While painting your home can be fun, it can also be very tedious.  The fun parts include picking out the colors and seeing the finished product.   Unfortunately, those activities only make up about 1% of the time spent on the project.  The other 99% is spent on the grueling labor of sanding, tedious brush strokes, and constant clean-up.   Since no one will pay me to paint my own home, I have to do it in my free time which I prefer to enjoy as much as possible.  That’s why it’s important that I always have two additional supplies on hand; music and beer.  I’m not talking about drinking and jamming out while up on a ladder painting my second story window frames.  I’m also not talking about throwing a keg party where I offer free beer to any friends willing to help me paint.  I’m talking about a few beers and good music making the tedious parts of painting feel more like relaxing on the porch on a spring afternoon.  But if drinking on the job is...

I grew up using non-stick Calphalon cookware.  While the non-stick feature was nice, you couldn’t use metal utensils on it.  One way or another it eventually got scratched and had to be replaced.  There were also heat restrictions on it, so its uses were limited.  I remember this one bulky, black pan that always sat in the back of the pan drawer.  It didn’t have the sleek look of a new Calphalon pan and the handle and pan were all one piece.  I figured it was something that my parents held on to for sentimental reasons, maybe their first frying pan.  I may have tried cooking with it once but didn’t know what I was doing and everything stuck to it.  It wasn’t until my twenties that I discovered the wonders of cast iron when used properly.  Today, whether I’m pan searing a steak, preparing gumbo in a pot, cooking bacon and eggs on a griddle, or frying stir-fry in a wok, I’m using cast iron.  I even found a lesser known cast iron piece call...

We all know the obvious reasons to shop local.  Keep the profits in your community.  Support your neighbors.  When you shop at a big box store, your money goes to a corporation’s shareholders all over the world.  But the general consensus is that prices are higher if you shop local.  So when it comes time to check out at a local retail store, you think, “Great! I’m doing my part.”  But a part of you would like to walk away with the extra jingle in your pocket.  You ask yourself, “Will I really see the extra money I spent come back to me?”  Why must it cost more to shop local?  Popular opinion would say that local stores have less buying power.  They have to pay more for their products.  Thus, they must charge more.  While this is true to an extent, the bigger truth is that big box stores came to market with a more sophisticated pricing strategy.  Traditionally, stores doubled cost on their products.  This allowed b...

Working at Blankenships’ Universal Supply, I have sold dog food to Mobile residents in the midtown and downtown area for nine years.  I obtained my expertise in dog food through research and years of customer feedback.  It is very difficult to find accurate and unbiased information.  Only through speaking with my customers over the years have I been able to identify information I can trust.   Most of my customers come to me looking for a better dog food because their pet is having issues.  But what about those of you with pets who seem to be doing fine on inexpensive, low quality food?  Or those of you who think it’s silly to spend money on premium food for your pet.   “Do I really need to feed my dog better food?” Pet owners who are health conscience in their own food choices are generally health conscience in how they feed their pets.  But what if you are not a “health nut?”  Do you have anything to gain from feeding your dog bett...

Plumbers can smell your fear, and they charge you for it.  Whether it’s a running toilet or a clogged drain, a plumber is going to charge you $80 - $100 just for the trip; and another $80 - $100 for each additional hour.   Plumbing parts don’t cost nearly that much, and $80 an hour is a steep labor fee (I know I don’t make nearly that much).  So what are you being charged for?  The answer is your fear.  Often times the fix is easier than putting together Legos.  But plumbing is intimidating.  And what if you make a mistake?  A water leak can cost thousands in repairing damage to flooring and walls.  Well I’m going to let you in on a little secret that might cost me a few of my plumber customers.  Plumbing is easy.  Sometimes a little nasty, but it’s not rocket science.  It can be as easy as screwing a hose to a water faucet.  And if you have a helpful, local hardware store; a sales person will tell you what you need and ho...

Many of my customers have been freaking out recently about a potential link between grain free dog foods and a heart condition called canine dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM).  If you are one of the concerned, I want to let you know that your dog can get most of the benefits you’ve seen from your grain free dog food by switching to a quality dog food with grain.  You can still see an improved coat, lean and muscular body mass, and avoid allergies with a quality food with grain.  The only benefit you will lose is smaller, cleaner stool as grains are full of insoluble fiber.  Be sure the food you select has barley, oatmeal, rice, or millet.  Avoid foods with corn, wheat, or soy.  Meat, or meat meal, should still be the first ingredient listed on the AAFCO approved label on the packaging.  If the food meets these criteria, your dog can still be healthy and you can sleep better at night.  You may just need a larger pooper scooper.  If you are not su...