Sunday, April 7, 2013

Ridiculous Ramblings in Retail

I’m back to working in a large, nationwide retail store. While retail can have its boring days, you set up a good sale or have boring weekends in town - people come out of the woodwork to shop. Or in some cases... Tornado weather strikes and people decide, "I've just got to have that bicycle!"
Just about every shift I have, I can clock out from with another story of the ridiculous, stupid, or maybe just BIZARRE variety that our small town has within its borders. This is where my stories come from. I am NOT making this stuff up! People really are like this. I’ve decided to share some of these and hopefully bring some smiles to the rest of humanity. So sit back, have a laugh, and try not to wet yourself.

Show and Ride
One day, I’m standing at the front lanes (where you check out), and this large tour bus group comes bursting in our doors. The types of people on this particular bus were foreigners on vacation.

One elderly gentleman walks over to me shaking. He asks, “Do I show you my ID?”
“Show me your ID? Why?” I’ve lost the plastered on smile I wear while working and have completely opened up to show my confusion. “Yes, this. My ID, here.” He hands me this piece of paper that is in Spanish. From it I can tell only that he had Parkinson’s disease, his name, and the country he came from. I again asked why he was giving me his identification paper. “I want to drive cart with motor.” He starts pointing his shaking finger at the motorized carts parked nearby.
I had to fight from busting out in laughter. “No, sir. You do not need an ID to drive that.” We walk over to them. I make sure it’s unplugged and tell him he can ride it now. “Is hard to drive?” Now I’m doing a mental head slap imagining this guy crashing into everything around the store or mowing people down. I would much rather someone push him around in the cart with the kiddie seats attached but suggesting such a thing might cost me my job…
So now begins the process of explaining how to use it... “First you have to sit down. Then you switch this to the ‘On’ position. These levers are for forwards and backwards. Just turn the handlebars to turn.”
“So like this?” The cart lurches forwards then jerks backwards. He gets this frightened look, but tries again. A huge smile spreads across his face and I begin to wonder if I just signed someone else’s death warrant. Maybe he should drive with the guy who rides his lawn mower to the store to do his shopping.

Cool Gear Chiller review

I feel guilty buying drinks on the go. More bottles that might end up in the trash, more money I have to shell out that I could be saving. So I usually try to bring my own. I fill it up with water and keep it in the refrigerator so it's cold when I want it. The first reusable cup I had was a tumbler I'd gotten in a freebie giveaway. The first time my son dropped it, it was history. I ended up winning another free one later on, but I have to keep it from the kids since it’s just another cheap one that would be easily broken. I went searching for more family-oriented gear. That's when I came across Cool Gear. They offer a wide variety of products for the whole family. Bottles, cute lunch bags, water filter bottles, travel mugs, storage options, customizable, and more for you to check out.
As the name says, they have lots of cool gear that's family friendly. Bright colors, styles, and uses that make it easy to find the right kind for each individual. They sent me a 20 ounce Chiller that I really love.
Vibrant orange with a tropical flower design all around it comes with a sturdy patterned grip so I won't have to worry so much about little butter fingers getting ahold of it. It has an inner layer with gel to keep my drink colder, longer. I enjoy taking it to work. It even brightens the office while keeping me hydrated and ready for action. It has a seal in the lid to keep liquid from leaking out.
I like this because if my boys get my cup and accidentally tilt it over while drinking, it's not as likely to make a huge mess that I'll have to clean up. It comes with a hard plastic reusable straw.
The straw has a large rounded out edge on the bottom so that the straw can’t just slide out if your cup gets titled over by the little bandits. If for any reason you do lose a part such as your straw or lid, they have the replacements parts! They have so much to offer for those trying to cut back on waste and keep the healthy lifestyle. Check them out and tell me what you think in the comments below! Connect with them on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest, LinkedIn, as well as Statigram.

***This product was sent to me free for the purpose of writing this review. I was not otherwise endorsed or told what to say. All opinions stated are strictly my own.***

Thursday, April 4, 2013

Kicking Horse Coffee review and giveaway

Hello coffee drinkers! I have a review you might be interested in. Kicking Horse Coffee sent me a can of their Kick Ass brew (that's literally the name!) to try out and report about here.

