After a most disturbing experience with my ridiculous Keurig KCup coffemaker that I purchased not even a month and a half ago, I had to do something to rectify my lack of coffee situation. Face it, I’m an addict. Must have coffee. Cannot survive without coffee.

I acted as quickly as I could, and I went armed with very little information so I really did feel blind. I looked at every model, every setting, every perk, every look – it was overwhelming.

I only really had a few simple requests, because I was holding out hope that someday I would have my Keurig back again (haha!). I wanted one that did not require the use of those stupid paper white coffee filters, I wanted one that was programmable and that wouldn’t shut off after 30 minutes. And I wanted one that was easy to clean. That’s ALL I was really asking for.

I found the Black and Decker 12 cup Programmable Coffemaker and brought it home after thinking about it for about fifteen minutes while I finished shopping for other stuff. I’m so thankful I did. While I do still hold out a little hope that my Keurig will begin miraculously working at some point, or a newer model will land on my doorstep tomorrow, we all know that it isn’t going to happen.

I opened up my box and was thrilled to see that it was just a simple plug-in coffee maker and that it needed no assembly. Not only does it not need the stupid white paper coffee filters, the removable coffee filter it does come with, is perfect and very easy to use (and clean).

The coffeemaker is programmable (delayed brewing), allows for strength adjustment (regular/strong), allows you to brew between 1-4 cups of coffee OR an entire pot, keeps the coffee hot for up to 2 hours (this feature is VERY hard to find in coffee makers!), comes with a sneak a cup feature (it pauses momentarily for you to remove the carafe and pour yourself a cup of coffee while still brewing), and is truly simple to clean. I love this coffee maker and it is affordable and brews a delicious cup of coffee!

Updated: After using this coffee maker for a full month, daily – I still cannot say anything bad about the coffee maker. I have had no issues, it brews a delicious pot of coffee, and it so super easy to clean and use.

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If you have been following me for any length of time, one of the first things you learn, is how much I absolutely adore my coffee. I mean, LIVE for my coffee. Like, so much when the kids play Whoonu with me, they all pray they get the ‘coffee‘ card for me. Well, with that knowledge, then one may deduct that perhaps it is imperative that I have a coffee maker that works. Right?

Back on November 24, 2009, I proudly wrote a blog post and review on the brand new Keurig Elite Home Brewing System coffee maker I had just bought. It was NOT a bad review. Quite the opposite. I believe I raved about what an awesome cup of coffee the new gadget had brewed.

Well, today is January 5, 2010 and I hate the damn thing. Okay, so perhaps hate is a strong word, but I am a coffee addict. And when a coffee maker cannot even survive in my household for a month and a half, we have problems.

So here are my problems:

• The light on the ‘add water’ spot hardly ever lights up, even when clearly it needs water.
• The ‘descale’ light has not lit as of yet, which is good since it predicts about every six months.
• The problem with this, is that all of a sudden about a week ago, the water started coming out in a very slow trickle. I tried cleaning it. I tried running it with no coffee grounds, and then as a last resort, I tried descaling it. (two bottles of vinegar LATER)
• When I called Keurig, the gal that answered the phone was nice enough for the first minute or so as she insisted that it needed to be descaled. Once I told her I had already done it, she seemed to get edgy and frustrated with me. It was as if the only solution to ANY problem with the stupid machine, MUST be to descale. Yeah. Well I would be THRILLED if that had worked. Instead I have an expensive coffee maker that simply is unusable at this point, the extra extension pod to use any coffee but is useless without the Keurig, and two HUGE boxes full of coffee pods that I can do absolutely nothing with.

So I reverted back to using my ridiculous $20 Mr. Coffee maker that has been around for about 9 years now. I mean really. My $20 coffee maker lasted longer than my $130 one?

Sure, makes sense. Do you have any experience with the Keurig – good or bad? Please tell me about it, maybe you can make me hate the company a little less.

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So about a week ago you saw me post a post about seeing the Bucket Boys at the Duquoin State Fair two years ago. They rocked. I even included the video clip of my daughter on stage with them.

Well, tonight I was perusing around Youtube and happened to find a hilarious parody and I’m sitting there listening to it and then I favorited it because it made me laugh. Then I go to subscribe to the dude and realize I’m already subscribed and then I realize its Vince from the Bucket Boys! Vince we loved you that day, and you just made me adore you even more. I so wish you would record that because I would totally buy it! LOL

So here it is for those that haven’t seen it yet!

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I read so much that I have the hardest time when I go to the library because I feel as if I’ve read practically everything. Obviously, I have not. But still I have a hard time. So I was walking up and down the library aisles about two weeks ago, and I saw this whole row of brightly colored books. I’m a sucker for an author that has a large series of books, because if I like the author, I read them all. So her name is Joanne Fluke, and it was a total ‘fluke’ that I found her.

