Home and Garden

Travel, musings and photography. She inspires me.

Over the past year, people have been keeping a close eye on the stock market more than ever. Our parents at The Daily Kool are no exception. Our father, in particular, is almost obsessed with keeping track of how the DOW, NASDAQ and S&P500 are doing at any given time. Unfortunately, as a result, he spends too of his day feeling tied to his computer and internet connection...much to our mother's annoyance.

Another cool article about gardening in the dessert

Though many professionals are recently adopting a more informal attire in the workplace, the males in The Daily Kool family are die-hard suit wearers. Sorry, President Obama...no business casual in the office for our men, especially Dad. He is meticulous about his appearance, even on the weekends...he wears a polo and dress pants to clean the pool, for goodness sake! Okay, we are the first to admit that his standards may be unreasonably high (and quite possibly, unnecessary)...but, the majority of men (and women) we know do like to look good. Unwrinkled, pressed pants are often high on their list of wardrobe priorities. After all, who wants to come to work looking like they've just rolled out of bed (even if they have)?

Father's Day is coming up soon, and it's time to start thinking about how to honor him for the special man he is. We have always been able to count on our father for unconditional love, support and guidance. Dad (okay, we still call him "Daddy") is an extraordinary man...why should he receive an ordinary gift for Father's Day? That's why The Daily Kool will be featuring some unusual and "kool" gift ideas for Father's Day all this week.

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Adjustable temperature: 20°C - 34°C / 68°F - 93°F Input voltage: 220 - 240V Power: 200W Dimension: 25 cm in length, 15 cm of heater Material: glass EU plug List Price: $ 16.99 Deal Price: $ 9.39 http://www.6deal.com/en/200-watt-thermostat-heater-tropical-aquarium-fish-tank.html

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Once a month, The Daily Kool family gets together with a group of friends at the park for a great big picnic lunch. We have such a good time! We all split the cost of a pavilion, and each family is responsible for bringing one food dish and at least one game for the kids to play together. This has to be one of the best ideas we've ever had...just imagine an afternoon of fun in the sun, coupled with great friends, yummy food and our children's infectious laughter in the background. Did we mention the food? Imagine a picnic table filled with delectable delights...salads, dips, sandwiches, casseroles, desserts...the list goes on and on. The one thing that has always put a damper on our picnic is the sheer number of pests that inevitable try to horde in on our buffet. Seriously, folks...we're tired of constantly shooing flies away from our food...sure, it gives our arms a good workout, but this is just not the way we want to tone up our biceps. We needed to find a better way to protect our goodies.

This Memorial Day weekend, our kids are having a couple of their close friends at the house for a sleepover for the first time. They've been planning it for a week. They've picked out games, snacks, movies, crafts...they are so excited! We do have a bit of a challenge, though...our entire downstairs has hardwood floors. Even though we have a regular sleeping bag in the house (our beloved Puff the Magic Dragon one from about thirty years ago), unfortunately, it is pretty much out of the question for this weekend. There isn't enough room in our kids' two twin-size beds for the four boys to share either. How can we have a successful sleepover when we have no comfortable place for the kids to sleep?

Is there any child who does not love bubbles? There is just something so magical, so alluring about the way these iridescent spheres float in the air and drift slowly down in mesmerizing fashion...then, POP! Such a simple pleasure for kids and the parents who cannot help but be drawn into their bubble ecstasy. Bubbles are such a world-wide phenomenon, it has even become a recognized art form. Don't believe us? Check out "The Gazillion Bubble Show", produced by Fan Yang who holds 14 Guinness World Records for bubble artistry. If you are ever in New York City, this is an absolute "must see" for the entire family...it is spectacular! The Daily Kool family has seen the show, and we cannot recommend it highly enough! But we digress...

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Memorial Day weekend is coming up soon, and it seems like almost everyone we know is taking a family vacation to Disney World. What's wrong with you people? Are we the only ones who think that it is going to be much too crowded...not to mention, blistering hot? True, there have been times that we've given in to the lure of our Magic Kingdom addiction during almost unbearable climate conditions. How on earth are we supposed to stay cool in the blistering heat of the Florida sun?

