Win 50 Laptops For Your Child’s School.

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

Would you like to win 50 laptops for your child's school? Maybe you know a child that would benefit from winning 50 laptops for his or her school. Charter has announced it's laptop-a-day giveaway and you can enter to win a Lenovo G555. There will be a winner a day through September 20^th.

Charter has given away other great items like a Chevrolet Camaro, a hybrid car and an HDTV-A-Day. Charter wants to do something for the community now, so that is why they included the 50 laptops for two schools.

The laptops have a 15.6 inch screen with 160GB hard drive and 3GB of ram. That means plenty of ram for your photos and other important documents. I will enter even though I have a laptop. Can't have to many laptops right?

Go to http://charter.com/laptop to register the school of your choice. August 12^th is the deadline to register your school and voting begins on August 16th through September 20th. The winning schools will be announced on September 27th.

Also at this time if you order any Charter service you are automatically entered to win and will get a $300 cash back. There is no purchase necessary to register online to win the laptop. Go to Charter on Facebook and like Charter to get more updates.

So do your child or a child you know a favor and enter their school. Help some deserving children to have a chance to win 50 laptops to enhance their learning experience.

See How My Garden Grows – A Summer Series

Well, the ongoing battle with the sun is still waging. I managed to figure out a way to shield my veggies from the sun, but I do not know how well it is working. Anyway, the plants seem to be thriving, just not bearing. so here are the latest results.

My zucchini and asparagus want to choke off everything else by attaching themselves to the other plants in my garden. I. Don’t. Think. So. So, I inserted a few bean poles and as you can see. the asparagus immediately attached their sinewy feelers to the pole. The zucchinis, not so much. Their newest strategy it so go under the cucumbers. Sneaky.

Corvette informed me about this bell pepper. How did I miss it?

Tomatoes are a nice shade of red. Since they are Beefsteak, I hope they will get larger.

The beans are giving it their best shot.

Of course, Lucie, my big red dog is oh so helpful.

Here is another cucumber. Can’t find the three from last week. I am afraid I will wake up one morning and the cucumbers will have taken over the whole yard!

Lastly, a shot of my corn. Tried to look at it mom, but I was not succesful, just hoping for the best.

If you are looking for me, I will be the one doing the rain dance, washing my car multiple times and generally begging the gods for rain.

At least this sunflower is happy.

Seeking Butts and Trash Can Delicacies.

So, I was at work today and I went outside on my break. I was by myself for a few minutes. A man who works in my building walked out the door. He did not see me standing there. He then proceeded to walk over to the ashtray and what I saw next totally ruined my day. He bent over and started going through the cigarette butts and then selected one. He whipped out his lighter and LIT the butt. Egads!

Ok, I know tobacco is expensive, but you do not know whose lips was on the butt dude! So as he is puffing along, he turns and sees me standing there. Then he turns and heads towards the other side of the building. Embarrassed? I have know idea. All I know is I did not need that image in my mind.

Here is another gross out story for you since I’m on the subject. Corvette told me that there is a guy at his work that waits until everyone leaves the breakroom and then proceeds to rummage through the garbage can for food. Yes, you did read that right. Now, this guy is certainly not a homeless person, he is a machinist for crying out loud! I know he makes a pretty good living and I am sure he can afford to buy his own food. I guess it takes all kinds. Corvette said he is also overweight. Maybe it is the extra trash can calories.

Apparently, everyone at the shop knows what this guy does. One time they purposely threw out some pizza and then just sat back waiting to see what he would do. Sure enough, when he thought no one was looking he snuck in the breakroon and snagged the pizza.

Mean? Maybe, but they are a bunch of machinists with not enough to do. I guess making precision parts does not always float their boats.

Doing Generic.

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

Do you buy generic products? Whenever I can, I do. Most generic products are exactly like the name brand products. Generic products do not have all the advertising costs that name brand does, so the product can be sold cheaper. I recently visited a site the listed 10 Products to Always Buy Generic Some, I do buy generic and some I never thought about.

When My kids where small I always bought generic cereal. Even then the price of cereal was high, not to mention what it is today. You almost have to take out a small loan to purchase a box. I have trouble justifying that in my mind.

I always get generic medications, over the counter and under the counter. For years I went to my local drug store and purchased their brand of generic Anacin. When I get a headache I need an industrial strength pain reliever to knock it out.

