Apparently, common sense died and no one bothered to write an obituary. That’s the only conclusion I can come to after reading and watching the news for the last few weeks.

First, we had the weird parents who staged the “Oops my kid stowed away in a hot air balloon, no he didn’t” fiasco. The jig was up when the poor kid mumbled something in a press conference about it all “being for a show.” We later learned that they did it so they could get their own reality show. Because, I guess, actually working for a living didn’t appeal to them. They’d already made two appearances on another reality show, “Wife Swap.” I guess that taste of “art” wasn’t enough for them. …CONTINUE READING »

I think the public school system here is giving my child growth hormones. It’s the only excuse I can come up with for the growth spurt she’s gone through this fall. Seriously, how can a six-year-old get so tall so quickly? We have to keep the snacks and candy even higher now that they’re within reach. She’s like Sasquatch — all arms and legs! (That’s her at left trimming one of our trees. See that skirt? It was knee-length six weeks ago!)

And this presents another problem: clothing. Dresses and skirts she wore just six weeks ago are suddenly go-go dress length. That’s fine if you’re Disco Barbie, but when you’re six? Not so much.

We have found a few brands that seem to last more than one season in both quality and wear. First, Hanna Andersson is fantastic in terms of seasonality. The It’s A Playdress, It’s A Daydress set from Hanna Andersson is perfect for layering. I buy one long-sleeve in the fall, and my daughter wears the dress with the coordinating leggings or alone with Ugg boots. By the following spring, it’s a bit shorter thanks to six months of growth, so she wears it with jeans and, as the weather gets warmer, knit capris. During the summer, I buy a short-sleeve set and we can wear the dress over jeans and layered atop a long-sleeved shirt long into the winter. (Best of all, these dresses have great resale value at consignment shops and on eBay!) …CONTINUE READING »

In the spirit of Thanksgiving and helping others during the holiday season, this year the team at Kudzu held its first annual Kudzu CAN Help canned food drive.

To build up some friendly competitive spirit, we divided the staff into teams to see which group could bring in the most items to donate.  The winning team brought in 155 items just between the 5 people on the team alone!  All together, Kudzu collected 474 nonperishable food items to donate.

This year, the beneficiary of all the food items donated was the North Fulton Community Charities, a non-profit organization in the Roswell, GA area that assists families with food, housing and clothing during times of need.

The team at Kudzu wished everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving!

Our friends at Valpak have some tips to help us through the holidays! There is more to saving money these days than clipping coupons…Read on..

Valpak® offers money-saving tips for getting through the holidays

Don’t overlook some of the simplest ways to save money this season. Getting help with holiday savings is as easy as looking in your mailbox, going online or by grabbing your phone.

10 ways to save money with Valpak coupons this season

1. You always have your cell phone with you – make sure you download Valpak’s free app for iPhoneTM and iPod® touch. Smart phone users can also find coupons online. Wherever you go, as long as you have a computer, or smart phone, you can visit Valpak.com and type in your ZIP code to find deals.

2. Time is at a premium during the shopping season, and that means quick serve restaurants work well. You can find coupons for quick serve restaurants, casual dining, family and sit-down dining, pizza, sub shops, and upscale restaurants. …CONTINUE READING »

Part of being human is getting sick. I understand that. What I have a hard time grasping, however, are mutant colds and flu bugs that take a couple weeks or longer to conquer – that and a pharmaceutical supply of different meds to alleviate all of the debilitating symptoms.

Let me share my most recent under-the-weather horror story, because I’m still not completely better – and honestly, I’ve been too exhausted before today to complain at great lengths about how it all went down.

On Tuesday, November 10^th, I started sneezing. It wasn’t the kind of sneeze that just happened out of the blue and went away. There was actually an entire sneeze family that came to visit me over the course of a couple days, and they had a family reunion in my nose.

A couple days later, my throat started to feel scratchy. Egads! My uneasy suspicion about getting sick was confirmed. I officially had something, but I hung in the rest of the week at work, determined that I was going to fight it off. And because I’m a Facebook addict, I updated my FB status with my symptoms. …CONTINUE READING »

I am a reading fanatic. I read like alcoholics drink. But it’s becoming like a crap shoot to find books I’ll like.

Sometimes I read the book jacket to get an idea of what the book is about. I’ve rejected books based on the description of what they’re about. Sometimes when such a book becomes popular, I’ll give in and buy it and then end up loving it. (For example, the description of Water for Elephants talks about it being about a circus. I had no desire to read about a circus, but then I started seeing it on bestseller lists and gave in. It’s a great book.)

I love books whose characters are deep and vivid and well thought out. I like scrappy characters who have to overcome life obstacles like poverty or prejudice or family issues. (If you have any recommendations, feel free to share them.)

Publishing companies depend on the dust-jacket perusal. It’s their chance to make the case for the worthiness of the book. That’s why they list quotes on there that someone has said about the book—they think you’re going to take somebody else’s word for the book’s quality and buy it.

This isn’t so much of a problem if that somebody else is Publishers Weekly or the New York Times Book Review. What gets a little dicey is when they include a really positive quote from someone you’ve never heard of, like… …CONTINUE READING »

You can use the economy as an excuse to skimp on giving to charity this year. OR, you can do it our way: Give advice on Kudzu and give twice!

For every review you write on Kudzu between now and January 31, 2010, we’ll will donate a dollar to KaBOOM!, an organization dedicated to building safe playgrounds for kids across America.

So take a minute and share your favorites:

• Know a reliable handyman?
• Can you recommend a good landscaper, painter, remodeler?
• Who fixed your roof? Built your deck? Cleaned your carpet?

Let’s help kids play! Thanks, and spread the word! Go to http://www.kudzu.com/hgtv

La-Z-Boy just delivered our sectional! It’s bright red, and I worried about the felt on the pool table matching — it’s perfect! We’re leaving the pool table put up in the closet until after Thanskgiving since I’m hosting the holiday meal here. (I feel like such a grown-up!)

We’ve hit one snafu — the granite countertop won’t be in for Thanksgiving. I even resorted to calling and BEGGING the kitchen company (it wasn’t pretty), but we’re too far down on the schedule. (My husband had planned to bribe the man who came out to measure before the granite is cut but he saved his C-note since the guy had no influence over scheduling.)

I’m headed to IKEA in Cincinnati tomorrow to collect the finishing touches: knobs for the bar; end tables; towel bars for the bathroom; rugs; trash cans and curtains. I’ve even got pictures framed and ready to be hung!

So, what’s left? The bathroom is still unfinished (and currently filled with tools), the doors need to be hung; we’re missing a couple of pieces of trim; paint needs to be touched up; the pool table light needs to be installed — and of course, there’s the small matter of my countertops (boo kitchen company!).

But, we’re celebrating with our best friends tonight — pizza and champagne in the new basement!!