On the Right Track

Let me start by saying, no laughing! Yes, that is me. In the middle of a 600 yard run at the University of Maine indoor track during a High School meet. Circa 1985-ish. And yes, I am that far ahead of everybody. (Really, I am!)

Why am I posting this photo you ask? Because my son is going to follow in my footsteps. (So to speak...) And I'm very excited about it. He had his first official track practice today. He's not sure exactly what events he will compete in, but he's leaning towards the 400/800 meters and the long jump and/or high jump. It has been fun listening to him talk about it and it's bringing back lots of great memories... so much for not living vicariously through my child!

Menu Plan Monday

Last week was an easy menu week for us. We had no kids to feed, so we decided to simplify the menu. This week we're pretty much back to normal. We didn't end up making the potato soup last week, so we'll try again this week.

Menu for next week:

Sunday: BBQ pork, Au Gratin potatoes, corn & rolls

Monday: Chicken & Rice with carrots

Tuesday: Potato Soup

Wednesday: Cheeseburgers, baked beans and fries

Thursday: Nachos & Burritos

Friday: Pizza & Wings

Saturday: ??

Be sure to check out the Menu Plan Monday website with hundreds of Menu planning ideas at "I'm an Organizing Junkie".

The Great Cola Taste Test

We decided to stage a "Cola" taste test in our house to try to prove a point. Eric did the happy dance once the test was over. He was 100% correct with his theory, and the evidence overwhelmingly supported it... here is how the test went:

Eric was convinced that the "generic" cola was just as good as the name-brand. Kelsey and I were very skeptical. Kelsey is a Coke fan, I am a Pepsi fan. (Or at least I was until I stopped drinking it, however I wanted to take part in the test, so I did.)

The 3 colas we tested were Coke, Pepsi and Walmart brand (aka Sams Cola). We had water to drink between sips to cleanse our palate. Eric set up the test while we were in another room. I thought I knew immediately which was the Pepsi. Kelsey thought she knew which one was Coke.

Tasting. Thinking. Tasting some more.

Trying to smell if there was a difference. (There wasn't.)

These are the results. (You can click on the image to see it better.) Neither of us was correct on any of the 3 colas. We were both completely wrong. As a matter of fact, we both put down totally different answers for each of the 3 choices. The cola that we both thought was our favorite, ended up being the Sams Cola.

Very interesting results. And now, instead of buying the expensive cola - we can buy the generic store brand instead. (Well, maybe we will...)

Toys and Things

Looky at what we got! It's so much fun. The iPod Touch. It's an iPod, it's the internet, it's games, a maps, email, texting, a calendar... even a calculator (Oh my, a calculator...) I can check my Facebook account at the press of a buttom, my email too. I can check the weather anywhere in the world, see what time it is in France if I want, or find out the weather there too. I can watch YouTube videos and play basketball or skeeball too. The only thing I can't do is talk on the phone, but I don't do that very often anyway, so for me, this is perfect! I love it. And I think everyone should get one.

We're heading out to the flea market in a few minutes, we haven't been in a long time. Hoping to find some bargains. Speaking of bargains, the weekly grocery bill was only $51 this week. We skipped Aldi, but had a lot of things in the freezer for dinners. Buying in bulk is good. We need to save our money where we can so we can afford all those neat new tech gadgets!

Lists

I thought of a half dozen things to blog about today, but do you think I could remember any of them now? I need to start writing things down more. I like lists, lists are good. They help me stay organized, remember to pick up milk or to call the doctor. Maybe if I try hard I'll remember a few of my random thoughts...

1. I've never wanted to live vicariously through my child and don't like when parents push their kids to be better than they were or to do things that they want them to do. However, I will say I had a twinge of excitement today when Alex told me he wanted to run track. He's been talking about running Cross Country in the Fall, but today he announced he'd like to do track this spring. I really, really hope he does decide to do it, but I won't push him. Well, not out loud anyway.

2. I just created a donut in the Dunkin Donuts Create a Donut contest while I was trying to remember what was on my list. You should too. You could win $12,000.

3. SU is in the Sweet Sixteen and they're playing tomorrow night. We get to wear Orange tomorrow at work. Kind of like "Hawaiian Shirt Day", but different.

4. We're refinancing our house! I know we just bought it last summer, but the rates are so low it was a no-brainer. We'll be saving lots of money.

5. I can't think of any more things to add to my list. I knew there were a bunch of things, but my brain isn't functioning properly. But I know I really should get a new blog post up so that my regular readers don't have to read the Mamma Mia post anymore...

Mamma Mia, Here I Go Again

One of my favorite movies ever is Grease. I just love it. Maybe because it's the first "real" movie I really remember seeing in the theater. Or maybe it's because I wanted so badly to be Olivia Newton John. I'm not sure what the reason, but I love everything about that movie, the storyline, the music, the actors, everything. I could (and quite possibly have) watched it a hundred times.

Eric and I watched Mamma Mia yesterday. (Yes, he willingly watched it with me! I know, he's a very good man.) I really thought that I might have the same feelings for this movie that I had for Grease, but sadly, I did not. Sure, it was fun and I really enjoyed the storyline. But I found myself fast-forwarding through most of the musical numbers. (An appreciative Eric thanked me for that...) A few of the songs I enjoyed, like Dancing Queen and Mamma Mia. But the others, not so much. Maybe it's because I have never been a huge Abba fan, I don't know. I thought that all of the actors did a fantastic job, even Pierce Brosnan wasn't that bad of a singer (well, maybe a little), but overall, the cast was great.

I'm glad that I watched the movie, but I will probably not purchase it and watch it 100 times like I did with Grease. Did anyone else see this? If so, what'd you think??

Menu Plan Monday

Last week, we followed the menu almost perfectly. We only switched 2 days around. But the entire menu was completed. This coming week, we don't have to feed any kids (except for tonight and Friday), so the menu will be very simplified. (On a side note, I do take salads to work for lunch quite often to at least get some green leafy vegetables into my system!)

Sunday: Chicken Pot Pie with mashed potatoes
Monday: Cheeseburgers, sweet potato fries and corn
Tuesday: Potato Soup
Wednesday: Burritos & Nachos... and maybe a beer or two
Thursday: Hot Dogs, beans and corn bread
Friday: Pizza & Wings
Saturday: ?

As always, be sure to check out the Menu Plan Monday website with hundreds of Menu planning ideas at "I'm an Organizing Junkie".