I also purchase generic batteries from the Dollar Store. Why pay more when you can get them for a dollar? Plus, my digital camera eats batteries so I am not spending a fortune financing my ever growing photography addiction.

Corvette always tries to convince me that name brand gasoline is better. I am not buying it because I just do not see a difference wherever I buy it. It could be a guy thing. I do not know.

I always buy generic flour, sugar and spices. Name brand spices are unbelievably expensive. This is another item I usually purchase from the Dollar Store. Hey, a dollar for a huge container. Can not beat that.

I am not sure if store brand formula was available when my kids where babies. I am sure if it was I would have used it. Raising babies is expensive, then they grow up and you have to send them to college. Maybe the money saved on formula can go to the college fund Just a thought.

It is true that breastfeeding is best, but sometimes for whatever reason that is not possible. I had trouble with my third child and finally had to give him formula. It is easy to find store brand formula at places like Walmart, Target and Walgreens. Did you know you can save up to $600 dollars a month? Remember the college fund?

Anyway, go read the article 10 Products to Always Buy Generic and start saving some money. Your kids will thank you in the future.

Cellphones and Restrooms.

When using the restroom yesterday at work, I could not believe what I heard coming from the next stall. I walked in and proceeded to do my business when all of a sudden I hear a voice. At first I thought maybe the girl (I say girl because she works on my floor and I rode the same elevator with her to the ground floor restrooms. Which I usually use because there is more privacy. I am weird like that.) Anyway I hear her talking and suddenly I realize she is on her cellphone. Are you kidding me? Apparently not.

Now I am an avid believer in that there are several places you should not be using your cellphone.

1. The car while you are driving, for obiouse reasons
2. The grocery store when you are checking out or ordering deli meats.
3. Any public restroom. For that matter, any private restroom either.

It is bad enough that you have to listen to other people’s converstations in stores , at work and various other public places, but I draw the line in the restroom. I actually used to work in a grocery store deli and I can not tell you how many people used their cells while ordering their meat and cheese. The worst was a couple that were both on their cells taking to different people, I assume, and in between ordering, were engrossed in their conversations.

I could be wrong, but people, please make the restroom and no phone zone. Should I tell Oprah about this?

See How My Garden Grows – A Summer Series

I did a little more in my yard this weekend besides gardening. My garden is pretty self sufficient except for watering. But, trust  me that is an everyday occurrence. The Desert heat really takes it out of the garden and if I miss a day, I am not a happy camper. Or should I say a happy gardener.

Anyway, here is a photo of the century plants I put in Saturday morning. I started at 7am and by 8:30am I was done because I was quite sure I would be melting very soon. As usual, Lucie, my big red dog is inspecting my work. Also I made use of the some of the bazillion rocks in my yard.

I dug wells for my Bird of Paradise. Mainly for better watering efficiency. Still need to finish the rocking. Trust me I did not run out of rock. This was about the time I felt the melting coming on.

Here is a sunflower that looks to be blooming soon.

Finally, more than one cucumber at a time!

I have two red tomatoes now. Boy, am I on a roll.

The zucchini is taking over the snap bean fence. Naughty zucchini.

Here is my marigolds pre tarantula.

Here is my marigold post tarantula. Better hope I do not find you big hairy marigold killing spider!

Finally, I checked the progress of my carrots. Clearly, they are not ready yet. Lucie does not seem to care though. BTW, I did not give it to her because if she knows where they are, they will become her next snack or in this case a veggie delicacy meal.

What Is On TV Tonight?

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

Do you use On Demand TV? If you do not then you are missing out. On Demand has thousands of movies and TV shows to watch. There is something for everyone in the On Demand menu.

If you love design shows you can watch shows about redecorating, home improvement or gardening. Mom will find plenty of cooking shows to watch and Dad will find just the right movie to watch. Kids will also find programs they like.

Best of all the programs and movies are always free. Premium channels and Pay-Per-View can be expensive over time and On Demand can save you some money for other things like say popcorn to eat while you are watching your favorite shows.

One of my new favorite shows is Glee. The humor is edgy and the characters are fascinating. Plus, they perform some great music.

When you visit the On Demand home page, you will see all the programming to choose from and watch. You will never again say there is nothing on because you pick what to watch everyday.

