Dinnertime is a precious commodity in our house. With kids heading to activities, Dad arriving home late from work, and Mom scrambling to check e-mail and write, dinner time can be rushed. Barilla launched a site called Share the Table to help families make the most of mealtime.

Share the Table encourages togetherness. In the hustle and bustle of family life…especially with a kid, a preteen, and a teen…family time can be fleeting. With summer in full swing we are eating more meals together…even lunch.

I love pasta. I tried to make pasta meals that the kids will eat. I like to  add a little something different each time I make a pasta dish. Some meals are a hit, and some well… I try!

One of the recipes I tried involved Barilla Piccolini or Mini Wheels pasta. Cute and tasty. Small bite-sized pieces of yummy goodness. I added tomatoes, too.

The Barilla share the table site is chockfull of recipes, tips for bringing the family to the table, and Barilla’s Pasta Friday Sweepstakes. By sharing your family’s meal experience you could win a Barilla meal.

I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Barilla and received products necessary to facilitate my candid review.

The rest of the house has been painted. In fact all three children’s bedrooms have been painted 2 or 3 times!

My teen’s bedroom has gone from Winnie the Pooh to Princess to Tie Dye.

My preteen’s bedroom has changed from Winnie the Pooh to Marie the Cat from the Aristocats to purple with wall stickers.

My kid’s room was Winnie the Pooh and is now white with red trim featuring Fatheads from Maryland Terps and the Washington Redskins with a few Manchester United stickers thrown in to recognize our English heritage.

I have had 2 cans of blue paint outside my bathroom door for over a year…waiting for a time when I will have time to paint.

The master bedroom is in need of painting too. Don’t get me started on the hallway and landing with all the scratch marks from baby gates. There are also a hug number of scuffs from kids’ feet while in time out. Who decided to use the bottom of the stairs as the time out spot, anyway??

Stay tunes to see if I paint this summer…or not…

In my early married days my husband was the cook while I was the chief bottle washer. When his work, coaching, and graduate school schedule got too hectic once we had children I took on the cooking responsibilities. I was a WAHM managing editorial projects while caring for 2 little children. I made meals that were kid friendly. As you can imagine we ate, fruit, vegetables, chicken nuggets, mac and cheese, cereal, waffles, ready-made dinners from Costco, and other easy-to-prepare foods.

My cooking skills improved greatly once I stopped working from home. Overnight I had time to cook. Now, I still wasn’t a very good or enthusiastic cook,  but I had the time to stop buying all the processed foods and start cooking from recipes. Our diet improved considerably.

Since I have cooking issues I try: (1) stick with recipes that I can cook and the family will eat (the eating part is not a given when I am cooking!) and (2) used tried and true ingredients. Uncle Ben’s is a brand we love. My kids love Chinese and Mexican food dishes that feature rice.

Now my husband is still picky when it comes to anything whole grain. My son, could care less. When I found that Uncle Ben’s had created a new Whole Grain White Rice that looks and tastes like white rice, I knew that it would be a winner with my family.

Uncle Ben’s Whole Grain White Rice has the look, taste and texture of white rice, but is packed with whole grains (almost a full day’s worth in one serving). Uncle Ben’s new Whole Grain White Rice provides a healthy alternative to plain sides like pasta or potatoes. The rice comes in a variety of flavors from traditional Long Grain to Chicken, Broccoli Cheddar, Taco Style and Sweet Tomato, so you can mix-up meals and still know that you’re getting whole grains on the table. Plus, with a quick 10-minute prep time, Uncle Ben’s Whole Grain White Rice provides a great solution for the nights when jam-packed schedules leave you scrambling for a quick, healthy option.

Uncle Ben’s has partnered with Missy Chase Lapine, author of The Sneaky Chef: Simple Strategies for Hiding Healthy Foods in Kids’ Favorite Meals. As moms we struggle to find a balance between what kids want to eat and what we want them to eat. I struggle to get kids to eat enough fruits, veggies and whole grains. Lapine’s tips and recipes can help sneak nutrition-rich foods into children’s favorite dishes.

