Spring Sweets Blog Swap Reveal

I was excited to participate in the Spring Sweets Blog Swap again this year.  Casey assigned swap partners, and I began stalking Libby's blog.  This lucky newlywed is living in southern Florida (so jealous!) and blogs about her life and her amazing family. 

After a few emails back and forth, I got my package assembled and shipped out to sunny Florida!  I, in return, received my package from Libby.  To say she was generous would be an understatement.  Libby picked items out that were absolutely perfect for me.  I was overwhelmed.  It was better than Christmas morning!!!

Check it out for yourself.



So many things to unwrap!!



Postcards from Florida hot spots!!



She used the postcards as my letter (what a AWESOME idea)!



EOS Lip Balm & Hand Lotion

 

LOOT!!!!!



The girl obviously knew my love of nail accessories!! Holy cow I was in HEAVEN.



She even got a toy for my Boo and paper for Ashley!! She was beyond thoughtful!



Pink Ribbons (very dear to me) and DARK Chocolate!!!!!



And my FAVORITE item ELVIS BINGO!!!! Family bingo night here we come!

I cannot find the words to express my appreciation to Libby.  I've never felt that my blog expressed the person I truly am, but honestly every item I unwrapped was an OMG moment because it felt like she knew me intimately, although we've never met.  This little 'ol blog has given me the opportunity to interact with some amazing people, and Libby is for sure one of them!

Mom I Want.....

The day I’ve been waiting for has finally arrived.  I’ve been anticipating it, even slightly looking forward to it.  I started to think the day would never come.   But it did, today.

Ashley:  Mom, when you have time this week can we go shopping?

Me :  For what?

Ashley:  Well you know the brand North Face? 

Me:  Um, yeah, why?

Ashley:  I want a pink, fuzzy North Face jacket.  One with a hood.  I want to pick it out.  I don’t want you going and buying me one.  I want to see it first to make sure it’s the right one. 

Me:  Well find a picture of it and show me.

Ashley:  Ok, but mom, I don’t want you getting me a different color one, I only want pink.  My friend so-and-so has it in purple, and my other friend has it in blue.

Ashley isn’t your typical “pre-teen” girl.  She doesn’t have a 100 BFFs, doesn’t go ga-ga over boys, and has never cared about any of the clothes she wears.  Don’t get me wrong, she likes fashion, but has never been hung up if her “skinny” jeans came from Target or Macys. 

I remember my sister asking me “doesn’t Ashley wear Aero clothes?”, and my reply was “huh? no, she’s never mentioned it”.   My sister then informed that all the “cool” kids were wearing Aero (this was in 4^th grade).  When I mentioned it to Ash, she was just like “yeah, I guess you can buy me some shirts from there”.  She didn’t care. Next came the Holister trend.  Never once did she ask for that either.   She’s never asked for any brand until today.

I remember being her age, wearing  designer jeans and name brand tennis shoes.  I also remember begging my mom to buy me a pair of “Madonna” boots that were well over $100 (in the 80’s), and they were definitely too old for me, but my parents bought them for me, because I wanted them.  I also remember only wearing those boots 1 time.  One freaking time.

I told Ash to send me a link to the pretty, pink, fuzzy hoodie she wants.

 

And yes, she is a beauty (and now I want one), but it also comes with a not-so-beautiful price tag of $140!

Luckily, although my kids are spoiled, they are not demanding.  They do understand that they do not get gifts other than on special days.  Once I told her that $140 for a coat is a little pricey for us, she said, “Well maybe I can get it for my birthday?  I want it for 7^th grade.”   I told her I’d think about it and look for one for her.  I’m sure by September, she’ll have changed her mind, or at least decided on a different style.  Until then, I have a few months to sock some money away, so she can have her awesome, pink, fuzzy hoodie.

My first reaction was to jump online and order it for her today, since I’m so excited that she finally wants something.   But the “smart” Heather said, ummm $140 is a lot of money, and she needs to understand that just because she wants something ,she certainly doesn’t need it, at least today as we sit upon the start of Spring/Summer.  What do you think, is a $140 hoodie too much to spend on a kids coat?  Should she have to “work” for it?  Should it be a present?   Or am I just crazy cheap living in my own la-la land, while other kids are sporting their coats like it’s nothing (which they do, and I see)?

