Stand-On Riding Blower & Vacuum

Yes, I changed my profile picture to a piece of lawn equipment. :)

I'm hoping to plug my husband's new concept :)

NOTE: If you have arrived at my blog after doing a search for the Hurricane Blo-Vac, feel free to visit the official website without having to read my shameless plug regarding my husbands product. I'm a woman with very little knowledge of leaf and lawn blowing machines, so you will get more out of the official Hurricane site, rather than reading my personal rave.
Here is the link: Hurricane Blo-vac

Now, for those of you who would like to read a wife's excitement over her husband's, "other woman", as he calls it, then keep reading. He calls the machine that because he has spent countless hours designing, building, improving and selling this machine. All of which cuts into family time, but for a good cause.

How did it come to be?
Years ago he had a grand idea...you know, one of those ideas that no one else had thought of before that just might be the next big thing. Commercially that is. It might not be the biggest thing to an ordinary housewife, but it might be to her husband if he owns a commercial lawn company or a golf course! -wink-

Introducing....Hurricane Blo-Vac. The worlds only stand-on riding blower/vacuum.

I'm sure you've seen lawn care companies pulling around that little blower to clean up leaves in the fall. Heck, you might even own one of those, but you are more likely to own a backpack blower. Those work for small areas, but to get the small job done faster or tackle the big dog areas, more power is needed. The Hurricane Blo-Vac will blow those leaves to kingdom come! It's even powerful enough to blow debris.
Heck, it could even blow away small children along with stray dogs and cats. -wink-

This is how much a backpack blower can blow:

And THIS is the powerful new Hurricane Blo-Vac:




This machine is designed to allow commercial lawn care companies (or the average homeowner if they so please) clean up their yards in a much faster time than the average walking blower or backpack blower, therefore saving time and money in the long run. I'm not an expert on the subject, but saving money sounds appealing to me! It even has dual deflectors (wha?).

Here is a list of features:

• Stand On Riding Blower

• 27 HP Kohler Engine

•Blows/Vacuums/Loads Debris

• Precision Airflow Control

• Zero Turning Radius

• Hydraulic Drive

• Less Than 36" Wide

• Lights for Night Operation

• Drum Brakes

• Sealed Bearings require no grease

• Torsion mounted Front Axle Assembly

• Heavy Duty Engine Air Cleaner

• Heavy Plate Steel Construction

• 6172CFM @ 155 MPH Airflow

It also has a vacuum package and a golf course package. Hurricane Blo-Vac also has loader capabilities.

So there you have it....Weeee! Thank you for allowing me to shamelessly plug my husband's new product.


Oh, and it's actually fun to drive around and easy to navigate...
unless your name is Leanne...then you run into trees.
-sigh-


More information can be found at the new website here.

Try It Tuesday......Coppertone Sunless Tanning Gradual Tan Continuous Spray

I didn't choose food for once did I?

I thought I'd give my opinion on the Coppertone Sunless Tanning Gradual Tan Continuous Spray because it's the one that I chose to use in the beginning of the summer season. What caught my eye was the gradual tan part. Having fair skin, I don't go out in the sun much, but I also don't like looking like Casper. So each summer, I use a sunless tanning product on my legs. My arms tan pretty well without it. I don't like to be dark, so I try to match my legs to the light tan on my arms.

When I saw this product at my local Meijer, I liked how it professed to tan me gradually. I thought I'd get less streaks that way. I never used it 3 days in a row like the can recommends. Once or twice is sufficient. The price was also about the same as the others (just under $10), so I thought sure, why not try it.

Using the product is easy since it's a continuous spray. Or so I thought. I thought it would mean that I didn't have to rub it in. Without rubbing it in, I look like I have brown zebra stripes. When using this product, I have to rub it in. Maybe I'm not skilled enough to just spray it on. I didn't think I'd have to be a pro to use a spray.

Some good points about this product is that it dries quickly and after I've rubbed it in, it leaves an even tone that is natural looking. No orange tinge at all.

