Confessions of Redbox Binger

OK, I confess! I’m a Redbox binge user!

It started at the conclusion of my recent cross-country road trip earlier this year. Aber and I rented Twilight from a Redbox in Virginia Beach. It was so easy. And at just a dollar (plus tax), it was so cheap. What’s more it was convenient. You could even check online and find out which local Redbox had the movie you wanted.

That’s where it all started…

Since then, I’ve gone on Redbox binges for days at a time. I’ll rent one movie. And the next day when I go to return it, I’ll rent another. And another again the next day. I have yet to rent once and return.

It was so hot today, and I didn’t want to bake the marinated chicken the wife prepared. So after work, I stopped by Pick-Up-Stix for an impromptu order of House Special Tofu and Veggies to go. I took a stroll while I was waiting for my order to the Redbox outside the Albertson’s; just to look at what was available.

I left with Push.

It was an OK flick. Nifty effects. A story about special people with special abilities. Sound familiar?

Glad I didn’t watch it theaters. It’s too bad Push came out after the X-Men movies. Too hard not to compare. And too bad that this movie was DOA by comparison. A good film concept that came a bit too late in my opinion.

The bigger question is if I can return this movie without renting another.

Sweet taay! (Sweet Tea)

Throughout our cross-country road trip I was sippin sweet tea as soon as I could get my sugar-starved hands on it — up until the morning we went to the airport for the return flight back to San Diego.

So it makes sense that one of the things I had to bring back from the east coast was a couple of boxes of Luzianne Iced Tea! For those not in the know, Luzianne makes THE BEST iced tea bags. Trust me, there’s a difference. I’m a iced tea freak and I know what a good Arnold Palmer and good Sweet Tea tastes like.

After a few weeks of sweet tea withdrawal, I got a fix at GTM in Lemon Grove where they had  Arizona Sweet Tea for $.089!! I know I could simply order sweet tea at Chick-fil-A in San Marcos, but I wasn’t about to drive up there just for a sip of overpriced sweet tea.

My craving finally overcame my laziness this week. After a consult with Jeff’s wife and quick check on the Internet, I took a stab at making my own sweet tea with the Luzianne Tea Bags we brought back. I used Decaff tea bags since the wife is prego and refraining from caffeinated foods.

Here’s what I used:

• Almost 1 gallon of water
• 2 family-sized Luzianne Iced Tea bags (4 are recommended, but I like my sweet tea weak and sugary)
• A boatload of sugar!
• Ice cubes (optional; to cool down the tea faster)

Here’s what I did:

1. Bring the water to a boil. I used an Electric Hot Water Dispenser to heat up 3 liters (1 gallon=3.7854118 liters) of water.
2. Next, pour the hot water into a gallon container with the tea bags. Let step for 3-5 minutes. Longer if you want a stronger tea.
3. Remove tea bags.
4. Sprinkle in sugar and stir. The amount you put in really depends on how sweet you want your tea.
5. Finally, I melted in a whole bunch of ice, stirring as I dropped them in. Essentially, I drop in enough ice to reach the 1 gallon mark on my container.

HOW MUCH SUGAR? I initially added 8 tablespoons, tasted the concoction, then added another 4 (or so) more. Debra told me she put in about 1.5 cups. I think that’s about what I ended up with in the end.

Ahhh… sweet taay!