I have a B.B.A in Marketing from Cleveland State University in Cleveland, OH. As far as I am concerned, marketing involves a lot of common sense!! On May 15, I learned that three competitive supermarket chains that do business in Worcester County, MA are too indistinguishable from one another for the most part!
Patty, Bob, and I started off at the Stop and Shop on West Boylston Street in Worcester. My main purchases there were the Megabucks and the Lucky for Life Games operated by the Massachusetts Lottery! I believe that they are losers, but I am going to bring them to Max and Erma's in Middleburg Hts., OH on Monday when we celebrate my sister Kathleen's Birthday. Bob and I then looked around the store at items that we would purchase!! Their prices were high! A gallon of milk cost over $4. We paid $2.29 at the Aldi in Leominster, MA the day before. One area that did impress me was the large Organic and/or Gluten Free Sections! I think that the store needs to lower their prices!!
The next store was Price Chopper on Pullman Street in Worcester! Bob and I bought Amy and Dave's Anniversary Gift Card! We chose Ninety Nine Restaurants for them because we had enjoyed their Fitchburg branch a little over a year ago! O'Charley's owns Ninety Nine Restaurants, but their gift cards are currently separate! Once again, we studied what we like to purchase! Price Chopper really needs to lower their prices immediately!! The store had a nice atmosphere, though!
After we were done, we went to Wild Willy's Burgers on West Boylston Street in Worcester (near Greendale Mall) for lunch! I had done some research in a Restaurant Franchise directory earlier in the year! However, Patty suggested this restaurant without knowing any of this. I had a Bison Burger with mushrooms and Swiss Cheese, French Fries, and a glass of Coke! The bison tasted better than I expected!! We enjoyed our meals!!
After lunch was finished, we went to Big Y World Class Market in Holden, MA! Unlike the other two stores, this store was in a strip with other stores!! Big Y was not much different than the other two stores! I bought a couple of newspapers! The funny thing is that the clerk typed a wrong number making it look like there was a penny tax on the paper! Neither the clerk nor I realized what had happened!
After Big Y, we picked up an Anniversary card for Amy and Dave at the adjacent Dollar Tree because we left the one that we had purchased in the Cleveland area back at our house. The shopping was over for the day! Surprisingly, nobody asked us if we had Store Rewards Cards!! We can't wait for our next trip to some other grocery stores in the region!
We went back to Patty and Dan Sr.'s house! Dinner was Chicken Alfredo with peas and carrots! (The Pasta is a ?!) It was delicious!! We then spent the rest of the evening watching ABC from 8:00 to 10:00 and relaxing. The excitement is starting to build!!
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
Saturday, May 25, 2013
Another Great Day!! (The 2013 Vacation Part Two)
The highlights of this day were a trip to Greendale Mall in Worcester, MA (Enclosed Strip Mall Atmosphere, just like it was twenty years ago)! Dan Sr. and Patty dropped us off because of a prior commitment! Bob and I ate lunch at Stir Fry 88 in the mall! We do have this chain locally, but this was our first full meal there! Bob and I will make our presence shown at the branch at Great Northern Mall in the future! (The traditional fast food days of that mall's food court ended when the food court was relocated about 18 months ago!)
After browsing in the mall, we went back to Patty and Dan's house!! While Dan went back to work, Patty, Bob, and I went to Aldi in Leominster and bought some groceries and supplies. Patty now has her "Advanced Aldi Degree!" Dinner was Kielbasa and Sauerkraut with Potatoes O'Brien (Instead of the homemade boiled potatoes that I had when we had this meal for dinner when we were growing up! One of these days, I will have to cook kielbasa and sauerkraut (I have microwaved sauerkraut.). It was as good as I remember it!!)
Once again, we relaxed. The fun is about to start!! Wait for Parts 4 and 5!!
After browsing in the mall, we went back to Patty and Dan's house!! While Dan went back to work, Patty, Bob, and I went to Aldi in Leominster and bought some groceries and supplies. Patty now has her "Advanced Aldi Degree!" Dinner was Kielbasa and Sauerkraut with Potatoes O'Brien (Instead of the homemade boiled potatoes that I had when we had this meal for dinner when we were growing up! One of these days, I will have to cook kielbasa and sauerkraut (I have microwaved sauerkraut.). It was as good as I remember it!!)
Once again, we relaxed. The fun is about to start!! Wait for Parts 4 and 5!!
Sometimes, a Risk Is Worth Taking (The 2013 Vacation (Part 1))
On May 13, My brother Bob and I flew from Cleveland, OH to Warwick, RI (Near Providence) to visit our sister Patty and her husband Dan Sr., who live in Lancaster, MA (near Worcester). While waiting for our flight, we shared a footlong chicken sub from Subway in Cleveland's Airport!! It was delicious!! Our flight was rather tranquil! However, despite the seat belt sign being lit the entire flight, at least seven people chose to ignore it!! This was something that we never noticed before! If you think that is exciting, you will be in for a roller coaster of an adventure!!