Many of you may know about our beloved pooch Pepper from PoodlePicks. It may surprise you to know that he has been, by far, the most challenging dog we've ever had. At almost eight years old, he still suffers from separation anxiety. We've never had to baby-proof our house with the kids, but to this day, we do have to Pepper-proof. Before we leave the house, we have to go through the routine of closing every door, completely cleaning off the dining room table, locking the pantry and strategically putting up gates to block off the kitchen and the stairs. Heaven forbid we accidentally skip anything...we will undoubtedly come home with garbage all over the kitchen (he figured out how to open the can), empty bags of baking chocolates strewn across the floor (he breaks into the pantry and zooms right in on them), or even smelly feces on the stairs. Of course, he only does these things when we're not home...when we are, he's a perfect angel. So tell us...who's trained who here? This situation is completely our fault, of course. When Pepper was a puppy, we were told that we should purchase a dog crate for him. But where on earth would we put a large, ugly and obtrusive wire crate in our small home?

Last year, we were having an outdoor birthday party for our oldest son at the local city pool. His parties are always a hit, not because we go overboard, but since his birthday always falls on Labor Day weekend, it's inevitably the first party of the school year. And since he's in a smaller private school where all the kids know each other, we make sure to invite all of the children in his class...26 kids and everybody showed up, with siblings and both parents in tow. Seventy-five people were coming...yikes! We needed food...lots and lots of food. Fruit and veggie platters were a must...plus plenty of candy (our son loves M&Ms) to keep the kids on an energetic sugar high. There was only one problem...how would we keep everything fresh in the scorching Florida heat?

A couple of months ago on a rainy day, The Daily Kool family took on an insidious task...we decided to clean out one of our overflowing "junk" drawers. You wouldn't believe how much...well, junk...we had accumulated in one relatively little space. Oh, yes...we were lucky to get out alive. So here we were, arguing over whether we should toss out a key chain version of a shrilling chicken, when our children picked up a set of dice and began rolling away. We looked at each other and, expert procrastinators that we are, immediately said, "Break time!" Our children were about to learn an old classic...Yahtzee.

Periodically, areas in The Daily Kool home fall victim to the chaos of a busy life filled with activity, children and pets. Okay, are you ready? We confess that sometimes, we are just too busy (or too tired) to clean. There, it's out. Whew! Don't get us wrong...it's not we spend our time living in squalor. But, at some point, just about every room of our house has seen a period of what we consider unmitigated disaster...except, the kitchen. We are absolutely fastidious when it comes to the appearance of our kitchen...this is our domain, the room held in highest regard. We keep every crevice absolutely pristine, so imagine our surprise, when we realized we were missing the boat with our garbage disposal. Our garbage disposal is like any other...it's a magnet for dirty, greasy build-up and offensive odor. Sure, we'd been using the Plink garbage disposal cleaner and deodorizer tablets every few days, but we really weren't getting down into the nitty gritty of our disposal's grossness. Plink smells great, but its effects are very short lived...plus, it seems to be more of a deodorizer than a cleaner. We've tried it all...baking soda w/vinegar, ice, even citrus peel...all okay, but not exceptional. We really use our garbage disposal a lot, so it was definitely time for a more effective solution. Enter the Fuller Brush foaming garbage disposal cleaner.

Today, The Daily Kool has decided to play hooky. That's right, folks...we are taking the day off from school and work to do absolutely nothing but have fun together as a family. Novel idea, huh? Since we are a group of classic workaholics, we occasionally need the break to reclaim our sanity. Yes, we realize this is why we have weekends, but ours tend to be spent running around to birthday parties and catching up on all of the chores/errands we've neglected throughout our hectic week. This calls for a day at the waterpark, complete with a picnic...without the weekend crowds.

I took my 3 yr old son this morning because I had heard Lowes offered free projects for kids two saturdays a month. Well, it was fantastic! He made a planter, hammered nails into pre-cut holes, and really had a feeling of accomplishment! I highly recommend it, if you have a Lowes nearby.