Thursday, June 21, 2012
Thirsty Thursday
Well since summer has officially started and mother nature decided to crank up the temps; I decided to crank up this evenings "mommy juice". Ahhh the skinny margarita. Delish!
Sunday, June 10, 2012
Momtographie Class coming to Lexington KY!
Well I am one happy mommy! A wonderful photographer from the Washington DC area, Beryl Ayn Young has decided to make a trip to the Bluegrass state and do a photography class in Lexington. It is Saturday June 23, from 1-5pm. I have listed the website link below if you want to check it out and sign up to do the class! I know I can't wait because I truly want to use every bell and whistle that my wonderful dslr camera has to offer. I have owned it too long to let this great class pass me by.
So don't hesitate; read Beryl's blog check out the class info and sign up!
Hope to see you on the 23rd!
Friday, May 25, 2012
Erincondren.com on Plum District
I recently came across a new website that is great. It is called Plum District, very similar to Groupon and Living Social but not just local deals but some from all over the nation. Plum District helps you discover all sorts of large and small vendors across the country and get some wonderful deals on their products.
When I first got on Plum District it was to get a new cell phone cover from a company that was selling $50 gift certificates for $25. And their covers are the customize ones that are $50 and up at most local shops. Well Plum District also gave me an additional 10% off my "first purchase" so I got the deal for $22.50.
Once you sign up for Plum District, they will send you weekly emails about different deals - again similar to Groupon and L.S. But not a crazy amount of emails. One day they sent one about a stationary company called Erin Condren. Erincondren.com has a huge selection of products; stationary, iPad/laptop personalizing, notebooks, labels, and many more. I was in need of some new personalized note cards so I snatched up a great deal from Erin Condren site. She is based out of California and like I said has a wonderful variety of products. I specifically wanted flat note cards. The ones I got came with the option of matching return labels too - Yes please!
When I placed my order I had enough on a gift card to cover the cost of the flat note cards, return labels and a cute box to house them in. You can see from the pictures they do a fantastic job. I had to pay for shipping only and they arrived in about 5-7 business days after I place the order, not bad since the package came from CA.
Two additional bonuses came in my fun package. One, I got a coupon for 25% off a future purchase and two, I got some cute custom labels that were an excellent FREE surprise.
(pictures also of these additional surprises)
Needless to say I plan on making more purchases from ErinCondren.com. Check it out!
When I first got on Plum District it was to get a new cell phone cover from a company that was selling $50 gift certificates for $25. And their covers are the customize ones that are $50 and up at most local shops. Well Plum District also gave me an additional 10% off my "first purchase" so I got the deal for $22.50.
Once you sign up for Plum District, they will send you weekly emails about different deals - again similar to Groupon and L.S. But not a crazy amount of emails. One day they sent one about a stationary company called Erin Condren. Erincondren.com has a huge selection of products; stationary, iPad/laptop personalizing, notebooks, labels, and many more. I was in need of some new personalized note cards so I snatched up a great deal from Erin Condren site. She is based out of California and like I said has a wonderful variety of products. I specifically wanted flat note cards. The ones I got came with the option of matching return labels too - Yes please!
When I placed my order I had enough on a gift card to cover the cost of the flat note cards, return labels and a cute box to house them in. You can see from the pictures they do a fantastic job. I had to pay for shipping only and they arrived in about 5-7 business days after I place the order, not bad since the package came from CA.
Two additional bonuses came in my fun package. One, I got a coupon for 25% off a future purchase and two, I got some cute custom labels that were an excellent FREE surprise.
(pictures also of these additional surprises)
Needless to say I plan on making more purchases from ErinCondren.com. Check it out!
