Four.Twenty.Eight

What I'm Loving Now

• I've loved Wild Olive Tees for a while now.  I have two of their shirts, one no longer made and this one.  My next one to purchase will be this one.  It is very cute, and the proceeds go to a great cause.  I need.

• This may not even be in your wheel house, but I am ecstatic about Clear Care Contact Solution.  I have struggled for several months now with a potential allergy to something involving my lenses.  I nearly gave up completely on contacts.  The "contact expert" at my eye doctor's office recommended, a bit off the cuff, that I try Clear Care.  Once I started it, no problems.  I'm back to wearing my contacts, and it's great.  If you wear contacts and struggle with discomfort or issues, give it a shot.

• This blog, Dear Photograph, is amazing!  I dare you not to love it, too (or shed a tear!).

• I am loving my menu plan for next week.  I'm going to attempt gazpacho.  Sammy's not a big fan of soup, so I'd say it's a risky choice.  I think I will throw a few grilled shrimp on the side for a little meat addition.

• I'm enjoying browsing the Etsy Treasury lately.  Sometimes Etsy overwhelms me.  Sometimes I just want to browse random interesting items, and finding them without some direction is daunting.  The Treasury is perfect if you want to browse.  One item can lead you to a whole shop of things you like (or didn't even know you like).

Local Businesses

I believe that I have made known before on my blog that I am a big supporter of the local business.  I avoid Wal-Mart like the plague and stay away from chain restaurants as much as possible.  I read a post in an online forum recently that quoted this site, the 3/50 Project.  From the article:

3 - What three independently owned businesses would you miss if they disappeared?  Stop in.  Say hello.  Pick up something that brings a smile.  Your purchases are what keeps those businesses around.

50 - If half the employed population spent $50 each month in locally owned independent businesses, it would generate more than $42.6 billion in revenue.

68 - For every $100 spent in locally owned independent stores, $68 returns to the community through taxes, payroll, and other expenditures.  If you spend that in a national chain, only $43 stays here.  Spend it online, and nothing comes home.

1 - The number of people it takes to start the trend.

I have my list of {at least} 3 businesses below.  Do you?

1. Zorba's Greek Cafe in Plano - one of our favorites!
2. Lucky Dog Barkery in Dallas - awesome doggy store.
3. Kelly's Eastside in Plano - best smoked brisket and pulled pork soft tacos ever!
4. Petra in Frisco - best fish tacos I have tried.
5. Xtreme Streetworks in Frisco - they fixed my door ding and it looks awesome.
6. Marlow Automotive in Plano - Jeep specialists - honest and trustworthy.
7. Love, Peace, and Popcorn in Frisco - Try it.  You'll be hooked, too!
8. Every Dog's Day in Frisco - Axel loves it!
9. SDS Photography in McKinney - great work.
10. Sushi Sakana in Plano - Great sushi, great prices!

Sunday Mini-Notes

Four things of interest I'd like you to know:

1. There's a pretty new blog on the block that has me very, very interested.  I can only hope that I can participate one day!  I {heart} faces is a photography blog that focuses on, what else, faces!  They will be having weekly contests in the adult and kid categories, and they will eventually have a pets (hooray!) category.

2. There is a TV show that also has me very, very interested.  Coming to your living room from the Discovery Channel, Time Warp completely fascinates me.  Just watch it a time or two and you, too, will be hooked!  The one sentence preview: Time Warp puts all kinds of everyday activities and objects in extreme slow-motion.

3. I have a new love in my life - hot tea.  Often, in the chilly months, I really enjoy a hot drink in the evenings, but know that I'll regret the caffeine of coffee or regular tea.  Decaf coffee just doesn't do it for me, either.  I discovered this: Celestial Seasonings Mandarin Orange Spice Herbal Tea.  I must have tried herbal tea in the past that wasn't very good, because I didn't think I would like it.  Wrong I was - I love this tea and it is 100% herbal, which means 100% caffeine free!  I add a dab of honey to sweeten it a bit, and yum, delicious!  I buy it for my Keurig coffee maker, and it is easy, fast, and perfectly tasty.

