Not just any dog, either.  A black lab.  Clearly, I wasn’t thinking straight because it never dawned on me that the cute little puppy, just 13 weeks old, would grown into a monster of a dog.  But, while making sales calls, I called on the local kennel and as I did before I left every other time, I would ask to go back and see the dogs animals that were boarded.

Except this time, there was an dog there that wasn’t waiting on an owner to come home from vacation or business trip as she was thrown out of a car window just weeks prior and had no home.

“Wouldn’t you love to take her home to your kids, Heather?” the owner asked.

No.  Not really.  We don’t need a dog.

That’s what I WANTED to say.  What actually came out of my mouth?

“Oh the poor thing!  Who could do something so cruel to an animal, especially one that is so cute?  Of course, I’ll adopt her.   I’m a firm believer that children should have a dog.  I’ve not found any, but I’m sure there is research that would support the affects of animals on childhood.  I had dogs growing up and I loved it.”

Yeah, that’s what came out of my mouth.  I couldn’t believe how cute “Gracie” was.  She was timid, shy, even, but I fell in love with her instantly and I knew that my children would, too.  I had already envisioned trips to the park with her and playing fetch with her.  Yes, I had it all worked out.

I mentioned something about getting a dog to the kids that night and as expected they begged for me to get a dog.  They PROMISED to take care of it with me and help me, walking, feeding, playing, etc.  They PROMISED.

The next afternoon, I went back to the kennel, only this time, I wasn’t trying to sell ad space, I was getting a dog.  I was bringing Gracie home.

The only problem with Gracie was (a) her name and (b) she stunk.  The latter was rectified with a bath when we got home but the former?

Oh dear Lord.  Gracie is a great name.  I have no problems with it, however, I was dating a man at the time who had a daughter named Grace.  That just wasn’t going to work.  So we renamed her.  After much deliberation between my co-workers, children, mother, and I, we narrowed it down to Pouncey and Rhoda.  My co-worker and I sat in my office and called an imaginary dog to determine what we liked better.  Both names were suggested by my mother, and personally, I hated both of them, but eventually, we settled on Rhoda.

Why Rhoda?  Because she was found on the road.  (Coincidentally, my mother had a dog named Highway.  Three guesses where they found her and the first two don’t count.)

Rhoda’s been in our family 5 years this April.  We love her.  We couldn’t imagine life without her.  Everyone loves Rhoda.  I never have any problems finding someone to dog sit my now 70 pound black lab. In fact the boy often jokes that he’s only using me for my kids and my dog.

Last spring we added another animal to our humble abode… Casey.  Somehow, she managed to find permanent residence here despite the fact that I told Sam that she would not have a cat.  She’s allergic to cats.  I hate cats.  But Casey is now a member of our home and she’s a great cat (most of the time).

But these animals?  Smell.  I mean, it’s not their fault, but I hate the smell of dog.  Wet dog is even worse, and we live in a home that has very few windows that open and it’s hard to air it out.  (I’m having a similar issue with my 12 year old.  I don’t like “boy” smell either.)

Air fresherers cover it up and we’re all about some Febreeze on the bed and the couches.  But the carpet?  You know, where they play and lay and chew toys?

A little more difficult.

So, when the opportunity to try out Carpet Fresh by the WD-40 company. (Is WD-40 not the best?  Do you know all the things you can do with a can of WD-40?  My grandfather used to rub it on his body swearing it helped with his arthritis, but i didn’t see that on the list of 2000+ uses... lol)

Anywho, Carpet Fresh comes in Country Potpourri, Morning Rain, Apple Cinnamon, Fresh Scent and Super Pet Neutralizer.  I chose the pet one because, well, I think I mentioned, I can’t stand the smell of pets.  My mother flew into town last night and even though I had candles lit I could still smell it.  So I sprayed it on the carpet and let it dry (while screaming at the kids for 15 minutes not to walk on it) and immediately, it was better.

And it was easy to use.  I have issues with the carpet deodorizers that you shake on your carpet and then vacuum up.  It’s messy.  It’s a hassle.  And the powder is everywhere.  Not with Carpet Fresh. the Carpet Fresh Quick-Dry Foam format allows you to simply spray your carpets and walk away without scrubbing or vacuuming.  It dries in minutes, leaves no residue, and is safe for use around your family when used as directed.  (Carpet Fresh is a great resource for drapes and car interiors as well.)

