Book Revew: "Why you Say It" by Webb Garrison

I love language, words and history, so I was excited to get to review Why You Say It: The Fascinating Stories Behind over 600 Everyday Words and Phrases by Webb Garrison. This book is chock full of every day words and phrases and the history behind them.

The book is very well organized. It is primarily organized by type of saying, i.e. "The World of Entertainment," "The Great Outdoors," and "Making Fun of Others." Within each chapter is an alphabetical listing of each word or phrase within it. There is also an alphabetical index of every saying in the book.

I really enjoyed the educational aspect of this book, too. Not only did I learn new words and phrases (Donnybrook means a loud fight or fracas), but I also learned where some most common phrases come from (pretty penny is derived from a gold piece coined in 1257. Not very many were minted, so when a tradesman would see one, they were considered rare, good luck and were still shiny! Garrison writes, "Obsolete so long that it is seldom found even in a valuable collection, the 13th-century coin retains a tenuous hold in American speech after more than 700 years.")

I find that kind of information fascinating! If you do too, you should definitely read this book. For more information, visit Thomasnelson.com or  buy it on Amazon.com



Thomas Nelson has provided you with a complimentary copy of this book. This review is my own opinion and is not influenced by anyone.

Menu Plan Monday 3/29/10!

Well, my plan has changed since yesterday due to this massive rain storm. I decided not to go to the grocery store today. Hopefully tomorrow evening the rain will taper off some!


Monday:  canned soup
Tuesday: frozen meal, veggies
Wednesday: DH is making a Weight Watchers version of cheeseburger pie
Thursday: leftovers
Friday: Crunchy chicken cheese bake from Relish!
Saturday: leftovers
Sunday: EASTER!!!! MIL is serving lasagna... whatever. lol. I'll be making cookies on Sat for it! (Still looking for suggestions!)

Not a huge week... I tried to plan via the grocery circular but was lost a bit. Oh well!!

Magazine Insanity...

Yoday, J and I drove 2 hours north to  meet my brother's girlfriend for the first time! We met at a Cracker Barrel halfway between where we all live - and close to where My brother and I grew up. It was a good time,she seems really nice. Afterward, J and I drove 30 minutes to a mall that we both went to when we were growing up (separately!).

Since I would be spending so much time in the car, I decided to tackle my magazine mess. The magazines were already organized, but again there were so many that they didn't fit into my 2 holders. So I grabbed a big stack.

And read and  read! I read 14 magazines! Granted, some were food or others without tons of articles. But it feels good to get through so many! My magazines all fit in the holders again! And I think that I have received about all of my monthly magazines so if I can keep up to reading 1 or 2 a day, I'll be allcaught up by the time it starts over again LOL!

Quite a few are expiring within a month or two, though, thankfully :)

Anyone else have magazine issues? lol

Easter/Spring Cookie Recipies?

Does anyone have any good spring or Easter cookie recipes? I will be doing cut outs for Mother's Day. I was thinking something light and airy - like with lemon or lime cookies, but J doesn't think his family will like those. So maybe something with chocolate instead? I still might just make some lemon crinkles though lol

Please LMK if you have any suggestions!!

$1 doubled coupons at Stop & Shop again this week!

OMG you guys, last week Jeff  BANNED me from going to the grocery store again this month! I had overspent on my budget, and we had so much food here that we really did need to eat it before buying more (and that is why I haven't posted any menu plan recently.... that and my new work schedule) . I also need to eat before I go to the grocery store - I usually go directly from work and am STARVING by that time.

But, today I got this week's Stop and Shop flyer in the mail, and there were the 4 $1 double coupons. So I sweet talked Jeff ;) and this week I'll go to the grocery store.Thanks Stop & Shop! the best part is that I should have 8 coupons to use.

And I promised him, though i did it more for me, to look at the flyer and choose what to buy based on it nad my coupons and create a menu from that. I'm nervous but excited to try!!

(And btw... he didn't actually ban me. I don't want anyone to get the wrong idea. We came to a mutual agreement! )

Giveaway! 4 containers of Yoplait Greek Yogurt and a $20 Stop & Shop goft card!

Yay and thanks for stopping by my first giveaway!!

Review:
I jumped at the opportunity to review the new Greek yogurt by Yoplait. The funny thing is that I had just returned home from Stop & Shop where I bought a cup of the blueberry flavor. I was eager to try the two other flavors - honey vanilla and strawberry (there is also a plain flavor). Now, I eat light yogurt almost every day. Mostly I use it on cereal in place of milk. I had wanted to try Greek yogurt for awhile but was afraid it would be too sour, so this was the perfect opportunity.