Want to try a box of Uncle Ben’s Whole grain White Rice? Here’s a coupon.

Want to find where Uncle Ben’s rice is sold? Here’s a link.

Do you live close to me? Do your kids attend the same schools as mine? Are we members of the same pool, sports teams, etc.? This giveaway is for you!

I have a box of Uncle Ben’s Whole Grain White Rice and an Uncle Ben’s apron for FOUR lucky readers who live close to me. I’ll leave the prizes on my front porch or deliver them to the pool or end-of-year events.

To enter this giveaway, leave a comment at the end of this post.

I wrote  this review while participating in a blog campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Uncle Ben’s and received samples to facilitate my candid review. Mom Central sent me a gift card to thank me for taking the time to participate.

This is what I wrote to Verizon in their complaint page.

I would like to find the twitter account for Verizon Service and Verizon Bill Paying. I know that Verizon is @Verizon.

I have a serious complaint with the way Verizon handles paying online and over the phone. There is no way to have a question answered by a HUMAN if you have a billing question.

I am currently on hold trying to pay my bill over the phone:

Just off hold. Finally found a HUMAN person to answer my billing question — I want to pay my bill online. Lacey saved the day!! LACEY was my customer service operator! She stayed on the line with me as I navigated the labyrinthian mess that is BIZMATRIX. Thank you, LACEY!!

Last night (5/28) I was unable to pay my bill online. I kept getting a message that I needed to log out to log in again. I logged out then logged in but never got to a location where I could pay my bill online. I gave up at midnight. My bill was due 5/28. I was hoping to pay online and not incur a late fee. COULD NOT PAY ONLINE.

This morning I tried to pay over the phone. I called 1-800-837-4966. I was unable to pay online even though I pressed Billing then tried Payment. I eventually hung up. FRUSTRATING.

I tweeted to @Verizon. No response,  I tweeted to my 6200 followers. Why is it so hard to find the Verizon Twitter accounts online? If I tweet to @Verizon the person manning the account will help me, but why can’t I find the twitter account for Verizon service or billing online??

Do you know how I finally got to a LIVE operator at Verizon? I’ll tell you how. I found the number at GETHUMAN.com!! How sad is that that I had to go to a site that is not a VERIZON site to find a VERIZON phone number.

Bill is paid on the phone at BIZMATRIX thanks to LACEY.

I would appreciate a response — to this message — from a HUMAN person not a BOT!

I wonder whether I will hear from Verizon or not. I’ll keep you posted.

I should be free of kids from 8:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. each day, but you know what they say about the best-laid plans, right? So first there are the days when I work and work and get nothing done! And let’s not forget errands! Every time I have day all to myself I find I have a 100 errands to run from picking up a pair of lacrosse gloves on one side of the county to driving in the opposite direction to get a science fair board. I would not begrudge my children anything…well, I do have some limits, but you know what I mean! I want to do the best for my children, but why do errands take so long. I live in a rural area so driving is a way of life for me.

At the end of a long week of staying home to work or racing around running errands, I unwind. I have to. Have you tried wrangling a 7-year-old to do his writing homework? It’s not pretty. What about letting an 11-year-old know that music practice needs to start NOW or else? Short of having a live-in masseuse…I use the next best thing to unwind. What is it?

I drink a Diet Coke or Pepsi or a bottle of flavored water — not exciting, but since I gave up caffeine a few months ago, I need a little lift to get me through the evening and night of working. Eeek. The drink whether caffeinated or flavored is welcome and refreshing!

I’m not a fan of tap water, water from the fridge dispenser, or bottled water. I recall choking down 8 glasses a day while pregnant, but lately I drink water only when rinsing after brushing my teeth.

I sampled some very tasty bottled water drinks at a local mom blogger event hosted by MomCentral for Aquafina Flavorsplash water. The above picture features my friend Holly and new friends Rachel, Jocelyn, and Jocelyn’s friend. The event was at a very trendy, and I would think high-end night club — I go out so little that I am not sure what a night club is supposed to look like. The Red Maple featured bench seating with delicious tapas and desserts — tapas is single serving items with dip. The mousse filled strawberries were delish.

