Perfect night begins with picnic
April 21, 2006, 9:45 am

I discovered last year that my kids would actually sit and eat their meals if I called it a picnic and served it outside. It didn't matter where -- a blanket spread out on the front porch, the table in their little playhouse, the picnic table in the backyard, the patio table in the pool area ... even the top of a sawhorse in our under-construction back porch -- if I served it outside, they gobbled it up.

Last night, I made good on my promise to spend the night with the girls. Here's what we did:

* We had a picnic in the backyard -- grilled cheese, pretzels, corn and bananas. It took me less than 15 minutes to get together. I recently rediscovered the joy of grilled cheese which I had sworn off years ago due to the double-whammy of fattening cheese and butter. But now, I make my grilled cheese by spraying bread with fat-free butter spray and it works perfectly. I use real cheese for the girls' sandwich and fat-free cheese for mine.

* We swang on the swingset.

* We went for long walk around the neighborhood. I let them pick where we went which resulted in my pushing 50 lbs. worth of kids in a double stroller up some serious hills because they choose a Hartman Hill/Kirsch Road course. After that, I didn't feel guilty about skipping Body Pump last night.

* We took a ride through the "forest" with our neighbor, Howard, who had just gotten a new golf cart. The wintergreen gorge is in our backyard and several of the neighbors have built wide paths through the woods that we all use for hiking, horseback riding and ATV (and golf cart) riding. It was a thrill ride in Howard's golf cart which I was convinced would never make it back up the moutain with a man, a woman and two little girls in it. I love our neighbors.

* We watched the ants in the crack in the sidewalk. There was some sort of excitement in ant land last night and we laid down and watched them running all over each other.

* We noticed that a sparrow has built a nest in the apple tree just above the picnic table, the trees are all budding leaves and the azaleas are just about to explode.

* We ate Pop Ice outside for an evening snack. Nothing says summer like those plastic pouches filled with flavored, frozen sugar water.

Then, it was bath time, story time and bed time.

What a great night. I'm planning a lot more, just like that.

And, you know what, I still got lunches packed, clothes laid out and bills payed before I went to bed.

Priorities
April 20, 2006, 7:35 am

Last night I picked up a book -- "200 Ways to Raise a Girl's Self-Esteem" -- that I bought when I found out I was having a girl (no kidding...I was five months pregnant and already worried about my unborn daughter's self-esteem).

It's a good little book with lots of easy-to-digest information and sensible advice. It's meant for older girls. But, some of the advice rings true no matter what the child's age.

As of late, I've been feeling frazzled, overwhelmed and generally pissed off about the frantic, rush-rush that is my life (you can't tell from my last few posts that I'm grumpy this week, can you? ).

I feel like I'm always trying to keep up. And, I used to always be the one who was way ahead of the game (see the first sentance of this post). Now, I'm always running late, I'm barely keeping my head above water at work, I can't keep up with the housework/shopping/errands. Everywhere I go, every way I turn, there is more work to do -- fingerprints to wash off the glass storm door, stories to trim, headlines to write, a special section that needs proofed, a nose that needs wiped, dishes that need washed, a dog that needs fed, a cat box that needs cleaned, an empty suet feeder that needs filled....

Last night, when I got home from work, my daughters begged me to swing them "higher and higher" and to help them fly their new kites. But, I sent them outside to play by themselves (husband was outside working on the back porch) because I had lunches to pack, a house to clean up, phone calls to return and clothes to ready for the next day.

By the time I was done with all the household crap, it was their bed time. And I had never made time for them.

I have no doubt many of you are living the same life right now.

The passage I stumbled upon in "200 Ways" last night hit home. It was about getting your priorities straight. It helped me, maybe it will help you.

DISCLAIMER: This is NOT meant to make you feel guilty! Please don't take it that way. It's just a reminder about what things are really important (and smudged storm doors and dirty dishes are not).

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"GET YOUR PRIORITIES STRAIGHT"
"Something most children know instinctively...is that the most valuable thing we possess is our time, and how we spend it is a daily statement about our priorities. The way we choose to spend our time sends a powerful message to our daughters about their worth to us, whether we intend it or not.

