Do you dream of chocolate during the Christmas season?  I know I do.  As a matter of fact, it’s really the only time of year that I actually crave sweets and chocolate is at the top of my list of must have foods.  I know that a lot of people love milk chocolate, but my passion has always been for dark chocolate or for chocolate and nuts.

I remember Christmas eve at my grandparents house.  There was always a dish filled with bite-sized candies, including chocolates, coffee candies and toffees.  Each time I walked through the hall I’d snatch a piece, starting with the dark chocolates and working my way through all of my grandfather’s coffee candies.  Only after all of those were gone did I move on to spun sugars or milk chocolate with almonds.  it was paradise for a five year old because nobody ever told me to stop, even though all the adults knew exactly what I was doing.

If you’re anything like me, you know someone who adores chocolate.  Perhaps you know someone who lives for it. (I do know that person, but I’m not naming names!)  Why not add a little sweetness to their holiday season with a gift of chocolate tucked inside a package with one of their other gifts?  It’s a nice surprise for them, and you get the satisfaction of knowing that they’ll have more than one thing to savor in that present.

For the kids, stuff that stocking with at least one piece of chocolate!  It’s Christmas, after all.  A little bit won’t kill them.  The tradition in my family was chocolate coins and a huge peppermint stick.  These were present in my stocking at Mom’s until the year she died, and they’re in my children’s stockings today.  They will be for as long as I can find them.

Do your holiday traditions include chocolate?  If so, what kinds?  If not, then what sweets did you look forward to as a child.  Inquiring minds want to know!

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At one time or another everyone finds themselves down at their local print shop to have something printed.  Whether it’s invitations, brochures, business cards or calendars for small business owners to give away to their customers it seems that everyone has a need for printed materials sooner or later.

Unfortunately getting to the printer can be inconvenient and expensive. Not only do you have to spend the time working with someone on the design you need, but you can’t always be sure how qualified or detail oriented the person helping you will be.  In the end it can be frustrating at best, especially if you’ve wasted an afternoon or two in their shop, rather than doing what you needed to be out doing.

Whether you’re a small business owner that needs the time to get the real job done or just a mother that needs to have some family or anniversary greeting cards made for a special occasion, consider using online printing to save yourself some time and money the next time you just have to have that something special printed up.

Don’t worry about the quality of the product.  You’ll have the chance to review he finished piece before you commit to a print run. You can order free samples of their work so that you can see and feel the quality of the work that will be provided for yourself beforehand.

Welcome to the Internet age.  Print online.  It saves you time, effort and money.

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…All while helping kids to have a healthier alternative to a Halloween treat.

This post is about having a little fun with your friends on twitter, helping the World Wildlife Fund and promoting good nutritional habits in kids, even on a traditionally unhealthy holiday like Halloween.

All parents know that getting kids to eat right can be a challenge.  There are simply a lot of foods most kids don’t want to eat, or simply will not eat.  All parents face this issue at one time or another, but what do you do to get your kids to eat properly? Do you have any methods that could help other parents get their picky eaters to eat better?

The folks over at Trick Or Treat Me have a way to help with a new line of shelf-stable dairy products like chocolate milk.  There’s a treat that’s Halloween basket worthy.  What kid doesn’t love chocolate milk?  pop on over and get a coupon to try it out.  Hopefully the kids will love it, and you’ll have one less thing to worry about over the course of a school day.

While your there, why not play along and Trick Or Treat Me on Twitter.  Just decide whether I deserve to get tricked or treated, enter @cbsop in the box and let me know how you feel.  Each and every time you Trick or Tweet someone you know, the event sponsors will donate 10¢ to The World Wildlife Fund on your behalf.

This is your opportunity to have some fun with your TwitterPeeps, help get kids a healthier diet and help out the world’s endangered wildlife population. So go on!  Do I deserve to be treated or tricked?  Is there someone you know that could use a chuckle or wouldn’t mind getting tricked?

Have a little fun, help save the world.  It’s all good!

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If you’re getting married or know someone who is, there are a million things that need to be done before the big day.  There’s the venue, the dress, guest lists, catering and of course, the rings.  But none of these things does you any good without the wedding invitations.  Seriously.  How are your guests going to find your wedding without an invitation?  how is the caterer going to set the menu without a list of R.S.V.P.’s?  One little piece of paper can make all the difference in the world.

