Apparently, It's Not Friday

I think I’m losing my mind….


I was on my non-merry way to work this morning, listening to the news on SIRIUS. I was barely listening to the commentator finish griping about the whole water boarding controversy when the segment switched over and the next anchor said “Happy Thursday”.

Then I realized I was wearing jeans.

Checked my cell phone, and sure enough, it’s only Thursday. For a second, I attempted to concoct an excuse to tell my boss why I was dressed like it was a Friday, but all of them made me sound stupid. So instead of driving back home to change, I stopped at a nearby Target and bought slacks that were on sale for $10. Surprise, surprise, I couldn’t justify buying a whole outfit. My top and my shoes are passable. No one would ever know.

I HONESTLY thought it was Friday.

How in the world did I lose a day?!?

House Hunting Sucks

So we’re looking at 2 other houses tonight, nothing we’re terribly excited about, but they fit our general criteria and at this point, we’re keeping our options open.

There was one property that really tickled my fancy. And, of course, as these things go, I fell in love with it. I even sent Mike to scope it out before telling our realtor how much I would REALLY like to consider it. I mean, it’s perfect. It has everything we want, good-size backyard for the little one, in a great neighborhood, ready for move in, comparable commute, it’s beautiful, magazine-esque and did I mention perfect?

So what, you are asking yourselves, is the drawback? Isn’t it perfectly obvious? The price. Their asking price is just above our upper upper limit (and yes that’s two uppers which means it’s high. Excuse the pun). It’s perfectness has, to no surprise, attracted more than a few offers and it’s a jungle out there. And as much as we (meaning I) love it, we have to be really careful not to get in over our heads. So sadly, we’re moving on…

See, that’s another reason why house hunting sucks. All the feeling that get wrapped up in finding a house. The hope, expectation, excitement, despair, desire, anticipation and a million other wonderful and uncomfortable feelings following you even to sleep.

You don’t understand. I have been planning for this for months and months. I’ve bought furniture for spaces I don’t even know if they would fit. I’ve picked out color schemes. I’ve decorated the living room, picked out paint colors, planned for a to-be nursery…

Sigh…

Chugging along....

"Racing for our Heroes"

The Gang

Chillin' in the Bell Micro Sponsor Suites....

On Saturday, we were fortunate to be invited by “Racing for our Heroes” to attend the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. RFOH is a non-profit organization, started by American Le Mans driver and Marine veteran Jason Carter, that takes veterans and their family members to International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) and the American Le Mans Series (ALMS) races throughout the country as a way to say “thanks”.

There were about a dozen fellow veterans from the Los Angeles VA Hospital and Naval Medical Center in San Diego, including us. Not only did they get us into the Grand Prix for free, but also gave us unlimited access to the Bell Micro sponsor suites AND we got to meet the drivers and look at the cars that they were going to race that day.

Compared to the NASCAR race we went to last year, I’d say I like the Grand Prix better. Even though we only saw a fraction of the track at one time, the race was still pretty exciting to follow. The coolest thing was that it was a true street course race set up in downtown Long Beach — Shoreline Drive and Pine Avenue were shut down and turned into a course for Lamborghinis, Corvettes and Ferraris speeding past high-rise condos.

Big names like Danica Patrick and Marco Andretti were there, but the real treat of the day, I thought, was the celebrity race – come on, it’s Southern California/Hollywood after all. It was pretty entertaining watching Raven Simone crash a few times, listening to people yell “Go Neo!” every time Keanu Reeves tried to pass, and chuckling with the rest of the group when Alex Trebek drove by last in every lap. Poor guy….

We had a great time. They told us we were welcome to come to any race, so maybe this won’t be the last for us :)


Oh, and did I mention we got to meet Mike Metzger? Craziest dude I've ever seen on two wheels....

Visit my flicker set to see the rest of the photos from the race

ROFH page for more photos

Free Cone Day at Ben & Jerry's TODAY

Today, April 21st, is Free Cone Day at Ben and Jerry's from noon to 8pm. Details here. Please check if your local B&J's is participating before going.

Coupon: Dollar Entrees and Penny Appetizers at TGI Fridays

I've been meaning to share this with everyone, but keep forgetting. We've personally used this A LOT at our local TGIF.... you can' really beat .01 appetizers (you have to purchase a drink, sodas are $2.50). An awesome deal for $3, if you ask me.

