The Reasons I Split Leap Into Staples (includes a giveaway of a $25 gift card & 5 "that was easy" buttons)

Some schools nowadays take away all the fun of starting school. THEY GIVE YOU THE OPTION OF BUYING ALL OF YOUR SCHOOL SUPPLIES AT ONCE. You know, they have those school supply drives sponsored by the PTO. What fun is that? Where is the adventure? Where are the late nights hunting for the right package of map pencils? Is it really fair to take away the experience of not knowing if you will be ever able to find wide-ruled paper from a child?

"Mom! It's all college-ruled paper over here!"

"I know! It's all college-ruled paper over here, too!"

"What are we going to do??" *begins to wail*

"Quitchercryin! Let's get out of here and go to *Staples!"

That was a *shameless plug, but the fact is, I wouldn't have said that back then. I don't think Staples made its way down to Houston until the 90s or later. I remember looking around every corner with tears welling up in my eyes and saying, "Staples, is that you?" and seeing nothing but Office Depot or Target or Mervyn's. (Anyone remember Mervyn's?) What a bitter, heart-wrenching thing for a child to have to go through, but Staples is making up for it now. He's making up for all of those years he wasn't there for me during elementary school.

One way Staples is making it up to me is by giving one of you a $25 gift card to their store. That's pretty awesome, right? You could use it on anything! You could buy wide-ruled paper! You could buy ink! You could buy pens! You could buy tape! You could buy Werther's Originals! You could buy a Sade CD! You could buy one of their "THAT WAS EASY!" buttons that just says "THAT WAS EASY!" every time you push it!

(Hold on, you guys. The "That was easy" button has over 515 reviews on the Staples website. Ha! 515 reviews! I'm cracking up! A truck driver uses it when he's done with his job. Some kids use it when they're done with their homework. A teacher uses it for her children with autism. A bar tender uses it in the ear of the person she's talking to just before she hangs up. A YORKIE USES IT TO LET HIS OWNER KNOW HE NEEDS TO GO TO THE BATHROOM. I could write the rest of this post on that button, I think.)

All of this talk about office supplies gets me all giddy. My grandmother was a church secretary. I would go to work with her sometimes and I absolutely LOVED stapling, taping, highlighting, stamping and white-outing the HECK outta stuff. I don't care if it was a stack of blank papers.

These memories are why you will often find me split leaping into Staples.

Another reason I split leap into Staples?

This computer right here. The one I'm typing on at this very moment. THEY GAVE IT TO ME. THEY GAVE ME A LAPTOP and, let me tell you, it's beautiful and awesome and fast and efficient and it feels like I'm playing an instrument in a symphony.

It's the Toshiba L875D-S7332 17.3" laptop, to be exact. The screen is huge. It's so huge, in fact, that it could have it's own weather system. (Anyone get that So I Married An Ax Murderer reference? The one with Mike Myers? I absolutely love that movie, but you are just staring at me. I'll move on.) It has 6 GB of memory, Windows 8, a six-cell battery so you can leave it unplugged for a loooooong time, a built-in webcam, a display resolution that makes your DVDs look like they're playing on a high-resolution TV, tons of this and that ports and is, of course, lightweight and very portable.

(I got that chair at a garage sale for $10. That drink on the right hand-side of the screen is a strawberry daiquiri and it's inside a Buc-ee's wine glass that my cousin, Kelly, sent to me. Her and her husband, Chris, saw it at the famous road trip rest stop here in Texas and swiped it up for me. That's nice, right? Everyone loves Buc-ee's around here.. Buc-ee is a huge beaver and his face is on everything in the store, just about. His face is actually etched into the side of that wine glass. Sometimes, if you're lucky, a big, furry Buc-ee will actually be walking around the store and you can get your kid's picture taken with him. They'll almost feel like they are at Disney World. The other really awesome thing about Buc-ee's is that you are sure to spot a good mullet there and some really tasty chocolate covered almonds.)

Back to the laptop...

I'm in love.

I have been wanting my very own laptop for a long time. I have had laptops to use for work-related things that I have had to return, but those were nothing like this one. Plus, I had to return them. I wanted a laptop that I could stick with me on that desk up there so that I could be in the kitchen and closer to the boys while I tip tap away on something. It is unbelievable to me that Staples sent me this very awesome laptop. I would pinch myself but then that means I have to stop using the laptop momentarily and I can't bear to rip myself away from it. (Was that too over-the-top?)

Seriously, it's awesome. If you are considering laptops, I'd Toshiba it up the next time you are at Staples. I have never had a Toshiba before, but my sister has one. When we lived at her house while waiting to move, I'd sneak in uses of her laptop and I loved it. Besides looking nice, it just has a lot of great features that I am not used to seeing on my desktop. For example, you can move your mouse to any corner of the screen and the time/date pops up along with the icons for settings, devices, share, search, etc. I also love all the little windows that pop up when you first get onto the computer and whenever I push the little Microsoft icon on the keyboard. It makes me feel all tech-y and stuff.

So, that's why I split leap into Staples now: your gift card, this laptop, the "that was easy" button, office supplies and memories.

So, along with the $25 gift card from Staples, I will throw in 5 "that was easy buttons". So, that means 6 of you will win something! All I ask is that you like the Kelley's Break Room Facebook page and tell us how you might use the "that was easy" button at your house!

(I will pick the winners using random.org next Monday!)