Upon arriving in Warwick, we were picked up by Patty and Amy Gould, a close friend of Patty and Dan Sr. who lives in Lunenberg, MA currently, but used to live in Lancaster! She was joining us for the trip to Foxwoods Casino (Check the April 2012 archives for the exact location.). I had suggested Mohegan Sun Casino, also in CT or Twin Rivers Casino in Lincoln, RI, but a return trip to Foxwoods was suggested because it was the best option! We used Amy's GPS that was on her new phone! This allowed us to have a very close look at her personality! She's not boring!!
We arrived at the casino complex. Since Patty and Amy had not eaten lunch yet, (It was about 3:30 PM) we started off at the Festival Buffet within the complex! The variety of food was overwhelming! The layout was arranged by course (Soups, Salad, Entrees, Desserts, Breads, etc.), ethnicity (Asian, Italian, Mexican, etc.), or type (Seafood, Meat, Vegetables, Pasta, Beverages, etc.). The food was clearly identified for the most part. Normally, I would have eaten a lot more at a buffet, but I was not that hungry because a 6" Sub can be filling!! I still chose a variety of the options that I have mentioned! Surprisingly, the seafood and salad sections were avoided because they either were not the healthiest (Breaded Seafood was prevalent on the lunch menu.), or they were too tempting (Salad bars tend to have healthy forms of fruits and vegetables, but not so healthy items, such as mousse or hard boiled eggs/egg salad (They do get credit for not loading them in mayonnaise, though.) make a presence sometimes.). I ate most of the food that I had selected, but I left some of my dessert because I was full! I enjoyed my food for the most part! I was able to give a "refresher" course on Pierogis and Hush Puppies for Patty and Amy's benefit! Bob and I know them all too well since we were raised on them! Patty and Amy may have either had no recent experience, or the food had an ethnic cousin that could cause confusion!!
After our meal, we gambled in a number of the many casinos in the complex! No really big winnings happened this time, but we still had fun trying! Last year was attributed to Beginner's luck for me!
When we were done gambling, we went back to Patty and Dan's house! Amy went to her house! We visited and relaxed for the rest of the evening! Day one of the trip was now over!
Upon arriving in Warwick, we were picked up by Patty and Amy Gould, a close friend of Patty and Dan Sr. who lives in Lunenberg, MA currently, but used to live in Lancaster! She was joining us for the trip to Foxwoods Casino (Check the April 2012 archives for the exact location.). I had suggested Mohegan Sun Casino, also in CT or Twin Rivers Casino in Lincoln, RI, but a return trip to Foxwoods was suggested because it was the best option! We used Amy's GPS that was on her new phone! This allowed us to have a very close look at her personality! She's not boring!!
We arrived at the casino complex. Since Patty and Amy had not eaten lunch yet, (It was about 3:30 PM) we started off at the Festival Buffet within the complex! The variety of food was overwhelming! The layout was arranged by course (Soups, Salad, Entrees, Desserts, Breads, etc.), ethnicity (Asian, Italian, Mexican, etc.), or type (Seafood, Meat, Vegetables, Pasta, Beverages, etc.). The food was clearly identified for the most part. Normally, I would have eaten a lot more at a buffet, but I was not that hungry because a 6" Sub can be filling!! I still chose a variety of the options that I have mentioned! Surprisingly, the seafood and salad sections were avoided because they either were not the healthiest (Breaded Seafood was prevalent on the lunch menu.), or they were too tempting (Salad bars tend to have healthy forms of fruits and vegetables, but not so healthy items, such as mousse or hard boiled eggs/egg salad (They do get credit for not loading them in mayonnaise, though.) make a presence sometimes.). I ate most of the food that I had selected, but I left some of my dessert because I was full! I enjoyed my food for the most part! I was able to give a "refresher" course on Pierogis and Hush Puppies for Patty and Amy's benefit! Bob and I know them all too well since we were raised on them! Patty and Amy may have either had no recent experience, or the food had an ethnic cousin that could cause confusion!!
After our meal, we gambled in a number of the many casinos in the complex! No really big winnings happened this time, but we still had fun trying! Last year was attributed to Beginner's luck for me!
When we were done gambling, we went back to Patty and Dan's house! Amy went to her house! We visited and relaxed for the rest of the evening! Day one of the trip was now over!
Saturday, April 6, 2013
Easter 2013
Easter Sunday (March 31) was a very nice day! It started off with microwavable bacon and Banana Nut Muffins (Since I don't like bananas, I only had the bacon!) It then continued with 10:00 Mass at St. Leo the Great Church on Broadview Road in Cleveland.
After relaxing for a short time, I had a bone-in chicken wing, macaroni and cheese, and corn that Kathleen had brought for our dinners the night before! However, Bob was at work! I was picking up pies from Bakers Square in Parma Heights! Since I was between buses, I dined at Arby's that night, I did call Kathleen to tell her where I was! (My meal after ordering the pies on Friday was at Burger King because the Arby's line was too crowded that day! Arby's was not crowded around 4:30 PM on Saturday.)
