What-What?! Week of May 4th

In just a few days, my baby will be two years old!  When did that happen?  I'm not ready for him to be so big.  He's a funny little guy, and a lot more far along developmentally than his older siblings at this age.  He talks so much, and so clearly.  His current interests include Thomas the Train (his favorite character is Percy), Chuck the Truck, and action figure "guys".  And Legos.  And dinosaurs.  Dragons, of course.  Barbies.  My Little Ponies.  Toothbrushes.  Pouring water on things (just not himself -- too close to taking a bath!).

But for all of his interests, I'm still his mama, and I get many snuggles. <3

Writing:  Amazon Royalties Payment!

Good news!  I have actually been paid for something that I wrote.  Mind you, it took 14 months to net that $107.99, but it still pleases me so.

News:  Industry Seeks Comment on Retirement of Coupon Barcodes via Progressive Grocer

In a step to further the move from standard UPC barcode coupons to databar coupons, the Joint Industry Coupon Committee is seeking comments from affected industries on the retirement of certain types of barcodes.  By June of 2015, all UPC-5 and GS1-99 barcodes will be retired, which is to say, most barcodes that still exist on coupons will disappear.

The move to databars for coupons has been in the works for about two years now, and it has advantages and disadvantages, both for the industry, and for customers.  It will lead to less coupon fraud, as well as accidental misredemption, but at the same time, which is great for manufacturers.  However, because the databar includes more information about what products are allowed and disallowed for the coupon, it will make it easier for coupons to be programmed improperly, not covering products that should be covered, leading to the dreaded "coupon not accepted" beep.  Granted, a certain amount of this happens already, but when a customer can look at the coding of the UPC and anticipate the beep, they can then be prepared to argue with the cashier if necessary (I've been there, done that).  For those that don't coupon often, you may be wondering how often coupons are misprogrammed?  While some manufacturers almost never have programming problems, some, like Nivea and Proctor & Gamble, have regular issues with it.  It's frustrating for customers and cashiers, and I expect for this to only increase with the databar codes.

(image via survivingthestores.com)

What-What?! Week of March 2nd

Last Saturday, when I told my daughter that she could do as much homework as she wanted, little did I know that I had released a ravenous monster.  In two days, she did about 20 pages of language arts homework, which confirmed what I'd been thinking for some time now; she's probably beyond first grade in reading.  The current plan is to let her finish zooming through the first grade work, then go on to the second grade book (which I need to pick up soon).

Cooking:  Lemon Butter via Tasty Kitchen

This is the second time I've posted about this delicious lemon butter.  It is so wonderfully fresh, especially during this drab time of the year.  I decided to live on the wild side, and opted not to use a double boiler, instead cooking it over low heat and stirring constantly.  It came out just fine, and was a lot less finicky to make than last time.  If you are going to make this lemon butter, though, do invest in a microplane of some sort -- it will make zesting the lemons immensely easier!

News:  Safeway in Discussion for Possible Sale via Progressive Grocer

This past year has been pretty rough for Safeway;  last year, the company divested itself of 72 stores in the Chicago area, some of which have been picked up by competitors like Whole Foods.  Even with those underperforming stores gone, the company's 2013 sales hadn't grown at all compared to 2012 numbers, and any same-store increases in sales were eaten up by decreasing fuel sales.  Basically, Safeway is going nowhere, and in the highly competitive grocery industry, that's bad news.  Getting rid of underperforming stores is generally speaking a good thing for short-term performance, but the affects of backing out of entire geographic areas may come back to bite them.  With all this going on, Safeway has announced that it is in talks to be bought out by a private investment firm of some sort.  According to this article, the firm is Cerberus Capital Management (though this fact isn't officially confirmed), which has some pretty significant
 experience in the grocery industry all ready, so all in all, the sale might be a good move for Safeway.

This Computer Game Lets You Stomp Peasants with the Famous Monty Python Foot via Yahoo! Tech

For those Monty Python fans, a bit of light amusement.  You play the giant foot from Monty Python, squashing peasants and knights.  This is a simple, though entertaining, game.  Go play it!
(imgs via Wikipedia, Yahoo! Tech)

What-What?! Week of July 21st

I was really, truly going to cook this week, but then I didn’t.  Recently, my husband has spent more time cooking than I have; I’ve been tired and honestly rather uninspired by the ingredients I’ve had around.

Grocery News:  Appearing Clean versus Being Clean via Progressive Grocer

I have a subscription to The Progressive Grocer magazine, which covers grocery industry news and trends; along with that subscription, I also receive The Independent Progressive Grocer, which is specifically for smaller chains and independent stores.  I really like The Independent, because it discusses issues on a store-level, as opposed to more general trends and news.  This past issue discussed the topic of cleanliness, especially in how it relates to appearance – a store cannot just be clean, it has to look clean.  Many times, a customer can’t tell if the store is being cleaned properly, which creates a situation where customers are dependent on cues from how things look.  In the article, store owners talked about the importance of how employees are dressed, how the floors look, and designing a store so that customers can see the food prep areas.  By having sharply-dressed employees, the least important parts of the store looking great, and having transparency, it builds consumer trust, which is incredibly important in the food industry (I’d never buy food from someone I don’t trust, that’s for sure!).

News:  Tyrannosaurus Rex– Ruthless Hunting Machine via The Guardian

Now for something awesome!  A skeleton of a Hadrosaur was found with a T-Rex tooth embedded in its spine.  This find has the possibility of settling the long-standing argument of whether a T-Rex was a hunter or a scavenger.  I am very excited by this – I grew up watching dinosaur documentaries arguing about this, and would love to see it put to rest.

Food:  Stove Top Macaroni and Cheese

After last week’s post about instant mac and cheese, I decided to make some of the real deal.  The method that I use is adapted from White on Rice Couple, though I only followed the recipe once, then never bothered to measure again.  This recipe is brilliant because you make the sauce while you cook the noodles, in the same pot!  The downside is that it takes near-constant stirring for 15 minutes, which is difficult when I’m home alone with the children.

Ingredients:

• Noodles (as much as you want; I use 1/2 pound)
• Milk (enough to cover noodles in pot; I use 2-3 cups milk)
• 1 tablespoon mustard (Dijon, yellow, brown, whatever’s in the ‘fridge)
• 1 cup shredded cheese (Cheddar, Monterey jack, etc.)
• Salt
• Nutmeg, if desired

Add noodles, mustard, salt, and nutmeg to saucepot, and fill pot with enough milk to cover.  Heat on high until simmering, then immediately turn down to low.  Continue to simmer, stirring often, for about 15 minutes, until milk is thickened and noodles are nearly cooked (add more milk if needed).  Stir in cheese, then cover pot for 3-5 minutes – the noodles will finish cooking and absorb more of the sauce.  Give one final stir, then enjoy.

Disney:  Boxes with Humor
I had ordered some toys from Disney to put away for birthdays and Christmas, so when we received this box, we put the kids in their room and opened it up (because we like to look at toys, too).  When the husband started opening the wrong side of the box, we saw this beauty:

 “Open other end, Dopey”.  Someone, somewhere made the decision to put that there.

Next week, I’ll be reviewing Captain Bogg and Salty’s most recent album, talking pirate festivals, and perhaps a scone recipe that’s currently in the works.  ‘Til then!

(img via guardian.co.uk)