Can't see the forest for the trees.

Mark started griping when he saw news about a remake of the movie, "The Explorers".

Me:  I'm not familiar with the original.
Mark:  What? How can you not know?!  Ethan Hawke? River Phoenix?
Me:  Nope.
Mark:  Dear god woman, what kind of childhood did you have?!
Me:  I played outside. In forests and stuff.
Mark:  So did I!
Me:  You lived in Milwaukee and your "cabin" was not in real woods.
Mark:  ...there were trees...

It's been 30 seconds since I last used...

I might have a little bit of an eBook problem.  I own paper books.  I love the library.  But it is really hard to control myself when presented with free and cheap Kindle books.  I also buy books at full price when I love a series or find something I must.have.now.  I have over 500 unread books waiting on my Kindle right now and that isn't even all of them.  I "lost" a bunch when my previous Kindle died and and haven't re-downloaded the older books that I'd acquired before that point.  I'm afraid to do that.  What if my device explodes?

I'd like to share my addiction with you so I'm not alone on the dark side of literacy.  These are my favorite dealers for my drug of choice:

 Pixel Of Ink
http://www.pixelofink.com/



Inspired Reads
http://www.inspiredreads.com/

eReader Love
http://ereaderlove.com/



I also have an Amazon Prime membership, which allows me to borrow a book for free every month.  They also have Kindle First, http://www.amazon.com/gp/digital/kindle/botm which spotlights four new or pre-release books each month, and you can choose one for free.  If you don't have a Prime membership, you can get one for $1.99.

No Kindle?  Use a the free app!
http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html/ref=sv_kstore_3?ie=UTF8&docId=1000493771

They grow up so quickly

This morning at breakfast, Ethan decided to educate me about the potential health benefits of having a glass of red wine.  I have no idea where he got the information but it was accurate to current standards.  I almost expected him to start telling me which wines he preferred with which foods.  Since he is only 11, I felt compelled to tell him about the potential problems caused by drinking too much.

Liberty Creek Wines

I decided to try Liberty Creek wine because the register at the grocery store spit out a couple $2 off coupons.  Coupons for wine are a novelty so I went in search of it.

The first thing I noticed was the size of the bottle - 1.5 liters, which is called a Magnum.  It is double the size of a standard wine bottle.

The second thing I noticed was the shelf price - $6.99.  Wait, what?  This was not in the section that contained the Franzia and Arbor Mist.  With my coupon, that comes down to $4.99 per bottle.  Now I HAD to buy it.

I chose a Pinot Grigio and a Merlot.  Both tasted nice.  Nice is really the most descriptive word I can use. It is a straight up, no frills table wine.

Both smell pleasant straight out of the bottle.  There is no whiff of alcohol fumes.  Both have mild flavors that are pleasant.  As described by the maker, they have a light finish.

The problem is, both lack anything resembling body.  There is nothing that makes you slow down to sip, savor and think while drinking it.  You could easily chug down a tumbler full of this wine before realizing what you had done, which is not a good idea with the 12% alcohol per volume.

Although there is no Wow-factor, it is nice and I don't have any reason to say it should be avoided.  I'd call it a tall step up from wine cooler, but not something you'd bring as a hostess gift to a formal dinner party.  I can picture it working well for informal settings like summertime parties outdoors or as a stepping stone for a newbie wine drinker.

http://www.libertycreekwine.com

The Express Line

Mark and I made a quick stop at the grocery store as the last in our string of things to do before heading home.  We picked up our six items and went to the open "Express Checkout - 15 Items or Less" line.

There was a woman there, just starting to checkout.  She was well dressed with 'done' hair; older but not elderly.  She had a few things and seemed like it would be quick.  Some of it was fresh produce which required a moment to weigh and type in the code.  The cashier finished and the woman pulled out a coupon.  It wouldn't scan so the cashier typed in the number and the problem was solved.

The new total came up and the woman reached into her purse to pull out a checkbook.  She put that down and dove back in, looking for a pen.  Once she found the pen she carefully filled out the check as if she was a scribe recording a holy document.

At this point, Mark and I looked at each other and tried not to laugh.  It seems like every time we pick what should be the fast route, something happens to slow it down.

The woman finished her check and put away the book and pen.  The cashier waited until the woman looked up again and asked to see ID.  "You need ID?!" she gasped, as if she had never heard of such a thing.  Back into the purse she went until she came up with the ID.

The cashier wrote down some info, then entered it into the register.  S-l-o-w-l-y.  Beep.....beep.........beep beep............beep......  We couldn't help it anymore and cracked up loudly.  The transaction was finally finished but since no one was helping bag the cashier had to do that as well.

The woman went on her way as Mark and I stepped forward.  At this point, there were three other people waiting in line behind us.

Our six items were scanned very quickly and the total popped up on the screen.  Then I handed the cashier three coupons....