This post will most likely wind up as more complaining than actual anything but I feel the strong need to share. On Wednesday my husband was going to work late – so I plugged in his tablet so that I could use it that evening. When he is home, he has the tablet in his possession either reading or playing games. On the way to work he mentioned that his tablet would need to be charged if I wanted to use it. So I responded by saying that I had put it on the charger before we left – to which he replied – and the whole reason for this post – Oh I see you are planning ahead, I must be rubbing off on you.

Excuse me? What? My husband is a planner? Since when? I was glad I was sitting down when he said that because you could have knocked me over with a feather. I was stunned. He doesn’t think I plan? How come there is food for him to eat at night and clean clothes for him to wear to work? That doesn’t happen from planning? It just struck a nerve because I do plan. He did throw me a bone by saying that I plan to pay bills but that was basically it. I plan all the time. I have several lists. In fact some plans I make he makes fun of! But no. He is rubbing off on me because I charged his tablet – a task he is always forgetting. Who has a dead cell phone at least twice a week? Not me since I plan to use my phone the next day so I put it on the charger when the battery is low.

Now I may not be the best planner or executioner of plans, but I wouldn’t say that his “planning skills” have rubbed off on me. His skills are pretty weak in that department. Anyway, maybe because I remember something of his to do that he now recognizes that I do plan. He sees the direct result – something of his that he loves – that benefited from my thinking ahead. That is probably more like it – I mean food and clean clothes are just a given at our house. No need to think any planning that place for that to happen.

I guess I have always thought of myself as a planner. In some areas it is really strong but apparently no so in others. My rant mode is now in check. It does feel good to get those feelings off your chest.

Why put off until tomorrow what you can do today? Well, it’s just easier to put off stuff until a later date. This is one of my huge flaws that I am working on. I always put off tasks – little ones and big ones – until some other time. If I am reading my Facebook feed and someone just posted a status, I feel the need to wait and not like or comment too soon. Why? I don ‘t want to seem like I am always on the computer but I AM ALWAYS on the computer. So I have been trying really hard just to comment and like posts as soon as I see them. So what if you posted it thirty seconds ago? It’s OK that I saw it as soon as it was posted.

That is just a small example of what I put off. I put off answering email because – again – I don’t want to seem like I just wait for new email to arrive all day. Again, I’m worried what people will think if I respond too soon to something. When people respond fast to my emails, I do not think they are just constantly checking their email. I just think wow they are fast. So this is just silly, too.

I am also really bad at procrastinating when it comes to writing. Ugh. I love to blog and write, so why do I put it off? Sometimes I think I need a photo – so I will post when I have a photo. There are all sorts of reasons why I put off writing. But I shouldn’t. I should write when I’m inspired. This is something I am working on instead of waiting for the perfect storm that I just push forward and write.

Of course housework always gets pushed and pushed. I do plan on tackling clutter this winter. Still I need to do some small tasks each day to make life easier on all of us. Why put off small things like take the clothes to the laundry room? Really? You gonna let that go until tomorrow? Not anymore I say!

So I do need to adopt the attitude of if I can get to it today, then go ahead and do it. Weekends aren’t only meant for catching up, they are meant to relax and have fun. Of course I never put having fun off!

Guest post written by my buddy Lavern Small

I love the Food Network and pretty much every show on it. I’m not a professional chef or anything but it’s been great learning some new tips and tricks every time I turn on the TV! My favorite is Bobby Flay and that’s a good thing because he’s on just about every show on the network like Throwdown and Boy Meets Grill and those types of series. I got cable comparison and chose satellite specifically so I could watch the Food Channel and the second I got it turned on they introduced their newest channel, the Cooking Network! It’s almost even better because there’s not as much time spent on things like competitions or reality shows and it’s just a lot more about the chefs doing what they’re good at which is cooking and teaching viewers how to do it too. I love learning new things and if you asked my family or friends I think they’d tell you they think I’m becoming quite the home chef! My husband would definitely say paying the satellite bill is worth it!

How did you spend New Year’s Eve? We spent some time spending the last of our flexible spending account – we got our flu shots. Last year we both got a flu shot and stayed really healthy all winter. This year we kept pushing it back until finally we were in a situation of “use it or lose it.”

We made it just in time. Did you know that the pharmacy closes at 6pm on Saturday night? I’m not sure if that is regular hours or if that was special for New Year’s Eve hours. I guess I had always assumed that if a drug store stays open 24 hours that they have a pharmacists there all the time. As we were getting our shots, my husband was relaying to the pharmacists how well we had been last year after we had gotten our flu shot. The pharmacists then told us next year to get the shot earlier – like in September.

Last year, they filled many prescriptions for Tamiflu but this year they had filled only three. What is different? That people are getting their flu shot earlier – which apparently is the recommendation. The pharmacist said what happened last year was the people got the flu early and it spread but also mutated. Then by the time people did get flu shots, it wasn’t very effective on this different strand of the flu. Apparently what makes up the flu vaccine each year is an educated guess (probably more to it than that) of what flu strands will be making the rounds. Once you get the flu shot, it takes two weeks to for it to take full effect.

Not that of an exciting New Year’s Eve but very educational. Next year we will get our flu shot earlier and hopefully avoid being sick.

You know those “baby on board” stickers? To be honest with you, I’ve never felt 100% safe driving with a baby on board. Of course I drive slowly, but I’m always looking over my shoulder to make sure my little baby is still smiling and happy.

