Product Review: Trader Joe's All Natural Uncured All Beef Hot Dogs

I have a sensitive stomach.  Way too much acidity going on in there.  Consequently, I have to be very careful about the foods I eat.  Whenever I have foods that irritate or upset my stomach, it can get bad enough to give me a migraine headache.  And no one wants those.

So when it comes to deli-style meats, I have to be very particular.  Hot dogs are a food group I avoid like the plague.  Not because I don't like them, but because they don't like me.  I can have a hot dog well done on the grill, and get a terrible stomachache and long lasting heartburn.  It bums me out, because I grew up eating hot dogs and enjoying a good Nathan's extra long.  Growing up in New York, I'm familiar with dirty dog weiners smothered in onions and mustard - yum!  But the sick feeling I'm left with afterwards is not worth the momentary pleasure.

On a recent trip to Ulta, my daughter suggested we stop off at Trader Joe's.  For those who aren't familiar with this specialty geared grocery store, Trader Joe's sells mostly their own brand label products that are preservative free, dye free, and GMO free; lots of organic fruits, veggies, and meats, and overall good food.  The closest Trader Joe's to us is by our Ulta, which is two cities north of us, but worth the occasional trip.  Whenever we're in the area we like to stop by and see what's new.

It was July 4th weekend, so they were serving hot dog samples outside of the store.  These hot dogs were advertised as being 100% all beef, no preservatives, no fillers, uncured, with no added nitrates or nitrites.  The aroma of grilled hot dogs was too tempting to resist; and since it was just a sample, I figured, what can it hurt?  I took the sample and hoped for the best.

Let me just say, this was the best tasting hot dog I have ever had the privilege of trying.  I can't even describe the flavor, except that it's not like a regular grocery store hot dog.  It's not like the stuff the street vendors are selling in NYC.  It's not like the Coney Island hot dogs.  It's way better.  Like, 1,000 times better.  I didn't want to swallow because I was enjoying the taste too much and I didn't want it to end.  My son E, who isn't a big hot dog fan either, also commented on how delicious the hot dog was.  I asked him to go check out the label again, and we went in search of them in the store.  As I read the description, I was more convinced this could be a good choice for us, so I bought a pack and made hot dogs for lunch.

For the first time in years, I was able to eat a hot dog without it feeling like I had swallowed a brick and it was sitting in my stomach.  I actually ate two hot dogs (gasp!) with no stomach upset whatsoever.  It was amazing.  To be able to enjoy a hot dog as I did when I was a little girl...well, to me, that's priceless.

If you have a Trader Joe's near you, I urge you to check it out.  They have a lot more specialty items (my son would tell you their cookie butter is the best invention since sliced bread), and the food is all good for you - bonus!  The prices are slightly higher than supermarket prices, but cheaper than Whole Foods.  It's worth the price to put good stuff into your bodies, that's for sure.

This post is not sponsored.  I purchased the products on my own, and this is my personal opinion.  Trader Joe's doesn't even know I've done this review.

What I've Been Up To

It's been a couple of weeks since I last posted, busy and productive weeks.  Let's see if I can remember what all I've been up to.

I'm on an organizing kick.  Spring cleaning so to speak, except in the summer.  I've been getting rid of clutter and putting things in order.  I hate clutter; I avoid having things I don't need or having things in the wrong places.  But with work and home and church and everything in between, things have fallen to the wayside and been pushed back on the priority list, until one day I looked and said, "Enough is enough!!"  It started in my bedroom closet.  I'd bought some clothes and was having trouble fitting it all into my closet.  It was starting to look messy and out of control.  One day I decided to go through my clothes and pull out anything that could be donated so that my closet wouldn't feel so cramped.  That was all that was needed to get me motivated.  I not only got a donation pile going, I organized all my clothes, shoes and purses.  I decided to take any "winter" clothes out (winter clothes in South Florida means a few long sleeve shirts) which meant I had to organize some of my dresser drawers to fit them in.  When I was done I felt like a load had been lifted off my shoulders (when in fact it had been lifted out of my closet).  There's actually room to move in my closet now, and I can see the floor again!  It got my adrenaline pumping for more.

This week it's been the kitchen.  I reorganized the pantry: there are bins to put bagged items in, canisters for snacks, pastas, flours and cereals.  The slow cookers were moved to the storage cabinet in the garage to make room for food containers.

