Promotivia.com

I love to shop at Big Lots. I find the neatest junk there. Their prices are right and I can waste time in there and truly enjoy myself just looking at the variety of stuff they have. I have been able to pick up a lot of scrapbooking items from there even though I don’t scrapbook. I make cards with the goodies I find there. Most of their stuff is good quality items at discount prices.

When I enter the store, I have a set pattern that I go thru the store that way I’m sure not to miss anything. The other day I was fortunate enough to find 20% off coupons for Big Lots and I had a hay day. Usually, the items I buy at Big Lots are not necessities; however, toothpaste, deodorant and such items do fall into that category. You just never know what you’ll find there. It’s one of those stores that you have to keep shopping on a regular basis if you’re looking for something specific. You’ll need the patience of a saint sometimes but eventually you’ll find something that you’ve been wanting for a while.

I was in there about a year ago and picked up a college flash drive for a little bit of nothing. I had been looking for one but wasn’t willing to spend a small fortune for one. Big Lots was selling theirs for $8.00 a piece. It didn’t take me long to convince myself that one of those should be mine. I had looked at one similar to it online at but I determined that they wanted too much money for it.

I’ve also picked up clothing and household furnishings at Big Lots. I love their candle selection. They sell furniture also. If you join their Buzz Club, you get notices of things that are going on sale and also extra discounts. They recently received a whole shipment of drug store items that came out of a drugstore chain that was closing. I found some mint scented shampoo and conditioner that was great for only $3.00 for a one liter bottle.

Back in the summertime, they had a whole lot of Pier One furniture items on sale at about half off Pier One’s price. Beautiful pieces going for much cheaper that the original store’s prices.

My kids love Big Lots for their toys. They run off and shop the toy isles and then they shop the clothing racks. My husband has his own car detailing business and he purchases a lot of supplies and equipment from Big Lots. The vacuum cleaner that he uses is a refurbished one he bought from there. To me, it just makes sense to buy at discount prices when the economy is down in the toilet right now. I’m watching my pennies everywhere and Big Lots is a great place to get things cheap.

Have you ever noticed that when one thing goes wrong, everything goes wrong?  It seems like everything will be working fine and life is going along nicely and then, bam, everything decides to break all at once.  We’ve been having some of those breaking moments around here. 

Living in a house with three boys, those little door stopper things just don’t always seem to be enough.  I don’t know how it happened, but one of my sons managed to put the door knob of the front door through the wall.  There is a stopper down  by the floor but . . . .  Hopefully that will not happen again, at least with that particular door.  I purchased a steel plate attached to drywall tape.  If they put a door knob through that the whole wall will be in trouble!

The next thing to have problems was the van. It has been making funny sounds.  There doesn’t really seem to be a consistent time or place or anything else to the one sound.  Another sound seems to possibly be related to the coldness outside.  It likes to grunt and groan until the vehicle is all warmed up.  We took the van to Gordon’s Body Shop whom we’ve come to trust and he said it’s just signs of old age.  Signs of old age when it’s only 6 years old – what’s this world coming to?

This weekend we’ve had the worse blow yet.  Problems with the Septic.  Yuck!    My landlord called Ken Greer the plumber on Saturday morning.  Naturally, being a Saturday he didn’t have an assistant to help him so all he could do was drain the access (right into our front yard!) and tell us to be conservative with the water until he comes back on Monday.  What a fun weekend.  The laundry piles are growing.  The dirty dishes stacks keep increasing.  Oh, and did I mention that my middle son came down with the stomach bug Saturday night?  There’s nothing quite like having a son throwing up when you can’t use the washer to clean the clothing and bedding!

As I write, I am waiting for the plumber to come and fix everything.  It’s amazing how much water a family uses!  You never realize it until you’re restricted in use.  I hope this is the last of the problems in this round.  I think we could use a little break now before we have any more.  The questions is, what will go wrong next and when will it be?

I think after all of this we deserve a fun yet practical gadget or two from The Home Automation Store.  The decorator wall switch looks like it would be a good addition to our house.  When we come home in the dark we have to go in the house and search around blindly for a lamp to turn on in the living room.  Perhaps having one of these switches right inside the door will keep us from falling and breaking a leg and adding to our list of problems in the next round.

My house is surrounded with gardens on all sides: flowers in the front and sides, vegetables in the back. Cars driving down the road often slow down as the drivers peer through their windows to catch a closer glimpse of the roses or azaleas or tulips or lilies in full bloom. Gardening has some sort of purpose behind it, just like any other leisure activity. Some may say that what you do in leisure has no purpose, yet it does have some sort of purpose. You want to relax from a long week’s work in the office, get outside and away from rowdy children, just enjoy life and breath a bit. That’s definitely a purpose, I would say.

But if it has a purpose, why not make your work have as much impact as possible. Make it visible to those who can see it: people driving by, jogging down the street, walking their dogs. But you want to see it, too. Sit on your porch with your laptop, browsing the latest stock figures and news events, and be able to look up and see the beauty of creation around you. That’s what I’d like to do.

Only problem is, my house barely has a porch. Just a cement block with three crumbling steps leading up to the doorway. A faded welcome mat, a broom leaning against the wall, and an old pair of sneakers encrusted with dirt adorn this “porch.” Not very attractive, I must say, and not very complementary to the gardens in front.

What could I do? Well, I can consider the possible options. Plant some flowers that will grow high enough to block the view of this hideous porch. Plant some trees that will grow and obscure the view—but no, they’ll take many years before they’re even close to high and thick enough.

I’m considering a third option, and liking it. Adding on a wraparound porch would give me a great view of my entire yard, and make the house look so much nicer. I’d like to hire a general contractor who specializes in home remodeling. A guy who’s had years of experience building homes and additions and rebuilding old ones. He could come and give me an estimate of how much it would cost to build this porch, and could recommend what materials to purchase, what size to build it, etc. This option is sounding more appealing by the minute!

I’ve had great experience with some contractors in the past who really take a personal interest in their customers and want to satisfy their needs to the utmost. A contractor might offer me suggestions on what type of porch to build, whether open to the fresh air, or enclosed with glass to be a sun porch free from insects in the summer and warm in the winter.

Well, whatever he says, I’m going to trust the word of a reliable contractor. And soon I’ll be enjoying the view from my new porch.