Try It Tuesday: Kraft Macaroni and Cheese Crackers

Do you like to shop? Do you like to tell people all about your shopping? You are in the right place. You might want to read the guidelines here before you sign up with Mr. Linky. Now, go sign up!

I blame my sister-in-law for my latest snack addiction. She is the one who told me about Kraft Macaroni And Cheese Crackers.

She mentioned them casually one day when we were discussing snack stuff, just tossed out how they are SHAPED like macaroni and are DELICIOUS, never mentioning the ADDICTIVE PROPERTIES of said crackers.

So I purchased some. I opened the box and ate a handful. And thought. Meh. They are just cheese crackers. And then. Like a mouthful of the most fabulous deliciousness, it took a second for the true macaroni and cheese flavor to invade my taste buds. I was done for. And I don't even like macaroni and cheese that much.

You MUST try these.

Now. What have you bought recently that was so fabulous, you MUST share it with us? Do tell. Just sign Mr. Linky and link to your post, not to your blog. Thanks for participating.

Stumble It!

Check out my Herald-Leader post today: My Pants Fit!

Going All The Way With Green

You know I have become a little more "green" conscious lately. I've been buying green cleaners and using canvas shopping bags. If I could just cut back on the amount of product I use on my hair and face, landfills would be approximately 32% smaller.

OK. Not really. But somewhat smaller.

So when I was given the opportunity to review a site about eco-friendly books that you actually read ELECTRONICALLY so you don't pollute the environment, I was interested. My first thought was that they would not have any books that I would be interested in and my second thought was AUGH not hold a book in my HANDS - how will I stand it? But when I went to EcoBrain - Green Books for Green Living, I found I was wrong about the books. And maybe I can get used to reading a book on my laptop, if it means the earth will still be around when my grandson is grown.

I went to the site to check it out and found several different categories of books, including 171 books for kids. I skimmed through all 171 reviews and was astonished at the variety of books they had for kids. At first I thought it was all non-fiction and was interested in titles like Seahorses, Mysteries of the Oceans and Tyrannosaurids - Tyrannosaurus in Focus, which all my students would LOVE, but then I found Hoot, by Carl Hiassen. This is a Newbery medal winner that has been made into a movie and is constantly checked out in my library because it is such a wonderful story. It's only $8.06 to get the electronic copy. And think how kids would love reading this on the computer! Next, I realized I will have to share this site with my teachers because they offer lots of teaching guides, specifically guides for many of the Magic School House books, which all my students love.

There are categories such as The Environment, Sustainable Living and even Cooking, so I think everyone could find something in which they are interested.

The electronic format, or eBook format is the greenest, most eco-friendly way to read a book today. eBooks have zero impact on old growth forests and use very little energy to produce and distribute. Plus they take up no room on your crowded bookshelf!

Did you know that it takes 60-watt hours of energy to produce ONE sheet of paper? Did you know that it takes 24 trees to make ONE ton of paper? Yeah. Me either. But after visiting Alaska and seeing acres of thick, gorgeous forest land, I don't have much interest in cutting down all those trees.

As a librarian, my first choice for reading a book is checking one out from the library that many different people can use. But the idea of reading a book that has not caused one single tree to be cut down is certainly appealing.

So, see what you think. Check out EcoBrain - Green Books for Green Living. If you are interested, make a comment below. They have given me a free book to give away to one of my readers. The book is Radical Simplicity: Small Footprints on a Finite Earth. Check it out, make a comment and I'll choose a winner one week from today. Now, if you haven't already started, how about starting to live green?

Just cut back a little on those hair products.

Like me.

For Fun Friday September 26, 2008

Look at the incredible pictures this guy makes with SAND.

http://www.offbeatearth.com/sand-castles-beware-your-days-are-numbered/

The ONLY way to fly!

http://www.wheelsmania.info/2008/09/new-5-star-hotel-airbus-a380-inside.html

Generate anagrams for any word or words.

http://www.bored.com/anagramsite/

Videos about how to do ANYTHING.

http://www.howcast.com/

Lions And Tigers And Bears...And DINOSAURS? Oh, My.

