A Lifetime Supply of .. Toilet Seat Covers?

If you're anything like me, you really, really hate using public restrooms. We have been working with Piper, trying to get a little more serious about potty training (I am so over diapers) but my biggest hesitation has been using public restrooms. I don't like to use them myself, but the thought of my daughter in the ickiest place at any given restaurant/grocery store/etc? She likes to touch everything! *cringe* I've never even been the type to change her diaper in a public restroom - I always took her to the car and changed her in the back of the Trailblazer. So, you get the picture, I hate public restrooms.

My grandma-in-law also hates public restrooms. We were fortunate enough to see her this past Saturday while we were home over Memorial Day weekend, and I got quite the unexpected gift! It's too hilarious not to share.

The story she included with the seat covers:

I just have to share my story! We decided this week to take a 19-day bus tour back to the New England States and Maritime Provinces. We've talked about trying a bus tour and decided to do it! 

I do NOT like public bathrooms. Gina (her daughter), always laughs and says her mother is the only person she knows who has been away from home for 30 days and didn't use a public restroom. When I thought of 19 days and all of those PUBLIC restrooms, I about changed my mind about taking the trip. 

Many restrooms have those paper toilet seat covers but not all. So, why don't I buy some of those covers? On to eBay I went and found lots of choices. They even had small personal size containers of them to carry in your purse! The price was good but the postage was horrible! What should I do? Why couldn't I buy a box of them and package my own? I checked out several different stores online and then found Sam's Club. They listed a box of 250, the price was good, and the shipping was free, making them about the same price as the small personal size package. I whipped out the credit card and ordered a box of 250. I could surely use and give away that many covers.

Today, they arrived. Not only did I get a box of 250, I now have 20 boxes of 250, for a grand total of FIVE THOUSAND TOILET SEAT COVERS. 

Lyle and I laughed until we nearly cried. Will I ever live long enough to use them? Oh my! I had simply misread, all 20 boxes were included in the price. I just wanted to share and give you a laugh. Could you use some seat covers? :)

This happened quite some time ago but she still has plenty of toilet seat covers to go around. I imagine 250 covers will be enough to last me a lifetime! I will definitely always keep a few stored in a ziploc baggy in my purse.  I will surely giggle every time I  whip out one of these covers!

What I'm Loving Wednesday

--I'm always loving Craigslist! I am in the midst of listing TONS of stuff for sale and it is so easy to do in this area. You get so much more out of things than you do in a garage sale! 

 --I'm loving going through our pictures from our weekend visit to Kansas for Memorial Day. It was SO good to go home and visit and see everyone. It's been way too long!

--Turkey Bacon Ranch pinwheels. I had them for the first time last night at Lindsey's house and they are the BOMB. I want to make more today! I normally don't like pinwheels but these were super yummy.

Saturday 9

Somebody That I Used to Know

1. How do you feel when you realize that an impasse will cause a relationship (any type) to end? --Honestly, this didn't really happen  because I was so young when I met Mitchell that the guys I dated before him weren't serious enough for there to be an impasse. 

2. You’re planning a trip that would be an eight-hour car ride, a four-hour train ride, or a two-hour plane ride. With money and time being no object, which would you most likely choose and why? -I would reluctantly fly. I hate flying with every fiber of my being but if it would save me 6 hours of travel time with a toddler, I'd do it. Assuming my husband could be the pilot. I refuse to walk through a full-body scanner or let them grope me, so flying commercially is out.

3. What is your ideal past time on a lazy summers day? --Reading on the back porch while my daughter plays in the back yard. :) 

4. Name a CD you own that no one else on your friends list does. --The Warren Brothers? I used to looooove the Warren Brothers and nobody knows who they are, ha. 

5. What's a wish of yours? --Um, I unrealistically wish I could make Mitchell's tumor just magically disappear so it wasn't something we'd have to struggle with for the rest of forever. We try not to think about it. 