After lunch, I made the Scalloped Potatoes for Easter Dinner. After the potatoes were made, Bob, Kathleen, and I left for Maggie and Mike's house in Parma. The other participants were my brother Joe, and Mike's parents, Richard and Katherine.
Besides the scalloped potatoes, we had ham, beets, cranberry sauce, fruit salad, glazed carrots, baked beans with sausage, rolls, and chocolate chip muffins. The food was tasty! (I skipped the potato chips, Goldfish crackers, and candy that were offered before the main course.)
Dessert was Cannolis from Heinen's that Joe provided, a cheesecake variety pack from Aldi that Mike's parents contributed, Rice Krispie Treats and Carrot Cake Cookies that Maggie made, and Oreo Cookie Crunch and French Apple pies that Bob and I provided. (Bob paid! I selected and you know the rest about the pies.) There was also Raisin Bread from Marc's via Cleveland's Little Italy's Corbo's Bakery. The desserts were enjoyable.
We enjoyed each other's company! After the leftovers were packed, we went home and relaxed. Easter 2013 was the routine that we missed when Bob and I visited our sister Patty and brother-in-law Dan last Easter! Next month, Bob and I will be visiting Patty and Dan again for a little over a week.
Be prepared for more stories about our trip!
After relaxing for a short time, I had a bone-in chicken wing, macaroni and cheese, and corn that Kathleen had brought for our dinners the night before! However, Bob was at work! I was picking up pies from Bakers Square in Parma Heights! Since I was between buses, I dined at Arby's that night, I did call Kathleen to tell her where I was! (My meal after ordering the pies on Friday was at Burger King because the Arby's line was too crowded that day! Arby's was not crowded around 4:30 PM on Saturday.)
After lunch, I made the Scalloped Potatoes for Easter Dinner. After the potatoes were made, Bob, Kathleen, and I left for Maggie and Mike's house in Parma. The other participants were my brother Joe, and Mike's parents, Richard and Katherine.
Besides the scalloped potatoes, we had ham, beets, cranberry sauce, fruit salad, glazed carrots, baked beans with sausage, rolls, and chocolate chip muffins. The food was tasty! (I skipped the potato chips, Goldfish crackers, and candy that were offered before the main course.)
Dessert was Cannolis from Heinen's that Joe provided, a cheesecake variety pack from Aldi that Mike's parents contributed, Rice Krispie Treats and Carrot Cake Cookies that Maggie made, and Oreo Cookie Crunch and French Apple pies that Bob and I provided. (Bob paid! I selected and you know the rest about the pies.) There was also Raisin Bread from Marc's via Cleveland's Little Italy's Corbo's Bakery. The desserts were enjoyable.
We enjoyed each other's company! After the leftovers were packed, we went home and relaxed. Easter 2013 was the routine that we missed when Bob and I visited our sister Patty and brother-in-law Dan last Easter! Next month, Bob and I will be visiting Patty and Dan again for a little over a week.
Be prepared for more stories about our trip!
Friday, March 22, 2013
Fish Fry (Part 2)
My second fish fry of the season occurred at St. Leo School on Broadview Road in Cleveland, OH! The meal consisted of two pieces of fish instead of one, three pierogis, a nice salad of lettuce, carrots, red cabbage, and radishes(?), and a delicious roll. A can of soda was $.50. Beverages were not included in the prepaid package!
The order process was similar to my meal last week. This was a departure from the "cafeteria style" that St. Leo used in the past! The wait staff was mostly schoolchildren! The staff were always asking if I needed anything!
Thankfully, I arrived around 5:00 PM because the school gym (Lux Hall) eventually became very crowded. However, I only shared a table with one gentleman the entire time that I was there! He had the lobster meal! He must have enjoyed the lobster because he bought another one! Thankfully, it was allowed. I was under the impression that the meal was mostly pre-paid (except the beverages)!
I enjoyed my meal! After the meal, I went to Save-a-lot to buy bananas and green beans! As it turned out, I could have taken a bus that was late, but I avoided a trip to Aldi tomorrow morning! I do have to pick up paper towels, but the urgency is not there! I may return to Save-a-Lot in the afternoon before Mass!
Until Next Time, stay safe!
The order process was similar to my meal last week. This was a departure from the "cafeteria style" that St. Leo used in the past! The wait staff was mostly schoolchildren! The staff were always asking if I needed anything!
Thankfully, I arrived around 5:00 PM because the school gym (Lux Hall) eventually became very crowded. However, I only shared a table with one gentleman the entire time that I was there! He had the lobster meal! He must have enjoyed the lobster because he bought another one! Thankfully, it was allowed. I was under the impression that the meal was mostly pre-paid (except the beverages)!
I enjoyed my meal! After the meal, I went to Save-a-lot to buy bananas and green beans! As it turned out, I could have taken a bus that was late, but I avoided a trip to Aldi tomorrow morning! I do have to pick up paper towels, but the urgency is not there! I may return to Save-a-Lot in the afternoon before Mass!
Until Next Time, stay safe!
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