Spring Break 2013

Saturday, March 30th, was the kick-off of our spring break this year.  We celebrated my dad's and niece's birthday with lunch at Outback Steakhouse and ice cream and cake (baked by yours truly) at my parent's house.

I love the whole 1980's feel of the cake due to the sugar decorations.  It wasn't my best work, but it was a great tasting cake.  It was pink lemonade cake, pink lemonade frosting between layers and sparkly hot pink vanilla frosting on the outside.  I couldn't resist a piece myself.

After the party, it was time for bowling.  Bowling is about winding down for this session and it's been fun bowling with KevBoy and Soccer Steph.  They are just the cutest and keep me entertained.  I have also discovered a love of Angry Orchard Hard Cider.  They go down way to easy - and at 220 calories - that is not a good thing.  Why does everything awesome have calories????  After bowling we enjoyed some $3.00 Bud Light Limearitas.  Love that salty/sour combo.

Easter morning was upon us and the kid's got personalized tote baskets this year.  Ashley got a new iPod Touch to replace her broken one, as well as candy, a camping journal and a fishing pole.

Colton got The Amazing Spiderman for Xbox 360, Luigi's Mansion for his 3D DS, a Star Wars game for his Wii, candy. a camping journal and a fishing pole.

After gift opening, we hit the road for our Spring Break trip to Pigeon Forge, TN.  We camped overnight in Mount Vernon, KY, before arriving in Pigeon Forge on Monday.

We stayed at the KOA on Veteran's Boulevard, which is centrally located to many of the local attractions.  The kids were in love with the basketball court and playground, which was just across the road from our lot. It was only in the 50's most of the week, but it was a good change from the freezing weather we were used to at home.  Living in a RV for the week was an adventure, but after the camper was "fixed" and momma got her heat back, life was good.

We were in walking distance to the Old Mill and took advantage of the walking track daily.  We had our first supper there and it was so good!  I had Corn Chowder, Corn Fritters, Chicken and Dumplings and Blackberry Cobbler.  Holy cow it was good!

The highlight of the trip was a visit to Parrot Mountain.

As you can see the venue is very hands-on.  We were able to feed the parrots birdseed (mixed with cat chow??), and nectar to the Australian Lorikeets.  I was so surprised how "people loving" the Lorikeets were.  It took my 5 minutes to get all of them off of me.  They would fly from person to person and land anywhere they could on you, most of the time your head! The kids though this was hilarious, I was in fear of being peed on the whole time.  It was fun and a nightmare at the same time.

I didn't take many pictures of the rest of the trip, which included a day at the NASCAR Go-Kart and Amusement Park and numerous arcades.  After all, the kids were in charge.

I'm looking forward to some more camping trips very soon!

Easter Nails!

As you know, I never can resist a chance to try out some art on Ashley's nails, and with Easter weekend upon us, I couldn't resist:

The pastels, the bunny and the chick are all perfection in my book.  Best part is - Ashley loves them too.

Have you tried any fun design for the holiday?

GurleeGirrl, Where Have You Been???

Wow - you blink your eyes and two weeks have gone by! Incredible. 

I have been busy enjoying life.  Plain and simple.  Enjoying my time with my family and friends.

In case you are interested, here are some highlights of the last few weeks:

I was happy to attend "Breakfast and Books" at Cole's school.  Basically you go in about 1/2 hour before school starts, you get free breakfast (danishes, donuts, cakes, cookies, yogurt, fruit, etc.), then you have some time to shop the book fair.  After that you go to class with your student where they give you an insight to their normal day.  I was excited and happy that he wanted me to come.  I had the best time with my little man.  Since "our thing" is him reading books to me, we spent the morning reading a few new purchases, as well as him sharing a few of his completed art projects.  I love being a mom and it's these special moments that I lock up and will hold on to forever. 

I had a fun-filled weekend trip to Grand Rapids.  It was my first visit and I loved the city.  We stopped at Founder's Brewery where I ordered my first ever beer!! It was called a "Walter Melon" beer and it was delicious!  I actually drank 2! 

Another first this weekend was the Doritos Cool Ranch Taco.  I loved it.  I thought it was better than the regular Nacho Cheese Taco.  But I seem to be in the minority.

