The Super Bowl is a Health Hazard

It's true. (Maria read this, there's medical proof!) The Super Bowl is hazardous to our health. Lack of sleep, drinking a lot of booze, smoking and wolfing down a ton of junk food... all that with the added stress of the game is a heart attack waiting to happen. So be careful on Sunday everyone!! And go Patriots!

On another note, I was reading "Celebrity Predictions" at si.com and laughed out loud when I read this prediction from Nick Swardson, actor/comedian:

Patriots 587
Giants 2

"After the game Tom Brady will celebrate by finding Osama Bin Laden. He owns."

Brand Names vs Store Brands

We've been having a bit of a debate/discussion today regarding store brands vs. name brands. I'm interested in what others think. I am all about saving money, so I'm very good about buying the store brands. (Wegmans brand, that is.) Although, there are a few items that I will only buy name brand.

Here's my list of must-have name brands:
Bounty paper towels
Bounce dryer sheets
Pepsi

I think that's it. Everything else I can go with store brands or whatever is on sale. I think that store brands have really come a long way in their qualilty. I don't think I have lowered my standards at all. I do like to save money, but if it doesn't taste good or doesn't work well, then I wouldn't buy it. Tell me what you think! What's good, what's bad? What is on your must-have name brand list?

Exceptions to the Rule

The 6th grade class took a vote yesterday regarding "Turn Off the TV Week". They voted on the definition of "tv watching". And as it turns out, "tv watching" does not include playing video games or watching DVDs. I had no idea! But apparently it was a land-slide victory for the new definition. Which honestly was good news for me. My little "I'm bored" man was starting to drive me nuts after only one day. So today arrived the "Greatest Moments in NFL Super Bowl History" DVD in the mail from Netflix and we watched the entire 2 1/2 hour celebration. Tomorrow we may even watch it again.

Youth XL

Alex and I have been tearing the town apart looking for Patriots wear. We went through this for the Red Sox back in October. I should have learned my lesson! Although now Red Sox items are everywhere. So last night we went to Sports Authority. Actually, we went to 2 different Sports Authorities. It was amazing the difference in the two stores.

One store had absolutely NOTHING with the Patriots logo on it. Well, that's not true. There was that poster for the Super Bowl, but the Giants took up half the poster, so that didn't count.

At the other Sports Authority, they had a whole display of Patriots gear. Jerseys, t-shirts, hats, and jackets. Granted, the Giants display(s) were far more impressive, but at least we had something. They even had a rack of Youth clothing. I was bummed that the smallest anything they had in adult wear was a Men's Large. So I looked through the Youth items. Not only are they cheaper, but they actually fit me! The Youth XL is (I dare say) even slightly big on me! I was quite surprised. That's the size that Alex wears. Either I'm shrinking or he's getting big... either way, the Youth sizes are cheaper ($14 compared to $19) and I was thrilled to get myself a Patriots AFC Champion T-shirt for the Big Game on Sunday.

Oh and night #1 of "Turn off the TV Week" was a success. Although it wasn't that difficult with the State of the Union on every single channel...

Cookie Monsters, Anniversaries & Questions

First off, I have to wish my parents a Happy 42nd Anniversary! Congratulations on 42 great years together!! I hope you get to spend a wonderful day together and go out and celebrate.

When I woke up this morning, I started my daily routine by going downstairs to get my coffee and let the dog out. I turned the light on in the kitchen and noticed that the Cookie Monster had paid a visit during the night. I made a huge batch of Chocolate Chip cookies yesterday to take to work today. And it seemed that at some point a little boy went downstairs to have some cookies because the lid to the cookie container was no longer any where near the container of cookies. My formerly soft cookies were well on their way to being stale. I was not happy. So I took a layer of stale-ish cookies off the top and put them in the Cookie Monster's lunch for today.

And today is Monday... time for Question of the Week! In honor of this week's "Turn off the TV Week", here's the question:

Q: If you had to give up your computer and your TV at home, what would you do for entertainment?

My Answer: I would play board games, do puzzles, bake, have friends over, go for walks, and possibly write that novel I've always wanted to write! (Although a computer would really help with that!)

NKOTB, Take 2?

Is this really necessary?? Not everyone who was someone once needs to make a comeback. And this is a prime example. The Police reunion was one thing, they are a timeless, talented band. These talentless "kids" are not. Can't they just let it go? And they are no longer "kids"... more like "Old Men on the Block"... well, they're younger than me, but still! I really don't think they have the right stuff any more. Actually, I never really thought they had the right stuff. But I think I was just past the age of being a fan of boy bands when they hit it big.

Now where's my Barry Manilow CD...

And the winner is...

We made our decision for Summer Vacation '08. We're going to the Cape again! We discovered the cottage right next to the one we stayed in last year was available. We'll just be going 2 weeks earlier than planned. Vacation will be a little bit earlier, but that's ok. This cottage has air conditioning and a washer & dryer. Two things the other cottage didn't have. There's a loft for the kids and a nice deck with a bbq and picnic table. The beach is the same and even the path to the beach is the same. Maybe we'll become friends with the folks in our old cottage... Can't wait for campfires and cooling off in the ocean... Cape Cod here we come!