Burger Time

Or not.

I was looking for Supercuts locations, got sidetracked with a story of a guy who used a pair of scissors to rob a Supercut salon, and found this interesting slide show listed on the page sidebar of comparing burgers from one joint to another. It was educational to say the least. They did not rate White Castle.

Typically, we go to Wendys and order off the 99 cent menu once in a while with a Frosty as an occasional treat. We like the Cheeseburger Deluxe. My son likes the Chicken Nuggets.

As for White Castle -- there are none around here and we have only tried their burgers we can get in the frozen food section (six pack) of the store a few times. My children like them and I think they are ok.

Personally -- we do prefer Jennie-O Turkey Burgers we cook at home.

So which fast food place do you like to go to?
Or you are not talking after you see the slide show? LOL

Burger Wars -- the greasy details -- in pictures

Check it Out

So the past few days, I have been looking for some new bank checks, the regular sort, not the duplicates.

Gee, they are expensive.I also noticed that instead of 200 per box, most only sell you 150 now. The average price per box is $9-12 and some more expensive depending on the type you get. Same price but for less.

I found some that had "Kiss it Goodbye" on them, I think I am considering those satirical ones (although only 150 per box). (They also have a coupon code for an additional discount on the main page.)

I also found some others I liked but then found the same ones at WalMart Checks for less but you get more.
WalMart Checks gives you 6 pads/240 checks per box making it a better deal for around $5.96 per box.
If you are frugal, this may be for you.

I never knew WalMart sold checks so now maybe you know too!

Bubba Burgers

I spied the Bubba Burgers in the store and laughed at the name.
I thought the children would be entertained by the name so I bought them on impulse.
Yes, they laughed.

We got the "original" although they come in various other flavors (store did not have those), six to a pack for about $6.50 a box.

Upon opening the box, we discovered that they are individually wrapped, are very thick, and are shaped like what seemed to be the state of Texas? You cook them as is, frozen, to maintain the juiciness, so no waiting for defrosting and very appeallingly quick!

My husband fired up the new Permasteel Grill (bought at the seasonal markdown discount at BJs).

He cooked them although he is having a time with the grill temperature compared to the other grill we had. The Permasteel grill heats up fast and due to the intense heat in the center of the grill, he moved them off to the side of the grill where they cooked nicely and of course, had perfect grilling lines on them.

Naturally, when done, Texas shrunk a bit and looked a bit deformed but still interesting and were juicy.
Taste wise, we all liked them better than the premade patties bought at the meat counter.

The bonus here -- was the packaging. My husband recycled the logo off the package (as pictured above) and made a bill board sign out of it for his Lionel O scale train landscape.

Bubba Burgers Official Website -- find out where you can buy them, cooking tips, and recipes plus more!

Weekend Whimsies

On Saturday it was overcast out and a tad drizzly so we went to a three yard sales in a neighborhood.

My son was happy to get more Play Station 1 games -- hey, he still has fun with them. Priced 3 for a dollar and we got 10.

We also ended up at the swanky and tony grocery store and found a few Christmas presents so our normal goal of having all the shopping and cards done by Columbus Day is nearing.

Good news, off Craigslist, we found a sofa replacement located in the next town, cheap.
We vacuumed it, let it air in the garage, and today ( exceptional weather!) we used The Green Machine on it. It was pretty clean to begin with but heck, nice to have it cleaned for our use.

I have to say that The Green Machine is a great little device. This is the second one we have had.
The first one was huge and bulky, the first one ever built I think. This second one is smaller and easier to use. I think we paid $60. for it compared to the expensive first one. Worth the price.

And both nights, we went for a walk and spied on the neighbors. LOL
One neighbor has gotten a new vehicle.
Two of our other neighbors have cut down many trees and this has changed the landscape of the neighborhood.

I feel bad for the birds.
But not the squirrels, they can move elsewhere.

Jennie O Lean Turkey Burgers

Twelve quarter pound burgers to a package.
Find them in the frozen meat section of your store.

Retails between $5.-6. (USA, east coast price). - a good buy, 70% less fat than a beef hamburger.
Each package has six - vacuumed sealed two pack burgers.

These are really quite tasty.
I served them grilled on a hamburger bun, with salad dressing, tomato, purple onions and lettuce.

