Four Favorite Things I Love Right Now! Part 18

I actually planned to write this Four Faves last week, but decided to write about finding my lost friends instead.

Update:  I found one of them on FaceBook and wrote her, but no word back yet.  Fingers crossed!

So these favorites were actually the things I loved last week (as opposed to Right Now!), but I definitely still love them.  If you missed Part 17, visit it here: http://blog.paigemcdaniel.org/2014/06/four-favorite-things-i-love-right-now.html

Now, on to the good stuff:

1.  Savory Saltine Seasoning for crackers makes something mundane into something absolutely addictive.  You buy this stuff (I buy mine on Smile.Amazon and choose Community Partners of Dallas as my charity, natch.  You should too.), put it in a big ass zip lock, add canola oil, mix, then add a whole box of saltines, shake around and let the stuff soak in, then deliciousness arrives at your house like a freight train, people.

2.  I love burning candles and this tool is a must -- a wick cutter.  I got this one from Circle E Candles in Fredericksburg many years ago and I love it.  Before I had this I would go get part of a paper towel and pinch the wick off with my fingers before lighting it, but this thing is so much better.  The disk shape next to the blades catch the black wick and then you just take it to the trash and you're done.

3.  I wish that I could have taken a photo of this lasagna before my mom and I devoured it, but I was too late.  The photo speaks for itself.  Buy it at Jimmy's -- fresh, delicious, OMG goodness.  Jimmy's Food Store is at 4901 Bryan Street and if you haven't ever been there, you are in for a treat.  I call it the Italian Kuby's and they have everything you need to prepare your own Italian food, or just make it look like you did.  They have great wine dinners too and the deli sandwiches are some of the best in town.

4.  The final favorite for this installment is our volunteers at CPD.  As you may know, we are in the middle of our Back-to-School Drive and truly, we could not put together 2,600 backpacks filled with supplies and uniforms without volunteers.  For the past several weeks (and for many weeks to come) volunteers will be the reason the caseworkers of Child Protective Services get these vital tools for their kiddos.  Thanks from the bottom of my heart if you have been part of the workforce over here!

Until next time -- Paige

Four Favorite Things I Love Right Now! Part 5

It's Four Favs Time Again!

The regular readers of this blog (the tens and tens of you) may have noticed that I have started writing about my four favorite things about once a month.  Click here to see part 4:  http://blog.paigemcdaniel.org/2012/09/four-favorite-things-i-love-right-now.html

If you haven't guessed, I really, really love to give advice, so telling you about my favorite products and food items is a real joy.  I'm glad that you like them too, so here goes:

1. Andrew Weil Vitamins -- I decided early in the year (While at Miraval -- a future fav thing for sure!) to start taking vitamins regularly.  Dr. Weil's website asks you a bunch of questions about your health and then recommends the ones you should take.  They come in the mail and are packaged together according to time of day they should be taken.  I have to say that since I've been taking them, I have been healthier.  I definitely feel better and have not been as prone to illness.  Take the vitamin advisor test here:  https://www.drweilvitaminadvisor.com/drw/ecs/Va2/land_goog_08girl.html?aid=999910&aparam=Google_S_andrew_weil&gclid=CLWxh5fymbMCFU6mPAodCQUAiQ
2. Kuby's Pimento Cheese -- Surely almost everyone in Dallas has tried this fabulous stuff, but it you haven't, get thee to Kuby's Sausage House in Snider Plaza now.  It comes in jalapeno and plain (I actually get both and mix them together for just the right spice for me) and buy their bagel chips to spread it on.  This is my go-to treat for new neighbors.  Run to Kuby's, buy the pint sized jalapeno version, the bagel chips, and put all in a cute gift bag with your personalized note card (from Paper Affair of course) and welcome them.  Be sure to give them all your phone numbers and tell them which house you live in in the note (if your notecard envelope doesn't have your address, that is).  Don't forget to buy yourself some pimento cheese too!
3. The Hunger Games -- this book by Suzanne Collins is amazing.  If you saw the movie, I still think you would like it.  I read it at the recommendation of a friend (before I saw the film) and couldn't put it down.
4. CPD Pens -- Our Community Partners of Dallas-branded pens are just the perfect pen for me.  They are blue ink, have a clicker (so no pen cap to keep up with), and just write really well.  We always get them for our events, so if you attend the Chick Lit Luncheon on April 5, 2013, you'll get one of your very own.  In the meantime, you can come to our office and I'll be sure that you are gifted on the spot!

What are your four favs?

P.S.  My #FundraisingFriday gift is going to Highland Park United Methodist Church.  They are on their way over here right now with blankets and more -- love my church!

Finding the cheapest price sucks.

I’m tired of having to fight over prices.

I don’t want to clip coupons.  I am sick of getting all of those groupons in my inbox each day for laser hair removal (Do they think I’m a Sasquatch or a Kardashian or something?).  I think that it is super gross that when I fly that the person next to me might have paid less (or more) than me for the same exact service (which is pretty crappy, BTW).

I’m tired of it.

I want to find a TV I like and pay for it.  I don’t want to check online to see if I can get it cheaper somewhere else, and then make them match the price.  When I get the renewal bill from Sirius XM Satellite Radio, I want to pay it and get it off my desk, but I know that if I wait, then tell them I want to cancel my service, I’ll get it cheaper.

Life is too short for this crap.  But this crap is nothing.

Today, we had a great meeting for our Community Partners of Dallas’ woman’s auxiliary group (called The Partnership).  About 40 of us met at a beautiful home, had a delicious lunch donated from Kuby’s (pimento cheese – yum!), and heard from 3 angels on earth – caseworkers from Dallas County Child Protective Services.

The caseworkers told us about their jobs and about the children they protect and serve.  About a 7 year old boy who was forced to stand with his hands behind his back and take a punch to the face from his father, over and over again.  About a mother who chose her new sex-offender husband over her 4 teenage daughters.

We heard about heartbreaking cases and about the work that caseworkers do each and every day.

Yes, I’m sick of fighting over prices.  But that is nothing compared to how sick I am of abusive parents.

One of our auxiliary members asked one of the caseworkers what she would change if she had a magic wand to end the abuse.  The caseworker said this:

I wish that I could get into the minds of these parents and change them.

Me too.