The catch is you're supposedly only allowed to use the .01 coupon at the bar, and the entree coupon in the dining area. But it depends on the waiter, and the manager on shift. There were times they let us use both at the bar, or both at the table. Also, it is PER PERSON, not per table. So as long as each person orders a drink, it should be good all around.

Happy eating! :)

Download coupon here


Expires 4/30

Progress Report

• Like the new 'do' that Ethan's sporting? I'm trying to grow it out, but it's getting there ever so slowly. I'm kinda digging the shaggy look...
• We’re officially back on house-hunting mode. It’s a little more stressful than I anticipated, but the goal is to be in our new home for the summer.
• On the potty training front, Ethan’s doing well with #1 (we’re down to 1 accident a day), but he’s not doing so well with #2. We’ve been finding him with chocolate delights all over the house…
• Ethan’s spring break is over, and while it was fun to spend all day with daddy, we’re sure he’s anxious to see his friends again.
• Day 3 of being free from the cast, my hand is still a little stiff, but I’m excited to report that my thumb can touch my forefinger again!
• Mike has a new obsession -- Guitar Hero Metallica. I guess he’ll have plenty of time to master it, while he’s recuperating from his foot surgery (scheduled in the beginning of May).


I'm keeping it short today... have a great weekend everyone!

Coupon: Macy's Friends and Family 25% Sale (Includes Clearance and Coach!!!)

Valid April 29-May 4th

Download here



Time to scope out my Mother's Day gift! ;)

The Cast is Off!

Day my butt fell on the slopes

6 Weeks after

Before they took the pin out

6 weeks after the gracious, snowboarding mishap, I am finally free from the cast. Doc says the x-rays “look good” and proceeded to tell me he’s going to now pull the pin that’s been sticking out of my hand and holding my shattered bones together the past month and a half. ‘Holy shit’, I thought to myself (although my face probably showed exactly just that). “Don’t worry, I’ll give you something to numb it”, he said. “It should slide right out.”

Bullshit.

Don’t let anyone tell you any different… that shit hurt. Pardon my French, but I think I’m still a little pissed. And he was COMPLETELY wrong about it “just sliding out”. He sprayed some stuff on my hand which I assumed was the fake anesthesia and proceeded to yank on the ball while I squirmed on the examination bed, watching in horror. I think I was still waiting for the numbness to kick in, when the ball unexpectedly pops out…. leaving the pin still stuck in my hand. After deflecting the moment of ooops splashed across my doctor’s face, he calmly asks the tech if they had any pliers. I may have been hallucinating at that point, as I pictured Handy Manny and his pliers yanking that foreign object out of my flesh while singing in spanish. Weird, I know.

Finally, after much pulling, the thing comes out and they give me gauze and tell me to put pressure before I lose too much blood. Ok, I’m kidding. It didn’t bleed that bad.

Doc said I should have full use of my hand in a few months……… A few months really? I was thinking a week? Maybe two? He sent me off with no PT, only advice to get try to get back on my old routines, squeeze a ball every once in a while and come back in a month.

My wrist is really stiff and I have zero mobility on the broken finger. I can wiggle my other fingers ok and even bend them to make half a fist, but that’s about it.

This is going to be the longest summer ever……..

Easter Recap

Belated Happy Easter everyone!

We had a lot of fun over the weekend. Ethan went Easter egg-hunting 4 times, 3 days in a row – Friday at school with all his friends, Saturday at a local town center put together by a Kiwanis club, Sunday morning at home and then another one after church. I’m telling you, this boy is an egg-hunting machine!

I remember last year when we still had to kind of lead him to where the eggs where… but not this year! He tracked those eggs down like there’s no tomorrow. Granted he was with his own age group, I almost felt (a little) bad for the other kids who just stood there and stared at the eggs in front of them while Ethan swooped in to grab them with no remorse. I couldn’t believe how competitive he’s gotten!

After church with family, Mike, Sissy and I headed to LA for a Meet and Greet with the Lakers. My plan was to get my cast signed (which I’m hoping to get rid off today) and sell it on eBay, but we didn’t quite get that close to the players.

Anyway, I hope everyone had a blessed Easter like we did!

I’m off to see my orthopedic. Wish me luck!

150 Fun Songs for Kids for only .99 on Amazon

Here's the link to Amazon

Thought I'd post a quickie for those who have kiddos. Downloaded it last night and Ethan LOVES it!