The shelves outside the pantry were organized as well.  To make it easier for us to find things, I labeled everything with chalk labels so that the information can be changed at any time.  Now we can easily see where everything is without having to move everything or having five items fall on the floor trying to reach for one item.

Today I emptied out several kitchen cabinets, then put things away so as to make the kitchen flow better.  I moved all my spices to the cabinet on the left of the stove.  This was where I used to keep my spices originally, until we remodeled the kitchen and J insisted that cabinet should have a glass door.  I didn't want to keep my spices there anymore, because I was concerned it would look messy, so I put glassware there and put my spices in the cabinet on the right of the stove.  Problem is, I was using the left side cabinet as more of a display cabinet, which ultimately meant my cabinet space was reduced.  I'd already lost cabinet space when J decided that one of my cabinets should be converted into a trash bin (why do people who never cook or spend more than 2 minutes in a kitchen think they know better than the folks who actually use the kitchen?).  My kitchen was so cramped.  I had to move so many things around just to get my spices out because of the way the cabinets were made; the right side cabinets are corner cabinets, but they were not built as corner cabinets.

The cabinet on the left goes all the way back to the wall, but the one on the right has no access to that space, so if I need something from the back of the cabinet I have to empty the entire shelf to reach it.  Many of my spices ended up back there; cooking became a hassle of moving things in and out of the cabinet, creating more of a mess.  As you can see, I took the spices out of the cabinet and put canned goods there instead.  I had some of my canned goods in my kitchen and some in the storage cabinet in the garage; again, every time I needed something I had to go out of my way to find it instead of having it nearby.  I decided to put my glasses, mugs, and all our drinking cups in the cabinet above the sink.  I've ordered a 3-tier spice shelf/rack for my spices from Amazon.  It's bamboo so it'll match the color of my cabinets, and it'll keep my spices neat so I won't worry about what my cabinet looks like.  I'll have to remember to take a picture once I've got it all done.

I also cleaned out my refrigerator and freezer.  It's amazing how many things are hidden in the back of the fridge - items that have expired but we've forgotten they're there.  I found some file folder holders at Target for $3 that work perfectly for holding onions and potatoes.  I have to keep these in the fridge because, with our heat and humidity, they would go bad in no time.  This works much better and keeps them longer.

Speaking of heat and humidity, I don't know about the rest of the country but it is H-O-T in Florida!  Granted, it isn't as hot as it was last year, but it's still sweltering, especially in the afternoons right before the thunderstorms start.  We are in the rainy season now, getting hammered with rain every afternoon for about a half hour.  I cut the grass and it grows back in no time.  Allergies are on the rampage thanks to this weather.  My boys are especially susceptible; they are sneezing all the time, and while R has the itchy, watery eyes, E has eczema.  E has an appointment to see the allergist for testing on August 3rd.  He has to be off all allergy medicines for five days before he can be tested.  I'm not looking forward to that - he's gonna be miserable.

My daughter has been busy with work and school.  She is taking online courses to get certified in pastoral counseling.  Nothing like having a child who can tell you everything that's wrong with you :P.  Actually, she's learning a lot and has a strong desire to help teenagers and young people.  Her dream is to work with the A21 Campaign, an organization that helps victims of human trafficking.  I pray God would use her to help many suffering people to know they can have hope in Christ.

Of course, I did some shopping for beauty products during Bare Escentuals' Beauty Rush sale.  I actually wasn't going to get anything, and I didn't even place my order until late that night because I kept debating whether to place an order, but ultimately I got a Complexion Superstars set containing two mineral veils (one loose and one compact), a bronzer called The High Dive which is in a compact, a gorgeous highlighter called Bare Radiance, and a blush that I've been wanting for a long time called Vintage Peach.  I like peach colors more than pinks on me, and this one is a soft peachy tone that is very feminine.  It also has a blush brush.  All for $21 - just the blush retails for $18.  I also got a brush set that contains 5 brushes (2 face and 3 eye) and a gold-toned case for $18 (original price was $49). I decided to get these because we are going to Disney World in September and I wanted makeup that would be easy to bring along.  A lot of the Bare Minerals products are loose powders which makes them a little tricky to travel with, though I still plan on taking a few items.

Those have been the highlights of the past couple of weeks.  I'm going to continue focusing on organizing and purging.  I know, I've got to blog about it!  I'll keep it in mind ;).  Have a blessed rest of your weekend.

YouTube Vlogger Fashion Chalet

I promised to reduce my YouTube subscriptions because they were getting out of hand.  And I did - the YouTubers that had content that was not pertinent to me (like crazy colors and club looks that I'd never wear) were dropped.  I kept the ones that had information about women my age, and those that had interesting content, not the same makeup looks over and over again.