The first flavor I tried was strawberry. I was pleasantly surprised at how sweet it was. Not as sweet as regular yogurt, but  not as sour as I thought it would be. The yogurt was also really thick. I found the same for the blueberry, though it was a little less sweet than the strawberry.

I approached the honey vanilla with some trepidation... but again I was surprised. Yes it was more sour, but it wasn't pucker your lips sour, jsut more tart. I mixed it chocolate granola to make it a little sweeter, and with the ticker yogurt, it seemed like a more filling breakfast.

Verdict: Two thumbs up. While I wouldn't eat this every day, due to the calories, I would eat this on occasion or when I would need a more filling breakfast. I am not scared of Greek yogurt anymore!!

Product Info: Each cup contains 130 calories, 0 grams of fat, and 12 grams of protein - two times that of the leading yogurt - and is available in four delicious flavors, including Strawberry, Blueberry, Honey Vanilla, and Plain. In addition, Yoplait is the only leading brand of Greek yogurt with Vitamins A and D.

Giveaway:

One lucky reader will receive four (4) coupons - each one good for one free cup of Yoplait Greek yogurt AND a $20 gift card to Stop & Shop!

Mandatory Entry:

 Tell me what flavor of Yoplait Greek yogurt you would most like to try. Please leave your e-mail address as well so I can contact you if you are the winner!

Extra Entries:

Please leave one comment per entry.

~ Follow me on twitter (leave your twitter name in you comment)  (2 entries)

~ Tweet the following (you can tweet daily): Win free Yoplait Greek Yogurt, Stop & Shop gift card @lbandj. http://lbandj.blogspot.com/2010/03/giveaway-4-containers-of-yoplait-greek.html (1 entry)

~ Follow me publicly on Google Friend Connect (2 entries)

~ Subscribe via RSS (1 entry)

~ Grab my button (2 entries)

~ Blog about this giveaway and include a link to this page. Leave the link to your post in your comment. (5 entries)

Rules: Open to U.S. only. Giveaway will end April 1, 2010. Winner will be chose using random.org and will be notified via e-mail. The winner will have 48 hours to reply with their mailing information. If no confirmation in that time a new winner will be chosen. Good luck to all entrants!

Discliamer: Stop & Shop and Yoplait provided me with the free product, information, and gift pack through MyBlogSpark ™ All opinions are entirely my own.

Free pack of 5 Gum!

Ok, this is really cool! Go to 5react and click on "See if you arechosen" You will have to connect with Facebook, then there is some cool stuf, then a form to get your free gum will open.

Yay for free gum!!

Freshening up!

Wow, today was a GORGEOUS day!!! J and I ran some errands - I FINALLY updated my phone, and we also got free Italian Ice and Rita's. Mmmm. Then we did some yardwork and cleaning. And we also put out the outdoors chairs, so now we can sit outside on our patio. i love spring!

I am also refreshing up my blog, adding a few things, like my sig here. Found an easier way, thanks to katydidandkid.com and mombloggersclub.com If anyone knows how I can add my button with the html code under it to my blog, please LMK.

Fiber One 90 Calorie Granola Bar Review!

I received a free sample of the 90 calorie Fiber One chocolate bar in the mail, so I thought I'd review it. *note I did not receive this product from the company to review, nor is my review influenced by them*

I eat granola bars every day, either as breakfast or a morning snack. Fiber One bars are among my favorites - they are thick and chewy and very, very flavorful.

So I was really excited to try the 90 calorie version. I am all about saving calories!! I tried this at work, so I don't have pictures - only one from the official Fiber One site.

Sadly, this bar disappointed me! First, this is NOT a granola bar. In fact, the package itself calls it a "chewy bar." It actually wasn't very chewy either - it was just very soft. And while the chocolate flavor was really good, the rest of the taste wasn't. It was like eating puffed rice or what cereal with some chocolate. The only real taste was the chocolate. The wheat taste lingered in my mouth too, after I was done eating.

I hate to say it, but I would NOT buy these bars. There are other low claorie granola bar options that have a good taste to them!

Very disappointing :(

(like my new sig tag? Is it too big? I created it as a transparent image in PSP... why is it not showing up that way?)

Free Ritz Munchables Sample!

I'm interested to know if these taste better thn the Town House Flipables (which are yummy!). These sound really good too.

Friend Ritz Crackers on Facebook and grab your free sample of Ritz Muchables!