The weather was nice of enough to take Boo for a few walks too.  I had to snap this picture of Ash with her because as you can see, she has the "doo-doo" bag in her hand, and that NEVER happens.  Mom always seems to be the sh*t carrier.

I also took picture of all the Kleenex I went through while catching up on some Biggest Loser episodes.  I have to say this season was the best ever.  I was an emotional wreck all the time.  My kids think I'm nuts, but I just can't help it!

St. Paddy's Weekend was upon us and it was time for the Bingo Bus trip.  I wish I could report that I came back rich - but that would be far from the truth.  BROKE - is a better description.  However, being the beer connoisseur I became the previous weekend, I tried Redd's Apple Ale and fell in love.  Delicious doesn't even describe it.  I have never been able to drink beer at all - but this Redd's stuff is the bomb.  Try it, you won't be sorry.

Last week consisted of more reading with my boy.  He's become such a strong reader and I'm loving it.  We celebrated Ben's birthday with a party and a trip to Greek Town Casino (where I lost more $$$$).  I've been doing well on our weight loss challenge, eating clean and the results are starting to show!  I hope to be able to keep it up.

In other exciting news, the Jeep hit 100,000 miles today.  I've been watching it for weeks, waiting and waiting and waiting.  Then it was so close this morning, then it slipped my mind at lunch so when I did notice, it was 100,001.  By the time I grabbed my camera, it rolled to 100,002.  Big Fail Heather, Big Fail.  I never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I'd drive a car with 100,000+ miles on it, but I love her and hope she runs for another 100,000 more!

Now that I've caught you up on my world, what's new with you?

[Gurlee]Girrl Friday

Wow - it's been a whole week since I last posted! Although I have lots and lots of stuff in my head, sometimes it's just impossible to write it all down.  But let's kick this weekend off with my favorite link-up:

Pure Ice - Crimson

 

I had ZERO drive this week to do anything fancy with my nails.  I feel like such a failure! LOL

 

So I added a little pizazz with my black and silver detail brushes.  It gives it just enough oomph.

 

What do you do when you don't have the time to create nail masterpieces?

 

Now on to some randomness:



• In honor of the upcoming St. Paddy's Day, I decided to add a little green to the mantle:

There is something about tinsel decorations that I am drawn too.  Their tackiness? Probably.

• Ashley had her school music program this week.  She was very excited to have a "speaking" part this year.  The teacher sent home instructions letting us know that if we wanted to let them wear make-up, she is ok with it, since under the bright lights they might be washed out.  Well I agreed to let her wear some make-up, as long as I was the one applying it for her.  I'm almost jealous at how perfect her eyelids are for shadow.  I can't believe that in just a few years, she'll be wearing make-up all the time.  Time is flying by!  She also begged me to curl her hair - it took an hour to get it like this - but she loved it so.

• This week I've had two types of meatballs for dinner.  Paleo Meatloaf Meatballs and Bora Bora Fireballs.  They were AMAZING.  Trust me - you would love them.

• As I've mentioned, I love going to bingo.  This past Sunday I actually won!  It was only $40, but hey, it's a start.  I love spending a few hours spacing out and playing bingo.  I'm always amazed by how many elderly women are there and they play about 3x  more than the amount of cards I play.  How they do it, I'll never know.

• I am happy to report that me tracking my food all week paid off and I actually lost weight and it was enough to keep me at the top of our competition.  It's getting really close.  I would love to win obviously, but if I don't, I won't be too disappointed.  I already feel great about the weight loss and the fact that I've been working out regularly, I couldn't be more proud of myself.

• Speaking of exercise, on top of my regular Jazzercise classes, I've added some strength training including squats (5 reps / 5 sets / 100 lbs), bench press or overhead press  or rows(5 reps/5 sets / 50 lbs.) and dead lifts (5 reps / 1 set / 115 lbs).  I never knew this body could ever do that.  I was lucky to pick up 30 lbs. when I first started.  It's been amazing.  What's also amazing is that I am in Week 4 of the Getting Running App.   That means I ran for a total of 16 minutes yesterday.  This from the girl who BARELY walked the mile in PE class.  I HATE running/jogging, etc., and to have stuck with it for a solid 4 weeks, it's a miracle.  When it's all over, I hope to report running for a solid 30 minutes.  Wish me luck.

