Let me recommend........

My sister has a blog designed for the same purpose as this one except that she posts things on her site once or twice a week. For some reason, I can't find the time to do that here. For that reason, I am no longer writing for this blog and wish to recommend rantsravesandrejects.blogspot.com as an alternative to my "Good Stuff."
Thanks!

TV Guardian

Our old DVD player went on the blink, so my husband went and bought a new one. When he did, he saw that it came with TV Guardian capabilities. It cost us a one time fee of $20 to sign up for it, and we love it. What TV Guardian does, is read the closed captioning on a DVD and based on how strictly you put the settings, blocks out inappropriate language. It says that it is 95% accurate. We have been happy with its performance thus far.
You can also order a TV Guardian box that will work with your TV programming. It costs more, but I think it would be worth it to keep from hearing all the inappropriate language. Check out their site for more info and prices.

Photo courtesty of: TV Guardian's Web Page

Some Helpful Hints

Being a parent of three little ones, I often come across something that my children have done and wonder how in the world am I going to remove that!!!!!!!!!! Here are a couple of common items that I love.
Rubbing alcohol--does wonders on ink and permanent marker. One of my little girls decided that black marker would look beautiful all over her pink wall. I took a baby wipe and poured alcohol on it and washed the marker off the wall. The more porous the object, the more difficult it is to get the marker or ink off, but I still recommend alcohol. If a regular ink pen marks on a garment, try pouring alcohol on the mark and throwing it in the wash. That usually works pretty well too.
We also use rubbing alcohol to clean our CD's that have little finger prints all over them.
When I was in college, we also used rubbing alcohol to clean our telephones. Have you ever looked at your telephone. It gets this gunk on the earpiece......anyway, you get the picture. In fact, I may go clean my phone right now!

This wasn't so good

I got my husband a Durabrand wireless optical mouse for Christmas. We really liked using it for a while, but after a while the arrow on the computer screen was jumping all over the place instead of where we were pointing the mouse. It became so bad that we went back to using our old mouse. I think a wireless optical mouse is great...........just don't get a cheap one like I did!

Photo Courtesy Of: Wal-Mart Website

Back With the Program..........I Hope!

I know I haven't written anything up here in a long while. I was discouraged with the lack of results from this site, and then..........I got morning sickness. It was not at all conducive to writing blog articles, home schooling, and just being a mom. Hopefully the trend of nothing up here will be over for a while.
As a quick recommendation, I would like to say that I really like Shout stain remover gel. I just came across a site that tells the opinions of different stain removers. You might like to check it out too!

Bath and Body Works

It's been a little while since I've written anything because I have not been feeling so well lately. Today, I'm feeling a little better, so I'll take time to recommend something today.

My little girls both like lotions. One loves perfume, and one loves hand sanitizer. Bath and Body Works has a line of products for little girls that, of course, smell really good. The line is called "American Girl." I got one of my daughters roll on perfume with glitter for Christmas and our other little girl strawberries and cream hand sanitizer. They think they are just something special now that they have their own little primping products.

Phonics

I taught sixth grade for two years, and I now homeschool two of my children. May I recommend teaching children phonics when they are learning to read. It eliminates memorizing words, and a lot of hard work. There are different phonics programs available, but all are not equal. some teach a little bit of phonics but still leave a lot of guess work for the children. I personally like the phonics program available from A Beka Books. It is a step by step program with that makes reading simple. It leaves a child with very little guess work when it comes to reading.

(After you click on the above link, log in as a guest. After logging in as a guest, type "phonics" in the "category" box and click "Go.")

Phonics also helps children spell better. My kids can spell some words already even though I have not taught them how to spell yet because they can sound out the word. Give phonics a try. It really works.

Games for Teens

My husband started working with the teenagers at our church almost two years ago. He has been very hard pressed to find some good, exciting things for the teens to do. He finally found this site and loves it. If you're throwing a party, or work with teens too, you need to check this site out.