Easy peasy.

Carpet Fresh Carpet and Room Odor Eliminator permanently neutralizes carpet odors and helps keep entire rooms smelling fresh by delivering odor-fighting agents deep into carpet fibers and reaching places air fresheners can’t and leaving a long lasting fragrance.

Want to try it out?  (You should, by the way…) Simply go to the Carpet Fresh website and you’ll get more information on how exactly it works as well as a coupon for $1.50 off.  What more could you ask for?  (I mean, short of someone to come in and clean the carpets for you?)

Until next time…

So what is a mother to do?

Both of my children have their own computer and internet access and my rule has always been that computers are not located in bedrooms.  Their computers are in my office; we each have a corner of the office and I set this rule so that I could monitor their online useage and what they were looking at.  (Come on now, I have a 12 year old boy… I know, I don’t want to think about it either.)

Knowing the dangers of the internet, I felt that keeping the computers where I could see them, adn the sufers sitting infront of them, would be sufficient.  Couple that with two children who understand my rules and have never not followed the rules and ask before going to any random website, I had a sense of security with my children online.

Until the day that Samara went looking for Hannah Montanna videos and found someone who might have been named Hannah, but it wasn’t what my 9 year old expected.  I was working and half paying attention but caught movement out of the corner of my eye.  It was no t movement that a 9 year old needed to see.

I freaked.  I’m sure I scared her.  I made her tell me exactly how she got to that site and sure enough I recounted her steps and found the same thing.

Immediately, I called the BFF and told her what happened and she suggested that I get a program to put on the computers that would help monitor and block things that my children shouldn’t see.

I did some research and then Mom Central asked me if I would check out Norton Online Family.  Norton Online Family gives parents the tools to protect kids online and connect with their online lives.

A few features:

• ability to block sites and monitor activity
• simple, one time set up — customize the internet based on your child’s maturity level
• Easy to use and access — you can see what you’re kids are doing from anywhere in the world, as long as you have internet access
• Clear reporting — it’s all done in date order and strips out all the stuff that you don’t need to see
• Convenient Website Control — you can filter out more than 40 topic categories, all with the click of the mouse
• Secured Personal Information - track, report and prevent personal info that your child might try to send (either on purpose or on accident) thru email, IM or on a social networking site
• Access to Social Network Info — monitor their social networking accounts to see how they represent themselves, how often they log in and when
• Real-time messaging — catch them on a site?  Message with them right then and there to discuss the dangers
• True Transparency — you set the house rules and the kids can see them right away.  It also notifies the kids that Norton Online Family is running so there’s no stealth mode
• Custom Alerts — need to know when they’ve spent all their time or if they’re on myspace when they’re grounded?  You can get an email immediately so that you can deal with it right then
• Useful time management — limit their usage or shut it off at a certain time…

Norton Online Family is in Beta mode right now and will be rolling out this spring but thanks to Mom Central and Norton, you can get a sneak peak right now by visiting the website.

Don’t waste anytime.  It’s a fangerous world out there with the kids and the internet and so many more avenues of temptation than we ever had.

Our kids are worth it.

Until next time…

But eating healthier requires a change in the way you shop.  You can’t just go down the grocery store aisles and pull whatever you want in your cart.  And for me, the new healthy shopper, I’m constantly looking at labels and wondering if it really is healthy or if the big bold letters on the packaging is simply a marketing ploy.

So, when Mom Central told me about Stop & Shop Supermarket was launching Healthy Ideas, a new on-shelf symbol that helps customers easily identify foods that fit into a healthy lifestyle, I was stoked.  Why can’t all grocery stores do this?

Now healthy shopping is easier.  To take the guesswork out of making healthy food choices, Stop & Shop has placed the Healthy Ideas symbol on more than 3,000 items and shelf tags throughout its stores. The symbol highlights foods that have less fat, saturated fat and sodium. It also helps to ensure that the foods we select include a healthful amount of at least one nutrient, such as fiber, whole grains, calcium and minerals.

My only complaint now is that there isn’t a Stop & Shop near me.

How about you?  How do you know what’s healthy or not?  Is it a concern?  Do you pay attention?  Inquiring minds want to know!