One YouTube channel I found was a Miami girl whose look is just what I like.  Her channel is Fashion Chalet, and her look is classic and elegant, right up my alley.  Yes, she can do some colorful looks, but most of what she does is appropriate for work, fun, and everyday.  She also has fun clothing tutorials, reviews, nail, skin and hair care...a plethora of great content.  This week she hit 1,000 subscribers and is giving away a bag of goodies - how sweet is that?!  I encourage everyone to take a look at Fashion Chalet.  She's a breath of fresh air.

The Week In Review

It's Friday, once again.  I take it slower on Fridays, since it's my day off from work.  I've been doing my grocery shopping every other week (because I hate going to Walmart) and this week I'm off from that as well.  Perfect time for a blog post.

I was off this Monday for July 4th weekend.  Most companies give their employees the Friday off when the holiday lands on Saturday; since we don't work Fridays our bosses decided to give us Monday instead.  My daughter still had to work at the church, and my son had to work at the store.  I waited for my daughter to come home, and we went to see Disney/Pixar's new movie Inside Out.  I don't want to give anything away, but once again Pixar hit it out of the park.  This movie is wonderful!  The story is beautiful and well developed, with its funny moments thrown into the deeper message.  But to be perfectly honest, my favorite part of the movie was the short cartoon at the beginning, called Lava.  The story of two volcanoes that fall in love was the most romantic cartoon I've ever seen - even my 15 year old son got teary-eyed!  While this movie doesn't knock The Incredibles from the top spot of my list, it's definitely in the top 5.  I recommend everyone see it at least once.

Our weather has been slightly milder than last summer.  Last year was killer; it rained almost every single day - at least 5 times a week - so that the humidity levels were off the charts.  This year has been drier, with rain a couple of times a week, or just in the afternoons for about a half hour.  There have been thunderstorms but they've been quick to pass by.  It's actually been pleasant in the shade, with warm breezes blowing.  Once you step out into the sun, though, it's like being in an oven.  I've thought that I would melt on several occasions.

I finally got the chance to use my new weed eater last weekend.  It's lightweight, so it wasn't a hassle carrying it around as I trimmed all the edges around our house and fences.  It's also fairly quiet.  I'm glad I charged both batteries, since the first one went dead with a quarter of my yard left to do.  I was really satisfied with how the yard looked; my arms, however, were not as happy.  The vibration of the weed eater is something I'm not used to, so by the time I was finished I felt like my arms were going to fall off.  It was a weird sensation that lasted several hours.  Yesterday I mowed the grass in the backyard again (that's the problem with summer, the grass kicks into high gear) but the sun was blaring on me by the time I finished so I didn't do any trim work.  Instead I pulled out the blower, and found that it too does a good job at cleaning up.  My favorite part is that they are both very light to carry around, even with the battery put in.  Assembly was easy too: for the blower I just had to attach the tube portion to the motor.  There was a small hole that I figured needed to be screwed in, but I couldn't find one in the box.  I thought, "Hmm, looks like I'm missing a screw," - then I chuckled at myself.  I figured out that the holes were just for lining up the two parts and no additional hardware was needed.  For under $120 I got a good buy, which makes me happy.

I've come to the sad realization that one of my makeup products is making me break out.  I'd purchased the Mac Face and Body foundation a couple of months ago, and was really liking it - the color match is spot on, it gives good coverage without feeling heavy, and I could use it on its own or over my Complexion Rescue.  I had noticed, however, that a couple of times after I'd used it I was broken out.  I have occasional breakouts from acne, thanks to hormones and such.  Pre-menopause = Puberty, The Sequel.  But this wasn't pimples; I was breaking out in a rash.  I tried to attribute it to other things: food allergy, hormonal acne, weather changes.  But yesterday, after cutting the grass, washing and drying my hair, and making lunch, I was running late, so I decided on using the Mac product for a quick makeup look.  Sure enough, when I got home and took off my makeup, my cheeks and chin were red and blotchy.  This morning it was no better.  Even my oldest son, who typically doesn't notice things like that, asked me what was going on with my face this morning.  The only thing different was the Mac Face and Body.  My daughter won't mind getting my almost full bottle - it works wonderfully for her.  I'm going back to my trusty mineral powder foundation.  Just not today.  Today I'm gonna run over to CVS and see if I can't find something for my blemishes.