"That message cuts both ways. When we never seem to be able to find the time to spend with our daughters, no amount of explaining and excusing will soften the message that they simply aren't important enough for our time. Conversely, when we carve time out of our busy lives just for them, it is irrefutable proof of just how precious they are. Everyone needs to feel they matter.

"Remember, this is a brief window of time that you have been granted, to soak in and enjoy the incredible process of the blossoming of a human soul. Try to keep that in mind at all times, and it will become easier to carve out the time you really need to devote to this wondrous endeavor.

"Fiercely guard the time you do have with your daughter. Don't just waste time passively sitting in front of the TV. Take control over your schedule and take back the time that just seems to slip away. Insist everyone eat together. Take walks together. Leave the dishes and go to the park after dinner. Enforce strict rules about TV and computer usage to create more family time."

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Words to parent by.

The reason the passage helped me is that I need to remember that all these "burdens" are really blessings. I am lucky to have a big home to keep clean. I'm lucky to have healthy, happy kids who are physically capable of swinging and flying kites. I'm lucky to have a job that I truly love that challenges me. I'm lucky to have a full life and lots of people who want to share it with me. There are many who don't.

Tonight I'll leave work on time. I'll skip the gym. I'll ignore the fingerprints on the sliding glass door. I'll pack lunches at 10 p.m. if I have to. I'll go outside and I'll swing my girls "higher and higher" because it won't be long before they'll be able to swing by themselves and they won't need me anymore.

Weighty issues
April 19, 2006, 7:31 am

The Eastside YMCA got a digital scale.

What was wrong with the old mechanical one? You know, the one you could easily spot yourself a pound or two on? Now, you step on the scale & there's no denying that number. It's not "around 124," it's 126.4

I don't have a scale at home. No way could I step on that every day. I would become obsessive about it, I'm sure. So, the only time I weigh myself is at the Y and I do that rarely, choosing instead to monitor my weight by how well my pants fit.

Well, I've been avoiding some of my pants for months now. I knew I had put on some winter weight. Not a lot, but enough that some of my clothes are uncomfortable.

So, I decided it was time to waddle over to the scale and assess the winter damage. When I weighed myself last week, the old mechanical scale said I'd gained about 3 lbs.

I couldn't resist stepping on the new digital scale on Monday and it begged to differ with the mechanical scale. The digital scale clarified that I'd actually gained 4.4 lbs.

That would explain the snug dress pants.

If there's one thing I've learned in my lifetime filled with weight issues it's that you can't let things go to far. 2 lbs. becomes 3 lbs. 3 lbs. becomes 4.4 lbs. and it just keep climbing from there.

With summer swimsuit season fast approaching, I knew I needed to take drastic measures.

I've given up chocolate and booze.

And stepping on digital scales.

Easter Egg Hunts from Hell
April 18, 2006, 9:07 am

Why, oh why, do I insist on torturing myself and my kids by dragging them to Easter Egg Hunts each year?

I paint a pretty picture in my head of the girls skipping along, hand-in-hand, loading up their little wicker baskets with pastel-colored plastic eggs filled with treats and small toys.

But, it's always complete chaos. This year I tried to take both of them to two egg hunts (Greene Township and the Erie Zoo) by myself.

Never again. NEVER again.

Two girls running in two directions is OK on most days at the zoo, but not on a day when there are 5,000 other visitors and kids everywhere running wild, hopped up on sugar and sheer joy.

I rushed them out of the zoo as soon as possible because we had another hunt to go to and I was convinced that I'd be leaving with one less kid if I didn't get the hell out of there before I lost one for good.

The Greene Township hunt had different age kids searching in different areas -- at the same time. I couldn't let either of them search alone (nor would they have), so I had to take the younger one to the older area where she got run over (literally) and managed to snag all of three eggs.

Which was fine, really, because the eggs were filled with chocolate and hard candy (hello? Hard candy for kids? What are they thinking? ).