Invitations need to be printed and local print shops can charge an arm and a leg for this service as well as printing for the other stationary necessary for the event.  Looking online can save time, effort and money, as well as a lot of stress if you are planning the event yourself.  123print offers thousands of print options that can help you make the most of this special occasion and any other time you have the need of a professional printing service.  give them a look.  I think you’ll find that tey have something that works for you.

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Branson Missouri is home to a mother load of attractions, from live performance theaters, amusement parks and championship golf courses, but for me there are far more interesting things to do in Branson that watch a show.  The restaurant scene in Branson is enough to delight any foodie, with offerings from full scale gourmet to Irish pub fare (pinch me, I’m dreaming!), so for me the experience would be, as it always is, all about the food.

While I’ve never been to Branson specifically, I’ll never forget the view of the Gateway Arch in St. Lewis when I traveled through the city in 1989.  The trees were turning, the sky was studded with puffy clouds and the arch seemed to stand all the way through them, pointing the way Westward and home; for me in California.  It was a breathtaking sight and one I remember vividly even 20 years later.

Branson has so much to offer that it’s really hard to talk about all of it, but imagine a weekend staying in the ultra-luxurious HIlton Branson Convention Center surrounded by everything there is to do in town, all while having the chance to receive cooking lessons for the perfect holiday meal from the hotel’s very own Chef  Nathan Read!  You’ll be welcomed with a wine tasting, followed the next morning with a lesson in how to prepare the appetizers from the night before.  Then dine on a four-course meal paired with the perfect wines, just to learn how to make the featured dish the next day.  It’s heaven people, sheer unadulterated foodie pleasure.

Unfortunately I won’t be able to attend this gastronomical treasure chest, as I have plans in November that prohibit me from taking advantage of the low room rates and culinary wonderment.  if i could go, I’d not only attend the cooking course (with glee!) but I’d make time to visit a few other places while I was there.  These include the following restaurants (in no particular order):

• Waxy O’Shea’s Irish Pub
• Joes Crab Shack (because I never pass up a chance to eat at Joes)
• Bistro at the Radisson
• Texas Land and Cattle Steakhouse Because I’ve spent a lot of time in Texas, and I want to know how real they really are.)

Of course you could go for the Golf packages or the Romantic Getaway package (sounds good, too) if the Cooking Getaway isn’t your thing, but for me there’s no comparison.  Great food, Great lodging and a chance to enjoy myself doing what I love the most… Eating!  What could possibly be better than that?

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A foodie has to have a kitchen.  To have a kitchen you generally want to wrap a house around it. If you’re considering building a new home, deciding on the floor plan can be a daunting task.  There are thousands of options available, from cookie cutter to full custom. If you’re not feeling the need to fork out the dollars for the full custom option, perhaps you should consider building off of a pre-designed floor plan that you like.

HDA Inc. is finalizing a complete redesign of their website www.HousePlansandMore.com and has all the tools you need to find the plans for the home of your dreams, whether that home be 250 square feet or 5,000+.  You’ll find home plans with 3 bedrooms and two baths and house plans with 6 bedrooms and 5.5 baths. www.HousePlansandMore.com of HDA.Inc. allows you to choose from basic subsistence dwelling or guest house plans all the way up to luxury dream home plans, all from the comfort of your computer screen.

The site as-is is pretty functional, but from the buzz surrounding this relaunch you’ll have in excess of 100 ways to search for the home plan of your dreams and a bookstore to boot, if you’re more the catalog flipping type. (and I admit that I am as well.  I love to dog ear home plan books.)

So: coming this summer…  Be sure to check it out.

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Woah! Is this blatant sponsorship of a product that you’re reading?

Yes, it sure is.  It’s not often that I get the opportunity to talk about something I absolutely love, use nearly every day and have written about for free AND get paid to do it.  This is one of those cases and I couldn’t be happier to take a moment out of my day and plug NAKANO Seasoned Rice Vinegar to anyone who cares to read on.

