Last holiday season I wasn't overly festive. I just wanted to get the holidays and the gift shopping over with, so I made a quick list and dashed out to Bed, Bath, and Beyond to pick up a present for both of us, for the house. It's my way of being practical and frugal. Trust me, it doesn't last long. lol.
Anyway, what I finally decided on was something called a
Sodastream machine.
<---This is the model I bought. I think it's the cheapest one, but it seems to hold together well. The soda maker came with a box of sampler flavors and one carbonation canister. We managed to go through the sampler flavors pretty quick, so I was glad I'd thought to buy a few of the refill bottles in flavors I knew we like: cola, ginger ale, orange.
At the time, I also decided to buy a two pack of the one-liter bottles, even though it comes with two in the starter box. As it turns out, my guy likes the diet cola and I liked the ginger ale (More like Canada Dry, only less sweet), so we used the extra two bottles for the Sodastream knock-off of Sierra Mist, which they call Fountain Mist (but tastes more like a combination of Mountain Dew and Sierra Mist to us), and the diet orange (which is like a stronger version of Sunkist orange soda). I highly recommend using 'flavor dedicated' liter bottles, because we tried refilling one of the diet cola bottles with the diet orange. We rinsed it very well, but the aftertaste was not pleasant. lol. And since you can't sterilize the bottles in a dishwasher, it's better to rinse them very well after each use, but also keep the same flavor in the bottle every time.
We keep the liter bottles nice and cold in the refrigerator and pull them as needed. There are over 20 flavors to choose from I believe, but I know my local BB&D only carries a handful of the company's variety.
One of the main reasons I love this product has nothing to do with cost-savings or the environment. This is why I love my Sodastream: Last night was bitter cold, very windy, and drizzling sleet.
We had the fireplace o
n and blankets wrapped around us. I got up to get the liter bottle and it was empty. In the past, I'd have to check the pantry and hope we'd have another bottle in there, and more often than not, we didn't because my Bear used to go through about 3 cases of soft drinks in a week. I'd go reach for a can, and my hand would disappear inside an empty cardboard case.
I never get a warning, nothing like, "hon can you pick up a case of cola 'cause we're out." I always find out the hard way—when I'm thirsty and want another drink. And then one of us (usually me) would get the pleasure of running to the nearest convenience store (like having to leave your home at 11pm and drive in ice and sleet is convenient?).
Well, last night it happened again, but this time I simply got up and walked into my kitchen, rinsed out my liter bottle of diet ginger ale, and within 2-3 minutes had a full liter of freshly made ginger ale. Sorry, didn't mean to come across like an advertisement for the product, but I really do like it, and we are saving money over all by having the Sodastream.
So while it may save you money and may even be good for the environment, what I love is the convenience...and the excuse to run over to BB&D once a month to get a new flavor bottle...and anything else that catches my fancy. *shopPing luSt* lol.
The theater we went to is this huge place with all sorts of maze-like hallways and dozens of theater rooms. Of course the movie was playing in the very last theater in the back. So I grabbed the seats while my guy got the popcorn and drinks. The line wrapped half-way across the lobby, it was unreal. On the way out, after the movie, we stopped by the concession to get our refills on popcorn and drinks, since at those prices you want to get your monies worth. It was while in the line that my guy snapped this pic of a young woman with what looked like giant curlers in her hair. On closer inspection, we realized they were coke cans. Honest. I hope this is not a new fad or trend among our youth. ::shakes head::
The reading will be in voice/talk so remember your headphones if you use a laptop. :-) Must be 18+ to attend.
The other evening while Cora and I were skin shopping in SL, we decided one of the new skins and shapes I'd bought resembled a tanned Michelle Pfeiffer. 
Recalling her in the role of Catwoman, I decided there are worse actresses to mimic. But it is an odd coincidence, since I learned today that she is going to be in the Tim Burton remake of Dark Shadows! She's playing...get this...
With a little searching on the internet, I was able to find a few other of my former prized possessions—like this Chatty Cathy doll. When this came out, it was so cool that you could have a talking dolly. All the girls in school wanted one. I remember breaking the string and crying my heart out, fingers crossed my dad could fix it for me. And he did. :-) When I last saw her, I think we were living in Oceanside, California. That would have been maybe '66 or '67. Soon after that we moved to Niagara Falls, NY I think, or maybe that was when we moved to Plant City, Florida. We moved so many times and so many places, my childhood is a bit of a blur. Which is why I don't have many toys from my childhood still with me. ::sigh::
And then there were pop beads. Remember those? You could snap them on and pop them off to change the color pattern on your little necklace. Nowadays they would be banned as a choking hazard, but maybe we were just smarter back then, because I never thought to chew on them. That was what the ends of my ponytails were for! :munch: lol.
And then, there were the toys you loved to hate, or at least I did. These monkeys were ebils! lol. No matter how hard I tried the silly damn things never hooked together. grrr. I think they were made to teach kids how to deal with frustration. If so, then I failed. Most often they were left on the carpet in the living room and later sucked up by my mum's vacuum cleaner. Even so, they somehow always managed to show up on my dresser. ugh. Same thing with the old Colorforms. Remember those? They were a vacuum cleaner magnet, I swear. lol.