Now for the downside....and this is a HUGE downside people!

IT STINKS!

Yes, it stinks to high heaven!

Coppertone says this spray has a 'fresh fragrance'. Ha! It smells more like one of these:

I'm not kidding. My family thinks it totally smells like Pepe' Le Pew.

Now, the good news is that I don't smell like a skunk after it dries. The bad news, is that my bathroom does. For about an hour. -sigh-

So there you have it. The product works. It has it's high points, but it really has it's low points. The stinkage turns me off, so I'll be choosing a different spray from now on. Ugh.

Do you use sunless tanning spray or lotion? Which one or ones do you find to be the best? I could use some opinions on this one.

Something To Think About

Quote of the day!

I think this one is from Dr. Laura's book, "Stop Whining, Start Living".

Of course I changed it a tad ;)

Who Meme?

Mama mia, it's a MEME!

I don't do meme's that much, but I thought I'd try one on for size. There are no rules for this meme. Just fill in your answers and tag someone else to do it (optional).


I tag Nika, Kara, Jenn and Gretta.


1. Where is your cell phone? Kitchen island
2. What is your significant other like? Strong and a bit business-like lately. Ugh.
3. What is your hair like? Right now, dry and poofy from the mugginess
4. What is/was your mother like? Gentle, loving and quiet
5. Your father? A bit grouchy (ok, as a kid a LOT grouchy), sneezy
6. Your favorite thing? Besides my family, hockey, reading, music, the Gospel, scrappin' (not in order of course)
7. Your dream last night? Um..don't remember any dream for once
8 Your favorite drink? OJ or Fresca. Or OJ and Fresca mixed
9. Your dream/goal? To see my husband's product take off and be successful. His dream is my dream ya know. http://www.hurricaneblovac.com/
10. The room you’re in? Computer room/office
11. Your hobby? Have several but like to digiscrap lately
12. Your fear? Too many too list. Fear of failure, but biggest fear is getting Alzheimer's
13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Why 6 years? Um..seeing one off to college, financially secure, doing volunteer work
14. What are you not? Not snobby. Not skinny. Not mean. Not happy sometimes.
15. Muffins? I like Vitamuffins or a big fat Otis Spunkmeyer choc. muffin, but only when I can afford the calories and fat which is NEVER.
16. One of your wish list items? Free gas. lol No really, I wish for several things, but one thing is air conditioning in my van since it broke on me!
17. Where you grew up? Michigan and 1 year in Florida
18. The last thing you did? Told the kids to settle down. Before that, I ate french toast
19. What are you wearing? Nauvoo shirt and sweatpants of course.
20. Favorite gadget? Wow. Lots. I love my computer, but I also can't live without the microwave.
21. Your pets? Lost my Sweetie in January, so now we just have a min-pin (Minnie Me) and a gazillion salt water fish.
22. Your computer? Dunno. No name on it. We got it free. lol.
23. Your mood? A bit agitated because of the kids being wound up. It's raining out so that explains it.
24. Missing someone? Several people, but mostly my Mom and my son. I'm also missing Jillian since she has been gone a week already.
25. Your car? Boring minivan. Needs that air conditioning fixed! I do love the electric sliding doors and trunk.
26. Something you’re not wearing? Socks and my toe ring. I can't find it!
27. Favorite store? Target & TJ Maxx
28. Like someone? Several people. Too many to list. I like my friend Shasta. She's shastalistic.
29. Your favorite color? Orange
30. When is the last time you laughed? Laughed hard or just laughed? I probably chuckled today, but last night I actually laughed about Red Door perfume. Hmm. You would think that wasn't a laughable thing. Long story...and I'm not telling it. -sigh-
31. Last time you cried? Last week.
32. What did you eat last night? Chicken and then a chocolate peanut butter brownie
33. Will you watch the Olympics? Some of it, but not all. I like the gymnastics portion.
34. Last person you hung up on? My daughter about 2 weeks ago.
35. Last concert you went to? Kids concert. Haven't been to a "real" concert since I saw Chicago.
36. Last book you read? Eclipse
37. Favorite summertime thing to do? Don't really like summer that much. But I do like campfires and my family reunion. Otherwise, I like to tend my flowers.
38. Why do pizzas come in square boxes when they are round? Easier to make a square box?
39. Pluto is a dog, so what the heck is Goofy? A creepy dog hybrid?
40. Best burger of all time? In & Out!


