Home and Garden

We at The Daily Kool are huge soda drinkers. Oh yeah, we love them all...from Coca Cola to Orange Crush to Canada Dry Ginger Ale, each one of us has our own soft drink obsession. Are we the picture of good, healthy habits, or what? We're actually pretty good about drinking mostly water, especially since we've found Fiji, but sometimes, we just have have a can of soda with a nice meal. There's just something about the fizzy tickling sensation going down the back of the throat, coupled with just the right amount of sweetness...ah, instant satisfaction.

Yesterday, we were playing catch with our kids in our development's common grassy area. It was great to have some old-fashioned outside time, though it was admittedly hard to ignore the oppressive heat of the Florida sun. Anyway, here we were, running for a long pass from one of our football stars-to-be, when we suddenly felt the ground get squishy beneath our feet. Holy sh..achem, oh cra...uh...oh, pooh! Literally. You guessed it, our big feet had landed in a pile of doggy doo. Do you have any idea what it's like getting that stuff off the bottom of sneakers with ridges? Ugh...we shudder just thinking about it.

Kresko Victorian Garden

Guess what The Daily Kool found out? There is actually a National S'mores Day, and it's today (August 10)! Ah, s'mores...the delicious gooey campfire treat that is made up of graham crackers, chocolate and marshmallows. These are even worse than those potato chips (sorry, Lays). There is no way we can eat just one...we need "s'more, s'more!" Hence, the name. Bet you didn't know that, did you?

The end of summer also marks the return of some of our beloved television shows. If you twist our arms a little (very little, we're kinda wimpy), we will admit that there has been a reality show or two that has kept our sadistic side entertained these past few months. Okay, so we love Hell's Kitchen...sue us. We are truly happy to have some of our regular favorites coming back, though. Psych on USA Network is one of them. Yep, the new season airs tonight...hooray!

Okay, we admit it. We are not big water drinkers, and never have been. Trust us...we've given ourselves lectures time and time again about the importance of drinking the requisite eight glasses of water a day, but who are we kidding? We can barely choke down two glasses, and that's with living in hot and humid Florida. While we take responsibility for our irresponsibility just as much as the next person (yeah, right), we wholeheartedly blame the Coca Cola company for our lack of commitment to healthy drinking. How dare they make Coke taste so darn good? We have been obsessed with Coke (the real stuff, not that diet stuff) for as long as we can remember. Scoff all you want, but our Coca Cola addiction has caused a real problem in our household. Our kids are at the age when "do as I say, not as I do" doesn't hold water (had to get that pun in). It's our job as parents to teach our children healthy eating and drinking habits, and the best way to do this is by example. But, we really don't like water. We've tried it all...tap water, filtered water, bottled water (whew, there are a lot of brands out there!), cold water, room temperature water, water with lemon (and/or lime). No matter what we do, the results are the same...blah, blah, blah. Are we prime examples of mature and responsible adults or what?

Our wedding ten years ago (yikes!) was a beautiful Victorian affair with rich fabrics, bold colors and flowers in every corner. We even found these beautiful jewel-toned potpourri pillows at a local flea market. Each pillow was an actual picture frame, and we decided to use them for place card holders/party favors. Thank goodness they were all individually wrapped or the scents would have been overwhelming! Anyway, we spent the last night before our wedding carefully cutting open each pouch, putting the place card in the holder and resealing the plastic wrap. It was a long and tedious process, but the results were truly magnificent.

Back in our college days, we spent a lot of time in laundromats. Like most other students, we did not have the luxury of our own washer and dryer. Yep, five years schlepping laundry baskets full of clothing and detergents down to the local Gatorland Laundromat (go Gators!). Not a bad way to meet potential dates, but sheesh...what a humbling experience for us spoiled folks who were used to Mommy doing the dreaded deed. Who knew there were many different bottles to buy for one measly load of laundry? Detergent, fabric softener, bleach, pre-treaters...the list goes on and on.

Garden decor, garden types, gardening and landscaping contractors, directories, support and community, design, supplies and tools, and general gardening and landscaping topics.

Getting mail addressed to them makes kids feel special and grown up. Keeping it consistent and age-appropriate is often the challenge. Thank goodness for the classic Highlights educational magazine for children. Our parents treated us to this wonderful subscription when we were younger, and we were truly blessed to be able to carry on the tradition in our family. Launched in 1946, Highlights is the most widely read children's magazine in the world..and with good reason. Recognizing that kids are the world's most important people, Highlights feeds their natural curiosity and love of learning with stories, brain teasers, riddles, crafts and other activities in this wonderfully wholesome and fun publication.

We have to admit that we were pretty surprised when a USB flash drive was on the required list for our friend's high school daughter. Things have really changed since our 9th grade days of electronic typewriters...are we dating ourselves, or what? Then again, our third grade son hasn't even mastered script writing, and yet his teachers already have him working on Microsoft Word and PowerPoint presentations. That's what we get for putting him in private school, we guess...sigh. Anyway, at least our friend's can now give their daughter a USB flash drive that reflects her personal style. These MIMOBOT designer USB flash drives are becoming quite the collectibles for kids and adults alike. Okay, so designer flash drives do not exactly fall within the "must have" category. But, still...how cute can a little piece of technology get? We can definitely see the appeal of these little guys.