I spent the rest of the afternoon:
1. Listening to them cry and whine because I wouldn't let them eat every single piece of candy they got.
2. Dodging the twirly baton Kelly got at the zoo egg hunt and fending my arms from being pinched by Lauren and her damn lion-head "grabber" she got at the zoo.
3. Drinking heavily.

Girlfriends who went to other egg hunts (Burch's, the YMCA, Frontier Park), report similar experiences (and afternoon alcohol consumption as well).

I used to think my sister was a spoil-sport because she never took her kids to stuff like this (special events, amusement parks, etc.). I'm starting to understand why now.

There isn't enough Vodka in Erie to make Egg Hunts fun for mommies.

Pittsburgh Rocks!
April 17, 2006, 8:32 am

This just in from girlfriend, Jen W.... a fellow Nickelback lover...

"I just heard a huge concert announcement on Rocket! Bon Jovi and Nickleback @ Heinz Field on Sunday July 23rd for some kind of Steeler's Party! The tickets go on sale April 29th and pre sale April 27th on Rocket."

No news yet about how much they cost or what time the show starts. But, those are minor details that just don't matter -- 4 a.m., 9 a.m., 7 p.m., $50, $90 or $210...I'm there.

Unfortunately, it's my younger daughter's 3rd birthday, but this is NICKELBACK and BON JOVI -- I think Lauren will understand. She, too, is a fan of Nickelback. Whenever "Photograph" comes on the radio, she tells me to turn it up and signs along with the chorus...."goodbye...goodbye..."

Nickelback, Bon Jovi, the Steelers.... on a hot summer night ... it just doesn't get any better than that.

Cocoa sweetens spring mulching
April 14, 2006, 8:06 am

Spreading mulch on my flower beds is an annual chore I dread. I have a LOT of flowerbeds -- I usually get 4 yards of bark and we spread it all with a wheelbarrow and shovel. It's sweat-inducing, nail-ruining, back-breaking work, but I just heard about a way to make it sweeter.

Community Services of North East is holding their annual Hershey's cocoa shell mulch fundraiser again this year. This mulch consists of actual shells from the cocoa beans used by Hershey's to make their chocolate products. The mulch is a rich, brown color and gives off a sweet chocolate aroma. Community Services says the mulch admits and retains water and never becomes soggy.

You can purchase it by the bag $6 for a 25 lb. bag or by the pallet 50 25-lb. bags. You must pick it up yourself (at the North East Moose Club) on April 29-30 or May 6-7 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Call 725-4300 for more info.

Sounds like a sweet alternative to traditional wood bark.

Turkey, chicken... what's the dif?
April 13, 2006, 11:29 am

I bought what I thought was a small turkey at Erie County Farms several weeks ago thinking my husband could smoke it in his smoker.

Well, I should've looked at the package a little closer because it was a chicken, not a turkey. Go ahead and laugh, but let me remind you that 1.) I was a vegetarian for 12 years, and 2.) I hate to cook.

Now what the hell was I going to do with this whole chicken -- I mean, it had bones & everything. So, I leafed through the one cookbook I do occasionally use: "Fix It & Forget It: Recipes for your Slow Cooker" (see..the slowcooker does the cooking, I just have to dump ingredients in). Anyway... I ended up making (OK, Dan made it) a dinner that the WHOLE family actually ate. The chicken just fell off the bones (yes, as I suspected, there were bones in there) and the potatoes and carrots were delish.

Here's the recipe:

Chicken in a Pot

2 carrots, sliced
2 onions, sliced
2 celery ribs, cut into 1 inch pieces
3 lb. chicken, whole or cut up
2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. dried coarse black pepper
1 tsp. dried basil
1 cup weter, chicken broth or white cooking wine

1. Place veggies in bottom of slow cooker. Place chicken on top of veggies. Add seasonings and water.
2. Cover. Cook on Low 8-10 hrs., or High 3.5 - 5 hrs. (Use 1 cup liquid if cooking on High).
Note: To make this a full meal, add 2 medium-sized potatoes, quartered, to vegetables before cooking.