Currently, we have purchased a third package.
If I bought 12 beef hamburgers, it would cost me, $12 for three- four packs.
I get 12 turkey burgers for half the cost so they are economical besides having less cholesterol.

Gobble gobble = yum yum.

Kiva.org

I had to post about this organization.

Kiva.org is a site where you can make a difference in someone else's life in a poor country by loaning money so they can improve their business.

You loan what ever you can afford (any amount) to the person/business featured on the site.
Money is transferred through Pay Pal then when the full amount is collected, transferred to the person in need. You do get paid back after a set time as specified in the profile.

I think part of our yard sale profits will go to this organization as well as The American Cancer Society.

Check out Kiva.org to find out more.

Motion Sensor Night Lights

I bought another one today because I just love them. They stay off until they sense motion (even a gust of air) and they turn on automatically within several feet. I have a few from GE - in the hallway, and the bathrooms (great for a night trip). I got a First Alert one today at Target for the back door. It is a bit larger than the GE ones (got those at WalMart). They cost around $10.00 or less each but they are a worthy investment.

I just thought I would post this because it is a nice inexpensive gift for someone, especially an elderly person.

The only problem I have is if someone leaves the laundry door opened, and the dryer is running, the nightlight stays on from the dryer vibrations.

I would think that if you put one in a baby's room, when they cry, it would go on automatically too from the crying vibrations.

Gift from the Sea

Gift from the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindberg (wife of Charles)
50th Anniversary Issue.

This book is a must read for all women of any age (younger ones will reap the greater benefits of the written word) who need a roadmap guide and need some thoughts to balance their hectic lives. It compares and is reflective of things of the sea to real life as observed by the author during one summer vacation.
If you are interested in the quality of your life or improving the quality, this book is for you.

The book was published in 1955 but the words, thoughts, and ideas are timeless for women who all struggle with their relationships at work, with spouses and children, with friends, and relatives. The book suggests that through all the daily strife one faces, that a woman should take time in solitude for herself, and take time to be creative. These things add to the spirit of her mind, body, and soul, and calms her inner self to be able to nurture others generously and stay sane through it all.

This is a wonderful and sentimental book with timeless themes of woman and the role they play fitting into society that can change the way she thinks, feels and maybe influence her life and how she lives it.
It is an ideal gift to a young woman whether it be for a special occasion such as graduation, Christmas, birthday, or shower, or any time "just because" the giver cares deeply about her happiness, solitude and contentment.

If you don’t wish to buy a copy, check it out from the library.


Quotes by Anne Morrow Lindberg

Wikipedia Bio

The Lindberg Foundation – (offers Grants for the advancement of technology with low impact on environment)

Big Spender

Hey Big Spender! LOL -- that song is running through my head.

Anyways, I watched this tonight (Sunday) on A&E it was on about 5:30 pm EST.
I guess it is a weekly program in that time slot.

The host of the show Larry Winget (personal finance guru/coach) visits people with money problems, discusses their very bad habits, creates plans for breaking those habits and for them to start creating wealth and a better relationship with themselves, their money, and their lives by taking responsibilty and control with their money with a defined plan.

Tonight's episode was a young couple and the wife spent $800. a month on hair, and nails alone!
She also bought trendy clothing all the time (she said every day) and after 4 weeks and wearing an outfit only a few times, bags them up and throws them out!!!!!
She also was lying about money to her husband.

The husband was fearing divorce if this kept up. (Money issues a major cause of divorce.)

Every month they had just under $300. in bank fees alone because their checks/debit card would bounce!

Then Larry noticed that they had approximately $1500.00 of unaccountable money, where did it go? They had no savings account and would like to start a family.

So Larry sets them straight. They get a notebook and a new plan. They have to write down everything they spend and then he makes a return visit in a few weeks for a wrap up.

Larry is tough. No excuses are accepted. There are consequences for your actions or inactions and you need to be responsible to yourself and your spouse.

On the return visit, they say they feel much better now (less stress and more communication) that they have some priorities set and some goals. They paid off a few credit cards and are working towards paying off more. The wife even said she got rid of her debit card (probably what was causing the bank fees)!