Coupon: New York & Company Free $15 off ANY purchase

I’m still recuperating from working 24 hours straight so I’m not in the mood to blog, but I wanted to share this in case someone could use it over the weekend. I buy a lot of my work clothes from New York & Company.

Link to printer friendly coupon here

Chinese Fortune Cookie

This was in my fortune cookie tonight......


"You have a strong desire for a home and your family comes first."

It's found a spot on my wall, next to my family, where I can see it every day.

Works For Me Wednesdays: How to get Cheap Prints at Walgreens

Once upon a time, in the world of film cameras, most of us didn’t have a choice but to get our rolls of film printed. Otherwise, we’d never see the photos we took. Nowadays, it’s become quite normal to have hundreds (even thousands) of photos sitting in a hard drive without having to be printed.

That’s me. Guilty as charged.

I have more photos that what I can imagine to do with it, and yet, I don’t have any albums of actual printed pictures.

Every once in a while though, I run into mini-deals like this and I try to take advantage of it.

Upload your photos at Walgreens online and select in-store pick up to save shipping. It’s $5 for the first 50 prints by using code 5dollars. If you have more than 50 to print, don’t worry, it’s still .10 per print.

This coupon expires in April 11th, but they'll have this sale again, in cae you miss out.

Say Hello Big Boy Underwear!

It’s guess it’s time. We’re saying goodbye to diapers and hello to stench and stains and public restrooms and plastic bags in my purse waiting to be filled with little peed-in Spiderman underwear.

Ethan’s been ready but lazy for a while.

I’ve been not ready AND lazy for a while.

We actually started to introduce him to the idea wayyy early in the game – which I now learn that starting too early could actually mean the longer it takes for them to acclimate. He did extremely well for a few weeks, and then just started to show zero interest in transitioning.

Around October of last year, we thought we’d try again. Our goal was to get him potty trained by the time he turned 3. Lola (the potty Nazi) would make Ethan sit on the toilet until something came out. Sometimes, that worked… although I worried if it was because of the encouragement or if we just scared the shit out of him – literally. So we turned to what any parent would resort to…bribery. We promised him he would get “candy” every time he would make a deposit in the toilet – liquid or solid. And that worked well for a few weeks, until around Halloween where we got an abundant supply of sweets in the house, and Ethan learned to exchange 2 drops of pee for a Snickers. Sly little fella……

We then transitioned away from treats to compliments. There were plenty of “Great job!”s to pass around. Last week, he actually went potty at Disneyland which earned him a deserving new puzzle book. A few times last weekend, he stopped in the middle of playing to dash to the bathroom to pee. It was a sign…

Then yesterday, his preschool teacher said he’s been doing so well with telling them when he needs to go to the bathroom, that they asked if we could bring in some underwear (and LOTS of change of clothes) to school.

It was like bringing home an A+! I was a proud mama!

So after my unexpected premature trip back to the ortho (warrants a separate post), we dashed to Target to get cute-sy Spiderman, Madagascar and Batman underwear. Mike insisted on the plain (cheaper ones) but that’s boring! I thought it would maybe encourage Ethan NOT to pee on his favorite superhero.

Or not.

He had 2 accidents before we reverted back to the diaper for the night. While both Mike and I are terrified of stepping on yellow puddles and little nuggets all over the house, we know Ethan will do just fine. I’ll post updates!

Fun-filled Weekend: Part 3

Sunday afternoons are my alone-time with Ethan (while daddy goes to school for a few hours). I don’t get to spend a lot of time with him during the week, so I always look forward to being with him on the weekends.

It amazes me how little it takes for him to make me laugh and vice versa. On Sunday, we spent an hour taking turns laying on the grass while the other jumps over, pulling the wagon back and forth, and then the next 2 hours blowing and catching bubbles in the yard until sunset.

It’s always sad when we run out of daylight… since it always means we have to start winding down and getting ready for bed. But we still have a blast, and I’ve learned to appreciate every minute I could get.

Fun-filled Weekend: Part 2

Throughout the summer, our city is hosting a family fun day every first Sunday of the month downtown. They set up booths in front of the library and several museums and have arts and crafts stations for the kids. This was the first time we checked it out, and we’ll probably go again. It gave us an excuse to walk around, hang out, Ethan proudly went home with stuff he made that is now prominently displayed on the refrigerator, and best of all… it was FREE!

