgrade to the Vacation Club Villas. These resorts offer an atmosphere with the comforts and convenience of home, bedrooms, kitchens, etc. A hotel room with anything resembling a kitchen in it does not a vacation make if you ask me, but I hear these are very nice places.
* Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas – Jambo
* Bay Lake Tower at Disney’s Contemporary Resort
* Disney’s Beach Club Villas
* Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas – Kidani
* The Villas at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge
* Disney’s BoardWalk Villas
* Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa
* Disney’s Old Key West Resort
And – for what it’s worth, I never promised these Disney Tips and Tricks would be chock-full of unbiased travel info!
Perk #1 Complimentary Airport Pick Up and Drop Off - It begins before you even arrive at your hometown airport. From the moment you put the super-duper-extra-special-reserved-for-Resort-Guests-only-Magical-Express-Luggage-Tag onto your suitcase your vacation begins and you have not a care in the world.
You check your luggage as you normally would at the ticket counter or with the skycap. After that you say adios to 976 things you’ll never wear/use/carry/eat while at WDW and the next time you see them will be soon after you check into your Disney Resort room. It’s really that easy if you choose the complimentary Magical Express transportation option as part of your Disney reservations. When you arrive in the Orlando Airport (MCO) there’s no need for you to go to Baggage Claim like an off-property-staying commoner (well, technically you do have to still go to the baggage claim area as that’s where the Magical Express bus picks you up), but you don’t have to stand there fighting the crowds wondering if that was your black Samsonite that just whizzed by.
Perk #2 See #1 but think of it in reverse - As you leave your Disney Resort on your day of check out (a sad, sad day by the way – here’s a tip to make it thru – do not, under any circumstance make eye contact with the guests who are just arriving and about to check in), make sure the tags are once again on your suitcase. Leave them with the Magical Express staff and board the bus. They will take care of getting your bags onto the flight you’ll be on. How nice not to have to lug everything around with you because at that point, after 5 or 7 or 10 days in the *Magic* you are fried – both physically and mentally. The less you have to be responsible for, the better – trust me!
Perk #3 Extended Theme Park Hours - On certain days the parks open a little earlier or stay open a little later as a special perk for Disney Resort guests. Now Disney considers this a perk, but I’m not so convinced. You are sharing this perk with a million or so other people also staying at a Disney Resort. If everyone flocks to the same park with the Early Entry hours, there’s gonna be one long-a$$ line to get in (and don’t even get me started on the moronic “security” checkpoint lines). So take that one with a grain of salt. I think the real value in EE mornings lies in going to one of the parks not on the list to open early and possibly enjoy a slightly less crowded entry.
Perk #4 Complimentary Transportation throughout Walt Disney World Resort – my favorite reason to stay on property! Specifically – the monorail. My favorite words to hear at the beginning of a Magical Disney Day? “Please stand clear of the doors - por favor mantenganse alejado de las puertas”. That and “Welcome aboard Disney’s highway in the sky”. Oh, puts a smile on my face just knowing I’ll be hearing that every day for 10 days, in a mere 6 months, 3 weeks and 6 days now! J Staying at a Disney resort leaves plenty of *free* (free with purchase of a multi-thousand dollar vacation, of course!) transportation options at your disposal. Different resorts offer various methods of transportation. Three resorts are on the monorail line – The Contemporary, The Grand Floridian and The Polynesian. Maybe one day when Disney can spare the pocket change, they will spend a little $ and incorporate The Wilderness Lodge in the monorail loop and make it a little more accessible! Several other resorts have bus and/or boat and/or walkways that will take you to the Ticket and Transportation Center or in some cases directly to the parks.
Of course the individual resorts also all have other perks for their guests too numerous too mention. Nightly water pagents, character meet & greets, kid stations, on-site babysitting services, package delivery from the parks, etc.
There are also other ways to shave off some money from your sleeping dollars.
