KFC, I Give You Props!

Yep. I'm singing praises to world-famous chicken extraordinaire, Kentucky Fried Chicken. At least for the one that is right up the street from us. And believe me, I don't do this with ANY business that often. Even the grocery chain my husband works for. That should say something.

Earlier in the day, I decided to get myself and the kiddies out of the house. It was not too hot at that point. And I needed to go to Kmart to shop for a birthday and then to our family-owned (no, not MY family, silly!), local-based pet shop. Seeing as I don't drive, Kmart and that pet store, which I DO favor over PetSmart, are the closest for me to walk to. And actually, I favor walking over driving, in all honesty.

We were all hungry (okay, three of the four, seeing as my son whined per usual about where we are going) and so I suggested going to KFC first and chow down. Which is exactly what we did.

I placed my order with a new lackey trainee (unbeknown to me until AFTER the fact, mind you). Simply it was TWO number sevens, a KIDS popcorn chicken meal and an order of mac and cheese with a small drink on the side.

Well, I don't know if their day before we planted our butts in the seats was just short of shitty in having customer relations. But when the (REALLY) nice lady said it will be a few minutes to FRESHLY cook our number seven meat and the popcorn chicken, for our trouble, she *THREW IN FOR FREE* an order of chicken strips, a large order of potato wedges (three small orders in one) and a couple of FREE single serve mashed taters.

To say I was beside myself I think was an understatement. In fact, it's a wonder I didn't hear "ka-ching!" as my mouth dropped to the floor like a fast-opening cash drawer.

Maybe it's because I didn't go all postal over the fact that we had to do this thing in life called "wait" for our food as it was being *freshly* prepared. Or was it because I didn't go off like a half-cocked bitch because the "newbie" messed up and instead placed the order as a *FAMILY SIZE* popcorn chicken, and NOT a "Kids Meal" (in which the lady gave me back the *DIFFERENCE* of price for on her own!)? Either way, I was (more than) pleasantly surprised.

I have had some pretty low-down and crappy service in my time at different venues. And I have had five-star service inside of two-star places. But today, Kentucky Fried Chicken here up the street from me *REALLY* pulled out all the stops and totally won me over.

Especially the one lady. She never got huffy, rolled her eyes, or even "debated" with me over ANYTHING. She quickly and proficiently corrected my order, gave me back money I was due, apologized and ensured that my family's dining experience was well worth the visit.

And it was.

My First Product Review

I love desserts. And I love gum. Now, I can have the best of both worlds. All at one time. And that makes for a "Happy" Homemaker in this Diary entry.

Extra brand gum has recently introduced a new line of product that gives you the wonderful taste of classic and popular desserts, without the weight gain that normally goes with such indulgences.

First up is Mint Chocolate Chip flavor.

I love chocolate. I like mint flavor. I love these two in combination in a bowl of ice cream. But sadly, I do not care much for the gum. It's too minty, and for me does not have enough chocolate flavor to appease my palate. All you honestly taste IS the mint. And it's too overpowering.

Next up is the Key Lime Pie flavor.

I'm a fan of Key Lime flavored yogurt. But I was pretty iffy about it being as a gum flavor of choice. But that all changed this past week when my daughter's Kindergarten teacher slipped me a piece of her Key Lime Pie Extra Gum. It was rich and bold with the Key Lime flavor. But not too robust. It truly tasted like I was eating a piece of homemade Key Lime Pie. Decadent!

Now, last, but certainly not least (in the least bit) is the Strawberry Shortcake flavor.

WOW!!! I'd just bought this flavor this evening. I was blown away by how close it is to the "real thing". I loved chewing my Strawberry Shortcake G-U-M. In fact, I had to keep reminding myself not to swallow because in fact, I was chewing on gum, not on a real piece of Strawberry Shortcake (which is one of my other fave desserts, FYI).

