As the mother of a teenager, I try my best to keep up with what is cool and hip in the world. I’m really good with music and tv, not so much with video games and fashion. (Why are skinny pants the rage? Don’t they cut off your circulation? You’ll have to pry my bootlegs off of me to get me to wear those.) One of the things that I have realized a little too late is that a game called Fortnite is really cool right now. Apparently, we are on Chapter 10 of this? My first introduction of this was my

Just like our grandparents became the “Baby Boomers", I firmly believe that my generation will end up with some clever name to reflect the change in our times. Like the Baby Boomer Generation, we were the last group of kids to do some things and the first to do others. Case in point, my age group was probably one of the last age groups to use a pay phone or rabbit ear antennas. We were also the first group to start posting stuff on social media. (Hi myspace! We don’t miss you!) We were also th

All the talk here at the office this week is all about the NFL Preseason and the draft. I’m not a huge fan of pro football, I much prefer high school ball. *Dodging the fruit being thrown* But I realize that I’m in the minority. I do enjoy watching some of the games. My husband and I watched the past couple of Super Bowls and we even did the whole betting on the game thing. (I’ve won the last two years.) The funny thing is, neither one of us watch the entire season. So we pretty much go in blind

Did you know that the state pet of Utah is the shelter pet? I didn’t either. My family has always had some sort of pet when I was growing up. When my husband and I moved in together, we decided that we didn’t want a pet. We thought that having kids would be enough work and that we didn’t want to add to it. So for several years that’s how it was. Then, our former babysitter asked me if I wanted to rehome their cat. I said. “Yes." We found ourselves as pet owners for the first time in close to a d

Where did the expression “Dog Days of Summer" come from? I didn’t know so I looked it up. According to wonderopilis.org, this expression comes from the Romans. The Romans noticed that during the hottest part of the year, the star Sirius would be very visible. Sirius is the brightest star in the constellation Canis Major (Large Dog) and so these days became known as the “Dog Days". The “summer" bit was added on later. It’s easy to see why they would associate this time of year with the dog star.

So, we are right in the middle of summer here in the U.S. and it has been a scorcher. We’ve had temperatures that have hit the high 90’s over the last couple of weeks. Here in the South, we know that it’s just going to get hotter. We’re going to get less rain and just more oppressive heat. Now we’re into what’s called the “Dog Days of Summer." Now when I was a kid, I took this literally. I thought it was the time when dogs were made. That this was that one special time of year, right before scho

So you’ve got the thermostat set to the right temperature, your hot water heater is optimized and your light bulbs are changed out, but you feel like your utility bill is still too high. Well that’s it! Back to candlelight and well water. Or we could just look at the insulation and some other tips for your home. Insulation One of the things that will raise your utility bill the most is heating. And the past several winters have been absolutely brutal. More than a third of the money that you spe

Do you know how much you spend in electricity every month? I can tell you what my bill is down to the dollar, but we are fortunate enough to have levelized billing. Do you know how much water you use every month? Now that I couldn’t tell you. Electricity and water usage can make or break your budget depending on how much your utility company charges you. They are two things that you can’t live without and so if you can save money on them it’s always a great idea. Light Bulbs Did you know that ev

One thing that you can always count on in Arkansas is extreme temperatures. Just last week the heat index got up to 115 degrees Fahrenheit. That’s incredibly hot. In contrast, last winter we had temperatures in the mid-teens and low twenties. The worst part about it was that it was clear and cold, and the wind chills were below zero for many days. Our home is our safe haven away from all of that. We want to stay warm in the winter and cool in the summer, but that can drive that utility bill rig

This week we are looking at great plans for starter homes. We’ve looked at the smaller homes in Part 1. All of those were under 2,000 square feet. We looked at plans that are the typical size of starter homes in Part 2. All of those plans were right around 2,000 square feet. Now we are going to look at some larger plans. Remember a starter home is not necessarily just for young couples. These plans are great for builders and for anyone who is looking for that perfect family home. Check them out

What does a “starter home" mean to you? Is it simply a smaller home that is perfect for a family that starting out? Is it a retirement home where you can start your new phase of life after your children have moved out? No matter how you look at a starter home, it’s a plan that you want to be perfect. This is Part 2 of our series on starter home house plans. All of these plans are right at 2,000 square feet. If you didn’t know, most house plans are around 2,000 square feet. That is the “happy pl

It wasn’t that long ago that my husband and I were house hunting. We purchased our home 4 years ago and we are now living in what many people term as a starter home. It was the first house that we bought, but it definitely wasn’t the first house that we looked at. Our poor real estate agent had the patience of a saint. (Thanks, Brent!) We must have looked at over 50 houses before we finally settled on the one that we are living in now. If I had to do it over again, I probably would have just bu

It’s a grand debate that has been waged over decades. Families have been split apart. Tempers have flared. Civilization, as we know it, could be teetering on the brink of collapse if we do not take a stand in this issue. Yes, summer has brought the great grilling wars. Where do we stand in this battlefield of food? Do we take the side of the gas grill and its ease and practicality? Or do we feel at home with our charcoal and the traditional open flame? Oh, the humanity of it all! In all serious

So, the heat index yesterday was 108 degrees F, for our international friends that’s 42 degrees C. It was stifling. The afternoon ended with an epic thunderstorm that rattled windows and blew the tops of the trees around magnificently. I think I have digressed, though. The point I was making was that it was way too hot to cook inside. So, what’s a mom and wife supposed to do? Get out the grill! We’re eating al fresco! (Does a couple of lawn chairs and some paper plates count as al fresco?) July

I think one the of the modern rights of passage is to have your own space to grill and cook out. It should be like in the top 5 things that make you an adult. Like the list should go something like paying taxes, having to deal with a billing mishap, dealing with in-laws, doing emergency repairs, and having your own space to entertain and/or grill out. Yeah, I didn’t like the rest of that list either. Let’s look at some house plans and feel better, ok? Also, July is National Grilling Month so I