To keep my kids safe, I like to go above and beyond. Of course we have all the best child seats and all that jazz – but I got myself thinking the other day about what I could do to make it even safer for my kids. What I found, you wouldn’t believe. Don’t laugh!

It’s called a “train horn.” It’s essentially an extra loud horn you can install on your car. It blasts compressed air through a “diaphragm” and creates an extremely loud noise, much louder than your standard car horn.

It’s so loud that you almost have to cover your ears if you press on the horn while you’re sitting in the car. But that’s also what I love about it.

If you’ve heard about stories where teenagers were driving with loud music on and couldn’t hear an oncoming car’s horn honking – Well, I never want that to happen to me. Especially with my kids in the back. This new train horn of mine should hopefully prevent that.

P.S. The kids love it, they love pushing on it to hear the loud noise it makes.

When you are buying a new bed it can be difficult to know what to choose; from divans to bed frames to bunks it can be hard to know what to go for. So, just what is a divan bed?

A divan bed is a bed base which is either sprung or a solid platform. Basically you put your mattress on the bed base but, unlike a bed frame, there is no space between the floor and the divan – the divan goes all the way to the floor and is sprung.

The word divan comes from the Turkish, where a divan was a long seat made of a mattress which was either laid straight on the floor or on a raised structure or frame with cushions to lean on.

Nowadays divan beds have taken their name from these seats and are a comfortable bed base for anyone’s needs.

A divan bed normally consists of two parts which are fixed together and has a wooden framed base which is surrounded by cloth. If the divan is over 3ft most divans are split in two pieces so that there is easy access to all the parts. Divan beds often also have casters for easy maneuverability.

There are many advantages to a divan bed over a more traditional bed frame. They come in a variety of sizes; from a traditional single to a superking size, so there will be a size to suit your needs. The divan and mattress also fit together perfectly and there is no overhang so, if space is tight in your bedroom, they are a perfect combination.

What is also good about divan beds is that they can include draws which are perfect for storage for things like bed linen and pillows. They can also be bought as a combination of bed and mattress or if you already have a mattress just as a divan base.

What’s more by using a valance, or a headboard, a divan bed can easily be customised to fit your room and décor so that the bed is the perfect part of your bedroom scheme, and a comfortable one at that!

83 years ago today, sliced bread was introduced, and the world has never been the same. That fateful improvement on a delicious product gave us the phrase ‘best thing since sliced bread.’ Where would we be without that phrase much less sliced bread?

Without sliced bread, we wouldn’t have toast and sandwiches. I can’t imagine not having sandwiches. Sliced bread is also one of those products that shows you don’t have to have an original idea to be successful; you can just improve a product already on the market.

Now to go fix me a sandwich on toasted bread. Yummy.

This summer we got a swimming pool. It is a good size for Rae but for use it is just a spot to get good and wet. The pool is about 12 feet wide – so what we have learned is there is a lot of pool maintenance for a pool that we never totally realized.

I should have paid more attention in chemistry class. You have to check the pH balance, chlorine level, bromine levels and more. You need to add chlorine and then if you add too much you need to bring the level back down.

Besides the chemistry, there is the cleaning. I have learned to recover the skimmer since the dog has eaten it. I’m sure she will eat it again. Thank goodness we have some window screen left from a home improvement project.

So far this summer, we have spent more time cleaning than swimming. Since I’ve been working during the day and between other activities, we haven’t been swimming that much but try to keep the pool clean during the week.

I wouldn’t say that buying the swimming pool was a bad idea, but it is becoming more maintenance than we had anticipated. Still we are enjoying it and I get a refresher course in chemistry.

Thanks to Jonathon Woods

I’m usually out and about, running errands and generally just being all over town, but last month I was in a car accident and broke my leg. I know I told you guys already, but the surgery left me pretty immobile, so I’ve been spending a lot of time at home. I was getting totally bored and restless always watching TV and movies, so my husband went to http://www.WirelessInternet.net and sign us up for home Internet so I could do whatever I wanted online. I actually started a small home business selling things on eBay, and it’s really turning out to be pretty lucrative for us! Totally justifies the cost of having Internet at home! I’ve been doing a little bit of online shopping as well, and I even figured out how to order my groceries online so that they’re delivered right to my door. What kind of miracle is that? My husband likes that I’m able to be at home more and not work like so much, and I just hope that I heal soon!

It seems with each passing week, my grocery money buys us less and less. I mainly shop at Wal-Mart – we have a love/hate relationship. I love stopping one place and buying everything. I also hate the crowd, out-of-stock, rising prices, and more. Sometimes I do shop elsewhere but it is frustrating not knowing where everything is. I have started shopping at grocery stores when I need just a few items.

Yesterday I ran into a local grocery store and needed to buy something that I knew would be higher than at Wal-Mart. Beauty products are always more expensive at the grocery store. I was willing to pay though. Much to my surprise, the price was right on target with what Wal-Mart is now asking. They have been steadily increasing prices for months. Now there is little – if any – real price difference between them and grocery stores for some items.

Going to the grocery store takes at least an hour. I try to shop from a list but sometimes make substitutions if something else is on sale. That is challenging because it could change a whole planned meal. But it’s something that has to be done. Our grocery bill is tight especially with higher gas prices. There is just not a lot of extra money right now.