Until next time…

My oldest, having just turned 12, wanted to watch the inaguration almost as badly as he wanted to stay up and watch the election.  He was understanding somewhat, he was old enough to get it, and he knew that this was history in the making.

I won’t lie, I didn’t vote for Obama.  My children both held mock elections in school and neither of them said they would’ve voted for Obama and my daughter came home and announced that she was not happy that her teacher made her clap for the new President.  I took the time to explain to her that it didn’t matter if we agreed with him or not, that he was now our President, and we were to support him.  And I believe that with all my heart.  I don’t have to like someone, but I do have to respect them.

With a little more explaining, she understood, and her tune changed, but at 9, I was impressed that hse was getting any of this at all.  While not quite as excited as my 12 year old she definately knew that this was history, and she was a part of it.

Over dinner we discussed the DC24, a group of 5th and 6th grade students from Frazier Preparatory Academy in inner-city Chicago who were chosen by a committee of faculty and staff to attend Barack Obama’s Presidential Inauguration and witness American history as it unfolds. The students were chosen for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity based on a series of criteria, including a written essay, grades, test scores, an oral interview, but most importantly, citizenship. Once selected, the students participated in a weekly civics course where they learned more about the Constitution, our election process and African-American history.

During their four-day journey to Washington, D.C., the students visited landmarks such as the Capitol Building and the Smithsonian and attend the inauguration and an inaugural ball. Upon their return to Chicago, the DC 24 will publish a newspaper describing their experience and deliver a presentation about their trip to parents, faculty and peers.

A major goal of the McCormick Foundation as well as the DC 24’s principal and their teachers, is to inspire and enable a lifetime of giving back to community and country.  We’ve been following them online.  It seems like such an awesome experience for all of them, and proof that not everything “inner-city” is bad.  But Matthew also reminded me that we took for granted our ability to just hop in the car and go.  We’ve been to DC numerous times, we love to go there, we’ve seen the nation’s capital while most of these kids probably haven’t ventured outside of Chicago.

The DC24 are inspirational and it’s a journey that you’re going to want to be a part of.

Take some time and go over and see what they’ve been up to.

And while we’re on the subject, how did you share the inaguration with your kids?  YOu can submit it on the DC24s website as well!

Until next time…

I feel the need to make you chuckle, again, at my expense.

When I was in the 8th grade, we were living in Philadelphia and we had done the cross country skiing thing. My dad was into getting us out into the open and exercising…but honestly?

Cross country skiing was boring.

We all had our own skis… that’s how much Dad thought this was going to last.

I’m not sure if we asked him to go downhill skiing or if he came up with it on his own, but at some point in time he announced that we would be going downhill skiing… and we?

Were excited.

Dad rented all the equipment that we needed and in true Dad fashion, we weren’t headed somewhere near us…no, we were doing this right. We were headed to Vermont.

VERMONT.

Killington to be exact. Or at least I think that’s where we went. (I looked up ski resorts in Vermont and Killington stuck out at me.)

Off we went.

I remember getting there and seeing all the skiiers… and of course, being the totally boy crazy girl that I was, I was convinced that I was going to meet the man of my dreams. It played out like a fairy tale really. I would fall somewhere and this dashing handsome older boy would come and help me up. He would ask me my name and I would tell him and we would be inseparable for the rest of the day. He would teach me how to ski and at the end of the day, when it was time for me to go home, he would give me his phone number and I would give him mine and we would promise to write one another every day until we could see each other again. And then?

He would kiss me. Never mind that I had never, at that point in time, kissed someone. At least I don’t think I had.

Nice story, right?

Yeah, it didn’t quite work out that way.

After we geared up and walked out of the lodge and in the vicinity of the lifts, fear set in. Not for me as much as for my brother. I was ready to get to the top of the hill. Because I had to fall for prince charming to help me up, right?

So I finally just grabbed him and said “let’s go”. We weren’t sure how to get on the lift, but we managed. He was scared, and I probably was too, but I had other things on my mind.

Now, please keep in mind that we’re on the bunny slope. WHY would the hottie, awesome skiier be on the bunny slope waiting for me? It’s amazing how I never thought of that then.

Getting off the lift was interesting. My brother hopped right off, but for whatever reason, I freaked out. If I hadn’t gotten off when I did, I would’ve been on my way back down to the bottom of the hill. And these weren’t lifts where you go to sit in a little car. That’s what I thought they would be, but no.. they were the T-bars.