41. Share a recent photo you have taken or have enjoyed

Try it Tuesday.....Nabisco Honey Maid Chocolate Delight Bars 100 calorie pack

I was really excited to try these bars. Obviously it's because I love chocolate. I also really love graham crackers. I've been eating a lot of them lately. Mostly the Annie's Honey Bunnies.

Anyway, since I love chocolate and graham crackers, I thought it would be a win-win situation. Not. I didn't really like these bars.
-sigh-

The box says this:

Bite into a rich, indulgent chocolate flavored filling inside a wholesome honey
graham flavored crust!

I thought the bars would be full of the chocolate flavor since it said, "indulgent", but they really aren't. It's not very chocolatety at all. I also didn't think the graham really tasted much like graham either. Double Ugh. I even tried warming it in the microwave. I have to say it was a tad better that way. I could taste some chocolate, but it still wasn't anything I'd jump up and down about.

On the high side...they are soft and have a yummy squiggle of icing down the center.

They have 100 calories (duh), 3 1/2 grams of fat and 3 grams of fiber (nice). There are 6 in a box and I paid about $3.20 for them at Meijer. They also have a cheesecake flavor. I'm wondering if that would be better. Do I dare try only to be possibly disappointed? How about you try and then you let me know ok?





Since I've been in the graham cracker mood, I also tried Back To Nature Honey Graham Sticks. Now those are tasty! I haven't had Nabisco's graham sticks, so I can't compare. I take that back. I've had Nabisco's chocolate graham sticks at a wedding a couple years ago. But I don't really remember them. Anyway, the Back To Nature Graham Sticks have a wee bit 'o sweetness on the top of them. Yummers. They are the perfect size for Ava and they aren't cumbley at all. They have no hydrogenated oils, no refined sugars, no artificial colors, sweeteners or preservatives. There is 0 trans fat. 14 sticks are 130 calories, 2 1/2 grams of fat and less than 1 gram of fiber (waaah). I still like my Annie's Honey Bunnies better, but when Target was out of them, I chose these Back to Nature Honey Graham Sticks as a replacement. I wasn't disappointed, but then again, how can you actually improve on a graham cracker? They all taste pretty much the same to me. Some textures are different, but the taste is usually about the same (again my opinion... feel free to disagree).

I don't have any thoughts on what to try for next week, so your ideas are always welcome. Are we sick of the food reviews yet? I can review something else. It doesn't have to be food, but since I'm a foodaholic, that's why it usually is!
Why can't I have a Trader Joe's or Whole Foods close by? I'd have ~tons~ of things to try!

Brycen-isms

I am raising a comedic crazy boy. Brycen does and says things that crack us all up. It's hard to keep a straight face while telling him that it's not appropriate to squat down with his knees in his shirt and do the, "boobie" dance. Yeah, I'm one proud Mom.


Here are a few things that he has said (2 of them as recently as a day ago) that make me crack-up, yet may be on the inappropriate side (eek!):


1. After coming home from a friends house without eating dinner because he was too busy playing sports, Mom asks why he didn't eat when the rest of the kids did. After all, it had been all day and he hadn't eaten. He replied, "I didn't need to because I'm a MAN." Guess you had to be there for that one.



2. I was sitting at the computer the other day and in walks Brycen. He starts to sniff me all over. I ask him what the heck he is doing. He sniffs me again and says, "I smell a HOT Mama!"