Here are my suggestions for the perfect TV show:

1. A heroic guy who is cute and sexy and looks especially nice with his shirt off. Extra points if he can kick some ass.

2. A sidekick hero who is either a. also cute, sexy and looks good in a shirt OR b. a wise-cracking smart-aleck. Both would be nice.

3. A heroine who is pretty but not beautiful, quirky in some way and is completely opposed to the hero doing whatever it is he is supposed to do.

4. A few other characters, all of whom are interesting or funny or sexy or a lovely combination of all three.

5. A star-crossed lover situation of some sort. Misunderstandings abound. The sexual magnetism is palpable.

6. Good special effects.

7. Good writing. Good stories. Characters you really care about.

6. Some element of the supernatural. Vampires. Witches. Time travel. Magic. Dinosaurs....wait. Dinosaurs?

Uh huh. And if you like all the above? You should be watching Primeval. And thanks to Bobbi for telling me about this series because she always seems to have her finger on the pulse of the supernatural. If it has a pulse. And if it doesn't? All the better.

Primeval is on the BBC America channel (and don't ask me what that number is because I haven't a clue. We watch virtually everything on DVR and Tom programs that and I don't care that the feminists would have my head on a PLATTER, I could not use that remote no matter how many new shoes you bought me. It has a TOUCH SCREEN, y'all.) and it is GOOD. It's about these scientists who have discovered some anomalies which are these swirly light dealios which are actually portals into the past. Or the future as we soon find out.

It has great characters, excellent acting, fabulous stories, marvelous special effects and...uh...I'm running out of adjectives...ah!...heart-wrenching romances.
Dinosaurs and other interesting critters are finding their way through these portals into our time and wreaking all manner of havoc. The hero (cute, sexy, uh huh) is the scientist who is recruited to figure it all out and I don't want to spoil anything for you but the disappearance of his wife a few years ago is a key factor in the story.

I just found out recently that, although we are watching Season 1, Season 1 and 2 have actually already been shown in England. We are two seasons behind! Those crazy Brits. The good news is, Season 1 and Season 2 are already on DVD and will be released November 4. The EVEN BETTER news is that the DVD is on Netflix. But not until November. By then, we may have already watched both seasons because the bad news is that each season only had six episodes. But more good news! They are making Season 3 AS I WRITE. And there will be ten episodes in Season 3.

So, I'm telling you. You NEED to watch this show. Dinosaurs, y'all. And sexual magnetism. What MORE could you ask?

Check out my Herald-Leader post this morning at: Sure You Can Draw!

And Then It Hit The Fan

We sleep with a fan running. We can't sleep without it. If the power goes out and the fan turns off, we wake up immediately. The silence is deafening. It's quite an addiction. And a rather annoying one when it comes to travel. Where we go, our fan goes.

I'll never forget the first major trip we took to Pensacola when our daughter was a baby. We actually took our large, box fan on the plane with us. It came sliding around the luggage carousel with our luggage and we got some rather strange looks. We would never be able to take something like that on a plane nowadays. Considering you can't take a large bottle of lotion on a plane, I don't think they would be receptive to a rather large fan. So we have learned to take a small travel fan with us. Not quite as loud, but acceptable. We manage to sleep.

A fan is one of the reasons I fell in love with my husband. When I first stepped into the bedroom in his apartment, I saw an INCREDIBLY tacky Chinese lantern hanging from the ceiling light, a fraternity paddle hanging on the wall, and...a fan. He slept with a fan.

So did I.

I forgave him for the Chinese lantern.

And our future together was set to the sound of those whirring blades.

Try It Tuesday: Weight Watcher Amaretto Cheesecake Yogurt

Welcome to "Try It Tuesday!" You might want to read the guidelines here before you sign Mr. Linky. Now, if you have a post about something fabulous you have found while shopping, please sign up. Thanks for participating!

I am not a big fan of the Weight Watcher yogurts, in general. I think they are a bit runny and I'd rather go on and have a Yoplait yogurt in Boston Cream Pie, Apple Pie A La Mode or Pina Colada and just pay that extra point. And can I just say that when I went to log in to the Weight Watcher site to see just how many points were in a cup of yogurt, I had forgotten my login name? And had to look it up? And that is not the first time that has happened? And I wonder why I am fat?