• Tomorrow is the last day for basketball and volleyball!! Finally I will be able to sleep in on Saturday morning and get my Thursday night back.  Don't get me wrong, nothing makes this momma more proud than to see her two babies kicking butt in their sports, but I so need some downtime.  It won't be long before baseball season starts up, and that eats up even more time, and he's only 8. 
• Looking forward to a road trip this weekend and next.  This weekend I'll be heading to Grand Rapids to see Adam and Stubhy of LBC perform an acoustic show.  This is for sure going to be awesome.  I cannot wait.  Founder's Brewery and Yesterdogs will be visited.  Next weekend I am headed out on the bingo bus to hit up some casinos again! I've been socking some $$$ away and hope to come home with more than I take.

With that - I hope you all have a fun weekend!

[Gurlee]Girrl Friday

Welcome March!!! Hopefully you are bringing me warmer weather.  This week has been mostly work, kids and exercise.  Certainly not complaining.  Three things that keep me busy and happy.

This week I sported two different manis:

I thought my animal stamps were just the right amount of fun to spice up a pretty pink girly color.  I loved it and hated to see it go.  But Jenny Jenny went shopping this week and picked me up a new pretty color:

This is called "Jade Is The New Black" and they ain't kidding.  This color really pops and I love it.  I have seen some many fashion blogs/magazine predicting emerald green as the up and coming color to wear and I won't be upset if it is.  This color is going to be a favorite of mine for sure.

What do you think of the "new black"? 

Now on to some randomness:

• I haven't done much blogging the last two weeks.  Just not "feeling it" I guess.  Sometimes I just run out of hours in the day.
• Some good things this week:

1. Coming home and seeing that one of my AWESOME neighbors took care of clearing my drive and walkway.  This MADE my week. 
2. I amazed myself by cooking my own salmon dinner! I have never attempted to cook fish and with a little direction, I whipped it up in no time.  I sauteed some zucchini and squash and called it a feast.  It was a little on the fishy side, so it wasn't amazing, but I was proud nonetheless.
3. Nothing makes me happier then when I'm cuddling with my little man and I can feel his breathing change over to his "sleep mode".  He didn't want to admit it, but he couldn't keep his eyes open.
4. I picked up these chips on a Target run.  I'm saving them for the bingo bus in a couple of weeks and by then I hope to pick up bags of the Chicken and Waffle and Cheesy Garlic Bread ones too.   

• I've mentioned this before, every time it's time for a haircut, my hair starts cooperating with me and turns out awesome.  A few times this week I've had very good hair days.  Oh well, I'm still making Jenny Jenny cut/color it this weekend.

• My sister took a trip to Florida a week or so ago and if that wasn't enough to make me jealous, she came home sporting some new bling.  Is it not the cutest ring ever?

• There are times when I realize my kids take after me more than I think.  Case in point, this week Ashley was "dancing" at grandma's house when she slipped and fell and sprained her wrist.  I cannot tell you how many times I slipped and fell growing up, but instead of wrist injuries, I would get sprained ankles.  We are not the most graceful of ladies.  She's tried to milk it out this week, luckily it's her left arm, so it's not too bad.
• A few of my girlfriends and I started a book club.  We are the Bad Book Bitches Book Club.  We met last week for the first time to review our first book, Rule.  We are now reading Safe Haven (which I've already seen the movie since Josh Duhamel is in it) and so far am enjoying it and noting the differences between the book and movie.  Has anyone read and seen the movie? Which is better?
• Melanie is having a blogaversery tomorrow and is giving away some of her favorite things.  You should go here and enter.  I would love to win that awesome clutch!
• This week I had a major meltdown over our weight loss competition.  I came in last place this past week, losing only .2 pounds.  I was sooooooooo mad.  GTuck told me to get the My Fitness Pal app so I could track my eating this week.  I inputted the required info and was disappointed to see I should only be eating 1200 calories a day to lose 1.5 lbs. a week.  After reviewing my eating habits, I now have come to the conclusion that I must eliminate my "treat" of sunflower butter from my diet.  It tastes like a dessert, and I guess it really is.  Just a little will add almost 200 calories - and by cutting that out, I will hit my calorie goals daily.  However, if I don't see a big improvement this Sunday at weigh-in, I will be eating it straight out of the jar by the end of the day.

And on that note cheers to the weekend!  Peace out!