Melinda and I were at Wal-Mart last week and I am not sure why but a poster caught my eye which made me take a closer look.  Looking through all of the posters took me back to a time when I was a lot younger and was really into posters and I can remember all of my walls and ceiling being covered.

I remember going to the mall with my friends during the weekend and the first place we would hit would be Spenser’s to check out the newest posters and also the black light posters.  I love posters to this day and I could see putting a couple up in the house but would want them to look nice and that is where a frame comes in.

Someone recently told me about a place that sells wholesale poster frames and that is what would be needed so that I would be able to turn an inexpensive poster into a really nice piece of art that I would be happy putting on the walls with our other artwork.  Don’t get me wrong when I say artwork I am not talking about Picasso or anything like that but for us it’s very nice and we are always up for adding more if appropriate and tasteful.

Shaun recently became interested in posters as well but his collection is a little more diverse as they includes sports, motocross and bakugan.  Not that there is anything wrong with that collection because I remember having all kinds of different posters and not really having any sort of theme when I was younger but now that I am older I do try to stick to a theme and make sure everything melds together but I am always open to new inexpensive art forms.

Did you ever collect posters? Do you still?

If you live anywhere in the US you know that this summer has been record setting hot and it has been extremely hard to keep cool.

We are in Delaware and it seems like it has been in the high 90’s with a real feel of over 100 degrees for the past two weeks if not longer.  We do have a baby pool on our deck that Shae uses to keep cool and while Shae is in the pool you can usually find Melinda under the patio umbrella.  The patio umbrella provides a decent amount of shade depending on the time of the day but I would really like to have a sun awning so that our whole deck would be shaded all day long. If I really had my choice I would get a retractable sun awning so that when it isn’t in use or in the winter I could store it.  If we wanted the deck uncovered we would have that option but if the weather and sun were too much we would have the option to cover the deck.  Having the option to store it would help preserve it allowing it to last longer since it would be protected from the wind, rain and snow.

We were just at the beach yesterday and just about every house we saw had a sun awning and I am assuming that is to help combat the sunshine during the summer.  I also like the look that an awning provides because we saw one house that didn’t have one and it stuck out like a sore thumb.

I am not sure if I will ever get one but it would be cool to have one.

I Want These!

I look through the circulars every single week looking at new washers and dryers and I totally have appliance envy.

I know it may sound weird to hear a man say that but I do 80-90% of the laundry in our house so it would be really nice to have a brand spanking new washer and dryer that could make an already daunting task a little more bearable.  Don’t get me wrong a new washer and dryer will not make life awesome because I still need to do laundry but it would make me feel better if I was able to be a little more eco-friendly. Our current washer probably uses 40-50 gallons of water per load of laundry and I do about 3-5 loads a week so when you add that up on a weekly, monthly and yearly basis that is a lot of water being used.  I have read that new front load washers use about 10 gallons of water per load of laundry so that a quarter of the water that I currently use per load.  It’s crazy to think how wasteful I am being but at the same time a new energy efficient washer and dryer would set us back a decent penny.

I am very thankful we have a washing machine and dryer in our home because I know a lot of people don’t so I am thankful for that but I just wish the set we had was better.  Not only are we wasting water but also electricity because our current dryer takes about 90 minutes or longer to dry a load of towels. A new tumble dryer would not only save on our electric bill but it might also save me a few dollars in my pocket.

Not sure if and when we will get a new washer or dryer but I do like to go circular shopping every Sunday to see what kind of new ones are available just in case we are able to buy a new set.   

I want to see if I am the minority or majority, LOL. Do you have a new washer and dryer or an old pair like us?

Mark Kelly, from UK retailer Appliances Direct, is completely behind these technological improvements and said “anything that an everyday appliance can do to make people’s lives easier must be a good thing and it shows how new technologies and innovations can help improve existing pieces of household technology or equipment”

This is NOT My Garage

Do you partake in any spring/summer time cleaning rituals?  We do and it usually involves a few days of cleaning.

Usually twice a year we do a huge cleaning and reorganization of the garage and this year we have expanded that to the downstairs coat closet.  I never realized how jam packed our coat closet was with coats and vacuum cleaners not to mention that in the garage there are also a few additional vacuum cleaners as well as gloves, scarfs and hats.  In total we have four vacuum cleaners but I want to add another one to our collection.  I recently stumbled onto the Miele vacuums and I must admit they are pretty sweet.  I am not sure why I am into vacuum cleaners considering I may vacuum once or twice a month.  Even when I clean my own car I don’t even use the vacuums at home I use the one at the car wash.  I guess I just want Sabreena to have the best vacuum available, LOL.

Anyway about three week ago was when our garage cleaning went down and it was huge because we got a new fridge so the one in the kitchen moved to the garage as overflow but by doing so I needed to totally rearrange so that the fridge would fit.  Making room for the fridge caused me all kinds of extra work because I needed to move everything around just so I could place it close to a water source because I need to hook the ice and water up. The only good thing that came from this was I got an opportunity to get rid of old stuff that I was saving for some weird reason which is a whole other post for another time, LOL.

Ever go to do one simple task and do a total cleaning/rearrange project?  I do all of the time and it kills Melinda when I do.

Your cook-outs are getting stale, the kids want to stay in-doors and get on Xbox Live, and you are microwaving TV dinners now. The summer is not what it used to be! Well, you know, until this:

How do you spruce up family time, keep the kids active and outdoors, make the neighbors jealous, and go back to good old fashioned meat, pineapple, and veggies on the grill at night? Flashing Blinky Lights will light up the summer.