OK, I don't actually wonder that. I know.

Not enough yogurt. Too much of...well. Everything else.

I was buying yogurt the other day and noticed that Weight Watcher had a new flavor called Amaretto Cheesecake. And since an Amaretto Sour is one of my favorite drinks, I decided to give it a try. And it is, quite simply, fabulous. FABULOUS, I tell you. It is amaretto-y and cheesecake-y and quite, quite delicious. Give it a try and let me know what you think. And, after I wrote this post, I found out they also make WHITE CHOCOLATE CHEESECAKE YOGURT. OMG.

Now sign Mr. Linky. And make sure you link directly to your post, not to your web site. Thanks!



Stumble It!

Check out my Herald-Leader post for today: I'm All Grown Up!

Imagine My Horror

Don't forget about Try It Tuesday tomorrow. Have you written your post?

I have been looking for a dress to wear to a wedding. Even though I have managed to find several very cute dresses this summer, contrary to the way dress fashion normally strikes, which is with extremely UGLY dresses, I am struggling to find just the right dress.

It has to be attractive, it has to be reasonably priced and it should be royal blue. The royal blue part is where the difficulty is coming in. It is for my sister's wedding and, if I can't find the perfect royal blue dress, I'm sure she will be fine if I wear another color of blue or even black, as my loyal sister-in-law has suggested. Actually, I think my sister-in-law is waiting until I wear myself down to a shopping frazzle and call her to say "Hey, I have a GREAT idea! Let's both wear black!" and then she will laugh an evil laugh. At my expense.

I had the absolutely FABULOUS idea of having a dress made. I had a vision. A vision of a sheath style dress with wide straps which would be royal blue with white trim and would fit and hang beautifully. And it would have a matching jacket for those cool California evenings. It was the perfect ensemble and it lived in my head quite contentedly until the dressmaker told me she could easily make it - for $350 to $400. The vision popped out of existence in that moment.

Then I went to the mall. I actually found a royal blue and white sundress which will do in a pinch, but it is not QUITE PERFECT. I bought it as a back-up though. Just in case. Because I have learned it pays to have a back-up in the world of fashion. And shopping. So, I have been shopping online and I plan to check out some of the wedding stores next week.

But here's the actual point of my post. What? I have to have some lead-in, don't I? When I was still ensnared by the dressmaking vision, I was looking at patterns to get ideas and I found this one.

My faithful readers. It is a jumpsuit. And to my increasing horror? They are actually back in style now.

And I had a flashback to 1970. Not an acid flashback. I was a FLAG TWIRLER, for God's sake. I was 17 and taking sewing in home economics. We had to choose something to make and I had chosen a jumpsuit in a cream and green stripe. Because I was fashion-impaired. No. They were really in style. It looked so lovely on the cover of the pattern. Truly, it did. Like this. Only in stripes.

Perhaps you are idly wondering why IN GOD'S NAME we would wear something like that? Ahem. This is the same group of people who wore these. Oh, indeed. I had several pairs of hot pants.



And I might just possibly have worn my hot pants with these. Oh, YES I DID.


So you can see that I was absolutely at the HEIGHT of fashion when I made my jumpsuit. And actually wore it. With my go-go boots. And my straight, ironed hair. No, flat irons had not been invented then. We used an ACTUAL iron.

Man.

If only I still had that jumpsuit. And it had been royal blue. I bet I could totally have it altered for the wedding so it would fit again.

For approximately $350 - $400.

I guess I'll go back to shopping now.


Stumble It!

For Fun Friday September 19, 2008

Do you notice mistakes in movies and TV shows? Yeah. Me too.

http://www.moviemistakes.com/

This one will keep you busy for a while. (Sarah. I'm talking to you.)

http://fantasticcontraption.com/

You know all those forwards you get on your email? I think they all end up here.

http://www.fwdfish.com/

Interested in doing some traveling? Like famous people and events or want to see where movies were filmed? This web site is for you.

http://www.onthisveryspot.com/

Stumble It!