3. Mom showed Brycen the pretty roses on her 7 sisters bush and of course he had to touch the thorns. He exclaimed, "Mother of Pearl! I poked myself!". What kind of kid says - mother of pearl?! According to him, one who watches Sponge Bob.



4. After calling to Brycen asking what he was doing (hadn't seen him in awhile), he called back in an irritated tone saying, "Mom...I'm ta-king a dump!". Gee, I wonder where he got that one from? Hubby's don't always set the best example for their sons do they?





Oh how I love my personal blog giving me the chance to jot down these experiences. It's sooo important to record precious moments like these. They make me feel like the best Mom in the world! (<---insert sarcasm here)

I guess I'm partly to blame. I'm the one who goes around saying that if the kids are lucky, they will be eating poop sandwiches or poop salad for lunch. And then I go on to sing the Poop sing-a-long, sung to the tune of "Fruit Salad", by the Wiggles. Poop salad, yummy yummy. Poop salad, yummy yummy.
Hey, life can't always be serious. There is a time for fun and a time to get down to business. I like to mix it up a little so as to not go totally insane ;)



Now, aren't you glad you read this poop....I mean post today?

Try it Tuesday.....Soda Pops

First of all, I'm sorry that this is a little late today. I try to have my Try it Tuesdays ready right at Midnight, but I've been preoccupied today. My 15 year old went out of state and we had to be at the airport by 5am. She is flying by herself for the first time. Eek! She made it to San Diego safely today and seems to be having fun already with both of her Aunts. I'll miss her terribly since she will be gone for about 18 days. I'm sure she will have fun in the sun out there and meet a lot of new people plus attend a whole different group of YW in my sister's ward.


Ok, on to the review. While at Walgreens yesterday, I spied what I thought was a box of 7UP. I thought it was smaller than usual though so I had to get a closer look. It wasn't soda pop at all, but it was Soda Pops. I had never seen these before. They are different flavored sodas made into ice pops. They are kind of like the Flavor Ice or Otter Pops. They need to be frozen before eaten.

They came in 3 flavors at my local Walgreens: 7UP, Orange Crush and Dr. Pepper. I saw online at the Walgreens website that they also have A&W rootbeer, but it wasn't available at my local store.
I picked up both the 7UP and Orange Crush for the kids. There are 10 in a box for $2. Not too bad of a price.

When we got them home, I was expecting to see high calories, but they only have 35! Not too shabby. They do have 8 grams of sugar, but it could be much worse. First I tried the 7UP. I was expecting it to be fizzy with carbonation, but there was none. It tasted pretty good without it anyway. I can't say it was a perfect replica of the actual soda pop, but it was still refreshing. The Orange Crush was another story. To me, it tasted just like a regular orange Otter Pop or Flavor Ice. Bummer. No carbonation again. I'm guessing that none of them have carbonation. I read on some other websites that people thought the Dr. Pepper tasted in NO WAY like the actual soda. Most people said that the 7UP was the best tasting. It's now been 24 hours since we bought 20 of them and I'd say there is about 3 left. Ugh. My little piggies like to sneak them while I'm not looking. I found 4 wrappers in Brycen's room alone. So obviously they are a hit in my house. But, I'm sure they would gobble up the Flavor Ice just as fast.

I haven't seen the Soda Pops anywhere else, so I'm wondering if they are only available at Walgreens. I might buy them again so I can try the A&W if I ever see them, but otherwise I could take them or leave them.

Next week I'll be trying some new 100 calorie packs. Until then, happy snacking :)

Try it Tuesday.....M&M Premiums

Well, I guess it was inevitable. Everyone is moving uptown. Hershey has the new Bliss Chocolates, so I'm not surprised that M&M's has turned fancy too. Just last month M&M's began selling a new upscale version of their chocolate candies. M&M Premiums. I saw the add for them in Sunday's paper. It was a Target ad of course. But I ended up buying mine at Meijer. I can't even find information about them on the M&M site! Talk about new huh? But since they are out at stores, I couldn't resist trying some. M&M's are some of my very best friends ;).

