new year's eve 2020

 another year done.

hope the next one is better than the last.

update on peppermint stuff

 neither the ice cream nor the cream pie was that good. they kept "coming back" and when they did, there's be a weird cooling feeling in the back of the throat for hours.

this ends our peppermint experiment.

christmas 2020

 if you celebrate it, hope you have a nice holiday.

and whether you do you don't, i hope you find something good in the sales tomorrow.

first day of winter

 sure, it will be colder (maybe, because climate change) but at least the days are getting longer.

pepperminty

 having avoided the chirstmas holiday season flavor of peppermint (because my brother doesn't like mint) for years,  we decided to take the plunge a try a couple of peppermint things.

we got wal-mart peppermint ice cream and their peppermint cream (with a fancy accent mark over the e in cream) to try.

not at the same time though. there is such a thing as too much peppermint.

sugar cookie hershey kisses

mostly tastes like a sugar cookie.

while not bad, probably would not get again.

thanksgiving '20

 the holiday is different this year.

but hopefully you don't eat too much, will find some good sales (mostly on-line) and will avoid any drunk drivers on the road today/tonight.

rotisserie chicken pringles

 they taste vaguely like you sprinkled the flavor packet from rotisserie chicken flavored raman noodles on them.

the best pringles continue to be the plain, unflavored ones.

veterans day 2020

 thanks to those who served or are serving.

also take advantage of any sales that are going on.

Confetti Birthday Cake Cream Pie

it's from marie callender's and it kind of tastes like most of the birthday cake/confetti/funfetti stuff.

it also tastes like it's 80% sugar. would not buy again.

witch's brew kit kat

not one of the ones rumored to com out this year, unfortunately. just one of those seasonal ones they started having in the past couple of years.

it kind of tastes like marshmallow. but more like you ate marshmallows & still had the flavor lingering on your tongue.

halloween 2020

 if your doing trick or treat, stay safe.

if not, maybe you can get some candy on sale tomorrow.

hot stuff

 my brother and i don't really eat hot or spice food.

every once in awhile we'll get spice chicken nuggets/sandwiches or bufflo chicken pizza, but mostly it's more mild things. once we tried the tennessee hot chicken bowl thing from banquet. WHEW! for the first 2-3 bites, you think; this is not bad, but then after that you're sweating like it's 110^F or something.

for the past year or so, for whatever reason, we've been trying out hot sauces & this is what we like;

Cholula Hot Sauce, Original--peppery without being too hot, unless you add a lot.
TABASCO Original Flavor Pepper Sauce--can light you up a fair amount if you're not careful.
Frank's RedHot Original Cayenne Pepper Sauce--just, hot not peppery.
Texas Pete Hot Sauce--not that hot. listed as medium on the side of the label. maybe we got used to these?
Valentina Salsa Picante Mexican Hot Sauce--kind of like a peppery tomato sauce. maybe the black label one is more intense. has a pour spout, so it is easy to go overboard with it.
Huy Fong Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce--sriracha is the hot flavor right now (no pun intended) and will light you up very easily.

pumpkin pie milk

 this is a flavored milk put out by a local dairy.

and like most pumpkin flavored things, it is just the pumpkin pie spice. not horrible tasting, but i would not get it again.

this is a bummer

 they no longer have the full-size Reece's PB pumpkins, just mini ones. even in the 6-pack.

my brother wants the white chocolate (now called white cream) ones but they only have the orange tinted ones, again mini. they have white cream in king size, but still mini. he had to get the ghosts, which seems to be new. there are also bats that appear to be milk chocolate. but are not that interesting, unless they're going to be on sale after halloween.

s'mores hostess cupcakes

 not very good.

they dried too hard with the graham cracker flavor and that overwhelmed the chocolate and marshmallow.

not worth the price paid or the calories gotten from it.

mom's birthday 2020

Your Birth Color is Orange

You bring a lot of joy into the lives of others. You are a truly happy person, and your happiness is contagious. The secret to your good mood is simply fulfillment. You choose to find meaning in the tiniest and most mundane aspects of your life.

You value your friends and family more than anything else. You work hard to maintain those ties and relationships. You believe in being loyal at all costs. Once you make a true friend, that person will be your friend for life.

You think that it is important to build community. You believe every all people should have a place where they belong. You take care in building a nice home for yourself that you can share with others. You enjoy extending hospitality. 

link to quiz

 this is the same as my dad's because where their birthdays fall.

cooler weather

pumpkin spice stuff

honey lucky charms

chocolate frosted flakes

dad's birthday 2020

Your Birth Color is Orange

You bring a lot of joy into the lives of others. You are a truly happy person, and your happiness is contagious. The secret to your good mood is simply fulfillment. You choose to find meaning in the tiniest and most mundane aspects of your life.

You value your friends and family more than anything else. You work hard to maintain those ties and relationships. You believe in being loyal at all costs. Once you make a true friend, that person will be your friend for life.