1) Disney has different categories of resorts – Value, Moderate, Deluxe and Deluxe Villas. These categories reflect varying price points, not to be confused with the Disney rate “seasons” of Value, Regular and Peak
2) Disney sometimes offers deals, coupon codes and discounts to
VALUE
If you are the sort of person who doesn’t see a lot of value in paying more for a “resort setting” because “after all, you’re only going to be asleep when you’re there” (insert my own personal shudder every single time I hear someone say this) then the Value category might be a good fit. Unfortunately you also have to like large crowds, long lines at the food court, having no other dining options other than said food court, long lines for bus transportation and a motel feel to your stay. I really know how to sell it, don’t I? The resorts in this category are:
* Pop Century
* All-Star Sports
* All-Star Music
* All-Star Movies
* Fort Wilderness Campground Sites and RV Sites (I wasn’t going to do the shudder again, but I can’t help myself.)
MODERATE
If you’d like a little more of a resort-like feel to your stay, but still want to keep expenses slightly under control (by Disney’s standards of course, because they are nothing like under-control expenses in real life) you might want to choose a resort in the Moderate category. Great themes, fun pools, beautiful grounds and in some cases more than just bus transportation to the parks. The following resorts are considered to fall in the moderate group.
* The Cabins at Fort Wilderness (FW)
* Port Orleans – French Quarter (PORFQ)
* Port Orleans – Riverside (POR)
* Coronado Springs (CS)
* Caribbean Beach Resort (CBR)
DELUXE
If you really want to feel pampered and on a relaxing vacation, my personal recommendation would be a Deluxe level resort. Everything at these resorts seems to be at a step up from anywhere else. The service, the dining choices, the transportation choices, the recreation options, perks, etc. But a warning – once you stay at this level resort it will be very hard to ever not stay in a Disney Deluxe Resort. You will be spoiling yourself with this choice – especially if you choose a deluxe resort serviced by the monorail. Want to add upgrade to another dangerously opulent choice? Concierge Level – now known as Club Level. Hard to ever go backwards down the luxury ladder on some of these. Choose wisely dear readers – your future Disney funds will be greatly impacted by the choices you make today! The Deluxe Resorts are:
* Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa (GF) on mono line
* Disney’s Polynesian Resort (Poly) on mono line
* Disney’s Yacht Club Resort (YC)
* Disney’s BoardWalk Inn (BW)
* Disney’s Beach Club Resort (BC)
* Disney’s Contemporary Resort (Cont or CR) on mono line
* Disney’s Wilderness Lodge (WL)
* Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge (AKL)
DELUXE VILLAS - Part of the Disney Vacation Club
If you need a little more space than the average-sized- closet-turned-hotel-room, you might want to upgrade to the Vacation Club Villas. These resorts offer an atmosphere with the comforts and convenience of home, bedrooms, kitchens, etc. A hotel room with anything resembling a kitchen in it does not a vacation make if you ask me, but I hear these are very nice places.
* Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas – Jambo
* Bay Lake Tower at Disney’s Contemporary Resort
* Disney’s Beach Club Villas
* Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas – Kidani
* The Villas at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge
* Disney’s BoardWalk Villas
* Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa
* Disney’s Old Key West Resort
And – for what it’s worth, I never promised these Disney Tips and Tricks would be chock-full of unbiased travel info!
WDW Wednesday - Where will you be sleeping? - Part 1
So you’ve decided when you want to go to Disney. You’re off to a great start!
Next you just need to decide where you want to stay while you’re there. There are a few schools of thought on this. They can be narrowed down to the following:
1) On property
2) The wrong choice
Kidding!!!
Obviously they are really:
1) On property
2) Off property
Next you just need to decide where you want to stay while you’re there. There are a few schools of thought on this. They can be narrowed down to the following:
1) On property
2) The wrong choice
Kidding!!!
Obviously they are really:
1) On property
2) Off property
Being the Disney freak/obsessed fan/snob/crazed lunatic who has spent far more than any reasonable human should on vacations, that I am, there is really only once choice for me. In order for my Disney trip to be all that it should be, I must, must, must sleep on Disney soil. If I can’t stay on property, I stay home - and trust me - I stay home a lot! Remember this post? I’m the one with the sign, “Poly or Bust” around my neck when thoughts of Disney vacations enter my head.