But we were finally both off the lift and standing at the top of the hill.

Here is where fear set in for me.

I could see Mom and Dad standing at the bottom of the hill. I know that they were anxiously waiting to see my brother and I come down the hill with grace and poise… or waiting to watch us fall flat on our faces. The reality of it is, they needed to see something… either pure art or humor to compensate the amount of money they shelled out on this trip.

But we just stood there.

We didn’t move.

We were frozen, not because it was freaking cold outside, but frozen with fear.

I heard Dad call out to us from way down there at the bottom to come down the hill.

We didn’t move. We looked at one another, almost as if to see if one of us would go, but no one moved.

Dad started shouting a little louder for us to come down the hill and again, we just stood there.

No longer did I feel cool in my snowsuit and rented skis. No longer did I think that this trip was going to play out like it had in my mind. No longer did I think I was going to live to see my 15th birthday.

And then?

Dad started yelling.

Now, in case you don’t know, my father was an officer in the Army. He knew how to intimidate and he knew how to yell. He knew how to tell you to get a move on and typically, if you were smart, you didn’t let the situation get to this point, but if it did, you listened.

“You better get down here now. I didn’t spend all this money and drive all this way for you to stand at the top of that hill!”

John looked at me.

I looked at John.

“If you don’t get down here, I’m coming up after you.”

It was then that my brother looked at me and said, “I’m either going to die going down this hill or I’m going to die when Dad gets up here. I’m going to take my chances on the hill.”

With that, he was gone.

I watched him go gracefully down that hill. He looked like it was his 100th time down the bunny slope and not his first. He was swaying back and forth and he looked good.

Now, this part I’m going to give you from my mother’s memory as I was still at the top of the hill and scared to death to move.

John didn’t fall once. In fact, he was picking up speed, and my mother looked at my father and asked, “Did you teach him how to stop?”

Dad responded with, “Not going that fast.”

John kept coming. Dad started to yell “Fall over” when it was obvious that John knew that he was going too fast to stop simply by turning his feet in. Mom said the look on his face was classic.

Again, Dad yelled to fall over and all my mother could picture was John going through the wall of the lodge and being able to see his silhouette just like when Wil E. Cyote would go through the walls when chasing the Road Runner.

John finally did fall over… right into a pile of slush.

With all the focus on my speed demon brother they had stopped yelling at me. Once John had taken up residence in the slush puddle that attention immediately came back to me.

“Heather! Get down here or I’m coming up there.”

I really didn’t want my dad to come up after me. I knew that he paid alot of money for us to come. I knew that he went all out for us but I changed my mind.

But I decided it was time to take the plunge. After all, no man could come and help me up if I was just standing there at the top of the hill.

So, I pushed off.

I went about six feet and fell over. And I fell well… like poles everywhere, not within reach, and all entangled as if I had just finished a game of Twister.

I didn’t want to get up. My brother had made it all the way down the hill and I didn’t even make it six feet. There I laid. Not for long, but long enough.

Then I heard it. I heard the sound of rescue on it’s way. I could hear the swish and the swoosh of skis coming near. I saw my pole being extended to me.

I was waiting for the skies to open up and the choir of angels to begin singing as I looked up to see the man of my dreams standing there, my poles in hand, waiting to rescue me.

Except when I looked up?

There was no hottie standing there.

It wasn’t even a boy!

It was a six-year-old GIRL!!!!!!!

She handed me my poles, and helped me get back on my feet and once I was, she was off, no poles mind you, looking like Peakaboo off to the bottom of the hill.

I was MORTIFIED.

But I kept on going and fell a few more times but I finally made it to the bottom of the hill.

I was ready to call it a day, to retreat into the lodge and sip hot cocoa by the fire. There was a better chance of me meeting a boy within the lounge, right?

Not the plans that Dad had.

He sent us back up to the top. Right away.

Reluctantly, we went.

And do you know what happened? By the end of the night, we were cruising down that bunny slope without falling, or falling in slush, and looked like we’d been doing it forever.

We were having fun.

And then dad said we had to go. We so wanted to stay longer or come back the next day. But he said no, and we loaded up our stuff and headed to the hotel (not at the ski place as that would be too expensive…) and were on our way.

