I saw on the today show (I think it was yesterday) a story about how the price of gasoline continuing to rise is going to be causing the price of milk to jump to $6.00 a gallon in very short order! I hope that they are mistaken, milk is already more expensive than soda! It is hard enough to get kids to drink milk INSTEAD of soda because kids prefer the sweetened drinks. But if the price of milk continues to increase, I’m concerned that for economical reasons the parents will be encouraging the kids to be drinking sweetened drinks in place of milk, which could lead to health problems down the road such as obesity and diabetes.

As part of the news story they were showing some new milk cartons that they say will start to show up on the store shelves soon. I’ve already seen them at Costco; they are squarish and a little bit awkward to handle. The newscasters reported that the reason for the switch to the different jugs is because they can stack them tighter in the truck, which reduces the transportation costs. Well, I’m all about reducing costs!

Posted: July 2nd, 2008 under Business, Finances/Money, Food and Beverage, Health, Issues, Life, News, Parenting, Shopping.
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One of my sisters LOVES to scrapbook.  There is never a family gathering that we go to where she doesn’t bring at least six scrapbooks she has put together since the LAST family gathering of special family moments of her, her hubby, and her kids that she wants to share with the entire family.  Sharing the scrapbooks is a fun way to see pictures of her family doing things during the year with some extra cute embellishments and text to narrate the story.  Scrapbooking certainly livens up picture sharing!  I can vividly recall times at the office when someone would come into the office with newly developed photos of their baby to show off and so many people would try to run and hide to escape having to stand around and pretend to be impressed by how cute the baby is!

At least with scrapbooks, one can appreciate the time and effort and creativity of the person putting it together, trying to make it look special.  Looking through a well made scrapbook takes the tedium and humdrum right out of looking at pictures!

Scrapbooking apparently has entered the era of the Internet now, thanks to a cute little website by www.smilebox.com.  Smilebox’s website allows the user to upload their pictures and turn them into great looking scrapbook images, post cards, slideshows, ecards, and greeting cards.  The service is completely free to use, and you can email the results, blog, or print them. 

Up to now, I’ve just been taking pictures of the baby and organizing them by date, without really doing anything special with them.  I’ve seen how expensive all of the scrapbook supplies cost at the craft store!  I’ve gone up and down those aisles a few times; thinking about starting scrapbooking, but the cost has always scared me away.  Now that I’ve found this website, I think that I’m going to go through the pictures and start my own little scrapbooking adventure!

Posted: June 23rd, 2008 under Blogs, Business, Computers / Software, Entertainment/Fun, Family, Internet, Life, Online, Parenting, Shopping, Technology.
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Over the course of the weekend, a local two year old boy went missing from his front yard. He had been playing out there with his older brother for a while. The older brother (must not have been a very reliable responsible older brother) got tired of playing outside and went inside, leaving the two year old alone. Shortly afterwards the mother realized that the two year old was not in the yard anymore and frantically called the police. The boy was found (thankfully) only a short distance from his house.  The boy was upset, but safe.

I’m glad the boy was safe and returned back home, I truly am.  I do have to wonder if the front yard was properly fenced in to keep the kids inside.  I would not leave my children outside in an unfenced yard unsupervised; not in this day and age.  MAYBE if the yard was fenced in, but with all of the child molesters out there, probably not even then, not until they were old enough to defend themselves!  I’d find SOME reason to be out there, working in the flower bed, or just reading a book while lounging in a chair, or snapping beans or shucking corn, or talking on the cordless phone to a friend.  There just is NO WAY I’d leave my youngsters out there!  If I had to come back in the house for some reason, they’d have to come in too!

Posted: June 23rd, 2008 under Blogs, Family, Internet, Life, News, Online, Parenting.
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My sister-in-law recently divorced, and after staying home alone for about nine months licking her wounds has announced that she is finally ready to start dating again.  She came over last night for supper and we were talking about how it is about time that she started dating again, and the rules of dating.  Since it is so hard to find good babysitters in this area I offered to babysit her kids while she went out on her dates.

I suggested that she consider online dating; it would widen the dating pool and help her find some good matches with much less effort than it would take the “old fashioned” way.  I told her that I know several people that have had good luck with online matchmaking services, and that it’s not a bad social stigma anymore to use a service like that. 

Today I’m sending her an email to further encourage her about that, and to encourage her to visit the http://www.primedatingsites.com website. 

That website compares and reviews many of the more popular online dating services.  I checked out the website myself and found that it talks about Chemistry.com, Match.com, and Eharmony.com along with several other matchmaking sites.  I think that online dating sites are the wave of the future, and I think that they are providing a valuable service in today’s society.

Posted: June 13th, 2008 under Blogs, Computers / Software, Entertainment/Fun, Family, Friends, Internet, Life, Online, Parenting, Shopping.
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Today I have to run to the grocery store and shop for the weekend at camp, and I have to do the laundry and get packed. It is a lot of work to pack up a family with a baby!

We are planning on having guests for the weekend at camp, so I have to buy extra food and plan out some special menus. The guests this weekend are my hubby’s boss, wife, and daughter, so I’m kind of excited and nervous at the same time. I’m not quite sure how to keep the daughter entertained for the weekend, I hope she brings something of her own, like a book or some video games!

I’m hoping for a good weekend, so we can do some boating.  Maybe we can teach the boss’s daughter how to water ski!

Posted: June 13th, 2008 under Blogs, Entertainment/Fun, Family, Food and Beverage, Home and Garden, Life, Parenting, Shopping, Travel.
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