My Quarter- Century Love Affair

Throughout my youth

and continuing on through my teen years,

twenties and thirties,

I have had a true love.

Yes, I had little crushes and flings.

Teen Beat, Tiger Beat and Bop magazine

all competed for my affections,

alongside my beloved Cricket.

But no one has had the longevity

and unmatched devotion of my

beloved People Magazine.

I remember the magazine being in my parents' house

from my earliest years.

I remember covers with the Kennedys, Johnny Carson,

Farrah Fawcett and the Fonz.

In college, I bought my copy from the Student Bookstore

and then, following college, I bought my first subscription.

About 20 years later, I am still subscribing.

Now, I have taken some heat for this.

My husband used to take great pleasure in making fun of me about it

at every opportunity, until I started to notice that every week

HE WAS LOOKING AT THE PEOPLE MAGAZINE!

In fact, sometimes he was looking at it before I had even had a chance to!

"Hey! What are you doing?" I would ask him.

I'd be kinda ticked off, actually, because the People magazine is like a dessert.

It has to be saved and then savored.

No fair that someone can just come along and read it FIRST,

when they don't even appreciate it!

And that's when it dawned on me..

He loved People Magazine too, but he just couldn't admit it. :-)

Over time, he has come to admit that

"he likes to look at the pictures."

True, he doesn't read it cover to cover like I do.

Now, two of my kids race to the mailbox on Fridays

to get out the People magazine and see what the cover story is.

Some covers have been springboards to discussions about

sexuality, anorexia, war, murder and terrorism,

not to mention LOTS of teen pregnancies and divorces.

The People magazine came today,

with a cover story about Fergie.

I don't know much about Fergie, except she is part of the Black Eyed Peas.

But I'll learn a few things about her tonight.

That is, when I get my turn.

Right now the kids have it.

all cover images courtesy of People.com archives.

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Final night for entering the SKOY giveaway!

Drawing and announcement of winners of Sunday, Nov. 8!

Leaves

All the trees on our property are dropping their leaves..

which means a WHOLE LOTTA WORK...


and a WHOLE LOTTA FUN!

There's diving fun:

running fun:

taking a break to pose..

and then Burying the Zombie Fun!

Yes, leaves may be hard work but they are also lots o' fun!

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Remember! Saturday is the last day to be in the running for the SKOY Cloth Giveaway! Get your comment in now!

Have you used your SKOY today? -- GIVEAWAY!!!

I am about to introduce you to something

that I would be willing to bet you have never heard of.

Just like a TIVO,

this is something that you have no idea about

and then after you use it,

you wonder how in the heck you ever lived without it.

Yes, it will make your life simpler.

Yes, it will make your life easier.

And... BONUS!

Yes, it is good for the environment!

Are you curious yet?

It's called a SKOY cloth!

photo courtesy of Skoycloth.com

"So, what is a SKOY cloth, anyway?" you are probably wondering.

A SKOY cloth is a super-absorbent, biodegradable cloth

made in Europe from cotton and wood based cellulose.

It reminds me of a sponge but flat and square, in a generous size.

The SKOY is the perfect size for wiping up spills and drips

(from those DAMN COSTCO MILK JUGS for one thing! ARGH!!)

for wiping down counters in the kitchen,

the stovetop and the microwave,

for washing dishes too.

You can also use it in other rooms of the house as well.

I have lightly dampened mine and used it for dusting with ease.

After you use it, rinse it and wring it out

then just leave it out to dry.

"What about BACTERIA?"

SKOY cloth is easy to keep clean.

You can toss it in the dishwasher or the washer/dryer.

For me, I wet them and toss them in the microwave for a minute.

They come out clean and scent-free.

The SKOY can also save you a LOT of money.

Did you know that using a SKOY cloth can save the average household

15 rolls of paper towels?

That is just for ONE SKOY CLOTH!

The thing that really gets me about these is the absorbency.

The best thing I can think of to compare it to

would be a chamois cloth.

It has just made spills or water splashed on the counters while doing dishes

a total non-event.

And I don't feel annoyed about wasting paper towels either

(unlike my paper-towel whore husband! lol)

Just so you know, I am not being paid by SKOY cloth to write this.

I found them on the Internet when I was doing some research,

was interested yet skeptical of the product,

and I emailed them to ask for a free trial..

which I would then blog about.

I warned them that I ALWAYS review products honestly

and if I didn't like something, I would say so.

They believe in their product enough that they sent me a package of four.

That was about two months ago

and I am still using the first two original SKOY cloth that I started out with.

In fact, you can see how the green one is getting thinner as it breaks down,

compared to this orange one that hasn't been used yet:

I reach for them multiple times every day

and I will be buying more.

Especially the cute little Holiday SKOY! :::squee!:::

photo courtesy of skoycloth.com

SKOY cloth does not fully replace the paper towel.

You can't microwave slices of bacon on it, for example.

But I have found that it has absolutely cut down on paper good usage in my house

and my counters have never been cleaner or shinier.

So, now that I have carried on about how great this product is

(and it really, truly IS!),

I couldn't be happy if you didn't get to try it too.

SO, I contacted the good folks at SKOY Cloth again

and asked them if they would let me have a contest

and give away their product.

They agreed and have offered A FOUR PACK OF SKOY CLOTHS

TO TWO LUCKY FOLKS!

They come in a neat little stack tied with a raffia ribbon.

Very cute!

I am really excited for you all to try these!

photo courtesy of skoycloth.com

So, to enter, leave a comment at my blog

with your email address and two ways

that you think you will use the SKOY cloth most often.

If you post a link to this contest on your blog

or on your Facebook and you let me know,

then you can be entered again.

Otherwise, one entry per person.

You may enter until Saturday at 10 PM EST

and I will have a random drawing

and announce the winners on Sunday.

PLEASE LEAVE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS

ON YOUR COMMENT SO I CAN CONTACT

YOU IF YOU WIN!!

Good luck!

Get Ready!

Heads up...

Product Review and the first of THREE giveaways

being posted tomorrow!

The Requested MPM!

I was both surprised and amused

to get a note from TWO friends yesterday

asking me where my menu plan for the week was.

Heck, I think my menus are BORING

and just assumed everyone knew it was blog filler! lol

But anyway, with a strut in my step,

I am creating this week's menu

just for my two little menu fans..

and who knows?

Maybe there were more of you,

pining silently in the corner. :-)

(Sunday and Monday were both sports banquet meals)

Tuesday we had grilled cheese and choice of chicken noodle or tomato soups.

(see? I told you my menus are lame lately!)

Wednesday: Chicken club wraps, green beans, fruit

Thursday: Breaded steak with garlic potatoes and asparagus

Friday: Whole wheat pasta with homemade spaghetti sauce, caesar salad

Saturday: Dinner out with friends. I am taking Artichoke dip and a dessert

Sunday: Parmesan crusted tilapia, alfredo noodles, peas.

There you have it!

What about you? What is on YOUR menu this week?