Traffic pro

Why does everyone all of a sudden think they should be tipped? I do not want to sound like a cheap person or a rude person. I am just shocked at how many places have a tip jar now. I am a very understanding customer and I am known for giving very big tips. I worked at a huge sports bar for years. I worked at a constant fast pace and deserved every penny I got for all that I put up with.

I tip very well when someone does something that deserves a tip. I just can not believe some of the places that I find a tip jar now.

I recently went to Subway and ordered a couple of sandwiches. I paid with my card and noticed there was a line to add a tip. There was also a tip jar. They did not set a table for me and make polite conversation. They did not serve me and then clean the table. They did not do anything other than make me a sandwich. Very rudely I might add.

Dry cleaners are another one. Why would I tip for that service. They charge you for a job. You get the service you paid for and nothing more. They did not come pick it up or drop it off. There is nothing deserving a tip in my book.

People that are servers, bartenders, hairdressers, or any of the normal people that you tip deserve the tip because they go above just giving you what you paid for. They have to put up with some very annoying people and conversations. They also get paid less because they get tips.

So have you found tip jars in places that shocked you? Do you leave a tip anyway?

How many remotes do you have? I have way too many and they always end up lost. I come home and want to turn on the news but I can never find the right remote. I have gotten to the point now that I bought a basket just for remotes. I keep it on the coffee table and remind the girls over and over to put the remotes in it when they are done.

I got so sick of my coffee table being cluttered with remotes and magazines so I had to do something. Yes, I did also get a basket for magazines.

I have gotten many universal remotes in the past but none of them do what they claim. They may turn the power off and on but no other things work so you still need the other remotes. Now there is a product that will leave you with just one remote.

The Yamaha neoHD is more than a universal remote so it is able to actually do everything it claims. Once the box is all set up you can control everything with one remote. I would love to have absolutely everything in one.

If this sounds cool to you make sure to enter the Yamaha neoHD Sweepstakes for your chance to win. For more information head on over to the Izea blog. You can enter on the blog and by Tweeting. Make sure to leave a comment on the Izea blog about why you would love to win the neoHD. You can also check out neoHD on Facebook.

Our small town National Night Out was a big success. There were many presentations for the kids. They had a police dog presentation that the kids loved. They even got to pet the dog after. They had a robot that is used on bombs for all of the kids to see. The also had police, fire, and rescue vehicles for the kids to go in and check out.

The big hits of the night were the Army climbing wall and the arrival of a Black Hawk helicopter. My younger two girls got very excited when they saw the rock wall. They loved everything until they got to the middle of the wall. The tension on the safety line made them feel more like they were going to fly all the way to the top if they did not hold on.

The end of the evening was waiting for the Black Hawk to land. As we all stood at the end of the field the Black Hawk started to circle overhead. Then we watched as it landed somewhere else. It was actually very funny. They were just told to land in the field by the school. They landed by the middle school/high school. We were all waiting at the elementary school.

In the end the Black Hawk landed just a little later and all of the kids got to go inside and strap themselves in. There was a mad rush of children the second they were given the okay. We waited back for the craziness to die down.

I was just introduced to this cool website for sports teams or other clubs. It helps teams and groups have their own website without having to know how to build a website.

TeamSnap - The simplest, easiest way to manage your team or group online. It gives you everything you need to keep your team organized. You can manage your schedules. See who can attend and who can't. Track fees and payments. Write messages for other members. Email the entire group at once. Track individual and team statistics. View and post photos for the team. You can even coordinate who is bringing drinks and refreshments.


You can even customize the look of your website with a team logo and your photos. Then use your own team colors in the design. All made easy and ready to use for even the most technically challenged.

Tonight is the 26th Annual National Night Out. This night is set aside to bring communities together to build crime and drug prevention awareness. Communities all over the country have special events planned.

In our community they are having a special family event planned where families in the community can meet with local police and fire department officials. They also have a lot of special things for the kids to do.

We are a pretty small and close community but in many areas people rarely see or talk to their neighbors. Many crimes can be prevented by neighbors that know each other and watch for strange activity.

When I think back to summertime when I was a kid I always think of the church camp my parents sent me too. I went to Spencer Lake Youth Camp for years. I made some great memories there.

Summer camp was always a lot of fun. We would have afternoon craft things to do and plenty of free time activities. It gave us a chance to get closer with friends. It also gave us a little feel of independence from being away from our parents.

It was also fun to get out into nature. The swimming, paddle boats, and canoeing was always good for fun and laughs with friends. The tubing down the river was fun too. I seem to remember someone in our group getting leaches though.

I still love nature but I think it should stay outside where it belongs. I can not live without a hairdryer, hairspray, and makeup. Our group was lucky enough to stay in rooms with electricity, air conditioning, and our own bathroom with a shower. I still say this is the best way to camp!

The bus ride home was never as much fun as the ride there. We had to leave all the fun and new friends behind until the next summer. It was always a nice thing to look forward to though.

This post is brought to you by that neat new Nickelodeon widget over there on side bar. It makes it easy for families to find Summer Camps, summer fun, and local attractions for families.

Last Sunday after our trip to Cave of the Mounds we stopped off at the Mustard Museum. We are known for having some strange condiments in our fridge so when we found out that this place was close by we had to stop and check it out.

It has shelf after shelf of every mustard you can think of. It even has mustard that you would never in your life think of! I could easily spend a lot of money there but I had to be sensible. I loved that they had a few tasting areas set up with mustard bowls and pretzels.


In the end we got a few kinds of mustard that we thought were different. The girls got some stuff from their souvenir area of course. They had some really cute things with Poupon U on them so the girls went nuts. They thought they were the funniest things. The door had an announcement that the store would be moving to Middleton which is closer to our house so I am sure we will make more trips in the future.