Fun-filled Weekend: Part 1

This weekend was an “Ethan-weekend”, like most of our weekends. It’s so much fun to take him out now that he can participate and appreciate a lot of the places we take him to, instead of just admiring from the stroller.

We took him to a place called Camelot (Ethan called it “the castle”) to play miniature golf -- or as Mike calls it, “putt-putt” -- for the first time.

Ethan’s not a stranger to golf. In fact, we took him to his first golf course at 5 months in muggy West Virginia.

But it was fun watching Ethan try to handle the club like a hockey stick, and it was great to see him celebrate with a “Yes!” when he sank his putts in.

There was a part, where Ethan got a little frustrated with the windmill door… after trying to swing uphill about 15 times, he finally went up to the door, watched it intensely like he was plotting an attack, peeped into the house for the few seconds it stayed open and then knocked twice (as if a nice little leprechaun’s going to answer and Ethan would ask him to please keep it open so he could hit his ball into the windmill). Of course, no one answered…. so Ethan did what any problem-solving 3-year old would do…. he tried to pry it open!

He was disappointed to end the game after 9 holes, but it was so hot my poor boys were easily turning to a crisp so we just spent the rest of the afternoon indoors playing in the arcade.

Stayed tuned for Part 2 and 3 of our weekend!

OLD NAVY Coupon: 50% off a Single Item

1. Go to Old Navy Weekly
2. Vote for "best legs" on the mannequins, all stars must turn blue
3. Wait 15-20 seconds for a kite to appear, and click on it – it starts on the left lower side and flies (quite quickly) towards the middle behind the girls
4. If you got it, a message will pop up
5. Print your coupon or email it to yourself

OR you could just print the coupon below. It’s not a unique code, so enjoy :)

Kids in the Kitchen

We stumbled upon this event last Saturday on our way to see Monsters vs Aliens. It was called “Kids in the Kitchen” where they had booths for kids/adults to learn about nutrition and healthy choices. Ironically, it was sponsored by McDonalds (which typically wouldn’t be the first thing on anyone’s mind when you say ‘healthy’).

Ethan had a lot of fun.

He played games, talked to the firefighters, did arts and crafts, exercised with the Soldiers/Marines, he even won a $25 giftcard to Mickey D’s – which, of course will be used towards apple dippers (ok, maybe some chicken nuggets, too).

There was a booth where they had laid out a bunch of food (healthy mixed in with the junk), and Ethan was supposed to pick 4 items to pack in his lunch bag. Proudly looking over his shoulder (and praying he would pass on the bag of Doritos), Mike and I watched Ethan pick a bag of nuts, a juice box, a milk carton and an orange! Then we realized he probably just wanted to stuff everything in the bag and bring it with him… :)

We also got several kid-friendly recipes that we collected by visiting each booth. Ethan got a free event shirt, a canvas bag, and a free Army shirt for doing pushups.

Hot Pink, Eyebags and a Great Catch

Horrible bags under my eyes....

I have been in a cast for 4 weeks now for my broken finger. The cast, bright in hot pink, goes up to almost my elbow. It’s extremely uncomfortable, gets heavy to lug around and very difficult to sleep with (I've actually hit myself over the head with it a few times, and Mike insists I gave him a black eye). I’ve noticed I’ve been more tired than usual… my doctor just says the body takes a lot of energy to heal. I still have a bottle of vicodin for those intolerable nights.

It’s unfortunate that my job relies heavily on my fingers to work on the computer and my hands for production. It’s been a royal pain in the you know what, but I’ve quickly learned to compensate with my left hand, and even though it’s slowed me down, I’m at least still getting things done.

But can I just say, that I’m the luckiest girl to have the greatest husband in the world?

Ever since I got imprisoned in this cast, he’s been so helpful and understanding. Even though I know he probably cringes when he hears me yell “Babe!” from the other side of the house, he’s been SUPER when it comes to doing things I normally could do myself.

He does laundry, cooks dinner almost every night, even grocery shopping! He wraps up my cast before I get in the shower, buttons up my pants, and doesn’t complain when I wake him up early morning to tie my hair in a ponytail (he’s actually gotten quite good at it).

Babe, if you’re reading this… THANK YOU, and I LOVE YOU.