-- from "Fix It and Forget It "

Singing bridge silenced
April 12, 2006, 8:13 am

Be advised that Presque Isle's singing bridge is officially silenced as of today. You can no longer loop the park by car, by foot, by bike, by blade ... until early September.

I had planned to get up early Saturday and do a long run around the park before meeting up with friends at the Poker Run 5K on Beach 1, but alas...I'll have to be satisfied with an out-n-back run. What a bummer.

I really can't figure out why they'd do this bridge construction during the height of the summer tourism season, but they must have their reasons.

BTW -- the Erie Runners Club Poker Run/Walk 5K starts at 9 a.m. Saturday at Beach 1. This is a laid-back, low-key race in that draws not just runners, but lot of walkers as well. You can still join in the fun -- day of race registration is from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. at Beach #1 -- cost is just $10. Day-of-race registrants will not get a premium, but still have a chance to win prizes with the hand of cards they're dealt.

See www.erie-runnerclub.org and click on the "Poker Run" button on the left side for more information.

Great gardening tool discovered
April 11, 2006, 7:31 am

Taking advantage of this Sunday's mild weather, I spent the afternoon outside doing spring maintenance on my flower beds. I had lots of work to do -- I get lazy in the fall and let the leaves lie where they land. Unfortunately, a lot of them land in two of my largest flower beds.

I had bought a small bamboo rake a year or so ago, specifically for raking these leaves out from under the bushes. I've seen more than a few snakes in my garden and learned long ago never to stick my hand under a bush filled with warm, rotting leaves because that is where the slithering things live.

When starting the clean-up, I asked my older daughter to go get me the little rake she'd been playing with earlier (meaning the bamboo rake). She brought me her plastic sand rake instead. And, you know, it worked better than anything else I've ever used.

The bamboo rake always chewed up any new foliage in it's way as I cleared out the leaves -- no matter how careful I was to avoid it (especially my beloved, top-heavy hycinths). The kid's sand rake had just four tines -- perfect for grabbing the dead leaves without ripping up new growth. The sand rake was also the perfect length for hands-and-knees gardening.

Come to think of it ... their sand hoe will be perfect for spreading bark this spring.

So, forget about all those fancy, expensive gardening tools -- pick yourself up a $2.99 sand toy set at Wal-Mart and your budding perennials and spring bulbs will thank you for it.

The sweet smell of chocolate
April 10, 2006, 7:49 am

Ever wondered what heaven smells like? I think it's something like the inside of Pulakos 926 chocolates -- which the kids, husband, father and I had a chance to savor yesterday during their annual Palm Sunday open house. We -- and hundred others -- took a tour through the factory to see just how all our favorite Easter chocolates are made.

When we got there, the tour line was fairly short & it moved quickly. The wonderful scent of chocolate hit as soon as you got in the door (how the people who work there are not all obese, I don't know) The tour wound us through a few rooms of the factory showing where the chocolate is melted in huge vats. It's then sucked up a pipe and spit out into molds, cooled in seconds and packaged with a automatic wrapping machine. We also got to see them make chocolate strawberries and peanut butter eggs. The employees were in the sprit with rabbit ear headbands and white body-puff tails pins to their pants.

At the end of the tour, they handed you one of the chocolate bars you just saw being made. Both of my kids devored theirs before we got out the front door (chocolate for lunch again...hand me my mother-of-the-year award now). They also got baloons and a chocolate sucker to take home (which they ate before we got to the car).

We were in & out in less than an hour. The kids had free baloons, chocolate-filled bellies and big smiles as they hugged the Easter Bunny on their way out.

We bought some Chocolate covered strawberries because...well, we couldn't let the kids have all the fun.

If you've ever thought about doing the tour - I reccomend it. It was fun, it was fairly quick. I'd go early though...the line was stretching to the front of the building (you enter in the back door) by the time we left at 12:30.

Basket case
April 7, 2006, 8:54 am

All the advertisements and television commercials show Easter basket overflowing with chocolate bunnies, caramel-cream eggs and jelly beans, but that's not what the Easter bunny leaves at the Cass house.