All in all, the Extra brand Desserts line is really good. With exception to my disdain for the Mint Chocolate Chip, I can safely say that I indeed will be buying this brand's line of chewing gum in the future.

**DISCLAIMER**

In no way is the Author of 'The (Not Always) Happy Homemaker Diary' being paid, or is endorsing said product for monetary gain. All comments and review remarks are of the ideals, views and of this product is of this Blog's Author.

I Think I Was Given Bad Shrooms, Man!!

You know, it's bad enough that Dominos Pizza has now given my husband the WRONG pizza (we use Delivery Service) twice out of the last five of our orders. He ALWAYS gets the Meatza (where it is ALL meat, not a speck of veggie on it because he's a typical man and just rolls like that).

When Dominos last messed up before this, they gave him the one with BOTH meat AND veggies. I specifically said (seeing as I had a brain fart and couldn't remember the actual pizza's name) ALL MEAT, not with ANY veggies. I trusted the girl on the other end of the line to KNOW what I was talking about, seeing as she IS an employee and all.

Last night we went ahead and ordered pizza, seeing as my plans to make a spaghetti dinner were kind of ruined.

See, I have not one, but TWO big refrigerators in my kitchen as I type this. One is the pretty new (but barely used) one that we set up last night. This one has a WORKING water/ice dispenser. But Scott had to clean it really well with Bleach Spray. That alone sent me to tears and in to burning breathing...Even with windows OPEN.

The other of course, is the old one that also too needs to be cleaned. Scotty wants me to clean it BEFORE he moves it. Riiiight!!! I can barely get around in that tiny kitchen with those two giant fridges up in there. I'll wait until he and his brother MOVE IT out of my way, even though it means lots of trips up and down the basement stairs.

And I have totally gotten off track..Back to the bad mushroom pizza and the screw up. (=

The kids got their pizza and started munching right away. As did I with my green peeper, onion and (apparently Psychedelic) mushroom pizza. Poor Scott got a Pineapple and Bacon pizza. And the box (after looking at it) said the CORRECT pizza with chicken and bacon added. But the WRONG pizza was in it. Niiiice.

Poor quality, but this as close to "Psychedelic" as I can get to, let alone WANT TO get to...



My poor husband had to wait yet an extra thirty-five minutes to get his CORRECT pizza and chow down.

We got to keep the Bacon and Pineapple pizza, so I took a piece and tried it. Pretty good, actually!

At first all was fine and dandy for me, sleep wise. But then about an hour or two of being in bed, my youngest comes in in semi-tears and said she had a bad dream and asked if she could sleep with us. So, I became "monkey in the middle", squished between her and her Daddy.

Sometime after that, began the uber scary dreams of zombies, gross and gruesome violence that ensued from being chased by the undead creatures, and other manic and weird dreams.

I think this one best describes the look on my face in the vivid dreams of being chased..



Here's to a much better, zombie-less filled tonight. I'm done with being chased thanks to mushrooms that give me more than a kick.

It Was A 'Pay It Forward' kind of evening

They say that Angels walk among us. They are hidden within society, not showing their wings, as to blend in. They show mercy, love and kindness. Some are our Guardian Angels, sent here to be with us, help guide us and to protect us.

I truly believe we have met an "Angel in Disguise"...

Last night, hubby and I decided to take the kids out for dinner. He was in the mood for Wendy's (seeing as what he is REALLY in the mood for, he can't have at the moment, so something else HAS TO take its place).

After a good, long wait, being that for some reason, the place was packed and the line long (on a SUNDAY night), we finally made it up to the counter to give the Cashier our order.

Between the meal combos and the Frosties (can't leave without having a Frosty!)the bill racked up to almost forty dollars (within a few cents!).

Scott whipped out the trusty Check Card and proceeded to hand it to the lady behind the counter, only to be told to put his card back in to his wallet.

After giving the woman a puzzled look, she said "someone already paid for your order" and then secretively-like told Scott it was the "lady ahead of you in the pink shirt".