I sampled several flavors of Aquafina FlavorSplash. Aquafina’s lightly flavored FlavorSplash waters provide a sweet and refreshing alternative to regular water, combining the benefits of drinking water along with a great variety of tastes. FlavorSplash comes in six flavors – peach mango, raspberry, strawberry kiwi, lemon, wild berry, and grape – so you can find your own personal flavor favorite. Of note, the waters are sweetened by Splenda and have zero calories. My fave flavor was Wild Berry.

I wrote this post after attending an event sponsored by Aquafina FlavorSplash and Mom Central. I received FlavorSplash goodies and a gift card as a thank you for posting.

I say this in all earnestness. It was a stroke of good fortune that the box of goodies I am about to tell you about arrived during the school day. The kids would have devoured the goodies. Alas, they didn’t have a chance as I devoured them first. I am nothing if not cautious. I covered my tracks by wiping the Bugle Hot Buffalo crumbs from my mouth, stashing the Cocoa Puffs Treat Triple Chocolate bars, and hiding the Nature Valley Oats ‘n Dark Chocolate Crunchy Granola Bar. Mmmmmm…

All three items have the Musings from Me seal of approval. The Bugles were very hot. I ate them so that I wouldn’t traumatize my children. Right? That’s my story and I am sticking to it. The Cocoa Puffs bar got me through a loooonnnnggg night of working. I don’t recall when I ate the Nature Valley Oats ‘n Dark granola bars…perhaps I am too good at covering my tracks?

The good news is that I can purchase any of these products at my local convenience stores. So to recap…so that you don’t miss out on all the yummy and spicy goodness:

• Cocoa Puffs Treats Triple Chocolate: An indulgent cereal bar that combines the great taste of Cocoa Puffs cereal and chocolate into one decadent treat, Cocoa Puffs Treats Triple Chocolate is perfect for satisfying any sweet tooth.
• Bugles Hot Buffalo: Need something salty with a bit of a kick? Look no further than Bugles Hot Buffalo Crisp Corn Snacks, which blends the taste of hot buffalo sauce with crispy corn Bugles.
• Nature Valley Oats `N Dark Chocolate Crunchy Granola Bars: If you want the best of both worlds, give Nature Valley Oats `N Dark Chocolate Crunchy Granola Bars a try. These bars mix dark chocolate pieces, oats and crisp rice nuggets for a classic crunch and burst of whole grain goodness, making them a perfect natural snack that’s high in fiber and protein, but low in saturated fat.

Now you don’t think that I am going to keep all of this for myself, do you? I have a Sweet and Salty Convenience Food Prize Pack for one lucky reader! The “Sweet and Salty” prize pack  includes a Nature Valley coffee travel mug and a Bugles t-shirt, as well as two samples of each snack, one for you and one for your someone special (or you can keep all 6 snacks for yourself…I’ll never tell!). One comment – one entry. Enter now!

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I received a Sweet and Salty Convenience Store Prize Pack to review and devour from General Mills through MyBlogSpark. The giveaway is open to U.S. residents only. The giveaway ends May 26, 2010, at 11:59 p.m.

Whaaaaatttt??? Heresy! We love Costco! I have been a member of a warehouse club since 1989…BEFORE we got married! Do you remember when Costco was Price Costco and before that Price Club? Yep…we were members then. Actually, we were members of Pace Membership Warehouse which became Sam’s Club.

In all seriousness though, we hated shopping at the Gaithersburg, MD, Costco. I agree with every point in your article. The crowds. The jockeying for position in line. The glazed over eyes of the workers. The parking lot…my gosh the parking lot was a nightmare to find a space in!

Once we moved out of Montgomery County we discovered the oasis of tranquility that is the Frederick, MD, Costco. Few huge lines. Not crowded even on a Saturday. Enthusiastic workers who go the extra mile. Kindly sample ladies. And the parking is NEVER full.

Fed up with your crowded, madhouse Costco? Are you in driving distance of a Costco in a less crowded area? Check it out. It might be worth it, so that you can stock up in a less frantic fashion.

For a Costco near you, go here.