Some things about Kicking Horse coffee that makes them cool: they use only Fair Trade Arabica beans. Each batch is sampled before it can be bagged and sold. It’s grown in the shade to provide richer flavor as well as support a healthy planet. What else is there to like?
I love the fact it comes in a metal can. It's recycled steel and as they point out, it takes 75% less energy to reproduce. On top of that it can be recycled an infinite amount of times. Secondly, this can was made in North America. Way to boost our economy and jobs at home! So when we are done with this can, it will be recycled; either in the bin that goes to the curb or possibly through my mom saving it for another purpose.
Now about the coffee itself! Kick Ass is a Dark brew. It mixes Indonesian and Central American roasts. It comes in whole bean form. It smells so wonderful when you grind it fresh. I had my dad and husband both drink it and give me their opinions about it. My dad likes his coffee strong and black – nothing added. He said this flavor wasn’t that strong for him. My husband on the other hand likes adding sugar and milk. He said he liked the taste. It was just strong enough for him.
Be sure to check them out on their website, Facebook, Twitter, or sign up for their newsletter to keep up with what's going on. You can buy from them online or through Amazon.
Now for the giveaway information! Its open to residents of the United States as well as Canada (where the coffee comes from). Retail price is valued at $13.99 (can of Kick Ass, KHC gift bag and brochure). The coffee is available in whole bean only, so make sure you have access to a grinder.
 
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Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Where have our virtuous values vanished to?

Once upon a time...
We have all heard stories that start with those words. Nowadays it's the title of a hit TV show depicting classic fairy tales with a modernistic twist.
They are also typically the beginning of tales concerning bravery, honor, dignity, honesty and chivalry. Whatever happened to those virtues?
A man who would brave the monsters or stand before an army showing no fear, only courage, to his enemies. Women with honor worth fighting and dying for. Anyone ever heard of the old common law - You touch her, you marry her? Shot gun wedding? Even if you don't like musicals, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers is where I first learned the terms. I'm not a big musical fan, but that was one I could watch over and over. Historically, if you "touched" her, your choices were to marry her with her dad standing ready with his shotgun or he would hang you from the nearest tree.
Dignity is a word that most people these days probably don't even know the meaning of. "Dignity - the quality of being worthy of esteem or respect." Once upon a time, you earned high esteem and respect by the way you acted towards and treated others. Just as the Golden Rule says: do unto others as you would have done unto you.
How many people these days feel guilty when they tell a lie? When I was growing up, there was no such thing as a white lie. You either tell the truth or you don't. And yes, sometimes the truth hurt. Sometimes people get their feelings hurt because they can't handle the truth. Or they just don't want to accept it. Does that mean we should just baby their feelings? I think not. It's raising a generation of pansy-hearted fools who want to live in a day dream of over-inflated egos.
Chivalry, according to the dictionary means courtesy towards women. It was more than opening a door and letting a woman pass through first. A gentleman would lay down his cloak or coat over a mud puddle so that a lady wouldn't soil her petticoat. He would go that extra mile just to put her mind at ease or to see her smile. Don't get me wrong, I don't think women should be as weak as they once were. Fainting at the sight of blood? No, thanks. Nor would I want two guys to duel over my affections and have the winner (whoever was still alive) calling claim over me afterwards. It's the passion and honor though that has been truly lost. And to be honest, women may have been the ones who pushed it all away. Women fought for equality, which is fine in some areas. But we keep pushing. If a man holds the door open for the wrong woman, the response might be something along the lines of, "What? I can't open my own door?" when it should have been, "Thank you."
Today we have STD's running rampant, young girls becoming single mothers, guys chasing what's considered "easy tail", lying about anything and everything as easy as if they were telling the truth, stealing as though everything in the world belongs to them...
What happened? Will we ever truly see the once upon a time moments return? Or will they only appear in the handful of people who are still holding fast to the beauty of an age long past? They seem to be prominent in movies, television and books but the response to them is, "It's just a work of fiction. None of that is true. That doesn't happen in real life."
I hope everyone that reads this, takes a good look around them. I hope you pay more attention to others. Be a little more mindful of how you act and treat those you come in contact with. Who knows? Maybe we can revive old virtues once again.

Monday, April 1, 2013

My cheesy pasta and beef casserole recipe

The other night I found myself standing in front the pantry surveying what groceries I had left. In the refrigerator, I had a pound of ground beef thawed out. So I was now trying to decide what to cook with it. I came up with the following and it pleased even my pickiest of eaters. Enjoy!

