my kids’ career goals…
the 12-year old: “I want to be a paleontologist so that I can go on far off excursions to discover rare fossils.”
the 8-year old: “I want to own my own company so that I can hire and fire people.”
and finally the 6-year old: “I want a lemonade stand.”
Like most cat owners, I’m on a mission to find some decent cat litter. Back when we initially adopted our little kitty, we started out with “Scoop Away” simply because it’s a popular brand and is widely available at most grocery stores. Well, we learned very quickly that it wasn’t a good choice for our household. Before I continue let me make it clear that I’m far from being an expert on this matter but I thought I’d share what I’ve learned so far…
Scoop Away Scented Cat Litter – This is a pretty well known brand of cat litter and heavily marketed on television and in magazines. We bought it thinking that it must be popular for a good reason. Well, the brand ended up not being a good fit in our household. First of all, Scoop Away is very dusty. Even though the package states that it’s 99.9% dust free, it ain’t so. Also the scented version smells like cheap perfume and the smell eventually overwhelms the senses. Yes, it does a good job in masking odor but that simply because you can’t smell much else BUT the cheap perfume smell. Since this is a clay-based litter, it clumps very well but I learned that clay isn’t good for a cat’s digestive system. Yes, I know a cat is not going to outright eat the stuff but the bits of litter gets on their fur & feet and you guessed it, the cat will inevitably digest it while cleaning themselves off. Oh and another downside was that the litter tracked quite a bit so we ended up with dust and bits of litter in our carpets and on our furniture. ugh. next up…
World’s Best Cat Litter (original formula) – Since learning of the health issues associated with clay-based products, we went with a corn-based litter called, what else, “The World’s Best Cat Litter”. Well unfortunately, it turns out, it’s NOT the world’s best cat litter after all. I mean, I like the fact that it’s natural and safe for cats and it clumps OK. But there are some negatives – there’s still a fine, yellow dust with this corn based litter. so you may end up with yellow paw prints after your cat’s visit to the litter box. And it does a poor job with deodorizing cat waste. the smell just lingers around a long while after the cat has done its business. We regularly scoop out (panning for gold) the box twice a day and it still smelled bad. blech.
World’s Best Cat Litter (multi-cat formula) – because of the odor issue, we tried out the multi-cat version of “World’s Best Cat Litter”. Again, it’s a natural, corn-based litter and it supposed to have an extra additive for fighting odors. And it did a better job with odors compared to the original formula but still a bit lacking.
So, just like the almighty Bono of U2, I still haven’t found what I’m looking for. At this point, I know that I’m sticking with an all-natural type litter. Or at least that’s my intention. I like the multi-cat version of the World’s Best Cat Litter but it needs to do a better job in absorbing odors.
So the hunt continues…
Read more…
let’s see what I’ve got packed for lunch today…
alright! the wife packed me kimbap today. normally, it’s the usual ho-hum turkey sandwich and chips but I’m pleasantly surprised to find kimbap in my lunch box today.
hhhhmmmm, what did I do to deserve this?
..uummm, nothing really comes to mind…
uh oh. I’m getting a bit suspicious now.
is the wife trying to soften me up for some big purchase in the near future???
hhhmmmmm…
The wife and I have been considering doing some updates to our kitchen. Our kitchen is pretty standard in terms of cabinets and appliances so there’s definitely room for improvement. We recently attended a home improvement expo and there were some undermount kitchen sinks that caught our eye. For those that aren’t familiar, undermount sinks are attached underneath the countertop which look a whole lot more modern and appealing than the usual “drop-in” sinks. And with granite or quartz countertops, undermounts are pretty much the way to go nowadays. And once the wife and I finally agree on the type of replacement countertops to go with, we’ll probably use MR Direct to order the sink. From our research, the online retailer offers fantastic prices on a variety of different styles and sizes. And most importantly, they’re accredited by the Better Business Bureau. But first things first – the wife and I are still going around in circles, trying to decide on the new color scheme of the cabinets and countertops.