I was not compensated for this post!

Here’s what I found out on my tour of the Peapod warehouse. I wrote this part of the post on my phone…#VerizonPalmPrePlus…such a fabulous and time-saving use of technology.

The Facts

• 60 percent of customers shop from their previous Peapod shopping lists
• Purchased items are packed with like items. Produce packed with produce. Deli with deli. No squishing of items. Perishable items are packed in styrofoam coolers with dry ice packs. The coolers and boxes can be left out when your next delivery is scheduled.
• The Peapod by Giant delivery fee is $8.95.
• There is a $1 savings if use direct deposit.
• Over 10,000  items in the Peapod facility. 1,500 items on sale each week. I walked among the stacks, aisles, and chill rooms packed with products on the tour.
• Loyal customers can become VIPea. VIPea have access to specials.
• Delivery…shop whenever you want at peapod.com plus have your item delivered when you want (customers may have to choose a delivery time from a list of already scheduled deliveries).
• My delivery area is not covered. I added my e-mail address to Peapod, so that I will be notified when my zip code is added to the delivery area.
• You can place an order when you want to — don’t have to have a regular delivery date. I don’t do a weekly grocery shop, so this flexibility would work for me.
• There is a fuel surcharge of 38 cents in effect based on price of fuel for each order.
• What is the busiest time on Peapod one blogger on our tour asked? 8-10 p.m.
• Are you social media savvy or want to be? Check out Facebook special offers. Website url: www.Peapod.com. Twitter: Twitter.com/peapoddelivers.

Dietary and Special Needs

• Peapod customers can customize their online lists by dietary needs with the Nutrifilter. Dietary needs include: gluten free, dairy free, egg free, peanut free, and USDA low sodium to name a few.

Savings and Coupons

• Customers can use Giant Bonus cards.
• Customers can search for specials for bigger savings. View specials by dept. This week blueberries and blackberries are on sale 2 for $5.
• Peapod by Giant wants to empower the grocery shopper by showing what is on sale. Most people want to shop smarter and cheaper. Red flag shows what is on sale.
• Peapod customers can use coupons.com. Go to Specials tab–Printable Coupons for a link to Coupons.com.
• Coupons can be clipped at home and given to driver for discounts. Coupons will be credited to customer’s account. Note: Coupons cannot doubled like at Giant store.

Recipes or What’s for Dinner?

• Need an idea for what to make and what to buy for dinner. See recipes. I did notice that the ingredients listed in the recipes don’t link back to the Peapod shopping list.
• We were treated to a great discourse on produce courtesy of Giant’s produce guy: Tony. Tony blogs about all things product. I left with a bag of the most perfect fruit ever. The strawberries were huge.
• If you find an item not listed on Peapod.com, you can request the item via the website or on Facebook.

My takeaway from the blogger tour of Peapod was this: Peapod by Giant eliminates the impulse buys…the must-have because it is on the shelf purchases…the food items spotted by your kids while you shop.

Iphone User? Peapod will alphatest a grocery shopping app. The Beta test will be in June. The iphone app should be ready for customers in August.

Code for My Readers: I have a coupon code to share with you. For first-time Peapod customers, use the code BLOG2010 to save $15 off first order (limit 1 per household). This offer expires June 30, 2010.

What question perplexes me most on forms and questionnaires? The question I find most difficult to answer is what major city do I live closest to?

As a child through my pre-children years, I would have had several answers:

• 0-4 years — Manchester, England
• 5-8 — New York City
• 9-10 — Manchester, England
• 11 — New York City
• 12-15 — Manchester, England
• 16-18 — Milan, Italy
• 19-22 — Philadelphia
• 23-29 — Washington, D.C.

Yes, my childhood was madness personified!

In 1994, my husband and I realized that our tiny townhouse in Montgomery Village was not big enough to accommodate all our stuff let alone a child! I was happily working in Gaithersburg while my husband commuted to Damascus. We were a stone’s throw from the Shady Grove Metro. I had commuted to DC for work each day before finding a job closer to home. I still took the Metro once or twice a week to George Washington University for graduate classes. Occasionally we would visit an art gallery or museum in D.C. In short, we were D.C. people.