What Do JUNO? (Get it??)

"Some people using this medicine have engaged in activity such as driving, eating, or making phone calls and later having no memory of the activity."

-Ambien Side Effects

Perhaps I should have paid more attention to this information.

When I travel, I often take Ambien to sleep. Otherwise, I toss and turn, sleep a few hours and never really relax. Especially if my husband is snoring in his usual buzz saw fashion beside me. When we were in Pensacola a couple of months ago, I took an Ambien one night and lay down on my bed to read for a while. The print began to blur and then...that's it. That is all I remember. I assumed I just fell asleep.

The next morning, I asked Liz and Cory what they thought about "Juno". I had already seen it and they were watching it as I read. Liz paused, looked at me quizzically, and said "Uh. You watched it with us, mom."

Turns out, I had done more than fall asleep. I got up, went in the living room, had a conversation and laid on the couch with them to watch TV. Then I wished everyone a good night and went to bed.

I have no memory of this.

I guess it's a good thing I didn't take a drive. I could have ended up back in Kentucky.

And that would have been a lot more annoying that watching "Juno" twice.

Check out my Herald-Leader post today: Ya Gotta Have Friends

Yet Another Food Controversy

My family loves salmon patties. I have been making them since my children were very small and now my daughter makes them for her family. I don't really have a recipe; I just mix up canned salmon with some egg, onions, a little cornmeal and fry them. You know and agree with me, of course, that there is only ONE correct topping for salmon patties.

Ketchup.

However. When I made them for the first time for my husband when we were oh so young and newly married that I was concerned about how happy he was with his salmon pattie topping, he asked for Cheese Whiz to top them with.

Y'all.

CHEESE WHIZ. I had never heard anything so appalling. Ketchup is so...perfect. The perfect blend of tastes. Cheese Whiz? On your salmon pattie? Oh, dear. But that was the way he had been raised, that was the way his mother had served them, so I purchased Cheese Whiz. I melted Cheese Whiz in the microwave. And I served that gloppy concoction on his salmon patties. And he was happy.

And I thought that was the end of it. He was a little weird. But there you go. Each to his own. Everyone else in the world uses ketchup. He uses Cheese Whiz.

And then my daughter and son-in-law and the most perfect grandson in the world came to dinner.

And my son-in-law politely requested his salmon pattie topping. Ketchup? Cheese (shudder) Whiz? Nope.

Mustard.

So I dutifully served it and tried not to cringe as the mustard and the Cheese Whiz were liberally applied on opposite sides of the dining room table. But this got me to wondering. What DO people use on their salmon patties? I mean. Those who choose something beside the perfect topping of ketchup.

Well?

Try It Tuesday: Bear Naked Granola

Welcome to Try It Tuesday. You might want to read the guidelines here before you sign Mr. Linky. Thanks for participating!

Today I want to talk about granola. Truly fabulous granola. Seriously. I like granola but I didn't LOVE granola until we stayed in a bed and breakfast in Seattle a couple of years ago on our way to Alaska. They had some homemade granola for breakfast that was so good, I CHOSE NOT TO EAT THE HOMEMADE COOKIES THEY HAD ON A PLATE. Seriously. That good.

Unfortunately, it was made only at that bed and breakfast and so, when I got home, I went on a quest - a shopping quest - to find the perfect granola. I tried several boxed cereals and threw them away after one bowl. Then, in the health food aisle, I stumbled upon these packages of granola from Bear Naked. And the light was shining down on them and I think I heard some angels singing. Because this is some REALLY GOOD GRANOLA.

The fruit and nut flavor is my absolute favorite, with granola, honey, almonds, raisins, cranberries, coconut, walnuts, and pecans. You could eat it by the handful but try it in a bowl with milk. You will be glad you did. You might notice that package is actually empty in the picture. Uh, yeah. I had to wait for my camera batteries to charge up and then a couple days went by and, presto! the granola bag is empty! I also bought the blueberry walnut just so I could taste it for you, faithful readers, and it's good but not as good as my favorite.