I shun all the candy and chocolate and fill my girls' Easter basket with tons of sugar-free fun. (C'mon...does it really suprise any of you that I wouldn't do the candy-thing? ) Lest you feel sorry for my girls, let me reassure you that they get plenty Easter candy from their Grandparents, their Aunts, their classmates. Heck, we still have SIX chocolate bunnies in our freezer from last year.

When I was young, the things I loved most in my pink, plastic Easter basket were the non-candy items -- things like coloring books, watercolors, Barbies, curling irons, tapes (they were tapes back then), makeup or nail polish.

Since Easter is next week and you'll likely be shopping for Easter basket items this weekend (unless you're an anal freak like me and you're done already) Here is a list of things you might consider packing in your kid's Easter basket this year. (some of these items are gender-specific, others would be good for boys or girls)

YOUNG KIDS
Stickers,
hair accessories/ties/scrunchies,
small notebooks,
colored pencils or markers,
watercolors,
coloring book and crayons,
books,
sandals,
summer hat,
bathing suit,
beach towel,
kite,
Silly Putty,
Play-doh,
My Little Pony (Target has some "exclusive" Easter-theme MLPs),
Barbie dolls/clothes,
Polly Pocket dolls/clothes,
action figures,
sugarless gum,
Beanie babies or other small stuffed animals,
sandbox toys,
bubbles,
flashlights,
Erie Zoo membership,
Children's Museum membership,
Matchbox cars,
Legos,
play jewelry/purse,
preschool puzzles,
preschool/kindergarten workbooks,
lacing cards,
flashcards,
kiddie CDs or DVDs,
bathtub crayons/paint,
sidewalk chalk,
pom-pons,
flower/vegetable seeds and kid-size gardening supplies (Target),
rain boots,
sunglasses,
play makeup,
dress-up accessories (crowns, gloves, purses, etc.),
umbrella.

'TWEENS & TEENS
scrapbooking supplies,
notebooks,
art supplies (colored pencils, markers, tracing paper, etc.),
bathing suit,
summer sandals,
summer outfit,
portable CD player,
books,
CDs,
DVD movies,
computer software program,
nail polish,
makeup,
event tickets (Train concert, SeaWolves game tickets),
movie passes,
laser tag tickets,
Splash Lagoon passes,
mall gift certificate,
funky jewelry or hair accessories from Claire's,
journal and pens,
charms for charm braclet,
cell phone face covers,
post-it pads in funky colors,
monogram jewelry,
school supplies (calculator, highlighters, sharpie markers, etc.),
lessons (piano, swimming, dance, etc.),
belts,
cool socks,
beach towel,
address book,
umbrella,
sunglasses,
candles,
Bath-and-Body-Works items,
hairbrushes/combs/curling iron,
lip gloss,
picture frames,
photo albums,
card games,
magazine subscriptions,
purse,
their name in wood letters (Wal-Mart).

Calorie counting made easy
April 6, 2006, 7:24 am

I subscribe to a web site called "Hungry Girl" that sends out a e-newsletter every day alerting women to the latest in food news. It has a focus on healthy eating, so most of the products they endorse are those that are decent for weight-watching women (like most of us). Sometimes the emails are stupid and are about products I'm not interested in, but...today's email was cool -- it was all about online calorie counters and I thought I'd pass this information right on to you.

www.Calorie-count.com
This site has food lists with calorie counts and it also has some great "tools" to help you figure out how many calories you burn and how many you need to eat to maintain, lose, or gain (yeah, right) weight.

www.calorieking.com
Calorie King has a database of over 30,000 foods. You'll find everything from grocery store brands to fast food and national chain restaurants -- even hard-to-find info on obscure food products can be found here. They also offer recipes and various weight-loss tools.

I surfed around the sites a little bit this morning. I found calorie-count.com to be the easier of the two to use. You have to register to use calorieking.com, but I did find a way to browse without registering (ugh..what a pain. I hate when they make you register...like I need one more password to remember! ). To browse, click on "Recipes, Articles and More" then "Browse our food database."