In late 1993, we began our search for a new place to grow roots and hopefully start a family. We quickly realized that Montgomery County, MD, was out of the question. House prices were through the roof. We wanted to build our own home. My husband had this crazy notion that he wanted to buy land. He grew up on 3/4 of an acre, which meant he found our townhouse neighbors too close for comfort.

The quest for land took us to Frederick and Carroll counties. The drive out to both was daunting. We drove in nonrush hour times and on weekends. House after house failed to appeal to us. Some were too small…too expensive…too weird (we stumbled in to a community of senior citizen bungalow townhomes with roll-in showers and extra wide doorways)…too near to massive power lines (seriously, the powerline was where I envisioned having a play structure).

Our search was stalled. We were about to give up when my FIL showed us a listing for a new development in Howard county. The drive out to Howard sold us before we even go to the house. We saw not one car as we drove over the Montgomery county line. It was a ghost town — in a good way — that Sunday afternoon.

The neighborhood — a former farm that my FIL recalled playing at — was almost completely developed with only 5 or 6 lots left. Most of the lots had steep, treacherous driveways that would be nightmarish to mow. The last lot we looked at was perfect. Too close to the road for some, but flat enough for us to visualize our “kids” riding bikes down the completely flat driveway. Welcome to Baltimore, hon!

Through some finagling of finances we were able to swing the much higher home price and lot price. In June 1994 we were the proud owners of 3 acres and 1 new home…thankfully no mule…in Woodbine, MD!

Woodbine has changed over the years, but remains a safe place to live. Thanks to some draconian county laws, many of the farms are in historic preservation. I can’t tell you how relieved we were to find that the farm we can see through our kitchen window would remain a farm. Our neighborhood is bordered on 3 sides by county parkland and 1 side by a semi-working farm.

Which brings me back to the question of what city I live closest to. Howard County is in a no-man’s land. Not a part of the DC Metro Area and not a suburb of Baltimore City and County. I have done what anyone would do — I call both cities my own.

When I am in a DC frame of mind I recall visits to the International Spy Museum, reading the Washington Post, and almost meeting Guy Fieri. As a DC Mommy I go here to find out about events, things to do, and places to shop.

But, let’s not forget my Baltimore side. As a pseudo-Baltimorean, I recall fun times at Port Discovery, flying out of BWI, and inflating our Christmas decorations.

Sometimes I think about what it is like to live in Woodbine with my clutter woes and new-to-us holiday traditions.

Woodbine is not famous for anything. It is a cluster of homes and farms with parkland thrown in for good measure. Woodbine is split between two counties. We’re south of the railroad tracks in Howard County, while those north of the tracks are Carroll County.

Searching the brief entry on Wikipedia I know that…

• Woodbine is named after a plant that grows in fields and on riverbanks.
• Lisbon our neighboring town is home to the first traffic circle in Maryland. Lisbon now has two, woohoo!
• During the Civil War, Rebel cavalry crossed the Patapsco River at Woodbine scouting the Union Army that was on its way to the Battle of Gettysburg.

If you are passing through Woodbine, you might want to stop at Larriland Farms to pick some of the best fruit out there or go on a fall hayride, visit the horses that are nursed back to health at the Days End Horse Rescue Farm, or check out the Woodbine Facebook page.

I wrote this post as part of Blogtrotting. For more information about Blogtrotting, go here.

I do InBoxDollars and SendEarnings. I earn pennies or more (often $1-$2 per survey). It may not sound like much, but I can click on an e-mail in seconds for a few pennies. I spend longer on the surveys. Here’s the catch with surveys — as a 40s white female in a single income middle class home…I qualify for very few surveys. But when I do qualify I earn $1.

If you decide you want to try out InBoxDollars, click this link (It is my affiliate link): http://www.inboxdollars.com/?r=ref4198311

If you decide you want to try out Sean Earnings, click oon this link (it is an affiliate link as well): http://www.sendearnings.com/?r=ref2620838

I discovered a site called Clickworkers.com. Not sure about it, but trying it out.