I am sure you will enjoy On Demand. You will ‘Like’ their Facebook page as well So give it a try and watch your favorite show today.

Reviving The Computer.

So last night almost had a meltdown. I was working on my computer editing some photos and a message pops up telling my the battery was ready to go so plug in the computer. So I did and kept working. On a side note, why does the computer wait until right before the battery goes dead to warn you? Shouldn’t it give you at least a ten minute warning? Hey, Microsoft, that would be a really novice idea don’t you think.

Anyway, back to last night. After I plugged in I noticed that the computer was still warning me. I went and checked the plug and even moved to a different plug. Then it happened. My computer went completely dead. No light on. Nothing. I could not figure out what happened. After awhile I came to the conclusion that my battery went kaput and I would have to get a new one. Since they are around $100 I was none to happy.

After the initial shock and a few choice words I decided just to get over it and proceed with my evening. I watched a little TV and then decided to go to bed. I unplugged the computer and took it in my room and just for the heck of it I plugged it in there. Holey moley, the light came on! My little red Dell is alive!!!

Well, now that I know the computer is ok, I go investigate the plugs in the living room. The second one I plugged into is ok because it is charging my cellphone. Corvette checks the first plug and it is working too. So it is still a mystery as to why the computer went completely dead and why the light did not come on when I plugged it in.

I can live with that because without my computer I will not be editing any more photos. Or writing this post.

See How My Garden Grows- A Summer Series.

Well, the shade has really helped perserve my garden. My snap beans plants are green again. My tomato plants are happy and thriving. I must admit the shade looks like something out of Hicksville, but the veggies are thriving, so that is the important point.

First off, I took my strawberries out of the stupid Topsy Turvey thing-a-ma-jig piece of crap. They are now doing well in a pot. Enough said.

Corvette put peppers in his Topsy Turvey thing-a-ma-jig. No comment.

My Bell Peppers are finally starting to flower. I found out that I planted them too early. The soil needs to be quite warm for them to grow. Note for next year.

Here is a view of the whole garden.

My tomato is turning red.

The carrots are a lovely green.

Corn is coming along nicely.

What Are You Having For Dinner?

Dinner is the last meal of the day and a time when families can get together and discuss their day. It is also a hectic meal for busy moms who are just getting off of work or who have been busy with other activities all day. If you are a busy mom or you know a busy mom, here are some menu planning tips to help make dinner meals easy and even fun.

1.    Schedule your meals a week in advance.  This is one of the most important planning tips for meals. Knowing what you are going to eat throughout the week means less chance that you will stop off at the closest fast food joint for a convenient, but unhealthy meal. Decide on the last day of the previous week (let’s say Saturday for the sake of argument) what the menu will be for the following week. Create your shopping list from the list of ingredients to avoid buying what you don’t need at the grocery store.

2.    Look for bargains. Clip coupons, read advertising circulars and the like to decide where the best grocery to shop is for your menu items. If one ingredient is a common denominator in many meals, consider buying in bulk to save money. Common staples like milk, eggs, bread and sugar can be bought in bulk as well. Some stores will have double or triple coupon days when you can save even more.

3.    Search online. After a while your family will get tired of chicken and rice every Thursday. You can get into a menu rut sometimes. Use the Internet to search for new and exciting recipes. Learn to put a twist on old recipes for a new taste.

4.    Have a leftover night. After preparing meals for five or six days, there is bound to be some food left over. Designate one night to be leftover night and let everyone mix and match for dinner. It saves mom from having to throw away any food.

5.    Cook your meals in advance. After deciding on a menu plan for the week, go ahead and fix as many meals as you can. Choose a day when the entire family can help like Saturday morning or Sunday afternoon. Each person can take one meal and fix it for the following week. Once everything has cooled, store it in sealed containers or casserole dishes to be frozen until the night it is needed.

6.    Do prep work in advance. All of the meals can’t be cooked at once. Some foods just taste better freshly prepared. For them, so as much prep work in advance as you can. Enlist your kids to help chop (give them the kitchen shears instead) vegetables, dice cooked meat and mix together dry ingredients. The night of the meal, all that is needed is to add the wet ingredients and bake.

Meal time doesn’t have to be all on mom. The entire family can help with dinner so it is a relaxing meal for everyone.