Most interesting and easy to see why people get in a vicious cycles and how if they don't get help that they end up in a terrible and sad situation they never imagined.

I went over to the A&E site and this show is not listed there but I did find this program information with some reviews here.

The show is filmed in Florida.

Ten Things I Wish I'd Known

Greetings -- Ten Things I Wish I’d Known – Before I Went Out into the Real World by Maria Shriver, is a great book that every young person should read. Whether you are a high school grad going out into the workforce or a college grad getting out into your professional field.

The book contains ten chapters (titles listed below) and Maria Shriver discusses her experiences with humor and disappointment. The really important thing to ever do, is learn how to handle disappointment and move on and have the ability to laugh at yourself.

Personally, I wish this book was out when I was starting out. There is much valuable information in here that will help you set your life's goals in ten short chapters. It gives you much to think about and keeps you on track.

I highly recommend this book to any young person or if you are an older person and know a young person starting out, it makes a great gift.

If you just wish to read it, take a trip to your local library and check it out.

Ten Things I Wish I’d Known – Before I Went Out into the Real World
by Maria Shriver
Warner Books 2000

Chapter titles:

1. First and Foremost: Pinpoint Your Passion
2. No Job is Beneath You
3. Who You Work for and with Is As Important As What You Do
4. Your Behavior Has Consequences
5. Be Willing to Fail
6. Superwoman is Dead . . . and Superman May Be Taking Viagra
7. Children Do Change Your Career (Not to Mention Your Entire Life)
8. Marriage is a Hell of a Lot of Hard Work
9. Don’t Expect Anyone Else to Support You Financially
10. Laughter

Happy reading.

Palmer Cox Brownies - The Wee Folks

Canadian born Palmer Cox (1840-1924) illustrated and wrote rhyming stories about the wee little people called Brownies that traveled at night, did good deeds and had fun in the process of their adventures. Brownies are part of Scottish or English fairy lore. The Brownies appeared in children’s magazines (St. Nicholas, and Wide Awake Magazine) and then several books. They were extremely popular at the time but as any thing else, slowly died out.

The Brownies in illustrations are always busy and in groups. Their personality lies on how they dress and their action but when they speak, you have no idea who is doing the talking, you can only use your imagination. The Brownies mostly have adventures when no one is looking keeping their world a secret one that we are able to know about through these books and illustrations. Palmer Cox had a huge imagination to create all of this Brownie world for us to be a witness too.

I am fortunate enough to have bought a small pocket version of the Brownies Adventures when they went into reprint years ago. They certainly are a fun group to read about. Then when I saw the images as stamps, well, I just had to have my own. So if you are a reader of this blog, be aware that the Brownies will lurk here from time to time making your visits more "whimsical".

The Kodak company took a liking to the word “Brownie” and named a camera after these wee folks.
The Brownies also worked advertising many products while they were so popular.

Brownie Points -- noun phrase -- a fancied unit of credit and approval (New Dictionary of American Slang) More definitions at Urban Dictionary.

Even the Girl Scouts have a group called “The Brownies”. Usually these girls are aged second or third grade. They have a theme song they sing:

We are the happy Brownies, we are the busy elves./
We love to help each other and of course we help ourselves./
We wake up each morning with a smile upon our face./
And if even things don’t go right, we keep that smile in place!

So let us all hope that these magical fun little spirits stop on by and visit you one night and do good deeds to help us out.

Pages by the late James Dalton great grand nephew of Palmer Cox.

Wikipedia article on Palmer Cox

Toonopedia -expansive article on the history and copycats. (This is a great site containing an enormous history of cartoons in general.)

StampCamp - Get your own Brownie images to stamp out and leave every where.

Found - Post Secrets - Overheard in NY

Found

Well, this was a most interesting site I stumbled upon a few years ago. When the book came out, I raced to the store to buy it. Have you found things, like notes, or shopping lists, pictures in places that you have been?

Davy Rothbart started a magazine of all this "found stuff" he had kept. Pretty soon people were sharing what they found with him. Next thing the magazine gets too big and he publishes a book, and then another book, and the book with all the naughty notes. Each found object is a photocopied orignal so you are experiencing the "real thing" only in a book collection form. There are found things on his website also (link below).

