I'm not a brand snob. Really, I'm not. My mother is the queen of frugality, and I have learned well from her.
(Ask me later about the frozen watermelon! I'll have to save that story for another blog post.) But, yes, those are Nike swishes on my new tennies. I feel a little guilty about that, but maybe if I blog about it, I'll get over it. My husband has a love-hate relationship with the frugal nature of my character... and he talked me into getting these cute brown Nikes... but, no, I won't blame it on him.
Truth be told, I'm learning that some things are worth the extra money. I've always considered price first (and I still do) but cheaper is not always better.
For example, did you know that "high fructose corn syrup" is not only a cheap sweetener, it's also a preservative? I have been reading up on the controversy between HFCS and natural sugar, and I discovered that a lot of foods have HFCS added just because it extends the shelf life. So I've been reading labels more carefully. The cheap brand of chili beans had HFCS in it, and the name-brand didn't. Guess which one had more calories? I still buy a lot of off-brand groceries... but not without comparing ingredients.
But I digress. You wanted to hear about my Nikes, didn't you? Well... first, I have to tell you about my new coffee pot. It ties in. Really it does. (The groceries don't... but the coffee pot does!)
A few months ago, I was on
a quest to make a great cup of coffee. My friend,
Laura, recommended a particular coffee pot. When we were together this summer she fixed a pot of coffee so I could try it, and told me it was available at Kohl's. It made great coffee! The only drawback? It was $100, which seemed a little spendy to me for a coffee pot. Needless to say, I didn't run right out and buy one.
When we got home from our trip, I noticed we had accumulated quite a few "thank you" points on our credit card from all the traveling we did this summer... plane tickets to my grandmother's funeral, besides our road trip, etc. As I was browsing the gift site to see what I could get with my points, I noticed they had gift cards for Kohl's. And I had enough points to get the coffee pot! So that's what I did. I still felt a little guilty about spending that much "money" for a coffee pot... but it was somewhat easier because it was "free" money. (Okay. It's really not free, but you know what I mean.) As I was paying for the coffee pot, the cashier gave me a $30 gift certificate to use in Kohl's the next week. Apparently they were running a promotion where you would earn a certain amount of store credit depending on how much you spent.
In the meantime, I was needing new tennis shoes. I have been trying to get back into the habit of exercising, and my 10-year-old Reeboks are just about worn out. The Reebok outlet in our area went out of business awhile back, so I thought I would just get some cheap athletic shoes from Wal-Mart. They had the cutest white cheerleader shoes, with little sparkly colored tabs that slid into a pocket on the side to match your team's colors or whatever. Yes, I'm way too old (not to mention uncoordinated) to be a cheerleader... but I thought they would be good workout shoes. I just had on flip-flops that day so I didn't want to try them on in the store. I just grabbed a box in my size, thinking I could take them back if they didn't fit. After I got home with them my daughter opened them up to look at them and said, "Mom, did you know you got 2 right shoes... in 2 different sizes?" Of course I didn't know that! So I had to take them back after all. This time I made sure I had a matching pair! Unfortunately, they turned out to be uncomfortable. They didn't bend right with my foot. And I took them back again and didn't get more at Wal-Mart.
So when I got the extra $30 at Kohl's, I decided to see if I could find some tennies that fit there. They had a much wider selection than Wal-Mart, and lots of name brands. Lyle's the one who spotted the brown pair of Nikes. They were $45... but with my $30 off coupon, I got them for $15... which is cheaper than the cheap cheerleader shoes at Wal-Mart! See?
I'm lovin' my new tennies... and my new coffee pot! I'm glad I didn't have to pay full price for either one... but, to be honest, I kinda think it would have been worth it, even if I had.
I'm curious. What items do you insist on a particular brand?
Pumpkin Patch Primitives is giving away a bundle of 27 fat quarters! What a pretty quilt that would make! Head on over for your chance to win! And mention that Karla @ Ramblin' Roads sent you. The contest ends on October 31.