What else is on the agenda for today?  For one thing, laundry.  Lots of laundry.  I also have to put gas in my car.  It's so great to work just three minutes from my house.  I literally put gas in my car once a month.  That saves me a ton of money.  I've also got to vacuum, and I'm hoping to take a trip to Target today.  They have shorts on sale, buy one get one 50% off.  Shorts this year are much shorter than anything I care to wear - let's face it, mini shorts don't look attractive on me anymore.  They have Bermuda shorts on sale, though, and I want to stock up for our upcoming trip to Disney World - yay!   So that's it for now.  Hope everyone has a beautiful and blessed day.

Product Review: Brow Gels

I like my eyebrows.

Back in the 80's it was popular to wear eyebrows really thin.  Like, pencil thin.  Girls would pluck their eyebrows until there was nothing but a skinny line, leaving lots of room for colorful and bright eyeshadows that reached up to the hairline (okay, not that high, but pretty high).  I plucked my eyebrows but never to that extreme.  I was so afraid of messing up my brows and having to draw them in, which also scared me because, what if I accidentally rubbed my eyes and the pencil smeared?!  I was too much of a self-conscious coward to let that happen.  Hence, my brows were always groomed but on the bushy-er side.

Come to find out now, it was a good thing I didn't over-pluck!  Brows tend to thin out as we get older (like the hair on our heads), and women who over-plucked their brows are finding that the hairs don't grow back.  To make matters worse, thicker brows are what's in vogue now, so those pencil thin brows are dated and (ugh!) aging.  My brows are thinner than they were back in the day, but they are definitely not a barely-there line over my eyes.  They have a nice shape, and since they are mostly dark they don't look thin.

I say "mostly dark" because my brows are starting to rebel and turn white.  That is not cool.  At first there was one.  Then two.  When I found three white eyebrows I knew I was gonna have to take action.

Dying my brows is not one of the options I considered.  I've read that, while there are women that dye their eyebrows and even salons that do this type of service, it's actually illegal.  These products are harsh - hence why the packaging on hair dyes says to test on a small patch before actually using the product - and I don't want to put harsh chemicals on my already sensitive face.  My alternative was going to have to be makeup - but what?

I didn't want a brow pomade.  It's not that I'm knocking brow pomades.  They're great for folks that have pencil thin brows, or nonexistent brows.  It just isn't what I need.  I wanted something that would cover my white brows (albeit it temporarily) while also keeping them tame.  Yeah, that's another thing I've found out about getting older.  Eyebrows misbehave.  They become unruly.  I needed a product that would make them stay in their place like good little brows.  Enter the brow gel.

Similar to mascara but for the brows, these gels can be transparent (for women who like the color of their brows) or colored (for those of us who don't).  They can be light for blondes, or dark for brunettes.  They even come in auburn or red, though in my opinion they don't look as natural.  This sounded like something that could work for me, so I was on the hunt.

Like all other makeup, there are drugstore brands of brow gels and there are high end brands (read: cheap vs. expensive).  Before I dished out $18-$25 on a tube of brow gel, I wanted to experiment with them and see how they worked.  I turned to YouTube tutorials for inspiration and a little education.  Anastasia of Beverly Hills was clearly the high end favorite, with her brow wiz, brow pencils, brow pomades and gels.  But her tinted brow gel costs $22.  The second popular option is by Benefit.  The product is called Gimme Brow, and it's marketed as a product that not only tints and sets brows in place, it makes them look thicker, which means less work for those of us who just want to make our brows look slightly fuller without having to draw them in.  The price on this product was a more moderate $18 - still higher than I wanted to pay just to test it out.  Off to Walmart I went to see what I could find.

Side note here: I absolutely HATE shopping for makeup at my local Walmart.  Folks think all the product is there for the testing, and all I ever find are packages that have been opened.  Why must people be so disgusting?  Recently our Walmart did some remodeling and the makeup section is kind of closed off in an attempt to keep people from stealing or opening packages they don't intend to buy.  It helps - if the person at the register is actually there, which isn't always the case.  Still, I had to go to Walmart for groceries anyway, so I checked out the Revlon section.  There I found their Brow Fantasy Pencil and Gel.

    This was the best of both worlds: a brow pencil AND a gel, for $6.99.  I could give it a try and see if I liked it without breaking the bank.  I snatched it up and used it as soon as I got home.

