He is not big on shopping, as most men are not, and he is a very busy contractor and really did not have the time to take her. There was a Target located about 40 miles away, and he didn’t want to drive that far to go shopping, gas prices being what they are, and now he had no excuses not to go, so he agreed he would take her.  It happened to be raining this particular weekend, and his crew was unable to work in the rain, so this freed up his weekend to take his daughter shopping.

So she finally got to go to the new Target store.    The gift card she had received was for one hundred dollars, which is a lot of money to a 10 year old.  She made a list of all the things she wanted to purchase and off to the new Target they went.

She was only able to get about half of the things on her list, one hundred dollars does not go as far as a 10 year old imagines that it does, even when you are shopping at a great discount store like Target.  She was able to get some new clothes, so that she could wear what all the kids were wearing these days, you know how kids are.  And she was even able to get some new jewelry and a new purse; she had to have the latest and the greatest.   Then there was the MP4 player and a few CD’s she wanted too.  She certainly got a whole lot for her money that day.  I was impressed.

So, a few years down the road they start checking my A1C and put me on a low dose of a blood pressure medication and need to do blood work every 3 months.  So now, I have to return every 90 days to get the blood work done.  I went on like that for a couple of years and just last summer the doctor said that my A1C was elevated and that she wanted me to start taking Metformin, a drug for diabetics that will aid in weight loss.  But, she said, that since Metformin causes gastric upset (I supposedly have IBS too), she would like me to start a daily injection of another drug that would have the same effect, but would not cause the gastric upset.  She also tried to place me on a cholesterol medication for an LDL of 89!!!

I had had enough!  I went to another family physician for a second opinion and I am glad that I did.  He checked my lab results that I had brought from the other doctor’s office and took me off the cholesterol medication, and said I did not need the diabetes drug.  Do all doctor’s do this with medications and tests?  Are they allowed to run rampant and order any test that they want and put you on drugs you clearly do not need?  I think that the AMA should monitor these so-called “doctors” a little more closely.

There was this one booth that I stopped by; they were selling stuffed animals, as I remember.  They had the most unique logo mat and logo canopy that I remember ever seeing.   Then I thought about the theatre I worked in.

What a unique idea for the lobby and candy shop:  A beautiful mat with our logo right in the middle for all to see.  I thought that it would be a good way to promote the show.  I thought we might even be able to place a few around town in different locations to remind people that we were right around the corner.

I realized that I see mats and canopies like that all the time and don’t even realize it.  They are in stores, restaurants, even in offices.  What a great idea!!!

I get the mop home, and use it and I loved it!!!   I was reviewing my receipt and see that I was charged $79.00 for the mop, not the $49.00 price that was on the shelf.  So, I load the mop back into my car and go and get the box that it was in, which had been left at a friend’s house (I demonstrated the new mop for them) and headed back to WalMart.  I hunted down a manager and explained my dilemma to him to which he said “Let me go back to the shelf and take a look.”  I then followed him back to the shelf where I had gotten the mop.  He looked around a bit, saw the $49.00 tag and compared the UPC code on the shelf tag to the product I had purchased and told me that I should have compared the UPC code on the box to the tag on the shelf!!!  I told him that it was not my job as a consumer to have to check UPC codes to be sure they match and that it was his job to be sure that the correct product was in the correct place on the shelf.  In fact, the product that was $49.00 was not even available!!

So, I came home and contacted WalMart corporate offices via the web.  I have not heard anything back from them yet, but I will say this:  I am currently refusing to shop at WalMart.  I think that they have gotten so big that the individual consumer no longer matters.

Kathy said she called them and they gave her a reasonable quote and came out and did the job, just as they had discussed over the phone, and her house smells wonderful again and that the stains were even gone!    She said that she will use them again in the future if the need comes up.  She is also buying a crate for the puppy.

Today I am going to talk about the Aah Bra (TM).  I looked great on those TV models and seemed to be everything I have been looking for for so many years.  I am tired of bras that cut into you and pinch your skin, leaving unsightly and sore areas around your torso.

So, one day, while waiting in line at the local Walmart, I see the display for the Ahh Bra (TM).  But, of course, they did not have my size.  So I continued to check every time I went to Walmart, and found the display to be empty.  I did this for six weeks, and one day my patience paid off (or so I thought).  They had more of them on the shelf!!!  Finally, comfort!!!

I purchased three of the bras and excitedly drove home.  After putting away my perishable items, and after six weeks of anticipation, I was going to get to put on my new and long awaited “comfortable” bra.

Well, let’s see…I don’t know if it was me or the bra, but as I tried to get it on over my head, it began to roll up (as had any sports bra that I had previously tried on).  After several minutes of contortion that I did not know I was capable of, I finally got the thing in place.  I found, much to my disappointment that it offered me no support and was what I considered nothing more than another sports bra.  It was definitely not made for anyone larger than a C cup size.  So, my Ahh Bras (TM) were sadly returned to the store, and my quest begins again.

So now I have 10 pounds of russet potatoes to eat before they go bad. I like baked potatoes, but does anyone have suggestions on different ways to fix the russets? I know they are not all that good if you try to mash them or boil them. I wonder if you can slice them for baking in the oven with cream or cheese?

If you have any recipes specifcally for russet potatoes, please share!

A girlfriend on Facebook posted that she was looking for a pair of comfortable shoes since she was going to be on her feet all day. A lot of people suggested clogs and Rockports. I told her to get some good, properly fitted cowboy boots.

I found a nice pair of silver earrings with little chips of dark blue stone. There was only one pair left on the rack and the sale price made them very affordable. I pulled the little cardboard backing off the rack to purchase them and one of the earrings came loose, fell to the floor and slid under the big glass display case. I couldn’t reach it and there was no sales clerk available to help me.

So I didn’t get to buy those earrings after all. I guess it was just not meant to be.