Pentel review via Shoplet.com

Writin isn't just a hobby for me. It's a passion. Letters, stories, even recipes! They are all special. A persons handwriting is even unique to them. It's very difficult to truly master the ability to copy another persons writing. And your handwriting can even tell a story about you. It can show stress, or other emotions in how you do curves or how hard you press. 

But you need good utensils when writing something worth holding on to. And that's one thing I love about Pentel.

Shoplet sent me some more of their products. A pen and some mechanical pencils.

 I passed the pencils on to a college going fellow who happens to prefer them. I'm pleased to announce that he liked his "fancy" new gadgets. The pen, however, I refuse to give up. It's smooth and cool to my touch. It handles well as I write in a comfortable grip. And I love the metallic blue color. Click on the blue, if you want to see what other Pentel products they have to offer.

Shoplet.com offers so many office supplies to keep you working and producing greater results. They also have cleaning supplies, medical supplies, and office furniture. Check them out and see what deals you can find!

Why should the Star Wars fun end on Star Wars Day?

I’m a huge Star Wars fan.

And as another fan said, Star Wars Day shouldn’t just end… it should be a whole month of fun! Personally, I think the original trilogy is the best, but the others have their moments. The Force Awakens was a great continuation. I look forward to seeing how it progresses. As a fan, I love to cosplay and attend events. I collect movie posters, of which I have 2 sets – one normal title poster and one in Lego style. If I had the money, I’d probably collect other things that came from the movies themselves. I mean can you imagine? It would be like owning a piece of history. There is a website you can check out if you are interested in participating in an auction of such movie relics. They have a designated spot for all the Star Wars pieces. And yes, they are from the movie making itself. I had Ryan reach out to me from Invaluable.com to share some information about what they do. I did some looking around of my own as well and loved some of the things I saw on there. They have movie memorabilia and props added to their site almost daily. This includes the Star Wars section. I'm amazed that anyone would let go of their props and memorabilia from the movies. Like the Rebel Fleet Trooper helmet, Darth Vader helmet... someone even had cameras that were used for the filming! I'd have to be pretty hard up for money to let go of the Vader helmet.... However, the new owner lucked out tremendously!
I'm curious as to whatever happened to the Jedi robes. I know they seem plain and maybe no one else cares. But I think they were awesome.

This is how it works… “In regards to Invaluable and how we work: people have their own auction houses that they sell their products on. We are merely a platform for them to do so! You can also join any auction house if you personally have something to sell! How cool is that?!”

Pretty cool, to me!

They have collectibles that you can browse. As well as movie memorabilia. The Star Wars section has quite a bit of great things for your perusal. I checked out their blog to see what they have sold in the past. I loved the Han Solo blaster.

What would you want to own? A movie prop? Which movie would you say was the best? What scene is the most memorable? Talk to me about it in the comments! And check out these fantastic auctions. Even if all you can do is dream about them...

Happy Mother's Day!

Mother’s Day is upon us. If you haven’t gotten your Mom a special gift still, you need to get on the ball. I ordered my mom a special gift. She can be so difficult to buy for. She doesn’t need jewelry. And she prefers picking out her own. She doesn’t need sweets. As a matter of fact, she is always talking about dieting or losing weight. Flowers are a waste of her time. They look pretty for a couple days, and then she has a mess to clean up. Live plants… yeah she has a tendency to kill those. My dad is the one with the ability to bring them back to life as long as she doesn’t mess with them. House decorations and furniture are her passion to pursue. I dare not step in and offer something as her style is something I wouldn’t know how to match. Aside from loving milk glass, I can’t think of anything else I could offer. And even then, she has so much of it all over the place… I’m not sure she would have room for more.

I thought about ordering her meals that would be delivered. She does have 8 kids still living at home to feed. But what would they all like? I’d send her a nanny so she can take the night off… but let’s face it. She always tells me how she doesn’t know what to do with herself when the kids aren’t around. According to some people, that’s a recipe for her baby machine to kick on.

So I sent her something that I know she uses. I can’t tell you on here, because she reads my blog posts. But if she likes it, I’ll hopefully share about it.

I love my mother. She’s been an important part of my life. Always there when I need her. We don’t always see eye-to-eye, but we are still there for each other.

Take a moment to thank your mother and tell her how much you love her. She won’t be around forever. And not just your mom. Grandmothers, Aunts, Sisters, and those special women that have been an influence in your life need to be reminded of how much you care.

Family night at Gatti's

As a part of the U.S. Family Guide bloggers, I was invited to write a review for our local Gatti's. Located at 2921 Pat Booker Road in Universal City, Gatti's offers a fun, family experience for all ages. 

We went around noon this time and it wasn't so busy. But there were parties going on as it was towards the weekend.  

You can reserve rooms for parties and fun occasions. They also have multiple dining rooms. One of the dining rooms has a large TV where movies play to provide entertainment for the kids while you dine. We chose the Quiet Dining room.

Food choices are abundant.

They have various types of pasta and sauces to choose from, a salad bar, myriads of pizza flavors that are ever changing throughout the day, and a dessert set up.

Some of my personal favorites were the Italian type pasta and jalapeño pepperoni pizza. My oldest son devoured a plate of spaghetti right off the start.

Normally I can't get him to be as enthusiastic when I make it at home... My younger son loved the macaroni and cheese. Apparently I don't make that right either since he had far more gusto for Gatti's than he has for mine. They have baked potatoes and even potato salad that was pretty good. 

From the drink choices, I really loved that there were 4 types of tea to choose from. I chose green tea, though you have regular sweet and unsweet as well as Nestea Raspberry to choose from. 

As with any buffet-providing restaurant, clean plates are never ending. You finish one, dump in a receptacle for such and grab a fresh one. 

There is a huge game room to play in.

Games are typically .25 or 50¢ each though some cost more, such as the bumper cars or (my favorite) Fruit Ninja

which are $1 or more.

You can either purchase a game card, or use cash to pay for the games.

There's a little something for everyone. One of our favorites was the Goal Rush.

You get a set amount of balls and you have to toss/roll them upward and into various point value "goals". We ended up playing it over a few times. 

There are plenty of ticket-rewarding games. Tickets can be used to redeem prizes.

The ticket machines were having issues counting and adding credit to the cards. So the lines were a bit long. But that's to be expected with such a high volume of people using them daily. 

It was a great experience for my family. And if you sign up for the Gatti's newsletter, you can receive emails letting you know what the latest deals are.