Check out the Flashing Blinky Blog and Videos.

And, of course, check out the Flashing Blinky Lights Store.

And here’s a special shout-out to LOOK WHAT MOM FOUND…AND DAD TOO! Thanks for letting crash your party, you can crash our’s anytime.

**This post was provided by FlashingBlinkyLights.com**

Not sure if all women are the same but I know one thing that Melida is really picky about is having nice PJ’s and nightgowns and I recently found nice nightware from Figleaves.

Not sure why she is so particular about what she wears to bed because she is going to bed and no one other than me sees her.   I on the other hand could care less what I wear to bed and funny thing is I only own two pairs of PJ’s and thay are flannel for when the winter months hit.  During the summer I typically wear shorts to bed unless it is extremely hot then I just sleep in my underwear (sorry if that was TMI, HAHA).  The same place I saw the cool nightware for Melinda did have some nice stuff for me.  Figleaves mens underwear are pretty nice and offer a different selection than I am used to.  I try to keep it pretty simple and basic because again they are just underwear, LOL.  Maybe I am over simplifing it but I have other things to worry about then my sleepwear and underwear.

Are you picky about what you wear to bed or are you like me and wear whatever?

I know a few people in Delaware who own horses and they tell me they are the best animals to own and are really friendly. A few times the kids have asked if we could get a horse or a pony. UM NO!

I know if we owned a horse the kids would absolutely love it but I have a few problems with owning a horse.  The first is space because living in a townhouse probably isn’t the best place to board a horse.  The second is food because from what I understand horses eat a TON of food on a daily basis.  The third is clean up because a horse would be like every other animal we own and either Melinda or I would be the ones to clean up after a horse.  Also, when you need a shovel to clean up after an animal they may not be the best family pet.  Fourth is clothing because I am sure you don’t just jump up on a horse and ride it in shorts and a t-shirt. You see real horse riders wearing a helmet, boots and chaps.  Luckily you can get chaps from Equestrian clearance because from what I saw they aren’t cheap.  I was also thinking if we did ever get a horse I would also get Equestrian clearance dog coats because they make a dog look so much more sophisticated. LOL.

I don’t think we would ever get a horse but Melinda on numerous occasions has mentioned she would love to buy a farm and live on it like a farmer meaning crops and farm animals.  I guess if Melinda’s dream ever did come true why not get a horse.

Health and dental insurance is something that everyone should have but due to one situation or another doesn’t.

My family for example doesn’t have health or dental insurance because Melinda is a stay at home mom and I am a contractor for a bank.  Being a contractor has it benefits but its one HUGE drawback is no insurance benefits.  Thankfully our family is pretty healthly so we have avoided having to pay any huge medical bills out of pocket.

I was just talking to Melinda today about having to get Shaun and Shae in to see the doctor as they both need physicals and Shae will probably need a few shots.  Shaun needs a physical to play football in August and Shae because she will be starting school in September (Crazy that she is starting school already).

I am not sure how other people feel about having no insurance but I get freaked out and have even looked into buying it directly but the cost is so high I am having to gamble and pray nothing serious happens to anyone in my family.  I have always taken health insurance for granted because I have also has full time direct hire jobs where health benefits were provided but it has been a stressful year and a half for sure.

Do you and your family have health insurance?  If not how do you get through?

I was always told that having a good reputation is key to being successful and I agree with that statement 100%.

You wouldn’t buy a car, choose a nanny or get someone to fix your house if they had a crappy reputation. The same holds true for us as bloggers.  Why would companies want to work with us as individuals if we have a bad reputation? I recently discovered a site called reputation.com and the basic premise is that you can get an instant snapshot of what your online reputation looks like.

This service finds existing posts about you online and will send you alerts whenever a new post does appear online about you. It also identifies and alerts you to damaging posts and to me this is the feature that I like the most.

The internet is a cruel world where people can say what they want when they want and most of the time the person they are bashing has no idea that it’s even going on but now with this website that is no longer the case. If someone has an ax to grind with you and they take it to the internet for all to see at least you will now be notified (if you sign up for the free service) and you can now at least defend yourself if you find it necessary.

I know some people could care less about what others say about them on the internet and I tend to be one of those people unless the story is so fictitious. Disliking someone is one thing but saying false things to ruin ones reputation is total wrong and now there is a site to help you combat this problem.

Do you think this is a service you would use? Do you care what others have to say about you online?

Ok people, now that spring is here it is time to walk through your house and take note of things you may want to update or may need to fix due to the winter weather.

I know when spring hits the first thing I check in our house are all of the pipes, pvc fittings under all of the sinks.  Now I know that may seem weird but there is nothing worse than a broken pipe or fitting which could cause major damage and cost a fortune.  I am not saying that a visual inspection will find all problems but it doesn’t cost any money to walk around your house and check so why not do it?

Once that is done if I find anything that seems questionable when it comes to the plumbing I fix it immediately because the cost now is far less expensive before it breaks rather than after.  Who wants to call a plumber in the middle of the night at rate of $50 – $100 hour when it could have been replaced at a much more reasonable cost and on your time.  I typically go to Home Depot if I have time otherwise you could go to a site like CIS and have the stuff shipped right to your front door.  

I know not everyone has the ability to do their own home repair but if you do have the ability you should make every effort to do it yourself.  It does sometimes take me a few days to a week to get to a project because of either work or something else going on that prohibits me from getting the job done right away but once I do have a free opening I am sure to get the job done before disaster strikes.

Do you make a list once spring time rolls around of things that you need to get done around the house? Or am I the only one?