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
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Monday, March 5, 2012
First 5k of the year
Well on Saturday March 3, Joe and I participated in our first 5k race of the year. It is the first leg of the Triple Crown of Running in Louisville. For those of you who are not from KY it is the human version of the Triple Crown for horse racing; there are 3 races in a month - a 5k, 10k and a 10 mile race. It was my first race in a long time, a really long time...but for the hubby well he runs about 5 days a week and usually over 4.5 miles each time. I was excited about our run but I had a feeling I should have not skipped running as much as I had the prior week. But too late now! So we arrive at Louisville Slugger Field bright and early at 7:30 am, and it was the morning after the horrible weather hit Southern IN and areas of KY, but the sky was blue and sun was shining. The temperature had dropped about 35 degrees from the day before but the crisp dry air was great for a morning run. As a girl from Lexington I was excited about running in parts of Louisville I had never seen before. The starting line was down by the river just outside of the Slugger Museum. Joe and I gathered with about 9100 of our fellow runners to await the start. A nervous feeling set in to my stomach but it was more of emotions as a singer belted out the Star Spangle Banner, since the day before there were horrible storms in our state and very near by.
And at the strike of 8 am we were off! Joe and I started together but he runs more frequently and faster than I do, we parted ways and planned to meet after we were finished. There were tons of runners, I mean tons, about 8500 to be exact. The first 1/2 of a mile was harder than I wanted, it was so hard to get into a pace that I liked and not be distracted by other runners flying past me. But once I was able to get in my routine I was good to go. After about the 1 1/2 mile marker I really started to notice the vast group of people this race attracted. There were families running together, a parent with their 3 grader aged child, there were the well fit people and there were others who this was their goal in a new found look at life. One guy that seemed to always be right around me running had a shirt that showed his before picture. He was still a larger man but compared to his before picture he was like a "Greek God". But the one thing that stuck in my mind the most was a old man, I am guessing early 60s was running with his son. This wasn't a typical father/son running partner, his son was probably in his early to mid 20s. And they were both holding on to a looped string as they ran, as if they were running while holding hands. It was as I passed them that I realized the man was running the race because his son wanted to and the son could not do this on his own. The son was blind.
It was once said to me that when you run your mind gets cleared and you have time to reflect. It was really during this race that I truly understood what that person was telling me. I ran the race, it was not pretty, it was ugly but I finished. I realized that it is a mind over matter thing when running, just like many things in life. I don't have to be the best but I did it. There were many people out there who had more things against them than I did and they finished, they were my motivation to keep my fanny running. I will probably never see these people again but I thank them.
And at the strike of 8 am we were off! Joe and I started together but he runs more frequently and faster than I do, we parted ways and planned to meet after we were finished. There were tons of runners, I mean tons, about 8500 to be exact. The first 1/2 of a mile was harder than I wanted, it was so hard to get into a pace that I liked and not be distracted by other runners flying past me. But once I was able to get in my routine I was good to go. After about the 1 1/2 mile marker I really started to notice the vast group of people this race attracted. There were families running together, a parent with their 3 grader aged child, there were the well fit people and there were others who this was their goal in a new found look at life. One guy that seemed to always be right around me running had a shirt that showed his before picture. He was still a larger man but compared to his before picture he was like a "Greek God". But the one thing that stuck in my mind the most was a old man, I am guessing early 60s was running with his son. This wasn't a typical father/son running partner, his son was probably in his early to mid 20s. And they were both holding on to a looped string as they ran, as if they were running while holding hands. It was as I passed them that I realized the man was running the race because his son wanted to and the son could not do this on his own. The son was blind.
It was once said to me that when you run your mind gets cleared and you have time to reflect. It was really during this race that I truly understood what that person was telling me. I ran the race, it was not pretty, it was ugly but I finished. I realized that it is a mind over matter thing when running, just like many things in life. I don't have to be the best but I did it. There were many people out there who had more things against them than I did and they finished, they were my motivation to keep my fanny running. I will probably never see these people again but I thank them.
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
A new look at life with 2...