And I liked it!  The pencil is too fat, and needs to be sharpened regularly or else it draws too thick of a line.  The gel worked really well at taming and lightening my brows (I got the light brown gel).  I totally enjoyed it - for the six weeks it lasted.  Yes, the product is nice, but there's not a whole lot of it.  Again, that's the issue I have with a lot of drugstore brands.  They appear to be more economical, but in the end they cost more because they have to be replaced so much more often.

Since the pencil on my Brow Fantasy Pencil and Gel had barely been used, I decided to try a different brow gel, one that would only have the gel.  Maybelline has a Brow Drama Sculpting Brow Mascara that has gotten some attention, so I decided to give it a go.  I usually steer away from Maybelline products because I've had allergic reactions to it in the past, but products get reformulated everyday, so I figured I'd give it a try.

I used it once, and thought I would die.  The fragrance is so strong, and so long lasting, that it gave me a headache.  I could smell it on my face for hours!  And honestly, it didn't make my brows look any better.  I could still see the white hairs because it didn't color them at all.  I knew I would not be able to use this, so I quickly returned it to Walmart.

I was tempted to just order the Gimme Brow from Ulta - suck it up and dish out the $18 instead of putting myself through all this torture!  But I did see another review for a product that was touted as a dupe for the Benefit product, one by L'Oreal called the Brow Stylist Plumper Brow Gel Mascara (quite the mouthful, I know).  I was intrigued because none of the other products had been called a dupe for the Gimme Brow.  I decided I'd give it one more try with the drugstore brand, then I'd order the Gimme Brow.  At least I felt like I'd covered all my bases.

I got the Brow Plumper at Walmart for, I believe, $7.99.  Slightly more expensive than the other drugstore brands, but then L'Oreal usually is.  I also decided to get it in medium to dark, since my other options were light to medium and transparent.  I'm not a blonde, so I didn't want to go too light.  This product is a dream!  There is no fragrance, which is great for me.  It tints my brows but not harshly, so it doesn't look like my brows are jet black.  It goes on slightly wet but dries quickly, and those brows are set in place like cement!  They are not budging!  Yet it comes off easily with cleansing wipes or my facial cleanser.  I've been using it for about a month now and I'm loving how natural yet fuller my brows look.  I can use this on its own for a quick makeup look, or, if I want something more dramatic, I can use my Revlon pencil to shape and color in my brows, then use the Brow Plumper to finish off the look.

This past weekend my daughter and I took a little trip to Ulta to get some makeup for her (more on that in another post).  I decided to take a look at the Benefit Gimme Brow to see the wand and product, so I could compare it to the L'Oreal brow gel.  As soon as I opened the tube, I was glad I hadn't ordered it.  It has fragrance!  It wasn't even a pleasant fragrance as far as I was concerned.  I had my daughter smell it, and she immediately made a face.  Proof once more that what's popular isn't what's best, at least not for everyone.

So, the winner in the brow gel contest for me is, by far, L'Oreal Brow Stylist Plumper Brow Gel Mascara with its no fragrance, full coverage formula.  I'm so glad I did my homework because this one is going to be my go-to brow product from now on!  Do you have a favorite?  Let me know what you like/dislike in the brow product category!

Product Review: Bare Minerals Purifying Facial Cleanser

What is the most important ingredient to having a great makeup look?  Is it the foundation? The brand of makeup? Having all the right tools?  While some of these are good and/or necessary, they pale in comparison to proper skincare.  What good is it to spend hundreds of dollars on makeup and not have a skincare routine to keep the skin in its best condition?  That would be like a painter spending tons of money on the best quality paints and brushes, only to paint on an oily old rag.  It would be pointless.

When you have dry, sensitive skin like I do, skincare becomes a bigger challenge.  There are many good products on the market that I cannot use because they are heavily fragranced or have harsh chemicals in them that cause me to break out.  So when I find something that works and is gentle on my skin, it makes my heart happy.

I began using Olay's Age Defying Classic Cleanser because I needed something that would exfoliate after removing my makeup.  It's gentle even though it has micro-beads; they're barely noticeable when I wash my face but I can tell the difference in how clean my face is.  Then in February I got my order from Bare Minerals that included a bottle of their Purifying Facial Cleanser.  The first time I tried it I used two pumps of cleanser and it was too much.  The next time I used just one pump, and it left my face clean and fresh, without any irritation.  This stuff is gold!  I literally used it to wash the makeup off my eyes, and my eyes didn't get irritated from it.  It was a dream come true!