They actually have a couple of other kinds I have on my list to try. You can see all their products on their web site and I also stumbled on this part of the web site, where you can get free reusable grocery bags if you send them in the empty granola bags. I could kick myself for throwing away all those empty bags! You know how excited I have been about the reusable grocery bags. So I will definitely be saving my empty granola bags and send them in for a free grocery bag.

Could I BE more environmentally conscious? I thought not.

Now sign Mr. Linky and tell us what you have bought lately that was totally fabulous.


Check out my Herald-Leader post today: Kid Size Pizzas

I Accomplished Nothing This Weekend

I blame this. Totally.

I finished it. And enjoyed it. I can clean my bathrooms later. A good book always comes before house cleaning. I should have that made into a sampler and hang it on my wall.

Don't forget "Try It Tuesday" tomorrow. Do you have your post written yet?

For Fun Friday September 12, 2008

No matter what kind of mood you are in, this site will find a web site to match it.

http://www.wildmoodswings.co.uk/

Get this frog across the road. I could NOT do it.

http://www.boomj.com/games/frogger

Are you still wasting time on the Internet?

http://undistraction.com/

Completely IMPRACTICAL. But I DON'T CARE.

So, I told you about how I went to Payless and bought these darling ballet flats which I love and adore and plan to wear every day, just as soon as I buy some pants that are short enough. And possibly some ribbed tights because I don't think I can wear my cute trouser socks with them. And this is exactly how a fashion domino effect happens.

While I was at Payless, I found another pair of DARLING shoes. They were completely impractical. Ridiculous, really. They were orange which goes with nothing I own. They were sandals and it is fall. They had straps with buckles, which I really hate to mess with. I couldn't find another pair I liked, so I would have had to pay full price, instead of getting the BOGO deal.

So, I was strong. I put them back on the shelf, bought the ballet flats I had come for, and went home.

And then I went back the next day and bought them.

And, really.

Wouldn't you?

Check out my Herald-Leader post today and win a free book: Staying Healthy - Books For Children

Lather, Rinse, Repeat. Lather, Rinse, Repeat.

I took two showers this morning. No, I was not exceptionally dirty and smelly. Do you KNOW me? I just couldn't remember whether I had washed my hair or not.

I think in the shower. Deep, intense thoughts. About the presidential election.

OK. You KNOW I'm lying. I was probably thinking about my new ballet flats and when I should wear them for the first time. Because this is an extremely important topic of thought. So, when I got out of the shower and was toweling off, I thought "Hey. I don't remember shampooing my hair." So I thought back over my showering regimen and was pretty sure I had skipped right to face washing and missed the entire shampooing step. I did not have a memory of it. Of course, this means nothing. I don't have a memory of what I had for breakfast this morning.

And, here's the thing. It's really hard to tell if you have shampooed your hair or not. I looked at it. It looked...wet. It's impossible to smell your hair when it is short. Unless you have a trunk like an elephant. And elephants don't even have hair. So they don't need to worry about whether it is shampooed or not. So. I couldn't smell it. And this is JUST the kind of thinking that makes me forget what I have done.

I did not want to dry it and then realize I had not washed it, so I figured better safe than sorry when it comes to my high standards of personal grooming (at least during the week - all bets are off on the weekends), so I hopped back in the shower and washed my hair. Possibly again.

It looked exactly the same when I got out. Wet.

So. I don't really know if I washed my hair once or twice this morning.

I guess I better pay more attention in the shower.

And stop thinking about shoes the presidential election.

Try It Tuesday: Hungry Jack Pancake Easy Packs

Welcome to "Try It Tuesday"! You might want to check the guidelines here before you sign Mr. Linky. Then, just sign below and link to your post. Thanks for participating!


OK, who likes pancakes? Raise your hands. Uh-huh. Now, who likes MAKING pancakes? Uh-huh. Much smaller crowd. Well, your pancake making just got a lot easier. these Hungry Jack Easy Packs are fabulous, especially if you are making pancakes for a small group. Just take out a package, add some water, and make a few pancakes. No leftovers and no messy pancake mix to somehow store without spilling it.

