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Maybe I am showing my age here, but Cheech & Chong were popular when I was in my teens (and before actually). If you don’t know who they are, then you must be pretty young

If General Mills was looking to catch my attention with this campaign, they certainly did. As I watched the videos, I giggled and it brought back some good memories – in an innocent kind of way. The tagline is “now that you’re getting older, you need a new kind of magic from your brownie”…and they are talking about fiber, folks! Basically, they are bringing some fun into fiber…a subject that I have never really thought of as entertaining. Fiber = boring, usually. But I am all ears (and eyes) now.

The product that is being promoted is Fiber One 90 Calorie bars.

Take a look at the video above and let me know your thoughts. Are you from the Cheech & Chong generation? If you are, then you will likely “get” the whole campaign. If you are not familiar with them, then this will probably fly right over your head and you won’t understand what the big deal is. You see, Cheech & Chong were pretty much known for smoking pot. But now they are older and wiser and are pretty darned happy with the fiber in their brownies

You can learn more about Fiber One Cheech & Chong’s Magic Brownie Campaign on their microsite.

*I was not compensated in any way, shape or form for this post…these are my thoughts only.

I remember when my son (my oldest child) was just at the right age to try to break him of the bottle and move on to a sippy cup. We used sippy cups during the day, so why did he need a bottle at night? He looked forward to his bottle every night before bedtime, so I knew this would not be easy. I felt pretty horrible.

One night I had the bright idea to simply put water in the bottle. I knew he would object, but that was the idea. I filled the bottle with tepid water and handed it to him. His face was priceless. He chucked the bottle on the floor. I stared at him, and he stared right back at me. He wasn’t pleased and actually, he was downright pissed off.

That night was a really long one, and one I will never forget. But I kept reminding myself that if whatever was in the bottle wasn’t appealing, he wouldn’t want the bottle. The next morning I gave him a sippy cup with milk, and he guzzled it down with gusto. There may have even been a big “ahhhh” when he was done.

The same nighttime routine with the bottle of water continued for several nights, as he was still asking for his bottle. At first he would refuse the sippy cup of milk I offered instead, but then I brought him a cup of milk one night and we sat up and he drank it with no problem. We didn’t have a problem after that. He was officially broken from his bottle.

When my daughter came along, I used the same method when it was time to break her of the bottle. It worked like magic.

This may not work for everyone, but I hope it will help you. When it is time to switch from a bottle to a cup, but they don’t want to give up the bottle, tell them the only thing they can have in a bottle is water. It gets boring VERY quickly

I am a wife and a mother. My kids are in their teens (one is 21 in fact), and since everyone is (or should be) self-sufficient, I find myself getting resentful at the question, “What’s for dinner?”. Am I alone? My husband is really sweet about picking up dinner on his way home from work sometimes, and I do appreciate that.

It is other things that bother me. I am still the one responsible for figuring out dinner. Every.single.night. How wonderful it would be for someone to do the planning, ordering, calling, etc. for a week or so. It is like nobody knows how to use the phone to call in an order, and they can’t decide on what they want. Really? It all falls back in my lap and it is so frustrating.

Here is how the conversations go:

With son:
Son: What’s for dinner?
Me: I’m not sure yet.
Son: Is Dad picking something up?
Me: I am not sure, I am probably cooking something.
Son: Well, what are you going to cook?
Me: I’m not sure – I’ll figure it out
Son: Chicken?
Me: I don’t know!!

It goes downhill from there.

With my husband:
Me: Honey, what would you like for dinner?
Him: Whatever you want is fine with me
Me: Should we go out?
Him: It doesn’t matter to me
Me: Okay let’s go out then
Him: Okay
Me: Where do you want to go?
Him: Whatever you want

At this point, I just want him to decide on something. Anything. I don’t want to have to figure out dinner in any way, shape or form!

After all these years of dealing with what’s for dinner, I’m just plain tired of it. It is my responsibility, yes, but it is tiresome, and something I dread dealing with every day. Our kitchen is really hard to work in for one thing, so even though I like to cook, it is made difficult thanks to this kitchen that is not user friendly. Sometimes my husband offers to barbecue, which is wonderful! However, he waits until really late to get the grill fired up, and we don’t eat until late at night. Sigh.