A Couple of Good Sites

There are two websites that I enjoy looking at. One is Craig’s List. And the other is Free Cycle.
craigslist.org is a site where people sell, trade, and give away items and services. I personally look at their furniture items for sale. We happen to have an especially frequented Craig’s List. Other locations in the US sometimes do not have such variety or as many offers available. If you are interested in looking at a Craig’s List site near you, click on the link above. It will pull up the San Francisco area or Raleigh, NC Craig’s List. Off to the right off the page is a list of countries and states. Click on the state where you live, and it will pull up a list of Craig’s List sites available in your state.
I like to use Free Cycle to get rid of items that are still good, and would like someone to be able to use. Of course, it also lists free things that are available. You have to sign up for this one at freecycle.org. When people post items they are giving away, a message is sent to your email to let you know what is available.
Check out both these sites. I really like them.

Nuby Sippy Cups

Sippy cups – the bane of our couches, and floors, and … you get the picture. It does not matter what kind of claim the manufacturers made to market their product; every cup I tried leaked from the first moment it was used – until I discovered Nuby cups. The difference lies in the fact that the valve is built into the silicon nipple, removing the possibility of a premature dislodging of the valve. After prolonged use, the valve may begin to tear, causing the cup to leak; however, as you will see, the cups are cheap enough to be able to replace one without breaking the bank.

Another Nuby cup feature I like is that it is much easier to clean than the normal valve cups. I could never get the valve areas clean in the other sippy cups, and all kinds of nasty crud would build up, posing a potential health hazard for my children.

Last but not least, Nuby cups are much cheaper than other sippy cups. You can purchase them at Wal-Mart for $1.57 (unless they have recently changed the price).

submitted by RS

Magic Erasers

If you have been looking for that “magic” cleaning tool, you need search no longer. The Magic Eraser by Mr. Clean is the end of your quest. I know from personal experience that not only does it do a great job of cleaning surfaces soiled with dirt and grime but it is also fantastic at removing unwanted pen, crayon, marker and pencil marks. Believe me, with three little children, I use my Magic Eraser often! There are several different kinds of Magic Erasers targeted to different needs, and they are widely available at such stores as Target and Wal-Mart.

submitted by: R.S.

photo courtesy of: Mr. Clean

Sony Under Cabinet Clock Radio

Under Counter Radio
I love music. I also spend a lot of time in the kitchen. This meant that we had a radio sitting on the counter along with a ton of CD’s. About a year and a half ago my husband bought me an under the counter radio/CD player. Talk about clearing off the counter. It was great. The only problem is that I have yet to find a CD holder that I would like to hang on my kitchen wall. Any hints anyone?

Only Hearts Club

I don't know about you, but at my house, baby dolls never seem to stay dressed. This includes the busty Barbie dolls. I just don't care for such naked detail lying around for my little boy to see. Last month, I came across what I think is a great alternative to Barbie dolls. They are dolls that belong to the Only Hearts Club. The dolls are about the same size as Barbie dolls, but they look more like ten year olds than grown women. I think they make a much better role model for my girls to play with, and definitely are not as offensive when you find them undressed as a Barbie doll is.

You may or may not like some of the role models, but there is a good variety of role models and clothing accessories to choose from.

They are available at Target, and if you hurry, you might find some of the accessories on clearance.

Microfiber towels

We bought a new vehicle about two months ago. For us, that meant getting new car care items. My husband came across some great towels to dry off the vehicles. I love them. You may already use them, but they are new to me. They are Microfiber towels made by Calderon Textiles. They just seemed to suck the water right up. The ones we bought are orange, but I have noticed that they come in a variety of colors. My husband bought ours at the Dollar General; however, they are also available at you regular old Wal-Mart and Target.

Home Made Salsa

Salsa
My mom gave me this great and very inexpensive recipe for salsa. We are going to start making this instead of buying it.

