Don’t be that guy   ReCycle those shoes Not sure what to do with all your old running shoes? Here’s a thrifty tip for ya.   Inspire someone This isn’t necessarily running related, but a worthy read: 18 Ways to Inspire Everyone Around You. (Think running)   Sugar, sugar…ah, honey, honey One of the sweetners [...]

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An article in our March issue of Lake Erie LifeStyle about 98-year-old baseball fan Betty Peebles prompted a local fan to recall that our regiona had its own women’s baseball league much like the movie A League of Their Own. That memorable 1992 movie discussed the real All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, which is documented at the Baseball Hall of [...]

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Well, I’ve been saying it for years and now sleep scientists are backing me up. I even wrote a humorous book about it called “Wide Awake.” Historically and physiologically, we were meant to sleep in cycles. Specifically, two, four hour cycles. Not one eight hour cycle. Spanning way back to the 15th century and before, [...]

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If you have a Sam’s Club or a Costco membership, you can request free Huggies underwear for your child or free mouth rinse. Sam’s Club members can sign up for a sample of GoodNites underwear for a boy or a girl. The offer doesn’t say how many pairs you get. Have your Sam’s Club membership [...]

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Here is video of Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly of Butler shot during a Tuesday visit to the Erie Times-News. Click the link below to access the video:
U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly
–Kevin Flowers

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A free program Thursday night will focus on the civil rights movement and its relevance today.
The event is part of the Erie County Historical Society’s Black History Month Speaker Series.
The program will begin at 6 p.m. at the Watson-Curtze Man…

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A Save-A-Lot discount grocery store opened today in Meadville and another is set to open a month from now in Erie. The grocery chain’s Meadville store is located in the Park Avenue Plaza, next door to Dunham’s Sports in a section of the plaza previously occupied by Value City. The company announced today that it [...]

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Everyone had grandparents at some point. They can be a wealth of information, wisdom and history. I’m writing a story about the value of talking to our grandparents before we lose them, and the value of doing so. I’d love to hear from people who have done this, what they’ve learned, as well as people [...]

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Valu Home Centers have a bunch of buy one, get one free offers this week. Buy one nine-light LED flashlight for $2.99, get one free. Batteries are included. I have one of these flashlights that I carry in my purse and it’s great. And speaking of batteries, another BOGO is for a five-pack of Rayovac [...]

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If you’re like me, you read about these stories all the time and think to yourself, “Boy I wish I could find one of those.” According to a TV station in Michigan, the couple was cleaning out an old barn and found an old box with a notebook stuffed with very old boxing and football [...]

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The Erie County Democratic Party has announced the election of John Morgan as its second vice chairman. Morgan, a lifelong resident of Erie County, lives in Millcreek with his wife, Andrea, and their son, Brian. Morgan is the lead planner and program administrator for the Erie Metropolitan Planning Organization, a group that looks at long-range [...]

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An improving economy and an easy winter have ignited an earlier-than-usual push on home improvement projects across the country. Home Depot reported strong fourth-quarter earnings Tuesday, propelled by the sales of tools, electrical supplies, building materials, paint, lumber, lighting, outdoor garden products and flooring. “Warmer-than-expected weather encouraged customers to tackle exterior projects,” the company’s executive [...]

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I’m embarrassed at how often I eat fast food. I don’t really like burgers and fries, but I’m at McDonald’s all the time getting a Southwest Salad, Egg McMuffins, Snack Wraps; Burger King for oatmeal (Yes, it’s surprisingly tasty), Subway for Cold Cut Trios, and Wendy’s for chili. Considering my job, I guess I should [...]

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The YMCA of Greater Erie is hosting a swim clinic at both the Glenwood Y and the Eastside Y to help you get ready for the Quad swim on April 15. Here are the details: Glenwood Y – Feb. 19, 26, March 4, 11, 18, 25, April 1 @ 12-1 p.m. Eastside Y- March 24, [...]

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No, not the movie, the artistic masterpiece. Suggested asking price? $80 million. Probably one of the most well-known pieces of art next to the Mona Lisa, The Scream by Edvard Munch was created in 1895, using pastels. It is one of several versions of the painting, but the only one still in private hands. That is, [...]