It was a lot of fun, once we got over the fear. I know we frustrated the crap out of dad, despite the fun that we ended up having and yes, he pointed that out as we were begging for more time on the slopes.

But I can tell you that I’ve never been downhill skiing since, and come to think about it, I don’t think we went any kind of skiing after that… not even cross country.

And I’m not sure if it was because of the behavior exhibited by my brother and I that day or if it was because when he went over on the bigger hills that he totally wiped out and either lost or broke his glasses… I think he lost them.

Poor Dad.

Despite the debacle of a trip that we had at the start, it is a good memory.  I’ve often thought about taking my clan skiing.  Our insurance is good and paid up, so I figure it can’t hurt… so it’s on the list of things to do when Dave Ramsey is done with me.  Some times I sit here and peruse sites that look interesting.  Like Park City Mountain Resort in Park City, Utah.

Not so close, but if I’m dreaming, why not Utah, right?

No matter what type of skiers or snowboarders you have in your family, Park City Mountain Resort has something for all levels. From the tween who wants to spend all day in the terrain park, to the adults who want to ski Jupiter bowl, to the youngest getting on the lift for the very first time, Park City offers family fun and adventure. Prior to taking a trip, families can even print one of the Family Mountain Tours that make it easy for a group with varying ability levels to navigate the mountain together, taking the guess work out of where to go next.

In addition to its industry-leading Kids Signature 5 Program that guarantees no more than five kids in each class, Park City also offers great off-mountain activities. The Alpine coaster, one of only three in the U.S., is a gravity propelled ride, twisting and turning through the mountains on a mile-long track. At Gorgoza Park enjoy lift-served tubing on seven different lanes or mini snowmobile rides around a designated track for kids ages 5 to 12 years old. Best of all, the historic town of Park City has over 100 restaurants and bars located just 35 miles from the Salt Lake City International airport, making getting to Park City easy. The town also once served as the home of the winter Olympics and still has a fantastic bus system to make it easy to get from place to place.

Visit the new “The Adventure” blog where you will find helpful insights from Moms who have visited Park City before on topics from packing, to eating, to planning the perfect family winter vacation. At the blog, readers can enter the drawing for a Family Winter Vacation for four (two adults and two kids, 12 and under) to Park City, Utah, including 3-nights lodging, 4-days of lift tickets and ski/snowboard school for the kids.

Which I think is what we are going to do.  Seriously.  Dave Ramsey said I can’t spend money.  But I can go on a free trip.  The only problem is figuring out which two kids I’d have to leave behind… hee hee…

So, check it out.  One minute on the webpage, whether you’ve skied or not before, you’ll want to pack it up and head to Park City.

Seriously.

Just make sure you come back and blog about it.

Until next time…

Why there and not in a medicine cabinet?  Honestly, I would forget to take them if they weren’t right there.  I have enough trouble remembering and they ARE sitting right there (not to mention the alarms that go off on my phone and computer throughout the day to REMIND me to take them.)

When you’re only taking one medication, the do’s and don’ts are fairly easy to remember, but when there are several, I always lose track of what can be taken when and with what and it turns into a big debacle in my head.  It’s also difficult to remember the dosage that you take when asked.

But did you know that things change over time when it comes to medications?  They improve drugs, and new drugs are released that might interact with something that you’re taking and if you don’t spend every day researching this stuff, you’ll miss it.

So when I found out about MedNotes, I have to tell you, I was excited!  MedNotes is an easy place for me to keep track of the medications for all of us.  It provides a free, online personalized medication management program.

Each of us has a profile and I’ve listed the medications that we take and then I can register to receive drug safety or interaction alerts to, ultimately, help reduce the dangerous side effects and so that I don’t mix things that could potentially kill one of us.  While that sounds funny, it’s not really, especially when the tools are there to prevent that.

In addition, MedNotes will send me new drug and specific condition news released by the FDA or drug companies related to the medications that we take.

MedNotes is a product of Drugs.com, the largest and most comprehensive online drug information source.

If you manage alot of medications for yourself or your family, I highly recommend checking it out and getting signed up today.

Until next time…

I do try though.

And it’s tough being a mom and having to organize and plan all these things for your kids, and you.  Throw in coaching sports, leading the youth, a job, friends, etc, well.

Needless to say, there have been too many times that I’ve forgotten to do something or left something behind.