By that time, I'd already sat the kids down at a table. He came to me and explained all that transpired and I was just flabbergasted, to say the least. So, as the "Lady In Pink" was sitting at a booth, awaiting her order, I sauntered over and thanked her for her sincere kindness.

Being that my poor cell phone was about to die, I had enough umph in it to post a text to my FaceBook about it. When I got home, I was surprised at how many "liked" or replied to my post. Especially those that were shocked that there are still people out there that love others enough, even strangers, to do "random acts of kindness".

But like I later stated on another Status I had done, the kindness of strangers still amazes me, but doesn't truly surprise me. I know that they are still out there, though in now a rare breed.

And like I said, blessed are the meek. This woman and her generous heart had taught my children something that no school, nor even I as a parent talking about it could ever teach them. They witnessed what I have told them about "love thy neighbor and do unto others as you wish to have done unto you".

They know (well, at least the two older ones do) that eventually, and as a family mind you, we intend to "pay it forward" to a fellow stranger. Be it at a restaurant, at the gas station or even the grocery store.

And after what I'd been witness to and on the receiving end of, it took me back to the movie starring Haley Joel Osment, Kevin Spacey and Helen Hunt aptly named "Pay It Forward", where a teacher who is scarred from a fire has his class do a project of doing a good deed for someone, then in turn that person does a good deed for another. Then that person goes and also does a good deed, and so on. The stipulation? The receiver MUST follow through and "pay it forward" with an act of kindness towards another. Be it a stranger or a friend or family member.

With that all said, I *CHALLENGE* all of my readers who are reading this post to go out and "PAY IT FORWARD". And it does NOT have to be with buying something or paying for something for another person. Just as long as it's a random act of kindness.

McDonald's is changing the world.

McDonald's. It's been a kid-friendly staple for over fifty years. Who knew that when Ray Kroc first opened his little burger joint's doors, that it would be the mega-empire it is today?

It wasn't (if I remember correctly) until the middle 1970's that Happy Meals started to appear. Back then, it was either a hamburger or cheeseburger, with a small fry and a kid-sized drink.

Today, there are various types of Happy Meals. From burgers, to nuggets, to even a Snack Wrap. Plus you can now choose fries or "Apple Dippers", and either a milk (or chocolate milk), Apple Juice, or a fountain drink (AKA soda).

The other day, I had taken my kids for a breakfast. I had no milk, so no cereal. And I wanted to get out of the house anyways. At first I didn't seem to notice, but when I went to throw some trash away, I did.

Usually, you can see the small, plastic boxes where you can drop coins in to the box's slot. All proceeds in that box goes to the Ronald McDonald's Charity House for your general locality.

There, now in a huge window display poster, it now reads that Happy Meals and McDonald's was bringing even more smiles...and hope to kids and their families.

Namely families with sick, hospitalized children.

To my memory, if it serves me right, my parents, a time or two, had to stay at the Ronald McDonald Charity House while I was hospitalized. Plus, even though it was for a (grown) uncle, I and his (then) girlfriend and were able to stay a night at the Ronald McDonald Charity House here for this area.

McDonald's has (for the most part) always been committed to children and their families. They help HUNDREDS of families every year, around the United States.

When families, and their children must travel long distances for medical treatment, or the child is transferred via ambulance or helicopter to a distant hospital, then this is where the RMCH comes in.

They house the family (and sometimes the child too, if they are not admitted to the hospital), feed them a meal, let them shower and rest. And the RMCH has as much of a comfortable environment as possible. To make it as much a "home away from home" as they can make it.

I'm so happy that children and their families have somewhere to go, and feel safe, and be comfortable, as well as relaxed during their child's most trying time of life. And I'm happy to be a part of it. I love giving back to those that helped me and my family when I was a child. Be it RMCH, Children's Miracle Network (CMN), or Shriner's Organization.

Without them all, I don't know where myself, my parents or the millions of families like ours would have (or would in the future) do without them.