I’m not a great cook. In fact, I’m in a rut of fixing the same meals week after week. Sometimes I flip through my cookbooks to find new recipes, but it’s always difficult to try new recipes. I usually have to buy ingredients that I normally don’t have on hand plus I without pictures I’m not sure what the outcome should look like. I’m a visual learner so pictures help.

It looks like I will be treating my husband to TGI Friday’s sometime this week. Not sure if we’ll make it this weekend since we are both feeling a little sick. There are a lot of restaurants in town and we usually like to try a new one every once in a while. When we travel, we like to eat at new places, too. If we ever travel to California to visit one of our good friends we will have to check out the restaurants in La Jolla since there is sure to be some local dives. But for now we will be eating at the franchise TGI Friday’s.

I owe him a TGI Friday’s meal because I ate there without him. Oh the shame! How could I *gasp* eat a meal without my husband? Well, I was Christmas shopping with my Mom and niece – probably buying his present – and we got hungry. I’m not sure I even suggest TGI Friday’s. I told Joe about it and he was upset he missed out. So, that lead to me owing him a dinner. It all happened so fast that I agreed before I really thought it out. He’s pretty sly like that.

So, now that he knows I have a little money thanks to PayU2Blog, he’s ready for me to take him out. Typical.

I won an XShot in a contest hosted by the BenSpark. Now he has another XShot contest that ends tomorrow and that’s to take a picture with an XShot. You also have to submit a photo of you with your XShot. Here are the pictures I’m going to enter as well as the picture of me with the XShot.

I’ve also used my XShot to shoot video for my list of what $5 will buy.

I would have done more entries but moving has really been time-consuming. Remember the contest ends tomorrow, so get that XShot out – if you have one – and take some photos.

We all want to give great gifts to our friends and family. Whether it’s anniversary gifts or birthday gifts, we want ours to stand out above all the rest. How do you become a good gift giver? It might be easier than you think.

You can always ask the person what they want. If their wish list is like mine, everything on it is way too expensive for just one person. So when you ask the person, include that you and a couple of people were thinking of going in on the gift. This will signal that the price can be a little higher, so this may lead to the person giving a lot more gift ideas.

Gift cards always make great presents but can seem a little impersonal. Just make sure the gift card is from either their favorite restaurant or department store.

Really ask yourself, “Is this a gift that I would like to receive?” If the answer isn’t an enthusiastic “Yes!” then pass it over and keep looking. Find something that excites you, and it should be a good gift to give not unless you just know the person would hate it for whatever reason.

Gift giving can be a lot of fun and with a little thought you can give the perfect gift for any occasion.

I haven’t had my cholesterol level checked but I’m pretty sure it is high. High cholesterol seems to run in the family. My Mom has started a low-fat diet, which has made us decide to cut back on the fat, too. It will be hard but we have so many reasons to want to be healthy for years to come.

Luckily we haven’t had any real health issues so far and haven’t needed to use any monitoring devices like a pulse oximeter that measures the oxygen in your blood. Low oxygen stats would be a symptom of something really wrong. Hopefully if we can change our eating habits now, we won’t have serious health problems for a long time.

I went to the grocery store today to buy some food. I bought a lot of fruit and whole grains, so that should give us a healthy start to our new way of eating. I’m sure we will backslide but if we can keep focused on the big picture, I think we can stick to it.

I’ve always heard this was a southern thing but I think it may be a practice all over the place. That’s taking food to a family that has recently lost a loved one. People will also take food to those who recently had surgery, had a baby, or other event that makes it difficult for them to cook. Sadly my former sister-in-law just experienced such generosity after she had a miscarriage. Co-workers brought her a ton of food so that she wouldn’t have to cook for the next few days. This made me think of times that we’ve taken food to a family in need. How do you know what to fix or take? Since these events usually happen pretty fast, you might be limited to what is in your cupboard.

Here is a general rule that I follow when taking food to a family. Since taste buds are different, I try to stay with safe foods like spaghetti or a simple chicken casserole. Sometimes it’s easier just to pick up something to bring like a sandwich tray or a bucket of chicken. It’s easy to fix a simple dish or pick up something. The thought behind either food is still the same.

Before buying property, it’s paramount that potential buyers do their homework. In two years, we hope to buy land or a house. Since we know very little about real estate, it’s time to start learning something now to prepare ourselves for when we do get ready to buy. I know that our real estate market is quite different than, for example, Tampa real estate. Real estate is still quite expensive. Some places the bubble is beginning to burst, but since Katina, real estate has been a prime commodity.

Hopefully by the time we are ready to buy, the market will be back in line with more reasonable pricing. It does add to the stress level to think about just how much money we will need to buy a house in the current economy. Maybe some relief will come in the real estate market or a hefty raise for my husband.

Usually I am a firm believer in buying the original scent of cleaning products. It always seems that the new scent of cleaners never work as well as the original. When it comes to Pine-Sol, I have to make an exception.

I bought the original scent Pine-Sol when we were getting ready to move and used it to clean the floors. The overpowering scent gave me such a headache that I never wanted to use the product again. Well, in our new place there was some Pine-Sol left from the former residents. It was Pine-Sol but it was a scented one. Desperate for a cleaner, I used the scented brand and was pleasantly surprised by the results.

It cleaned just as well as the original scent plus the scent didn’t give me a headache. The scent was Lavender Clean. So now I have to amend my thinking that scented products don’t work as well as the original scented ones. From now on, I know I will definitely be buying the scented Pine-Sol for sure.

We’ve been knee-deep in home improvement projects for about a month and still no end in sight. Some projects had to be done but some are just to make the place look better. We’ve replaced windows and have painted for what seems like weeks. Now that we have the inside pretty much set, it’s time to work on the curb appeal of the outside.

Our place is much smaller than our previous one. That’s why we’ve been thinking about ways to add to our living space. Anglian Home Improvement has some great ideas to add to your living outdoor space with a conservatory, or a gazebo. We love being outdoors so having an enclosed gazebo would give us a way to enjoy the outdoors and still have a nice, dry place to keep some of our things. The different styles of gazebos mean that there is bound to be something that goes with our decor and tastes. I would love a place to work outdoors while being able to use my laptop. A conservatory might just be the right solution.

Anglian also plenty of ideas for home improvements. The website has a whole selection on those problem areas like the kitchen and garage. The kitchen will be the next home improvement project, so hopefully I will find some great ideas from Anglian for my tiny kitchen to get the most use out of every inch.

While I can watch golf on TV or even sometimes watch March Madness, I’m so thrilled that football season is finally here. I like to chill out on Sundays and now that football is back, there is something that I know that I like to watch will be on television.

Sunday football is a ritual at our house. It’s something the whole family enjoys and it’s great to spend some fun time with everyone. I am a big Saints fan, so last year I had a lot to cheer about. This year it’s been a slow start but hopefully things will get better. Kickoff is just a few hours away. Here’s hoping for another exciting day of football.