Every once in a while a product that’s been on the shelves for a long time but never got your attention before will suddenly grab your attention and end up in your shopping cart. Sometimes it is placement on the store shelves that moves and you realize you are out of your routine. Sometimes it is new packaging, such as brighter colors on the box design or change from a box to a resealable bag. Sometimes it must be a mental response to a commercial or even subliminal advertising.

Well, whatever the reason, today I noticed a bag of chicken jerky in the aisle for dog treats. It seemed to be a good sized bag with multiple treats inside, so I decided on a lark to buy a bag and see if my dog likes them. We haven’t broken into the bag yet but I’ll let you know if they are a hit or a miss.

The 3 day weekend celebration for Labor Day has officially arrived and the weather is making it a challenge for anyone to make any type of plans for any kind of outside activities so it is any one’s guess and we will just have to take it one day at a time.

Took the family out to dinner tonight at our favorite family restaurant, The Golden Coral, their large buffet makes it the perfect place to take everyone and suites every ones needs and wants perfectly, and doesn’t cost an arm and a leg either. I thought that it would have been packed, being as it being a Friday night and all, but we were pleasantly surprised to find that it was not busy what so ever and had a whole section that was empty at one point. Guess the economy really has hit this area hard, if the Golden Coral isn’t able to keep at full restaurant on what is usually the busiest night of the week for local restaurants in this area.

I figured the family was due to a night out at our favorite local restaurant, so last night we gathered up the kids, brought in the dog and put out the cat and we all headed out the door.

The best restaurant that we have come up with that satisfies everyone’s desires, is The Golden Corral, it offers a fantastic buffet, for a very decent price. We usually stay an well over an hour, taking our time, going back for seconds, and thirds, and then of course, we can’t leave until our bellies are completely jam packed with the tasting of at least one of the many desserts that they have on display for you to drool over.

It turned out to be a nice evening, everyone was in a good mood, no one copped an attitude and we all came home well feed and satisfied.

The weather man has told us that tomorrow is supposed to be a great weather day, not a horribly hot and humid day, as we have been experiencing the better part of this year, so far. So it sounds like the perfect day to take the family to some type of outdoor fun, but it seems that no two family members can come to an agreement on what we should spend the day doing. So far we have votes for going to the water park, miniature golf & go carting, the zoo, the flea market, with the last being my vote which is for a day on the lake, take along a picnic lunch, the dog, a Frisbee or two and plenty of fishing gear.

The kids are now all ready in bed, and it is getting late and no final decision has been made as of yet, so I have decided that by 10:00 tomorrow morning either they have got their plans in order and things packed and ready to go or we do what I threw into the hat and that will be that.

Tomorrow will be a good day for a picnic and fishing!

Summer is more than half way over with, and every one of our kids are all scheduled to start their sleep away camps in the next couple of weeks. The wife always schedules this much anticipated outdoor adventure for the kids at this most perfect time, they have begun to show signs of boredom at having any structured activities per say. Although they are still enjoying staying up until all hours of the night, playing video games, on the Internet, watching late night movies and then, of course, sleeping in way late almost every single day. It isn’t that they haven’t done a darn thing since school ended, trips to the pool, the park/playground, a week end or two at the beach, friends over, 4th of July festivities, movie nights, restaurants, sleep overs, and all that has been keeping them from going stir crazy and getting into trouble. The wife is a firm believer of “Busy Hands are Happy Hands”

The thoughts are starting all ready about back to school issues, new clothes, school supplies, back packs, shoes, purses, hair styles, combination locks, etc. Commercials are just now starting to advertise the new “Back to School” latest trendy and stylish fashions and offering their ”Lowest Prices of the Season” for anything that seems back to school related.

It will be a rude awakening when these poor kids will have to rise and shine at the break of dawn down at camp, that is if they don’t start getting back in the habit of waking up at such an early hour starting about now. Thank God that the wife deals with this issue every year before the camping begin.