Teetering sheets
April 5, 2006, 9:43 am

I saw this tip in one of the umpteen-million magazines that I subscribe to and it's a great idea:

To organize your linen closet and put an end to the teetering, toppling pile of sheets (I know I've got one), store each complete set of clean sheets in one of the pillowcases. When it's time to change the sheets, grab the pillowcase and go.

Now, if someone could just tell me how the hell to fold a fitted sheet so it's not a big, lumpy lop-sided mess, I'd be good to go.

Desperate Housewives sucks
April 4, 2006, 12:01 am

Women are turning off Desperate Housewives in droves and I know why. It sucks. I keep watching -- waiting for it to get better and it's not. I'm done with it.

Here are the top five reasons I think the show went in the toilet:
1. They got rid of the hotty gardener and made Gabrielle morally-responsible (hello? she was the only one with the good sex scenes).
2. Susan. I cannot stand her stupid character, her pitful life, her bumbling idiocy and all her self-inflicted wounds and baggage. I want to kick her when she's down (and God knows she's ALWAYS down).
3. It's trying to be too many things. Is it a comedy? A drama? A prime-time soap opera? Are we supposed to take it seriously? Laugh? Cry? What...what...what? The show's producers don't even seem to know.
4. The story lines suck. It's become so campy (and daytime soap opera-ish) that I half-expect someone to develop alcholism, someone to be falsely accused of abuse, someone to buy a baby and someone to keep someone locked up in their basement. Oh...wait...they've already done all that. Next up.... Susan is abducted by aliens and Bree's husband comes back from the grave.
5. Paul and his creepy son. 'nuff said.

Thank God for Grey's Anatomy (which comes on right after Desperate Housewives) -- at least they know how to give us characters we give a crap about, women we can identify with, men we wish we could sleep with and story lines that are actually interesting.

What not to do with your day off
April 3, 2006, 7:38 am

I've overscheduled my kid today. My two-year-old has tumbling class at 9 a.m. and a zoo class -- "Exciting Eggs" -- at the zoo at 10. She's also got swim class tonight at 6:15. Throw in dropping off & picking up her older sister from preschool, a stop a the library and the grocery store and we're going to be spending most of our day in the car in frenzy mode.

Not the way to spend a day off. I hate when I do stuff like this. The whole point of working four 10-hour days is so that I have more time to have fun with the kids. Mondays were supposed to be our "fun days," but...there's only so much fun you can have indoors and when the class schedules arrive in the mail in the dead of February, I sign up thinking it will be something fun to do together.

I forgot all about the tumbling class (which Lauren loves) when I signed her up for the zoo class (which she kinda likes). So now I think we may go to the tumbling class, then go to the zoo class late. I'm setting myself up for a miserable, frustrating day, I know. Nothing worse than rush, rush, rush in the pursuit of a good time.

I can't wait until summer when all the classes are over and we can sleep late and spend the day splashing around in the pool, chalking all over the driveway and blowing bubbles.

Now, that's the way to spend a day off.

I stayed up late last night and typed up this big, beautifully-worded blog about the Train concert and how it made me feel 14 again. It took over an hour and a half, I previewed it and then lost it. Ninety minutes of work irretrievably lost. Gone. Again. Damn computer.

So.. here's a summary of the Train blog -- it was incredible. We were in the third row and the speakers were so close, they made my hair move -- it was intense and I loved every minute of it. It was fun just to hang with the girls, get crazy, have a few beers and dance in the aisle -- clapping and waving and singing along. I cannot even wait for the Bon Jovi/Nickelback concert now (by the way, tickets go on sale Thursday! ).

Today I feel 14 again, but not in a good way. I'm freaked out by the fact that I knew the girl who was killed in Greene Township. I went to high school with her. She was always pretty and friendly, though she ran with a rough crowd (as did I). I knew of her husband and the guy they arrested. She was found about 2 miles from my current home.

I haven't seen Stacy in years and we weren't even really friends in high school -- we just kind of hung out with some of the same people -- but, the whole thing is wigging me out. I can't stop thinking about her two young children (10 and 12) who are now motherless. How does someone take a mother's life? I feel sorry for the kids who will surely have to endure hearing about every horrid detail of their mother's death.