You think that it is important to build community. You believe every all people should have a place where they belong. You take care in building a nice home for yourself that you can share with others. You enjoy extending hospitality.

link to quiz.

edwards cream pies

 overall they are just OK & two new ones they had at wal-mart are no exception.

peach is not very peachy. they say it has real fruit, but not much.

the apple caramel didn't taste much like either and also didn't have much fruit.

sports drinks

we only drink sports drinks when it's really hot or we've worked up a sweat cleaning or something.

our brand of choice is powerade, but there were not any of the one's we liked at wal-mart last time so we got gatorade.

gatorade is not as good as powerade, most of their flavors suck & the ones that are OK have a weak flavor. the only good thing is they are 32^oz & powerade was reduced to 28 last year.

sport drinks are just sugar water with minerals to replace those that are lost in sweat, but it does seem to help. then again it could be all in our minds.

it's too hot!

the typical thought i have this time of year.

am considering moving into my refrigerator.

talenti gelato

wal-mart had some of the layers (like a gelato parfait) on a bit of a sale and we tried 4 of them.

salted caramel truffle, peanut butter vanilla fudge, chocolate cherry cheesecake & black raspberry vanilla parfait.

none were really good. and the chocolate cherry cheesecake had dark chocolate. which bothered my brother's stomach. i didn't notice it because i was distracted my the cherry. which is not one of my favorite flavors.

brother's birthday '20

Your Birth Color is Yellow

You are a seeker of enlightenment in this life. You may not have found it yet, but you feel closer each day. You value clarity in thought, words, and action. You try to be a clear thinker and as straightforward with people as possible.

You are a warm and optimistic person. You have faith in yourself and in humanity. You think the world is basically good. You may be an optimist, but you don't have your blinders on. You are aware and alert to every emotion and event.

You believe that others have as much as a right to be a part of this world as you do. You highly value free expression. You are a reluctant but natural leader. You are fair and just. And when it's time to be decisive, you can act immediately.

link to the quiz

4th of july 2020

things are different this year, but people are still going to be (and have already) set off firecrackers.

so stay safe, and take advantage of any sales the stores are having.

tosted coconut cheerios

it is a limited time flavor.

i don't really care for coconut, but my brother likes it. i got frosted cheerios to off set it.

very subtle toasted flavor, not much coconut. unlike the peach limited time cheerios i reviewed last year.

apple pie kit kat

one of the new flavors rumored to be coming out (for a limited time) this year. the previous birthday cake might have been one after all.

discovered on box of them at he impulse buy section at the checkout at wal-mart the other day. will continue to look for the others.

the apple one was disappointing. very mild flavor which didn't taste very much like apple pie. unfortunately whenever i burped, i tasted apple.

getting nickled and dimed to death

t.g.i. friday's frozen cheese sticks got smaller.

didn't have them in a while, will not get again.

it's like when powerade went from 32_oz to 28_oz and stayed the same price. if gatorade wasn't more money and had some good flavors, we'd get that.

it is a for of increasing the price, because they know the customers don't like that. and sometimes they don't notice that the product got smaller.

orange cream filled twizzlers

not bad. not really good either.

a light orange cream-ish taste.

hard to believe

....but we are halfway though june.

more or less halfway thorough 2020.

and we are almost, but not quite, a quarter of the way into the 21^st century.

it's too darn hot

it's been like 90f (but feels hotter) the past few days. and it's not even summer.

the hurricane season is supposed to be rough too.

my birthday 2020

Your Birth Color is Olive

If there was a theme for your life, it would be 'awakening.' You're constantly becoming more aware, awake, and alive. Your time on this planet has been one of change, and you wouldn't have it any other way. You like who you were, who you've become, and what you're turning into.

You are constantly learning in your life. You are big on gaining skills and knowledge, even if they aren't career related. You find a lot of meaning in this world, and the more you learn, the more meaning you find. You are receptive to new ideas.

You are an independent thinker and a very intelligence being. You don't have dogma or rigidity slowing you down. You are often content, exuberant, or downright thrilled. There's so much in this world to get excited about.

link to the blogthing

olive?!

we skipped spring

and wnet into summer.

we had a few nice sunny, yet cool days and now have highs in the mid to high 80s.

it's only been hot for 4 days and i'm already tired of it.

i don't do well in the heat. i think it's my eastern european ancestry.

disapointing snack

tried a "protein packed" microwave muffin in a cup from flapjacked.

first of all it ways 30 seconds for a 1,250w microwave, which is like 30 seconds too little. second of all, it hardly had any taste. it was supposed to be chocolate peanut butter, but I rarely tasted chocolate & no PB.

it was not worth the money to buy it, the time & electricity to make it, the effort to eat it or the calories gotten from it.

the only good thing was it came in its own cup, so I only had to wash the fort I ate it with.

what is your energy type?

You Burn the Midnight Oil

No matter how hard you try, you just don't make a good morning person. You probably don't feel like your brain turns on until at least noon.