Well since I had Abigail back in August I have not thought that life with two small children has been as "scary" as people have said it will be. I mean I have heard some horror stories. Kids taking off and throwing poopie diapers, shaving the dog, trying to sell their younger sibling, etc. No our house is not perfect and does not look like one of those in a magazine, and no we do not have the "Martha Stewart" table setting at dinner every night, but we did not have these things before having kids. We do have happy children, clean clothes, warm food in our bellies, and a roof over our head.
But back to the reason for writing this post. On a recent weekend I decided to take a solo trip with the girls up to Ikea just north of Cincinnati. Thinking this was a great idea I figured it was our first "test" before the inaugural trip to take Abigail to Chicago. Again the mind set is life with 2 children is not bad. So I pack up the girls in Daddy's SUV (it is bigger and you never know what we may be getting up there to make our trip worth while) and head out. The ride there was great; Abigail took a nap and Anna was chattering away about the horses we saw and watch her "Max and Ruby" on the DVD player. I was thinking to myself "I can do this".
And then we got to Ikea...
So mind you it has been a decade (wow, now I feel old) since I had been to Ikea. And I really did not think that going on a weekend around opening time would be a bad idea. I WAS WRONG. This place was packed. And a bit of doubt began to set in.
I found a spot near the front door; thank heavens for "family parking" but boy was it a sight for many I am sure watching me try to park Joe's Escalade. It is huge compared to my SUV, and I am not used to driving it. But we over came that hurdle and prepare to battle the store. Now they offer a kids area to watch your potty trained children but Anna wanted to go with mommy. We got a map from the greeter and then a skeptic look from her too. The nice old lady asked me if I really was going to go shopping here with 2 small children by myself. Um, yes. I did not drive an hour and a half for nothing!
I got a cart, got Abigail set, took Anna to the potty before we ventured upstairs to start our journey thru the showroom floor. I gave Anna the "listen to mommy and stay right next to me" speech and up the elevator we went. So far so good, right.
Well first of many errors of the shopping trip began by us going in the wrong direction on the show room floor. You have to follow the arrows and do not venture off the path. Anna lasted in the kids section and then about a 1/4 of the way thru the showroom before she asked me if she could ride in the cart. And for those of you who do not know Anna well, she HATES to ride in the cart. There were so many people there that she did not want to walk. We finished up on the second floor and got finished with the main floor and headed to the warehouse section - error and the downward slope of our demise. We had picked up so many things that Anna had run out of room to sit in the cart and was already upset that I evicted her from the cart. We had to get a flatbed cart so I could get the bookcase and desk I had come for. Now you are probably wondering how did I push both carts. Well it was a sight! Pushing one while pulling the other, and a 3 year old in tow. We found the desk and got it loaded, found the bookcase and somehow I got it too loaded on the cart (it was 72 pounds!). And then meltdown began...
Abigail wanted her bottle, so I fixed it and was feeding her while in her seat. Anna wanted a snack and then proceeded to spill half of them on the floor and start stepping on them bc she liked the crunching sound. Anna also decided she did not want to walk anymore and laid down across the boxes on the flatbed cart. I can not tell you how many dirty looks i then started to get. we get all the way to the check out and forgot something, had to back track and by the time we got back to the check out there were 10 lines that were about 15 people deep each. Anna hits her head on a display and begins her meltdown, Abigail who was happy with her full belly decides to join her big sister and wails while in line. More evil looks. We finally get checked out, both girls calm down and Anna and I look at each other and say "oh no, Sissy pooped." And note to shoppers Ikea does not have a bathroom at the end by the check out only the end where you come in. SOOO back to the entrance we go to wait yet again for the family bathroom, all the while dragging our purchases and 2 children one of which has the stinkiest poopie diaper. Meltdown number, well I can't even remember what meltdown we are up to now, this poopie diaper is the worst. Abigail gave us a blowout. A number 5 (two 2s and a 1). It was all over her undershirt, all over her, and the more you cleaned her the more it got all over. Anna just stood there holding her nose telling me how stinking it was in the bathroom. And some idiot kept knocking on the door even though we told them we were "in there". I about lost it. I was to the point that I did not care if someone walked away with our cart full of furniture, I did not care if I made these people wait 30 minutes and I did not care how many dirty looks I got the rest of the day. I was sick of being run into and cut off.