They have several flavors:

Mint Chocolate
Triple Chocolate
Raspberry Almond Chocolate
Mocha
and Milk Chocolate Almond

Well, at $3.99 a box, I could only afford to try one flavor. I went for the mint because I looove mint chocolate.

The boxes are "premium" looking with a resealable bag on the inside. There aren't many candies in it, but that's what I expect for premium.

Here is what the box says about the chocolate mint flavor:

Sinfully good white chocolate mint wrapped in dark chocolate.

White chocolate! Mmmm.


These M&M's seem to be about the same size as the peanut butter M&M's. The colors are different from any other M&M though. They have a sponged look but with a metallic like sheen. Almost pearlized. They have the signature white, "M" in the center.

Now the texture...well...it's just not the same as a standard M&M. M&M's usually have a candy coating. The Premium M&M's don't. No crunchy candy coating at all. It's just not the same. I miss the crunch. It's just a soft M&M. But that might appeal to some people.

The taste is ok. I can see why it's premium. The mint flavor is rich and I can only eat a few at a time. Perfect for an after dinner mint. There isn't too much of a dark chocolate taste, but I can tell it's still there. The slight bitterness combined with the rich taste, keeps me from eating more than one or two at a time.

I want to try the chocolate almond some time since I think almonds are tasty. I do wish they would come up with something different rather than just almond though. How about macadamia nuts? That would be a nice change. Macadamia's are more on the premium side in my opinion.


While at the M&M site, I saw the advertisement for personalized M&M's. Most of us are aware of those already. I've always wanted to buy some, but haven't yet. What caught my eye is the new personalized M&M's with faces! You can add a photo to your M&M's now! Woot! I love it. It's about time. Check it out: M&M Faces
Cool huh?

Edit: Thank you to my darling daughter Jillian for taking pictures of the M&M premiums :)

Dead or Alive?

My 10 year old son and I were watching the movie, "Stuart Little" today where I saw the actor Dabney Coleman playing a doctor. I've always liked him since I saw him in, "The Incredible Shrinking Woman" and " 9 to 5". I hadn't seen him in a while so I wondered if he was even still alive. That got me over to the computer to start googling. Don't ask me why, I just was curious.

I then stumbled upon the website, Dead or Alive. Ever seen this site? You can look up anyone that is famous to find out if they are still living. According to that site, Dabney Coleman is alive and is 76 years old. Haha. But what caught me about that site is the other things you can do on it.

For instance, I found out that I have been alive ~14,487 ~days! That's a lotta days. I'm old I know. I also learned that I've outlived Martin Luther King, Jr by 163 days,
Bob Marley by 1,244 days
and Marilyn Monroe by 1,273 days.
Aaaand, if I live for 37 more days, I will have outlived Malcom X.

Wanna see how many days you have lived? Or who you have outlived? Check it out here.
Oh, Pam and Holly- I was right about the guy who played McDreamy's father in, "Made of Honor" that we just saw for our GNO. It was Sydney Pollack and he just died on May 26th. See? I know my dead people.

I guess I could have saved this post for Halloween huh? It's kind of morbid I know, but I bet you will all check it out regardless right? Hee hee.

Happy Independence Day

The Land of the free, because of the brave
Enjoy your freedom today and every day :)

Star Spangled Banner | Funny Jokes at JibJab

Guilty Pleasure

The Guilty Pleasure Snack Game seems to be over at Tip Junkie, but I thought I'd share my own dessert that brings me guilty pleasure! I don't eat it very often, actually, I can't remember the last time I did eat one, but when I do get to ...whoa. I'm in heaven.