And do you know what kills me?

Running into the grocery store for something quick to make for dinner, planning to spend all of $10 and walking out with $50 worth of stuff that I don’t need… at least two times a week.

I don’t spend my time or money effectively or efficiently.

But I have started to do things a little differently thanks to Mr. Dave Ramsey and his Financial Peace University.  If I follow the things that he tells me to do, there will come a time when I CAN afford the Wii and the Wii Fit.  Maybe by then a second generation will have come out and I pick up the first generation for cheap.

I’ll put the idea on my list.

And then I’ll lose the list.  And when the time comes, I’ll forget that I ever had that idea.

I love to make lists.  Love to plan out my day.  Love to figure out what I need to get done.

It motivates me.

But then I lose the list and in the process, accomplish nothing.

Story of my life.

I am a computer gal.  Pen and paper organizers don’t work for me.  And with the rest of the world online, using technology allows us to share things, like calendars and contacts and recipes and stuff.  So when the new year rolled around and I made the resolution, again, to try to get organized, I went searching for something that would work for me.

I found many things, but among them, and also recommended was Cozi.

There are several features of Cozi that I love, the first being the fact that I can pretty much do everything with Cozi.  It’s got a calendar, a place for shopping lists as well as a recipe search right there, so you can search for recipes as you make your list  (side note — meal planning is giving me extra money each month.  Seriously.), and it’s laid out in a very simple format.  It’s not over crowded and I don’t want to shut down everytime I see it.  The calendar is color coded for the people in the household so I can look at something on the calendar, see the orange dot next to it and know that all of us are to be there.  However, if I see a blue dot, then I know that it’s an event that Matthew needs to be at.

I like to think of Cozi as the command post because there’s an even a message center contained within that will allow me to send messages to cell phones or email addresses.  So if I’m in there and I need to ask a question, I can do it, and keep track of it.  And when I schedule an event?  A notice goes to all parties involved.  Matthew can’t ever look at me and say, “I didn’t know we had Bible Quizzing tonight.”  Take away the fact that he has it at the same time, every week.

The only thing that I don’t like about Cozi, well, two things actually, are the journaling feature and the fact that you can’t yet sync Cozi with iCal or Entourage.  If you are a windows person and use Outlook, Cozi offers the capabilities to sync the two, which is HUGE for me, and something that I would love because I do like to work with my computer more, but I am not a windows person 95% of the time.  And the jouranling thing?  I would never use it as I have a blog.  However, I know that not everyone has a blog, but I would request that the journaling feature not take up half of the screen or that users had the ability to hide it if they didn’t want to use it.

And in additon to being free?  They just announced this…

In addition to the ways that moms can get their shopping lists and calendars already on any mobile phone via text message and using our toll free number, Cozi now has a mobile version especially for the iPhone and Windows Mobile phones.  Families can now sign-in and access their Cozi account using their mobile web browsers.   They can add and edit shopping lists and view and edit their family calendar using the mobile version of Cozi right from their iPhone.  This is a new feature! You can learn more about it here:    http://www.cozi.com/Promo-Cozi-Mobile.htm

Yes, this looks like something that will definately benefit us if I can remember to log in everyday.  I’m considering making it my homepage so that I have to look at it.

Any other words of advice on how I can make sure that I use it everyday?

Until next time…

We have a Nintendo 64, a PS2, a PSP, a Nintendo DS, and yes, we even have an original Playstation and Game Boy Colors.  Two of them.  And up until a few years ago, we also had a Super Nintendo.

No, I’m not lying.  I should’ve kept it but the kids were fighting, I got angry and I threw it away.

So, if I told you that I’m dying to get a Wii, you would probably ask me why, since I have all these other systems in my house and don’t use them, right?  (Case in point:  We bought the PS2, or rather, Matthew did, with his birthday money last January for the sole purpose of playing Guitar Hero.  We now own them all and I can’t tell you the last time that we played.  However, he wanted Rock Band, as did I, and Santa delivered it.  We’ve not played since the kids went back to school almost two weeks ago.

We just have other things to do with our time.

Again, not a bad thing, but even though I know that we have ones that we don’t use, and too many of them at that, I still and DYING for a Wii.

And the reason is kinda funny.

I want Wii Fit.

That’s the only reason.