This was a sponsored post written by me on behalf of MR Direct.
a child’s 8 AM game + temps in the 30’s = one grumpy soccer dad.
can you believe it? it’s already soccer season again. I thought I’d be able to sleep in on saturdays for at least a couple more weeks. come on!
harumph.
I get a kick out of visiting Food World over in Durham. It’s an Asian market that took over the space of a large grocery store in a faded old strip mall near downtown. The decor of the pre-existing supermarket hasn’t been touch all that much so when you walk through the place you get a weird mish-mash of cultures. The interesting twist on top of all that is that Food World also caters to the hispanic community that lives in the area. So there’s a section devoted to hispanic foods including a Taqueria. They make tortillas from scratch and the hot menu items look pretty authentic. Oh and there’s a fishmonger hidden in the back corner that get his fish fresh from Wilmington.
We don’t make the trek over to Food World too often since there’s a nicer (cleaner, more modern) Korean grocery store in Cary that we prefer. But I have to say that Food World’s got character. On our most recent visit (it had been about six months since our previous visit) we wondered if they had updated the look of the store to keep up with the new competition in Cary. NOPE. not a thing. Well, actually I think the hispanic presence in the store has become even more prominent now. and maybe the Taqueria/fishmonger feature of the store is enough to keep the place in business even with the competition across town. oh and surprisingly the prices of the various korean items we needed on our visit were just as high as they are in Cary. I would have thought with the lower rent in that part of Durham, the prices would reflect some sort of discount but I was wrong…
For the last couple of weeks, I’ve been helping out a colleague of mine who’s relatively new to the area. He’s been on the hunt for a new home but isn’t all that familiar with the various communities around town. Now, don’t get me wrong, he IS working with his own professional realtor but I guess he also wants an “unbiased” point of view on things as well. He happens to be a first time home buyer and is keen on taking advantage of the 2010 Homebuyers tax credit that’s currently available. As long as my buddy finds something before the April 30th deadline, he’ll qualify for a tax credit of up to $8,000.
oh and it turns out that FIRST TIME homebuyers aren’t the only ones that can benefit from these tax credits. Homeowners that are currently in the market for a new home can qualify for a tax credit of up to $6,500. The same deadlines apply and you have to have lived in the current house for 5 of the past 8 years.
With the low interest rates and the decline in home prices, it should be a good time to purchase a home. But with all the uncertainty surrounding our economy and the real estate market, I’m sure it’s still a tough decision to make for any prospective home buyer right now.
To learn more about the tax credits and the Real Estate Bailout be sure to check out ColdwellBanker.com. There you can find specifics on the homebuyer tax credits and how to qualify.
This was a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Coldwell Banker.
the wife just about had it with kids this past week. So in order to give her some much needed alone time, I took the kids out to the park. Actually, it was pretty much a no-brainer since it was sunny and temps reached into the 60s this past weekend. Definitely a nice change of pace after the long stretch of winter weather here in the area.
Since the kids were bored with the usual play areas in our vicinity we decided to make a trek across town. We hit one in Morrisville on saturday and did a different park in Cary on sunday (yes, the wife needed sunday afternooon to herself as well).
well, there they are – the source of conflict among my kids. video games.
The Wii, gamecube, gameboys, DS, playstation, you name it, they’re now banned from our household.
the wife and I warned our boys countless of times about taking away their nintendo if they didn’t stop all the whining, the in-fighting, name-calling and yelling while playing their games. It just got to the point where we had to just pack all their stuff away or else go crazy from all the noise and commotion the video games would bring. The constant fighting and bad behavior between brothers HAD to stop and the only way we knew to do this was to nip it at the source. the nintendo.
And wouldn’t you know it, the house was A LOT quieter this past weekend with the game systems boxed up.
but for how long?
we’ll just have to wait and see…
I know, I know, this is so stupid and I’m actually not a big fan of the show but damn, this made me laugh uncontrollably this morning. and I’m definitely overdue for some laughs…
now, don’t deny it. I see you laughing! 
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