Search Results for: blog same store different neighborhood

Are You Taking Advantage of Your Neighborhood?

I was born and raised in New York City. Despite that fact, I didn’t visit the Empire State Building until I was well into adulthood. Some friends from out of town visited and wanted to see it. To this day, I still have not gone to the Statue of Liberty. My point here, is that while New York City may certainly be an extreme in terms of things to do and see, the fact is that living there, I never thought to visit some of the biggest things that attract visitors from all over the world. These places were in … Continue reading →

Same Store, Different Neighborhood

When you see sales from one particular chain store, such as Acme, Shoprite or Krogers, do you assume that all of the prices are in same no matter which location you choose? You should think again. Just shopping on neighborhood over can save you as much as 10 percent on your grocery bill, even before clipping coupons! Even though supermarket chains may be owned by the same company, they charge different prices according to the neighborhoods in which they are located. A supermarket located in a suburb or upscale neighborhood will probably charge more on grocery items, especially basic staples, … Continue reading →

A Visit to the Baby Store

Today, I had a little time to kill before I met a former colleague for lunch. I wandered into a large, upscale baby store in the same shopping area as the restaurant where we were meeting. I thought I might look around for something for a new great-niece of mine who was born a week or so ago. I hadn’t really been in a specialty baby store in years (Toys-R-Us doesn’t count) and it made me think of the blog I wrote recently about what I WOULD’T buy if I could go back to being a beginning parent and start … Continue reading →

Rock Your Routine With These Boredom Busters

Last month, I discussed the importance of routines for toddlers and their parents. In that same post, I mentioned that within the structure of your days there is plenty of room for freedom. It is important that we as parents make good use of that freedom both for ourselves and for our children so that none of us get bored. What kinds of things can you do in those spaces between your regular daily activities? The list is as limitless as your imagination. Here are a few ideas to get you started: Grab an empty dish pan, some dish soap, … Continue reading →

The Look

Rebecca my nine year old daughter is selling Girl Scout cookies and George my ten year old wanted to walk the neighborhood with her. Now if you look at them you would not know they were brother and sister unless you look beyond the skin color. They have the same face shapes and eyes but George is African American/Caucasian and Rebecca is Caucasian. When he would walk up to the door he would tell them that his sister was selling Girl Scout cookies and would they like to buy some. The look at some of their faces is like are … Continue reading →

The Importance of Cash in an Emergency Kit

Why do you need cash in your emergency kit, and how much should you have available? Where should that cash be stored? These are all questions that should be answered if you want to be prepared. In an emergency situation, cash can come in handy if there is no access to electronic transactions and you need supplies. In most emergencies, you will probably not need cash, since either stores will be closed or inaccessible. There are some instance where having cash would be invaluable. You might need cash for tolls or campground fees if you need to evacuate to another … Continue reading →

Rayman Raving Rabbids Video Game Review

It was one of those rare moments when we took our kids to the pre-owned video game store and told them to pick out something for the Wii that was under $20 and rated E. We definitely lined up some cool parent points there. Our only problem was getting all three of them to agree to the same game. It also had to be something that either my husband or I could play with them without getting bored to tears. One sure way to limit video game time in our household is to play with mom or dad. We have … Continue reading →

A Seedy Story

Growing your own vegetables can certainly cut cost for providing meals. It is even better if those vegetables can be grown from seed. Better still if those seeds are free. Now just where do you get free seeds? I already told you about our free passionfruit, marigolds and sweet peas. The same principle works with many vegetables as well. In a recent letter in our local paper, one keen gardener said that from one flowering head of green of lettuce you can end up with around 800 seeds. That’s a lot of lettuce! He also said that from just a … Continue reading →

Road Trip Sanity Savers

Happy kids equal happy parents. That goes double when you are traveling in the same vehicle together for long periods of time during a family road trip. When the kids are miserable, summer car trips can be unbearable for parents. If you are trying to figure out ways to preserve your sanity on an upcoming road trip, then arm yourself with the following kid-friendly boredom busters: BAKING SHEET BINGO Pack a baking sheet in your vehicle and you will quickly see how versatile it can be on a long car trip. The baking sheet is multi-faceted. It can be used … Continue reading →

City or Country? Where Do You Live?

Are you a fan of the big city? Do you love living the country life? Or do you prefer a location somewhere in between, such as suburbia? Statistically, you are most likely to live in a city. One interesting fact is that sometime in August of last year, the number of people that live in a major city somewhere in the world surpassed the number of people who live in more rural areas. This phenomena is being studied closely by scientists in order to determine what, if any, impact this has. Having lived in both city (New York), suburb (of … Continue reading →