I cleaned up my little lady and felt awful for the next person in there. For a 5 month old, 11 pound little girl her poops smell worse than that of a grown man. I gathered up what little energy and courage I had left and walked out to load up our treasures and head back to the Bluegrass State. As I mentioned before I was finished with the rude people cutting off the mom with 2 kids and two carts; so it was on like Donkey Kong. There was about 200 feet to get out and I was not letting any one get in our way. Anna sat on her make-shift perch of the boxes and I told her hang on! Two people tried, yes tried to cut us off getting out and I let the cart hit then and did not apologize for what happened - this was not my usually behavior but i had it. I pushed the carts as fast as I could, got the girls loaded up, had the somewhat useless guys in the loading area get my desk in (the guy ran his head into the back of the door) and back to the interstate we went. Anna from her seat in the back says to me, "Mommy, you were funny when you made those people got out of the way. It was crazy!"
It was on the drive home once we crossed over the Ohio river that I think my nerves were settling down. It was on this drive that made me realize life with 2 isn't that hard, it is all the outside factors that make it hard. We were out of our element and tried as best as we could to roll with the punches. But it was the lack of manners and courtesy by others that made our first pilgrimage to Ikea a not so pleasant experience. It was also this trip and others actions and attitudes that made me realize I am a good mommy of 2 and that life with 2 isn't that bad. Things happen and no life is perfect but I know that my life with 2 is nothing like the horror stories I have heard. I will take my life with my 2 wonderful daughters and run with it. In the great times and the crazies, the good listening and the bad. It makes my world complete in this thing we call life.
“Words can never adequately convey the incredible impact of our attitudes toward life. The longer I live the more convinced I become that life is 10 percent what happens to us and 90 percent how we respond to it.” ~ Chuck Swindoll
But back to the reason for writing this post. On a recent weekend I decided to take a solo trip with the girls up to Ikea just north of Cincinnati. Thinking this was a great idea I figured it was our first "test" before the inaugural trip to take Abigail to Chicago. Again the mind set is life with 2 children is not bad. So I pack up the girls in Daddy's SUV (it is bigger and you never know what we may be getting up there to make our trip worth while) and head out. The ride there was great; Abigail took a nap and Anna was chattering away about the horses we saw and watch her "Max and Ruby" on the DVD player. I was thinking to myself "I can do this".
And then we got to Ikea...
So mind you it has been a decade (wow, now I feel old) since I had been to Ikea. And I really did not think that going on a weekend around opening time would be a bad idea. I WAS WRONG. This place was packed. And a bit of doubt began to set in.
I found a spot near the front door; thank heavens for "family parking" but boy was it a sight for many I am sure watching me try to park Joe's Escalade. It is huge compared to my SUV, and I am not used to driving it. But we over came that hurdle and prepare to battle the store. Now they offer a kids area to watch your potty trained children but Anna wanted to go with mommy. We got a map from the greeter and then a skeptic look from her too. The nice old lady asked me if I really was going to go shopping here with 2 small children by myself. Um, yes. I did not drive an hour and a half for nothing!
I got a cart, got Abigail set, took Anna to the potty before we ventured upstairs to start our journey thru the showroom floor. I gave Anna the "listen to mommy and stay right next to me" speech and up the elevator we went. So far so good, right.