I first got the idea for a Cookie Monster from Cheddars restaurant. They served a fresh hot chocolate chip cookie in a skillet with vanilla ice cream on top smothered in homemade hot fudge, nuts, whipped cream and a cherry. The cookie is huge! I love that it's right out of the oven all warm and gooey. I haven't been to Cheddars in years, and I think the one in GR burned down, so I started to make my own at home. I make it super indulgent by using chocolate ice cream instead of vanilla. If I'm really feeling naughty, I add M&M's. They are my weakness.

I always made mine by just placing a warm chocolate chip cookie in a bowl and adding the rest of the ingredients, but look what I found!
A Skookie! Now I can make my cookies in a skillet just like the one at the restaurant. This one can be found at Amazon. or at The Lakeside Collection. You can get it with brownie mix (wouldn't that be yummy!) or cookie mix. Of course, just using Toll House cookie dough would be perfect. Mmm.

Another indulgence that I like (also not had in years) is brownie pizza.
Brownie baked in a pizza pan with vanilla frosting spread on top. Toppings include sliced strawberries and Hershey syrup or hot fudge drizzled all over. You can also add bananas. Mmmm.

Ok, now that I'm drooling all over my keyboard, I'll go eat my Vitatop since I can't really afford to indulge in my guilty pleasures any time soon. I already had a Volcano at Whippy Dip this past week. Ouch.

Do you have a guilty pleasure to share? I think some of you do! Brownies with caramel ring a bell? Mmm. Do share!

Try it Tuesday.....Pillsbury Reduced Sugar Devils Food Cake Mix

Because of last weeks post with the Hot Fudge Icing recipe, I decided to make some cake! I usually use a Texas Sheet Cake recipe that I got from Cooking Light, but this time I chose to use the Pillsbury Reduced Sugar Cake Mix that was sitting in my pantry just waiting to be made. It uses the same ingredients as regular cake mixes....eggs, oil and water. Easy.

I'm a total batter licker. I love to make any kind of batter and lick the heck out of the beaters, spatula and bowl. I was expecting the batter to taste less sweet since it's a reduced sugar version, but it was pretty much the same to me. So I checked the ingredients and noticed that it's made with sugar alcohols, not Splenda like I had previously thought. Here are the nutritionals:

Nutrition Facts
Serving Size 1/12 package (43g mix)
Amount Per Serving Calories 150 % Daily Value
Total Fat 2g 3%
Saturated Fat 1g 5%
Trans Fat 0g
Cholesterol 0g 0%
Sodium 340mg 14%
Total Carbohydrate 35g 12%
Dietary Fiber 1g 6%
Sugars 9g
Sugar Alcohol 5g
Protein 2g
Vitamin A 0%
Iron 6%
Vitamin C 0%
Vitamin D 0%
Calcium 2%
Niacin 2%
Thiamin 4%
Riboflavin 2%
Folic Acid 4%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

With 5 grams of sugar alcohols, I thought I would have a problem after eating a piece or 2. But nothing bad happened, thank goodness! And trust me, I ate a lot of the cake this weekend! It was gone in 2 days. I know it was the yummy icing! Who can resist?! My family couldn't tell that it was reduced sugar and same as me, no one had a problem with sugar alcohols.

Anyway, Pillsbury's reduced sugar line carries not only cake mixes, but frosting's and brownie mixes. Mmmm. The cake mixes come in White, Yellow, Lemon and Devil's Food. I'll have to try the brownie mixes sometime soon. And there is even a reduced sugar cream cheese frosting. I loooove cream cheese frosting.

Oh, and to make it into Texas Sheet Cake, I only needed 1 box. It bakes just fine in a jelly roll pan.

Sorry, but this cake mix has milk and wheat, so if you allergic to those, you will have to skip this product.

As far as WW points goes, it's 3pts per piece, not counting the frosting, so it's an indulgence. Speaking of indulgence, I have some fabulous special desserts to blog about soon. Tip Junkie got me drooling over the ,"Guilty Pleasure Snack Game", so I started a post with a couple of my all time favorite decedent desserts! I'll finish that up and hopefully post it tomorrow ;)