Some of these found things (handwritten notes, emails, pictures, half notes, shopping lists, love/hate letters, etc) and their stories are just so funny you laugh so hard you cry, and others are extremely sad. The titles of the objects by the authors are just as funny if not insightful.

The one that really makes me wonder was the little folded notes written in Polish and left at a Polish church tucked into window sills, or bushes. When found by someone, he could not read Polish and sought out someone who could, an old Polish man, a stranger in a park. The old man read the note and burst into tears and could not tell him. He found someone else to interperete the notes. A very young woman had left these little folded notes at the church because she was once again suffering from cancer and did not know if she would make it. Eventually, the little notes disappeared and we are left to wonder, what happened to her.

A funny one was the kids "Adventure Club", a secret club where one of the rules was "be nice to squrills". Their list of rules floated away and a neighbor found them. She inquired about the secret club and the kids (ages 5-8) were stunned as she recited the rules to them. They insisted she tell them how she found out. She told them that her dog Kismet had overheard everything. They walked away speechless and perplexed.

My favorite one was the poor kid sitting in an Algebra test and wrote a very clever poem on his test about his frustration with learning algebra. The teacher flunked him but gee, he was extremely creative. I would have to say, in my opinion, if he was floundering, the teacher did nothing to help him out and make him feel successful, that is the teacher's job.

These are a slice of life and a slice of someone elses problems, or issues that we can all relate too.

Davey also travels the country doing Found Readings. You can see the date and location on the website.

You can view more found objects on the fabulous website: Found

Post Secrets

Have a secret and want to tell someone you don't even know and then get it posted on the net . . . maybe?

Here is the result of an project, now ongoing, that turned into a book titled "Post Secret" by Frank Warren.

Frank went around and placed post cards with directions on it for anyone who found it and was willing to anonymously tell him their secrets and mail the card back to him. He was astounded at the results. Some are artsy, some are funny, and some reveal some very deep dark personal secrets that make you want to cry. For the most part, the secrets you read affirm your own standard of life. You can learn a lot about other people but mostly about yourself by reading the secrets.

Frank's website is updated weekly with 10 new scans of cards he has received and feels them worthy of sharing with the world. There is also a travelling show museum at the Reading PA public library for a short stint (till 10/8/06). A fair warning that some of the secrets contain foul language, violence in various forms, or are sexual in context.

Post Secret Website

Overheard in New York

There is a book (same title by S. Morgan Friedman) and a website (link below) that posts snippets of people's conversations as people pass through daily life.

There are links on to Overheard in the Office and Overheard at the Beach on the main site.

I even heard there is Overheard at College too. LOL

Overheard in New York

Overstock.com

Well, this site is great for bargains and for headaches.

I have had excellent service from them when it comes to books, DVDs and jewelry.
Not so great service when . . .

I ordered a small appliance from them and it arrived broken.
Notified them, they came and picked it up and reordered me a new one and I did not have to pay a restocking fee.
That also came damaged.
Notified them again, will pick up, no restocking fee, and told them I wanted a refund this time.
However, the guy reordered me a third one!!

I had to dig to find their phone number (at the time).
I called them up and asked to speak to a superior. This phone call took an hour and I was put on hold every now and then talking with the nice apologetic gal. Thank goodness I have a great phone plan and the call was included in my monthly package otherwise, the phone charge would have exceeded the small appliance expense.

Lucky for me the order got cancelled before it left the warehouse.

Unlucky for me, it took nearly 6 months to get my refund. Evidently, there is a power player who approves the refunds and takes his time. Maybe he is overwhelmed with requests?

I would not order another appliance from them again but will continue to order books, DVDs, and maybe some jewelry.

They do have some great buys.
I got 10 books I wanted for less than 5 of those books would have cost me at Amazon.

After I use or read the books, I donate them to my teeny tiny underfunded town library opened a few days a week.
They appreciate my "penny philanthrophic" generousity. LOL

Ideas:

Always make sure books you donate are in good condition, no rips, tears, writing or missing or crumpled pages, broken bindings or pages falling out.

Donate books to a fundraiser -- church jumbles, library book sale

Donate Children's books to schools.

Donate books to Goodwill or Salvation Army Stores or any Thrift Shop that will take them.