An American Icon with Smiley Faces

September 3, 2008 at 6:00 am (blog trip, Cooking & Eating)
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MMM…since I sometimes pretend that I’m an All-American Girl (“Oh-KAAAAAAY”)…thought I would share the BEST All American place for yummy breakfast (they also serve lunch/dinner) ANYTIME of the day that MY family LOVES to grub at…

IHOP!!! No…not the International House of Prayer (though we could all do/get a bit more)…not Information Hyperlinked over Proteins (yeah…I said the same thing…HUH?!)…But INTERNATIONAL HOUSE OF PANCAKES!!!!

 

Who DIDN’T get the smiley faced pancakes loaded with sugar when you were a kid?! And if you didn’t I’m so sorry!!  I CRINGE now when they request all that sugar but then it’s NOT gonna kill ’em…

 

 

 

 

OMG…Check out the Horton Hears a Who Pancake to help promote the latest movie!!! INSANE!!! Talk about a major sugar rush after eating THIS!!

 

 

I personally LOVE the steak omelet and country fried steak and eggs.  And ALWAYS gotta get a loaded hashbrown with cheese, tomatoes, onions, and mushrooms!!! MMM…My mouth is watering so much I better grab the watering can to conserve water for the flowers! LOL…I crack me up sometimes…I make the stupidest jokes (at least I don’t CLAIM to be a comedian!!)…Wonder if I can convince hubby to take us there tonight (since we all know breakfast always seems to taste best at night)!

In case you’d like to know…IHOP is hosting a “Discover America Pancake Tour” til September 7th!!

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Fill Up Your Tank!!

September 2, 2008 at 1:00 am (blog trip, Random Things)
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Not sure about you but gas here in Raleigh, NC is anywhere from $3.42 to $3.79 depending on the day of the week, time of day, and location. Over the past week I’ve paid $3.42 to $3.55 near my house.  If you’re looking for the cheapest gas prices, check out Gas Buddy for your local city. The link here shows the current prices for Raleigh.

Gas Buddy currently lists the following 10 tips for conserving gas:

1 Avoid High Speeds As your speed increases, your aerodynamic drag increases in an exponential fashion. Driving 62 mph (100 km/h) vs 75 mph (120 km/h) will reduce fuel consumption by about 15%.
2 Do Not Accelerate or Brake Hard By anticipating the traffic and applying slow steady acceleration and braking, fuel economy may increase by as much as 20%.
3 Keep Tires Properly Inflated Keep tire air pressure at the level recommended by your vehicle manufacturer. A single tire under inflated by 2 PSI, increases fuel consumption by 1%.
4 Use A/C Sparingly When the air conditioner is on it puts extra load on the engine forcing more fuel to be used (by about 20%). The defrost position on most vehicles also uses the air conditioner.
5 Keep Windows Closed Windows open, especially at highway speeds, increase drag and result in decreased fuel economy of up to 10%.
6 Service Vehicle Regularly Proper maintenance avoids poor fuel economy related to dirty air filters, old spark plugs or low fluid levels.
7 Use Cruise Control Maintaining a constant speed over long distances often saves gas.
8 Avoid Heavy Loads Remove the sand bags from your trunk in the spring and pack lightly for long trips.
9 Avoid Long Idles If you anticipate being stopped for more than 1 minute, shut off the car. Restarting the car uses less fuel than letting it idle for this time.
10 Purchase a Fuel Efficient Vehicle When buying a new vehicle examine the vehicle’s rated fuel efficiency. Usually choosing a small vehicle with a manual transmission will provide you with great fuel economy.

You can find other gas saving tips at Opentravelinfo here: http://www.opentravelinfo.com/travel-guide/uncategorized/how-to-save-money-on-gas-29-tips.html.

Unfortunately hubby and I have gas guzzlers (’04 AWD Ford Explorer and ’96 4×4 GMC Sierra Extended Cab) and try our best to conserve as much as possible.  Thank goodness I live in a subdivision with plenty of kids (although we ARE hoping for a little girl soon for my oldest to play with) as well as local girlfriends for me to hang out with as we end our evenings and the kids play.  We live in an area that is growing like crazy with different stores and such nearby.  I believe the nearest grocery store as well as the Super Wal-mart is about a mile up the street so if I REALLY wanted to (and ONLY if I buy a small thing…)  I COULD walk.  There is a public bustop a block from my house BUT I’m thinking it might not be as safe for the kids (don’t believe there are restraints and you can’t always gaurantee a seat) so I’ve never ridden it with them.  My neighbor and I do occassionally go to the grocery store together to save gas.  And there even this one particular discount grocery store (Aldi) we bring our own bags as they do not supply any which helps us be more green!