Works for Me Wednesdays: How to Watch TV Shows/Movies Online

Fact #1: I don’t have time to watch tv.
Fact #2: When I do find the time, I would prefer to not have to watch commercials.
Fact #3: DVR is one of the greatest inventions known to mankind.
Fact #4: When you can’t access your DVR, if someone deletes your DVR recording, or if you don’t have the channel to DVR to begin with, you can always go online. Rest assured, someone else in cyberspace has recorded your show and have posted it online for your viewing pleasure.

Online streaming is how I survived 2 seasons of Top Chef and Project Runway without having Bravo on our cable package. I’ve also found myself watching Friends from the very beginning. How great is it that you can watch any show you could ever think of on demand, AND without the annoying pause for commercials.

But it’s not just tv shows anymore either. Gone are the days when you have to wait until weeks after release from theatre for it to go on betamax//VHS/DVD at your local Blockbuster. These days, movies get posted online before they are even released in the US. Granted you have to sort through several to find a good quality copy.. they do exist.. and they can save you the $20 you were going to spend at the movies.

My top picks are Tv Links, Surf the Channel and watch-movies.net.

I’m sure that there are plenty others, maybe even better ones. But these are the sites that I have been using and have consistently given me hours of entertainment without annoying popup ads and worse, viruses.

Monsters vs Aliens

Most of the time, we take him to the drive-in (luckily, we have one of the very few left just a hop, skip and a jump away). We’ve taken the truck with a twin mattress and some El Pollo chicken and unlimited snacks that don’t cost an arm and a leg. He generally does well if it’s a movie he’s interested in… we thought he would do okay to see Monsters vs Aliens in theatre, so we took him to see it in 3D over the weekend.

He started out good, fascinated with things he thought he could reach -- did ok for the most of the movie. For the first 10 minutes (about how long it took for them to set up the plot), Ethan kept asking “Where are the monsters?”. While Mike and I were busy trying to match the voiceovers to the characters. Now I know silence is golden in the theatre and all that jazz, but after a couple of other parents ssssh-shing their kids and babies crying in the background, we just kind of gave up. It was matinee after all, and a family movie. Between balancing on the folding seat (we didn’t get a booster chair), looking for the monsters, clapping for the monsters, and fighting for the popcorn tub, Ethan thought it was entertaining. He did start to get antsy towards the end and didn’t want anything to do with the 3D goggles – which only made the movie looked like you were watching it drunk.

The movie was cute overall. It centered itself on Susan, the giant girl, while the rest of the monsters – a blue gelatinous blob who falls in love with green jello, a brilliant scientist who turned himself to a cockroach, and a creature made of equal parts fish, ape, and frat boy referred to as The Missing Link -- just kind of followed in her shadow. The boyfriend was an ambitious jerk. The president in the movie was an idiot, I didn’t find him funny at all. There was a part in the movie where the “alien” started to attack, and the president said “we have to raise the terror level to code brown, because I have to check my pants”. Seriously…

In my opinion, it didn’t live up to the other Pixar movies. While the concept of the ass-kicking girl is all good and dandy, I didn’t really find myself all too interested in her character (it took her half the movie to realize she didn’t deserve her jerk-of-a-boyfriend). Oh well.

Ethan enjoyed it though! :)

Happy Birthday Grandma!

Works For Me Wednesdays: How To Volunteer When You Don’t Have the Time

I’ve always been a firm believer of paying it forward. I was a girlscout throughout grade school. In high school, some of my Saturdays consisted of waking up at 5am to help peel 500 potatoes for the local soup kitchen. In college, I spent a lot of time as a youth leader for the youth ministry, and once, I helped fix a home for a very deserving family through Habitat for Humanity. In my few years as an Army wife, I spent a lot of time with the Family Readiness Group, a nonprofit organization that helps families when their Soldiers are deployed.

Nowadays, being a working mom doesn’t leave me with very much time to dedicate somewhere outside of my work and family. Physically, anyway…

Thankfully, there’s plenty of opportunities for virtual volunteering! In this day and age, you’d be surprised how much you could do from home and over the internet. One of the organizations I’ve worked with recently, Youth Technology & Education Center in St. Louis Missouri, asked me to design a postcard to thank all their sponsors and contributors.

All it took were a few emails to get that simple sense of contribution -- as little as it seems.

I found them through Volunteer Match. It’s easy to search by location, by areas of interest, by groups and you can filter for virtual opportunities. But of course, if you’re so inclined to volunteer the old-fashion way, there’s plenty of opportunities for those too!