Right now, my daughters (2 & 4) are dressed up in their finest princess dresses, sparkly shoes and tiaras. They're playing school and for some reason the little one is pretending to be a dog now. She just came over on all fours, panting and licked me.

Surely, these are the types of memories that Stacy must've had with her children when they were young.

Whatever happened in her life, wherever she went, whatever she did, whoever she knew, I am truly sorry that it ended this way.

There, but by the grace of God, go I.

I'll stop with all the heavy stuff today.

My husband was at camp all this weekend. When he got home Sunday at 3 p.m., I grabbed my purse and sped off to the mall for some kid-free "me" time. Camp is costly for us -- he spends $100 for beer, food and gas. When he comes home, I spend $100 on retail therapy.

Here are some things I found:

Target has some cool vintage t-shirts. I picked up an Aerosmith T and a Rolling Stones T for $9.97 each. And, yes, I violated my own rule about never purchasing anything from the juniors department.

Bed Bath & Beyond (where I spent an hour doing "research" for this week's "Get it Together" column), has some really cool stuff for spring including brightly colored plastic dinnerware, drinkware and fun patio/picnic stuff. I could've spent $1,000 there, but I spent a mere $4.95 on a kid-size, Nemo lookalike ice pack for the upcoming summer scraped-knee season. Had I not pumped $39 into my gas tank, I might've spent more.

Aldi's has plastic outdoor kids chairs for $3.97 with various characters on them including Fairytopia, Blues Clues, Winnie the Pooh and Dora the Explorer. They are, of course, in bright obnoxious colors, but kids like them that way.

Target has a ton of cute workout clothes at a reasonable price, including capri-length running pants. Unfortunately, none of them are petite-size, so I came up short again. ;-)

Rite Aid had the DVD "Must Love Dogs" for $9.99. I love John Cusack. Is it a good movie? Don't know...haven't watched it yet, but it doesn't matter. John Cusack is in it. I would pay $9.99 for a DVD of him staring at a wall.

As the Her Times "Homefront" blog pointed out a few days ago, Payless Shoes is having their buy one get one 1/2 price sale. Now is the time to stock up on summer sandals. Sometimes it's hit-or-miss at Payless for me, but I hit this weekend. They have tons of cute summer shoes -- everything from sneaker-like slides to espadrilles (those cute shoes that lace up your leg). Can't make it to the store? www.payless.com is offering free shipping on purchases over $40 until May 3 (BOGO prices apply on the entire stock). Don't blame me if you don't have $39 to pump into your car now.

I could go on & on, but then my husband may figure out how much I spent.

Never in all of my life did I think I'd live to see the day my Dad would babysit solo. He's a man of his generation -- a generation that left the kid-stuff to their wives. But, today, while my mother is on a bus trip to the state capital with her girlfriends, my Dad is taking care of my little princesses by himself.

Normally, when my mom needs a vacation day, I rely on a back-up sitter like my Aunt or my MIL, but my mother who hates to inconvenience me (gotta love Moms), suggested that my dad might be up to the task now that the girls are older. Both girls are potty-trained and take care of their own business, so to speak. They can get their own snacks, pour their own juice, tell him what they want for lunch and Kelly can even get herself in and out of her own carseat.

The girls will be fine. I'm not worried about them. I'm worried about my Dad. I don't think he knows what he's getting into. Even on their best day, the girls can wear a person out.

I made them promise to be on their best behavior. They swore they wouldn't fight and they would listen to Grandpa. But, 2 & 4 year olds aren't great at keeping promises.

I suspect they'll spend most of the next two days eating snacks and watching kid's videos. My dad will probably take them for ice cream and maybe to feed the ducks at the dock or for a walk around the neighborhood.

Knowing my kids, they'll fight, whine and not listen to their Grandpa.

And, knowing my dad, he'll love them anyway.

Back in the old days -- before the internet -- when you wanted good seats for a concert, you camped out in front of the ticket booth the night before. Or, at least, you showed up an hour or two early to get in line.

But, the web has changed the way we live our lives and now, for the best seats in the house, you don't have to leave your house.