Joanne Fluke writes the Hannah Swenson mystery series, and I’m totally hooked. I’ve devoured two of them in a couple of days and I really like them. They are really light reading, humorous and fun. I love a good mystery, but these have a little twist. They have recipes sprinkled throughout and tied into the book series. Interesting and I’ve already tried two recipes, and am making a third tonight. I’ll let you know how it goes.

So I picked up as many as I could find at two libraries and requested the rest. So now I have a HUGE stack of books sitting here, and a garage sale project and then my writing, and I am trying to divide everything up and still have a life. Ms. Fluke should be proud. LOL She has me totally hooked. If you are looking for something new to read, pick up one of Joanne Fluke’s books, (I liked Cherry Cheesecake Murder – it was the first I read) and grab a cup of coffee (and make sure you’ve eaten, because oh my goodness she talks about food a lot!) and enjoy the book. I’m so glad I found her. I know many of you might even know of her already, but she was new to me and I’m glad I went walking through the aisles.

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I am happier than a clam. Do you ever get annoying telemarketer calls (even when you are on the ‘No-Call’ list?) You know – the computer generated ones where there is no live person to talk to so there is no way to ask them to remove you!?!?!

Check this out!

Many of those annoying prerecorded telemarketing calls will be history starting Sept. 1. The Federal Trade Commission said Thursday that it is banning these “robocalls” to consumers, unless the telemarketer has written permission from a customer that he or she wants to receive these calls. Violaters will face penalties of up to $16,000 per call.

“American consumers have made it crystal clear that few things annoy them more than the billions of commercial telemarketing robocalls they receive every year,” said Jon Leibowitz, Chairman of the FTC. “Starting September 1, this bombardment of prerecorded pitches, senseless solicitations, and malicious marketing will be illegal. If consumers think they’re being harassed by robocallers, they need to let us know, and we will go after them.”

The ban does not apply to recorded informational messages such as those that notify people about flight cancellations or school delays.

After September 1, consumers who receive prerecorded telemarketing calls but have not agreed to get them should file a complaint with the Commission, either on the ftc.gov Web site or by calling 1-877-FTC-HELP.

It’s about time!!

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I’m completely swooning. This beautiful baby was my second favorite Christmas gift this year. Among the clothes and accessories, knick knacks, books and other wonderful things I received, were two big boxes both from my mother. I was shocked when I saw the coffee maker, and was even more surprised when I opened the largest box and discovered this baby from my tiny wish list too. Isn’t it ironic that both of my favorite Christmas gifts were for my kitchen. I’m seriously a cooking addict.

This is Emeril’s bread machine and it is so fantastic. Not only does it make some amazing bread, but you don’t have to do anything. It does all the work. I was surprised when it told me to just add bread flour, then add some sugar and then a few more things – no mixing – no nothing – dump, press the button for what you are making and go. You can even preset it to start while you are away, which to me is reminiscent of a crock pot, only bread tastes much better in a bread machine.

Everything pictured here was included in the box I got – including a whole ring full of recipe cards from Emeril’s collection and then a user manual with even more recipes. Oh, and the bread maker doesn’t just make bread – nope it helps prepare the dough for rolls, and even makes baguettes! See those cute trays on the left – yep those are baguette trays! I just love this machine. So expect a recipe or two and some pictures of our creations.

Does anyone else have this bread maker? What have you made in it?

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Is this seriously the most beautiful thing ever? This was one of my Christmas gifts this year from my mother who always tries to get me whatever is on my wish list every year. This year I totally did not expect it because the coffee maker was a bit more than what we usually spend for Christmas all by itself.

So I get this baby home (it’s a Melitta ME1MSB Smart Brew), and I am SO excited to get rid of the $12 temporary model I was using and plug ‘er right in. Imagine my surprise when all of a sudden I’m looking at the weather, the three day forecast, the wind speed, sunset/sunrise times and so much more. All that and it brews coffee too! And just for the record, if anyone ever tells you that a coffee maker is a coffee maker – ha! I can totally prove them wrong – this baby makes one heck of a cup of coffee. The reason I wanted this specific model is because it is an upgrade from my former coffee maker that took her own life about a year ago. (pictured below) – it grinds and it doesn’t require filters because there is a built in filter. It’s simply beautiful. So how does this little miracle get all this information to you everyday? It connects to an invisible FM signal (and no I didn’t have to set up a thing – all I had to do was plug ‘er in!) and she downloaded straight from MSN Direct.

Seriously this is the best coffee maker ever and my mom gave me the best Christmas present ever!

Oh, and this picture (to the right) is my former coffee maker that died last year (like as in 2007). Same brand, lesser model – retired now. I loved her once, but now there’s a new baby in town!

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