You tend to get energized and inspired late into the evening - no matter how early you had to get up. Try to schedule your time so that you can be productive after dark. There's no use fighting who you are.

link to quiz

where is spring?

it has been spring since like march 20, bu it doesn't seem like it.

i know there's a transition period between winter & spring, but if feels like the transition didn't happen this year.

it should be in the high 60s, low 70s and sunny most days by now. but mostly it's barely 60 and rany or overcast. and even if it does get to the low 70s, there still is a cool wind or breeze.

at the end of next week it looks like there will be warmer weather, although with some clouds or rain, so i guess we will see.

ben and jerry's ice creams

after not having any for at least a year, maybe more, we caved ad got two.

peanut butter half-baked and netflix & chillld'.

the PB half-baked is; Chocolate & Peanut Butter Ice Creams Mixed with Gobs of Peanut Butter Cookie Dough & Fudge Brownies.
and the N & C is; Peanut Butter Ice Cream with Sweet & Salty Pretzel Swirls & Fudge Brownies.

they're pretty similar, something we didn't consider when we got them.

both are ok, nothing to write home about. but a lot better than that ruby caco thing we had a few days ago.

haagen dazs ruby cacao bars

really terrible. very sour.

not wort the money, the effort to eat it or the calories you get from it.

birthday cake kit kat

discovered it at wal-mart last week.

sadly, it is not one of the new flavors that are supposed to come out this year.

it was ok. like 90% of birthday cake flavored things, it's very vanilla with a hint of sprinkles.

what is your flapper name? (becuse it's the '20s again)

Your Flapper Name Is: Trixie Estelle

She refused to be bored, chiefly because she wasn't boring.

(sounds like something from a novel from the 1920s)

link to the quiz

easter 2020

easter is getting to be like christmas with all of the candy & little trinkets you're expected to buy the kids in your life.

the best part is the candy that goes on sale tomorrow. which makes this the last of the candy holidays until halloween.

aldi's easter candy

they only had about 1/4 as much as the did for valentine's day and no of it was impressive.

a lot of stuff from choceur, which is terrible. we got some moser roth mini-eggs, which are just OK.

better off with russel stover or cadbury.

The chocolate easter egg test

You Are Detailed

When it comes to any decision, you base your choices on the facts - plain and simple. You don't hide from the truth, and you don't let emotions sway you. You like to collect as much data as you can.

You trust in your experience and what you can see and hear. You don't take anyone's word for anything. You're the type to try every chocolate in the box before deciding on your favorite. You're that dedicated to research!

Take the quiz here

another new digiorno stuff crust pizza

this time it's ranch & cheese stuff crust, buffalo style chicken.

it was marginally better than the taco one. at least could find the chicken on it.

but comparing it with wal-mart (sam's choice) brand, it's less money, bigger pieces of chicken and better sauce.

cheese stuff crust is overrated in general, IMHO.

st patrick's day 2020

stay safe and don't drink too much green beer.

and watch out for those that do.

pretzel pop tarts*

tried these new things.

got the brown sugar cinnamon & the chocolate ones,  because we couldn't decide.

they're dry and came apart at the end seams.

i'd rather have regular pop tarts in similar flavors.

*from the crap super bowl commercial.

new digiorno stuffed crust pizza

it's the taco & cheese stuffed crust, beef taco.

it wasn't bad exactly. not enough beef, too much peppers & corn. and cheap taco seasoning.

and at nearly $8 vs. like $5 for a wal-mart brand pizza, it's not worth it.

the quest for irish soda bread

now is the time of year that we go looking fro irish soda bread.

this is a more or less new thing since i discovered it at a local salad bar 4-5 years ago.

every year the wal-mart website says they don't have it and the employees don't have a clue about it, but 3-4 loaves will appear on the clearance bakery cart. so we'll grab them, put them in the freezer are have like a loaf a week until it's gone.

leap day 2020

it only happens every for years. look up why if you want to.

last time i suggested that feb. 29 should be quantum leap day (feb. 28 the rest of the time), to celebrate the show. and encourage watching the series or reading the novels.

yes, there were novels. only 18 i think, of fair to middling quality.

valentines day 2020

if you have a special someone i hope you enjoyed a nice day with them.

if you don't have anyone, hope you had a nice day by yourself & will partake in the 50% candy sales tomorrow.

icelandic style yogurt

tried some of that from aldi.

not sure of the name, just know that it is vanilla bean flavor.

very thick, kind of odd to swallow.

and like 95% of the food from aldi, not worth getting again.

super bowl 2020

watching for the commercials, but they have gone downhill in the last few years.

eating some pizza, nachos and whatnot.

not caring about the teams.

new kitkat flavors in 2020?

there are supposed to be 4 new ones that will be out for a limited time and only hat wal-mart.

the flavors are reported to be; apple pie, orange creamsickle, cotton candy & cherry cola.

i'd try them all. even though i don't like cherry colas.

tried some new M&Ms

got hazelnut spread and hot cocoa ones on sale at the target after christmas 75% off deal.

the hazelnut wasn't too bad.

the hot coco was very meh.

wal-mart apple cinnamon dessert pizza

it was OK. noting special.

the apple slices were too big & made it hard to eat without a mess.

they should've went for smaller chunks.