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Today I'm not going to post a recipe, as such, because you probably already know how to make Taco Soup. (If you don't, just Google for the recipe. It is so easy! Browned ground beef, then add canned beans, canned corn, and canned tomatoes-and-chilis. Top with shredded cheese and sour cream. Serve with chips.)
...however, as I've mentioned before, we don't mind the rain. The scenery was still beautiful, in a muted sort of way.
Just at sunset, the clouds broke up and the sun cast a breath-taking rainbow against the eastern sky... It lasted for quite awhile.
The next morning dawned sunny and clear.
The fall colors were brilliant.
We thoroughly enjoyed the gifts of our Creator this fall weekend!
This past weekend we had another informal family field trip to the Grand Coulee Dam in central Washington. We were camping in the area, so took the opportunity to visit the dam while we were over there. It doesn't tie in with anything we're learning about currently... but it was built in the 1930s as a Public Works Administration project, and my oldest daughter is studying the 20th century this year, so we will be to that time period in a few weeks.
The visitor's center had several interesting hands-on exhibits. The girls and their dad particularly enjoyed the virtual flying game with a joy-stick controller that let you zoom over, around, and inside the dam on the video screen.
My favorite part was the vintage publicity pieces and souvenirs on display. The cartoon map shows the area before the dam was built. We were camping near Steamboat Rock.
I wondered what all the carefully-labeled jugs were about. Apparently they had some ceremony in 1951 where water from all 50 states was poured over the dam as a symbolic gesture of something-or-other. I thought it was pretty funny!
A friendly little old man greeted us as we came in. He asked the girls why they weren't in school. They told him they are homeschooled. I said, "This is school, right?" He said, "Oh, don't tell them that! Then they won't want to do their book work!" He gave them each a workbook to fill out as they went through the center. I thought that was great! It forced them to slow down and read the signs.
The life size exhibit of wagons, taxidermied animals, and mannequins to represent the people made the hardships of the trail come alive for us.
I was amazed to learn that most of the people actually walked the entire 2,000 mile trip. The wagons were much too full, small and bumpy to ride in. For sure, they were much smaller than I had envisioned them when I was a kid!
One exhibit had blocks to represent the various things people took along, with a scale-size wagon to load the blocks in. My daughter decided that the "whiskey" could definitely stay behind. I said, "But what if you need it for medicine?"
"Nope," she told me. "We have a smaller box of medicine."
Truth be told, I'm learning that some things are worth the extra money. I've always considered price first (and I still do) but cheaper is not always better.
Outside my window... it's a glorious October day. Cool and sunny.
A couple days ago as I went to the kitchen for my first cup of coffee, the sunrise caught my eye. I regret that I don't have the photography expertise (or maybe it's just my camera... yeah, can we say that?) to properly capture the beauty of the moment.
That was the day of my friend Kay's funeral. As I stood in awe of the beauty of the sunrise that morning, I thought about how glorious heaven must be. Then I realized that just as my camera can't capture the true beauty of the glorious sky... so we can't possibly comprehend what awaits us in heaven.
There aren't many public school experiences that I regret that my girls have missed. One thing that I did enjoy, however, when I was in public high school (we won't say how many years ago) was the opportunity for music training, and I wished the same for my children. Of course, private lessons are available, but due to a number of circumstances we haven't been able to pursue that option. So I had been keeping my eye open for group music classes.
It was a drizzly morning, but we didn't let that stop us. We enjoyed tromping through the trees checking out the different varieties of fruit. The orchard owners had also planned a "letter boxing" game with 6 or 8 different boxes throughout the orchard for the kids to find and stamp a card. Hunting for the the letter boxes made it even more fun!
This was a Red Delicious tree. The lady told us we could recognize the Delicious apples (both Red and Golden) by the star on the bottom. I love how dusky they look hanging on the tree.
I thought these weathered apple carts lined up against the old red barn were picturesque.
And here's my gang heading in with their harvest.
We only picked enough to enjoy fresh for the next few weeks. I was disappointed to discover that we can actually buy apples at the grocery store cheaper than we can pick our own.
But just the experience was worth the drive over! The girls found all the letter boxes and got to choose a prize from the prize basket.