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?

They saying buying a new home is one of if not the largest purchase you will ever make in your life time and I agree.

Finding just the right home in the right area is extremely important and even more so if you have kids because you need to think about school districts and what school will be best for you child.

I thought when we were in Maryland about two years ago that we would be there for a while and that was where we were going to call home. it’s too bad we moved because Southern Maryland new homes were on the rise at the time and a place we could have called home for sure.

I am not saying that I’m not glad we moved back to Delaware because I am since we are a lot closer to family but I am not sure Newark is the place where we will live forever. We have committed to living in our current home until Sabreena graduates from high school in two years because we really don’t want to uproot her in her junior year. That isn’t fair to her plus it’s super hard to make quality friends at that point in your high school career and Melinda can attest to that because that is something she went through.

When Melinda and I discuss where we would really like to live we both agree North Wilmington is for us. North Wilmington is where we lived before we moved to Maryland and in a way I wish I was able to turn the clock back because I know if we could do it all over Melinda and I would have decided to stay in North Wilmington.

Like I said we are in our house for a least two more years but I can totally see us hitting the road for North Wilmington once Sabreena leaves for college. For those of you wondering, yes I will tell Sabreena that we moved to North Wilmington. LOL.

Melinda and I have always tried to live a somewhat healthy lifestyle.  Do we fall off the wagon sometimes?  Heck yeah but this time we are both really making an effort to get healthy and stay healthy.

Melinda and I started running and are currently training for a 5k so that shows how serious we are about this because Melinda and I are not big runners.  I must admit though I am starting to enjoy running just as much as I do cycling.  Not sure Melinda is at the enjoyment stage yet but she is hanging in and trying to get to that point.   

I have started taking a daily vitamin and protein powder to try and keep my body in the best shape I can while trying to lose weight.  Also, why is it so easy to put weight on but SOOOOO hard to take it off?  Wish there was an answer to this question and now I understand why more people don’t work out because it is hard work and sometimes it just down right hurts. 

Recently someone told me about LiveTru and how they have a great selection of essential oils as well as health and wellness products.  Finding a place that has good quality products is hard to find because when it comes to exercise and healthy living everyone is trying to make a quick buck off of the consumer.  So when someone I know makes a recommendation I am sure to check them out.

I was searching LiveTru last night for some kind of oil or cream that I could apply on my calf which I seemed to tweak this past Saturday while running.  Hopefully I am able to get it back into shape before this weekend because on Saturday I am planning on running my first 5k and then I am riding 65 miles on Sunday with two friends.

Working out and getting into shape is super hard but I know when Melinda and I are at our ideal weight we are going to be glad we did all of this hard painful work.

The 1940 Census was conducted based on a census date of April 1, 1940 and was given a seventy-two year privacy restriction. After a 72 year embargo the 1940 census was finally released on 4/2/12.

How cool is it that you can now search for people from the 1940’s?  I am always interested in my family tree and where my family was and came from so I am going to be using the website to see what kind of information I can find.  What I find cool about the 1940 census is the questions that were asked and how the census was conducted. 

The Bureau of the Census (Department of Commerce) provided standardized forms in 1940 for all Enumerators as in previous years. The standard Population Schedule had 34 questions and more than a dozen Supplemental Questions asked only for those persons who were enumerated on specified lines. This was the means used to ensure a random nature in obtaining supplemental information.

One of the questions was “PERSONS 14 YEARS OLD AND OVER — EMPLOYMENT STATUS”.  There are 12 total questions related to 14 year olds and working.  In today’s society kids aren’t even allowed to work at the age of 14 due to child labor laws but I do find it interesting looking back into a whole different time in American history.  I am not sure how many questions are on a modern day census but back in 1940 there were 34 questions plus 16 supplemental questions for a total of 50 questions.  To me that seems like a lot of questions for someone to answer back in 1940.

So if you have been waiting for the 1940 census release it is now here after a long 72 years.  A lot of people have been waiting for this because within the first three hours of the 1940 census being released 22.5 million people logged on causing the website to overload.

Be patient if you have a hard time logging on.  We had to wait 72 years for this data so what is another hour or two?

Will you be searching the 1940 census for family?

Pet owners love to spoil their pets. They indulge them in decadent treats, buy toys that keep them entertained when they are ready to play and accessories that keep them comfortable when they are ready to take a nap. And now that the summer months are upon us, more dog owners are looking for ways to keep their dogs cool while they are away at work during the heat of the day. With some specially designed dog supplies, pet owners are now able to keep their dogs comfortable while they are outside during the blazing summer heat.

Here are six ways you can keep your dog cool and healthy this summer while you are at work or away from the house.

1. Doghouses with a fan – Buy a doghouse with a fan for the backyard. To keep it energy efficient, use the power of the sun to cool your dog with a solar-powered fan built into the back of this house.
2. Dog doors – Give your dog free rein to be outside during the cooler early morning hours or inside during the hot afternoon with a special door just for them.
3. Doghouse with an air conditioner – If you live in an extra-warm community, keep your dog at a more comfortable temperature, even when he or she is outside, with a doghouse that has its own private built-in air conditioner.
4. Elevated dog beds – If you have enough of a shaded area, provide your dog with an elevated dog bed to keep away from the heat of the ground, and in a place where he or she can enjoy a breeze to naturally stay cool.
5. Cooling dog accessories to lie on – Either in the doghouse or on the dog bed, provide a cooling mat that your pooch can lie down on to cool off. Technology that monitors the temperature of your dog’s body can help adjust the mat to meet your dog’s cooling needs. Most of these accessories are nice and soft too, so your dog stays comfortable while cooling off.
6. A fresh water bowl – Hook a special bowl up to your outside faucet and make sure your dog stays hydrated with fresh water throughout the day.

Stop worrying whether your pet is staying hydrated and cool while you are at work this summer. Instead, pamper your pet and keep him or her comfortable with dog supplies made especially to keep pooches cool in the summer heat.