4. I have made a goal to have my goals for 2009 posted this week.  How's that for a goal?  A goal within a goal.  Talk about motivation!  Now, I know my personal goals for my year might be a big **yawn** for readers, and I am sorry about that, but bear with me.  It keeps me accountable to post them in writing and to update them.

Doggy Stuff

Since I, like, never talk about my dog on this blog... :::snicker:::  I thought I'd start with this post.  :::double snicker:::

A couple of notes about doggy places and goodies I wanted to share:

• I have finally found what I believe to be the best boarding kennel around.  Now, I know most of my readers probably don't have dogs, but in case you do - have I got the place for you.  Every Dog's Day is located in Frisco, just a hop, skip, and jump up north from my home.  I think I love them.  They have made Axel and his owners very happy campers for the following reasons:

• They include 4 hours of play time in the price-per-day.  The place I was previously boarding Axel (for the exact same price-per-day, mind you) did not do this, and that was a bit disappointing.  I really prefer he get some time out of his pen daily - he has a lot of pent-up energy!

• They don't charge extra for special food or giving medication.  Thumbs up for that!

• They do Playcare (Doggy Day Care) on Saturdays.  I am very excited about this.  It means that on those very busy Saturdays, we can run errands all day and not feel bad when we come home around 8:00 in the evening and get Axel out of his crate so he can then get right back in when we decide to fall into bed.

• They are very, very attentive to the dogs.  They are careful, experienced, and there is someone on staff at all hours.  Really makes you feel good about leaving them.

• Their "suites" are very, very nice and have a lot of "amenities."  I really feel like I'm getting a lot for my money.  They even made a scrapbook-style page to give me with two pictures of Axel in Play Care.  It was so cute!

• My second dog-related note is Up Country, Inc.  They are my favorite brand of dog collars for these reasons:

• They are cute without being fru-fru or having rhinestones (i.e. bling).
• Many of their designs are boy-dog appropriate.
• They fit right!  I can't tell you how I search and search to find collars that fight Axel just right.  Many brands think that small means "chihuahua small" and medium means "golden retriever medium."  These fit just right.
• Holiday bonus!  They have some very, very cute Christmas collars right now.

Remember Today.

Pause for a moment today and remember the events of September 11, 2001.  Please click the photo above to listen to a fabulous audio montage of that day produced by Chris Potter for the ABC Radio Networks-Today's Best Country.




Photo credit goes to Flickr member savethedave.

You should give this a try!

Really interesting "personality profile."  I know you always get these goofy things via e-mail, but this one is a bit different.  While I don't always agree with the results, this one is an interesting one for sure!

The YOUniverse

Here's my result:

 

I tag YOU to show me yours!

I always say I never win anything...

But it appears that I do!  Check this out!  Woo hoo!

Third Day - The Winner!

Out of a total of 34 comments, the winner of the iTunes Third Day: Revelation Download is:
Commenter Number 19!
Katrina

from
My Life As A Married Girl
Congratulations!  I will be e-mailing you your Third Day prize this very evening.  Stand by!

Look! It's more giving!

But this time, it's from ME!
I decided very late in the game to participate in the Bloggy Giveaway Carnival.


Here's what I'm giving away, to no big surprise:

I have been listening to it non-stop, and I must share it with someone else, because it is fabulous.

But it won't be given away the way you think.  What I'm going to do is give this away the iTunes way.  There's always a little linky-do in iTunes that says "Gift this Music" or something very much like that.  I've always wanted to try out "Gifting" iTunes music.

So, this is very simple!  Just leave me a comment, and I will pick a random winner at 2:00 PM central time on Friday, August 1, 2008.  Comments will close at 12:00 PM central time on the same day.  Your one requirement is that you already have an account with iTunes.  I can only gift music from iTunes to another iTunes account.  If you win, I will essentially be giving you this album to download from iTunes.

After the winner is announced, I will need to contact you to work out the details, so be sure to leave your e-mail address when you comment (not in your comment body, but in the form).  It will only be used for my purpose of gifting you the Third Day album.

Enjoy!  Go forth and WIN!

Win Third Day Goods Here!

Check out BooMama's and Big Mama's blogs for a Third Day giveaway extravaganza!