First let me say, this idea of staying off property as a bad idea does not lend itself to Disneyland vacationers. That’s a different story all together. I hear there are fantastic hotels/motels/b&b’s at Disneyland that are not owned or operated by Disney. There are only three Disney-owned resorts at Disneyland and a bazillion or so non-Disney-owned places of lodging – some will even put you closer to the glorious entrance gates than Disney’s own buildings. And while the Disney theme-ing is amazing at these three hotels, staying off property will not cause you to forgo sending your children to college due to financial hardship. Would I still rather stay at a Disney run resort at Disneyland, of course. I like to be immersed in the magic 24/7 – that’s just how I roll.
Alrighty – back to your Disney World Resort choices. Off property? Eh – really? why? To save a buck? If this is your reasoning, maybe wait another year – unless visiting the Disney parks is only a small part of what you’ll be doing on this vacation. Ok, seriously – if it really is to save money, that’s probably a pretty decent plan. I never said I was frugal when it comes to Disney. There are some beautiful resorts near the Disney property and some great deals to be had.
When I go to Disney, I GO to Disney. I don’t need a rental car because I never step foot of the Disney property. If you must stay off property at least think about a hotel that is as close to the parks as you can be – especially if you are travelling with children who might benefit from an afternoon nap or swim – and really who here wouldn’t benefit from an afternoon nap or swim? It’s also no accident that the pools are located within a few feet of a handy pool bar. There are some hotels, while not owned or operated by Disney, which are actually on Disney property. The Swan and Dolphin are two that come to mind. You are still right there, in the magic nightly but you might find these choices to save you some money without sacrificing the Disney Magic.
There is just something special about being *there* all the time. Disney knows how to do things right. You are their guest, not just a customer. They are there to serve and they do it well. I want to go to bed in the Magic and wake up in the Magic. I want my Rice Krispy Treats, Ice Cream Bars, Rainbow Colored Lollipops and Pancakes to all be in the glorious shape of Mickey's head. Plus, I can’t stay at a hotel where the gift shop is not calling my name to come buy over-priced Mickey & Minnie crap even when I’m not in one of the parks!
Plus there are puuuuuuurks for Disney Resort Guests. – Check back this afternoon for Part II containing Disney Resort Guest Perks and some more Disney Resort details!
Monday, March 9, 2009
Cha-CHING!
Yes, just like your mom always told you, saving your pennies really can add up! We've had a big plastic jar in our closet for almost two years. Kev. had some coins in various containers before that. Whenever he would empty his pockets at night, he'd throw the change into the container. The container was about 1/2 full and getting heavy. In an effort to clean out our closet for new baseboards, carpet and an organizing system I volunteered to take the change to a Coinstar machine. I had heard that if you choose the gift card option (stores are signed up on the program - depending on which location/machine you are using) Coinstar does not deduct any service fees from your transaction. If you choose the cash option they do deduct 8.9%.
Since I am waaaaay too lazy to sit around for the next 17 months and roll coins, I thought this would be a good option. I figured there had to be a few hundred dollars worth of coins in this beastly jar. So the small-ish villager and I headed out to our local grocery store with the jar-o-coins in tow.
I picked Lowes as the store to issue most of the e-certificate because we literally spend at least $300 at a Lowes or a Home Depot each and every weekend. That is not a joke and that is not an understatement or exaggeration - unfortunately. This weekend the Home Depot receipt read over $900.00. We have a few (that's an exaggeration!) home improvement projects/additions going on and most days it feels as if we are single-handedly keeping the economy in Arizona alive and well.
Ok, so after funnelling our coins -- all 5,892 of them into the machine I was able to leave with various store e-certificates for $498.23 - not too bad for about a 1/2 hours work and next weekends Lowes bill will be paid for with spare change!