What you will need:
1 package of pasta (I used penne)
2 cans cream of celery
1 lb ground beef
Chopped onion (however much your family likes)
Garlic salt and herbs of your choice
About a half of a block of cheese shredded
1 can of mixed vegetables
Cook and drain the pasta as well as the ground beef. Spray 13 x 9 inch pan. Combine pasta, ground beef, cream of celery, chopped onion, vegetables, and some of the cheese in the pan. Sprinkle the garlic salt and herbs on top. Spread remaining cheese over all. Cover with aluminum foil and bake in the oven on 400 for about 20 minutes or so until the cheese is completely melted and everything is hot.

I’d normally add bell peppers and chopped tomato as well, but I didn’t have any on hand.
Leave me a comment if you try it and how your family liked it!

Journey Bar new flavors review

Journey Bars are amazing! I did a review on them quite a while back. After that initial tasting I've since kept in touch with Marguarette, the co-founder of Journey Bar. She recently contacted me about the new flavors they have added to the collection as well as some great changes they made to a favorite. The new flavors are Sea Salt and Sesame Ginger.
I thought the Sea Salt one was pretty good. Its chewy, tastes lightly of sea salt with the grainy flavor of the quinoa and amaranth.The Rosemary still tastes wonderful but now comes in chewy goodness.
I shared the latest ones with my mom to get some variety in the opinions, though, we often enjoy the same things. Here's what she had to say about them:
The Rosemary was good. I like it soft. It allows us old folks to chew it. I like the taste just as I did before. It is nice that it isn't full of sugar. When I eat a lot of sweet things it makes me wanna keep eating which is bad for my weight. I tried the Sea Salt one. Not bad. I still like the Rosemary one best. The Sesame Ginger has a much milder flavor than the Rosemary. It is good. Not too sweet and doesn't taste like cardboard. I could eat it. I am going to eat them as a meal replacement bar. Thanks for sharing them.
All of the bars are chewy, gluten-free, vegan, with added protein. I plan to get more and use them as my work meals. It saves money (even more so than normal brown bag lunches would). One of these bars and my reusable water cup keeps me energized and satisfied. And it would amount to about $2 for my lunch!
You can buy the Journey Bars online by checking their website here. Or search for a store near you that has them. I checked online and did some pricing: A sample pack that consists of 1 of each flavor is $10 or you could get the 12 variety pack for $22. There's another website (Drugstore.com) that sells them 12 for $18. That's a real deal on a healthy meal for someone on the go!
If you are out and about, you don't neccessarily want something sweet, sticky and messy. Sweets can make you hungry for more which adds pounds, sticky messes get everywhere and require wipes or a stop to wash hands. That's where savory, flavorful bars have their competitors beat. Check them out and let me know what you think! They have a Facebook Page as well as a Twitter account. Follow them and watch to see where they will be going next since they do events.

Sunday, March 24, 2013

Runa tea

I like trying teas of different kinds. Especially a potentially healthier type. I was allowed the chance to sample some Guayusa tea from Runa. Guayusa plants are grown in the rain forest under the shade of other trees. I enjoyed reading about the process on the Runa.org website. If you want to learn more, check out this link. I like that Runa has tea in various forms: bottled, bagged as well as loose leaf. The benefit to Guayusa tea that most interested me was how one cup of it has an equal amount of caffeine as a cup of coffee, however, it has twice the amount of antioxidants. Get the vitamins with the energy kick!
Runa sent me samples of 4 flavors: Traditional, Mint, Ginger-citrus, and Cinnamon-lemongrass.
I drank the Mint flavored one in the morning before breakfast. You can definitely taste the mintyness in it. It was strong, but not overpowering.
The Traditional one was sweeter (though since I flavor my teas with honey instead of sugar... could've been the honey?) than most teas I've had. I found I enjoyed this one the best.
In the Citrus-lemongrass I could taste the citrus. It wasn't a strong taste but it was good and on the sweet side as well.

I'm sorry I didn't try the Cinnamon-lemongrass one. Most cinnamon-flavored things makes me feel sick. My husband said he'd be up to try it and if not my mother might. Once they do, I'll add their comments about it.

As far as being energizing, I had them mostly early in the morning as a wake up kick-start or late in the evening when I felt ready to keel over. It gave me just enough boost to get back on track but I wasn't wired for hours on end. Runa has put together plenty of information concerning the health benefits they offer in their Guayusa teas. You can read about those here.
They are looking to push boundaries and expand a world of clean energy. In doing this, they have an ambassador program for "movers and shakers". If you go above and beyond in your own way, maybe you should check them out! http://www.runa.org/community/ambassador/
Right now it seems they mostly sell in New York. But you can also order from them online. Check them out and leave me a comment about what you think.