I’m primarily a California Fusion kind of guy.  I like to add Asian influences to nearly everything I make.  I use a LOT of seasoned rice vinegar.  Nakano is the only brand I buy, because I believe it to have superior flavor. (That’s not the sponsor talking, kiddies.  I have four bottles of Nakano rice vinegar in my pantry right this second, and will be adding more as I can get it.)

Seasoned rice vinegar is wonderful in a vinaigrette, nice as a condiment on its own and perfect for marinating.  I used it as part of the dressing in my last post and have every intention of using just a little on the watercress salad I’m having tonight with just a bit of lemon juice for added zing.

It also turns out that Nakano rice vinegars are a pretty healthy condiment, coming in at just 20 calories with zero fat for a full tablespoon.  Mayo, on the other hand comes in at a whopping 90 calories and 10 grams of fat.  It just makes splashing a little vinegar on my next sammich that much more appealing.

So follow the link above and get a $1.00 off coupon, join the splash it on club and sign up for recipe idea.  just have fun with it.  I know I do!

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How would you like to win yourself a nice, shiny new HP 550 Notebook and a NeoTech backpack? I know I’d love one, and Charter is giving them away each and every day all the way through September 15h.  It could be you, folks.

Other prizes in he offing include gift cards from major retailers valued between $25 and $100.  it all sounds like a great deal to me.

I have to say that I am a Charter customer and that of the cable companies I have used, I prefer their service over that of their competition.  I would recommend them regardless of any giveaway, and if you don’t believe me, stop by my house and take a look at my Moxi remote.  It’s got a Charter logo on it.  so does my cable modem, which is allowing me to write this post now.

The Laptop-a-Day Sweepstakes is a fun little thing to play along with, and it could win you a laptop so why wouldn’t you check it out?  While you’re at it, why not follow Charter on Facebook or Charter on Twitter to see the latest happenings in the world of Cable.  It could be enlightening.  It could be entertaining. It could be magical…

Well, OK.  It should be fun, fregardless.

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There’s a beach somewhere with my name on it.  My wife’s name is on it, too. In the distance I can just hear my son laughing while he plays in the waves while in the care of someone other than my wife or myself. It’s all a part of the all inclusive vacation of my dreams.  The one that I’d like to take when my wife comes home to stay.

I’d love to say that we regularly head to our travel agent to take advantage of an all inclusive vacation package, or to discuss the finer points of our next series of Caribbean vacations.  We don’t.  We’re just a military family and we get by fairly well, but we’re most definitely not the idle rich.  It’s a dream I have for that day when we travel together for pleasure, not in the service of something larger than ourselves.

One day we’ll find that beach. It’s out there somewhere with our names written in the sand, a cool drink under an umbrella and a few sea turtles nearby.  I can’t wait to see it personally, but that will be some few years from now.  Until then I’ll continue with the dream.  It’s one I’m rather fond of.

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This post was sponsored by Kmart. All the opinions are mine.

Does anyone remember the Kmart Bluelight Special?  As a kid I used to think it was one of the coolest things in the world.  An employee would walk through the store with a cart topped with a tall pole tipped with a rotating blue light, generally with a crowd of people following along to see where he or she was headed.

At some point in the day an announcement would blare over the store’s speaker system with the iconic phrase “Attention Kmart shoppers! There is a Bluelight special on <insert product name here> for the next 20 minutes.  Be sure not to miss this great value.” (Or something very similar to that, it’ been years since I heard it.)

I remember searching through the store to find the flashing blue light, regardless of what item happened to be on special, just to see the light flashing down the aisle and off the faces of the crowd of people that immediately showed up to check out the deal. It was exciting. It was different. It was a part of the Kmart shopping experience.

And then one day it ended.

But this weekend on Saturday, August 8th, the Kmart Bluelight specials are back.  Over the course of the day, over 40  bluelight specials will be available in-store and there will be other offers online at Kmart.com as well. They’ll be running specials on everything from filler paper for that back to school list at 2 for $1.00 to 70% off all patio furniture.  And hey, if you’re in the market for jewelry, you can save another 10% off diamonds that are already marked down by 70%.

Now if they would only put their cooktops on an online bluelight special, I’d be a very happy man!

What? I can dream, can’t I?

In the mean time, why don’t you follow Kmart on Twitter to find out about their current specials, promotions and other deals? You’ll be glad you did!

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