What is your dream car?  I remember when I was in high school, a friend’s older sister had a convertible.  I thought that was a dream car!  We thought it was the coolest thing to go driving down the boulevard with our friend’s sister in her convertible, usually on a Sunday night.  It was summer time, and it felt great to have the top down.

Some people’s dream car is a corvette.  That is certainly an attention-getter car.  To make it unique and set apart from other corvettes, there are even Corvette body upgrades such as Corvette hoods or spoilers.  Are you surprised that I know what a spoiler is?  Actually, I didn’t.  I had to ask my husband and he showed me a picture of one on a website.  He explained how the spoiler actually helps the car because it’s aerodynamic.  It makes the car look cool, too.  And with a new Corvette exhaust system, there would be a significant gain in horsepower and that would help the car as well.  Now that would be a dream car to many people!

Left-over mashed potatoes are good enough just as left-overs, but here are a few ideas for other things:

• Make potato soup.  Heat mashed potatoes in a saucepan and add milk to make it the right consistency for soup.  Add salt, pepper, and a little olive oil or butter.
• Make potato patties.  My mother used to make these while I was growing up.  Simply form a pattie out of the mashed potatoes and fry in oil (olive oil) and add salt and pepper.

• Make potato salad.  Just add your favorites such as mayonaise, mustard, chopped onion, chopped hard-boiled eggs, chopped celery, etc.
• Make Shepherd’s Pie.  This idea is from Lynne, The Sewing Mom.   Thanks, Lynne!
  

If you could go anywhere and have your choice of luxury vacations, where would you go?   I have two favorite places, Colorado and Hawaii.  When I was a child, we vacationed in Colorado, and I have always loved going to the Rocky Mountains.  Nine years ago, we went to Hawaii and had a dream vacation.   So either of those two places would be my choice.

Years ago when I was still drinking tap water, our water had an awful smell to it for two weeks and so I drank bottled water.  Finally after a couple of weeks of this, I called the water department to find out what was going on.  The answer I received was, “It’s OK.  It’s just sewer gas that has backed up into the water lines.  But the water is safe to drink.”  I can’t remember how I replied, but I do remember thinking, “No, it’s NOT OK to have sewer gas in my tap water.  I don’t care what you say.”  We never would have known about it had I not called.  That makes me wonder what all is in our water that we never know about.  Since then, our whole family has been drinking bottled water.  (My husband was already drinking bottled water.)  Now we drink distilled water.  There’s no way sewer gas can get into that!

Here are this week’s four questions. I’ve got the Olympics on my mind so this week they’re about fitness/physical activity/sports:

#1. What do you drink to rehydrate in the heat or after working out?

Water

#2. What do you eat to help boost or create energy?

Complex carbs such as whole grains, fruit, etc., and tea is usually energizing.

#3. What’s the healthiest snack you eat?

Raw nuts & seeds:  almonds, cashews, pecans, sunflower seeds

Hot air popped organic popcorn with extra virgin olive oil and sea salt

(We can get organic popcorn in the bulk food section at Central Market and, contrary to what some might think, it’s actually less than buying name brand popcorn that isn’t even organic.  If you want to know why we buy organic, read this about Genetically Modified Seeds (especially CORN, soy, and canola)  And note the comments for that post – a doctor left a comment and some really good info.  There are several good comments.
#4. Share a recipe or instructions for your ideal three course meal.

Salad, entree, and dessert.  Salad would need to be really fresh and chilled.  And for the entree it would be fish, chicken, or turkey.  Veggies would be fresh and steamed.  Dessert would be a fresh fruit mix with poppyseed dressing.

Are you thinking of making some home improvements, maybe buying new carpet?   Empire Today has been a leader in installed home improvements for over 45 years, has over one million happy customers, and has won the 2008 National Stevie Award for Best Customer Service Organization for providing world class customer care.  For two years in a row, they were also a finalist in the Best Overall Company category.  Now that tells you something!  Add in the fact that they have quality products that will improve the value of your home, and that is a win-win situation.

These are the products that Empire Today offers:

• Carpet

• Hardwood Flooring

• Laminate Flooring

• Ceramic Flooring

• Window Treatments

• Bath & Shower Liners
  

The great thing about Empire Carpet is that you have the convenience of shopping for the name brands at home with their specialized products expert.   One convenience I really like is that you see all the samples in your home with in-home demo and in-home shopping.  Several years ago we bought new carpet, and the frustrating part was bringing the samples home from the store only to find they looked like completely different colors in our living room.  With Empire Today, there is none of that frustration.  You see the colors in your own home immediately.  And you don’t have to deal with traffic or worry about the kids getting into things in the store.   You sit in the comfort of your home and shop.

Empire Today’s representative gives free estimates, which are low warehouse prices, and will measure for most products right then and there.  There’s no need to set a separate appointment for measurements.  And the estimate includes all costs.  Installation can be scheduled the next day, and that’s not just for carpet.  It’s also for all flooring, window treatments and bath liners as well.

Have you seen the Empire Today Commercials?  They are informative as well as entertaining.  If you would like to hear from some happy, satisfied customers then check out Empire Today Bath Stories.   Be sure to listen to “Empire Man” who, since 1977, has come to represent great value, world class customer service, and next day installation. Empire Man had been seen all over the world in commercials and other media, and has even been in McDonald’s Thanksgiving Day Parade which then inspired the Chicago Cubs to have an official “Empire Day at well-known Wrigley Field in downtown Chicago. When you hear the jingle, 800-588-2300 Empire, which is one of the most recognized phone numbers in the country, remember the quality that stands behind it!

Well…actually the “summer season” will last a while longer, but “summer” according to the school calendar is almost over.  Even though we didn’t actually take a week long vacation this year, we did take a couple of two-day trips.  One trip was to Hillsboro, Texas, to shop at the Hillsboro Outlet Mall.  I found a lot of clothes there for Baby J for his birthday, and I had so much fun shopping for him!  Another trip was to Waco, Texas, to visit the Dr. Pepper Museum which was very interesting.  We also got to walk on a historical bridge and visit the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame & Museum.  It was truly a fun trip!

We’re not big movie goers, but we saw three movies this summer which we thought were really good movies.  We saw the Indiana Jones movie, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, and Journey to the Center of the Earth.

I went to a ten week Bible study at my friend’s house this summer on Thursday nights.  There were several friends there (we all attend church together) to study “Believing God,” which deepened our faith even more.  This Bible based study was written by Beth Moore.  It was a great time of fellowship and studying God’s Word!

And last, we had a lot of good family visits with our daughter (“C”), son-in-law, and Baby J.   We got to have a mini family reunion in June when my mother-in-law flew down to visit for a week.  Lots of wonderful memories were made!

These are the highlights of my summer which centered around God, family, & friends!  It’s been a wonderful summer for me in that regard.