Since I am a SAHM and the older kids are back in school, I’m home more with the little one.  Mainly I think because there isn’t as much demand for outside stimulation away from home (gee…I make my kids sound like demanding brats! LOL).  The little one and I can find stimulation playing in our flower garden (we’re trying to save from our previous heat waves), dancing to music, coloring, and dress up so it’s fairly easy to entertain her without having to leave our driveway. 

So how are gas prices in your area compared to us?

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I’m going on a Blog Trip

August 31, 2008 at 11:29 pm (blog trip, Random Things)
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Well this mom here is going on a blog trip this week of September 1-5. It will be interesting to get to know other mom bloggers out there and why they blog. Do they blog because they like the creative outlet when life seems to be chaotic? Do they blog to promote their business or passion? OR do they blog to share their life with their family and friends? It seems we all have our reasons for blogging. I personally enjoy blogging about me, my family, random things (which all can be found at my mom blog site: Wife and Mom of 3) AND I enjoy blogging about the books I’ve come across (which can be found in The Book Faery Reviews).  

So who wants to know about this mom blogger who loves being me, a wife, a mother, and a reader?! You obviously if you’re reading this post and I do hope you continue to read this one and any others on my site (don’t forget to leave a comment or two with your own blog/website and I’ll return the favor and stop by…who knows…we may end up enjoying each other’s company enough to exchange links or add to our RSS readers…).

Well… I am married to my high school heart who I have known half of my life. We’ve been married for 8 years and together are raising 3 beautiful children (2 girls and 1 boy).

I am currently a SAHM (stay at home mom…for anyone not familiar with the acronym). My older two are in 1st and 3rd grade while the youngest is at home with me during the day. I am in hopes of finding a job though as I DO feel like my brain is going to mush and I need more intelligent conversations throughout the day. Not that there is ANYTHING wrong with being a SAHM but playgroups and such just didn’t give me what I needed. I want to be able to converse with my hubby and friends about more topics aside from what Jr. did today…I just need my own personal stimulation.

Aside from my blogging, I enjoy spending time with my hubby and kids, hanging out with MY mommy (LOL…hey if the kids can do it, why can’t I?!), go-karting with the kids, 4-wheeling with my hubby, dancing with my kids, reading all kinds of books, cooking, hanging out on the deck with my girls with a “drink” and having one of our “board meetings”, and singing to my MP3 player (OMG…”there was this ONE time” I wasn’t expecting my husband’s best friend so soon for dinner and my son taps me on the hip with HIM behind me with a grin on his face as I’m jamming to a song while I cook dinner!! Talk about embarrassing!! I may have known him half my life too but STILL!! That’s the side he’s NEVER seen! LOL)

I love to sing (but just for my mom, sister, kids, and self…I know…), instead of shoes, I am a purse addict (in fact I just got my third Dooney and Burke purse and LOVE it!! Thank you Mom! A bit too conservative/business like for my girlfriends but SOOO me). I’m STILL on the search for a great Coach purse to add to my collection!! I’ve got a girlfriend who SWEARS her Coach hook up sells the REAL THING at a HUGE discount…so we’ll just have to check her out soon!

Some other tidbits about me…

  • Though I am no longer a Catholic, I was baptized by the Pope in the Philippines where I was born in 1978.
  • I am my son’s football “Team Mom”.
  • I’m fascinated with faeries, dragons, and ghosts.
  • I love the colors purple and dark red. (My wedding was in a smoky purple and I wear some sort of red piece of clothing to a job interview if I want it bad enough for the added confidence.)
  • I was 2nd runner up to Miss Jr. Raleigh in 1994 and Miss Congeniality in that same pageant. My oldest daughter was 2nd runner up for a local pageant here and got Miss Smiley when she was 2 (she’s almost 9 now)!! How ironic…
  • One of these days I WILL (power of determination!) to open up a café/bookstore.
  • Before I turn 31 this December I want to get a tattoo…just debating on my faery facing the dragon or a faery sitting on books for my shoulder. It’s on my “to do before I die” list!

 

I live in Raleigh, NC where the seasons have typically changed over the years…meaning, the colors change in the fall, the weather is quite chilly in the winter, the flowers are all in bloom in the spring, and the air is perfect for a swim without burning your nostril hairs. However, I have to admit the past two years have been a bit odd and off in terms of weather pattern but I still love my North Carolina and YEP…I am a Southern Gal and enjoy the perfect pace of the south.

So there you go…a bit about me…what else do you want to know? Just leave me a comment and I’ll let you know! I’m a fairly open book as I am who I am and not ashamed of who I am (without the use of real names of course to protect my family the best I can online…course you know there’s always a risk to blogging freely online when it comes to your family)…

 

If you’re interested in joining this blog trip, then check out my earlier blog at: https://wifeandmomof3.wordpress.com/2008/08/23/im-going-on-a-blog-trip-sept-1-5/.

8 Comments