Update Your Map

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of NAVTEQ. All opinions are 100% mine.

I have to admit that I am not the best at keeping my car up to snuff. My sister is so hands on with that kind of thing. She changes her own oil, flushes her own transmission, and last weekend I watched her change her brake pads.

I will tell ya what I am good at though. I keep my GPS up to date. A lot of people don't consider updating their GPS to be a part of their car's upkeep routine. True, it doesn't tune up the vehicle itself, but regularly maintaining your GPS is important, and updating it when you work on your car, change your oil, or tune up, is a great way to work it into your routine. http://socialspark.com/metrics/click/post?slot_id=317662&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.updateyourmap.com

I can attest to how important it is to keep your GPS up to date. There have been several new roads and businesses that have opened up since I first got my GPS. If I was looking for Hawkinson Meadows Park on a system that hadn't been updated since I got mine, it wouldn't know what I was talking about. That's because Hawkinson Meadows Park wasn't built until last Summer. Ask a GPS from the Christmas before that to get you there and it won't know where to send you. That could mean you would miss out on the little league game you were trying to make at the baseball diamond there, or you could miss out on the play date with your niece at the playground area. Both are things I have used my GPS to get me to this park for! I can never remember which turn to take to get there, and why risk being late! If I hadn't updated my GPS from when I got it, I wouldn't have had it there for me when I needed it.

A new grocery store has opened up in a near by neighborhood. It is equally as far as the one I was going to before, just in another direction. The prices are the same and it would seem that I don't have a real reason to go to one over the other... ah, but I do. Looks like a lot of people haven't been to http://socialspark.com/metrics/click/post?slot_id=317662&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.updateyourmap.com to update their GPS, because they don't even know this grocery store is here! This place has less than half the traffic as the old place. I can get in and find a great parking space. I have never parked more that 3 spaces from the door any time that I have gone. I have never waited in line behind more that one person. The place is new, so its clean. The staff is new, so they are all friendly and in love with their jobs. Everything about it is so nice and neat, and I especially love that I don't have to fight any crowds. Notice that I didn't name the grocery store or the neighborhood. That's because I am keeping this little gem to myself, so unless you update your map - you won't know!

I can't tell ya how many times I have driven past a Walgreens and thought, "when did that get here?" Those things are springing up everywhere. Unless they are on a route you drive everyday, you might miss one opening up near you. That means that you could drive out of your way if you find yourself in need of a pharmacy while you are out and about. Now, I don't know about you, but I cannot afford to waste gas! Having an updated map will allow you to more effectively plan out your daily trips around town running errands. This can save you big bucks in gas by eliminating back tracking.

My mom is notorious for the back track. We always joke that she drives in figure 8's. She has a real aversion to technology. My dad has an updated GPS and he is so much more time efficient. He can plan his errands out by plotting out his course on his GPS. It saves him money in gas and time. He can line up all of his errands and hit them all on a single trip on the way home from work. He also changes his own brake pads. So, I guess my sister gets a little from him and so do I!

HBO!

Somebody help! My free 1 year subscription to HBO is coming to an end! I don't know what I am going to do. This was obviously a part of their plan. Get me hooked on HBO and then start charging me for it. Just like a crack dealer - that's right, I said it.

Now that there is no way that I can live without Larry David and especially True Blood. Just when I was starting to watch new shows, they threaten to take away my HBO. Now I have to try to find a way to get them to give it to me at a discount. I can't live without it but I sure as heck can't afford it. That stuff is expensive!

Or I can find a way to make more money. Should I really start looking for a new job to be able to support my HBO habbit? Oh dear me it IS like a drug.

I can't help myself though, I mean, have you SEEN True Blood. That show is awesome. I have always been a sucker for the Vampire Love Story. I have all of the seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer on DVD and I have the first season of Angel on DVD as well. I knew when I even heard the story line that I was going to love it. Plus, I am originally from Pascagoula, MS. The story being set in the South is another part about it that I really like.

So, I have to find a way to support my HBO addiction. Any ideas?

Mt. Laundry

Work has been so busy lately that it was really started to effect my life. I am spending so much time at work that I am having a hard time keeping up with my house. I have been slowly chipping away at the dishes, and I have been able to keep the bathroom and kitchen clean - thank goodness. I guess over all the house is presentable, but I can't seem to make it any better than that.

There is a lot of deeper cleaning that needs to get done. I need to shampoo the carpets. Caleb's toy room has been ransacked so many times that the toy bins need to be reorganized. I need to dust the living room. If it doesn't stop raining, I will never be able to mow my lawn. You can see how the list goes on and on!

Last weekend I dedicated to LAUNDRY. What I usually do is start a rotation. Fold a load while one is in the dryer and another is in the washer. I think that's how most people do it, right? It seems to make the most sense. Well for SOME reason, that I can't think of now, I switched things up over the weekend. I just started washing and drying and washing and drying. Instead of folding and putting away, I used the time the clothes were in the machines to do other things. I polished the wooden furniture, I scrubbed the bathtub, I scrubbed the stovetop, I cleaned the vent about the oven... you get the idea. I finally started to make progress on all of those little odds and ends things. I was able to declutter and organize.

The problem? Those loads of laundry never got folded. I think I was able to fold about two loads of them and that was it. So now, in my living room, there are about 4 loads of clean laundry that need to be folded and put away. So that is what I am going to do right now. I am going to fold laundry and put it away while I watch Shawn play - guess what - Left 4 Dead 2.