Advance tickets go on sale today at 10 a.m. for the big Steelers Championship Celebration concert at Heinz Field (Bon Jovi and Nickelback) and I'm in charge of scoring two good tickets.

I turned to the pro -- the Erie Times-News' own Dr. Rock -- for some tips. Here's what the music man had to say:

Tip #1: Open an account at Ticketmaster in advance (a day or two before tickets go on sale) -- enter all your information and credit card number to speed things along.

Tip #2: Fifteen minutes or so before the tickets go on sale, log onto Ticketmaster.com and get to the event screen (where you enter how many tickets you want). Keep refreshing until the screen says tickets are available.

Tip #3: Be sure you choose the right price level or "best available" may be VIP tickets that are out of your price range (and you'll have wasted precious minutes on tickets you can't afford).

Tip #4: Print out the seating chart in advance, so you don't have to waste time opening another screen or printing it out when you're trying to decide if you should take the tickets they're offering.

Tip #5: Go for advance sale tickets if possible. Check local radio station web sites for the advance sale password. (For Bon Jovi -- it's WRKT).

Tip #6: There's no point in standing in line at Giant Eagle's ticketmaster outlet. Not only are you behind several people getting tickets, but it takes longer to do it in person. Also, getting there early will do you no good -- they round everyone up and do a lottery for position a 1/2 hour before tickets go on sale. So, you could show up at 6:30 and be 23rd in line while someone who came at 9:25 could be 3rd in line.

Thanks Dr. -- you Rock!

One last thing -- it's was my experience when buying John Mellancamp tickets last year that buying advance sale tickets were not the best seats. I logged on to get advance tickets and wasn't happy with the row "Q" they started with and were calling the "best available" seats. I waited until Saturday, when tickets went on sale to the general public and got row "M."

... doesn't watch American Idol?

... has never seen Sex in the City (or is it Sex and the City? ) or the Sopranos?

... has never had a pedicure or manicure?

... has never plucked her eyebrows (nor do I have any concept of what they are supposed to look like..aren't eyebrows, just eyebrows? )

... has never had hair professionally removed from any part of my body?

... actually enjoys washing dishes?

... cannot tolerate more than a 1/2 hour in a car?

... doesn't have a high-speed internet connection?

... still wears her Levi's jean jacket from Jr. High?

... loves "80s Saturday Night" on Classy 100 (or is it Rocket? )

... can't stand that Star Trek moron on Boston Legal. Denny Crane. Denny Crane. Denny Crane. Isn't it time they killed him off?

... loves Dollar General's Fat-free ranch dressing?

... doesn't think Arthur belongs on PBS? (That furry mammal is mean to his sister and his friends are always fighting with each other and calling each other names.)

... wishes young girls would look in the mirror before they leave and realize that the roll of fat hanging over the low-rise jeans and peeking out from under their itty-bitty t's is just gross. And, don't even get me started on the g-string poking out of the back.

... could eat english muffin pizza for dinner every day of my life?

... lost weight on a cruise? (Cruise food is not vegetarian- or diet-friendly.)

... likes the smell of gasoline?

... does not own eyeshadow?

... wishes the radio stations would stop playing James Blunt's "Beautiful" every 15 minutes?

... doesn't "get" the whole fantasy league stuff? (Aren't real sports enough? )

... has never been west of Detroit?

P.S. Yes, the kids and my Dad survived and even thrived during their two days together.

And, no, I did not get Bon Jovi tickets because as I wrote at the end of my blog yesterday, advance sale tickets sometimes suck -- advance sale only means that you can buy the tickets in advance, you don't get your pick of all the available seats until tickets go on sale to the public. I'm taking my chances, I know, but for $100, I'm not going to settle for just any seats. Which now means, I'll have to kick it up during my long run tomorrow morning in order to log on in time to get tickets at 10 a.m. I can think of no better motivation to run like hell than Bon Jovi, can you?

Have a good weekend. Do something that makes you happy -- even if it's playing fantasy baseball, sniffing gasoline, taking a long car ride (what are you Rockefeller? ) or letting someone rip the hair out of your thighs.