Salsa:
1 can diced tomatoes and chilis drained
1 4 oz can tomato sauce
1 clove of garlic

Combine ingredients in blender and puree.
Enjoy!

The Big Jim Heater

We live in a southern state where it gets cold enough in the winter to snow occasionally, and it also gets cold enough to keep your heater running a race with last months gas bill. We are very blessed to have a wood burning fire place. My husband's grandparents had an wood stove insert that they were not using any more and gave it to us. We use this most days as our source for heating the house. Of course it takes work to cut wood, but it is a lot cheaper than a gas bill. Also, there is nothing quite as warm as wood heat. We absolutely love it.

So, if you live in an area that gets pretty cold and you have a wood burning fire place, do an internet engine search for wood stove inserts or even check out Lowe's.

Shopping

I am a frugal person. Ok, my husband says I'm just plain cheap. I guess that comes from growing up in a family of seven surviving on a single income of a disabled soldier's military pension. Being that as it may, I love to find a good deal. There are a couple of stores that I especially enjoy shopping at to find a good buy. T J Maxx, Ross Dress for Less, and Tuesday Morning are at the top of my list. Where else would you find an Adidas t-shirt for $1.49 or a Liz Claiborne Spring Duster Coat for $7.00? How about a "little black dress" for $10.00? Not bad deals, huh? Granted these stores are reduced priced stores, I still shop on their clearance racks. Cheap? Well, maybe, but I think that I have some good bragging rights!

Canon PowerShot S3 IS

I got this Canon PowerShot digital camera for Christmas. I love it. It's easy enough to use as a point and shoot camera, but it also has some great features for the more advanced photographer. You can choose to shoot photos in sepia, and black and white, as well as in other special modes. There are settings for night shots, portraits, foliage shots, and more. It also takes great video. There are several books that come with the camera. There is a beginners book that is very simple and just tells you what you need to know as an average photographer. If you prefer to do the more advanced photography, go by the advanced manual.

More accessories may also be purchased for this camera.

The Canon Powershot S3 IS is available at places such as Staples, Target, and Best Buy. However, mine came from Amazon.com at a significantly cheaper price.

Aldi

I love shopping at Aldi. What is Aldi? It's a low cost grocery store that originated in Germany. At first shopping at Aldi may be a new experience, but it is one that I highly recommend. Be sure to have a quarter handy to rent your grocery cart. Don't worry, you get the quarter back. What you do is, put a quarter into a little box that is attached to the grocery cart. When you are done shopping, you put the cart back and reattatch the chain to the box on the cart. This pops your quarter back to you. Why in the world would they do that? Hey, it keeps the parking lot cleaned up of carts, and the company doesn't have to hire anyone to put the carts back where they belong. That is just one of the ways this grocery store keeps costs down. Another way, Aldi keeps its overhead low is by selling their grocery bags. You can also bring your own bags if you like. Also, make sure you bring cash or a debit card. They do not accept credit cards. The brands sold at Aldi are mostly the store brand, but what they have done is contracted with major companies to make their food for them under a different label. I like just about everything they sell there. If you don't mind bagging your own groceries and paying cash, I think you would love this place. Check out their website to see if there is one near you.

Logo courtesy of: Aldi

May I Recommend

I know a lot of people who diet, and I know a lot of people who eat out. A lot of times that is a contradiction. Have you ever looked at the food info on items at Golden Corral? It makes you want to stick to just salads. One day I happily stumbled upon a tasty diet item at Cici's Pizza. It's especially for people on low-carb diets. It is called the Atkin's bowl. It's pretty much a pizza without a crust put together in a bowl. You have to order it up at the pizza counter and will have to wait for it to be brought to your table, but believe me; it's worth the wait! Besides they have a salad bar you can eat from while you are waiting. I know there are quite a few people who do not prefer to eat at Cici's, but I would recommend ANYONE to try this dish.

Picture courtesy of Cici's Website.