Probably my one issue with this product is the price.  Since I got it as part of a set I did save money, but the regular price for 6 fl. oz. of product is $20.  That's a lot to dish out for a facial cleanser.  But here's the thing: I got this bottle on February 19.  I use it everyday at least once a day, and it's still over a quarter of the bottle full.  Since that time I've repurchased the Olay Age Defying Classic Cleanser twice, even though I use it less than the Purifying Facial Cleanser (I only use it when I'm exfoliating; if I don't wear makeup one day I don't need to exfoliate), and it brings 6.78 fl. oz., more than the Bare Minerals product.  At almost $5 a bottle, the Olay is definitely cheaper to purchase, but when you see how fast it's used up and how far the Bare Minerals product goes, it's easy to see that the Purifying Facial Cleanser is a better buy.  It's what I've learned with some of the drugstore brands versus the high-end products: since you use less of the high-end brands, they're often not as expensive as they seem.  And if the product works really well for your skin, it's probably worth the splurge.  In my case, spending a little more on cleanser is absolutely worth it.

So, here are my pros and cons for the Purifying Facial Cleanser.  Pros: cleans well without any irritation, takes off makeup and dirt without leaving skin feeling stripped, a little goes a long way.  Cons: the initial price to purchase is high, but the product is cost effective since it lasts so long.  Would I buy it again?  I already have - Bare Escentuals had a skincare sale and I snatched up another bottle.  This has become a standard for me!

What about the Olay Age Defying Classic Cleanser?  It also does a good job of cleaning my face without causing irritation.  It does leave my skin feeling very dry; since I have dry skin my face always feels dry after I wash it, but some cleansers make it feel more so.  This is one of them.  And while the initial price of the product is very inexpensive, it has to be repurchased more frequently because it runs out so fast.  I've continued to purchase this because it does exfoliate well, but if I had to choose only one, it would be the Purifying Facial Cleanser.  It just can't be beat.

Have you tried either cleanser?  What are your thoughts?  I'd love to know!

Mid-Week Update

This past Friday I purchased a weed eater/blower combo.  I needed both of these to tidy up my yard.  I know we had both a weed eater and a leaf blower, but everything points to J having taken them with him when he left, and I've been in need of both ever since.  My friend IV gave me a $10 off coupon from Lowe's, so my daughter and I trekked over to see what was available.  They had this combo by Worx on sale for $119.  It's lightweight and battery operated, which is good because the other options are electrical (power cord being dragged everywhere), or gas.  The weed eaters we've had in the past have been gas powered, and they're good, but they are a pain to get started.  This one should be much easier to use.

I intended to do some backyard trimming on Saturday to test the weed eater out, but it poured.  Our rainy season has begun; mornings are clear and sunny, while afternoons are torrential.  There has been some flooding in areas of South Florida already, and we're just getting started.  Sunday was church and I'd just done my hair, so I wasn't going out in the heat and humidity.  Besides, it rained again.

Monday I figured I could get my son R to help me out, since Mondays he doesn't leave for work till 4:30.  I pulled the weed eater out, easily put the parts together that needed assembling, then realized the batteries had to be charged.  Somehow I knew that would be true, but at the moment I didn't think about it.  By the time the one battery was charged it was time for me to go to work.  So it didn't happen.

I charged the second battery as well, but yesterday I got busy vacuuming, putting away laundry, cooking, and getting ready for work, so I didn't even think about doing outdoor work.  It looks like it might be today.  Let's hope that it's today.

I don't have to worry about the front yard, though.  We have new neighbors that moved in about a month ago.  As I'd been doing before, I mow the grass that is on the side of their house that's attached to mine and swept up the grass clippings for them.  In return, they trimmed all the edges in my front yard and did a beautiful job.  As I tell my kids, kindness repays kindness, and if you want good neighbors you have to be one first.  I'm so thankful to have nice people living next door.  They're a nice couple in their 30's with twin girls and a golden retriever.  My daughter likes the golden retriever best ;-).

I hope to be taking pictures of some stuff I've done to the house; not a whole lot, but I did get rugs for the family room because the room felt empty.  Work has been a bit boring; I've gotten so caught up with my work it's like I'm constantly looking for something to do.  Tonight is children's ministry night, so I leave work early.  Our children's ministry is doing Summer Avengers - Heroes of the Bible.  We've studied Noah, Abraham, and Moses last week.  It's a good series, and so encouraging to see the kids excited about learning bible stories.  It's the highlight of my week.

That's it for now.  Happy first day of July!