It also comes in blueberry, which is my personal favorite and makes great Mickey Mouse pancakes. You can easily please everyone at your house (and those little visitors) by making one of each kind because you have those fabulous, individual packages!

Because I think these are SO FABULOUS, I checked with the Hungry Jack folks about getting y'all some FREE pancakes, and they sent me a coupon for a free box. So, make a comment below and I'll choose someone to receive a free box. Good luck!

Try them and let me know what you think. Now, sign Mr. Linky and let us know what you have bought recently that was SO FABULOUS you had to share it with us.


Read my Herald-Leader post today: Let's Do Lunch: The Hub Coffee House and Cafe

"Toga, Toga!"

Don't forget about "Try It Tuesday" tomorrow. Have you written your post yet?

I was reading a post the other day at Apathy Lounge and she talked about how the movie "Animal House" is now 30 years old. 30 YEARS OLD. Man. It seems like just yesterday we saw that movie for the first time. And concluded that it was, in actuality, a true-life documentary of my husband's fraternity. No. Seriously.

The first time I saw his fraternity was on the day I moved into the freshman dorm. There was this group of guys up on the flat roof of the building and with them, they had an old toilet. Filled with ice and beer. And I thought "Hmm, CLASSY."

The first time I entered his fraternity, there was a loud party going on (well, there was actually a loud party going on there every night) someone threw a beer bottle in my general direction and it shattered on the wall above my head.

I immediately exited and didn't return until much later when he and I had met on a blind date and were dating. We never actually spent much time there because, by that time, we were both living off campus and working and neither of us had much desire to have beer bottles thrown at our heads. But I have heard the stories.

They used to have cockroach races. Seriously. And my husband's cockroach was named "Wolf Cookie". God alone knows why. The place was filthy beyond measure, the guys were always at least half-drunk and you could pretty much count on someone getting very friendly together somewhere. At any given time.

My husband sighs wistfully when he talks about those days in his very own "Animal House". And I would be rather disbelieving that he ever actually belonged in a place like that. Except for one very important fact.

One morning, well before I ever met him, I picked up the school newspaper and on the cover was a photograph of two guys on a motorcycle speeding across campus. Stark naked. The headline read "Two sped nakedly through campus".

The two guys were a crazy blonde guy we both knew. And my husband.

For Fun Friday September 5, 2008

This is the coolest puzzle game! You have to move your mouse around to create the puzzle to match the picture and it requires a really delicate touch. Let me know how you do.

http://www.bobblebrook.com/games/coign-of-vantage

Want to find a sweater JUST LIKE the one that actress was wearing on your favorite TV show?

http://www.seenon.com/

Think you are a pretty good artist? Let's see how you do on this animated graph paper-like site. Move your mouse up and down to make more intense color.

http://www.mowa.org/kids/art/X3/flipperfr2.html

This 20 question game is EERILY correct.

http://www.20q.net/pflash/index_content.html

Nashville Cats, Been Playing Since They's Babies

Yeah. That was the only song I could find with "Nashville" in the lyrics. Because, hey, I'm GOING TO BLOGHER IN NASHVILLE!! The lovely and funny Heather of The Mother Tongue emailed and asked if I would like to go with her. Would I? Would I? Why, yes, I WOULD. I had a feeling very similar to the one I experienced when some of my future sorority sisters came to my dorm and asked me to join the sorority. Only with less beer.

I have wanted to go to the BlogHer conference for years and years. Well, at least a year. As long as I have known about BlogHer anyway. I want to meet other bloggers and find out how to drive my readership up to approximately 5,819 more people a day. Or maybe 2 more. Either would help.

So we are heading to Nashville in October. We are staying in a fancy suite with a separate living room and we even get breakfast as part of the deal. Hopefully they won't notice that we are barefoot hillbillies who haven't got a clue what we are really doing.

Oh, sorry, Heather.

One barefoot hillbilly. One pretty knowledgeable newspaper blog writer.

Check out my Herald-Leader post today at: Pop Quiz

Rapunzel, Rapunzel, Let Down Your Hair! Or At Least Put It In A Ponytail.

