In My Bag

My twelve year old brother is turning 13 in July. 13. Geez. I still remember my mom going into labor with him. I remember her bringing him home from the hospital. I marveled over how tiny and ugly he was. Heh. He had colic and was a very hard to comfort baby, and I remember many late summer nights, laying on the sofa with him, watching television and listening to music, while my mom got some much needed sleep.

Now, my baby brother is growing up. It’s depressing and exciting at the same time.

Blech. I need to start thinking of birthday presents. He is really into Club Penguin, Harry Potter, dinosaurs, astronomy and sports. The sports thing is a bit of a peer pressure type thing, I think, but that doesn’t stop him from wanting Michael Jordan clothing just because his friends do. *eyeroll*

My brother also loves video games, but video games can make pricey birthday presents. Besides, I have done the video-game-as-a-present thing many times. I want to find something more original. Ideas, anyone?

Being that it’s springtime, and the sun is shining, and a beautiful breeze is blowing through each day, I’m always wanting to take my children somewhere. It’s good for them to experience the outdoors, and to do different things. So far this year we have done three different playgrounds, two different parks, and a walk in the woods. I also want to take them to the zoo in Philadelphia, the national aquarium in New Jersey, and hopefully to the New Jersey, Delaware or Maryland shore before the summer is over.

My mom talks about wanting to go to a garden. I wish we lived close by to the Shangri La Gardens and Nature Center. But, sadly, the last time I checked, Pennsylvania is nowhere near the city of Orange, which is in Texas. :/

Judging from the website (shangrilagardens.org), the Shangri La Gardens look to be a beautiful place to visit (I know I’d have fun with my Nikon D40x there!). The botanical gardens and nature center would be fun for people of all ages. In addition to the gardens, there is the Nature Center which has a hands-on exhibit called the Nature Discovery Center. There is also a lab and three outdoor classrooms, and the Botanical Gardens are situated next to a bird area, where visitors can see birds nesting and doing their own thing in their natural environment.

Another thing that makes Shangri La so nice is that it is very focused on green and on the environment, and on being kind to nature. They’re doing a good job of it, because the U.S. Green Building Council awarded them with LEED-NC certification.

I’m really going to have to do some digging to see if I can find a garden something like Shangri La here in Pennsylvania, because it sounds like a beautiful place! It would make a great trip in the spring, summer and fall, and there would be something for everyone.

The Dr. Grip pen is, hands down, the most comfortable pen I have ever used. I first discovered them back in high school, when a friend of mine lent me one of her pens. It was a Dr. Grip, and I couldn’t get enough of it! I asked her where she bought it, and that night begged my mom to take me to Wal-mart.

I admit, the $7 price tag on the pen made me wince, since I was used to buying ten packs of BIC pens for just a few dollars, but in the end, it was so worth it. Here I am, almost ten years later, and I still enjoy Dr. Grip pens, and recommend them to anyone I know who is looking for a decent pen to write with.

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My new printer, the HP B9180, is set to arrive on Friday. My current printer, the HP 8750, sold this morning.

I can’t wait until Friday!!!

Last week I was shopping for my normal choice of litter box deodorizer, Arm & Hammer Cat Litter Deodorizer, when I saw a new product that Arm & Hammer had out: Arm & Hammer Multi-Cat Litter Deodorizer. It’s so new, in fact, that I can’t seem to find any mention of the product on the internet.

The product is a little expensive — I paid $6.99 for it at PetSmart, yet doesn’t contain much more deodorizer than the regular, single cat deodorizer does. But it claims to work wonders for households with multiple cats.

So I tried it out, for a week, with both our of litter boxes.

Honestly? I saw no difference between its results vs. those of Arm & Hammer Cat Litter Deodorizer. I consider it a lesson learned: stick with what works!

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So I came across blind9golf.com today. I’m not into golf myself, but my husband’s uncle is, and since his birthday is coming up soon, I wanted to pick out something I know he would like: just about anything to do with golf!

And blind9golf.com certainly has everything golf related. From golf shirts to equipment, accessories and more, the website certainly has everything a golf enthusiast, or someone who is shopping for a golf enthusiast, could possibly want!

When I was in middle school, a friend of mine was obsessed with anything Michael Jordan. He had jackets, t-shirts, jerseys, tank tops, hats, even sneakers and I think a Jordan themed backpack. For his birthday I wanted to get him something Michael Jordan related, but didn’t find anything that wasn’t tacky and/or cheap and/or something he had already, so I settled with getting him a gift card from Sports Authority.

If I had been able to find a line of Jordan Apparel like sidelineaparel.com, I bet I would have been able to pick out a much nicer birthday present. sidelineapparel.com has a lot of sports and sports star themed clothing, accessories and more… perfect for the sports enthusiast in your life!