Mealtime Monday - Broccoli Part II
Chicken and Three-Cheese Potato CasseroleI must be on a broccoli roll, but this one sounds good too - also from BettyCrocker.com
Rotisserie chicken and a boxed potato mix whip up into a delicious dinner complete with veggies
1 box (5 oz) Betty Crocker® three-cheese potato mix
4 slices (1 oz each) American cheese, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 cups chopped deli rotisserie chicken (from 2- to 2 1/2-lb chicken)
1 box (9 oz) Green Giant® frozen cut broccoli, thawed, drained
2 1/4 cups boiling water
1. Heat oven to 400°F. Spray 2-quart casserole with cooking spray. Place uncooked potatoes, cheese, chicken and broccoli in casserole.
2. In medium bowl, mix boiling water and sauce mix (from potato mix); pour over mixture in casserole. Stir to mix.
3. Bake uncovered 35 to 40 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Cover; let stand 5 minutes before serving.
Mealtime Monday - Company Broccoli Three-Cheese Bake
Another tasty-sounding recipe from Betty Crocker!
Voted Best Supporting Side of 2008! Have a crowd to feed? Arm yourself with five easy ingredients, including Green Giant® veggies. A few minutes of prep, and you'll have a delicious veggie casserole in the oven.
1 can (2.8 oz) French-fried onions
2 bags (24 oz each) Green Giant® frozen broccoli & three cheese sauce
1 package (3 oz) cream cheese, cut into cubes
1/4 cup chopped red bell pepper, if desired
1/2 teaspoon red pepper sauce
1. Heat oven to 350°F. Reserve 1 cup French-fried onions for topping.
2. In 5-quart Dutch oven, mix remaining onions, the broccoli, cream cheese, bell pepper and red pepper sauce. Cover; cook over medium-low heat about 20 minutes, stirring once halfway through cooking, until sauce chips are melted. Transfer to ungreased 2- to 3-quart casserole.
3. Bake uncovered 20 to 25 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Sprinkle reserved onions around outer edge of casserole; bake 5 minutes longer.
High Altitude (3500-6500 ft): Heat oven to 375°F. In step 2, cover and cook over medium heat 20 to 25 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes. In step 3, bake 25 to 30 minutes.
Voted Best Supporting Side of 2008! Have a crowd to feed? Arm yourself with five easy ingredients, including Green Giant® veggies. A few minutes of prep, and you'll have a delicious veggie casserole in the oven.
1 can (2.8 oz) French-fried onions
2 bags (24 oz each) Green Giant® frozen broccoli & three cheese sauce
1 package (3 oz) cream cheese, cut into cubes
1/4 cup chopped red bell pepper, if desired
1/2 teaspoon red pepper sauce
1. Heat oven to 350°F. Reserve 1 cup French-fried onions for topping.
2. In 5-quart Dutch oven, mix remaining onions, the broccoli, cream cheese, bell pepper and red pepper sauce. Cover; cook over medium-low heat about 20 minutes, stirring once halfway through cooking, until sauce chips are melted. Transfer to ungreased 2- to 3-quart casserole.
3. Bake uncovered 20 to 25 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Sprinkle reserved onions around outer edge of casserole; bake 5 minutes longer.
High Altitude (3500-6500 ft): Heat oven to 375°F. In step 2, cover and cook over medium heat 20 to 25 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes. In step 3, bake 25 to 30 minutes.
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Happy Birthday to the Wee Villager
He is our dream baby. Not only a dream come true, but a dream to be with every single day. From his curly mop and bright blue eyes to the rolls on his toes, we love every inch of him. It's hard not to take an actual bite out of him. Wish I could bottle all his goodness and pull it out every so often as he gets bigger and bigger. I guess that's why we take a million pictures and video record the quickly passing moments of his little life -- it's all an effort to preserve all his cuteness.Today my little A turns 1 year old. It's been an awesomely, great year, just when I thought there was no way the pure excellence of 2007 could be beat, along comes one tiny villager in 2008!