Father's Day - Solved!

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Swiss Army. All opinions are 100% mine.

I have been seriously stressing over what to get Shawn for Father's Day. I wanted it to be something he could use everyday, but also something that he would enjoy. How to balance the two? Most things we do everyday, we do at work. And most people don't enjoy work. I mean, think about it... he might like a new tie, he might use it often, but it isn't really going to make him happy.

When I went to Swiss Army's Share the Adventure Facebook Page, I knew I had found my answer. Shawn collects knives, but he also uses them quite a bit when he does work as an ATM Technician. Even though he is in dispatch now, he has still had to go on a few calls to fix or install things. He usually carries two knives and a big tool box with him. I am sure that the Dual Pro X will be able to cut out a lot of those items.

This thing has several blades, including a smooth one and a serrated one. It also has a screw driver thingy and can openers. Shawn loves little gadgets like this. He also like to have some knives around that he's not afraid to get dirty. When we go camping, Shawn likes to whittle sticks, but he also uses his utility knife to pry things open, cut cords, gut fish, etc. The problem is that resharpening his utility knife will cost over $60 at the knife shop. That means that we end up bringing (and breaking) one of my kitchen knives to do its job! A Swiss Army knife would take care of that problem for the both of us.

If you're having trouble thinking of what to get your dad or husband this Sunday for Father's Day, consider this knife. It's something that a dad can enjoy while he uses it. And every time he uses it, he will think of you... awwww.

Caleb's Day

Caleb had so much fun today! While I was at work, he spent the day with my sister. Caleb calls my sister E-E. It's the ends of the words "Auntie Cindy".

So, Caleb and E-E went to the library today. There is a play time for little kids with toys in the afternoon. The place was apparently full of kids Caleb's age. When he saw them, he said he wanted to go play with his "friends". How cute! E-E let Caleb pick out books to check out and then they played with the other kids for over an hour. They didn't leave until Caleb started piling cushions on the floor saying he was going to take a nap.

After he took at nap at her house, they went to the grocery store. Caleb made friends with the man in front of them in line. He was taking an inventory of everything the guy was putting on the belt. I am told that it was very impressive. At the store the bought, Chocolate cake mix; obviously.

I was sent a picture of the Chocolate Cake excitement. It looks like Caleb had a fantastic day with E-E. When I arrived to pick him up, he didn't want to leave. Of course, that is typical of anytime he hangs out with E-E!

Glidden Testers Do So Much More

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Glidden. All opinions are 100% mine.

Glidden had a great idea when they created their paint testers. The initial idea was to create a way for people to test a paint color on their own wall in their own lighting, next to their real furniture and make sure they liked it. I think the design in fantastic. A little bottle of paint with the brush attached to the inside of the lid. Imagine a giant bottle of fingernail polish.

Each jar contains enough paint to cover 3 square feet of wall, so you can really get a feel for how the color will work in your room. They are inexpensive and easy to carry, so you can get a couple of them at once, and compare colors side by side. Don't worry about missing out on anything. These testers come in come in every single Glidden color - all 282 of them.

These testers aren't hard to find. They are available at any Home Depot, where you can also go to pick up the big jars of paint once you've made up your mind. If you're not sure about the colors that you brought home the first time, you can head back to the store and try out some different tints. I love the concept, and it sounds fun, too.

You can visit the website by clicking here and see the color choices. There is also a virtual room that you can paint with all of the different colors available so you can narrow down which testers you want. You can get paint chips there as well, but I think the testers sound so much more fun!

There are more to these wonderful little testers than meets the eye! Once you decide on a color choice and paint your walls, pick up an extra tester. That way, if you get a scuff, scratch, or a life-sized crayon person on your wall, you're prepared. There is no need to scrub and that crayon person until you have tennis elbow. You don't need to get a quart of paint just to cover a scuff. You won't have to bring your mostly empty gallon of paint back to the store to have it shaken and mixed. Just bust out your Glidden paint tester you smart little cookie! You can use the handy little jar with built in brush to touch up any area on your wall! The built in brush means that you won't have to spend forever cleaning the paint brush that you borrowed from your sister because she insists on being anal retentive about them looking brand new every single time they are used, which is understandable because she spent so much money on them and they actually are very high quality, but still; I mean, c'mon... whew.

Bottom line is; they are very clever, and so are you for using them. Like fox.

I use WeReward!

Hey, I'm not getting paid to write this post. I always tell you when I am writing a sponsored post, so if I don't mention it at the very beginning of my blog, then it's not paid. I just wanted to be very clear that this is not one of them.

I have been using the WeReward app on my iphone that I blogged about earlier today. It's so fantastic! You only make a little bit at first, but the more you frequent places, the points go up. You can claim points for places that you're going to anyway, or you can play scavenger hunt and take pictures of places as you drive by.

I have been having so much fun with this app. While it hasn't made me rich, and I've only accumulated about 60 cents today, I can see this adding up. You can check in about very 15 minutes and can do up to six "brown" check ins a day, but there are other colored coded check-ins available too. I'm not sure if there is a limit to the other colors of check-ins per day because the app didn't outline that, but I haven't been cut off yet, so I am assuming not.

If you have an iPhone and you want to check out this app CLICK HERE to learn more and sign up! I am totally loving it so far! For realies!