Orange creamcicles

Nothing says summertime treat to me more than an orange creamcicle. This, to me, is literally heaven on a stick. But one disappointing creamcicle experience has led me on a journey to find the creme de la creme of the frozen pops. You see, store brands may claim that they are as good as name brands, but experience is teaching me otherwise.

GIANT brand creamcicles have inspired this quest. Yes, it's a store-brand pop, but that doesn't mean it has to be less-than-inspiring. This pop (and I've eaten two to verify!) screams of lower quality. The orange sherbert "shell" is too solid, and the vanilla ice cream center tastes like the wooden stick that makes it a popcicle. Very disappointing.

ACME brand creamcicles are a step up from GIANT brand. While still a store brand, it is a economical lternative to name brands. My only complaint is the piddly amount of ice cream in these pops. It takes two full bites from the top to reach that vanilla goodness.

GREEN's orange creamciles. The best I've tried so far. Perfect proportions of orange shell and scrumptious Green's vanilla ice cream. The shell has a sherbert consistency, making it easy to bite. The perfect pop. I'd be hard-pressed to find a better quality frozen treat.

The quest will continue, though, as there are many more grocery stores and, I'm sure, more brand name pops to sample.

Until next time...

Deals

It looks like the back to school sales are dwindling.

One great deal, for this weekend only...

www.disneystore.com

When you buy select backpacks, you get the matching lunch bag for free. Backpacks range from $19.50 to $24.50, and the lunch bags are $10.50 to $12.50. So, it's a pretty good deal! We'll be getting the Hannah Montana, Cinderella, and pink Princess sets. The joys of having three girls.

www.target.com

There are still some school supplies on sale, but they are focsing on the "college dorm" stocking this week. That's great if you're looking for the essentials like laundry soap, headache remedies, etc. Another item to note (because I'm specifically looking for this) is the Circo Storage Organizer, four levels of racks and a dozen or so plastic bins...great for toy storage. We have two, we're looking for two more. They are normally $59.99, marked down to $39 this week! I'll be making a Target run this week for sure!

Until next time...

Thanks Sears Auto!

I hate shopping for tires. Hate it. And for good reason. With bad experiences with both NTB and Just Tires, and being a chick, to boot, it's just not a fun experience. So, when our Silverado needed tires, I cringed at the thought of dealing with it. And, I'm not sure how this duty got delegated to me in the first place. Isn't this a guy job?

Sears has been on the "do not shop here" list in the past for other offenses. So, they weren't at the top of my list for tire shopping. After looking around, I decided that I'd go to the Goodyear tire place. You can almost not go wrong with Goodyear tires, and I'd rather pay a little more there than take my business back to one of the above listed tire retailers.

On a whim, I checked sears.com for tire prices on Goodyear Wrangler tires. Skimming through 48 tires that fit my truck, suddenly I heard the angels singing, and the lights shining from the heavens. There they were. Goodyear Wrangler AT/S tires, for $132 each (plus installation). Marked down from $179 each. Yes, that's a $47 PER TIRE savings.

I got on the phone with the Sears Auto Center in the Concord Mall,, to make sure they had these bargains in stock. Lo and behold they did, and they were even cheaper than the web price listed...just under $129 each (hey,$3 is $3, right?). SCORE! I reserved the tires and headed on my way.

The service staff were awesome, and treated me great. The mechanics were very professional. The job was done, including oil change and front end alignment, in the estimated 2 hours. I couldn't ask for anything more. I will take my truck back to them for service in the future, and will buy our next set of tires there, whether it's for the truck, or our Camry.

Until next time...