He's been walking for months, sometimes breaks into a run, usually right before a tremendous crash and chatters his busy days away. He likes 2 or 3 naps during the day (although I think I enjoy his naps even more than he does!) and he likes to get up and party during the night. You never know what you might be missing at 3 a.m., right?
He's got 8 cute little pearly whites with several more on the way if the buckets of drool and pools of dampness that he leaves behind are any indication of what's to come. He loves to go around the room and share his wet sloppy kisses and pretends to go "night night" on command. He loves his big brother and sisters and soaks up every drop of attention he can get from them. He has some crazy ability to turn an othewise spastic, high-energy dog, into a stone-still statue while he showers him with love and hugs. Don't even try to put him to bed if he know's a pizza's in the oven or if it's Fight Night on Showtime. He good to go anywhere with his mom and loves to wrestle and talk about the latest home improvements with his dad.
Happy Birthday, Baby A!
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Kreativ Blogger Award!
Wow! What a wonderful surprise. I just saw that Playfully Smitten has left me a comment saying that she's giving me a Kreativ Blogger Award! Thank you so much. {blush}. Here are the rules: List 7 things that you love (I added the photos cause pics are just fun to look at!) and then pass the award on to 7 people...tagging them and letting them know they won! You can copy the picture of the award and put it on your sidebar letting the whole wide world know you are KReATIV!
1. Kevin - 26 months ago he rescued me from a dull, boring, grey existence. Now my days are filled with happiness, excitement and everything is bright, sunny and colorful! I love him so much and cannot imagine a single day without him. He has truly made EVERYthing better.
2. The Villagers - There are 4 of them and they are all so good that they make it very easy to be a mom.
3. Our Health - Super grateful that we are all healthy.
4. Our House - Kevin is in the process of adding on to our house and I can't wait to see it all done and to live in the new spaces. We have a big pool in the backyard and the kids have fun all summer jumping off the diving board.
5. Walt Disney World - Love. every. single. thing. about. it.
6. Our Canon Digital Rebel xsi Camera - see description of #5
7. My new G1 Phone from T-Mobile - ahhhh to surf the net and check email from ANYwhere (and on a QWERTY keyboard!) is like heaven on earth to me
Now I'd like to name the following 7 bloggers to receive the Kreativ Blogger Award and pass along the list of 7 things for them to fill out:
I hope they'll each leave me a comment if they're able to participate!
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Cheap Burgers!
Just ran across THIS POST about a great deal on McDonald's Burgers. Starting this Friday thru April 24th, McDonald's is selling their hamburgers for $.49 and cheeseburgers for $.59! These deals are good only on Fridays, but what a steal, huh? (check with your local McDonald's to make sure they're participating)
Monday, March 2, 2009
South of the Border Enchiladas
Doesn't this South of the Border Enchiladas recipe from BettyCrocker.com sound yummy?
2 cups Progresso® diced tomatoes (from 28-oz can), undrained
1 medium onion, chopped (1/2 cup)
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 teaspoons honey
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 can (15 oz) pinto beans, drained, rinsed
1 cup low-fat or regular ricotta cheese
1 small green bell pepper, chopped (1/2 cup)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
6 flour tortillas (8 inch)
1/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (1 oz)
1/4 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese (1 oz)
1. Heat oven to 375°F. Spray 13x9-inch (3-quart) glass baking dish with cooking spray.
2. In blender or food processor, place tomatoes, onion and garlic. Cover; blend until smooth. In 2-quart saucepan, cook blended mixture, 2 tablespoons of the cilantro, the honey and red pepper flakes over medium heat 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. In medium bowl, mix beans, ricotta cheese, bell pepper, cumin and remaining 2 tablespoons cilantro. Spread 1/2 cup tomato sauce in baking dish. Spoon 1/2 cup bean mixture down center of each tortilla. Roll up tortillas; place seam sides down on tomato sauce in dish. Spoon remaining tomato sauce over filled tortillas. Sprinkle with cheeses.
4. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until tomato sauce is bubbly and cheese is melted.
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