6. What is something you're going to do a lot of this week? --Laundry. And driving. 

7. Is there someone you wish would just fall off the face of this earth? --Of course! But I'm not gonna name names. ;-) 

8. What did you do last night? --We went to IHop for supper, then ran to Home Depot, came home, put Piper to bed. Then we went through Piper's toy box and threw away junky toys and packed up toys she doesn't play with anymore. And then we went to bed at 11pm. What a happenin' Friday night. :P 

9. Where is the next place you'd like to go vacation? --Realistically or in my dreams? Mitchell and I always wanted to go to Vegas, DC, or Hawaii before we had kids so in our dream-world, it would be one of those places. Realistically, I am hoping we can swing a 3 or 4 day weekend to the beach sometime this Fall. I would love to get some cute pictures of Piper on the beach for the first time! :0) All we'd have to do is pay for a hotel room and eat on the cheap - if we spent our days on the beach, the trip wouldn't be too expensive. We haven't had a vacation for several years so I really hope we can make it a reality at some point within the next year, even if it's just a small, simple trip.

Did you know that you can BAKE bacon?

I sure didn't! This is another little Pinterest gem I've latched on to lately and I'm so glad I came across it.

Honestly, I was highly skeptical when I first heard of baking bacon. For me, bacon is the holy grail of meat. I always joke that I could never be a vegetarian because I love bacon way, way too much. And it's true! I'm a big fan of pan-fried bacon and it's the only way I've ever cooked it. I hate, hate, haaate microwaved bacon - it just doesn't taste as good and it's flobby. Ew!

So, I had my doubts. I really, really did. I'm happy to report, however, that it turns out great!

All you do is line a couple of baking sheets with aluminum foil (for ease of clean up), lay the bacon in a single layer, pop it in the oven at 400*, and let it bake for approximately 15-20 minutes. It is very important to keep a close eye on the bacon or you will overcook it and that would not be good! Keep a close eye on the bacon as it cooks and pull it out when it reaches your desired bacon consistency (I know some people prefer their bacon a little flobbier, some like it pretty crunchy).

One pound of bacon takes two baking sheets.

That's all there is to it! It is SO much easier than pan-frying the bacon! No more getting popped by the bacon grease, no more nasty clean-up (it doesn't make a mess in your oven!), and no more standing over a hot frying pan, flipping your bacon around.

It works! Give it a try. I'm sure glad I did! :)

What I'm Loving Wednesday

--I love Allegra-D. My allergies have been horrible for the past couple of months and Allegra-D is the only thing that helps. The generic works just as well for a fraction of the price. 

--Piper and I have been spending lots of time playing with Play-Doh lately and I get such a kick out of it. It's one of my favorite things to do with her. I also really dig the smell of Play-Doh.  :)

--I am warming my favorite of all the awesome Scenty options, Cherry Limeade, and I love it. It's so summery and I never grow tired of this yummy smell.

The plants are growin'!

I'm back and ready to jump back in to blogging again! Things have been pretty busy for our little family but it's time to get back in to the swing of things after all the excitement around parrforthecourse.com in the past couple of months. ;)


I just came in from tending to the garden and decided it was time to post a garden update! In seven weeks, we've gone from this:

To this:

Quite a difference in just a few weeks! :0) We are really excited about how well our first garden is doing! Each tomato plant is teeming with tomatoes and a couple of the cherry tomatoes are ready to pick already! Last night, we ate our first cucumber from our own garden and it was delicious. We need to add a wood post to the cucumber trellis to support it a little better - that's on the agenda for the coming weekend. 

A few more garden pictures:

Our cucumber plant yields HUGE cucumbers - about three times this size!

Our first red tomatoes! :0)

Piper loves to dig in the garden. We have to keep a close eye on her. ;-)

All in all, I would say whatever we're doing is working quite well! It's such a rewarding feeling to see all the hard work pay off. Hopefully the garden continues to do well!