Not the case now. I’m fine with branching out because I know if I don’t like it then one of my friends probably will. Yes, I’ll usually wait to try something until friends are coming over for dinner.

Most of the time it seems we girls are drinking wine instead of the beer. Beer just hasn’t sat as well on my stomach since I started having all my intestinal issues. I still love a good hefeweizen, it just doesn’t love me as much as it used to. Sad days. Thankfully there are so many wines to choose from!

But back to the reason for this post. When we have friends over it’s impossible to figure out who’s wine glass is which unless someone is wearing lipstick. These flip flop coasters are the answer and I really want them!

Four different styles for four different friends to use. Plus I love the fact you can personalize them. So before my friends get here for dinner I can give them a nickname for the night lol You have to admit that’s fun

Now I hate to send you over to the giveaway when you can’t possibly win…because I am darn it! But there are only 76 entries so your odds are pretty good if you get to entering. Just to warn you, you will be on the site for hours. They have a ton of giveaways going on right now.

The flip flop coaster giveaway ends March 22 and you need to be 18+ to enter. It’s also only open to US residents, sorry my Canadian friends. There are a lot of ways to enter which is why I’m writing this post. I want to win so bad that I’m putting up this post for extra entries.

I do recommend going over to WineVine Imports which is sponsoring the giveaway. They have a lot of amazing products. Including a MUST have wine barrel table set. I want it for my back deck once it’s finally covered.  Plus some of the coolest decanters I’ve ever seen. All sorts of funky shapes. I’m thinking a collection of decanters would look pretty cool across the top of my kitchen cupboards. I dare you not to find at least three decanters you must have.

FUCK YOU parents that think you need to parent me. I’m 37 years old and I get to watch whatever I want and choose to watch and listen to what I want. Welcome to America.

So not only am I excited to watch this show. Shatner reminds me of my Dad. Dad doesn’t even try, they could just be brothers I swear. But now I want to go buy the book. Kick ass parent group, you just brought attention to the exact opposite of what you wanted. I didn’t know about Sh*t My Dad Says until they complained and it hit yahoo. I thank you for bringing it to my attention

Alas, as far as following the books and even the fun theme of the books, it’s a total fail. BUT, if I hadn’t read the books then it is great. I force myself to ignore the fact that it’s so completely different than the books and just enjoy. I was angry after the first season because they changed so much and didn’t have characters look anything like their descriptions in the book. But season 2 is SO different that I’m having an easier time.

I’m on episode 7, I think of season 2. So far they have thrown a lot of stuff in and taken a ton of artistic liberty with the story. But they have thrown a few of the funny spots in from the book.

I just wish they had stuck to the books more as it’s a very funny series. Usually this much rewriting seems to happen because it needed more action, but this isn’t the case. It hasn’t added more action at all, it added more bloody, vampiric gore than was actually in the books.

I’m now enjoying the True Blood series, but it could screw up at any time. Their choice of actor for Eric sucks and by rewriting his character so much they’ve ruined it for me. Sookie and Eric’s relationship is huge later in the series and them screwing up all this early stuff just sucks. They’ve really done a rewrite of Sam’s character as well. Not for the better. Then, don’t get me started on how they’ve changed her brother The Jason in the tv series is NOTHING like the books.

I better leave it at that. Truly, I like both for different reasons and am enjoying the series. However, I’m going to now reread the stackhouse series because I need a good laugh and they are good for that!

photo credit: NomadicLass

Whether getting home from work, running the kids to activities or getting to our own evening meetings, dinner can sure get in the way. It’s not easy to find a schedule on some nights that is perfect for everyone to eat, let alone a time to cook that meal.

I do enjoy cooking, it’s just that being such a busy mom I don’t have the time most nights or I’m too tired to enjoy it. Menu planning and once a week cooking have changed this.

Each week I take a few hours. I head to the grocery store with my pre-written shopping list and then get cooking my main dishes. I can enjoy cooking again and have found I love it even more. It feels great to have all the dinners cooked up and ready to go for later use.

I always toss a couple of the meals in the freezer for the end of the week. This way there’s a quick answer to, “What’s for dinner?” I keep the week’s meal list on the fridge and cross them off as we eat them. It also helps to let one kid pick which meal will be next. Less arguments about eating said meal.

Plan for the week and spend less time in the kitchen!

Once I went to Audrey’s Give Away’s blog I knew I had to enter the Kranich’s Jewelers Mother’s Day ring giveaway.

I’m choosing ring style number 14 as I really like how simple it is. It’s a ring I would wear all the time instead of just special occasions. Which is right up my alley.

The drawing will take place tonight at 10pm CST. So there is still time to enter, but make it quick!

Shopping, deals, prizes and leftovers!

Sounds like a perfect day to me. Sitting at home, eating turkey sandwiches with a side of cranberries. MMM, can’t wait

The Holiday Wrap party kicks off Friday Nov. 27 (Black Friday) with vendors from 6 companies showing us some of their best gifts to give for the holidays. There are always special deals for attendees that aren’t posted on the the vendor pages. But it doesn’t stop there…

Our Holiday Shoppes have incredible specials for the entire weekend. If you can’t make it to our live event, you can still take advantage of some great deals. Many of our Holiday Shoppe Companies have Black Friday only deals or specials just for our Mom Chats visitors!

Why get up early and run around in the cold on Black Friday? Stay home, cuddle up with your computer and enjoy some great shopping and deals from home.

Kmart always has great deals and the thanksgiving day deals are truly awesome. I’ve of two minds on the T-day deals though. I know people need the money and probably volunteer to work the holiday, but it’s just wrong that they are open. That said, I can’t be a hypocrite because I have hit the sale before because the deals are so darn good.

Check out some of the Black Friday sales already posted for Kmart! OMG there is a netbook for only $119 as a doorbuster. How do I gift that to myself?

It’s not a format that I prefer and I truly love getting my emails from Black Friday dot net. But,Black Friday at become.com looks interesting. Plus, it’ll be fun to watch who gets what ads first. lol Nothing wrong with a little healthy competition. The become.com site also has some product pictures and being in such a visual society I do like that.

So there you go everyone, another site to check out and use to spread your xmas shopping dollars as far as possible. Don’t forget to buy me something while your at it!

I’m especially impressed with the deals in the bed and bath and home section. But that is because I need to completely redo both my bathrooms and I’d love to get some flannel sheets for each of us. lol So these deals are calling for me to shop for my own house!

There are also some fun things I’d love to just put on a shopping list and send to relatives so they get me things my family needs. Isn’t that what we all want? To get gifts for people that will truly be used?

Don’t forget that there are other ads that are coming out, but I only highlight the one’s I care about the most and especially for stores I like. I’ll never send a post out about the wally world ads for one thing. lol But if you’d like to get all the ads right in your inbox go to the site and sign up for the mailing list. Their list is awesome, I only get things related to black friday. They’ve never sent me sales garbage during the rest of the year and that is really appreciated. Just go to http://black-friday.net and see what other ads they already have up

Sears is the second one I’ve gotten that had some great stuff on it. Especially, the home theater system, as that has been on my Christmas and bday list for the last 8+ years. lol

I love getting the ads early so I can start planning my morning. Also remember that many of the companies are also doing great online specials.

The first email I received from them had the Toys R Us Big Toy book and also Harbor Freight. The Toys R US one isn’t the black friday ad, it is just the start of their big book they send out every year with great deals in it.