Well first of many errors of the shopping trip began by us going in the wrong direction on the show room floor. You have to follow the arrows and do not venture off the path. Anna lasted in the kids section and then about a 1/4 of the way thru the showroom before she asked me if she could ride in the cart. And for those of you who do not know Anna well, she HATES to ride in the cart. There were so many people there that she did not want to walk. We finished up on the second floor and got finished with the main floor and headed to the warehouse section - error and the downward slope of our demise. We had picked up so many things that Anna had run out of room to sit in the cart and was already upset that I evicted her from the cart. We had to get a flatbed cart so I could get the bookcase and desk I had come for. Now you are probably wondering how did I push both carts. Well it was a sight! Pushing one while pulling the other, and a 3 year old in tow. We found the desk and got it loaded, found the bookcase and somehow I got it too loaded on the cart (it was 72 pounds!). And then meltdown began...
Abigail wanted her bottle, so I fixed it and was feeding her while in her seat. Anna wanted a snack and then proceeded to spill half of them on the floor and start stepping on them bc she liked the crunching sound. Anna also decided she did not want to walk anymore and laid down across the boxes on the flatbed cart. I can not tell you how many dirty looks i then started to get. we get all the way to the check out and forgot something, had to back track and by the time we got back to the check out there were 10 lines that were about 15 people deep each. Anna hits her head on a display and begins her meltdown, Abigail who was happy with her full belly decides to join her big sister and wails while in line. More evil looks. We finally get checked out, both girls calm down and Anna and I look at each other and say "oh no, Sissy pooped." And note to shoppers Ikea does not have a bathroom at the end by the check out only the end where you come in. SOOO back to the entrance we go to wait yet again for the family bathroom, all the while dragging our purchases and 2 children one of which has the stinkiest poopie diaper. Meltdown number, well I can't even remember what meltdown we are up to now, this poopie diaper is the worst. Abigail gave us a blowout. A number 5 (two 2s and a 1). It was all over her undershirt, all over her, and the more you cleaned her the more it got all over. Anna just stood there holding her nose telling me how stinking it was in the bathroom. And some idiot kept knocking on the door even though we told them we were "in there". I about lost it. I was to the point that I did not care if someone walked away with our cart full of furniture, I did not care if I made these people wait 30 minutes and I did not care how many dirty looks I got the rest of the day. I was sick of being run into and cut off.
I cleaned up my little lady and felt awful for the next person in there. For a 5 month old, 11 pound little girl her poops smell worse than that of a grown man. I gathered up what little energy and courage I had left and walked out to load up our treasures and head back to the Bluegrass State. As I mentioned before I was finished with the rude people cutting off the mom with 2 kids and two carts; so it was on like Donkey Kong. There was about 200 feet to get out and I was not letting any one get in our way. Anna sat on her make-shift perch of the boxes and I told her hang on! Two people tried, yes tried to cut us off getting out and I let the cart hit then and did not apologize for what happened - this was not my usually behavior but i had it. I pushed the carts as fast as I could, got the girls loaded up, had the somewhat useless guys in the loading area get my desk in (the guy ran his head into the back of the door) and back to the interstate we went. Anna from her seat in the back says to me, "Mommy, you were funny when you made those people got out of the way. It was crazy!"
It was on the drive home once we crossed over the Ohio river that I think my nerves were settling down. It was on this drive that made me realize life with 2 isn't that hard, it is all the outside factors that make it hard. We were out of our element and tried as best as we could to roll with the punches. But it was the lack of manners and courtesy by others that made our first pilgrimage to Ikea a not so pleasant experience. It was also this trip and others actions and attitudes that made me realize I am a good mommy of 2 and that life with 2 isn't that bad. Things happen and no life is perfect but I know that my life with 2 is nothing like the horror stories I have heard. I will take my life with my 2 wonderful daughters and run with it. In the great times and the crazies, the good listening and the bad. It makes my world complete in this thing we call life.
“Words can never adequately convey the incredible impact of our attitudes toward life. The longer I live the more convinced I become that life is 10 percent what happens to us and 90 percent how we respond to it.” ~ Chuck Swindoll
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