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I admit that while I try to be careful about my money, I sometimes blow it. Like the time in January when I meant to go to the grocery story on a Sunday. But when I got out of work that day, it was really snowing and I dreaded forcing a shopping cart across an [...]

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It’s appropriate food for thought, today. There were years that I gave up chocolate for the 40 days of Lent. I even got my kids to do it with me a few times. After a few of those adventures, my family and co-workers (at several different companies over the decades), begged me to never give up [...]

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Do you want to know a secret? As ambivalent as I may be about tribute acts, Rain got to me on Tuesday night at the Warner Theatre. From the sound of it, the band registered pretty strongly with the rest of the crowd, too, which looked to be nearly 2,000 or so. (Official attendance was [...]

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Adam Davidson and Alex Blumberg, primary correspondents and witty chief “economic explainers” for National Public Radio’s Planet Money feature, will bring their gift for distilling complex financial news to Penn State Behrend on Tuesday, March 13. This Speaker Series event begins at 7:30 p.m. in Room 180 of the Jack Burke Research and Economic Development [...]

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Tangled Blue, a Minneapolis-based duo, is performing a youth concert tonight at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Erie. The free performance gets under way at 7 p.m. at the church, 2216 Peach St., according to an e-mail from St. John’s. According to Tangled Blue’s Facebook page, the band has “a unique sound that incorporates Latin [...]

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If you haven’t yet, be sure to “like” Chew On It: Beard vs. Food on Facebook and follow me on Twitter! This long President’s Day weekend was a busy one. Between four basketball games, amazing food at Momocho in Cleveland, and lots of driving, I didn’t have much down time. It was nice to just relax Monday and [...]

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Kathleen Bishop, president of the Meadville-Western Crawford County Chamber of Commerce, said her organization is one of many that can’t afford to offer health care benefits to all its employees. But Bishop will testify Wednesday before a U.S. House subcommittee that neither the chamber nor other businesses can afford the alternative, being fined for failure [...]

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Popcorn is serious business at my house. It has been ever since a dear friend gave us a “Whirley Pop” as a wedding gift. It’s a pot you put on the stove with oil and popcorn and it has a turn crank that keeps the kernels moving until they pop. The whole process takes three [...]

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I haven’t had a lot to post about the challenges for the last two weeks, so here’s a quick recap of week 5-7: Week 5 – Recipes and Cookbooks I didn’t have a lot to do here. Most of my cookbooks are stored on a shelf out of the way except the few that I [...]

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And now for something completely different…a little levity on Capitol Hill. Sponsored by the America Mustache Institute, the Million Mustache March is modeled after the Million Man March– a massive gathering of social activists en masse at the Washington Mall in 1995. It will be held in April to convince lawmakers to create government incentives to [...]

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Madonna has added Pittsburgh to her U.S. tour. She’ll play the Consol Energy Center on Nov. 6. Tickets will go on sale Feb. 27 at 10 a.m .at Ticketmaster and by phone at (800) 745-3000. Remember, she also plays Cleveland’s Quicken Loans Arena on Nov. 10. Those tickets go on sale March 5. The Beach [...]

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My mom was in town a few weeks back and her visit happened to coincide with a cooking class at Wegmans that focused on how to cook fish. We signed up for the hour-long evening class at the upper Peach … Continue reading →

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The popularity of “Once Upon A Time”– that ABC- TV show that illustrates fairy tales — sparked interest in the old fairy tales I read my kids, and the ones we saw on TV. Some of these tales are spookier than I expected, and they don’t all have happy endings. I prefer happy endings, so I [...]

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Apparently it’s on the rise, so if you suffer from it, condolences…and you’re not alone. The word nomophobia literally comes from ‘no-mobile-phone-phobia.’ 66 percent of those surveyed in the UK responded that they suffer from anxiety if their cell phones are not on them or they lose signal. In fact, just the thought of losing [...]

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Priscilla e-mailed me to say that she visits a website called Frugal Fanny’s Freebies and Deals. Through it, she recently learned about a Tide giveaway. You can request a sample, while supplies last, of new Tide pods detergent plus stain remover plus brightener. Go to http://apps.facebook.com/tideoffer/ You can only request one per U.S. household and [...]

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