I look online all the time for used ones, deals, sales, and specials.  I have a Google Alert set up to let me know when someone is giving one away online, just so that I can go over and enter to win.  I don’t know that I would ever buy one, especially now that I have Dave Ramsey in my head everytime I am anywhere that I can spend money, but the desire is there.

And I have convinced myself that I would lose weight if I had a Wii Fit.  More importantly that I would excercise.

What’s even funnier is that all the money that I’ve spent on gym memberships that I don’t use?  Coulda bought a Wii or two for me and some friends. Heh.

One of the places that I look for the Wii is Game Stop.  It’s in the mall.  It’s online.  I can check all the time.  It’s where we bought the used PS2.  The PS3’s had come out and people were trading in.  We cashed in.  We only needed it to play Guitar Hero.

We also get many of our games there.  We love Game Stop.

Game Stop is on to us though.  They know that people are more technologically savvy these days and that working out in the gym or walking through the neighborhood just isn’t as fun.  As I’ve confessed in the past about my desire for a Wii solely for Wii Fit, others have chimed in, stating that they thought the same thing.

Now, we do have Dance Dance Revolution, but it’s the Disney edition.  There’s only so much Hannah, High School Musical and the Cheetah Girls that I can stand.  In fact, the game that she HAD to have still sits in the box.  I think she had it out Christmas Day.  She said something about how the whole house shakes when she dances.

I’m sure it wouldn’t do that as I was working out on my Wii Fit.

But Game Stop, not ever expecting video games to increase fitness levels but knowing that January brings resolutions and many of them include losing weight came up with the “Sharpen the Mind, Shape the Body” initiative that will run the entire month of January that includes a special incentive to discover active gaming. So you can stop by a local store and demo a range of titles that match your interests and skill level.

And, As a special incentive, all shoppers who spend $35 or more on designated products will receive a free 12-month trial subscription to their choice of Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire, Redbook, Good Housekeeping or Esquire.

So you can add reading to the list of things you’re doing to sharpen your mind so you can increase your Brain Age right before you hop on the Wii to Shape Your Body.

Wow.  You’re going to be smokin’.

It’s January 15th.  If you’ve been thinking about losing weight or getting smarter this year, and started out strong and are starting to taper off, or if you’ve just been thinking about it alot, wondering if you really wanted to give it the old college try, let me tell you something.

Do it.

Consider me your conscious.

And do it the fun way.  If for no other reason, than I can’t. 

Seriously, though, video games have come a long way.  While most still allow you to sit and stare at a screen all day pushing buttons and recovering from “Nintendo Thumb” there are games out there that do provide a value and do serve a purpose.  Those are the games that I wouldn’t mind my children playing over and over again.

Sharpening Your Mind and Shaping Your Body can now be convenient and fun and less expensive than the more traditional routes, but hey!  If it works…

Check out Game Stop for games that would interest you and your family.

And if you get a Wii and Wii Fit, I don’t want to know how much weight you’ve lost or how good you feel.  Because I would have to call Dave Ramsey and tell him that it’s all his fault I’m still 30 pounds heavier than I want to be.

Until next time…

Do you take me, the woman who has set 4 burners on fire and fill the house with smoke on a continual basis, seriously?

Liberty Mutual, the same people that brought us the Responsibilty Project is back with more information for you, but this time it’s on Fire Safety.  (It’s funny.  I was doing so well with the cooking and not setting things on fire, that if I had done this review when I was supposed to and not allowed it to get lost in the sea of email, I might not have had the little fire last Sunday… but oh well.  Blog fodder, right?)

BeFireSmart.com is an interactive approach to fire safety and while it’s very important and a hot topic around the holidays, being fire smart is a good thing to be any time of the year, or any time you may come to my home for dinner. 

Here’s a shocker for you…

According to the U.S. Fire Administration, nearly 47,000 household fires occur during the holidays each year. Misplaced or dry decorations mixed with fires and candles can lead to injuries, the loss of property, and even to lost lives, a tragedy which most families fail to consider amidst their festive holiday planning.

And while I laugh and joke about my fire mishaps, they are only funny because no one was seriously injured and there was no damage, but the reality of it is, there could be.  And that?

Not so funny.

