DH and I still do Costco date nights, by the time we shop there is nothing left for more than a hot dog!
Walmart ate Kmart for dinner. The latter was too slow to evolve.
@BunsenBurner Talk about a bad case of indigestion. :-&
Lol. We too shopped at Kmart a lot back in the days. 
Actually, we were poor when the kids were young. We bought annual passes to the zoo, aquarium, and a museum. The latter two had great air conditioning, where we could cool off when it was just too hot. The library was another favorite place, also air conditioned. We avoided stores when we didnāt want to be tempted to spend $$$$.
Our zoo and museums were/are free and we spent a lot of time there! Unfortunately, they arenāt open in the evening and are at least 30 miles away from where we live. The library was a constant, but my daughter had a predilection for feeding her library books to the dog, so that could get expensive! A ānight outā at Kmart cost under $5 and netted us dinner and an outfit or toy. Couldnāt be beat!
My kids have all mentioned weighted blankets and weāve all been intrigued but theyāre expensive. The Brookstone at our local mall is going out of business and the weighted blanket thatās on their website is $150 but in the store theyāre selling for $49 or 2 for $75. I bought two for two of my Ds and may go back for another two. Gave one to my local D tonight and made her promise to give me a review tomorrow morning.
What is a weighted blanket??
Target has the 8 quart Instant Pot for $89.95 through Saturday. Is that a good price?
Weighted blankets are sometimes called calming blankets or anxiety blankets. Theyāre filled with pellets that make the blanket heavier. The thinking is that the weight makes you feel cuddled and relaxed , which then releases serotonin and melatonin. I was visiting my brother several weeks ago and he has one (heās also very high strung). I tried it one night. It felt a little heavy, but they come in weighted sizes. I think his was the 20 pound size. I donāt know if I felt any better sleeping under it, but it was interesting. Iām also the type who needs to have blankets and comforters on top of me, no matter what the weather. The heavier feeling makes me feel like Iām in my own secret comfort cave.
Those of you who fly Alaska, they seem to run sales often. We are flying to San Diego for the Navy/Notre Dame game in October. Iām taking S19 with us for a college visit while out there. We bought our tickets a few weeks ago during a sale. S21 has been complaining that he doesnāt get to go. For a variety of reasons I started to feel guilty about it, then while adding some things to my calendar, noticed that S21 does not have school the Monday when S19 is flying home (Iām staying longer with dh) so I thought, perfect, he could go and not even miss class if I could get him a reasonable ticket.
On Monday of this week, I saw that Alaska was having a sale again. I checked the flights and slightly higher price than S19ās ticket. Didnāt want to purchase w/o talking to dh who is currently in London so I didnāt buy the ticket knowing there would probably be another sale in the next couple of weeks. Just out of curiosity, the next morning I looked to see how much the tix had gone up, only to discover they were having a flash sale the very next day after the sale. Ended up getting S21ās ticket for about $20 less than S19ās and able to even get them seated together.
The best thing about Alaska is that their only direct flight from where we live on east coast to San Diego is also always the cheapest flight. D can fly back to school on a Monday morning and gets in early enough that she doesnāt miss class and doesnāt lose a weekend day traveling. The downside is that it means leaving the house super early!
Anyone try the weighted blankets and have any reviews? Inquiring minds are curious. Thx.
I have a friend who uses a weighted blanket. I asked her what made it āweightedā and she said she has one made with river rocks. I am going to ask her to show it to me as Iām sure I can make them for about $25 in fabric and stones.
I did look online and you can either buy the blankets or just the pellets, but the pellets are $30-50.
Iām also going to try making a Thundervest for the dog. Sheās a wreck these days because of storms but sheās also a chubby thing so would need an XL, and those cost about $50! I donāt think the dogās clothes should cost more than mine.
Iāve read some comments about folks who are annoyed because their blankets are leaking sand and glass beads.
We have cotton comforter and thermal cotton blankets which are pretty heavy. Most nights itās too warm to use them. When I do, sometimes I like the weight, sometimes it feels too heavy, especially on the feet. I guess Iām not seeing how these would be better than a cotton comforter + cotton thermal blanket?
Is this weighted blanket the new Sobakawa pillow? Remember that craze? Lol.
Iāve not tried a professional weighted blanket, but I do know I sleep better under heavy covers. Itās a deeper sleep, and I am not an anxious person.
The weighted blankets weigh between 12-15 lbs., so a lot more than a comforter or cotton blankets. They have been in therapeutic use for many years.
I am wondering if they would be too hot?
The one I tried when I was at my brotherās house weighed 20 pounds. It was a little too heavy for me. Iād be better with a 15 pound blanket. They recommend certain blanket weights according to your own body weight. This is the blanket I tried: https://calmingcomfortblanket.com
My cats work very well as weighted blankets.