I haven’t learned a whole lot of things new, but I have learned some important things for blogging.

Have you checked out the program called Rapportive? It’s a program worth adding to your computer because it works with Gmail to allow you to be able to connect with your contacts right from your Gmail screen. It’s rather easy to install too.

I also found out about PromoSimple. This is a neat giveaway program that allows a blogger to add more options in their giveaways for free compared to Rafflecopter. I’m giving it a try in one of my upcoming giveaways. (Readers, tell me what you think of it verses Rafflecopter.)

I am not one for enjoying change (even though the changes in my layout lately may express otherwise. I’ve been trying to get my page laid out the way I picture it in my mind. I still don’t have it quite there yet.) However, these two program have definitely made me happy this week.

Today was the kid’s first official field trip for the school year. All the kids that lived close enough to get to Columbia went to Seven Oaks Park. The school hosted a bunch of games and events for the kids.

I took a lot of pictures, but due to legal reasons, I couldn’t post any of the amazing good times they had because I don’t have permission to post pictures of the other kids and families that were there. So, you get stuck just seeing simple pictures of my kids.

Unfortunately, it was extremely hot!! The kids endured the heat for about two hours and then they begged to leave. I was more than willing to honor their request because I was drenched in sweat. Plus I knew we had a big treat planned for this trip.

Del gave us a $20.00 budget to eat lunch on, and I knew exactly where we were going!! Cici’s Pizza!!! I went online to find the one closest to where we were going to be, and luckily there was one on St. Andrews Road not to far from the park. We stayed a few bucks under our budget for all of us to eat unlimited pizza, bread sticks, pasta and sauces, salad, drinks, and deserts.

Now I’ve been a fan of Cici’s Pizza since 1999 when I was first introduced to the place by someone else. I thought their pizza was great then and I still do. Now my kids are equally as hooked! When they found out we were going to Cici’s Pizza they were super excited.

Now this particular Cici’s Pizza stood out above the rest in many ways. First off, I couldn’t find them even though I knew they were on St.Andrew’s Road. So, I had Jimmy, my nine year old, call and get directions. They were extremely patient with him trying to tell them where he was (and not being able to pronounce some of the words.) Then I got on the phone, and they got me right there.

[Tweet “Get Family Friendly Meals from Cici’s Pizza. “]

When we walked in the door we were greeted with smiles all the way around and a great big welcome. Now, from my management days, I learned the value of those welcomes!! I had my hands full with Zeva trying to get her food and keep up with her because she was a bit hipper from all that playing. (She takes after me, once you get her wound up it’s really hard to calm her back down.) Delbert was trying to be a big boy and fix his own plate, and the lady that worked there was ready to help him. When he did mess up, she was nothing but kind to him and still kept her genuine smile.

Their drink machine was acting like the Rootbeer was out, and they got right on it. Plus they even filled up my glass for me. (They even came over to the table and offered to do refills a couple of times more after the machine issue.)

One of the things I love most about Cici’s is I can request any kind of pizza I want, and they will make any kind I want especially for me. Then bring it to me when it’s done. They jumped right on it, and I didn’t have to wait long at all for it.

They keep their buffet bar filled with pizzas of all kinds. They kept their entire restaurant clean. They treated ALL customers with the same great service. They have the staff well trained on how to make it feel like home and we were just their welcomed guests.

As we left, they made sure to thank us for our business and asked us to return. That was the first time in the whole visit that their mood seemed to change. They acted like real hosts who enjoyed having guests over and didn’t want to see them leave. Now that’s service.

Do you like Cici’s Pizza as much as we do??

Disclosure: This is NOT a sponsored post. This was not requested by the manager/owner or anyone else from CiCi’s Pizza! I just had to brag about how great this particular Cici’s Pizza experience was for us. Nor are the other services mentioned sponsored mentions. They are just services that I think are worth mentioning and now products that I look forward to using.