In addition to the two burners and the smoke filled oven that I had last Sunday, the following day I had a candle lit in my office.  I don’t normally pay attention to how much of a candle is left when it’s in a container, but I left the office for 5 minutes and when I returned, the canister was on fire.  It was sitting on top of my printer (which is now melted, by the way) and I don’t want to think of what might have happened if I had been out of the room for any longer.

It’s good to have resources like BeFireSmart.com around because there are tips that you can use to help you in a situation that you might think may “never happen to you”.  (An aside… my oldest is a result of thinking it “wouldn’t happen to me.”  I love him dearly, but I no longer think that I’m exempt from anything.)

The website BeFireSmart.com acts as a resource for parents and educators offering tips for talking with children about fire safety, how to prevent fires and how to create a family escape plan should a fire break out. Games and activities such as a free downloadable coloring book further engage children as they learn how to spot potential fire risks and help to keep their families safe.

Take a few minutes today and review the site and then come back with your kids to watch the videos and play some of the games.  It’s quality time together and time spent that may save your life or extensive damage.

I think it’s worth it.

Until next time…

I know.  It was a great little “who’s on first” conversation that the boy and I had.

“Where did you get these?” he asked, as he peered in the box filled with several packages of M&Ms with a personal message from me.

“My M&Ms,” I said.

“No, My M&Ms,” he stated.

“Right, My M&Ms,” I replied.

“No!  MY M-AND-Ms,” he slowly spoke out to me as if I couldn’t understand him.  “Where - DID - YOU - GET- THEM?”

It was then that I realized that we were going around in circles.  I wanted to keep going, just to get a good laugh, but I didn’t.  If I recall correctly, I would’ve kept going, but one of the four children demanded my attention.

He never pulled them out of the box and admitted that he didn’t want anyone, anyone being one of the four kids, to know that he had received candy in the mail.  He secretly took them upstairs to his room, and as I saw him walk by, his box full of candy messages tucked under his arm and protected as if he were a quarterback with a football, he winked and mouthed, “My M&Ms.”

Later that evening, when the kids were all occupied with a movie he asked how I had gotten them.

It was then that I revealed my secret.  “mymms.com,” I said.

“But how did you get the little messages on there?” he asked.

“Well, I took a pen and wrote it on all of them…”

I got the look.  I’m sure you know the look that I am speaking of.

“Oh, shoot.  That’s nothing!  I could’ve put my picture, or our picture, or a picture of the kids on them as well, but I had a deadline if I wanted it to arrive before Christmas.”  And it was true, I had wanted them to get there a day or two before Christmas because he was chomping at the bit for Christmas to arrive, had guessed already the coolest toy that I had purchased for him, and wanted something that would surprise him.  “I just went to their website and selected the colors, what I wanted to type on them, the packaging and paid for it.  Easy peasy.”

And it was.  It was one of the simplest personalization orders that I’ve ever done online.  My M&Ms makes it easy for you to select the colors that you wish to have in your package, giving you preset combinations for things such as “sweetheart”, “party”, “wedding”, and “holiday cheer” among others or allows you to chose from 22 different color combinations.  They even tell you which colors are best to use for printing.

To upload a picture took a bit more time, not on the site, but because I’m anal and I didn’t want to put just any picture on the candy, so I opted not to stress over it before placing my order.

I ordered on the 19th and the package arrived on his doorstep on the 23rd.  The order was just as I had placed it and it was received better than I thought it would be.  It’s gifts like these, when I get something for him that no one else has, or has thought of, that he looks at me like I’m a genius.  Although, I have to admit, he didn’t like the MnMs nearly as much as he liked the Nerf Machine gun that was under the tree for him Christmas morning.  But that’s okay.

My M&Ms is a great way to send something personal to a loved one, family, friends, or you could even use it as an advertising tool.  I recommended to the big dogs at the tv stations that I work for that these would be great things to mail out to potential clients to stand out, or current clients just as a way to say thank you.  (They even have a business section to help business customers use these as a marketing tool!)

So, if you’re looking for something for Valentine’s Day or just to say something a little differently, I highly recommend My M&Ms.  I’ll be ordering from them again, before Valentine’s Day, too, but this time, it will be for the kids.  I can’t wait to see their faces when they realize that there are messages for them on the candy.  I’m thinking of writing something like, “Clean your room” on one and “Don’t pick your nose” on the other.

What do you think?

Until next time…