My brother-in-law’s (well, the older of the two — I have two BILs and two SILs!) 24th birthday is just a week or so after mine (I turn 24 on June 13th). I really want to get him something nice this year. We had plans to do something nice last year, but they feel through. So anyway, I know he likes sports, and his girlfriend doesn’t, so when she buys things for him, she doesn’t get him anything sports-related. He loves football, and I’m pretty sure that one of his favorite teams is the Pittsburgh Steelers. So, I’m thinking about one of these jerseys:

The question is, which one? sidelineapparel.com has a lot of NFL football jerseys in general, and over a dozen ones on the Pittsburgh Steelers NFL Jerseys, Caps and Apparel page.

Hmm. I think I’m going to quiz both my husband and my other brother-in-law for suggestions!

Here’s where I break down and admit that I am a total, shameless loser. As a kid, you’d find me with my nose stuck in a book. Babysitter’s Club, Little Sister Karen, R.L. Stine, Christopher Pike, Judy Blume, and then I graduated to romance novels and the occasional non-fiction when I was in my early teens. I still love to read, actually. I just finished Anthony Bourdain’s Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly. Great read. I’m disappointed that I got through it so quickly!

Anyway, the point is, I was such an easy kid to buy Christmas and birthday presents for. Save the nfl jerseys for the other kids in the family; I wanted books! And legos! And k’nex! And Polly Pocket!

Come to think of it, my husband must be a bit of a loser too… he isn’t that much into sports, either. Oh, he makes a big deal out of seeing the Superbowl every year, but other than that he doesn’t watch a lick of football!

If you’re very into football, or you have a friend or family member that is, why not consider looking into sidelineapparel.com? One of the things I’m getting for my brother for his thirteenth birthday is a Pittsburgh Steeler’s t-shirt, and I was impressed of the line of NFL Apparel that sidelineapparel.com has to offer.

In addition to the t-shirt or jersey, I want to get him a gift certificate. I’m just not sure which store I should get him a gift card for. I could do GameStop, although I did that last year. He is really into books, so I could just do another Borders or B&N card. Or maybe go for the surefire one and pick Target? You can get anything at Target!

The husband keeps trying to talk me into internet satellite. I can definitely see the appeal. Currently, and since 2004, we have been with one of the crappiest companies out there, Comcast. I know they’re trying to do a lot with their image through commercials and reaching out to people at getsatisfaction.com, but overall, I’m not impressed with them.

Why? I’ll tell you why: for a year’s worth of aggravations, damages done to our lawn that weren’t repaired or reimbursed, and dangerous items left at my mother’s house, we were “compensated” with a year of HBO. A channel we barely watch to begin with, and one I had planned on canceling, anyway. Big deal. *eyeroll*

I think a lot of businesses are smart to invest in business satellite internet. And why shouldn’t they? DSL or cable internet connection speeds for businesses can be very costly, and a pain in the butt to get set up, what with all of the routers, hubs and access points. A business can surpass all of that hassle by choosing instead to use business satellite internet.

ipinternational.net is one company that offers satellite internet options for businesses. In addition, they also have other services, including fixed and mobile satellite communications solutions.

You know what? The more issues we have with our cable and internet service provider, Comcast, the more I consider using a satellite communications provider for our internet connection, at the very least. I can’t tell you the number of times we have had our Comcast provided internet connection go down, and for no reason at all. I’ll call the Comcast reps, and they’ll tell me they don’t see a problem on their end, so it must be our router/computer/craptacular luck.
Then they try to console me with the fact that our cable television still works. Hello? I work from home, VIA THE INTERNET. Our phone is Vonage, which means it comes in VIA THE INTERNET. So damn, give me my internet!

My vacuum isn’t anything special. It isn’t a Dyson, or a Rainbow. It isn’t one of those Electrolux vacuums, and it certainly isn’t one of those stupid looking and stupidly named Roombas.

My vacuum is made by Sharp. It’s an upright vacuum clean with a twin engine. The engine is also closed off from the suction part. This doesn’t sound like much, until you have kids and pets. Imagine sucking up legos, tiny toys, dried hunks of play-doh and broken bits of crayons with your average vacuum. The results — squealing belts, smoking vacuum, out of service vacuum and repair bill — wouldn’t be pretty. But my vacuum? It keeps on chugging. I was in awe of and inspired by my mom’s vacuum, which is the same one, only an older model that she bought back in ‘97. So when Dan and I went shopping for a *good* vacuum cleaner in the summer of 2004, I knew exactly what I wanted — the same one my mom has.

Four years later and that bad boy is still roaring along, eating up everything in its path. Best $200 ever spent on an appliance.

An immigrant family left a 23-month-old boy in the Vancouver airport and learned he was missing only when contacted during the next leg of the trip.

How does something like this happen? I’m sorry, but the excuse of the family members splitting up into different groups does NOT fly with me. You DON’T go more than ten feet without making sure that you can SEE your child safely secured in the arms of whatever family member he/she is assigned to. I don’t care if you’re checking your email on your Crackberry, booking Outer Banks rentals or picking a wedgie, you do NOT let your kid out of your sight like that! Poor kid… at least he was found and kept safe until the idiotic parents could be notified!

- Article from CNN

Now that spring is officially almost over and the dreaded scorching heat of summer is just around the corner, Dan and I are busy dreaming up things we want to do with Alyssa and Ryan this summer. On my list: swimming, the Philadelphia zoo, the Please Touch Museum, perhaps the Franklin Institute, and the aquarium (NJ or Baltimore? We’re not yet decided). I’d also love to go to the beach.

On Dan’s list? Whatever I drag him to. Except for the beach. He hates the beach (doesn’t like water, has bad memories of very, very bad sunburns).

P.S. Do you need home theater carpet?

Bathroom vanities can range from Victorian décor to modern and chic.  Many people overlook their bathroom as an opportunity to decorate their home, but as the place in which we ready ourselves for the day and then visit multiple times throughout that day, it is comforting to have bathroom vanities that are suitable to our tastes.

To give your bathroom a complete makeover, focus on walls, lighting, bathroom vanities, hardware, and décor.

For great walls, play with vivid colors and textures that match your bathroom vanities.  Make sure the room is well-lit by finding an old lighting at an antique shop or on ebay to match your style.  Get rid of old and damaged bathroom vanities and replace them with bathroom vanities you really like.  To transform your floor, shop around for a tile, such a hotel tiles, or hardwood that complements your bathroom vanities.

Finally, add a touch of you – flowers, a picture you really like – something that makes your bathroom unique.