Home And Family USA

Just because your mornings and the ensuing rat race may feel mundane, the fuel that gets you going and the apparatus it comes in do not have to bore you. I want to revive the reputation of your most under appreciated friend - the coffee mug. Although coffee mugs have been given so often as presents that they carry a boring reputation, they are still a great gift. They just need to be dressed up a bit.

Fill a mug with candy, tea bags or coffee beans. You can put a small stuffed animal in a mug or fill it with silk flowers. Coffee mugs do not have to be boring. Check out antique malls or artsy retailers for a great mug that reflects your personality. You are more than the world’s greatest grandma - say so with unique coffee mugs.

I have to say that I am not a big fan of some types of personalized coffee mugs. I really do not want to wake up and see the skewed face of my mother in the morning. You have seen those, right. The coffee mugs that you can put a picture on? Basically, I think it is a good general rule not to create anything or give anything as a gift that will lead to the recipient eating off of your face. Read that last sentence again and try to tell me that you disagree. If you do, you are kind of a freak, huh?

Coffee mugs can do a lot more than just hold coffee. I own a few large coffee mugs that are the size of soup bowls. I use them for everything from ice cream, soup, cereal or even a pasta dinner. These over-sized coffee mugs are perfect for any food or drink. Since they have handles, as do most all coffee mugs, they are easy to hold onto if you want to have a snack in bed or in front of the television.

Ramen noodles are a perfect fit in these coffee mugs and I think that size of mug is perfect for keeping the spilling accidents at a minimum. As a habitual mess maker myself, I can attest to the importance of dinnerware that is designed in such a way that makes it difficult to spill. The large mugs I use for all kinds of meals can be held comfortably in my hands and I have yet to spill with them. Rethink the great mug. It may be a better gift idea than you remember. You may be able to take care of a lot of the people on your Christmas gift list by finding the right mugs.

Cereal boxes have taken over my life. This was never a problem for me before because my husband and I each had our favorite brands that we ate all the time. We had a few cereal boxes in our cupboards, but they rarely took up too much space. Now that I have a child, the number of cereal boxes in my home has tripled. It’s an interesting phenomenon to tell you the truth. I don’t understand how the addition of one small person in my home could possibly cause the tripling of the number of cereals we need.

It’s happened though. I now have two cupboards full of cereal boxes. I’m not even sure why. What I do know is that my husband and my daughter always have the same argument in the grocery store. Each one wants a different type of cereal though they start out thinking they will find a box to share. Why my husband insists on trying to share each week boggles my mind. I figure that by now, he should know what is coming. He seems to forget that each week this share tactic always ends in tears for one of them. Ok, maybe he doesn’t exactly cry in the store, but sometimes I wonder.

What happens when the great cereal debate is over is what contributes to the mounting piles of cereal boxes in my home. They decide they both want something different, so we get two types of cereal. Sometimes, we end up with three. I don’t know if we are living in some alternate universe, but we seem to buy the bottomless kind of cereal boxes. They are never ending and before we can get one empty, new cereal boxes have roosted in my cupboards.

Perhaps I am just too lazy to deal with it or perhaps I’m just tired of getting rid of the last little bit of cereal that must be poisoned. It must be, otherwise why won’t anyone eat it? Surely it’s just as good as the stuff at the top of the box right? Occasionally, I get in a mood and I have to do something about it. This usually happens after I have opened the cupboard and sixteen cereal boxes have launched an aerial assault on my head. I’m sure this is planned. My husband would have you think that they are just falling out. I know better.

If you are also losing the endless battle with the cereal boxes in your home, I urge you to take a stand. Don’t allow the boxes to take over. Your very life could depend on it. Make sure your family is aware of the dangers. It only takes two cereal boxes to ruin a perfectly coifed hairdo and another to take a chunk out of your cheek. I’ve lived it and I want to spare you. Captain Crunch is just not as innocent as he looks.