Thanks for letting me rant. But am I alone in feeling this way?

This fella wasn’t exactly in my backyard, but a few streets away near the canal:

Okay this guy isn’t in my backyard either…but near the canal with the egret:

Now THIS guy WAS in our backyard.

And what backyard would be complete without a raccoon or five?

Oh, and a big, huge, green bug:

What kind of critters roam your backyard?

In My Neighborhood Tuesday is a fun photo meme hosted by Eighty MPH Mom! Here is my “in bloom” shot:

Head over to Eighty MPH Mom to see the other participants!

Head over to 5 Minutes for Mom and sign the linky. Make sure you visit other participants too!

I may use this blog for more personal posts – my safe haven of sorts. You know those things that you really want to post about, but fear that family and friends might read them? Yeah, me too. I hope to be able to let it all out here, as needed. I may keep it on the “down-low” in some aspects, meaning I may not use Networked Blogs initially, and may not have my feeds post on Facebook {or certain ones at least}

I figured you might want to know who the mystery person was. No more secrets from me, mmkay?

Please feel free to follow me, grab my button, follow on Twitter, add me to your text blogroll, subscribe, etc. I will have some giveaways coming up soon!

1. When was your last train ride?

My last train ride was last summer when I went to visit my friend. It was on Amtrak and I had a blast, as always!

2. How many foreign countries have you visited? Tell us about one.

I have visited 8 foreign countries! My favorite was Italy. My mom and I took a tour of Europe when I was eighteen (a graduation gift from my dad!). Italy was such a blast, the people were incredibly friendly and the scenery beautiful. Oh did I mention the food? Heavenly! Venice was our favorite – it was so charming.

3. What do you always take with you on vacation?

Makeup. I would be lost without it. Well, and clean underwear of course!

4. Tell us about something you’ve lost recently.

My mind. Does that count? No, seriously – it is my mind. Final answer. I know I left it somewhere…

5. Do you prefer action packed vacations or relaxing ones?

I am all about relaxing. Isn’t that what a vacation is all about? My idea of a perfect vacation is sitting on the beach, or shopping. Then to finish off the day I love fine dining!

6. How long will you wait in a check out line before abandoning your purchases?

Hmmm This is a good question. I do not have much patience. I would say maybe 7 minutes? I usually try an evil glare, pacing, etc. first, but if that gets no reaction then will leave.

7. How old do you wish you were?

I would love to be 34 again. It was a beautiful age. Not too young and not too old.

8. Do you consider yourself kind?

I am one of the kindest people I know. That can be a good thing and a bad thing all at once. The good part of being so kind is people feel comfortable around me and trust me. I will do just about anything for anyone. The bad part is that sometimes people take advantage of that kindness, knowing that I have a hard time saying “no”.

9. Tell us about your tattoos. Or if you had to get a tattoo, where and what would it be?

I have two tattoos. I have a rose on my shoulder that I have had for about 18 years. I also have a sunset on my abdomen/hip area. It has palm trees and is adorable. I always thought the palm trees would “grow” when I was pregnant, but that didn’t happen.

Make sure you head over to Saturday 9 to see the rest of the Saturday 9 participants!

I am sure you are familiar with the words, “I am bored” sprinkled through the conversations with kids during summer. It can be frustrating trying to find new ways to keep them entertained. There is a wonderful program that Barnes & Noble is hosting this summer to cure the boredom and to get kids to read (with a little help from a prize at the end of the journey!).

The 2010 Barnes & Noble Summer Reading Program is easy. Kids simply ready any 8 book and track them in the Passport to Summer Reading (downloadable at the Barnes & Noble website). Kids then download fun activities to keep them entertained. This sounds fun! I wish they had something like this for adults. I need to be encouraged to sit down and read sometimes. I love reading, but sometimes have a hard time finding the time to do it.

After they have read their 8 books, they get to choose a free book from the Barnes & Noble list when they turn in their reading passport at their local Barnes & Noble Store! Easy Peasy. This is a great way to get your kids reading, and hopefully give you a little break too.

Do you have any creative ideas on how to keep kids entertained this summer? I would love to hear them!