The other night, I rolled over in my sleep and absently reached back to flip my long hair over my shoulder.

Y'all.

I haven't had long hair since I was in my 20's. Or maybe early 30's. And that was. A long time ago. Long. time. For some reason, my hair memory had regressed and thought I still had that long ponytail I sported for years and years. This is sort of like the time I was in a total beanie baby addiction phase and I left a store and the owner called me at home to tell me because I had been so nice and polite (this is a TRUE story), I could have one of the new beanie babies she just got in. And I was so amazed, I questioned whether she had the right person and she was all, oh, yeah, the woman with the blonde hair, right? And I totally said uh, no I have brown hair. Wait. I do have blonde hair now. And then she hung up and gave the beanie baby to someone who was not insane. No, really. She gave it to me. And I still have approximately 3,691 beanie babies that are basically worth nothing. They were a very sound investment.

I have had so many hair styles and colors over the years, I keep my hairdresser highly entertained. She literally rubs her hands together when I come in the door. Will she want it permed? Straight? Short? Longer? Red? Blonde? It's a virtual hair salon of choices. On one head.

But I AM a little tired of my current 'do. I've had it for several years and I have LOVED my short, flippy style but you don't really see this style much anymore. And I am NOT one of those people whose hairstyle will match up with what you see in their high school yearbook. In fact, every year in high school, my hair was different. Although, back then, I was not fighting the battle of the gray, so it did stay the same color. Except for the unfortunate orange streaks summer which we will not discuss here. Because it's too upsetting. They were supposed to be blonde. Blonde, I tell you!

So, the only way I can make a change at this point is to either 1. go purple or 2. grow it out. I don't think violet is a good color on me, so I'm going to grow it out again. I would like to be able to pull it back with a headband (just call me Muffy) or even put it up in the back into a bun or, if you want to be totally chic, a chignon. I don't actually know how to pronounce that, but it looks much fancier than just saying bun.

So. This is how I look now. Some of you may not have known up to this point what I look like. I tried to stay anonymous for a while, but that seems a trifle ridiculous now since I have a newspaper blog and everyone pretty much knows who I am. Except those readers who have never met me.

So. Uh. Hi! This is me. And I actually just have one chin. Usually.

But I think I want something more like this, but GAH! not that color, of course. Although I think that IS one color I have not had...

I don't know if I want bangs or not...but maybe. I also would like her figure, but that is probably not going to happen. Probably.

And here's someone more my age and hair color. But I might need it just a little longer to be able to do the chignon.

Just as soon as I figure out how to SAY chignon. So, what do you think?

After I wrote this post, Barack Obama chose his running mate, Joe Biden. Biden's wife is 57 and has long, streaky blond hair. An omen? I think so. I'm letting my hair grow again.

Try It Tuesday: Greenworks Cleaner

Welcome to Try It Tuesday! You might want to read the guidelines here before you sign up with Mr. Linky. Thanks for participating!

As you know, I have been trying to use reusable grocery bags and cut back on my gas consumption and buying fewer shoes. OK, not that last one. I was just seeing if you were paying attention.

Something I have noticed recently is the number of products in the grocery store that are going green or becoming more environmentally conscious. I'm all about buying something that will save the environment, just as long as it doesn't inconvenience me too much, like most Americans, so I have been trying some of these products. I was looking for a spray cleaner when I saw the Green Works Natural All-Purpose Cleaner from Clorox. I liked the fact that it was healthy but might have been a little leery if it was not made by Clorox. Apparently, there is not yet an industry standard for selling a "natural" product but this cleaner is made with renewable resources, is biodegradable and free of petrochemicals. Here's another web site with more information about this line of cleaners.

But does it clean? It does indeed. It cleans just as well as some of the other cleaners I have used and I really like the fresh, clean smell it leaves behind. Give it a try and let me know what you think.

Now, sign Mr. Linky and let us know what you have bought lately.

Check out my Herald-Leader post today at: Being A Grandma

I Can't Imagine WHY He Likes To Come To Our House

Can you?

Don't forget about Try It Tuesday tomorrow! Start writing that post today and get ready to sign Mr. Linky any time after midnight tonight.